The Pow Wow is a great idea. See some Native American Culture!

My previous tips were how to see the typical 'must see' attractions for out of towners without going broke.

I use to live in Eads TN, the largest unincorporated part of Shelby country left. Memphis is quickly devouring out territory though. But that's a long, politically charged conversation. Anyways, I'm not sure how far outside of Memphis proper you are willing to go but if you venture out into the 'country' where my old stomping grounds are (Rossville, Eads, Collierville) I can give you some more things to do.

For REAL local food, go to the Wolf River Cafe in Rossville. Take Poplar Ave all the way. it will turn into a highway. It's about 15 minutes form my old house and 30-1 hour depending on where in Memphis you are coming from. They have the BEST catfish in the Midsouth in my oppinion.

It's right on the edge of Wolf River Bottoms, the wetlands area. It's near where my grandfather and I used to go bird hunting and we would sometimes eat lunch after a sucessful day hunting. I've walked in there several times in my orange jacket, bird feather's sticking out of my hair and mud all over my pants.

The place is hysterical. The people that own it know my grandfather. It's has a real 'mom and pop' feel. Definately a local joint as few Memphians would travel that far just to hang out in some backwater watering hole.

Just to give you an idea of the atmosphere:
There's a dear head mounted on one side of the door and on the other, someone has mounted the ass of the deer. Nothing like going in around christmas and seeing an old deer's ass covered in christmas lights.

I agree that Graceland is a must see place. There are somereally cool things to see there.Another thing that has to be done is BBQ. When i was done ther we ate at a place called PIG. It was really good.

quote:

Originally posted by jazznfox:
The Pow Wow is a great idea. See some Native American Culture!

woo hoo
i got an email from someone on the pow wow committee....she says that on friday you can get into the pow wow for free from 9am-4pm this is also an elementary school visit day so there will be lots of kiddies around and to be honest the real GOOD stuff (dancing) will not start until around the grand entry time which is later in the evening... she says it is 10miles north of memphis and the public bus system does go there.....i have all the information in an email she sent me...i believe it is $5 to get in if you go later or on saturday....let me know if there is interest!.....i took my sister to a pow wow for the first time last year and she still is talking about it!...quite an amazing experience and if you go there are storytellers and other people who are more than willing to share their history and culture...


i just saw tim's photos and looks like you got to see hoop dancing!...very cool, please still consider going to the pow wow, as maybe you have not seen jingle dress, fancy dance, or traditional dance-all possibilities at the pow wow.....as is the amazing food at VERY affordable prices!!!!....looks like kids day will be very informative at the pow wow and the grand entry is at 7pm on friday i know it doesn't sound like hot nightlife, but you could always stay for the grand entry then head back into town, or as someone mentioned hit up a "back-woods" bar (ok maybe not those words, but i know exactly what kind of place they are talking about).......

I just got my pilot's liscence, so if y'all want to see Memphis from the air or fly to Nashville or something while y'all are here, I'll take ya. I'd appreciate some help w/ the costs though, as flying is quite expensive. Let me know if you're interested when y'all get down here. Peace, Ben.

Graceland is a must! Also, if you can, take the tour of Elvis's house. It gives insight to the King's lifestyle, I think, and the themed rooms are amazing! Think shag carpet on the walls. It's awesome.

Sadly, I'm more of a Nashville and Clarksville expert, but Memphis is a good place to go. You guys are awfully lucky!

Ok, so its obvious us Memphians love our food! Don't forget to visit the Fedex Forum. (Maybe catch a game?) Also, you should check out the U of M campus as well as Rhodes and CBU. They are all in the Midtown area. You should also check out some of the shopping in the area around Wolfchase Mall. And yes, as everyone has stated you must see Graceland, Beale street, the trolly, the Orpheum, Rendezvous (ribs, yummy!), the Pyramid, the Liberty bowl (again a chance for sports), and deffinately the Peabody. The Peabody is more than just the ducks, now there is the shopping center too. Oh I almost forgot Sun Studios. (dang it, now I'm homesick!)

