Memphis to New Mexico

Left Memphis at 9 am. I have a Brake Assist for the car but it deadens my batteries so have not used it. Have to get an attachment to bypass it. Arkansas roads are terrible very bumpy. I stopped at the Flying J in Russelville, AR. My speedometer stopped working, thankfully my gas gauge still works so I use my GPS to see my speed and I use the cruise control a lot. I think it is a fuse but will wait until I can find a guy that can help me. This was an old station so parking was very short, gas was 2.279/gal. for a cost of $131.38. The coffee here is 99 cents as they class it as a refill so my morning coffee is made for me. Still not as good as good old Timmies

I just had a call that my best friend in Florida died. She was a wonderful person who gave more than she received. She was the one who introduced me to the singles groups with her wonderful Christmas parties, hot tub, great conversation and dancing. We had a lot of fun the two years I was down there and I will miss her a lot.

I stopped at the Oklahoma welcome centre to check out some history of the state. They offered free coffee and internet. Oklahoma is called the Cherokee Nation so lots of history of the indians that came to this area. You can take an 88 mile drive and learn more. Of course there are Casinos at every exit. Lots of road construction going on, most are great, but the unfixed parts really bounce you around. Filled with gas for $2.169/gal for $83.36. Of course the cheapest price and I didn't need much gas. It would be a great place to come back and explore.

Driving through Texas was great hardly any traffic I went for miles without seeing anyone. This is cattle country with BIG ranches. The soil is very red like P.E.I. Trees are getting smaller and I would call most of them shrubs, with not much moisture they have very small leaves so don't need as much moisture. Starting to see wind generators, Texas is windy most of the time, one of the reasons I don't like it. Welcome centre was about a 100 miles past the border and the rest areas were called picnic areas, but they were not very inviting. The Welcome Centre was very impressive, they had a wind generator and a building that had the history of the area. It was in the middle of no where, but spent over an hour reading all the history. I almost got blown away when I went outside, but the views were amazing. I enjoyed my lunch there. I have a Satellite dish and it works great but needs to be turned on every couple of days or I will get shut down. Typical Bell you don't use it you lose it and still pay. Anyway I turned my generator on found the satellite and downloaded the programing. I wasn't able to get signals at the last two stops. As you are driving you see signs saying "Strong Wind Gusts" well they were right and I was glad to get to my campground in Amarillo. Very tiring hanging on when the trucks go by. AOK Campground was drive through sites and full hookups, but not well looked after. For $11.00 Passport America I decided to stay two night. The first night the wind rocked the motorhome and it rained hard. Planes went over frequently. I stayed the second night so I could go to Palo Duro Canyon. My friend Donna said it should not be missed so off I went.

Got the GPS directions, but they were not the right place and thankfully I saw a sign and followed it. WHOW it cost $3.00 to get in and you could take your car for about a 15 mile drive. I stopped a lot and took tons of pictures. You can camp there and would be great to hike the area. The only way I would stay at these State Parks is if I was with someone. Hiking by myself is not something I am willing to do.

Sept. 23/09 Great driving day the wind had died down and the scenery was magnificant. Rolling hills in the middle of open space. Black dots when you got closer were free range cattle. The open blue skies were very relaxing. I had to drive over two hours for a rest area, the one I was going too was closed. The next one was just about full because everyone had the same idea so found a spot and had lunch. I stopped in Tucumcari, NM for gas it was $2.31/gas for a total of $128.69. I also filled up with propane at a cost of $2.89/gal for a cost of $28.09. I think that was very expensive, but haven't checked anywhere else. Arrived at Hidden Valley in Tijeras which is just before Albuquerque, N.M. It is built into a hill and terraced. Cost for a week and one day was $95.45 through Passport America, $11.00 a day. Cost otherwise is $24.00 so quite a saving. Have satellite service and internet so I am a happy camper.

Still working on pictures still can't figure it out. So the top picture is the Texas Rest Area and the others are Graceland.

Rocking Down the Road

Stopped at the Flying J in London for an over night. These gas stations let you stay free over night and hope you will buy your gas and food there. My friend Glenda picked me up and we drove over to St. Mary's to check out the main street. It is a quaint little town with lots of history in the old buildings. We stopped at a pub for dinner hadn't had fish and salad in a long time, was very good.

Got an early start at 8 a.m. and had no trouble at the border. I found out that the only thing you couldn't take over was goat and lamb. Darn I could have brought my great Costco steaks, well Jessica will enjoy them. I stopped just inside the border to fill up with gas at a BP station it was an easy in and out. I have to be careful where I take this BIG RV it just won't fit into some of the stations. I have found that most of the U.S. stations have their pumps pointing towards the store and if there is someone parking close then I can't get around. Had to unhook my car a few years ago to get out of a bad situation. The gas was $2.549 a gal., took 49 gal for a cost of $124.94. There is a lot of road construction in Michigan and they are finally getting the worst roads in the States redone. Down to one lane and stop and go for miles. No rest areas until just before Lansing. There is very little traffic on the roads that is why I like to travel on the weekends. I pulled into the Wal Mart in Angola, MI at 2:30 and went shopping, I also stayed for the night. I stocked up on my wine price $10.99 for 5 litres.

Sept 13th - Left the Wal Mart later because the fog was pretty bad. Indianapolis was great going through very little traffic. I was going to get a coffee before I left what a disappointment when I found out it was a Subway and not a McDonalds and it was closed.

The weather has been beautiful since I left and the temp at the Flying J just south of Indianapolis in Whiefield was 28C. I try to drive just 3 to 4 hours a day and stop early. Gas at this stop was $2.439/gal took 46.025 gal for a cost of $111.79. At some of the Flying J gas stations you get a cent off every gal.

