We boondocked in a truck stop to catch a meal and to sleep. We are getting better at selecting an overnight parking place while on the road. Truck stops are our favorite overnight stops. Rest areas are not safe and Walmarts are too isolated for safety. Big truck stops are our favorite, but it takes practice. First you must check the wind direction. Many truckers leave their engines running to cool the sleeper cabin. Diesel fumes are a consideration, but cattle haulers are the most important wind direction factor. We learned this the hard way. Incessant mooing and the aroma package were a big factor in a poor night's sleep.
This would probably be a good time to dispel the myth that you should look for restaurants that have a lot of trucks, because truckers know the best places to eat. This is exactly the opposite of what we have found. If you want to test this you can. The next time our KC friends are near I-435 and Front Street (or, if not, a truck stop near you), go into the Flying-J Truck Stop. This is a respected national chain. When you go inside you will notice that the truckers are leaving with Styrofoam containers full of Corn Dogs. This is because Corn Dogs are the highest quality food that is available at most truck stops. Don't forget the mustard. If you are like me, unable to gag down a Corn Dog (or keep it down), pick the Chicken Fried Steak. It will be bearable, even if the gravy is as yellow as Tweety Bird. Ask for the gravy on the side, it is a common request, and the waitress will probably give you a wink for being wised up. The bottom line is that truckers don't look for good restaurants, they look for restaurants that have a 40-acre parking lot so they can turn around.
Anyway, we make it to Memphis. We have been here several times, but not in the last 10 years. We picked an RV park in downtown Memphis. It was convenient to most of Memphis but had one weak feature. They had a worn out RV hoisted 75 feet up on a billboard post as an advertisement. The windows were blown out of this RV and a couple hundred pigeons had moved in. Having a brain about the size of one of those tender, canned French peas, and hygiene habits to confirm this shortcoming, a problem was inevitable. This is the first time we have had a bird inside the bus. It was a Mockingbird that had joined the ranks of the pigeons. It entered through the open front door. After about two minutes of pandemonium, I was able to remove a screen and release the bird. We now keep the door closed.
The first thing that we do is head for Corky's Barbecue where we order ribs. Until this, my favorite BBQ ribs were made by John Wilson, followed by Bryant's (two completely different styles). Well, Corky's has edged out John and has moved into first place. I don't mention this to insult John; he gave us a BBQ Bon Voyage party and another great BBQ party when we returned to KC in May. Just recently my allergy to pork has cured itself. I confirmed this under controlled circumstances last May with the only pork worth the risk; 3 of John's baby back ribs. The problem is that my memory of John's ribs has faded. Perhaps, the next time we come through KC, my memory can be refreshed and the ranking can be returned to its proper order.
We had a small plumbing problem and inquired about a hardware store's location from the RV Park owner. He directs us to one, but cautions us that most northerners might confuse what we see with blight, but it is only an "industrial area." As it turns out a large part of Memphis is an "industrial area." Having a boulevard named after oneself is a great honor. In this case it is probably for the best that Elvis and Danny Thomas are dead. There are islands of great interest, more than enough reason to visit Memphis. Beale Street, the birthplace of the Blues, is reason enough. BB King has a place there. Mud Island, a history of the Mississippi River, is worthy of a visit. There is great BBQ, the Peabody Hotel, and Graceland. By the way, if you go to Graceland, and don't arrive via helicopter, understand that this is an "industrial area."
We left Manistee on the 15th of September. We made it to a truck stop just south of Champagne, IL for the night. To get there we had to travel on I-80, south of Chicago. This is a major truck route. It is an 85mph truck route, punctuated with emergency braking. As soon as you get to 85mph someone messes up, with the first clue being a truck swerving to the shoulder. A cloud of tire smoke appears and everyone has an emergency braking experience. About the time the smoke clears, everyone is on the way to 85mph again. You are either accelerating or in an emergency braking situation.
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