Walking in Memphis

Since leaving the wonderful hospitality of Cape Girardeau, we have camped in four different states in the last five nights. At the confluence of the Ohio and Mississippi Rivers we met a solo kayaker from Knoxville named Andrew. Andrew had started his journey a week before, paddling down the Cumberland River from his hometown into the Ohio, and finally the Mighty Mississippi. We paddled and camped together all the way down to Memphis, completing 50 to 60 mile days despite the high temperatures. Once in Memphis we were able to store gear and wash clothes at the Mud Island Marina, thanks to Andy and his friendly staff. After our first showers in nearly a week we met Andrew's family and ate some world famous ribs at the Rendezvous restaurant. After that we walked the bustling Beale Street, checked out the Gibson guitar museum, and got some ice cream. After all that excitement we passed out pretty early in our first hotel room of the trip. Thank you so much Mr. and Mrs. Shankles, Molly, J.J., David, and Andrew! It's back on the river for now, only 730 miles to the ocean!