FALL 2024 COAST MAGAZINE
GRAND CANYON NORTH RIM
MUSIC MECCA: MEMPHIS
AMERICA’S 10 LONELIEST NATIONAL PARKS
FALL DESTINATIONS
ABITA SPRINGS RV RESORT Abita Springs, Louisiana
OCEAN BREEZE RV RESORT Ocean City, Washington
MT. PLEASANT RESORT Mt. Pleasant, Michigan
RESORT UPDATES
CONTENTS
TRAVEL 10 GRAND CANYON NORTH RIM Story by Emily Fagan Photos by Emily and Mark Fagan
Chairman of Camping World Holdings Marcus Lemonis Chief Operating Officer Matthew Wagner Executive Vice President Good Sam Enterprises Will Colling Coast to Coast Bruce Hoster CCRPresident@coastresorts.com Marketing Director Kristin Moser Editorial Director Dee Whited Associate Creative Director Meg Quille Business Manager Christina Din Coast Coordinator Farrah Jobling
Coast Member Services 64 Inverness Drive East Englewood, Colorado 80112 800-368-5721 info@coastresorts.com Coast to Coast Website CoastResorts.com Coast Facebook Page Facebook.com/CoastResorts
Volume 43, Number 4. Coast to Coast (ISSN 1093-3581) is published quarterly for $14 per year as part of annual membership fees, by Coast to Coast Resorts, 64 Inverness Drive E., Englewood, Colorado 80112. Coast to Coast Resorts assumes no responsibility for unsolicited manu- scripts or artwork. The contents of this publication may not be reproduced by any method without prior written consent of the publisher. ©2024 Camp Coast to Coast, LLC. Coast wing logo is a registered trademark of Camp Coast to Coast, LLC. The GOOD SAM ICON, and Dream. Plan. Go. are registered trademarks of Good Sam Enterprises, LLC and used with permission. Unauthorized use of Coast’s or Good Sam’s trademarks is expressly prohibited. All rights reserved. PRINTED IN THE USA. Cover Photo: Courtesy of Emily and Mark Fagan CTC65170 - 082824
15 MUSIC MECCA: MEMPHIS Story and photos by Richard Varr
20 AMERICA’S 10 LONELIEST NATIONAL PARKS Story by Dave G. Houser
DEPARTMENTS
RESORT PROFILES 07 ABITA SPRINGS RV RESORT
03 RESORT UPDATES
30 RV REVIEW
Abita Springs, Louisiana
08 MT. PLEASANT RESORT Mt. Pleasant, Michigan
09 OCEAN BREEZE RV RESORT
Ocean City, Washington
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RESORT UPDATES The 2024 Coast to Coast Resort Directory is packed with everything you need to navigate the network of Coast to Coast Resorts and Coast Good Neighbor Parks. To keep members up-to-date, each issue of Coast magazine includes any updates that have occurred since the last issue.
RESORT TYPE CHANGES
NEW YORK Niagara’s Lazy Lakes Resort, Lockport (page 142), now a Premier resort (formerly Deluxe)
RESORT UPDATES
MISSISSIPPI TLC Wolf River Resort, Pass-Christian (page 136), new email: info@tlccamping.com OHIO Arrowhead Lakes Resort, Wapakoneta (page 147), new telephone number: 419-548-0548
NEW GOOD NEIGHBOR PARKS
Coast to Coast has already signed 138 new Good Neighbor Parks this year! This includes new GNPs in Alabama, Arizona, Arkansas, California, Connecticut, Florida, Georgia, Iowa, Indiana, Massachusetts, Nevada, North Carolina, Ohio, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, and Utah. We featured 9 of these in the spring issue of Coast Magazine, 11 in the summer issue, and 11 more are featured in this issue. To view all 138 new Good Neighbor Parks visit www.CoastResorts. com, click on “Find a Resort”, and on the resort search page click on the link to the “Updates to 2024 Directory” PDF. ALABAMA Gulf Shores RV Resort
ARKANSAS Catherine’s Landing 1700 Shady Grove Rd Hot Springs, 71901 Phone: (501) 262-2550 Email: catherineslanding@rvcoutdoors.com
18717 Barefoot Way Gulf Shores, 36542 Phone: (251) 244-1015 Email: gulfshores@rvcoutdoors.com
Website: www.rvcoutdoors.com/gulf-shores-rv-resort RV notations: 2025 Coast discount 10%. Rate includes 4 people per site, full hook-ups. Additional charges: Add’l adult $8, add’l child $6, Tax 7%. Season: Year-round.
Website: www.rvcoutdoors.com/catherines-landing RV notations: 2025 Coast discount 10%. Rate includes 2 people per site, full hook-ups. Additional charges: Add’l adult $5, add’l child $3, tax 10%. Season: Year-round.
RESORT UPDATES
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NEW GOOD NEIGHBOR PARKS
COLORADO Garden of the Gods RV Resort 3704 W Colorado Ave Colorado Springs, 80904 Phone: (719) 475-9450 Email: Gog@rvcoutdoors.com Website: www.rvcoutdoors.com/garden-of-the-gods-rv- resort/ Season: Year-round.
MASSACHUSETTS Martha’s Vineyard Family Campground 569 Edgartown Rd
Vineyard Haven, 02568 Phone: (508) 693-3772
Email: info@campmv.com Website www.campmv.com RV notations: 2025 Coast discount 15%. Rate includes 2
adults per site, full hook-ups. Season: May 22 – October 1.
INDIANA Mystic Waters Family Campground 5435 W SR 38 Pendleton, 46064 Phone: (765) 221-1078
NORTH CAROLINA Stonebridge RV Resort 1786 Soco Rd Maggie Valley, 28751 Phone: (727) 420-8636
Email: info@mysticwaterscampground.com Website: www.mysticwaterscampground.com
Email: info@stonebridgecampgrounds.com Website: www.stonebridgecampgrounds.com
RV notations: 2025 Coast discount 10%. Rate includes 2 adults per site, full hook-ups. Additional charges: Tax 7%. Season: Year-round.
