RV Camping on the Mississippi River and Exploring Graceland!
After spending some time with family in Ohio, it's time to hit the road for real! Working our way West, we decided to take a few days in Memphis to see Graceland.
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00:00 Intro and Travel
02:06 Blue Beacon Fail
02:58 Tom Sawyer RV Park (West Memphis, AR)
07:58 Driving into Memphis
09:06 The Arcade Restaurant
10:00 Beale Street
10:18 Graceland!
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+ Tom Sawyer's RV Park: tomsawyersrvpark.com/
+ The Arcade Restaurant: arcaderestaurant.com/
+ Graceland: www.graceland.com/
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The wife and I were traveling from Michigan back to California. I always felt the desire to go see Graceland. Like you guys, I was never a huge Elvis fan. He was a little before my time, but I found the tour to be well worth my time and money. Everybody knows enough about Elvis to make this tour make sense. Loved the house, the grounds, the airplanes and the memorabilia. It really put into perspective the time that Elvis was popular and how dated things were compared to today. We loved it! we did spend most of the day there and I doubt I would go back, but I have no regrets and recommend that everybody should go at least once in their lifetime. By the way, we stayed in the hotel, which has been redone and I found it to be very nice.
Hey you two , you should have went to see Sun Records Studio while you was in Memphis . That's where Elvis made his first record . Also at Sun recording Studio that's place where Rock n Roll started . Elvis , Carl Perkins , Roy Orbison , Jerry Lee Lewis , and Johnny Cash was the best of friends there , those 5 music stars invented Rock n Roll . If you get a chance to watch this on KZhead , I'm sure you will enjoy it .. Its called Home Coming , Rock and Roll Reunion , just less than a hour to watch it .
I love Tom Sawyer Park. I was a total newbie and this was the very 1st park we pulled into. Watching the barges go by in the morning while drinking coffee was so relaxing. could not believe how fast that river flows. Graceland was awesome. We had to get Elvis's favorite sandwich at the restaurant.
We’ve stayed at Tom Sawyer’s twice in the last couple months for overnights on our way through there, including on February 24, right before you were there. The bathrooms are pretty rustic, but we’ve loved being right there on the river.
Thank you Cody and Angela for this. Hope yall are doing well.
That looked like a really neat campground. I feel like I could sit there and watch barges go by all day long. Not fancy, but the setting is awesome!
Graceland is truly like nowhere else! And yes you have to do the house. Amazingly cheesy is a great description but it’s so great.
Tom Sawyer RV park is my go-to when traveling AR/TN! I agree with the initial thoughts but it’s one of my favorite parks and very easy to get into. The river traffic is always fun to watch. Great overnight or a couple of day stop over.
We had a great time at that park. The people were very nice and accommodating. Remember that park gets flooded a lot. But the boats going by are worth the stay.
Fun trip. We went to Graceland then went back 5 years later to see it (and more of Memphis) again. We stayed at the Graceland rv park. It was great to just walk to Graceland. We’re going back again! Thanks for sharing! -Ed
Graceland rv park is small but awesome in that you can walk to Graceland. We love staying there!
Wow! Our favorite camp. We have visited every year since 2017. Going in June this year. Another of our favorites you once said is a common stop for you: I-75 in South Georgia.
When I was younger we got to go by Graceland every time we came home on vacation and we got to go by at Christmas and he lite the place up. Now we live in Tupelo Ms. the birth place of Elvis and have been to his house and church, it's interesting and something people pile into Tupelo to see. Thanks for sharing this video and I really liked the RV Park on the river.
We really enjoyed Ton Sawyers RV Park. Fun watching the barges on the river.
We have stayed a Tom Sawyer RV park several times for overnights and have enjoyed it.
