Bridgeport, Texas

I arrived at the Bay Landing Campground in Bridgeport, TX Friday afternoon.  It was hot (90s) and humid. In speaking with a local, I commented on the heat .... he told me I was whining and wait until summer.  LOL

My campsite

There is a fishing  lake on the other side of that row of trees.

The weather is very changeable .... severe thunderstorms were predicted for Saturday ... in fact I got a weather warning alert on my phone Friday evening ... not a drop of rain materialized, but the temps did drop .... It only reached 60 degrees on Sunday, with about 20 mph winds.  I've finally started to remember to watch the weather, but it doesn't seem to do me much good!

Friday evening was a catfish dinner and candy bar bingo in the RecHall.  Angie and her husband run the snack shop/restaurant in the RecHall and do all the cooking. Everyone was very nice, I made some new friends, and I won a game of bingo!  May prize?  Twix.

Since it wasn't raining on Saturday, I took a chance and headed to the grocery store, by way of the local quilt shop.  The owner was a delightful lady and we chatted for a couple of hours!  She feeds hummingbirds on her front porch ... as much as 25 pounds of sugar a month in the summer.  They just came up and sat on the strings of lights across the porch ... amazing.  I didn't' know they would just sit .... I had only seen them in flight at home.  In September they migrate through this area and there are thousands .... I need to come back to see that.

Since the two trees in her front yard are berry-producing Mulberry trees, she has all manner of birds ... including parrots sitting in the trees.

I also received a lesson on the proper way to clean and eat catfish.  And I had no idea the Mockingbird (state bird) had such a long tail.

Lunch was at the Village Kitchen in Jackborroa, a nice drive.  I did have to stop for some turkeys crossing the road on the way, but all-in-all, a pleasant afternoon.  :)

Tomorrow I'm off to see the Jeep dealer.  Hopefully, it won't be a long stay and I can start seeing more of the area.  I have a list of about 40 things I want to see while I'm here ....

Texas (TX) - From the Hasinai Indian word tejas meaning friends or allies

The flag was adopted as the state flag when Texas became the 28th state in 1845. As with the flag of the United States, the blue stands for loyalty, the white represents strength, and the red is for bravery. 

Texas Facts and Trivia

• Texas is popularly known as The Lone Star State. 

• Texas is the only state to have the flags of 6 different nations fly over it. They are: Spain, France, Mexico, Republic of Texas, Confederate States, and the United States.  Although six flags have flown over Texas, there have been eight changes of government: Spanish 1519-1685, French 1685-1690, Spanish 1690-1821, Mexican 1821-1836, Republic of Texas 1836-1845, United States 1845-1861, Confederate States 1861-1865, United States 1865-present

• The King Ranch in Texas is bigger than the state of Rhode Island. 

• More wool comes from the state of Texas than any other state in the United States.  Edwards Plateau in west central Texas is the top sheep growing area in the country.

• Texas is the only state to enter the United States by treaty instead of territorial annexation.

• The state was an independent nation from 1836 to 1845.

• Texas boasts the nation's largest herd of whitetail deer.

• A coastal live oak located near Fulton is the oldest tree in the state. The tree has an estimated age of more than 1,500 years.

• Sam Houston, arguably the most famous Texan, was actually born in Virginia. Houston served as governor of Tennessee before coming to Texas.

• Caddo Lake is the only natural lake in the state. 

• Dr Pepper was invented in Waco in 1885. The Dublin Dr Pepper, 85 miles west of Waco, still uses pure imperial cane sugar in its product. There is no period after the Dr in Dr Pepper.

• The first suspension bridge in the United States was the Waco Bridge. Built in 1870 and still in use today as a pedestrian crossing of the Brazos River. 

• The worst natural disaster in United States history was caused by a hurricane that hit Galveston in 1900. Over 8000 deaths were recorded.

• The first word spoken from the moon on July 20, 1969 was Houston. 

• El Paso is closer to Needles, California than it is to Dallas.  Texas includes 267,339 square miles, or 7.4% of the nation's total area. 

• More species of bats live in Texas than in any other part of the United States.  

• Port Lavaca has the world's longest fishing pier. Originally part of the causeway connecting the two sides of Lavaca Bay, the center span of was destroyed by Hurricane Carla in 1961.

