being a tourist

.....in your own backyard.

......

I had challenged myself this summer to be a tourist in our own area. There are places here that we have visited with regularity such as the zoo and the children's museum but so many others that we haven't. Sometimes it is a little embarrassing that I haven't taken Carly to some of the best things this area has to offer. We won't even talk about Graceland (that's on September's schedule)!

Friday, we set out to Tunica. Tunica is best known for its casino industry. It is always a little amazing the huge casinos that have popped up in what was previously some mighty-fine cotton farmland. Tidbit: casinos pay a lot more than farming does. And speaking of casinos, they produce LOTS of tax revenue which I'm sure funded the Tunica RiverPark. They are working really hard in Tunica to bring in tourist dollars and they know that to do that they have to offer more than gambling.

Carly and I really enjoyed our visit. It is a beautiful building and the grounds are really nice. They have this fun bridge to walk over to the Tunica Queen's dock. There is a large "boardwalk" along the river and walking trails. The MS River is very familiar to us because we are from the Delta, but Carly was still mesmerized by the barges on the river. It was 9 in the morning and cloudy so it was pleasant walking around outside.

The museum is about the Mississippi River. There is a section about the wildlife including aquariums and terrariums. That was probably Carly's favorite part.

Carly came home with 3 facts to tell Kenny.

1. Hernando Desoto "discovered" the Mississippi River. Native Americans already knew where the River was. Desoto wasn't looking for a river at all but treasure.
2. The Mississippi Delta has several feet of topsoil. Demonstrated by a tube as tall as the first and second floor. Compared to New Mexico which has no topsoil and Vermont that only has inches. That is why there is so much farming here and not so much in New Mexico.
3. French explorers had settled most of the Mississippi River. Thomas Jefferson bought the Louisiana Purchase from the French to add to the original 13 colonies.

We went to the 3rd floor observation deck to take a look. It is hard to tell but this point sticks way out. Carly was a little unsure about the safety of it (what's holding this up?). She was looking over the left side first and then turned to the right with the statement "if I fall I want to be on the grass". I didn't bother to tell her that it wouldn't matter as high as we were.

It was a good morning and a good adventure.