We were just at Tom Sawyer RV over the weekend . We liked it - Laundry was free but I met a girl who said she had 3 loads of laundry stolen! Graceland was good but the National Civil Rights Museum was OUTSTANDING - so informative - spent about 4 hours there - so much to see - and you end up in MLK's hotel room at the Lorraine Hotel right at the balcony where he was assassinated - a humbling and reverent place . So worth the trip - highly recommend for families to learn about how slavery impacted our country and the world.
Thanks for the tour! We week be staying there soon
Went to Graceland in 2012, and the area has changed, built up way more now. We stayed in the Heartbreak hotel and toured around Memphis. The Civil Museum was a huge eye opened, with tons of information included Martin Luther King.
Good move, Blue Beacon AFTER Tom Sawyer.. their entrance road is very dusty, but the experience on the river is really interesting. I believe Gretsch guitar is also there.
Loved the video! Thanks for taking us along. ❤
We stayed at Tom Sawyer's and it was amazing!
Enjoyed your visit!
I really like this new "release schedule" of Thursday. Let's me easily watch Friday while working. Makes any Friday EVEN BETTER! We passed through Memphis to Red Bay (tiffin stuff) and saw his childhood home in Tupelo, but didn't have time on that trip for anything in Memphis. Great tip on the tour to do. We have learned that paying that extra bit tends to get a better experience. We saw that at Hoover Dam years ago. Dramatically better to go underground vs just walk around outside. Great video and love love love seeing you two travel! Your YT channel was my primary learning location for us to go full time 18 months ago and it's so fun now to watch you guys from our full time setup! We even used your Amazon store to buy EVERYTHING and continue to link through there for buying. Safe Travels!
Cool video, thanks for sharing, on my bucket list of places to visit.
We tried to stay at Tom Sawyer, but the river was flooding, so we ended up at the Graceland Campground, was was pretty cool in itself. And yes, Graceland is a pretty cool site to see. Also, I driving and pulling a camper through Memphis...rough roads galore. Thanks for sharing another great video
We live in Grafton Illinois and we sit at the pubs and watch the barges roll by. It’s where the Mississippi and the Illinois rivers meet. It’s mesmerizing.
I was in AFUA school in Millington in 1968. Thanks US Navy for my electronics training. January was a cold month.
A nice river view from your RV space!
Thanks. Great video. I hope to visit there someday
OK - I just saw something awesome!!! MARK GREANEY FANS!!!! Dead Eye! Great book!!!! LOL Audible for the win!!!!
Great video!
We stayed at Tom Sawyer in early July 2021. We, too, enjoyed watching the barges, the river boat cruises and amazed at the tree debris that was floating by. The tree house style platforms were not there so that's something they've added/re-built since 2021. The I-40 bridge was closed due to structural repairs so the only other bridge was carrying all the traffic. We went into Memphis once and it took an hour. We decided we'll come back through on another trip to visit Graceland and other places in the Memphis area. We found so many interesting places to see and things to do on the Arkansas side.
we went to memphis and stayed at the same rv park you did. yes barges were way cool. we went to graceland and did the ultimate vip tour and it was fabulous as there were only 10 people in our group and the person that took us around had so may insights it was amazing and well worth the extra cost
We went to Tom Sawer three times the last three years. We stayed there two-thee days each time moving from Quebec , Canada to Texas for the winter. So fun and relax to watch the barges poing on Mississippi River.
First impressions being way off...Tom Sawyer is probably the only rv park we've stayed where that happened. It was busy enough when we got there, but as we approached the RV area, with our windows open, the smell was just awful! We parked and set up anyway, and realized the smell was gone. Apparently, a really nasty garbage barge had been going past as we arrived. A lot of barges passed while we were there, but nothing like that again. We enjoyed that park, and would have returned there for our solar eclipse trip, but it was packed, and we ended up being even further off the path, in Lake Village, AR. I think that barge pack you show is 8 wide by 5 long, 40 barges. One of those tree platforms was under repair when we were there, so I actually had to step over a blocked-off part to get on. Definitely not COE. That section to the left (South?) was under construction when we were there, in July 2022. It looks pretty good now. We tried some West Memphis restaurants, but neither of us can remember just what, and can't recall any being particularly good. People bragged about the BBQ, and those places turned out to be very meh.