• The Tyler Municipal Rose Garden is the world's largest rose garden. It contains 38,000 rose bushes representing 500 varieties of roses set in a 22-acre garden.

• The world's first rodeo was held in Pecos on July 4, 1883.

• The Flagship Hotel on Seawall Boulevard in Galveston is the only hotel in North America built entirely over the water.

• The Heisman trophy is named for John William Heisman the first full-time coach and athletic director at Rice University in Houston.

• Jalapeno pepper jelly originated in Lake Jackson and was first marketed in 1978.

Bossier - Shreveport, LA and Jefferson, TX

I-20 has a flashing warning sign for bear crossings for the next 13 miles .... different from the usual deer crossing signs.

They had the pretty wild flowers along the road like they did in Texas last Springs. Nice.

Crossing the Mississippi River Bridge into Louisiana

I'm "camped" at the Diamond Jack's Casino for 5 nights.  I went into the casino to check out the buffets (way too expensive), lost $5.00 to the Video Poker machines and left.  I have never cared for gambling or casinos .... but it is a convenient place to stay while in the area.

My first stop, although I knew it would be closed (only open on Saturday and I won't be here on a Saturday), was the Krewe of Gemini Mardi Gras Museum - The Ark-La-Tex Museum collects and displays all things Mardi Gras, including floats, costumes, and other accoutrements of the event.  I was hoping for some pictures ...

and then I spent some time at the Louisiana State Exhibit Museum - The museum displays dioramas of Louisiana products and natural resources, as well as dioramas highlighting the history and culture of the state. The museum also has fine collections of American Indian artifacts and works by Louisiana artists.  It's interesting, and important on this journey, to learn about each of the states as I explore.  For instance, I didn't realize Louisiana was such a large producer of sweet potatoes, eggs, rice and strawberries.

Since it was such a lovely day, I wanted to walk a bit so I went to The Louisiana Boardwalk - It is mostly an outlet shopping "mall", but you can take a nice walk along the river, enjoy a spin on the carousel, ride the trolley, or watch the dancing fountain. The Boardwalk also offers a child's play area, a bowling alley, and a movie theater ... and dozens of restaurants.

I was in time to watch the dancing fountain - music and lights (which I imagine are beautiful at night) ... it was nice.




Interesting, the bridge I crossed over the river on also crossed over the Boardwalk, so I got to see it from every angle ....

Shreveport has the first Carl's Jr. (not a Hardee's but a genuine Carl's) I've seen since I left the West coast a year ago.


And what does one do after spending a day in Louisiana?  They drive to Texas .... ha

Jefferson, TX is closer to Shreveport that to Dallas (my next stop), so it was a better time to explore that town.  It was the state's largest and most significant river port; founded in 1836 and named after the President, Thomas Jefferson, it is the 5th oldest town in Texas.

In the 1840s steamboat captain William Perry moved to Jefferson from New England and saw potential in Big Cypress Creek, a tributary of the Red River.  The captain oversaw its dredging and soon steamboats from Shreveport and New Orleans were transporting cotton downstream and returning with manufactured goods.  By the 1870s the inland port's volume of commerce was second only to that of Galveston.

I stopped at the Jefferson Historical Museum to get a sense of the history of the town ...

The Museum building used to be the Courthouse (on the second floor) and the window etchings for the various rooms are still there ...

I took a different route back to Shreveport and saw a couple of interesting things ...

When I got back to the campground the man parked next to me had just finished washing the bugs off the front of his coach.  We talked for awhile and then I mentioned ... if he had the time and pointed to mine .... he asked me if it was going to snow tomorrow.  ha.  I've seen several out there washing the front of their rigs .... I used to be so good about doing it; it was part of my "set up" when I pulled into a new campground.  I've gotten so lazy ....

Louisiana (LA) - Named in honor of France's King Louis XIV

The design consists of the pelican group from the state seal, in white and gold, and a white ribbon bearing the state motto, "Union, Justice, and Confidence", on a field of a solid blue. Flag adopted 1912.

Louisiana Facts and Trivia

• The world famous "Mardi Gras" is celebrated in New Orleans. Mardi Gras is an ancient custom that originated in southern Europe. It celebrates food and fun just before the 40 days of Lent: a Catholic time of prayer and sacrifice.