RV notations: 2025 Coast discount 10%. Rate includes 6 people per site, full hook-ups. Additional charges: Add’l adult $8, add’l child $6, add’l vehicle $5, dump $10, utility fee $10, tax 11%. Season: Year-round.
RESORT UPDATES
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OHIO Sandusky RV Resort 6703 Milan Rd Sandusky, 44870 Phone: (419) 910-3509 Email: SanduskyRVresort@rvcoutdoors.com
Website: www.rvcoutdoors.com/sandusky-rv-resort/ RV notations: 2025 Coast discount 10%. Rate includes 4 people per site, full hook-ups. Additional charges: Add’l adult $10, add’l child $5, pets $5. Season: Year-round.
SOUTH CAROLINA Springwood RV Park 810 Donaldson Rd Greenville, 29605 Phone: (864) 277-9789
Email: Springwoodrvpark@gmail.com Website: www.springwoodrvpark.com.
RV notations: 2025 Coast discount 10%. Rate includes 4 people per site, full hook-ups. Additional charges: Tax 10%. Season: Year-round.
NEW GOOD NEIGHBOR PARKS
NORTH CAROLINA Lakewood RV Resort 15 Timmie Ln Flat Rock, 28731 Phone: (828) 697-9523
Email: info@lakewoodrvresort.com Website: www.lakewoodrvresort.com.
RV notations: 2025 Coast discount 10%. Rate includes 2 adults per site, full hook-ups. Additional charges: Add’l adult $5. Season: Year-round. Camping World Racing Resort 6600 Bruton Smith Blvd Concord, 28027 Phone: (704) 455-4445 Email: camping1@charlottemotorspeedway.com Website: www.charlottemotorspeedway.com/camping RV notations: 2025 Coast discount 10%. Rate includes 4 people per site, full hook-ups. Additional charges: Tax 7%. Season: Year-round.
RESORT UPDATES
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NEW GOOD NEIGHBOR PARKS
GOOD NEIGHBOR PARK TERMINATIONS
UTAH Blue Mountain RV and Trading 1930 S Main Street Blanding, 84511 Phone: (435) 678-7840
MANITOBA, CANADA Bry-Mar RV Park and Campground, Douglas (page 222) UTAH Mountain Valley RV Resort, Herber City (page 213)
Email: bluemountainrvpark1@gmail.com Website: www.bluemountainrvpark.com.
RV notations: 2025 Coast discount 10%. Rate includes 4 people per site, full hook-ups. Additional charges: Tax 8.25%. Season: Year-round.
RESORT UPDATES
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RESORT TYPE: Classic LOCATION: Abita Springs, Louisiana SEASON: Year-round WEBSITE: oceancanyon.com
Abita Springs RV Resort Home to pure air and artesian springs
St. Tammany Parrish is home to Abita Springs RV Resort where the hubbub of interstate highways and city life has been transformed into scenic country roads and a relaxed atmosphere. Once you pull your rig into your spacious site, you’ll know that you came to the right place for a lovely Louisiana vacation. The pine forests, pure air, and the friendly helpful staff assure you of a great time. If relaxation is what you want, then make sure you packed your fishing gear and head to the private fishing lake. Fish or just sit and meditate. Take slow relaxing strolls on the walking trails around the lake or speed up for more exercise. You can also relax at the heart-shaped adult pool. Keep up with the little ones at the kiddie pool. The large clubhouse has activities for all ages. It’s also a great place to meet new friends. The library will provide you with new reading material. Sit and relax at your lovely RV site or enjoy the many amenities at Abita Springs RV Resort. The staff plans regular activities for all ages. Pick up games at the
basketball court or toss horseshoes. Your children or grandchildren will love to visit the playground. And, if you brought along your four-legged friends, you both will enjoy the dog park. In the charming town of Abita Springs make time to visit the Art and Farmers Market where you’ll find fresh locally grown produce, wild caught seafood, local honeys, jellies, and baked goods. Tammany Trace is a 31-mile bike path that stretches from Covington to Slidell. The trailhead sits right on the trace and is the perfect spot to go biking, running, roller blading, or to just take a leisurely walk. If you’re traveling without your rig or have family visiting, rent one of the resort’s comfortable cabins.
RESORT PROFILES
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premier
RESORT TYPE: Premier LOCATION: Mt. Pleasant, Michigan SEASON: Year-round WEBSITE: outdooradventuresinc.com
Mt. Pleasant Resort Enjoy fun-filled days and warm nights
The region around Mt. Pleasant Resort in Mt. Pleasant, Michigan, is rife with the history of the Saginaw Chippewa Indians. Once onsite, you’ll immediately understand why it was so popular with early Native Americans. The nearby Zubiwing Center is built to share the history of the early inhabitants. Zubiwing means “By the River.” The Chippewa River is just one way you can spend time on the water. Take a scenic canoe trip down the river that winds through the fields and forests of Michigan’s heartland. Onsite, you’ll also find two ponds ready for adventure. Bring your fishing equipment and catch and release on one pond and canoe or kayak on the other. Introduce yourself to the activities staff and enjoy the full activities calendar. Meet old and new friends at the resort’s game room or play horseshoes, basketball, and volleyball. Relax at the community fire pit and make s’mores. Get your inner child fulfilled at the playground, throw horseshoes, serve volleyballs, and play and swim at the outdoor pool and hot tub.
