Greetings One and All,
Two years ago, I just happened to have one of those random long weekends in the middle of April. I packed the car and drove out to Clarksdale, Mississippi for three days. It was my first time at their annual Juke Joint Festival. I had a blast and decided to do it again this year.
As I’m wont to do, I tacked on two weeks to the back of it and made it into a proper road trip. Up until this trip, my only experience in Arkansas was a day in Little Rock. My only experience in Missouri was the drive through on Route 66. So, I decided to make a big loop and explore them both in a little more detail.
Day 1
Thursday April 11, 2019
6P and my last show wraps. I had two choices, go home and get an early start the next morning, or put a couple of hours behind me on the road. The deciding factor, the extra hour from driving into the Central Time Zone. Doing the mental math, I booked a place north of Birmingham in the town of Jasper, Alabama.
The town was named after Sergeant William Jasper, of the 2nd South Carolina Regiment. He was stationed in Fort Sullivan, guarding Charleston, South Carolina. In June, 1776, small British force landed to take the fort and the city. In preparation, a warship began firing on the fort.
The pole holding the South Carolina flag was shot away. Sgt. Jasper found a temporary staff, and attached the flag. Under fire, he held the flag aloft until a permanent replacement could be made.
A year later, Sgt. Jasper was a part of the colonial force sent to recapture the city of Savannah. He was wounded in the failed attack and died. In Savannah’s Madison Square, there’s a statue of Sgt. Jasper holding a flag.
Jasper’s more recent claim to fame are zombies. In 2014, the town became the setting of the Syfy series, “Town of the Living Dead.” For six years, a group of independent filmmakers had been attempting to make a zombie film called “Thr33 Days Dead.” If and when the film was completed, they hoped the network would actually air it. You can read a review here.
Or watch the :30 second promo here:
Or a five minute clip here
It was supposed to be an easy two, perhaps two and a half hours to Birmingham, then forty-five minutes north on Hwy 78. The usual slowdowns heading out of Atlanta weren’t that bad. In fact, it was speed limit conditions all the way to the outskirts of Birmingham.
As the sun slowly dipped towards the horizon, I was treated to quite the colorful sunset. No reds, yellows or pinks, just every shade of orange you could ever imagine. I really wanted to pull off the interstate, but decided against it. With all the road closures and detours, I wasn’t sure I could get back on.
A half hour out of Birmingham, I started seeing signs that I-20 West was closed within the city. Traffic was rerouted. One of the turnoff signs was slow in cycling through its message and I wound up in an industrial area of downtown.
I had replaced the GPS that died on last fall’s trip, and pulled over to fire it up. Yes, I did have a city map. But, it was already dark and I just didn’t want to deal. However, the GPS was sure the address of the motel didn’t exist and thus couldn’t tell me how to get there. I finally found an address on the motel’s road and used that instead.
Easy enough, or so you’d think. The GPS kept trying to take me to on ramps that were either closed or in the process of being replaced. But, I eventually did find a ramp that was open and off I went to Jasper.
It was 9P local time(10P Eastern) when I finally rolled into the Econolodge. The room was small, but well maintained. It had that feeling of having been renovated...a while ago. No complaints.
Day 2
Friday April 12, 2019
Sunrise from behind the motel.
Yeah, booking the night here was definitely the right call. I didn't have to contend with the Friday rush hour in either Atlanta or Birmingham. Stress level...low.
The route of the day wasn’t set. There was plenty of time to get to my next destination, Clarksdale, Mississippi. Two years ago, I came here for the Juke Joint Festival and loved it. As an added bonus, my friend Tracy was also coming back.
I left the motel shortly after sunrise. The splattering of rain nixed my first thought for the day. There’s a natural bridge north-west of Jasper. The thought of hiking out to it in the rain wasn’t exactly appealing. I've been there before and and it's worth a second visit.
