While driving through Memphis to get to our next stop, we couldn’t help but see the Memphis Glass Pyramid which oddly houses a Bass Pro Shop. It is reminiscent of Knoxville World’s Fair Sun Sphere from the Simpsons, but instead of wigs, it contains a hotel - Big Cypress Lodge, a restaurant with a bowling alley (sadly we didn’t go bowling) – Uncle Bucks Fishbowl and Grill, and Bass Pro Shop’s fish and hunting gear.
Once we settled in to our new RV park in Arkansas, we decided to head over and check it out. If not for the large glowing “Bass Pro Shop” logo on the pyramid, you would think it housed an amusement park. We found it to be a cool place to walk around with lots of stuff to draw the eye. Mike did some shopping while I entertained myself watching the fish swimming in the creek. A winding creek or aquarium filled with various types of fish and ducks appear to be part of the stores set up, akin to L.L. Bean’s main store in Freeport, ME, which is funny considering when I was a kid my parents would drop me off by the pond in the Freeport, Maine L.L. Bean store to watch the trout and I’d be there for hours. But when you see the diverse species of fish, it’s hard not to get drawn in – they even have a few alligators! As for amusement rides, they do have an elevator ride to the top of the pyramid. It cost $10 to ride up, so we opted out, since the view is pretty much the same one you get driving the bridge from Memphis to West Memphis, AK.
Because we were travelling through Memphis, Mike insisted on visiting the original Peabody Memphis to see the March of the Peabody Ducks. A few years back, we stayed at a Peabody Hotel in Orlando during a conference for Mike’s old job. It was a daily treat to see the ducks come down in the morning to play in the lobby fountain and march back up at night to their rooftop roost. We got there a bit early to snag a good table to view their evening march. We ordered cocktails, Mike ordered a Bourbon Sidecar, which he loved, and I ordered a cosmopolitan titled “For the Sake of St. Jude,” $4 from the sale of it was donated to St. Jude’s Children’s Hospital. While we enjoyed our cocktails, the Duck Master announced the beginning of the Duck March. A red carpet was rolled out from the hotel elevators to the fountain where small staircase led up to edge of the fountain as the Duck Master informed the crowd of the tradition of the Peabody Duck March. It was great fun to watch the ducks jump up onto the ledge of the fountain, hop down the steps and be chauffeured to the elevators as they march back to their roost on the roof of the hotel.
The Metal Museum was a bit of a diamond-in-the-rough place. It is the only institution in the U.S. devoted to the advancement of art of fine metalwork. We toured the metal studio and watched one of the members working on a project. One of the blacksmiths was working on a railing in the shop, using the kiln heat up iron spokes an a powered hammer to pound out the shape of each. The walls were lined with other smiths metal artwork, some were impressively intricate. We walked through their Sculpture garden with more beautiful metal pieces. The garden overlooks Mud Island and the Mississippi Valley heading south. The view was so beautiful, we walked over to the park next door and had a picnic.
We did a drive by of Graceland since neither of us are big Elvis fans, but figured seeing it is a must as a red-blooded American in the city of Memphis. We thought we could maybe park in the parking lot and take some pictures from the outside, but unfortunately it costs $10 to park and nearly $40 to tour the park, so we snapped a picture of the entrance sign and drove on.