Up the Mississippi River

Vicksburg, MS

Today I said farewell to New Orleans, for now. Something tells me it won’t be forever. Still lots to explore and I’d like to see it when it wasn’t Mardi Gras time.

This morning I headed north up the Mississippi and into another new State for me and for the trailer (it’s now been through 8 States), Mississippi. I back tracked a little, heading back on Interstate 10 through Baton Rouge and then heading north on Highway 61.

Just inside the State line, I stopped at the Mississippi Hospitality Centre to get information on my stay in Mississippi. First time I’ve seen a visitor centre that advertised, and indeed provided, Security in the parking area of the centre. It wasn’t a warm and cozy feeling for me, imaging there must be a need for it. In any case, there was a couple in the centre using the wifi who I said hi to as I passed them, and when the folks at the desk asked where I was from and I said Canada, they said that the couple also there were too. Wouldn’t you know they were from Ottawa too! They were just heading back to Ottawa after a trip to Florida and over to New Orleans. We had a chat about our experiences in the south.

I headed off up the road, and arrived at the town of Natchez just in time for a great lunch of blackened catfish sandwich at a place called Roux 61 Seafood and Grill. It was recommended to me by the folks at the “Mississippi Hospitality Centre” and it was indeed a great choice. Then I headed into Natchez.

Natchez is built atop a bluff overlooking the Mississippi. Across the river is Vidalia, Louisiana. It’s their 300 birthday this year and their catch phrase is where people have been meeting for 300 years.

It is the oldest continuous settlement on the Mississippi River, the early major transportation route, and is a blend of cultures and peoples: African-American, British, French, Native American and Spanish. The French were the first to arrive and with them, the first slaves from Africa. The English, Scottish and Spanish also moved in until in 1797, the first American Flag was raised at the House on Ellicott Hill. Natchez was the first capital after Mississippi became a State in 1817.

Natchez has a similar history as the plantations further south, although they grew cotton in this area rather than sugar cane. There are beautiful antebellum mansions along the river that remained largely intact during and after the Civil War. Many of them are well preserved and have been turned into B&Bs or are open to the public for viewing. In the spring and fall, there are organized Pilgramage Tours, when many of the private homes are open to viewing by the public.

I wandered all over the historic downtown area taking pictures and chatting with people. One thing I noticed is that for the second time since I’ve been in the south, someone referred to the lovely day we had today as a “pretty” day. It was a young man I encountered as he was trimming grass on one of the old homes. The southern charm is still alive and well and living in the south. People are so open and welcoming and inquisitive. Another small cultural thing I first noticed in southern Texas is that snow cones are not “snow cones” here, they are “snow balls”.

One historic marker I stopped at was the Forks of the Road marker. Because of Natchez’s location, on the Mississippi and the Natchez Trace trail that runs from Natchez to Nashville, it became one of the major slave trading sites in the south. The marker is at an intersection that showed up on a map in 1853 and which identified the area as having 2 “Negro Marts”. If you’re interested in reading more about the slave trade and this particular location, there is a lengthy article at this link.

http://mshistorynow.mdah.state.ms.us/ar ticles/47/the-forks-of-the-road-slave-m arket-at-natchez

After getting my fill of pictures and noting the time, I headed off on the last part of my journey today, further north to Vicksburg, Mississippi. I’m staying tonight at the cheapest of the RV Parks I’ve stayed in so far, Ameristar RV Park. It’s associated with one of the casinos here and so it’s really just cost recovery to get more people in the door of the casino. It’s adequate and clean, although once again, the wifi isn’t good. Sigh. And no, I won’t be participating in the casino action.