Welcome to Graceland, the former home and resting place of the King of Rock-n-Roll, Elvis Presley. Purchased in March of 1957, Elvis was seeking a farmhouse type home to give him privacy, and at the time, Graceland was located several miles beyond Memphis’ main urban area. As you can see now, the area is completely urban. Listed on the National Register of Historic places and declared a National Historic Landmark, Graceland is the second most-visited house in America, second only to the White House.
Shortly after purchasing Graceland, while filming “Jailhouse Rock,” Elvis spent in excess of $500,000 for extensive modifications, two of which you can easily see from GZ, it’s famous iron gates and wall. Designed by Abe Sauer, the iron gates resemble a book of sheet music with green-colored musical notes and silhouettes of the King himself. The wall is made with pink Alabama fieldstone and is covered with graffiti from fans expressing their admiration for Elvis and the joy he brought to their lives.
The graffiti phenomenon started while Elvis was still alive, and the grounds keepers worked diligently to keep the wall clean. After Elvis died, the volume of fan graffiti proved overwhelming, and the estate decided to leave the wall alone. The wall outside of Graceland has given fans a sense of warmth, welcome and camaraderie. Over the years, fans have turned the wall into a special place where they write personal messages to Elvis. The Graceland wall has been signed by millions of people, including celebrities, politicians and fans from around the world.
To claim this virtual, one must complete one of the following tasks:
Sign the wall with your cache name and date
or
Take a picture in front of the gates posing like Elvis
or
Take a picture with an Elvis impersonator near GZ
or
Take a picture holding Graceland in your hand
Any of the above methods will suffice; however, a picture of your method must be attached to your log and taken AFTER the posted date of this cache!
Waymarks have been posted for temporary curbside parking; there are other free and paid parking options nearby if one wishes to visit longer. Please note that other than special events, this area is not completely safe at night; this is not a 24 hour cache, and is highly advisable to hunt it during daylight hours. If you wish to visit Elvis' grave at no cost, every morning from 7:30-8:30am, the gates open, and visitors are welcome to walk up the drive to the Meditation Garden. Having over half a million visitors annually from around the world is truly a testament to Elvis’ lasting memory. I bid you peace on your journey to finding this Hunka Hunka virtual cache.
Virtual Reward - 2017/2018
This Virtual Cache is part of a limited release of Virtuals created between August 24, 2017 and August 24, 2018. Only 4,000 cache owners were given the opportunity to hide a Virtual Cache. Learn more about Virtual Rewards on the Geocaching Blog.