• The Battle of New Orleans, which made Andrew Jackson a national hero, was fought two weeks after the War of 1812 had ended and more than a month before the news of the war's end had reached Louisiana. 

• Louisiana has the tallest state capitol building in the United States; the building is 450 feet tall with 34 floors.

• Louisiana is the only state in the union that does not have counties. Its political subdivisions are called parishes.

• Louisiana is the only state with a large population of Cajuns, descendants of the Acadians who were driven out of Canada in the 1700s because they wouldn't pledge allegiance to the King of England.

• The Superdome in New Orleans is the worlds largest steel-constructed room unobstructed by posts. Height: 273 feet (82.3 meters), Diameter of Dome: 680 feet (210 meters), Area of Roof: 9.7 acres, Interior Space: 125,000,000 cubic feet, Total floor footage: 269,000 sq. ft. (82,342 sq. meters), Electrical Wiring: 400 miles (640 kilometers)

• Metairie is home to the longest bridge over water in the world, the Lake Pontchartrain causeway. The causeway connects Metairie with St. Tammany Parish on the North Shore. The causeway is 24 miles long. 

• Breaux Bridge is known as the "Crawfish Capital of the World".  

• In 1803 the United States paid France $15 million for the Louisiana Territory. 828,000 square miles of land west of the Mississippi River. The lands acquired stretched from the Mississippi River to the Rocky Mountains and from the Gulf of Mexico to the Canadian border. Thirteen states were carved from the Louisiana Territory. The Louisiana Purchase nearly doubled the size of the United States.

• bayou: \BUY-you\ n. a French name for slow-moving "river"

• Louisiana's first territorial governor, William C.C. Claiborne had great admiration for the awkward bird that inhabited the Gulf Coast region. The pelican, rather than let its young starve, would tear at its own flesh to feed them. The Governor's great respect for the Pelican led him to first use the Pelican symbol on official documents.

• The Catahoula Leopard Dog, often called the Catahoula Hound, is the official state dog. 

•  The town of Jean Lafitte was once a hideaway for pirates. 

• Winnsboro, the "Stars and Stripes Capital of Louisiana", is one of the most patriotic cities in America. On Memorial Day, July 4th, Veteran's Day, Labor Day, and other special occasions, approximately 350 American flags fly proudly along highway 15. The golden spike, commemorating the completion of the east-west Vicksburg, Shreveport and Pacific Railroad, was driven at Bossier City on July 12, 1884, by Julia "Pansy" Rule. It was the first such spike driven by a woman.

• Rayne is known as the "The Frog Capital of the World".  

• Gueydan is known as the "Duck Capital of America" in recognition of its abundance of waterfowl.

• Mamou bills itself as "The Cajun Music Capital of the World." Mamou musicians, in particular the musicians who have perform at Fred's Lounge have been a major force in expanding the audience for Cajun music far beyond Southwest Louisiana. 

• Church Point boasts the designation "The Buggy Capital of the World". A festival celebrates this designation annually on the first weekend in June.  

• Pineville is home to a one of a kind museum called the Old Town Hall Museum. It is the only museum in the entire state of Louisiana dedicated to municipal government.

Jackson, MS

I've pretty much had the campground to myself the entire time I've been here ... nice.  Today a group came in and took over about 28 sites.  They are a group of Airstream trailers that meet once a year.  Some of them were pretty cool to see.

I also came back to find the two sites next to me occupied.  I was surprised when they packed up and left the next day.  In talking with the Park Ranger he said he's sometimes surprised when people come in and set up with what looks like they will be there for a month and then pack it all up again the next day.  For me, that's just too much work.  If  I'm only staying one night, I'm boondocking and maybe putting out the one slide next to my bed. 

First stop was my last stop at the local post office.  I made a trip into town yesterday for the final mail, only to find that the post office is closed on Thursday afternoon.  These small town post offices often don't keep full time hours so I try to check, but I missed them not coming back from lunch on Thursdays.

On my way to the Pocahontas Mounds I saw another, cleaner sign for the Cactus Plantation so turned to follow the signs.  I drove 15-20 miles and didn't see any other signs ... oh well.  But at the Mississippi Petrified Forest I learned that parts of this area was sandy at one time, so that explained how they were able to grow the cactus.