Love that cute little commercial at the end
We are from Missouri. We have not visited Graceland yet. Not sure why since it’s practically in our backyard. It’s good to see they have an RV park there.
We stayed at Tom Sawyers last year in a pinch after tire issues. Right, no frills but the barges were cool. There is a silver boat that runs up and down river to deliver mail and supplies to the tugs. Also the fuel barge that meets up and fuels while underway. Cool stuff great vid. Wish could meet up when you are in Texas.
Really glad you’re showing Tom Sawyer. I have wanted to stay there but heard mixed reviews looks like it’s an ok place.
When we came down that road that leads into the Tom Sawyer Campground, it was absolutely beautiful in the summer. Our stay there was very peaceful. We went into Memphis and did the barbecue food tour and experienced SOME AMAZING food. BTW: Arkansas is our favorite state for so many reasons. (Eureka Springs, Crystal Mining, Diamond Mining, Hot Springs).
Totally on our bucket list to go there....we were booked at yogi bear campground for this summer but had to cancel due to other commitments....truly loving your experience through there
Yes! We stayed at Graceland RV park. Convenient to the museum and tour. No frills park. However when we visited there was a pink limo that would pick you up and bring you back to the park for dinner. Marlowe’s Ribs and Restaurant. Good food, good drinks and didn’t have to drive back. No charge for the ride! Gratuity of course…😊
I am so glad at the start of the video that you are running navigation on both your truck and a Garmin. I have people asking me all the time why I run both also, even though I do not haul an RV. To me the answer is simple. Both systems work differently. My '23 Tundra has a 14 inch screen, can show a lot. You can zoom in or out with the spread of your fingers like a computer. Can ask verbally buy voice to find gas stations, parking, etc. Also is good at traffic notifications and where radar has been reported. The Garmin is good at traffic notifications, re-routs, speed, posted speed. But the Garmin is not quite as good at speed traps alerts. The absolute biggest thing to me is. The in car navigation on my Tundra shows a solid blue line of travel, that is it. Even when there are 4 or 6 lanes. Yes it says take a right at the exit, problem on a multiple lane highway. You might get in the right lane, BAM it is exit only and no chance to get back over. Your exit is the next one down. The Garmin when you need to make a change, or a lane change. It will let you know couple miles in advance and it will DISPLAY ALL the lanes on the screen and highlight in magenta which lane or lanes you can be in to make you next move or exit. And will also display what your exit sign looks like. That feature alone with the lane asset highlighted showing all the lanes so you know what to do and what lane to be in is worth every dime for a Garmin. Both are good, but both are better together. If I had to choose, Garmin. Traveled the east side of U.S. with my bride 2 yrs. ago with just the Garmin for a month. Loved it, anything local we needed to find she did most of it on her phone as I drove. I am sure Chad has done a video on this before. 1 is good, 2 is even better. If you are old enough, remember the days when every state you went through you had to stop at a gas station and get a printed road map of the state. Follow it to a city and then have to stop and get a city map to find out how to get there. So, do not complain. Get both, and loose the migraines of travel !!!!!!!!!! Goggle maps is good, but not the cure all for extended travel. Travel days are stressful for the driver. Any way to make it less stressful makes for a better experience !!!!!!!!!!
Thanks for the review on Tom Sawyer. I have been driving up and down I40 since 1981 but never had an opportunity to stay there. I did know it could flood. Memphis is a good first day stop between Fort Sill, OK and Richmond, Va.
I've stayed at Tom Sawyer. It was a decent rv park and close to Memphis. I liked that the sites were right on the Mighty Mississippi. Fun to sit and watch the barges go up and down the river.