If you forget the salt, visit the camp store for any provisions you may need. Your furry friend can exercise in the dog park, walk on the hiking trails, or wade or swim in one of the ponds. Meet new friends at the miniature golf course. Your friends and family can go on vacation with you. There are 10 newly built cabins for anyone who doesn’t have an RV. Mt. Pleasant’s Central Michigan University is also the venue for art shows, theater, musical performances, and university sporting events. Offsite, tour Deerfield Nature Park where you’ll enjoy a covered bridge and two swinging bridges. Come to play at one of their two state-of-the-art 18-hole disc golf courses. If you like hiking or biking, the nature park has 8 beautiful miles of trails. In the winter, the trails are perfect for skiing.
RESORT PROFILES
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premier
RESORT TYPE: Premier LOCATION: Ocean City, Washington SEASON: Year-round WEBSITE: kmresorts.com
Ocean Breeze RV Resort Just 10 minutes from the Pacific Ocean
If ocean breezes and secluded campsites sound wonderful to you, then you’ve come to the right place at Ocean Breeze RV Resort in Ocean City, Washington. While there your RV site will be nestled in 170 acres of forest and trees. There are plenty of opportunities to meet old friends and make new ones at Ocean Breeze. Melt your cares away in the sauna and play games in the clubhouse. Keep up your exercise plans by walking or running on the walking trails that can also be used for biking. Play on the sports court that includes basketball. Try your hand at disc golf. Your children can also be entertained at the kids’ game room and playground. For leisure time, check out the book and video library or relax in the clubhouse’s adult lounge. Don’t forget to pack your swimsuit that you can use in the onsite swimming pool or nearby ocean. If you’re traveling without your rig, there are three cabins and a yurt onsite, which is perfect for gathering friends or family who don’t have RVs.
Nearby Ocean City State Park features ocean beach, dunes, and dense thickets of shore pine. Migratory birds are a popular attraction. Within a short drive, try your luck at Quinault Beach Resort Casino, a Vegas-style casino with more than 700 slot machines, a poker room, and 12 table games. In the area, there are more than 50 miles of pristine beaches. If you drive further, explore Grays Harbor National Wildlife Refuge, located within Grays Harbor. It’s one of four major staging areas for migrating shorebirds in the Pacific Flyway. As many as 24 species of shorebirds use Grays Harbor National Wildlife Refuge. With four miles of beach walking and water on three sides, Damon Point is one of the best places to hike and view wildlife in the North Beach area of Washington’s Pacific Coast.
RESORT PROFILES
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GRAND CANYON NORTH RIM No matter in which direction you look, the dramatic vistas you see will delight you.
RESORT UPDATES
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GRAND CANYON NORTH RIM An Intimate View of the Grand Canyon Story by Emily Fagan Photos courtesy of Emily and Mark Fagan
The Grand Canyon is a true “must see” destination, a magical place where a thin ribbon of water has sliced down through thousands of feet of earth to create a wondrous land of sheer cliffs and colorful, craggy rock formations. Beloved by visitors from all over the world, a first glimpse over the edge brings excited exclamations to everyone’s lips, no matter their native tongue. It’s a massive landscape, however, and choosing which parts to see can be daunting. The canyon splits the earth wide open for 277 dramatic miles as the Colorado River continuously and relentlessly sculpts the cliff walls. In the middle of this route, for about 30 miles, Grand Canyon National Park showcases the most magnificent scenery with overlooks and hiking trails on both the north and south sides of the river. The South Rim, at 7,000 feet elevation, is the more popular and developed of the two sides. The North Rim, at a slightly cooler 8,000 feet elevation and just 10 miles away as the condor flies, is much quieter, more intimate, and has far fewer amenities. Ironically, because the canyon itself blocks all road travel between the two rims, you must drive 211 miles around the great chasm to get from the South Rim to the North Rim. However, visiting the North Rim
Point Sublime is certainly a sublime destination.
is worth every extra mile of RV driving. The last 42 miles, from Jacob Lake to the Grand Canyon Lodge, is a glorious introduction to this remote part of the world. The undulating two lane road is a captivating drive that weaves between wide grassy meadows filled with wildflowers and flanked by shimmering aspen that kneel before legions of towering pines. Mule deer and bison can be spotted in the distance grazing at leisure. At the end of the highway lies the historic Grand Canyon Lodge, the heart of the North Rim and the first thing visitors see when they arrive. Built in 1927- 28, architect Gilbert Stanley Underwood designed the ponderosa log and limestone structure with a special surprise in mind, one that has greeted visitors from then until now: a jaw-dropping view of the Grand Canyon through enormous plate glass windows framed by stone masonry. The original
Just imagine sitting in front of the lodge enjoying this view.
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the arduous 21-mile-long two-day journey. A few hours later, the evening’s entertainment in the dining room began. A huge thunderstorm rolled in and put on an unforgettable display of heavy black clouds lumbering across the sky while lightning flashed into the gigantic abyss. What a moment. But the greatest allure of Grand Canyon is discovered amid its exotic landscapes where there are many trails and overlooks to enjoy. Grand Canyon Lodge is the starting point for a spectacular and easy paved path that goes a half mile out to Bright Angel Point. This trail traverses steeply rolling terrain along a sharp ridge running down the center of a long peninsula that juts out into the canyon. It’s a perfect starting point for exploring the North Rim. There are a myriad of stunning photo ops on either side of the trail and dozens of quiet places to stop and savor the view with a picnic lunch. Little alcoves between the boulders and lofty perches along the trail are popular spots to watch the sunrise and sunset. For our sunset view, we headed back to the lodge and took a place alongside a line of tourists seated in big wooden Adirondack chairs on the edge of the patio facing the canyon. From morning coffee until evening cocktails, this elegant deck is always full of people kicking back and chatting with whoever’s in the next chair while taking in the wondrous view. Although the lodge’s short trail to Bright Angel Point packs the biggest punch of breathtaking vistas per step, nearby Transept Trail offers a pretty 1.5-mile hike from the lodge out to the North Rim Campground (RVs less than 30 feet). Hugging the edge of the rim, this trail wanders between tall shady pines with glimpses of the canyon’s sheer walls beyond.
