Day 2 - Oxford MS

Miles today: 409

Miles total: 681

Bit of a rough start ... cold rain when I left Murphy (though the little carport was a big help). Rain lasted until I got near Chattanooga. Too bad because there’s a real scenic stretch of US74 along the river when you cross into Tennessee.

The fuel situation wasn’t as bad as yesterday. Was able to get gas near Chattanooga - thankfully it seems that many stations were rationing gas (the one I stopped at had a $10 limit). Huntsville AL was a little better though the first few I passed only had 87 octane. Once I got west of Decatur AL gas was pretty widely available. 

The weather also rapidly improved once I crossed into Alabama, and most of the afternoon was ideal: sunny and mid-70s. Found some nice roads hugging the Tennessee river just west of Chattanooga, then took US72 to Huntsville. After Decatur I rode AL24 across Alabama. All good roads.

While passing near Tupelo MS I made the mandatory stop to see Elvis’ birthplace. 

Turned out to be a little more interesting than I expected. Surrounding the house is this “walk of life” with markers for every year Elvis lived. A couple of the more notable years:

“1939 Home and car repossessed. Vernon released from prison.”

“1943 Family reported income of $1232.88 and paid $12.56 income tax”. 

Ended the day in Oxford with cocktails at City Grocery on Courthouse Square.  No, I did not have enough time to visit any of the William Faulkner plaques/statues/graves/homes/etc. Vernon Presley’s time in the joint was enough history for today.