Mississippi Blues Trail - Part 11

 Having taken a bit of a rest after our walk-a-bout this morning we were ready to hop on the scooters and grab some more Mississippi Blues Trail (MBT) markers.  In particular we wanted to find the two we missed on Thursday.  So, we geared up, uncovered and unlocked the scooters and headed out to find our next MBT marker, Muddy Waters' House.  He has a huge catalogue but I chose this song Mississippi Delta Blues.

Burnt Cane Road is where we found the marker.

No longer called a Plantation, this farmland is now part of Stovall Farms.

That was a fun little scoot out of Clarksdale.  We then turned to find the Rocket "88" MBT marker.  On yesterday's blog I posted a link to the song Rocket "88" as Ike Turner's first big hit.  So, I found a great sounding current version by Nappy Brown and Kip Anderson.  Listen to it here. 

We found a lot of small back roads around Clarksdale making for a very fun scooter ride!

We were both rather surprised when we came upon the famous Crossroads because it is smack in the middle of a very busy intersection!  If you don't already know the legend of the Crossroads, I've provided a link for you!  While not a MBT marker, the Crossroads is significant to the Blues and Robert Johnson.  Here he sings "Crossroad".  I thought that appropriate 😏

We decided to continue hunting down MBT markers since we had plenty of afternoon left.  Eric's routing took us directly to the Cotton Pickin' Blues MBT marker.  This marker is also labeled Hopson Planting Co. at the official MBT website.  Pinetop Perkins plays a little Chicken Shack.

Riding along we spied this mural and had to stop!

We pulled into this place simply because of all the "stuff" scattered about.  Rusty trucks, shacks, junk, art, old signs and way too much charisma to miss!  It didn't take me but a minute to realize we were at the "Shack Up Inn".   I had read about this place a number of times and considered staying here but we decided the Up Town Motor Lodge was a better choice because we could walk to the MBT markers in Clarksdale.  The Shack Up Inn is a few miles out of town.  It's worth a visit to their website to see what it's all about.  Sure hope it gets back to business as usual when Covid slows down.  Effin' Covid 😠

I just couldn't get enough of this old fire truck at the Shack Up Inn!

Now we were back on the road to Little Junior Parker's MBT marker located in Bobo, MS.  A tiny, little curve in the road with a handful of houses and a combination Fire Station and Community Center.  Parker's Drowning On Dry Land. Smooth.......

Leaving Bobo we then headed to Alligator!  Yup, for reals, lol.  Welcome to Alligator, MS 😂

We didn't know at the time but the reverse side of this sign says See Ya Later Gator!  Hahahahahah

It didn't take long to find the Alligator Blues MBT marker because Alligator consists of two roads with a half dozen houses and a juke joint where a group of men were hanging out shooting dice on the sidewalk!  Born in Alligator, Johnny Drummer sings Bit Her in the Butt.  This song had me howling!  I hope you enjoy it as much as I did 😄

After grabbing this MBT marker we decided to take a different route out of town than the one we came in on.  After all, we're riding Adventure Scooters 😏  The road we chose was a very narrow one laner with thick brush on either side (along with a whole lot of garbage!).  And then, out of nowhere, it turned to dirt and gravel!

That was a very fun bit of road to explore!  Our afternoon scooter adventure was successful.  We scored five MBT markers and the famous Crossroads.  We stumbled upon the Shack Up Inn and ended the ride adventure style.  Yup, it was good.  Now it was back to the motel in Clarksdale for cocktails and dinner.  Of course we stopped to pick up a bag of ice before getting to our room, haha.

Pleasantly tired and extremely satisfied with all the MBT markers and other bonus shots we decided to just stay in and order pizza.  Easy, peasy.  Dinner done.  A bit of boob tube and it was lights out.

Saturday morning we loaded the scooters for the trek home.  But, we had one more marker to collect.  W. C. Handy Encounters The Blues.  This marker proved a bit difficult to locate.  GPS said to turn but there was a river there!  So we turned before the river and found 2nd Street but no marker.  Heck, we rode around the block and another block but no love.  So back to the highway, across the river and a quick turn right off the highway (through road construction).  Now we were in Tutwiler proper and found another 2nd Street.  Okay, we cruised 2nd Street but couldn't find it and the house numbers were getting higher and we wanted 102 or something like that.  So we turned around and slowly made our way back up 2nd Street, looking left and right for the marker.  I must say we kind of stood out on our little Honda ADV 150 Scooters wearing full gear.  Hahahaha, we got lots of looks and I just waved 😏

Then, at the curve Eric spied the marker out in a field!  Yippee!  I would have been so disappointed had we not found it as it was the last one for this adventure.  But here it is!  W. C. Handy's Yellow Dog Blues.

Murals painted on the back of a building where we found the marker.

We were so out of place that while stopped to take photos of the marker a woman pulled up in her car and wanted to know what in the heck we were doing!  She was pleasant about it but she wanted an answer.  Hahahaha!  I pointed and said we were collecting MBT markers and having a blast doing so.  She nodded, smiled and drove on.  I bet we were the topic of the afternoon.

Now, it was just point the scooters toward home and twist the throttle.  Eric took us mostly on secondary roads and the weather cooperated.  We had a quick lunch at the Sonic in Oxford, MS and made a beeline for the homestead, Cottonwood Cottage.  Then, we were home, safe and sound and happy.

It was a very fun adventure and our first overnight on the scooters!  We collected THIRTY THREE (33) MBT markers along with some other fun bonus locations and markers.  Most certainly our biggest MBT haul to date.

As the weather continues to improve and our days get longer I'm sure we will be planning another big MBT haul that takes us south to the Gulf Coast.

