It was finally time to leave Memphis for Greenville, Mississippi, the heart of the Mississippi Delta.
Graceland
Before I left though I visited Graceland. I had been there once before, but it is a place you just have to go to. Last time the guard allowed me to go visit Elvis Presley’s grave. This time no such luck without paying for a tour. So just a few pictures before heading on.
There was one noticeable difference from the last time I was there. Next to Graceland was not a massive building still under construction. I asked around and a person told me it was the new Heartbreak Hotel.
Weather
It didn’t take long for the weather to heat up. For most of my ride today it hovered around 36 degrees C. My Klim riding suit is cooler than I expected. It has lots of vents. But at 36 it is still very hot. It doesn’t take long before you feel weak from the heat.
Great River Road
Of course I was following the Great River Road into Mississippi. I wasn’t seeing the river though. I even went up onto the levee to see if I could see a glimpse.
Finally I got to see her 🙂
Greenville
I made it to Greenville and I was exhausted. In fact I felt a bit disorientated. I am sure the heat had something to do with it. However, I also felt like I was in a different land. There was the obvious that basically everyone in Greenville is black. But there was also a distinct language barrier too!
When I was checking into the Warfield Campground, a prison inmate worker was trying to ask me something and I had no idea what he was saying. We finally got together and he was asking me if I had a tent. Then the Ranger came and I was sure he was asking me for my “land line.” Nope, he was asking me for my last name! A really nice guy. I just couldn’t understand him. Then people are saying my bike is a lot of “grip.” I am guessing that means money. I haven’t seen a Rosetta Stone course for southern English!
Doe’s Eat Place
One of the main reasons I chose to do the Great River Road and to go to Greenville was because of Anthony Bourdain’s show on eating in the Mississippi Delta. When I watched it I thought there is something so different and unique about the Delta. One of the places featured on the show was Doe’s Eat Place in Greenville.
To be truthful I almost didn’t go. I was hot and disorientated. I just wanted to go to a place I knew. I am glad I didn’t.
Doe’s Eat Place is very unique. To start with, the entrance is through the kitchen! The building itself is very old and held together by knives – literally. Where I sat there was a knife holding the door closed.
The other unique thing? After I sat down the server came up to me and asked what I’ll have. I said, “what about a menu.” “We don’t have menus here,” was the response. No menus!?!
Luckily, from the Anthony Bourdain show I knew tamales, salad and steak were the specialties. So that is what I had. Meanwhile, I’m thinking, this is going to cost me ha ha. But with no menu I had no idea.
The steak was awesome. Yes, I know it is well done. I like it that way.
Warfield Park Campground
The Warfiled Park Campground is really nice. Very spacious. Green grass. And a great view of the Mississippi River.
At night as the sun set it was magical. They had a tower there you could climb up on. At the top I felt the cool breeze from the river, and watched the sun as it set. SOOOOOO nice.
Humidity
After the sun set I had a shower to wash off the day’s grime so I could get to sleep. Minutes after crawling into my tent I was sweating again.
I pulled back my rain cover hoping that would help. It did a bit. I couldn’t open the entrance to let more air in due to the bugs. As it was these little creatures were making it into the tent and biting me or something.
I finally just took a sleeping pill and called it a night.
My Route for August 31, 2016
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