Fortunately, sitting inside the lodge also gives you incredible vistas.
Grand Canyon Lodge burned down in 1932 and was redesigned when it was rebuilt in 1937. However, that astonishing initial view of the Canyon through the windows in the Sun Room and in the adjacent dining room was retained and inspires and surprises newly arriving visitors to this day. Oozing historic elegance and warmth, this building transports today’s tourists to a simpler and more gracious era of national parks’ hospitality nearly a century ago. For decades, college students on summer break worked at Grand Canyon Lodge, and they greeted visitors arriving on buses by singing to them as they walked into the lodge and saw that spectacular view through the windows. A few days later, as the guests were leaving, the students would line up and sing for them once again. What a wonderful experience for the guests, and what a fabulous summer job that must have been! We sat down on one of the sofas in the Sun Room to take it all in and noticed a few exhausted hikers sprawled out on sofas nearby. They had just arrived via the Bright Angel Trail on a rim-to-rim hike from the South Rim to the North Rim! They were relaxing and heaving sighs of relief after successfully completing
The trail to Bright Angel Point surrounds you with spectacular views.
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Close by, the Widforss Trail is a 9.3-mile (out-and- back) hike offering not only canyon views but strolls through aspen thickets and ponderosa pine forests. Panoramic views reward hikers that go to the furthest point. Although these places are all within walking distance, most overlooks and trailheads are 10 to 20 miles away from the lodge on the adjacent peninsula. At Point Imperial overlook, a tall spire atop a towering dome faces row upon row of red rock castles and cathedrals flanked with nature’s flying buttresses. It’s as if a gigantic podium awaits a monarch to address his subjects. Gnarled trees frame the views and weathered logs that have split with age reveal the timelessness of this majestic place. Their gradual decay over decades is a mere blink of an eye compared to the millions of years it has taken to carve these gargantuan stone walls. In the distance, flat desert land lies beyond twin peaks, its smooth surface gouged by the Little Colorado River as though a giant stick was dragged across a sand beach. Walhalla Overlook is equally inspiring with a landscape of colossal curving step pyramids set upon crooked fingers of land. In between, creeks and washes feed the Colorado River, helping it chisel the desert crevasses. A short path leads to the remnants of an ancient Indian ruin, and we were fortunate to catch a ranger talk about the site. Surprisingly, most of the ruin’s stones were removed in the 1920s to build Grand Canyon Lodge, so what’s left is just a two- stone-high outline of where the building stood 900 years ago. Further on, Angel’s Window is an opening high up in a natural rock wall, and just beyond that, at the end of this scenic drive, Cape Royal has a near mile long groomed gravel path to the tip of the peninsula that offers sensational canyon views on both sides. While driving the paved Cape Royal Road to these overlooks is a comfortable way to see the wonders of the North Rim, there are many dirt roads that go right to the edge and offer true solitude. Although passenger cars can drive most of these roads, we took our Polaris RZR side-by-side on our excursions and loved the remoteness and feeling of discovery that each journey gave us. Aptly named Point Sublime, located about 16 miles west of US-67, was our favorite off-road adventure. The forest floor was carpeted with a beautiful tapestry of purple lupine wildflowers and lush green
In addition to curving step pyramids, fluffy clouds may or may not bring frequent thunderstorms.
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The night view of the Grand Canyon Lodge lies under a sky sprinkled with sparkling stars.
grass. Once at the edge, we caught sight of a tiny stretch of the Colorado River in the distance while the curved step pyramids and button tops of Grand Canyon’s endless rock formations filled the view. Timp Point and Saddle Mountain are two other spots off the beaten path but accessible from US-67. While Timp Point is 25 miles down a dirt road on the west side of US-67 (drivable by passenger cars), Saddle Mountain is 13 miles down a dirt two-track road to the east. The views at Timp Point were lovely but often obscured by trees while the views at Saddle Mountain were expansive and look their best in the afternoon when the canyon walls are lit up by the sun. One evening, we walked out the lodge path toward
Bright Angel Point and watched the nearly full moon setting over the canyon in a fiery orange glow. As it sank into the horizon, stars began to appear and soon filled the sky with diamonds while the Milky Way soared overhead. After breathing deeply, we turned to leave and saw the warm lights of the lodge and heard the excited voices of people sitting out on the patio. While the Grand Canyon is immense and sometimes impersonal because of its sheer raw size, the North Rim and its beautiful lodge are inviting and cozy and draws everyone in. ◾
Check out this map to these destinations: maps.app.goo.gl/aeDo2nm8YccHx8Yx6
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COAST TO COAST MAGAZINE FALL 2024 | 15 MUSIC MECCA: MEMPHIS Sun Studio is where it all began.
