bugsy running on lone rock beach with the airstream and f-150 in the background

One night in West Memphis, AR (visit #3)–Big Trip #4

We were in West Memphis in mid-November 2022, as part of Big Trip #4. Read about our two previous trips to Memphis in 2020 here and 2017 here, and our subsequent visit in 2023 here.

a tug pushing a couple barges up the river
river view from Tom Sawyer’s

This is one of my favorite quick stops on the I-40 slog through the middle of the country, and as we were heading east from Spadra/Clarksville, in western Arkansas, we were happy to stop in West Memphis.

the Airstream's view of the Mississippi at Tom Sawyer's campground
our campsite near the river

The main draw of Tom Sawyer’s RV Park, in West Memphis, AR, about twenty minutes from downtown Memphis, is the Mississippi River. From your campsite, you can watch the cargo ships cruise by on their way to and from the Port of Memphis, a short distance upstream. Use a vessel tracker site like this to get ship info and schedules.

walking the dog along the Mississippi
looking at the far shore, you can see how low the river is

When we visited in November 2022, the Mississippi’s water level was crazy low, after a historic low near Memphis in mid-October. A low river means a narrower river–it was less than half as wide as usual near Memphis–restricting how much weight each barge can carry and how many barges can be towed together (most tugs push multiple barges). This will give you an idea of the size of a barge: one fully-loaded river barge can carry as much as 16 rail cars or 70 semis.

a barge on the Mississippi

56% of total freight tonnage, mostly agricultural products, travels from the Upper Mississippi states to Louisiana via the river. This site has some wild statistics about what states ship how much of which products. The slowdown last Fall corresponded with peak shipping season for corn and soybeans, the US’s top two export crops.

a boat on the Mississippi at sunset

So the show outside our trailer wasn’t as exciting as in higher-water times, but we still saw some traffic. The campground is big and peaceful and we had a relaxing evening watching the river.

AR-TN state line on the Big River Crossing bridge
the AR-TN state line, on the Big River Crossing bridge

In the morning, we went for a run on the Big River Trail, parking under the bridge at Big River Crossing, the longest pedestrian bridge across the Mississippi. This awesome trail runs along the Mississippi River levee system for 70 miles, with a spur into downtown Memphis. It’s a really neat place to run.

view of downtown Memphis from the Big River Crossing bridge
downtown Memphis, seen from the Big River Crossing bridge

Next time we might skip Nashville (more on that next post) and spend an extra day in West Memphis, so that we can go into downtown Memphis and explore more, without having to sacrifice river-watching time.

Comments

3 responses to “One night in West Memphis, AR (visit #3)–Big Trip #4”

  1. […] was looking at the map along I-40 to find our next overnight between Tulsa and Memphis, and he zeroed in on a recreation area on a lake in western Arkansas, not far from the interstate. […]

  2. […] 2020, as part of Big Trip #3. Read about our first visit in 2017 here, and subsequent visits in 2022 here and 2023 […]

  3. […] 2017, as part of our first winter trip to Austin. Read about our second visit in 2020 here, our third in 2022 here, and our fourth in 2023 […]

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *