Great River Road Trip, Day #13
Friday, May 16, 2025
Well, we had been told there would be days like today when we traveled, and today was one of those days. We left our hotel in Southaven, Mississippi headed into Memphis to make a few stops. However, soon after hitting the road we had a right rear tire go down. I was able to get us off the highway and limped to a Circle K gas station where it quickly became obvious this tire was not going to be salvageable. We called two places looking for replacement tires, and were told they could get them for us is 4-5 days!! As minor panic began to set in, we found a Discount Tire not too far away and they did in fact have four new ones for us. We got a tow to Discount Tire and by noon we were back on the road. However, our itinerary for the day would have to change.
What have I learned from this experience; well, first of all, these things happen. But, FAR more importantly, I will NOT be using a “toy” car to travel in the future. They are fun to drive for a little bit, but once you start encountering the Louisiana pot holes and other road hazards out there, the fun wears off very quickly. Then, when something does go wrong, it is almost impossible to find someplace that is willing to work on it or has the correct parts. So, lesson learned, we will be traveling this country in a UTILITARIAN automobile in the future!! I can only begin to imagine how screwed we would have been had this happened in southern Louisiana where there was NOTHING for miles and miles!!!
Enough on that, now on to some photos for the day.
After our morning excitement we were still able to visit the Memphis Botanical Gardens. This is a lovely place with paved walking paths that meander through all different sections of the garden. The peace and quite walk among the trees and flowers was a good way to decompress after our automobile wowes.
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Painted Indian Mallow
They were very excited about having six of these giant wooden trolls “visiting” the gardens in May. Lisa finds them creepy, and I have to kind of agree with her.
Eastern Prickly Pear. I’ve been called something similar, just not the pear part.
China Rose.
This little box turtle came right over to us, like he wanted to visit. Lisa insisted this should be her new pet; I convinced her otherwise. He remains in Memphis, where he belongs.
This must be a very popular place for weddings.
Bigleaf Hydrangea. Lisa’s favorite flower.
The Delta House and tractor in the part of the garden dedicated to local plants.
Stokes’ Aster.
They even have an operational chicken coop at the botanical gardens. Didn’t see that one coming really.
The Southern Magnoila. Lisa insisted on at least a couple more photos of these.
Japanese Maple.
China Rose.
China Rose.
China Rose.
China Rose.
Lisa insisted on all these China Rose pictures. I told her the only person more fixated on China is Donald Trump! That didn’t go over so well…..!
False Bird of Paradise.
Now, this one and the next few were kind of unique and interesting.
Banana.
Okay, I get the banana part; but who knew they had this long proboscis looking thing handing down below the fruits?
Next, we made a brief stop in Dyersburg, Tennessee. We walked around their town for a few minutes, but didn’t go as far as we had planned as it was 90 degrees an insanely humid!
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The Dyer County Courthouse. These county seat buildings are always such nice places. They are very commonly located on their own block with a small amount of green space around them. They tend to have a “typical” look, but are unique in their own way.
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I suspect that at one time this was in fact the bus stop in town. It has that typical architecture. Today it has been made into a cafe and they capitalize on the bus stop theme.
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This is now the First Baptist Church, but something tells me it may have had a prior life; possibly as a government building?? The building is not crooked - as it appears in this image - rather, it is located on a hill.
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The First United Methodist Church. These are some impressive structures for the small town of Dyersburg, Tennessee. The population of Dyersburg was last recorded at 15, 968 in 2023.
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