RESORT UPDATES
I’m having lunch in a most unusual setting, enjoying my tangy chicken and crispy noodle cabbage carrot salad with mint basil cilantro, when I realize I’m sitting opposite a hooded Belvedere hair dryer. Yes, I’m in what was a 1950’s-era beauty shop, but didn’t quite realize it when, just a short time earlier, I had walked in the eatery named—no surprise—the Beauty Shop Restaurant. The place is buzzing with customers, many sitting at tables within thick glass partitions that once separated each stylist’s booth. I still didn’t quite get it until I finally spoke with the restaurant staffer. “Pricilla Presley would come here to get her infamous beehive about once a week in the middle booth over there—that was her spot.” says bar manager Stephanie Cook. “Each stylist had their own hair dryer and they’d wash hair in the back.” Elvis Presley’s wife getting her hair done at what now is a trendy restaurant in Midtown Memphis is just one small connection back to this city’s renowned and deep musical roots. Not only was Memphis home to the “King of Rock and Roll,” but also boosted the careers of jazz, rock, and blues legends B.B. King, Jerry Lee Lewis, Booker T. & the MG’s, Johnny Cash, Ike Turner, and the list goes on and on. For many musicians, lucky breaks leading to fame and fortune started in Memphis’ 50s-era recording venue Sun Studio. Their stories enliven exhibits with original recording equipment, and records in the Stax Museum of American Soul Music, originally Stax Records, and the Memphis Rock ‘n’ Soul Museum. Blues players’ guitars, glittering clothing, and personal items fill the showcases in the Blues Hall of Fame Museum. And, of course, no trip to Memphis would be complete without a visit to Elvis’ Graceland home and stopping in to hear the soulful vocals and screaming guitar riffs at Beale Street blues bars. Memphis’ modern music scene can be traced back to after the Civil War when African Americans settled here with their spirituals and fieldwork music. Music Mecca: Memphis Blues, jazz, soul and gospel made Memphis the ‘birthplace of rock ‘n’ roll’ Story and photos by Richard Varr
with the (North Mississippi) hill country blues, the fife and drum tradition, and Delta blues sort of led to this really fertile ground for this community that ended up near Beale Street, which became the Harlem of Memphis, so to speak.” “Jug band was typically ragtime sounding music played on affordable or man-made instruments ranging from kazoos to washtub basses, washboard percussion, and ukuleles, guitars and banjos,” adds Early, who’s also the Content and Archives Manager of Overton Park Shell, one of the few still active, depression-era outdoor bandshell amphitheaters. It’s where Elvis had his first major concert in 1954 and the same for Johnny Cash a year later. Central to Elvis’ Graceland is the richly decorated, colonial revival-style mansion with adjacent buildings including the family’s office, a racquet ball court, the so-called Trophy Building with family mementos, and the Meditation Garden where Elvis and family members have been laid to rest. Visitors entering the home first see the living room with a white sofa and chairs. A stained-glass entranceway etched with peacocks leads to the music room with a white baby grand piano. The downstairs level
“Jazz-based jug band music was really popular,” says local music historian Cole Early. “The melding of that
The Beauty Shop Restaurant.
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Graceland Mansion.
includes a pool table room, TV room, and the den with Polynesian or Tiki furniture. Nicknamed the “Jungle Room,” the den features figurines and chair armrests carved to look like jungle animals. Elvis chose the theme because it reminded him of Hawaii where he vacationed and starred in movies. Graceland’s entertainment and museum complex exhibits Elvis’ platinum records, movie memorabilia, and history. Exhibits include many of his flashy white and cool blue jumpsuits, capes and jewelry worn when performing. Other exhibits highlight his military service and Hollywood backlot movie sets, while another section is devoted to his late daughter Lisa Marie. My favorite is Elvis’ car collection including his mother’s 1955 Pink Cadillac Fleetwood and the 1973 Stutz Blackhawk he last drove just before his death in 1977. Like other Memphis artists, Elvis got his start at Sun Studio in its original building, which still holds recording sessions in the evenings for local musicians. I joined one of its daytime hourly tours and learned that although studio founder and legendary producer Sam Phillips at first wasn’t that interested in the young Elvis, the singer got his break in a moment of desperation. “He began the audition with a lot of slow Dean Martin- style songs, trying to show his unique three-octave range voice and doing what he thought he needed to do to get a recording contract,” recalls tour guide Josh Hurley. When the day was ending, Elvis realized he was running out of luck.
“A very nervous Presley then began pacing the floor, thinking he had just blown the one shot he had at getting discovered. So, guitar in hand, he started strumming this old obscure blues song that he remembers from his youth in Tupelo called ‘That’s Alright Mama,’” continues Hurley. “A short time later, Sam bursts out the door and walks right up to Elvis and says, ‘Son, you’ve been holding out on me. Play it louder. Let’s get this recorded.’” Memphis is the home of the Blues Foundation’s Blues Hall of Fame Museum, which displays artists’ actual guitars, performance garb and other personal items. Catching my eye are Stevie Ray Vaughan’s snakeskin boots and one of the silver bands he wore on his signature black hat. There’s also Robert Cray’s Stratocaster seen on his adjacent album cover. The Blues Foundation, like Cleveland’s Rock & Roll Hall of Fame, inducts new members each year. “It’s part of our motto to keep the blues alive,” says Foundation President and CEO Kimberly Horton. “So, we have to recognize blues players who make the music and give us the craft and the art to keep the history and the heritage going.” Another famous Cadillac, Isaac Hayes’ gold-plated, peacock-blue 1972 Superfly El Dorado, is a key exhibit at the Stax Museum of American Soul Music. A former recording studio and record company founded in an old movie theater, the museum showcases soul music’s beginnings from Southern gospel music including an actual reassembled Mississippi Delta church, to an exact replica of Studio A where soul legends including Hayes, Otis Reading, Booker T. & the MG’s, and Wilson Pickett recorded their albums. The Hall of Records showcases all the many albums
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Memphis’ Peabody Hotel, often referred to the “South’s Grand Hotel,” is a tourist attraction. It’s not often you might see ducks waddling through a hotel lobby and jumping into a central fountain, but that’s what happens twice a day before curious onlookers. Many people, while enjoying cocktails in the central lounge area, pack the lobby to watch the duck spectacle. It’s a tradition that started in 1933 when the hotel’s manager and a friend placed live decoy ducks in the hotel’s lobby fountain after a late night hunting trip. “The next morning, the general manager tried to get them out. But when the guests saw the ducks in the fountain, they loved them,” says Kenon Walker, the hotel’s “duckmaster.” The tradition continues today with the ducks marching on a red carpet from an elevator to the fountain at 11 a.m., and then back up to their “Rooftop Palace” at 5 p.m. The hotel with its high-ceiling rooms, elegant lobby, and rooftop venue popular for events and weddings, was built at the current downtown location in 1925 replacing the original Peabody Hotel dating back to 1869. The rooftop ballroom hosted swing bands including Benny Goodman and Tommy Dorsey, the Andrew Sisters, and Lawrence Welk and was one of only three locations for live CBS broadcasts of such events in the late 1930s and ‘40s. Elvis attended his senior prom at the hotel in 1953, and two years later was back signing his original RCA recording contract, which had been typed on official Peabody Hotel letterhead paper. A small museum highlights this and the visits of many famous hotel guests.