Sept 14th - The police are out in full force in this area they are pulling over even the big trucks for speeding saw quite a few. They are in ordinary looking cars and trucks so they don't stand out. The rest areas here are very big and can fit in lots of trucks and motorhomes and they are well looked after. I have gone into Central time zone now and now have to remember the time at home. I stopped at the Flying J in Franklin, KY. Some of the old J's are hard to use and you have to go into the store to get the receipt. Also you have to remember what pump you used, the mind goes sometimes. Everyone else that was there was having the same problem. The great thing about these stations is they have RV islands where you can just drive up, fill up, dump your tanks, get water and propane. You can get in easy and out. They also have places to park your RV away from the trucks. The trucks don't like you parking in their lots. The only thing is you have to get there early to get an over night spot. Gas was $2.259, paid $70.12 for 31.178 gal discount 31cents. This place had very small places to park and I got up early to get out before it got busy and I got hemmed in.

Sept. 17 - Arrived in Memphis in the early afternoon, Nashville traffic was not bad, but then I got off onto I40 before the city. I think Memphis has the worst roads. I stayed at the Elvis Presley RV resort with my Passport America card. I was only able to get one day at half price, but hey it all counts. It was $32.00 a night with full hookups. The place is not the best looking, but it is just 10 minutes down the road from Graceland and the people were very friendly. I was only going to stay three nights but stayed four so I could do some more museums.

There is a tour company that will pick you up at the campground and take you around Memphis and then to Graceland. I decided to take the all day tour at $72.00 (all these prices are U.S., but our dollar is pretty good right now). It was also nice because it POURED rain every day and even with an umbrella you got soaked. We went to the Sun Studio's where Elvis recorded his first record. It was just like a corner store in the old days. It was an interesting place with all the memorabilia, guitars, records and posters from the 50's and 60's. Some of the artists who recoreded there, BB King, Johnny Cash, Carl Perkins, Jerry Lee and Roy Orbison. We didn't have enough time to take the tour and it wasn't near where I was going to be the next day so just enjoyed what I saw. We stopped at St. Jude's hospital where Danny Thomas started this hospital for kids. We weren't allowed in the hospital but they had another building where he was buried and about his life from a boy until he died. This building had a gold dome on the roof. He dedicated his life to helping children and now his daughter is doing the same thing.

We were dropped off on Beale St where the Blues started. It runs from the Mississippi River to East St., a distance of approx. 1.8 miles. It is a significant location in history and the history of the Blues. Since 1899 it has been a recreational and cutural center where Blues musicians could gather. On Dec. 15th/77 Beale St. was officially declared as "The Home of the Blues" by an act of Congress. During the first weekend of May the Beale St. Music Festival brings major music acts from a variety of musical genres to Tom Lee Park at the end of Beale St. on the Mississippi River. The festival is the kickoff event of a month of festivities city wide known as Memphis In May.

Lunch was included in the price so had a fellow Canadian from Hamilton and her friend from Ireland share a table. I had fried chicken. The girls had flown into Nashville and took a bus to Memphis, she said she was never so scared in her life and it took forever to get there. She figured it would be just like the GO buses in Ontario. I felt sorry for them as they had to take it back too, they had bought a return ticket.

Next was Graceland it took over two hours to see it all. You can buy tickets for certain places, but I wanted to see it all. The mansion was across the street from the complex and you had to take a van. Of course it was pouring rain. When you arrived they gave you a recorder that told you the history of the mansion. The house was a beautiful country estate that when bought was the only one in the country, now it is kind of out of place surrounded by urban sprawl. He paid I think around $100.000.00 for the house and it is beautiful. Of course back then every room had a theme. The jungle room, the music room and the trophy room. Most of the rooms had leather furniture in different colours. Everything was done to perfection, but looked comfortable. After the mansion I toured his car museum, all the cars he ever owned plus motorcycles and other toys were displayed. Loved the pink Cadillac. I climbed aboard Elvis's customized Lisa Marie airplane and his smaller Lockheed Jetstar called the Hound Dog II. They had gold plated seatbelt buckles, suede chairs, leather covered tables, 24 karat gold-flecked sinks and a lot more. They showed memorabilia from all his films he made including his cloths, personal scripts and behind the scenes photos and lots more. His performances in the movies and on stage played through the whole complex. I wondered if the employees got sick of it after a while. Of course it was POURING rain when we finished, couldn't find the bus and had to have them come pick us up half an hour later.

The next day the Memphis Best Tours picked me up again and dropped me off at the Rock n Soul Museum. What a great place it took me two hours to work my way around it. They give you a recorder and you put in numbers that you see on the cards around the building. This gave you the history of that time. You could also play the music for that period. The clothing of the artists was unbelievable, I am amazed that they found all these things from back in the early days up to the present. Had lunch at one of the restaurants on Beale St. BBQ pork was quite good. Of course a Starbucks was there too so had a coffee. Was back at the campground by 2.

Walgreens were giving flu shots with no appointment so went over and got mine. It only cost $24.95 senior rate usually $29.95, very friendly people. Of course when you say you travel by your self that opens up great conversations. Of course I found a Wal Mart and did some grocery shopping, didn't buy anything thing else which was amazing.

I also got a Verizon USB card that plugs into my computer. I signed a contract for a year for $99.00 (got a $50.00 rebate to make it that price). It is $59.95 a month for 5 GB a lot cheaper than my satellite internet dish and I don't have to set it up just plug it in. So far it is working great no problems with it. Very fast too, will see how it works when I get to Quartzsite not much there.

I will add more pictures and get them in the right order. That is Elvis's home.