Tennessee Spring Chill-State 8 of 49 of our Adventure

Eric & Lora Benz
Apr 8, 2018
7 min read

Updated: May 27, 2018

If you are a first-time reader, welcome to Lora and Erics RV Adventure Blog. You can read more us and our previous blogs at http://www.LoraandEricsRVAdventure.com.

If you are a first-time reader, welcome to Lora and Erics RV Adventure Blog. You can read about us at http://www.LoraandEricsRVAdventure.com. We started our Full time adventure with the purchase of our 2018 Grand Design Reflection 315RLTS. We have been on the road since December 27, 2017.

Welcome to Tennessee. After experiencing the mishaps with the camper in Mississippi we were glad to be back on the road with nothing damaged. The night we were expected to leave the weather was grim. A cold front was heading through with a chance of strong thunderstorms, heavy rain, hail, and risk of tornado's. Heavy rain hitting a camper roof and sky lights is loud. We had a couple thunder booms, but most of it stayed to the south. I checked Tom Sawyer RV Park Flood Stage link to confirm we are good to go.

At the end of February to late March here are some stock photos from the Facebook page of Tom Sawyer RV Park during the floods.

The distance from Clear Creek Campground, Vicksburg to Tom Sawyer RV Park in West Memphis, AR is 3 hours 50 minutes. Approximately 258 miles via I-55N. Do you question Arkansas? Well this campground is on the banks of the Mississippi. All reviews talk about the beauty of the river and watching the traffic. There is always a risk the campground may close if there is excessive rain up river. The website provides a link to the National Weather Service Flood Stage charts for the Mississippi. If the flood stage is above 31 ft, the park is forced to close until it drops below 31 ft. Before coming the park had been closed from the end of February to March 29th, when the began to take reservations. We made our reservation on the day they opened. I will give you a little more details about how Tom Sawyer RV Park can be on the banks of the Mississippi and not be washed out.

This not our first time to Tennessee. We visited Gatlinburg, TN multiple times over the years. Our first time was 1995 with our first pop-up camper.

We visited Sevier County, Tennessee home of Dollywood Amusement Park. We never went to Dollywood, but did get a chance to visit a number of attractions. Yes that is Lora dropping from a bungie cord. She did her epic jump at Ober Gatlinburg.

In 2003 I visited Nashville, TN for a Barbecue event when I was partnered with Sam's Smoker Pro. We received a 3rd place Vesta Award for our stainless steel barbecue smoker box.

In the same year we returned to TN Gatlinburg and Sevier County for a few days while our son Phillip was attending Space Camp in Huntsville, Alabama.

Our last visit was in 2009. Lora and I were celebrating our Anniversary. We rented a cabin in Sevier County and had a chance to enjoy a week in TN. In 2009 Ripley's had an Aquarium, Believe it or Not Museum, Haunted House, and 3D Theater. We hiked to waterfalls and had a great time.

Moving forward to 2018. We were warned by our new friends about West Memphis. "Just keep moving and don't stop". Driving in through TN the directions on Google Maps was really easy. The exit and road is nice and there is no sense of fear. If you are coming in from AR then yes it is very sketchy and you will drive through some very poor neighborhoods. We drove through it on the way to the closest Walmart to the park on the AR side of the river. If you need Diesel fuel the gas prices are best near Walmart. There is a few gas stations there all very competitive and normally $0.35 less than off the highway. If you have a Kroger discount card you can get $0.03 off.

So we made it to Tom Sawyer RV Park. Only one section was open when we arrived. We checked in and headed to our site at the end of one of the rows.

The owner is a small Asian woman who is so nice. When the Mississippi River reached 31 feet the RV Park closes and the employees remove all the power boxes from each campsite, remove all picnic tables, benches, etc. The bathroom, showers, and Laundry are 3 locations. 2 are mobile so they can pull them out when the floods come. The second is a 2 story building with the laundry room on the 2nd floor. The Laundry facilities are FREE. We have only seen one other campground in all our 25 years camping offering FREE laundry. They have 8 washers and dryers and all look new.