Inside the Stax Museum: recording studio and Hall of Records.
and singles the company produced, displaying them floor to ceiling.
In a similar manner, the Memphis Rock ‘n’ Soul Museum also traces the area’s music roots to Mississippi Delta rural communities, and showcases actual recording equipment once used – microphones, guitars, and more – while highlighting the turbulent struggles with segregation and social changes during that period. This era ties into Memphis’ must see National Civil Rights Museum at the Lorraine Motel, infamous for where civil rights crusader Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. was assassinated in 1968. In fact, the very last part of the museum tour features a walk along a glass partition separating visitors from the reconstructed motel room, 306, where Dr. King spent his last hours. The museum spans the struggle for civil rights from the early plight of enslaved people in America, during the Civil War and Reconstruction, and continuing through the Jim Crow era and up to the present. Special exhibits, for example, highlight Rosa Parks and the Montgomery Bus Boycott, the Selma marches, and Dr. King’s “I Have a Dream” speech.
The Peabody’s Chez Philippe restaurant is the only
The Peabody Hotel fountain features swimming live ducks.
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house and the county were always a constant source of inspiration for his novels.”
Although he spent many years back and forth to Hollywood to write screen plays, Rowan Oak is where Faulkner wrote many of his novels. They came to be from how this rustic community inspired Faulkner to create the fictional Yoknapatawpha County that mirrored Lafayette County, where Oxford is the county seat. A map of the fictional county is in the museum alongside his books and even the typewriter he once used. What I find particularly stunning is in the home’s white-walled study, where Faulkner’s hand-scribbled writing on the wall, still there from the 1940s and early 1950s. Scratched with bold lettering from thick graphite pencils, it outlines the weeklong plot for his Pulitzer Prize-winning novel, A Fable . The wall script highlights soldiers refusing to fight on a World War I battlefield, one of them a corporal who, as implied by Faulkner, is the reincarnation of Jesus Christ. Back in Memphis, I spend my last night walking the three blocks of pedestrian Beale Street with its world- famous music scene. Neon signs flash above bars and restaurants hosting live bands and blues artists every night. “It’s where country, gospel, blues, jazz, and soul all blend together,” I recall Cole Early telling me, “to make Memphis what they call the ‘birthplace of rock and roll.’” ◾
A fun way to visit streets in Memphis is to take one of the city buses.
one in town offering a traditional English Tea. The menu includes, for example, tea sandwiches such as crab salad with radish, smoked salmon mousse, and curry chicken salad and, for dessert, scones, hazelnut layered opera cake, and a lemon zest macaron. Directly across the street from the hotel in an alleyway is a favorite local restaurant, Charlie Vergos Rendezvous BBQ, with its signature Memphis-style, dry rub ribs. Other things to see in Memphis include the Edge Motor Museum with its displays of shiny sports cars of yesteryear on loan from local owners. During my visit, a ’69 Corvette sits alongside a ’63 Stingray and ivory white ’56 Thunderbird convertible from the period when Memphis’ music scene was erupting with new talent. “The tag line is ‘Post War to 74.’ That was the era when these cars exploded and really took off in popularity,” says museum director and founder Richard Vining. The museum is only a block away from Sun Studio, making a visit convenient to both. Exploring the outdoors and newly renovated Tom Lee Park skirting the Mississippi River, I walk across Big River Crossing, the country’s longest pedestrian and bike path on a train rail bridge. Half way across, I could step over the state line into Arkansas. A popular day trip from Memphis takes just over an hour to Oxford, Mississippi, and what was the home of famed writer and native son William Faulkner. Alongside the “Ole Miss” campus, the Greek Revival- style home amid shady trees is now a museum with more than 90 percent of the original furnishings Faulkner had when he died in 1962. “It’s all weirdly intertwined with Faulkner’s own personal self and his writing,” says Assistant Curator Rachel Hudson. “This
FOR MORE INFORMATION www.memphistravel.com www.peabodymemphis.com https://rowanoak.com
Beale Street at night.
MUSIC MECCA: MEMPHIS
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AMERICA’S 10 LONELIEST NATIONAL PARKS
Great Basin National Park.
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America’s 10 Loneliest National Parks Story by Dave G. Houser Photos courtesy of U.S. National Park Service
One poll after another indicates that a substantial number of Americans are not happy with the way things are going. Divisive politics, climate change, immigration, and economic concerns are chief instigators of this wave of negativity. While there’s a limit to what we as individuals can do to overcome such large-scale matters of contention— we can, and should, seek some relief—perhaps with a relaxing, reinvigorating getaway. We suggest that a visit to one or more of America’s national parks may be just the answer. Presently, there are 63 national parks, alongside 429 other units—national monuments, recreation areas, battlefields, nature preserves, seashores, lakeshores, wild/scenic rivers, and historic sites—overseen by the National Park Service. These national parks are very popular. As outdoor writer Emily Pennington notes in the Wall Street Journal’s O Duty Travel magazine, “With their mile- deep sandstone canyons, glacier-polished granite domes, and herds of charismatic megafauna, it’s no wonder that America’s national parks received nearly 312 million visits in 2022.”
Gates of the Artic National Park & Preserve.
Problem is, more than a quarter of those visitors squeezed into just nine parks. Great Smoky Mountains National Park, for example, receives more than 14 million visitors a year, followed by Grand Canyon, and Zion, each with visitation topping five million annually. Yellowstone is not far behind. Crowding is the inevitable result, creating frustration, headaches, and traffic jams, and negating the very thing most parkgoers seek: A bit of solitude. A soulful escape. Don’t let this discourage you, because there are other no less spectacular parks that see a fraction of those numbers. So, let’s head off the beaten path for a look at some of America’s least visited national parks.
