Woke up 55 miles from Memphis. Wanted to hit it early bc I knew a storm was blowing in this afternoon and that could push me out until tomorrow if I were to get caught in it.

Bluffs in Tennessee

Bluffs in Tennessee

So I paddled hard, not looking at mile markers for a long while…its like checking the time at work. Dont do it if you dont want it to drag. I remember about 20 minutes after seeing that I had 27 more miles, was only halfway, did a big headwind pop up. It was the front of that system. So the Strait of Memphis was a little rougher than normal going down river. It is pretty much a straight-ish shot for 20-25 miles and when it does that it floods out in those areas and creates islands which then takes away from the current though, thus big straightaways are harder work.

But with the idea of being in Memphis pumping through my heart I pushed through it and the headwind for 20+ miles, dog tired and dehydrated pulled up to the Mud Island Yacht Club (quite nice actually, dont let the name fool you). I was referred there by Dave Horn, a true man of the mississippi, who bennie put me in contact with. He said theyd let a kayak stay for free. Which they did. They also have free showers. But, kayakers: they do not allow overnight camping on the island so be prepared for that circumstance. I read that graceland has free primitive camping. But since it was raining by the time i got into memphis i opted for cheap downtown hotel instead. Econolodge was the cheapest/close one that I found. You can get a bus out to cheaper if you want to save 20 bucks.

Anyway, Andy the dude that runs the harbor at the mud isle yacht club told me they get about 80 people a year that overnight their kayak/canoe there…paddling through memphis. He said that I’m at the beginning of the season and they get them through sept/october. Im going to leave him my number to give to any paddlers that run through there over the next week.

First impressions of Memphis: wet.

First impression of Memphis: wet.

Got across the bridge from Mud Isle to Memphis around 430 bc the bridge closed at 5. Checked in at the Econolodge and was in the shower before my bag hit the bed. It was nice.

I changed and wanted to hit memphis hard, early. Went to Gus’s world famous fried chicken. Delicious.

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Then I walked down to Beale Street to check it out. Sat for a while at a bar, had a few beers, and listened to a band play a lot of Ray Lamontaigne and James Taylor covers.

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Then I was still hungry so I went to Dyers, another ‘world famous’ burger place that cooks their burgers in the same grease since 1912. 102 year old grease burger. Delicious.

Pretty tired after all that so now Im back at the hotel catching up on the blogging now that I have power. Answering comments, writing this, and uploading a few more pictures to previous posts, some of them are courtesy of Rachael.

My plans for tomorrow:

  • Eat good BBQ, fruits, and veggies
  • Laundry – all my stuff stinks
  • Meet all the members of Three 6
Orpheum Movie Theatre

Orpheum Movie Theatre