Leaving Branson, our goal was to reach the Atlanta area to see the grandkids and friends.  So, there were no real set plans along the way and just three stops.  The distance is roughly 750 miles from the Ozarks, across the Mississippi River delta again, through the southern Appalachian Mountains of Alabama and into Georgia.  We decided to stay off the main highways, take the smaller roads, and enjoy the scenery. 

One note here, as we crossed northern Arkansas again along the Missouri border, we saw the after affects of the tornados and windstorms that hit the area a  few weeks ago.  The Rogers, AR area got all the news coverage, but in many other places, and for miles at a stretch, we saw the terrible results.  We really felt sorry for the people there, but we also saw all the efforts to clean up, hook up, and get things back up and running. 

Our first stop was almost 300 miles and took about 7 hours.  The park was called Tom Sawyer’s RV and located in West Memphis, AR right on the Mississippi River!  I mean we were 100 ft from the riverbank with a very nice hook up.  Since it was late in the day, we didn’t explore much but just sat along the river and watched the barges slowly work their way upstream against the current!   We also waded into the water to say we had touched the Mississippi River!

The next morning, we were up early to head to Tupelo, MS.  This was a much shorter leg and pretty much a straight line.  We got there with some extra time and decided to go downtown to see the Elvis Presley Birthplace and Museum.  We arrived just before closing, which was okay as the house and museum were small.  We stayed after closing to walk the grounds and relax a little more.  The presentation was very respectful and complimentary to Elvis’ life as a boy in Tupelo. His family moved to Memphis when he was 13 and the rest is history. 

A quick aside, we stayed downtown and had pizza at Vanelli’s Bistro, which was highly recommended and, as we confirmed, quite good! 

Next morning, we did some chores and took our time before we left.  We decided to take a short detour to drive a few miles of the Natchez Trace.  As we pulled on to the parkway, we were right at a visitor center, so we stopped to get our National Park Passport stamped and watched a short video about the history of the Trace.  It was used as a north bound walking trail from Natchez to Nashville.  Traders used this to return north after they had delivered the goods downriver.  Since they could not go back upstream against the current, they used the river to take good for sale, but had to walk the 440 miles back.  The development of the steam engine changed this and the Natchez Trace was no longer needed. 

We had reserved a Harvest Host spot again and this time it was a brewery and restaurant called Back Forty Beer Company.  Being a Saturday, they didn’t have limits on the arrival time, but we still got it about 6:00 pm.  This was our 3^rd Harvest Host location, and it was free and with no hookups.  But we were “encouraged” to have dinner and sample the beers, which we did.  The fried catfish dinner, the bread pudding and the Italian Pilsner were all very good.  Luckily, they closed at 9:00 and the live music ended by about 10:00 so we still got a very good, and quiet, night’s sleep. 

Up early again, as we had already made some arrangements, we headed on to the northern Atlanta area and our final stop.   We made it easily, got settled in, and are planning our visits here!