Day 7 - A July Stroll in the Southland

 Louisville, KY to Hot Springs, AR

The day's goal would be to make yet another long drive a bit more enjoyable in the way that there must be things to do and see on the way to visit my brother, my dad, and his wife, Mimi-Sarah at their home in Arkansas. The drive between Louisville and Hot Springs would be about 9 hours. Ordinarily there would be a number of things to do and see along the route in the Central Kentucky hills, and the route would take us straight through Nashville, but Kentucky, Tennessee, and Arkansas in July is hot enough. Couple it with a heatwave that's seeing temperatures soar above 100 degrees Fahrenheit throughout the whole of the Southland, and it made the idea of getting out of the truck for anything other than gas an absurdity.

With one exception...

Bass Pro Shops on its own is a bit of a marvel. If you've never been to one of these outdoor super-stores, you kinda owe it to yourself to go; even if you don't care for the outdoors. The name would suggest this is a place for anglers but the reality is, it's a place where you can get literally ANYTHING to support life outdoors. Camping gear, hunting gear, climbing gear, hiking gear, and of course, fishing gear. They're really fun to visit, and the three stores I've been to have live aquarium exhibits inside - which makes it retail Heaven for a budding 10 year old naturalist.

Given that, all the Bass Pro Shops I'm sure are pretty cool places to visit. But the Memphis Bass Pro Shop is in a class all its own. As we entered the city limits to Memphis rumbling down the famed Interstate 40 East/West Highway, the road winds a bit to the South then back to the West then back to the South and then finally the West again toward the mighty Mississippi. It's at this point you see it... A gigantic chrome pyramid at the foot of the Frisco Bridge with enormous signage reading "Bass Pro Shops" and "Ducks Unlimited".  The place is so enormous, it has its own road named for it! Bass Pro Place (or some such).

Once inside, it's hard to believe what you're seeing. The enormity of the place, the retail maven that it is, has multiple restaurants including a burger joint on the main level, a restaurant on the observation tower 300 feet up, a snack center, a confectioner, a museum, and multiple fresh and salt water aquarium exhibits throughout. And did I mention this is a RETAIL CENTER? You could quite literally spend the day in this place, as well as your first born child's college tuition.

In life, I have an expression I use often - I picked it up from a colleague of mine several years ago. "Every Day is a School Day." It means quite simply, we're always learning. At the Bass Pro Shop, I learned that one could buy a 12 gauge shotgun for just a hair more than one could buy a new Harley Davidson. $20,000?! For a duck gun made of steel and wood?? Color me impressed.

What a place this is! Conor and I spent about 2 hours wandering through all the carefully curated retail areas, aquarium exhibits, and the Water Fowl Museum before ultimately making our way to the observation tower for a really cool view of the Mighty Mississippi. We had dinner, took a nice long break, and then pressed on to Arkansas to finish the trip. A good day indeed - despite being caught in the web of a retailer's dream, because we did not leave this place empty handed!

We're on a Healing Road, but it ain't cheap! Until tomorrow...