Mud Island Museum

There was a small museum inside the Mud Island park. The museum detailed the history of the civil war battle that took place on the river nearby. John could tell you more about that.

I was a particular fan of the different kinds of eyeglasses used. In particular, I like the pair that looks like there is a pair of eyeballs already in the glasses.

The second photo shows some playing cards and an example of civil war era money.

We enjoyed this museum and even took Ina second museum housed here. There was a Mississippi River steamboat museum as well. Steamboats were very popular for some time on the river and are rarely seen now. I don't have any pictures of this part of the visit.

The ocean

Here is the ocean where the Mississippi River empties. Downtown Memphis is in the background.

Mud Island panorama

Here is a Mud Island panorama.

Mud Island

One of the big attractions at Mud Island is the scale model of the Mississippi River. Funny enough, the scale model begins at st Louis, with small displays with information about the headwaters in Minnesota.

Other than skipping Minnesota, the scale model is fascinating. The model shows depth and width. The were tons of signs around with different information about the uses of the river in different areas, the history and the unique environments.

It was much chillier than we were expecting it to be here this day. It would have been lots of fun to get in the water and cool off on a hot day.


The pictures show Gemma between Memphis and St. Louis on the Mississippi with Amelia in the background.

The second picture is Amelia and Gemma at the mouth of the river near New Orleans. Downtown Memphis is in the background.

William was in his glory. There was tons of water and a huge space to explore. The area was fairly well contained, so other than falling into the river, there wasn't a way to get lost. I don't think we saw him for at least 45 minutes. He was very, very into this. Just not into staying with us.

Amelia

Here is Amelia in Tennessee with the Mississippi River behind her and Arkansas behind her.

Also: growing out bangs is hard work.

The tram ride

The tram ride over the Mississippi River was very exciting. I wasn't prepared for 2 of our kiddos to suddenly be nervous and not want to ride. But, ride they did and I think they enjoyed it?

The highlights of the ride included:

1. Going over the place where our minivan was parked. Very exciting.
2. Seeing a giant pyramid. Very mysterious, this pyramid of Memphis.
3. crossing the Mississippi River. It's big.
4. Seeing the bridge we drove over last night. This bridge connects Arkansas to Tennessee.
5. Passing another team coming from the other direction.

Monorail ride