That's one of our favorite spots,to camp
On the way home from work there was an Elvis song on the radio. The King lives ... kind of
Well, we missed ya!!! We'll be there on May 9th, and it will be an only one night stay, but we intend to get to Graceland. Love your videos!!! I hope Tom Saywer is a bit greener by the time we get there!!!
We were at Graceland 2-years ago. Tacky but you have to go once. We took four Miata’s from Ohio to Laurel MS. Great trip - pre RVing 😎👍
Mud Island museum on the river at Memphis is pretty informative.
We stayed at Tom Sawyers last summer, and we enjoyed it. We watched the barges going down the river, that was neat. Quiet campground.
Yeah I was born and raised on the good Ole Mississippi and had flooding every spring lol. Hey tell Elvis hi for me 😅
We lived on the other side of the levee during that 2011 flood. It was “an event” to say the least, even over there for nearly 50 miles.
You guys had a van that was completely carpeted? I have a whole new respect for you. lol
I went with my parents as a teenager. They have so much more to see and do. We are heading to TN in October and have reservations at Elm Hill Resort. Thanks to your show. Have fun at NASA.
My home town. Millington TN back when base was booming.
We went to Graceland just 2 days after you! Would have been so fun to meet y'all.
Last time I went to Memphis, Paul Simon's Graceland was a big hit. I played it nonstop all the way there from Atlanta.I loved seeing Graceland. Way back then, they gave you Walkmans to hang around your neck like in the movie Spinal Tap. It was surreal. Glad to see they haven't changed anything.
Thank you both for the refresher. My wife and I went to Graceland in March on our cross country trip. We did stay at the RV park you showed next to Graceland. We stayed for 2 nights, it was a nice little park, we were able to walk from the park to the exhibit hall, and catch the shuttle up to the mansion. on another note, I wanted to share with Chad that I was in Millington Tn. for my training school in 1975. I chose not to leave the station. Enough to do at the time. Thanks again .
I was at NTC Millington for a full year, so I had to get out.. LOL. But still never went to Graceland.
Hi. Good video. We went to Graceland last year. It was better than I expected too. I appreciated learning that Graceland was the Presley family home, not just Elvis. Appreciate that the kids didn't sell it off to the highest bidder. We also stayed at the Graveland RV park. It is a bit dated, and could use a little TLC. The shower room and pool were fine. The security for Graceland and the RV park are excellent. I highly recommend going there. Very good tour guides! Plan on spending at least 8 hours to see everything, and remember that there are restaurants on sight.
Remember Graceland back in '78. So much has changed since then. We were there back in the college days for a private event.
The Lisa Marie was a Convair 880 the other two were Lockheed Jetstars. The house you can do a self tour for much cheaper. We did Graceland on our way up to Ohio to get our RV.
Tom Sawyer Park is pretty sweet!
Stayed at TS just a couple of weeks ago, for about a week. 2nd time there; always a good experience watching the boats. Go to Bass Pro Shop; Tara will LOVE the elevator ride to the top and the outside experience...! lol
We totally understand about missing a lot in Memphis. Like on our east coast tour, we were planning to spend 2 days thru Ohio maybe 3. We got stuck in Ohio for an entire week. Every time we turned around, more to see. Even being retired, no time schedule. You have to move on. So much to see in this country.
We ate at the same restaurant in Memphis! I didn't however get to go to Graceland, kids were with us. We did however go to the zoo and they have a great zoo. They used to have Panda bears until China pulled them back, they were there when we went. I really enjoyed the polar bears they are fun to watch especially if they start playing with each other. Now I want to go back and see Graceland, but I will also have to visit the zoo again. They had just opened a hippopotamus exhibit last time we went!
Memphis BBQ 😋, well worth the trip
Imagine that, a Navy Man watching the boats go by. Lol.
Love that the barges fascinated Chad. Boated from MN to almost the MO border. Saw tons of barges but they still make me stop and watch them go by. Did many other trips down the Mississippi too. Only bad thing is if you have to wait for them at a lock and dam. Takes them about four hours. I think the 1965 flood was even higher. Loved the cars and planes. Did you see a rake for the shag carpet? My Grandpa had that same zenith remote.
