My June Vacation in September - The Final Chapter!

The last thing my sister and I did in Memphis was to visit Mud Island Park.  Not a super impressive-sounding name, is it?

One of the headwater walls.

I had read an article many many moons ago about the park not long after it first opened and thought it sounded fascinating.  The main attraction (to my geeky mind) is the outdoor scale model of the Mississippi River.  There are walls that depict the headwaters of each tributary of the Mississippi, and channels (in concrete) of the great river itself.

An example of oxbow bends in the model channel. 

You can see where the river is deeper or shallower, wider or narrower.  Water flows through the river model, first cascading down the headwater walls, then through the river model, and exiting into the delta and Gulf of Mexico!  Cities show up as slate-colored slabs along the riverbanks and are labeled so you know where you are.

This is Memphis!

 A bridge!

It's a dam!

We were amazed by the intricacy of the model.  The entire display stretches about 0.7 mile along the river.  There's an actual indoor museum at the north end of the park, but we didn't go inside.

The delta end of the "river" is kind of overgrown in places, but according to a sign along the way, the park is undergoing renovations, and we saw evidence of that - some new bricks along the walkway, some newer concrete here and there, some areas where cattails had been removed.  The park opened on July 4, 1982, so it's about time.

The delta end of the "river."

We spent quite a bit of time at Mud Island.  Just think, you can walk from one end of the Mississippi River to the other in just an hour or two, depending on how many of the descriptive signs you stop to read.  Who dreamed up this crazy miniature Mississippi?  And how did they convince the city to build it?  It's an amazing endeavor, and worth seeing.

Here we are!  Farewell to Memphis!

My June Vacation in September (Part 5) - More Memphis!

Christmas slowed me down, but you just can't get rid of me!

After spending our first evening in Memphis at the Peabody, we wanted something completely different.  So we went to the Bass Pro Shops in the Pyramid, the old home arena for the NBA Memphis Grizzlies before they moved to the FedEx Forum in 2004.

The exterior is clad in stainless steel!

We'd seen it from the interstate on our way to Hot Springs, Arkansas - you can't miss it!  The Pyramid is a 6/10 replica of the Great Pyramid of Cheops.  At 321 feet tall it's the third largest pyramid in the world and dominates the Memphis skyline.

Here I am trying out the laser
shooting gallery.

A view of the main floor from the second level.

Big Cedar Lodge rooms overlook
the "swamp."

Some of the game fist that
swim through the "swamp."

The first thing we did when we got inside was to ask for a MAP.  The place is overwhelming, and that's the only way you'll find your way around your first visit.  Inside are a Big Cedar Lodge hotel, laser rifle shooting gallery, three restaurants, bowling alley, Ducks Unlimited Waterfowling Heritage Center, archery range, pistol range, and the world's tallest free-standing elevator. 

Most of the first level is made to look like a cypress swamp.  Boats are displayed floating at docks in the swamp.  Most of the hotel's rooms have screened balconies overlooking the swamp.  Water flows in streams through the swamp and there are game fish in the water.  There are alligators in a pit at the foot of the elevator.  There are three huge aquarium tanks - one in the main part of the store, one in the restaurant/bar attached to the bowling alley, and one in the restaurant/bar on the observation deck level.

One of the alligators at the
elevator's base.

 The elevator cycles through a
range of colors.

The elevator whisks you to the observation deck and restaurant near the top of the pyramid.  From the observation deck, you get panoramic views of downtown Memphis and the Mississippi River. 

Canada geese fly
through the air.

Like all Bass Pro Shops and Cabela's, there are taxidermied animals displayed in natural surroundings throughout the store.  There are bears, deer, wild pigs, and other assorted megafauna among the trees and around the aquarium tanks.  There are even ducks and geese "flying" overhead!

Retrieve your ball from Jaws' mouth!

My favorite bowling ball.

The bowling alley sports an underwater theme.  When the ball returns to you, it's comes flying out of some creature's mouth!  My favorite was the shark.  Or maybe the catfish.  The lanes are made to look like wooden docks with fish under the floor.  There are fish suspended from the ceiling, too, so you're surrounded by sea creatures while you bowl.

It's difficult to describe the Bass Pro Shops at the Pyramid.  It's incredibly big, and there's a lot jammed in the space.  It kind of reminds me of one of the kid's books with the detailed crowded drawings where you see something new every time you open it.  Definitely worth seeing if you're in the area.