2018 trip to the SW, USA

It seems I'm late in beginning the blog of our motor home trip to the SW.  I haven't blogged since the 2015 Alaska Caravan in 2015.  My memory fails me, but thanks to Stacey, my daughter-in-law, and Buck, my live-in computer geek, hopefully, I have remembered how to do it. We appreciate your following us in our quest to visit all the states in our motor home.

We left home on Monday, May 14, headed west.  Our first stop was a little town in Georgia just south of Chattanooga TN. We'd camped in Georgia before, bet we didn't want to drive all the way from Shelby to Tupelo in one day.  For two days we spent time "chasing down stamps,: or at least that's what I call the process of driving to a national park, visiting the visitor's center, and going to the "stamping station."  At this point Buck opens his PASSPORT book for national parks and uses the stamp to indicate the name of the national park and the date of our visit.  This process is called "cancelling the stamp." Buck is truly dedicated to this new hobby. In fact, he planned this entire trip around the location of national parks.  As you continue to follow us you will be surprised at the location of some of these parks.

After two nights in Georgia, we drove to Tupelo, Mississippi, the birthplace of Elvis Aaron Presley.  No, this was not a national park, but Buck knew he couldn't let me miss going to Elvis's birthplace.

We learned that Elvis was born into a share-cropper family on January 8, 1935.  They lived in a two-room house that his father and grandfather built. Probably everyone knows that he was a twin.  His brother, Jessie Garon Presley, was a still-born baby and was born first. I know they must have been so relieved that Elvis was a healthy baby.  You can't help but think of how life would have played out for Elvis if his brother had lived.  Maybe they would have become the Presley Brothers and gain all the fame that Elvis earned.  Or maybe Jesse would not have been musical at all.

I've included a few pictures of the house and the outhouse.  This is the original location of the house.

Notice the radio on the dresser.

The first song Elvis sang in public was at his church.  The song - Jesus Loves Me.  He was about 5 years old.  When he was 11, his mom, Gladys, took him to a hardware store where she planned on buying him a hunting rifle.  A guitar caught her eye and Elvis tried it out.  They didn't buy the rifle after all.  This was the beginning of Elvis with a guitar.  His pastor at the church taught Elvis how to play it.  When Elvis was 13, he sang a farewell song and played his guitar for his Milam Junior High class before moving to Memphis where his father hoped to make a better life for his family.  Nine years later, Elvis returned to the fairgrounds and performed a benefit concert for the City of Tupelo.  The proceeds were used to purchase his birthplace and make a park for the neighborhood children.

Assembly of God Church