Saturday, October 15, 2016 – Thursday was a beautiful day temperature wise.  Roy and I took advantage of the lower temperatures to go into Memphis, Tennessee where we toured the Mud Island River Walk.

The local Bass Pro Shop – never would have thought that was what this was until we saw the sign on the other side of the pyramid.

On our way there we drove through a beautiful part of Memphis that resides right on the Mississippi River. This was a very large area of beautiful homes beautifully landscaped and quite large!

Across the street from these homes is the Mississippi River

The River Walk is one of the most unique representations of the Mississippi River in the world.   It is an exact scale model of the Lower Mississippi River flowing from its confluence with the Ohio River at Cairo, Illinois 954 nukes south to the Gulf of Mexico.   It is scaled 30″  = 1 mile.  It’s entire length is 2,000 feet or 5 blocks. The  model empties into an acre size Gulf of Mexico.

Before showing the photos we took of this model of the river here is a short video that really shows what is so special about the Mississippi River.   I was unable to embed the video here but you can watch it by clicking on the words “Watch on Facebook”.

Here are some photos from the start down to where it empties into the Gulf of Mexico.

We knew this would be a miniature version of the Mississippi River’s trail down into the Gulf of Mexico.  What we didn’t realize was how big this would turn out to be. We started at the top and walked and walked and walked watching the Mississippi curve its way through state after state down to our beloved Louisiana where it empties into the Gulf.

Some of the major cities along its path are noted with a layout of the city alongside the mini river.

Here I am standing in the middle of the river at Memphis.

Right by my feet in the photo above is what you see in this first photo below.  This is Mud Island as it lies alongside the Mississippi River.

The Memphis area next to the river without me in the photo!

Here we are getting closer to Louisiana which you can see on the flag pole banner.

The actual Mississippi River right next to the River Walk. Cool beans like Madisyn and I like to say!

Our Louisiana capital, Baton Rouge

Roy was proudly standing in La Place, Louisiana

This mini version of the Mississippi is situated right next to the real Mississippi River.  It is also in the middle of several buildings surrounding it that normally have interesting things to do in them.  It is also landscaped quite nicely throughout with the kind of foliage you would see as you go down the river towards the Deep South.

Our hometown of New Orleans

These photos depict the Mississippi emptying into the Gulf of Mexico.

When our oldest son was a toddler we took him down to Pilottown right on the Gulf of Mexico.  Tried to find pictures we took that day but I couldn’t find them. These maps were stationed all along the river’s pathway.

This is  me standing in the swamp land out in the Gulf with the Memphis skyline to my back!

This was not a good time of the year to visit what is probably a bustling really nice facility during the summer months.  Other activities there were closed down but since the weather was so nice it was a great day for what we did get to see which was all outside.

I am writing this on Friday and it has poured down rain all day today.  This area hasn’t seen rain in over a month so it is much needed.  The recent cooler weather and this rain ought to help the trees change their leaf color more soon!  The rain delayed my plans to see more of the surrounding area today.  That will wait till Saturday now!  We are leaving in a few minutes to eat dinner at this RV Resorts Friday night dinner at the Bistro, fried catfish, fries and hush puppies!

Roy’s been enjoying the open areas here getting to fly his plane.  He can do loopty loops now really well!  There is also a firing range here where he took his pistol to shoot the other day.  Said it wasn’t great for his hearing afterwards, his ears hurt!

Monday we go to Bartlett (near Memphis) to see Roy’s knee surgeon for his final follow up.  I am hoping that the leaves have changed a lot in their color when we go on Monday.  That will be our last opportunity to see Tennessee trees before heading south to the Gulf Coast on Wednesday.

Here’s a sneak peak at what our next blog will be about – yes we voted!  We are Madison, SD residents and voted by mail in ballot!  All signed and mailed!!

Ya’ll come back now, ya’ hear!