North Cascades National Park.
LONELIEST NATIONAL PARKS
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Gates of the Arctic National Park & Preserve, Alaska If you really, really want to get away—head north to Alaska. Three of the state’s eight national parks attract fewer than 20,000 visitors each per year and five draw fewer than 100,000. Low park on the totem pole is Gates of the Arctic, northern most and second largest national park in the U.S., which entertained a mere 7,362 people at last count in 2023. Each of the Alaskan parks is spectacular but Gates may be the most so with its 11 million acres of majestic peaks and glaciers, free flowing rivers, endless vistas, and undisturbed wildlife. Given its vast size and remote geography, Gates of the Arctic is tricky and expensive to access. Float planes or air taxis are the only way in and out and, unless you are an experienced trekker and outdoorsman / woman, you’d be wise to join a guided adventure. We recommend one of two outfitters who operate in the park, offering backpacking, rafting, canoeing, and photography trips: www.expeditionsalaska.com, 770-952-4549. And www.arcticwild.com, 907-479- 8203. Prices for these trips range from about $5,000
Gates of the Arctic National Park.
to $8,000 per person. (Prices may change.) Note: There are several other Alaskan parks among the 10 least visited of America’s national parks, including Kobuk Valley, Lake Clark, Wrangell-St. Elias, and Katmai. We’ve skipped over them to concentrate on under-visited parks in the lower 48 that are closer at hand and less expensive to visit.
www.nps.gov/gaar | 907-459-3730
Isle Royale National Park, Michigan Certainly one of the most remote parks on the mainland, Isle Royale is located in Lake Superior and is accessible only by ferry, seaplane, or private watercraft. Once you find your way there, you can enjoy some excellent scuba diving, fishing, paddling, backpacking, and camping. The 57,000-acre Isle Royale archipelago—by far the largest in the Great Lakes—offers plenty of room to roam. Its signature trek, the 42-mile Greenstone Ridge Trail, leads through boreal forests teeming with moose, wolves, and foxes, and it links the island’s two settlements, Rock Harbor and Windigo. There
Isle Royale National Park.
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are NPS-administered campgrounds galore, and for those who’d rather not rough it, there’s a full service lodge at Rock Harbor and camper cabins at Windigo. On the water, visitors can canoe or kayak around rocky coves and caves, fish, or dive to several close- by shipwrecks. For adventure seekers, this park is one fantastic, uncrowded wilderness paradise—and, frankly, it’s hard to believe that it attracts only about 26,000 visitors a year. Part of the reason may be that the park closes completely from November to mid-April.
The park is perhaps best known as the home of Fort Jefferson, a massive six-sided, three-tiered fortification initiated in 1846 by the U.S. Army to protect the Florida coast. Although unfinished, Fort Jefferson consists of more than 16 million bricks, making it the largest masonry structure in the Western Hemisphere. Visitors can walk along the inside walls where 420 heavy guns (mostly 15-ton Rodman canons) were once mounted in open casements. A half-dozen of the awesome old canons have been restored and remain in place overlooking the Straits of Florida. Coral reefs surrounding the islands provide a home for brightly colored reef fish as well as larger species including shark, tarpon, and barracuda. You are also sure to spot green, loggerhead, or hawksbill turtles. During winter months, birdwatchers come to view the busy Sooty Tern colony on Bush Key. To reach the park, you’ll need to take a ferry or seaplane from Key West for the 70-mile journey to the dock at Fort Jefferson.
www.nps.gov/isro | 906-482-0984
Dry Tortugas National Park, Florida Here’s another park that owes its solitude to its remote, hard-to-reach location. The park consists of seven tiny islets at the tip of the Florida Keys—named by Explorer Ponce de Leon, who called the area Las Tortugas (the turtles) owing to the large number of turtles he observed there. The park is home to several species of turtles and there are plenty of them to be seen.
www.nps.gov/drto | 305-242-7700
Dry Tortugas National Park.
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Virgin Islands National Park, St. John, USVI Let’s say you’re the warm-blooded type who’s prone to prefer a tropical getaway. Well, there’s a park for that. And we’re not talking about flying all the way to the National Park of American Samoa. Much, much closer by and easier to access is the Virgin Islands National Park, located on the warm and sunny island of St. John. Since Columbus first sighted the group of islands and named it after St. Ursula’s legendary virgin martyrs, Spain, France, Holland, England, Denmark, and the United States each have claimed various of the islands at different times. The Danes undertook serious colonization of the islands in the 17th century and for more than a century they maintained a network of nearly 90 plantations to cultivate sugar cane and cotton. Fearful that Germany might try to capture the islands during World War I, the United States purchased St. John, St. Thomas, and St. Croix from Denmark for $25 million. In 1956, conservationist billionaire Laurance S. Rockefeller funded a 5,000-acre national park on St. John. In 1962 the park acquired an additional 5,650 undersea acres off the northern and southern coasts to protect reef systems and marine life. Today, the 15, 135-acre national park occupies more than half the island of St. John.
Great Basin National Park.