I also looked for the Giant Tepee Bbq Restaurant for a meal, but didn't find that either.  Big D's Teepee B.B.Q is housed inside of a giant tepee that seats 83 people. I thought it might be fun.

I did find this ....

Washington Monument Replica - off I-55 near Ridgeland

And this ...

Built in 1848, the Chapel of the Cross was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1972. Visitors to the church can tour the inside and outside of the building, which was created by the English architect Frank Wills. It was closed when I arrived, so I missed the inside.

The cemetery was interesting.



I drove around the area of Jackson quite a bit (about 100 miles), on County roads, State road and back roads, just getting a sense of Mississippi off the beaten path.  The roads all seem to be in disrepair, but then if you've ever driven in LA or Texas .... It is a pretty state; green, swampy, lots of nats and other flying insects (apparently mosquitoes too because I am chewed), but with an old-time charm different from the other Southern states... almost like time has moved slower here without the "modern" progress of the years.

The Mississippi Petrified Forest, a collection of logs and rocks that were jammed into a river 36 million years ago...

Although the logs are frozen in time, the birds and sounds of nature are full of life and offer scenic, tranquil views.  The walk is about 6 blocks long, in a circle, but it was a pleasant outing.

The geological name of the red sands in the wall is "Forest Hill Formation".

Earth Science Museum

Instead of taking the Interstate back to Port Gibson, I opted to take the Natchez Trace one last time.  Although much slower, I find it peaceful and serene.

Sunday I drive I-20 to Louisiana.  Since I'll only be there a week, I don't "qualify" for a state stamp on my map.  Oh well ... I'll have to stay and see the state when I drive the I-10 trip from the Florida Panhandle.  I decided to postpone a longer stay this trip because of the travel to Seoul and London in June that wasn't previously in the schedule.

Vicksburg, MS

Beautiful day in Vicksburg (if you're an iguana - ha) - temp is high 80s and the humidity is at 95%.  Actually it wasn't too bad as there was a nice breeze off of the river ...

The first attraction on my list for Vicksburg was a tour of Historic Homes - Several antebellum mansions, many containing original decorations and furnishings, are featured on the self-guided tour.  I nixed that stop because I was so over that at this point ....

... And moved onto the Biedenharn Coca Cola Museum in historic old town.  This is a history and memorabilia museum; the Biedenharn Candy Company was where Coca Cola was bottled for the first time in 1894. Joseph Biedenharn created a totally new concept of marketing the beverage and established the cornerstone of the independent network of franchised bottlers who now distribute bottled Coca Cola all over the world.

The next several hours were spent exploring the Vicksburg National Military Park.  My Senior Park Pass saved me the $15 admission - yeah, but it would have been worth the cost.

The Campaign for Vicksburg was second only, and may even been more important, than Gettysburg in terms of importance to the Civil War.  A very different type of war was fought here and it was interesting to see the differences between this campaign and Gettysburg.

From the start of the Civil War, control of the Mississippi River south of Cairo, IL was vitally important to the federal government.  Controlling it would let Union troops and supplies pass into the South.  It would isolate Texas, Arkansas, and most of Louisiana - a region crucial to the South for supplies and recruits. Vicksburg was vital to the North.

The Visitor's Center has a film that was very interesting about the siege Maj. Gen. Ulysses S. Grant took to take Vicksburg and made the tour drive that much more meaningful.

Shirley House - Union troops called it "the white house."  It is the only surviving wartime structure in the park.  During the siege it served as headquarters for the 45th Illinois Infantry.

The U.S.S. Cairo is a Civil War Ironclad ship that was used in the Battles of Plum Point and Memphis. The ship is over 140 years old and helped the Union army travel down the Mississippi and Ohio rivers.

Vicksburg National Cemetery - of the nearly 17,000 Union soldiers buried here, about 13,000 are unknown.

I drove parts of both of the Vicksburg Scenic Drives - through some of their old neighborhoods.  They have two; the other drive takes you to the Military Park and other important Civil War stops.

During these months in the East and in the South, I have toured/experienced the Civil War - including the 2 most important battles, among several others - and I've driven and walked parts of the Civil Rights Trail - things that were previously only dates and facts in a history book for me.

I've looked at Antebellum mansions and plantations and learned how they lived and how they treated their slaves. 