Instead, I took even less traveled roads westward towards the state line. Hwy 78 took me to Hwy 118 and onward through the towns of Kansas, Florida and Texas. Hwy 171 took me through Gwin, where I came across the Blue Moon Drive In.
The sign by the entrance says you must be able to turn off your headlights completely. Makes sense. It's also built onto the side of a hill. It's the drive-in equivalent of stadium seating.
Hwy 278 brought me to Hwy 32. Just past the town of New Houlka. There had been plenty of farm fields on this drive. But, there was something about the fields of yellow that seemed worthy of a stop or two.
Something caught my eye outside the town of Bruce, named after E.L. Bruce, the owner of the local sawmill. I have a personal rule. If I see something out of the corner of my eye that seems potentially interesting, I turn around and go back. Some days it’s nothing. But, some days it’s horses grazing on those yellow fields of mustard flowers.
.
And some days you just get lucky. The angle wasn't quite right, so I sat on the roof of my CR-V. I got a few odd looks from folks driving by.
After gassing up in Bruce, I stopped at Calhoun’s Barbecue. There's just something about food truck barbecue.
I could get the brisket sandwich with or without slaw. I was expecting it on the side, not inside the actual sandwich. Yet, somehow it worked. He shares the parking lot with a curious store called The Trading Place. It wasn't open at the time, but the sign above the door made me laugh.
By mid afternoon, I finally made it into Clarksdale. The downtown area was already busy. I could hear the music and smell the barbecue the moment I stepped out of the car.
The weather guessers were all calling for potentially heavy weather all day Saturday and into Sunday. But, for today...just about perfect. Just for kicks, I decided to commit myself too just my 70-300mm lens. I was digging it out of the back when another car pulled up. That’s when I met Sue-Be. She was wearing a wide brimmed hat that looked like it was made out of a mirrored disco ball.
After the drive, I deserved a cold one. The most diverse beer list is at a place called the Ground Zero Blues Club. It’s co-owned my Morgan Freeman and Bill Lucket the former mayor of Clarksdale. I chose a Lazy Magnolia Southern Pecan Ale. Just as delicious as I remembered it.
As for the band, I didn’t catch their name, but they were quite good.
That’s when I got the text from my friend Tracy. She and Jennifer were heading my way. There was a band playing later in the evening at the Bluesberry Café. They were planning on getting there at 5P and hoped to snag a table. It’s a small place and getting one isn’t easy.
When I arrived at the café, it was still only 4:30P. Ghalia and Mama's Boys was on stage with her band. I loitered by the door, scouting for people leaving. The stage is right by the door. So, I started taking pictures.
I like what I was hearing and bought one of their albums. The band was wrapping up when my friends arrived. In that lull between bands, people started leaving. We grabbed a booth and settled in.
The second band was fronted by Sean "Bad" Apple. Guest musicians and singers would drop in for a song or two and leave.
Next on the stage, Robert Kimbrough. His guitar playing was amazing. He played fast, he played slow. He even had people dancing as well as guest performers dropping in. It made for a fun evening.
He finished around 10P. After the drive, and still mentally on Eastern Time, I was ready to call it a day. When bands started swapping out, I said my good-byes.
There are three chain motels and a few independent ones in Clarksdale. All were booked solid. The closest place I could find was the Isle of Capri Casino, some twenty miles away in the town of Lula. It’s a pretty straightforward drive. But, if I decided to do this again, I’ll start looking for a room more than three months out. I was exhausted when I left Clarksdale. I was on fumes by the time I arrived at the casino.
Check in seemed routine. They confirmed my three nights and assigned me a room. At the time it never occurred to me that they never asked for my car information. Most places ask for at least a description. And yes, all this does come back in the narrative.
The main lobby area has check in and their restaurants. To either side are the casino floors. On the far side of these are the hotel rooms. Mine was quite a walk and seemed about as far from the lobby as physically possible Once again, this comes back in the narrative eventually.
Coming Up,
Riding the storm out with the blues
No comments:
Post a Comment