after so many days with temperatures registering 100 degrees or more, it was a pleasure to wake up to a 57 degree morning. today was a relatively easy day. if was mostly rolling hills (or "rollers" as they say in biking parlance) coming out of senatobia. as we got closer to memphis, our group decided to take the day at a more leisurely pace and stop more for some sightseeing.
entering the northern hills of senatobia, we traded from the flatlands of west central mississippi. we also traded croplands for rolling farmlands that were mainly for livestock. this morning, we rode through pasture lands with horses, cattle, sheep and goats. eventually, even those gave way to more residential tracts. and the closer we got to the tennessee border, the busier the traffic got as the the rural world we'd been living in morphed into suburbia and, eventually, the urban environs of memphis, tennessee.
as we've done in previous days on this ride, and from rides in the past, we seem to sneak into a city or even a state. no coming through the front door down main street. you saw the picture of the chalk writing on the roadway that signified our leaving louisiana and entering mississippi. the only things this morning that let us know we left mississippi and were entering the state of tennessee were both the sign saying we hit the memphis city limits and the change in color and texture of the pavement.
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| no mention of entering the state of tennessee, just the city of memphis |
memphis is a fascinating city with a rich history, both past and recent past. native americans inhabited this area over 10,000 years ago, although the modern version of the city is coming up on its 200th birthday. it's the self-described capital of the mid-south. elvis lived here. dr. martin luther king was assassinated here in 1968, the day after giving his famous "i've been to the mountaintop" sermon. on mud island, a small spit of land just off the the mainland in the mississippi river, there's a museum dedicated to the river itself. beyond the historical information and memorabilia, there's a miniature running water scale model of the entire mississippi river complex, from its start up in lake itasca, minnesota to its finish in the gulf of mexico. it's outside the museum, running parallel to the actual river and runs for a couple of hundred yards. it's fascinating!
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| the mississippi river in memphis. that's the southern tip of mud island in the middle of the river |
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| street cars along north main street |
memphis architecture is a more flamboyant version of a midwestern ethos. it's one of the few cities in america that still has street cars. and, it's the home of some of the greatness music and musicians to grace this planet. many credit this city as the birthplace of the blues and of early rock 'n roll. it's the home to sun records, stax records, chess records and many of the early pioneering recording labels.
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| the kress building from the late 1800's; one of the first national chains of five-and-dime stores |
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| where elvis, jerry lee lewis, roy orbison, johnny cash and other greats got their start |
memphis is also home to beale street, once the bourbon street of tennessee (still in some tawdry ways), but still home to b.b. king's blues club where tonight, as most every night, they were kickin' it with some great blues, r&b and rock.
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| b.b. is hardly ever there, but the place is always jumpin'! |
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| beale street. bourbon street (north), more blues, less beads |
tomorrow is a much needed day of rest. will recharge the batteries, do laundry and try to catch up on sleeping.
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