I was also Stationed in Millington back in 1967 1968 ,the day Martin Luther King was killed. Beale street than was somewhat Dry you could buy Mixed drinks.you had to bring your own set up. It was a beautiful city than but the problems after Rev .Kings death changed everything . From Millington to E2’s just like you !
If you guys are ever back in Memphis, (Milington - by the Navy base) PLEASE let us know!! Would love to see you guys in person!!
Could have been our son on one of those towboats pushing the barges. He is a Chief Engineer on one of the large triple screw boats. Safe travels!😊
And, I with you. The older I get, the more I prefer small towns. 😊
Yes, we stayed at Grace Land Park. It was ok, I would stay there again. Yes the water is better.
We stayed at Tom Sawyers on March 26-29 and we enjoyed it.
We stayed at Tom Sawyer! I have to say we were a little nervous going in at night but the next morning sunrise was beautiful
Been watching your videos for a few months now and have a suggestion. We have a 47ft toy hauler we tow with our 3500HD. I noticed that the spacing between the top of the truck bed and bottom of your trailer neck appears to be very narrow. Looks to be about 4-5" at most. Do you not have any clearance issues in tight spots. With our setup we are running with 7" space between the top of the bed and bottom of the trailer neck. This helps keep the trailer nose up and reduces the chance of the trailer contacting the truck bed when maneuvering through uneven places. Just a suggestion.
Shot through the heart And you're to blame Darlin', you give love a bad name Yo guys had a Shag Van??? lol, this was a fun video, thanks for sharing. I'm alll shook up.
Chad & Tara we are followers and really enjoy your videos. I seen you have interest in the barges. I’m a boat pilot on the Mississippi River if you ever come through southern Illinois (1 1/2 south of St. Louis) look we up I could give you and Tara a ride on a tug. Keep up the good video’s. We are headed to Utah and Colorado next month. You and Kyd inspired us to pull the camper out there and visit Moab,The Narrows,Mesa Verda and the Silverton/Durango train ride. Thanks for the fantastic content. Safe travels!!!
Will do.. thanks for the invite! 😊 Have fun out West! 🤠
Great to see ya there in Memphis. Beall street has a bit to see and do. Y'all need to get checked out. If you're willingly going to Houston, with your rig and their traffic, y'all need serious medication. At least on drugs, you'd stand a chance. LOL Born and raised in Texas, never made friends with that city driving through it. Good luck. God bless and y'all stay safe out on the road.
Graceland RV Well the road is crowned and the sidewalk is raised with an entry road to the park slightly elevated. We have a 42' 2020 Solitude 390 RK. Saw folks cringing when we pulled in off the street. when we got to our space I did a quick walk around and found that our rig (the RV) hitch drug on the road big gouges... and bent the trailing bits of the hitch mount up. Thank goodness GD put that hitch on or we might have torn the back wall of the RV off. Loved Graceland and the convenience of the park. Not so much the dragging. We are a little more low-slung than the Momentums and you may not have a problem. Our angle of departure does suck... (distance from the back of rig's lowest part to the ground at the middle of the back axle.. No idea if there have been any changes since we were there in 21. Travel Safe... OLT.
We loved everything about Graceland! It was amazing! The mansion was blast from the past. It is a one-of-a-kind and should not be missed. We also enjoyed the section with all of the professional costumes worn by famous stars who were inspired by Elvis and felt he was one of the reasons for their success. Plus it had more Elvis memorabilia from his time in the military. We enjoyed watching the ducks march from the elevator into the fountain in the lobby of the historic Peabody Hotel in downtown Memphis. We also went to the top of the hotel where the views of Memphis were fantastic and we saw where the ducks are kept. Then we ate at the iconic Charlie Vergo’s Rendezvous BBQ which is in the basement of a building off an alley near the Peabody. They are famous for their dry-rubbed, coal-fired ribs which are absolutely delicious 😋 The Bass Pro Shops Pyramid was awesome too. There is an elevator that goes to the top and provides incredible views of the Mississippi River and Memphis and is is beautiful at night too. There is a restaurant at the top. The Lorraine Motel is a solemn place. We didn’t have time to see the museum. Plus Beale Street and Sun Records and Memphis is the home of St Jude’s Children’s Hospital too. Although Memphis is very old looking and somewhat run down looking there is a lot of history and music history and cool places to see and things to do. It is a slice of Americana!
