Planning A Roadtrip, St. Louis To New Orleans

[bluez]

Im planning a road trip in april, St. Louis to New Orleans.

I want nothing but juke joints, and good eats "b.b.q." and would

also be interested in visiting some old plantation homes.

What would be the best route? NO INTERSTATES! just two

laners if possible.

 

[Keep the Show on the Road!]

Im planning a road trip in april, St. Louis to New Orleans.

I want nothing but juke joints, and good eats "b.b.q." and would

also be interested in visiting some old plantation homes.

What would be the best route? NO INTERSTATES! just two

laners if possible.

 

Bluez,

 

Sounds like a great plan, and several of the gang here will offer EXPERT advice...I assure you! I am across the continent, so what I will do is simply welcome you!

 

Keep the Show on the Road!

 

Dave

[DennyG]

Howard said there's only one place I know

Sam said tell me quick man I got to run

Ol' Howard just pointed with his gun

And said that way down on Highway 61.

Bob Dylan, Highway 61 Revisited, 1965

US-61 is the short answer but I'm guessing that someone named Bluez already knew that. You may also know about Steve Cheseborough's Blues Traveling and Richard Knight's The Blues Highway. Both are good guide books. US-61 will take you through Memphis & Clarksdale, MS, and within spitting range of Helena, AR. All filled with blues and plenty of BBQ. There are several other towns (e.g., Cleveland, Leland) right on Sixty-One and even more (e.g., Indianola, Yazoo City) within a few miles. US-49 splits into two parts through the Delta so, if you're just making one pass, a choice between US-61, US-49E, and US-49W will have to be made.

 

I've never done that entire stretch in one shot but will point you to a Memphis to St Louis trip starting here and a New Orleans to Memphis trip starting here. Another Delta outing, Memphis to Natchez, starts here. I know that Memphis resident Alex can provide some more details on the roads and, when Kip shows up, he'll be able to tell you about every BBQ joint between St Louis and Clarksdale. I'll be happy to share what I know.

 

So, welcome, you've got great taste in road trip targets

[Alex Burr - hester_nec]

I've been over 61 (old and new) between Blytheville > Memphis > Clarksdale several times. Only problem is on the old alignment, which still exists, there ain't nothing out there, as Denny can attest to the stretch between Memphis (actually Walls, MS) and Lula!!! Well, Robinsonville has casinos and Tunica has a nice veterans memorial and somewhere south of Tunica is a really nice musuem, that's quite new.

 

However, if you want to run the old alignment for nostalgia come south on U S 61 out of Blytheville. Approximately 7.5 miles south of the U S 61/AR 118 junction in Joiner there is a road that bears left - this is AR 42-AR 30, Stacy Road. This is an old alighment. Tho a little rough it's very driveable. About the only thing out there is a long closed radio station in (was) Stacy.

 

The next long segment of the old U S 61 is south of Memphis. It runs parallel to the west of the new road. To accesses it you go to Walls. I missed it the first time I drove over it - easist way is to turn off the new 61 at Goodman road, go straight about 200 yards across the old railroad line. Road turns left, then go about 400 yards and turn right onto Old 61.

 

As I said there isn't much over there - but there isn't a whole hell of a lot over on the current 61 either. Take yer choice - 2 lanes with little if any traffic or 4 lanes with trucks and traffic.

 

Downtown Tunica is hasn't really changed much, like most towns in Mississippi, in the last 50, 60 years or so, there's casinos just north of Tunica in Robisonville (the casinos ARE Robinsonville - even tho their mailboxes are in Tunica) and there is a laundr-a-mat in Lulu, so I've heard, that has some sort of blues related mural inside - but I'm not sure of that.

 

Clarksdale is a major blues stop, as Denny has said. From there on south it's been far to many years since I drove it so can't help you there. I'd recommend Richard Knights "The Blues Highway - New Orleans to Chicago" for more information. My copy is a bit dated (2001). Amazon.com has a 2nd (2003) edition for $15 and change;

 

Happy Traveling

 

Hudsonly,

Alex Burr

Memphis, TN

Edited December 6, 2008 by Alex Burr - hester_nec

[rudkipon66]

Hello:

 

US 61 is definitely your road...it will take you from New Orleans to St. Louis, past plantations, through the middle of the land of the Delta Blues, and with noseshot of a lot of great Bar-B-Cue.

 

--to get inspired, get Tim Steil's book "Highway 61 Revisited"...it is a picture book that takes you from the beginning of 61 to the end, with lots of great pictures, stories and information.

--I am not real well versed on the houses, but do know that Natchez has a ton of antebellum mansions...and there are plantations up and down 61; unfortunately, most of the houses that go along with them are gone.

