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Sunday, December 10, 2017

Being tourists in Tupelo

Yesterday morning, we drove over to the airport, just to check out if it would be any good to park for a night. We've parked overnight at many small airports, but Tupelo, Mississippi is a little larger of a city. Sure enough they have a decent sized parking lot and less than half full. And, from where we parked, we got a good free wifi signal from the terminal.

I went inside the very quiet terminal and looked for somebody to ask. But couldn't find anybody. I finally went to one of the two car rental counters and explained to the lady that we wanted to park overnight.

She said "well, nothing official of course, but I've been working here ten years and I can tell you that nobody will care".

Hm. Sounds good then! Unless we find somewhere better, we might make it back here!

Then, we took a drive downtown to wander around. We found a huge empty parking lot behind the new Tupelo City Hall. A couple of school buses parked there and a few municipal vehicles. And, another great wifi signal called "Tupelo Free Wifi". Nice. This would also be a good overnight spot, especially on a Saturday night when City Hall is closed.

We set off to explore.

We are parked behind that building.

Notice the clear blue sky? It's still a little chilly, but at least the sun is shining!

Tupelo City Hall.

Tupelo is well known to Elvis fans.

In case you weren't aware, Elvis Presley was born in Tupelo, Mississippi on January 8, 1935 and lived here until he was about 13 years old.

Tupelo courthouse is an impressive building.

Where Elvis got his first guitar.

Ace Hardware in downtown Tupelo has been here since 1941.

Interesting store to wander around.

Street art.

Downtown Tupelo.

The old Woolworth store.

Tupelo history.

While we were downtown, we saw a police car stopped at a light. I flagged it down, and the officer rolled down the window. We asked about parking overnight behind the city hall, and she said that she wasn't able to give permission to do so. I asked if she thought we would be fine there on a Saturday night, but she wasn't willing to make a commitment at all, only saying that they would only bother us if anybody complained.

Scenery along the way.

We decided to drive over to the birthplace of Elvis Presley. Of course they are bleeding it for all it's worth, including a display about what Elvis's outhouse might have looked like. No, we didn't pay the $17 USD to go into the museum and the old two room house.

Elvis was born here.

Another reason we were in this end of town was because there were two possible places to get propane, and Sherman is starting to get low. We could probably go another week, but it's below 1/4 tank now.

The one larger place was closed on weekends, but there was a U-Haul place that was open, and most U-Haul franchises sell propane. I had read online that it was $2.79 a gallon, which is a little high, but not bad. Propane prices vary widely, and if you can get it for $2.00 or less, it's a great deal. $2.50 is not bad, but anything over $3.00 a gallon you're paying too much.

But the girl inside was not the most ambitious. Maybe she was new, but I don't think so from listening to her conversation with the customer ahead of me. When it was my turn, I asked the price but she said she didn't know, and didn't look about to make an effort to find out. So I said that I needed to know the price before filling up my motorhome. She said she had done lots of BBQ tanks before, but didn't know how to fill my motorhome. I could have shown her how!

Anyways, she didn't have much ambition to try and help me, so I just gave up. There will be another propane place along the way, and maybe at a better price.

We did manage to fill up Sherman's gas tank at a decent price though... put in 47 gallons at $2.13 a gallon. ($0.74 per liter CAD).

We made a decision to head back to the airport for the night.

View out our window at 5:30pm.

It was going to be another chilly night, but Ruth decided to bake a loaf of bread so that we will have stuffing for the turkey she's going to do this afternoon!

Freshly baked in the airport parking lot. Too funny!

Then, used the warm oven to make dinner.

Venison (thanks Connie and Barry!) enchiladas with fried rice and salad. Yummy!

Slept great last night, but it was only 35F (2C) inside the motorhome when we woke up. The Mr. Heater Buddy along with our furnace warmed things up quickly though, and now the sun is contributing as well. Another clear blue sky, and it looks like the worst of the cold spell is over.

Today, we're headed south to Jeff Busby Campground, another one of the free Natchez Trace Parkway campgrounds. Have to arrive early enough to get that turkey in the oven!

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Remember our kayak that we bought last year? They have the one man version on sale today only... record low price!


And in Canada too!



24 comments:

  1. That bread looks amazing. I really dislike it when tiny places charge such high fees - but I guess they get the money from lots of people and that place probably wouldnt get any tourism if Elvis hadn't been born there

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    1. We dislike it too but it is a free society so it is up to us whether we want to pay the price or not. There were definitely people willing to pay the price, as there was a nice crowd there. They also got access to the museum, not just the house. I think you are right, the little city probably doesn't have much else to offer in the way of tourism, although it was a pretty place to visit.

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  2. We toured around there years and checked out Elvis' birthplace but like you did not pay that expensive price, so then just carried on down the Trace, keep on enjoying the new sights and hope it warms up for you soon.

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    1. To someone who is a big Elvis fan, I can understand them wanting to pay. We aren't big Elvis fans so like you we were quite content to just wander around the grounds and look at the outside of the house and read the placards that were scattered around. The city itself isn't very big but it is pretty and we are glad that we checked it out.

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  3. I am enjoying your trip through the Trace. After you leave Jeff Busby, I think you will come to French Camp. Easy parking for Sherman. Walk to the old village structures for a trip back in time. I found it very interesting and I think you will too. It's free.

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    1. Thank you for the heads up Gene! We probably would have stopped in there anyhow as we do try to stop at most of the points of interest, especially if there is actually something to see. We also love the word free! :-)

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  4. Wow great place to visit one day as well. Enjoy your travels.

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    1. If you have a bit of extra time, then yes it is a worthwhile stop. It has a pretty little downtown area.

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  5. Everything Ruth makes looks so yummy. Kelly

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  6. Going down to -16 tonight in Ottawa (feeling like -23). Hope it warms up for you soon!

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    1. I know that you mean Celsius, but many would be confused if you don't distinguish between the two. -16C (3F). Sounds about right for December in Ottawa.

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  7. I filled my propane in Cape Canaveral, Fl last week at an ACE Hardware and had to pay 3.99. Been paying around 2.00 here in Ohio but gas here is 2.50 or so and was 2.21 down there.
    Garry

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    1. Ouch! That is expensive but if there is no other place around and you need it then you don't have much choice. :-(

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  8. You're more than welcome - venison enchiladas look yummy!!!!!

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  9. Tupelo looks very inviting, thanks for the tour. Dinner looked very good. As did the bread! Nothing like the smell of fresh baked bread.

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    1. Tupelo isn't a very big city but the little downtown area is quite pretty and worth a visit if you have time. And if you are a big Elvis fan then you of course need to stop at his birthplace. It is up to you however if you want to pay the price to see the small museum and his house, we however aren't big enough fans to warrant the admission fee.

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  10. $0.74/litre??? Holy moly that's cheap.

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    1. Yep, it sure is, and it is especially nice when you are filling a big motorhome gas tank! :-)

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  11. The entrance fee for Graceland last year was over $40. Good thing I went in the 70's when it was free.

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    1. We did the Graceland "tour" back in Nov. 2010 and it was $30 each just for the basic tour. We paid it and really enjoyed the tour, it was definitely interesting but we didn't think it was worth $30 each. Glad we did but no desire to ever do it again. Lucky you for being able to do it for free. I'll bet that it has changed a lot since then. You most likely got to see the most "original" tour.

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  12. Just wondering ... Ruth, do you use a breadmaker? If so, which brand?

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    1. No, I just make it the old-fashioned way with a bowl and a wooden spoon. :-)

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