@@dianekirvan9906 That is amazing! I only wish we had allotted more time to spend there we missed so much. We hope to go back and see more of what wonderful things you've described. Thank you so very much... OLT
If y’all are coming to the space center y’all should stay at the USA RV Resorts Marina Bay. We used to live there. Loved it
You guys are already there now but I hope you like Tom Sawyer. It's not a upscale or big fancy RV park. The directions to get there are kinda weird and the neighborhood is sketchy. All that being said it is an awesome campground. Just being on the river is so freaking nice
What no Memphis BBQ? I would have loved to see Elvis' Motorcycles, so jealous lol
Hahahaa what are coincidence you guys we stayed at the same rv park in the upper side what you called the busy side, yes it’s a bit scary as you drive to it but we had a great time and the ponds had great fishing of course every time the river rises the fishes get stuck in the ponds and as of Graceland was fantastic.
I live in Memphis, and where you stayed is a lot safer location than the area around Graceland
If you look at a map of Memphis there is a beltway that goes most of the way around the city. However there is a break in that beltway on the northeast corner of the city. That break in the beltway is due to a committee of local women who took the state highway department and the Interstate system to court and won as the planned route would have destroyed Overton Park. They went to SCOTUS and won. Although I-40 has since been rerouted there is still a spur that goes directly toward the park and then stops. My great aunt was on of the local women that too the highway department to court. Here's the link to Wikipedia: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Overton_Park Keep the good stuff coming guys. BTW my daughter and granddaughter are out of the hospital and recovering nicely at home.
The Lincoln Mark IV , I had the Thunderbird like it and it was a boat. 460 CI and it would move, kind of an acquired taste on the body style but it was a great car. So Tara just outed Chad as having a shaggin van with the interior carpeted with I assume shag carpet. lol. Stay safe and healthy.
LOL! They were all shaggin vans in the 70s and 80s. 😎
I left an open soda on the counter top,needless to say we realized it too late!
Now you are in my parts of the woods.
Thanks for the invite to Memphis, haven't been there for years. A nice place to visit, but wouldn't want to live there. Hope the trip to planet Houston is very good for you and your blood PSI.
Graceland RV is a small and old campground. The only benefit is location.
Yall did the best breakfast (Arcade) and the best atractions (Graceland & Beale Street). Next time your in town go to Guss's Chicken or the Randevou for dinner. Another good campground is The Shelby Park RV Park. Ok sites next to a farmers market and huge park. Maybe we can meet up for a motorcycle ride next time your in town. Our Home Base is about 1.5 hours northeast on Memphis. Dan & Carolyn BB&H.
Great video Chad n Tara . Chad how many times you fill up at least the F450 ? I love the red Ford F450
We’ve stayed at Tom Sawyer’s twice and Graceland RV once. I much prefer watching the barges on the river.
Great video. Hey youve just found your name for the RV. Large Marge! 😂
Right! 😂
😂🤣
The jets look like a Convair and the small one a Lockheed but I could be wrong.
Cool review of Tom Sawyer. Would be a neat place to stay and watch those large barges. Where did you all find Daisies carrier? We have a 5 pound Yorkie and she’d love to sit up between us.
Question guys our shower faucet is leaking from the back plate against the way. Is it easy to DIY and replace that stuff yourself?
My parents almost went to see Elvis but one of them got sick and couldn't go. They had tickets of the concert but lost it after many decades.