As always, thank you for following along with us!  Hope you enjoyed this adventure.

Cheers,

Cletha & Eric

Mississippi Blues Trail - Part 10

 Following a good night sleep we awoke ready to tackle another day of grabbing Mississippi Blues Trail (MBT) markers.  We were in Clarksdale, MS which is pretty much the epicenter for MBT markers and our plan was to take a walk around town and grab everything we could find.  It was pleasant to dress in street clothes and shoes instead of our riding gear and boots.  The weather was warm but not yet steamy so we set out with tourist map in hand.  Our first order of business was to locate Our Grandma's House of Pancakes for breakfast.  But as we headed in that direction we found our first MBT marker, Ike Turner.   Here is a link to his first hit, Rocket 88, often regarded as the "first Rock and Roll" record.

Clarksdale abounds with art.  Murals are everywhere as well as sculptures and monuments.  We captured a few for you to enjoy.

Walking up the street we finally spied Our Grandma's House of Pancakes!  Yippee!  I'm hungry 😁

Our Grandma's House of Blues is next door.  The two establishments separated by a curtain inside.

If you want fine dining and upscale ambiance, this is not the place for you.  If you want good, home cookin' then this is where you want to be.  Everything you touched was either greasy or sticky or both.  But then this was set at our table. 😋  OMG!  So freakin' delish!!!!!  If you need morning after soakage this is THE place!  

With our appetites sated and our bellies full it was now time to take a serious walk-a-bout!  We came upon this Mississippi Historical Marker for W. C. Handy.  He referred to himself as the "Father of the Blues".   Here is appears on the Ed Sullivan show playing his song St. Louis Blues.

Just down the street we found a MBT marker for Wade Walton.  Rooster Blues is a nice, catchy instrumental by Wade Walton.

Some local art.

The New Roxy theater.  I do believe this is still a valid venue on occasion.

Our next MBT find was Sam Cooke.  So many song choices!  I picked A Change Gon' Come.  I could listen to Sam Cooke all day long.  Enjoy!

As we walked toward the railroad tracks we found the Sunflower River Blues & Gospel Festival MBT marker.  Here is a link to a slice of the Festival featuring several artists and giving a good overview of the vibe.

Of course the Sunflower River Blues Festival MBT marker was located at the outdoor stage venue which is next to the Delta Blues Museum.

A paver stone set into the sidewalk near the stage.

Our next MBT marker was for the Delta Blues Museum.  

Another plaque set in the sidewalk at the Delta Blues Museum.

One of the local Juke Joints near the Museum.

A view down an ally in Clarksdale.

We stumbled upon this Mississippi Freedom Tail marker for Aaron Henry, a Civil Rights Movement activist.  Bonus!

Wow!  We were finding all kinds of interesting things here in Clarksdale besides the MBT markers.  Seems like a surprise was around every corner and down every ally.  Our walk continued, sometimes in circles, lol.  Then we found The New World MBT marker.

During our walk-a-bout we found this gem!  Heck, I didn't know there was a Walk of Fame with Markers.  Maybe our next visit to Clarksdale will include these.

Such is Clarksdale 😉  This is the site of Big Jack Johnson marker.

Big Jack Johnson MBT marker.   A great blues tune Black Dog.

Whew!  We'd been walking all over town, around and around finding markers and back-tracking because we missed an ally or a turn.  The day was starting to warm up and so were we 😓!  But, one of the most significant markers was still a bit of a hike.  We were headed for the Riverside Hotel.  A little Bessie Smith, Nobody Knows You When You're Down and Out. 

The Riverside Hotel was a bit of a hike as it was on the other side of the railroad tracks.  You could only get to the other side via two roads, neither of which were a direct line, lol.  So a bit of a trudge through a seamy neighborhood where all eyes were on us.  No matter, we just gave a wave, said "Good Morning" and marched along to our destination.

The building is quite run down with a lot of garbage and debris.  Rather sad 😢  It is significant to note that Black artists stayed here, away from downtown, because of segregation.

View along the side of the hotel.  As one pointed out, it's uncanny how the air conditioner units are all sloping or canted the same.

And one final view of the Riverside Hotel. 

Slogging back the way we had come we crossed the railroad tracks in search of our final MBT marker in Clarksdale.  We passed this great mural on our trek.

And found this interesting mural as well.

And then we finally found our last MBT marker, WROX Radio.    WROX suspended broadcasting in 2020 because of the Covid pandemic and the issues it presented.  Effin' Covid!  Hopefully they will be back on the air soon.

An art car!

By now my dogs were barking but we had one more location to find.  Not a MBT marker but the famous Ground Zero Blues Club owned in part by Morgan Freeman.  By now, we had walked every block in downtown Clarksdale and then some.  The map showed Ground Zero on a corner but we were at the corner and no club.  Hmmmm..... well, we just went around the block and BOOM, there it was.  Now, you can laugh at our expense because it was just off the square from the Blues Museum which we had visited an hour earlier, hahahahaha!  Oh well, at least we finally found it 😉

That pretty much concluded our Clarksdale walk-a-bout.  With screaming feet, we limped back to the hotel for a much deserved rest.  But, our day wasn't over just yet!  However, you will have to come back for the next blog installment to find out what happened!

Needless to say, Clarksdale was a font of MBT markers along with other pleasant surprises.  We had a fantastic (albeit greasy and sticky) breakfast, a great walk and learned a ton of history.  During our walk we grabbed nine MBT markers and several other significant historical markers.  It was a fruitful morning!

Many thanks for following us on this little adventure.  Please come back for the conclusion!

Cheers,

Cletha & Eric