Memphis and Woodall Mountain

I'd noted a couple small sculptures in Memphis, but as we came into the city we noticed the giant pyramid and decided to check that out too.  Turns out it is a recent purchase/renovation by Bass Pro Shops - and quite something to see!

The inside is, well, if you ever are in Memphis, it's worth walking in to look.  There's an elevator to the top viewing platform, and also - large "trees":

Boats floating on a small lake:

And huge fish - not your standard koi here:

OK, yes, that is a real alligator.  What?

Stuffed mountain goats and a ferocious bear:

Some of the displays are pyramid shaped (not by accident, we can assume):

We got a huge kick out of this place, then John got to sit by a fireplace for a couple minutes, plenty of reasons to smile:

BB King at the visitor center (something a bit more normal):

Back to "slightly odd" - Ramesses II statue at the University of Memphis (it used to stand in front of the pyramid, fancy that):

The next morning, after an excellent Waffle House breakfast :), we drove up to the high point of Mississippi.  Good morning Woodall Mountain!

Sporting our Warrior Dash headgear in honor of the races coming up that weekend - and also, a cameo by our truck (first time in a while we have driving up to a highpoint):

Taking on an inanimate object:

And conquering it:

John's summit pose:

Shadow selfie:

Yay for Highpoint #32!

From there it was a short drive up to Shiloh, a Civil War battlefield I have been wanting to see:

Look who we found on the visitor center wall - JWP is a connection with our recent time in the Grand Canyon:

Requisite shot of a cannon:

US Grant headquarters marker:

A picturesque cemetery:

Pittsburg Landing where reinforcements landed to turn the tide of the battle back to the Union:

OK, enough war stuff for now.  Our final tourist stop of the day was at the Buford Pusser Home and Museum in Adamsville.  Mr. Pusser was a sheriff with quite the reputation for taking on the bad guys and usually winning (even when the odds weren't in his favor).  John remembers watching the show they made about him called Walking Tall.  Now you can walk through his house and hear more about his story:

Lots of memorabilia and interesting displays:

Cardboard cutout of Mr. Walking Tall himself:

All kinds of curious things to look at, including a couple bats he carried:

Finishing our drive over to the Warrior Dash race site, including a short section of the very-lovely Natchez Trace Parkway (once we figured out how to get on it):

All kinds of fun and entertainment in TN and MS!

TX -- AR

I've got a brief bit of downtime in the middle of what I'm choosing to call "vacation" - a 3 week tour from TX to the east coast and back, a blitz of trying to see all the interesting things we can on the way to meeting up with friends and family in DC.

Here are a few photos from the start of the trip, from the Texas border to Little Rock.

Right at the border, in fact:

Nice Texarkana stonework:

Where is John?

A business catering to folks from both states:

We stopped in Hope, AR to see Clinton's boyhood home, which was an interesting little house and quick tour.  I neglected to snap any pictures of that, but did get a shot of this railroad intersection that caught my eye - not something we see every day (feels like there should be a traffic light):

Nice foliage outside the Clinton library in Little Rock:

Dinosaurs on display - motion activated in fact (pretty funny):

The cabinet room as it would have looked while Clinton was in office (except the missing wall on the right side):

Displays among the library stacks:

An elegant dining table on the upper level:

Beautiful Chihuly glasswork:

A replica of the Oval Office:

We did a nice run around Little Rock, checking out sculptures along the river, like this one:

The actual "little rock" that used to be a landmark for people traveling upriver:

More fun artwork:

The Korean Gate:

Complete with an adorable guard lion:

Interesting bridge to run across:

The Razorback submarine:

And the bridge we took to come back across:

On the road again!

Grand Canyon scenes

Some notable times at the Grand Canyon, starting with the lunar eclipse.  Now this is a neat place to watch a Harvest Blood Supermoon eclipse!  We even got a ranger talk out of it, and happily I was awake and walking (enough) after finishing the Stagecoach 100 earlier in the day to go see it.

The start of the eclipse in the eastern sky:

John set up his scope for better viewing:

Digi-scoping with the camera gave us a half-decent shot of the eclipse:

Digi-scoping with John's phone (I didn't even know that was possible) gave us a neat Blood Moon photo:

Then I went to sleep and didn't do anything memorable for a couple days... recovery time!

The next fun event was our 15 year wedding anniversary - 15 years already, how time flies when we're having such great adventures!

We started with a walk out to Shoshone Point, a lesser known spot not far to the east of the visitor center.  It's an easy walk up a dirt road, with the interesting effect of not being able to see the canyon until you are right at it.  Basically how people used to "discover" it, interesting to get a similar experience.

Here's the road, almost to the edge:

And then... there's this!  Can you imagine if you didn't know this was here?  I'm also enjoying seeing more parts of the canyon and from different angles, starting to see specific formations and appreciating different views.

Walking out to the point:

Shoe shot:

The next big adventure was a total splurge, something we almost never do, but it WAS our 15th anniversary, we were at the Grand Canyon (place of our honeymoon!), and once I had the idea I knew it had to be done.  And I managed to keep it a surprise until we were on our way to the airport!

We were about to follow the red line on the map...

... in a helicopter - yes!!

So excited!  Does it look like I'm about to pilot a helicopter?  We were completely lucky to draw the front seats (might have been related to weight distribution?) and that was even more amazing.

Getting ready to get off the ground, hey this thing can hover backwards, whoa...

We started out flying east from Tusayan, skimming the tops of the trees.  I was like a little kid pointing out where I had just run at the end of the Stagecoach race (the Coconino Wash and the Coconino Rim).

And then - are you ready?  Over the edge and suddenly we were suspended in space thousands of feet up.  Talk about dramatic.  Takes my breath away now just thinking about it.  I was so transfixed it took a few minutes to remember to take pictures.

I think John enjoyed it too:

Geology from the air - bends in the layers, super cool:

Contemplation:

An even better shoe shot!

Coming up to the north rim:

Aspen patches:

More amazing sights as we started back south (eventually spotting the area where we had been backpacking the previous week):

I enjoyed watching the instrument panel and the pilot's feet working the controls.  The "height above the ground" map is the 2nd large display from the left, and it seems the color black indicates >500 ft, i.e. that's where the canyon drops off below us:

Too much fun:

Needing a bit of support while I recover from that amazing experience!

Thank you John for 15 incredible years!  Love you so much!