From Here to Colorado Springs - Oklahoma City to Memphis, TN

The next portion of our journey took us from Oklahoma City to Memphis, TN.  We had never been to Memphis so we decided to add it to our trip home.

I didn't mention the Indian Casinos that we passed frequently in Oklahoma.  The treatment of the Native Americans is another sad and unfortunate part of our American history.  I once tried to read the book, Trail of Tears, but cried so much while reading it that I couldn't finish it.  America is not the only country that has done things they are not proud of it is just that we are a relatively new country compared to most and our history is more current.  But, I digress!  We did drive past numerous casinos that were just building basically just off the highways.  An informative article on the subject is found here.

We entered Arkansas in the city of Muldrow. 

We drove for a while and had lunch at a bbq restaurant in the quaint town of Russellville, AR.  It was good food and the people were friendly.  

We got back in the car and started driving again.  Not far out of Russellville, I noticed the cooling towers of a nuclear power plant.  It was the Arkansas Nuclear One - a two unit pressurized water reactor nuclear power plant located on Lake Dardanelle.  See www.entergy-nuclear.com for more info. 

A road way sign caught my attention in Conway, AR.  The sign read - Conway, AR City of Colleges.  When I research the city, I discovered that there are 3 post-secondary educational institutes there earning the city its nickname "The City of Colleges".

The city was founded by Asa P. Robinson who traveled to the area shortly after the Civil War.  He was the chief engineer for the Little Rock-Fort Smith Railroad (now Union Pacific).

In 1878, Father Joseph Strub, a Roman Catholic priest of the Holy Ghost Fathers, arrived in Arkansas.  In 1879, he convinced the railroad to deed 200,000 acres along the northern side of the Arkansas River to the Holy Ghost Fathers in order to build the St. Joseph Colony.  Later St. Joseph Catholic Church of Conway was built there.  As part of the land deal, the railroad offered land at 20 cents an acre to every German immigrant.  By 1889, over 100 German families had settled in Conway giving the town many of its distinctly German street and business names.

Another sign in Arkansas that caught my eye was Toad Suck Park.  Seriously???  Apparently the place won top honors in an online poll to find America's most unfortunate "town" name.  

The US Army Corps of Engineers has the honor of overseeing Toad Suck Park.  According to the manager, Scott Fryer, Toad Suck is not really a town so much as a spot on the Arkansas River.  He said the legend has it that Toad Suck got its name from where a ferry used to cross the river from Faulkner County to Perry County.  At that time, there was a tavern on the Perry Side of the river that was a local hangout for folks to do down and drink alcohol and do other questionable things.  Some church ladies from nearby would say, "If you can't find so-and-so, go down to the tavern.  He'll be sucking on a bottle so much he's swollen up like a toad!"

The nearby city of Conway has held a three-day festival in May for the last 30 years called Toad Suck Daze that raises money for scholarships.

The next sign I noticed was on that read Purple Heart Trail.  The Purple Heart is specifically a combat decoration and it is our nations oldest military medal.  It was first created by George Washington in 1782.

The current Purple Heart medal was developed by General Douglas MacArthur in 1932.  The Purple Heart is awarded to members of the armed forces in the US who are wounded by an instrument of war in the hands of the enemy and posthumously to the next of kin in the name of these killed in action who die of wounds received in action.

The purpose of the Purple Heart Trail is to create a symbolic and honorary system of roads, highways, bridges and other monuments that give tribute to the men and women who have been awarded the Purple Heart Medal.

Interesting facts about Arkansas:

* The elevation in the state ranges from 54 feet above sea level to 2,753 feet

* Mountain View is home to one of the largest producers of handmade dulcimers in the world

* The state bird is the Mockingbird

* Johnny Cash was born in Kingsland, AR

* The state flower is the apple blossum

* Sam Walton founded Wal-Mart in Bentonville, AR

* The official state mineral is bauxite

* General Douglas MacArthur was born in Little Rock, AR

* The official state gem is the diamond

* The name Arkansas is the French interpretation of a Sioux word acansa, meaning down stream place

* AR has a humid subtropical climate

* The state is known for extreme weather and frequent storms

* Bill Clinton was born in Hope, AR

* Arkansas is the leading producer of rice in the US - agriculture is the top industry

* There are 6 major rivers in AR - Arkansas River, Mississippi River, Red River, White River, Quachita River and the St. Francis River

We arrived at our destination of Memphis, TN in the late afternoon.  We stayed at the Peabody Hotel.  We got there just in time to see the ducks walk through the lobby.

We walked up the street to Beale Street to eat some of Memphis's famous bbq.  The restaurant we were told to go to was the Rendezvous.  They have been there since 1948 and are best known for their ribs.

This was our view from our hotel window.

This is the Autozone Park.  It is a minor league baseball stadium - home to the Memphis Redbirds of the Pacific Coast League.  The Redbirds are the Triple-A affiliate of Major League Baseball's St. Louis Cardinals.

Interesting facts about Memphis, TN:

* Memphis has a mild southern climate

* The city is the most populous city in TN

* Memphis is one of the largest wholesale and distributing centers in the South

* It is one of the world's largest markets for spot cotton and hardwood lumber

* Memphis is one of the busiest inland ports on the Mississippi River

* Martin Luther King was assassinated in 1968 at the Lorraine Motel

* WC Handy the "father of the blues" wrote and played his music on Beale Street

* Elvis Presley began his recording career in Memphis at Sun Records

* Graceland Mansion, Presley's home until his death in 1977, is visited annually by more than a half million fans