On The Road. Mississippi River Route from St. Louis to New Orleans.

Lupe's perspective.















Jeez Dad. Are we there yet?




































Left a good job in the city,
Working for The Man every night and day,
And I never lost one minute of sleeping,
Worrying 'bout the way things might have been.

Big wheel keep on turning,
Proud Mary keep on burning,
Rolling, rolling, rolling on the river.

Cleaned a lot of plates in Memphis,

Pumped a lot of pain down in New Orleans,
But I never saw the good side of the city,
Until I hitched a ride on a river boat queen.

Big wheel keep on turning,
Proud Mary keep on burning, Rolling, rolling, rolling on the river.

Country Dogs in the City. St. Louis

Union Station- St. Louis

The Arch

The Arch, Gateway to the West. Some might argue that it is no longer a gateway to the West. But this is definitely where the East ends. And then you can go far out West to San Francisco that is so far West that it is far East.









The Arch is so iconic. Like the Eiffel Tower in Paris, you can see it from many parts of the city of St. Louis. Also like the Eiffel Tower, it is something that has to be seen up close.

By the Arch

The artist at work with his two apprentices.




















The result.

Dr. Feelgood Potts Blues Band

Japan in Memphis

Japan in Memphis. Ecstatic. Absolutely essential to the Mystery Train tour.























I am tickled.

Feelin' It

Beale Street = a wretched hive of scum and villainy. And some pretty good blues.

Key phrase here= off Beale.

















Beale Street on Tuesday morning= a ghostland.

The legendary Sun Studios in Memphis

I was a bit giddy being at such an important place for American music. You can see some of the names on the sign and guess just how historic this place was.

Sun Studios

Graceland

We spent an hour driving around Memphis looking for a headlight bulb for my car. The only fruit we reaped from this wild goose chase is this photo of Graceland.

Helena, Arkansas

Dee's Bar-b-Q. Somewhere outside of Helena, Arkansas

The Best Bar-B-Q This Side of the Mississippi. Either Side You Are On.


Wurlitzer Juke-Box. Circa late 60s/early 70s I would reckon.

Winterville Mounds

These mounds found in the Mississippi River Delta basin were sacred ceremonial sites for the Native Americans that populated this area between 1000-1450 AD. Lupe and Marcos thought that they were an excellent playground.

Mexican serenade in Natchez

Marketplace Coffeeshop in Natchez, Mississippi

A warm Southern welcome and a sweet beignet. Mmm...

Natchez, Mississippi

Loose paraphrase of a conversation from Mystery Train, a film by Jim Jarmusch:

Dee Dee: Do you know if this is the train to Natchez?
Mitzuko: Matches? One minute. (looking for lighter).

The Bayou

Bayou= "a marshy outlet of a lake or river. From the Choctaw bayuk." In other words, bayou is a euphemism for swamp.