If you get to Mississippi go to the real birth place of the Blues. Highway 8 and Dockery plantation Road is were Robert Johnson sold his soul to the Devil.
Herny sloan, Charley patton, Willie Brown, and Robert Johnson all played at Dockery Plantation.

Hey TJS! I don't know much about Memphis, but I wanted to encourage you to head east through Tennessee. My family owns the Lost Sea, the 2nd largest underground lake in the world (the first is in Africa). Needless to say, if you are interested I'll get you in for free. We are located in Sweetwater, TN, near Knoxville and the Smoky Mountains National park. This park is the MOST visited in the country and the only one that was bought and donated by the citizens of the state.

Also, as someone else mentioned, you should visit Biltmore Estate in Asheville, NC, which is about 2 hours from Knoxville. I know the owners there as well and may be able to pull some strings and get you in cheap or, hopefully, free. If you are interested in that, let me know as soon as possible so I can make some phone calls.

Just a bit more icing on the cake, if you make it over this way I can probably put you up for a night or two. It might not be the most glamorous accommidations but we live in the shadow of the mountains overlooking a private lake. Hope you enjoy Tennessee!

Leah
atlargeinthewrld@aol.com

Ok, I'm a college student here in Memphis at Crichton college. Go COMETS! I understand the whole idea of budget lol. If you want to see the more gentle side of this city go to the Dixon Gallery and Gardens. It's a house that has been turned into a great art museum and gorgeous english gardens. It's free if you have a student ID or it's five dollars. Also a visit to St. Jude's Hospital can be very inspirational, it shows the true heart of Memphis. Food can get pretty expensive here. For good, cheap BBQ try TOPS BBQ. The Civil rights museum is also a must to help understand Memphis history as well as America's history. It is free at a certain time on Mondays. Welcome to Memphis!!

Oh yeah, I forgot to mention that if you want to get away from the normal tourist experience at the Lost Sea, you can go cave exploring with one of our guides and then sleep in the cave! It is dirty but tons of fun and you get to see parts of the cave that most people never do.

Go to Ernestine and Hazels Sundry Store. Ask Russ anything about soul and blues. He's had the place for about 40 years. He'll tell you some pretty amazing stories.

There is the mighty Mississippi to walk along. There is a wonderful blues bar owned by a great guitarist, whom if you asked enough, may grace you with not only appering himself, but with Lucille!!! :>
THAT would be awesome!

I went to memphis this past summer, did the graceland thing, bbq thing, beale street thing, loved it all, a must, but like didimarsh said some parts of memphis are not good to be in after dark...especially around graceland where you will most likely be...there's lots of officers around though...just be cautious and have tons of fun!

Bevis, I know you were disappointed to miss the white tigers in Vegas, so I visited the Memphis Zoo's website. I've never personally been there, but it seems they have a rare collection of tigers. Here is a quote from their website,

"There are three new faces in Commerical Appeal Cat Country. They are the three 6-month-old Bengal tiger cubs currently residing in the snow leopard exhibit. They will be our permanent residents in the tiger exhibit once they grow big enough to swim in the moat, which will only take a few months. Narayan is the quiet and friendly black and orange male. He will weigh between 450-550 lbs as an adult and stand close to 9 ½ feet tall. Orissa is the frisky white and chocolate colored female and Kumari is the trouble- making strawberry colored female. Both of these girls will weigh the same as the male and all will eat about 10 lbs of meat a day. The color variations are due to recessive genes in the Bengal species. There are about 400 white tigers and only 30-35 strawberry tigers in the world. It is a rare opportunity to have these color variations growing up together. The girls recessive genes not only cause their color variation but will also cause them to be as big, if not bigger, than the male. It should be interesting to see who will be the cat in charge."