At first we were not ready to spend over $60 for a Tour of Graceland, but after reading reviews I felt it is a once in a life-time bucket list item, even if I am not a fan. We chose the Elvis Experience Pass with added Plane option. Ordering through Graceland website will allow you to use discount options like AAA. The tour required a scheduled time slot so plan ahead. The tour begins with a short video. After the video you are handed headsets and Tablets. We boarded a bus and crossed the street to Graceland. The audio tour takes you through the 1st floor and basement. The furniture is a flashback to the 70's. Colors, RCA TV's, and decor is a sign of the times even if it was not Elvis, so for the non Elvis fans you can enjoy and appreciate as well. You are taken to the a back building, Trophy Room showing his family history and time with the family. Next is the Racquetball building and last is the burial plots of Elvis and his relatives. Get back on the bus and head back to the beginning. TripAdvisor Reviews

If you have the Experience Pass then you have at least 5 other building you can explore with gives you the outfits, car collection, army enlistment, awards, gold records, artist influenced by Elvis, etc, It is work the visit. Between my wife and I we took over 800 photos. It is that extensive and interesting.

Graceland was rewarding and a once in a life-time experience. We spent the $35.00 for our picture and another $20.00 for plaque with a thermometer so hang in the camper.

After 3 hours at Graceland we were hungry. Memphis is known for their Barbecue so we browsed TripAdvisor. We found Memphis Barbecue Co. on the Mississippi side of Memphis. The restaurant is owned by World BBQ Champion Melissa Cookston. When you walk into the Restaurant there is a poster signed by Guy Fieri on Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives. Here is the episode from the show. Click Here I ordered the Barbecue samplers. 1/2 racks of ribs wet, brisket, and shredded chicken with pork beans, onion rings and corn bread. Lora ordered a chili and burger with fries.

The ribs were just right. I have bought packaged Memphis Barbecue ribs from the store before and they are nothing like this. The brisket was excellent for sure. Lora enjoyed here burger and fries as well.

After lunch we were heading on 4:30 pm. Most attractions are closed by 5:00 pm and stop taking visitors before then. We want to see the Lorraine Motel. On April 4, 1968, the Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr., was assassinated here at the Lorraine Motel, just a day after speaking at the Mason Temple Church of God in Christ. We visited 50 years and 1 day after the assassination. The previous day the news had broadcast the days events all day long throughout Memphis. When we arrived we parked down by the post office one block away.

There were police cars staged in a parking lot slightly away from the Motel. Police were all standing around. As we got closer to the Motel there was a strong police presence. One police officer has a metal detector and all had vests on. We were not allowed to come close to the motel side of the street. A few time a person with walk up and the police would ask they step back. A person had come out telling people the museum would be opening back up soon. We later found out for the of the 50th anniversary the museum was open till 7:00 pm. We tried to see if there was any news of something at the Motel that evening, but nothing came up. The police presence definitely was not routine.

Our next stop was Sun Studio, the Birth Place of Rock & Roll. It is the discovery location of musical legends and genres of the 50’s from B.B. King and Elvis Presley to Johnny Cash and Jerry Lee Lewis; from Blues and Gospel to Country and Rock’n'roll.

Some other notable sites in Memphis is the St. Jude Children's Hospital and Bass Pro Shops Pyramid.

We headed back to Tom Sawyer RV Park before dark. Our plan was to visit the Memphis Botanical Garden the next day if the weather holds out. We are expecting rain and wind over night.

One notable item about Tom Sawyer RV Park is the Sun Rises over the Mississippi River toward Memphis. Here are some pictures.

The next day was miserable. The rain was done, but the winds were up to 40 miles per hours with temperatures in the 40's Fahrenheit. We had no desire to venture out. I did one load of laundry while Lora stayed back at the camper watching TV and Face-booking. Friday night and Saturday was even colder. The morning temp was 30 degrees F. The wind had dropped. We expected all the flowers in bloom to be dead at the garden, so we killed the idea. We ventured out to Wal-Mart for beer and wine. We also filled up the tank for the next days trip to Mountain View, Arkansas. I did get a chance to see a river boat on the Mississippi river pass by.