Great Basin National Park, Nevada From the limestone depths of the Lehman Caves, to sagebrush covered hillsides, to the 13,068-foot summit of Wheeler Peak—Great Basin National Park hosts a sampling of the remarkable diversity of Nevada’s remote and expansive 190,000-square- mile Great Basin region. When we speak of this park’s diversity, we aren’t kidding. In this 77,000-acre preserve—where hot desert valleys meet snow-covered mountain ranges—you’ll find the following: 11 species of conifer trees, including the park’s signature bristlecone pines, the world’s oldest tree. As for mammals, there are 73 species, ranging from shrews to mountain lions, with jackrabbits being the most common. Reptiles? Of course, totaling 18 species, along with 283 species of birds, 8 kinds of fish, and more than 800 plant species. Some of the activities available to the park’s 140,000 annual visitors include driving the 12-mile Wheeler Peak Scenic Drive; joining a ranger-guided tour of Lehman Caves to view a spectacular array of colorful limestone formations such as stalagmites, stalactites, flowstones, and shields; hiking the 2.8-mile Bristle Pine Trail for a close-up look at the ancient conifers that can live more than 4,000 years; enjoying a picnic lunch at Pole Canyon Picnic Area, and casting for trout on Lehman or Baker Creek.
St. John’s tempting tropical beaches and crystalline
www.nps.gov/grba | 775-234-7331
Virgin Islands National Park.
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Congaree National Park, South Carolina This preserve, located just 20 miles southeast of Columbia, was originally established in 1976 as Congaree Swamp National Monument to protect the largest contiguous tract of old-growth bottomland hardwood forest in the United States. Since the monument gained national park status in 2003—and dropped the unappealing “s” word from its name—the number of visitors has gradually increased to its current annual count of about 160,000. Surprisingly, there’s no fee to enter the park—a fact that may help boost visitation. The preserve was actually misnamed because, technically speaking, Congaree is not a swamp. It does not contain standing water throughout most of the year. It is, in fact, a floodplain forest that floods frequently—about ten times a year—spreading northeast from the meandering Congaree River to cover more than 24,000 acres. There’s a unique allure to this place. Once you brush past the ghostly Spanish moss that clings to the bald cypresses, you enter a lush backcountry beneath a towering canopy of ancient trees where the only sounds you’re likely to hear are the splash of a playful river otter or the rapid-fire knocks of the park’s many woodpeckers. To begin your exploration of the park, we suggest a hike along the 2.4-mile Boardwalk Loop Trail that winds among some of the largest and oldest trees in the preserve. Birders and wildlife photographers might want to take on the Kingsnake Trail, too. It’s the longest trail in the park, clocking in at 11 miles, and it leads visitors deep into Congaree’s pure wilderness. At night in the fall and spring, rangers lead visitors on “owl prowls” to listen for the eerie calls of barred owls. For another perspective, visitors can take to the water to canoe or kayak among the tupelo trees and knobby cypress knees on Cedar Creek. The Congaree River is also popular with paddling enthusiasts. The river runs all the way from Columbia and offers sandbars for camping along the way.
Conagree National Park.
Caribbean waters are the hallmark of Virgin Islands National Park. While visitor activities include scuba diving, snorkeling, boating, windsurfing, fishing, and hiking—simple beach time here is the best that it could ever be. The NPS has made an effort to preserve a few plantation sites and ancient petroglyphs of the indigenous Taino people so guests can learn about the island’s history—which is largely that of colonialism and enslavement. The park even offers a lodging option at Cinnamon Bay Beach Campground, where you can rent a tent and rough it or reserve a cottage or glamping tent for your stay. Either way, you’ll be treated to direct access to Cinnamon Bay Beach, where you can rent snorkeling gear, kayaks, and paddleboats. There’s also a delightful open-air restaurant, the Rain Tree Café, serving breakfast and dinner daily.
www.nps.gov/viis | 340-776-6201
www.nps.gov/cong | 803-776-4396
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Pinnacles National Park.
hour or two to park. That strongly suggests opting for a Monday-Friday visit.
Pinnacles National Park, California We’re going to attempt to explain how and why a California national park could possibly wind up on our loneliest list. To begin, boasting a population of nearly 40 million, the state is home to an enormous number of potential visitors. And, of its eight national parks, four entertain more than a million visitors each year. Yosemite leads the list with 4 million, Joshua Tree brings in 3.27 million, followed by Death Valley and Sequoia/Kings Canyon each drawing about 1.2 million visitors annually. And then we have Pinnacles—struggling to attract 200,000 visitors a year. How could this be, we wondered, with the park situated just 75 miles south of San Jose and well within a two-hour drive of the greater Bay Area? The answer is somewhat involved. The first thing is extreme weather. Temperatures routinely hit triple digits from May to October, making Pinnacles a rather uncomfortable place to be during the summer vacation season. Access is another issue. There are two entrances to the park, east and west, and there’s no connecting road between the two. Once visitors from the Bay Area emerge from the 101 Freeway near Gilroy to head southeast to the eastern entrance, they face an hour-long drive along a clunky, winding two-lane road. Visitors seeking the western entrance must exit the 101 at Soledad and creep 14 miles along a narrow one-lane road to reach the park.
Now for the good part. While Pinnacles became a national monument way back in 1908, it wasn’t designated a national park until President Obama signed legislation in 2013. National status resulted almost immediately in a big increase in visitation and with that has come growing recognition of the park’s many remarkable features. Rising from the Gabilan Mountain Range, Pinnacles’ unique domed rock formations, cliffs, spires, caves, and canyons are the result of ancient volcanic activity traced to roughly 23 million years ago. These amazing geological features are best taken in on hikes along the 6.7-mile High Peaks Trail or the less demanding 2.2-mile Moses Spring to Rim Loop Trail. Other trails lead to Balconies and Bear Gulch Caves, the latter serving as home to a colony of Townsend’s big-eared bats. Flashlights are needed to visit these caves. Pinnacles also is well known to bird watchers (and the scientificcommunity)asthereleaseandmanagement site for the critically endangered California condor. Check with rangers for specific times and locations that are best to catch a glimpse of these enormous birds that sport a wingspread of more than nine feet. Pinnacles Campground offers tent and group camping, along with some partially serviced RV sites, all requiring advance registration.
Then there’s a parking problem. A big one. So scarce are spots that weekend visitors often have to wait an
www.nps.gov/pinn | 831-389-4486
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