(I've also experienced a whole new, wide range of insects, both flying and crawling .... but that's another matter ... and all the BBQ one could eat in a lifetime .... and some of the most unpredictable weather .... )

As I'm heading West for an entirely different change of scenery, I thought I would take the opportunity to experience the World's Only Cactus Plantation  (the cactus plantation boasts about 3,000 types of cacti) ... how do they grow cactus in a swamp?  Well, apparently they don't, because the plantation no long exists; even the sign has "outgrown" it's usefulness.  ha.  Oh well, I'll be in the Southwest soon enough.

While driving around I've driven over a couple of snakes laying in the road ... long black ones. I don't know what kind they are .... but the one I ran over in the Jeep must have caught in the wheel for a moment because it hit the undercarriage a couple of times, which was really off-putting.

And we know how I feel about the bridges .... Built in 1917, the Bovina Railroad Bridge is a concrete arch bridge that offers a route for vehicle traffic over the Big Black River. It was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1988.

Can you see the Confederate flag that is painted in one of the support columns?

And this is the Mississippi River Bridge - the old one and the new one ...

The churches in Mississippi aren't just confined to a street or two in town (although they do line Church Street as in other cities and states), but they are everywhere you drive .... country roads and dirt lanes.  Most are "MB" denomination, which I found stands for Missionary Baptist.

I have enjoyed my time here, and will make more trips to "this coast," but I am looking forward to getting back to the familiar for awhile and seeing family and friends.   It seems odd to think I will be in SoCal in less than a month.  I will have been on the road full-time for a year and a half and about 60,000 miles.

Mississippi - Based on the Ojibwa Indian word messipi meaning "big river"

Mississippi State Flag

 

Mississippi Facts and Trivia

• Borden's Condensed Milk was first canned in Liberty.

• In 1902 while on a hunting expedition in Sharkey County, President Theodore (Teddy) Roosevelt refused to shoot a captured bear. This act resulted in the creation of the world-famous teddy bear.

• The world's largest shrimp is on display at the Old Spanish Fort Museum in Pascagoula. 

• The world's largest cactus plantation is in Edwards.

• Elvis Presley was born in Tupelo, on January 8, 1935. 

• In 1884 the concept of selling shoes in boxes in pairs (right foot and left foot) occurred in Vicksburg at Phil Gilbert's Shoe Parlor on Washington Street.  

• Blazon-Flexible Flyer, Inc. in West Point is proclaimed to make the very best snow sled in the United States, which became an American tradition. It is called The Flexible Flyer.

• Friendship Cemetery in Columbus has been called Where Flowers Healed a Nation. It was April 25, 1866, and the Civil War had been over for a year when the ladies of Columbus decided to decorate both Confederate and Union soldiers' graves with beautiful bouquets and garlands of flowers. As a direct result of this kind gesture, Americans celebrate what has come to be called Memorial Day each year, an annual observance of recognition of war dead.

• The largest Bible-binding plant in the nation is Norris Bookbinding Company in Greenwood. 

• In 1834 Captain Isaac Ross, whose plantation was in Lorman, freed his slaves and arranged for them to be sent to Africa, where they founded the country of Liberia. Recently, representatives of Liberia visited Lorman and placed a stone at the Captain's grave site in honor of his kindness.

• The world's largest cottonwood tree plantation is in Issaquena County.

• David Harrison of Columbus owns the patent on the Soft Toilet Seat. Over 1,000,000 are sold every year.

• The first football player on a Wheaties box was Walter Payton of Columbia.

• Greenwood is the home of Cotton Row, which is the second largest cotton exchange in the nation and is on the National Register of Historic Places.

• The International Checkers Hall of Fame is in Petal.

• Natchez was settled by the French in 1716 and is the oldest permanent settlement on the Mississippi River. Natchez once had 500 millionaires, more than any other city except New York City.

• Natchez now has more than 500 buildings that are on the National Register of Historic Places. 

• Pine Sol was invented in 1929 by Jackson native Harry A. Cole, Sr.

• The world's largest pecan nursery is in Lumberton.

• Greenwood is called the Cotton Capital of the World.

• Belzoni is called the Catfish Capital of the World.

• Vardaman is called the Sweet Potato Capital of the World.

• Greenville is called the Towboat Capital of the World.

• Root beer was invented in Biloxi in 1898 by Edward Adolf Barq, Sr.