--Once you get to Leland, you will be in Delta Blues country. By this time you need to have a copy of Cheeseboroughs Blues Traveling book...it will get you to every important blues site in the Delta, and a few that might leave you scratching your head. Leland (home of the Highway 61 Blues Museum) is where US 61 intersects with US 82. 82 has blues sites all along it...if you go East on 82 to Indianola, you will be in the home of BB King--he has a museum there...if you go to Greenwood, you will be in the center of Robert Johnson Country (he is buried in one of three sites around Greenwood.

--61 heads north from Leland to Clarksdale, passing through Shelby, it being the home of St. Louis blues legend Henry Townshend). Clarksdale is your blues mecca--there is a ton of Blues history there, and great opportunities to hear live music. The Delta Blues Museum has Muddy Waters Birthplace inside it. A stones throw away is the Ground Zero Blues Club, a juke joint/restaurant/bar Morgan Freeman opened. It has decent food and great music. There is also a true to life juke joint on the other side of the tracks called Reds, which you really have to be looking for--it looks like another abandoned building; there is a ghost sign (Laverne Music Co) on the front. You can find out a lot about music playing in Clarksdale and in the Delta by going to www.cathead.biz. It is a site run by Roger Stolle, who operates an awesome music/book/etc. store called Cathead just down the street from Ground Zero. Well worth stopping there; and well worth stopping down the street at the Delta Amusement Blues Cafe, where you can get a great breakfast/lunch and meet some of the greatest people in the world.

--Clarksdale is also home to a BBQ institution: Abes BBQ which is at the "Crossroads" (not the real one, just where the sign is) of SR 161 (old 61 and 49). It has been there since the 20's and serves up some fantastic pig!

--If you are looking for accomodations in Clarksdale you can stay in a bona fide sharecropper shack (the Shack Up Inn at Hopson Plantation), or at the Riverside Motel (where Bessie Smith died). The guy who owns the Riverside, Frank Ratliff, is an amazing individual...and while the outside looks somewnat suspect, they have redone the rooms and they look pretty nice (I don't believe, however, there are bathrooms in the rooms).

--from Clarksdale to Memphis, I recommend taking a side jaunt down US 49 to Helena Ark. It is the home of the Arkansas Blues and Heritage Festival, a place where Sonny Boy Williamson II spent a lot of quality time, and the place where the longest running radio show ("its King Biscuit Time") is broadcast from. The Delta Cultural Society operates a museum there as well.

--61 is 4 lane from Clarksdale to the Mississippi/TN Border; however, the original route runs somewhat parallel to it all the way to Walls, just south of the border.

--61 goes through a less than scenic part of Memphis, and joins I-55 just before crossing the Mississippi. It follows 55 to the Turrel Twist (US 63/Jonesboro exit); however, if you take SR 77 out of West Memphis, you will be on old 61.

--At the Missouri/Arkansas Border, 61 goes under a beautiful concrete arch...you outta do that--you probably won't get another chance to do it.

--My best grasp of BBQ is in the Sikeston area (on 61 about 150 miles south of Memphis). There you can find Dexter BBQ, which is named for the town of its origin, Dexter, MO. If you want to taste some great BBQ, Dexter, MO is 20 miles West of Sikeston on US 60. There you will find the original Dexter BBQ, as well as the granddady of all bootheel BBQ joints, the Hickory Log. There is also a place called Leon's Dexter Queen, which is an old drive inn where you can get the best pork shoulder sandwich around (affectionately referred to as "The Pig")...

--lots of nice things to see from Sikeston to St. Louis...from Benton north the scenery improves markedly...the Ste Genevieve area has a lot of wineries...of the bunch I'd recommend the Cave winery...it sits atop a cave that you can take your wine and a sandwich into. If you decide to stop there, stop first in Ste Gen and pick up some Oberlie sausage and garlic cheese--tasty...

--Certainly hope that you have a great trip! Slan go foill, Kip

[Alex Burr - hester_nec]

Something I should have remembered to mention. If you take the old alignment that I mentioned going past the old radio station in Stacy, be careful when you get to the south end. The road goes down a short hill, under a railroad bridge and immediately turns 90º right. You come out on Route 77. Turn left there and that will take you into downtown West Memphis.

 

When you reach Broadway (U. S. 70) turn left and follow E. Broadway to I-55 and pick up 61 over the I-55 bridge. The railroad bridges to your left were built back around 1916 and 1890 something, as I recall. The 1916 bridge had, from around 1926 to around 1947 or 1948, wings on either side planked over with wood. This was the car crossing - you came into Memphis on the south side of the bridge and left Memphis on the north side. I've been down where the ramps came into West Memphis and just standing there looking up at what's left of them is enough to scare one to death. You can check out the photos at www.freewebs.com/yankeetraveller - click on Memphis Day Trips and scroll down to 1 JAN 2007 - Memphis-Arkasas Speedway and old U S 70. I got to do some formating on that page.

 

Hudsonly,

Edited December 7, 2008 by Alex Burr - hester_nec