Morning Exploring Tupelo: Elvis' Birthplace, Guitar Trail, Tupelo Fairpark, and Greatest Hits Music & Books

Date of Visit: June 20, 2025

Yesterday when we realized we would get to Tupelo around 3:30pm, I considered going further than planned and skipping Tupelo to have a shorter drive to Tulsa today. I'm glad I didn't, though, as we had a fun morning doing some things in Tupelo (and got a swim in last night at the hotel). I just wish we had realized there was the Elvis Guitar Trail yesterday because the weather was nice yesterday evening that we could have enjoyed actually walking and seeing more of the guitars.

As the grounds of the Elvis Presley Birthplace are alway open, we decided to go explore the outdoors part of the site before it opened at 9am. After getting coffee at Strange Brew Coffee, we headed over and spent about an hour doing the walking trail.

Around the house he was born in is a concrete circle with a section for each year of his life. The first 13 representing the years he lived in Tupelo have markers with a fact about Elvis or his family for that year.

From the marker for his 13th year (1948), there is a path that leads to the Elvis at 13 statue.

Next was the Assembly of God church that was Elvis' childhood church, which was not originally this close to his house, but was moved and was a residence when the church got a bigger church and later moved to this site and restored as a church.

The Fountain of Life has 13 spouts from the top representing his years in Tupelo and 29 from below representing his years in Memphis.

This 1939 Plymouth is a replica of the one the Presley family used when they left Tupelo for Memphis.

The Reflections area has a pond with a "Bridge Over Troubled Waters."

The tour ends with the overlook, which has the statues of Elvis as a boy and Elvis as an entertainer, which is known as "Becoming."

When we completed the grounds part of the tour, we still had about 30 minutes until the museum opened. We headed back to Strange Brew Coffee, so I could get the Elvis Presley. Along the way we stopped at one of the Elvis Guitar Trail guitars.

On our way back to the Elvis Presley Birthplace, we stopped at the Tupelo Fairpark, which was once the fairgrounds where he perfomed in 1956 and the iconic photo that this statue replicates was taken.

Back at the Elvis Birthplace, we visited the museum and did the quick tour of the two room house.

Before hitting the road for Tulsa, we stopped at Greatest Hits Music & Books where I found some books I wanted (not hard to do...) and 2 Johnny Horton 45 records.

Our Koffee Trail: Java Drip Coffee

Date of Visit: June 29, 2024

Location: Java Drip Coffee, Gallup, NM

Rating: ❤️ (Love)

Last night we noticed a coffeeshop named Thanx a Latte when exploring Holbrook, Arizona, where we stayed the night. We considered going there before hitting the road this morning, but it was not open on the weekend. In searching where we could go instead, I found Java Drip Coffee in Gallup.

When I showed Dad the picture of the place, he called it the coffee shack. It is a good description, but it is also a good design for a small drive through place, especially since it was set up to have a window on each side so could take the order on one side while finishing up the other side's order.

The menu has a lot of variety. When we were stopping, Mik said he did not want anything, but then he saw the menu and decided he needed to try something, too.

I had a Toasted Marshmallow Latte.

Mom had an Iced Black & White Mocha.

Mik had an Iced Turtle Pie.

See full list of Our Koffee Trail stops here and Our Koffee Trail Google Maps list here.

Enchanted Highway: How We Spent Dad's First Retired Father’s Day

Dad and I spent the first week of Dad’s retirement traveling to the 2024 North Dakota Cowboy Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony in Medora. Father’s Day marked the beginning of his second week of retirement. It started off with a visit to Theodore Roosevelt National Park South Unit and a round of mini-golf at Little Bully Pulpit in Medora before beginning our journey back to Chicago on I-94 to pick up Mik and start his 30th birthday trip.

There was so much more of North Dakota we wanted to explore, but we settled on checking out the Enchanted Highway as it was right along the route. The Enchanted Highway is a series of large metal sculptures leading to the town of Regent. Not part of the Enchanted Highway, but as we continued on I-94 we also stopped at the largest Holstein cow, sandhill crane, and buffalo.

The first sculpture, Geese in Flight, is actually visible from I-94 as it is right at Exit 72. This sculpture holds the Guinness World Record for Largest Scrap Metal Sculpture.

Along the road as you approach the parking area for the sculpture, there are Geese sculptures.

Next was Deer Crossing.

At this stop we noticed The Maze of Enchantment. We later found many of the sculptures had an associated activity for children (of all ages).

Then there were Grasshoppers.

And a ride on a grasshopper.

As we were pulling out of the parking lot for the Grasshoppers we also happened to catch a glimpse of the North Dakota state bird, a Western Meadowlark.

Our next stop was Dad’s favorite, Fisherman’s Dream.

At this stop there was a boat run aground that you could climb aboard.

Our next encounter was Pheasants on the Prairie. As we drove to the next stop, we even saw an actual Ring Necked Pheasant crossing the road.

Then there was my favorite, Teddy Roosevelt Rides Again.

Here there was a stagecoach you could climb up into.

Just before arriving in Regent was Tin Family.

The journey ends in Regent at a Gift Shop and Wirly Gigs.

The clerk in the gift shop told us to check out the next sculpture at the end of the road, Sir Albert slaying a Dragon. For more details about the Enchanted Highway, visit the Enchanted Highway website.

After getting back on I-94, our next stop was in New Salem, ND to see Salem Sue, which is the World's Largest Holstein Cow.

Next stop was the World's Largest Sandhill Crane in Steele, ND.

Last stop sightseeing in North Dakota was the World's Largest Buffalo in Jamestown, which was built the same year Dad was born.