Square States

Location: Texarkana, TX (but just barely -- I can almost see Arkansas from here)

I spent today crossing Arkansas, which is almost a square state. It was pretty much the same as crossing Kansas, an even squarer state, except it lacked the excitement of seeing all that corn.

Graceland

I'm going to Graceland

For reasons I cannot explain

There's some part of me wants to see

Graceland

-- Paul Simon

I began the day at my campsite, and this image was taken at first light. One of the many barges that ply the Mississippi River was slowly passing by just as the sun came out from behind a cloud. Watching the barges and following the killdeer that frequent the river are fun, but as it turns out I am twenty minutes from Graceland. How could I not go?

Graceland is, of course, the home of Elvis Presley, now turned into a living memorial to faux fur, shag carpeting, odd color schemes, and all those other things that we, and Elvis, thought were so cool about 40 years ago. I was surprised at how relatively normal, at least for the time, Graceland was. I had expected an house worthy of Liberace, and instead found one that, while obviously owned by a wealthy person who could afford whatever gizmos and thingamabobs caught his eye, was missing the Ultra Mega Bling Bling I had expected. Colors, lots of them, were there -- but the 1970s were like that (I had both lime green shag carpeting and an orange car once -- but thankfully, not at the same time). Graceland did have olive green shag carpeting on the walls and ceiling, stained glass peacocks, colorful fabric covering every inch of a room with a pool table, and a bright yellow and black room with silhouettes of guitars on the wall.

Love of color didn't stop in the house -- in addition to the the infamous 1955 pink Cadillac, Elvis also had a 1956 purple Cadillac convertible. When we got to the outside, the extravagances that were missing in the house began to accumulate. Elvis owned some very pricey cars such as a 1973 Stutz Blackhawk and a Rolls Royce Silver Cloud, plus numerous Harley Davidson motorcycles and race cars. His private jet, which we could tour, had a bedroom in the back -- and the bed, to comply with regulations, actually had a seat belt! Elvis had, however, replaced all the regular seatbelts in the jet with ones made of gold.

Elvis' grave site is on the grounds of Graceland, next to his parents and grandmother. Elvis had a twin brother who died at birth, and there
is also a memorial there to Jessie Garon Presley, who died January 8, 1935. Jessie's body lies elsewhere.

In death, Elvis has become bigger than life. His awards, and his gold and platinum records were displayed everywhere. They lined halls and filled trophy cases. There were literally rooms of intricately designed white jumpsuits, all hand beaded and embroidered. There were amazing works of original art, mostly featuring Elvis and his family. Everywhere there were things to look at and stories to hear. I am glad I listened to that part of me, like Paul Simon, that wanted to see Graceland.

Kentucky

Location: Richmond KY to West Memphis, AR

While I am now actually sitting in Arkansas, I need to go back a couple days to let you know about the fantastic part of Kentucky I saw while visiting Ken and Pam, who live near Richmond. Ken and Pam's back yard is a forest that slopes down to the Kentucky River. They had some interesting visitors while I was there -- hawks, deer, fox, and wild turkeys all came visiting. This image was taken on the last morning before I left -- there had been a frost the night before, and the morning mist filled the river's valley until the sun began to burn it off.

Most of our adventures took place on the other side of the Kentucky River, and the easiest way to get across it was to take a free car ferry -- and that has to be a rarity! The Valley View Ferry is the oldest continuous business in Kentucky, and has been in existence 1785. Cars pull up to the waterline; when the ferry gets to that side of the river up to three cars drive on the ferry; the ferry goes to the other side where the cars pull off. Repeat with cars on that side. Repeat. Repeat. Repeat... This is apparently cheaper than building a bridge, and it sure was a lot more fun!

Then we were off to the Daniel Boone National Forest, famed for several natural bridges, or sandstone arches, and we played on two of them. The first one was named Sky Bridge, and it was on a park loop that started with a trip through a tunnel that was very roughly chopped out of rock and very narrow, originally cut for transporting logs.When we got to the bridge, we were able to walk across it, and then hiked down a path to the bottom. The day was gray and rainy, but a lot of other people were milling about. Once Pam thought I might have fallen over the side when she looked back to where I had just been, and instead saw a group of people staring over the edge. No fear, I had just wandered off to photograph something or other!

The second sandstone arch we visited was named "Natural Bridge" and the best way to get to it was by a sky lift -- fabulous view, pleasant trip, and a long, long way down! This was my first time on a chair lift, but I somehow managed to get on and off without embarrassing myself too badly. It was a spectacular view, and the best $8 (round trip) I ever spent!

Other Kentucky Fun:

• We drove through Boonsborough State Park, where the RV park was filled with ghosts, goblins, pumpkins, and Halloween decorations of amazing excess. They have a huge Halloween party each year that is so popular they are already fully booked for next year.
• We played a Parcheesi-like game called "Pollyanna" at which I, ahem, excelled to almost brilliancy.
• We played Four Cards Down, a card game that depends largely on Chance to determine the winner, but Chance is fickle and only allows Pam to win (me: Whine, whine, whine).
• We visited the Boonsboro Fort, where we petted a very nice horse, watched 18th century craftspeople do their crafts, learned that Celtic music spawned Bluegrass, took in the park's introductory movie in which every Native American looked like a white guy dressed up for Halloween, and found out that Daniel Boone once lived with the Native Americans and was suspected to be a traitor when he returned to the fort.
• I learned that Ken has an obsession with finding the exact location of far off lights he can see from home, and that Pam can gobble well enough to fool a wild turkey.

The visit was wonderful, and it was over way too soon. I have now moved on to West Memphis, Arkansas, and am sitting on the banks of the Mississippi River watching huge barges chug up the river. It would be nice to see a wild turkey here, but somehow I don't really expect it.

Hello From Kentucky

Location: Richmond, KY

I am currently in Daniel Boone country, visiting my friends Pam and Ken. A kind passerby took this photo of us in a nearby park named Raven's Run. The river in the background is the Kentucky River.