Traces of history

Vicksburg, MS – For the first time this trip, we actually propped the RV door open for some fresh air!  We hit 60 degrees today, with sunshine, and it sure felt good.  Of course, it has since dipped back, but we are taking it as a sign of warmth to come.

The majority of our travel today was along the Natchez Trace Parkway, with just 30 miles at the end on Interstate 20 to take us to the western edge of the state, about two thirds down from its northern state line.  Vicksburg sits on the shore of the Mississippi River, a city of 50,000 and the site of the largest Civil War cemetery in the country – some 17,000 graves of Union soldiers.

It was a gorgeous day for a leisurely trip along the parkway, with its rolling terrain, tall trees and small streams.  Not having to contend with commercial traffic meant we saw very few other travelers in either direction, and allowed us glimpses of deer, herons and even a turtle basking in the sun as we passed by.  The forest this time of year is a lot less lush than it will be in a couple of months, but we could see much further into it as a result.  When everything is in full leaf, the greenery is spectacular, though; we saw it in a short film about the Trace a couple of days ago.

At lunchtime we stopped at the French Camp, a site where a stand, or inn, was built in 1812.  It was converted into a school which has been running since 1822.  Today it’s run as a Christian academy for kids from troubled homes.  We didn’t see any students, but we strolled along the boardwalk to look at some of the historic wooden buildings on the site.  There was a little café serving soup and sandwiches, but we discovered it after we had already eaten in the RV, and we decided eating double meals would only be an occasional indulgence.

For several miles the Trace took us alongside the Ross R. Barnett Reservoir, a large section of the Pearl River that sparkled in the sun. It was the most water we’d seen since Lake Ontario – if you don’t count all the stuff that fell out of the sky a few days ago.

Further down the road, we turned off to look at an ancient burial mound, built between 750 and 1,250 years ago.  The remains of some 41 people were located in the mound, buried in three different time periods, according to the historical plaque.  It was a beautifully peaceful spot.

Not long after, we left the Trace and joined the I-20 toward Vicksburg.  It was a bit windy to begin with, but we really felt the rush of wind with every transport truck that whizzed by!  And there were quite a few!  It made the miles along today’s pleasant country road all the sweeter by contrast.