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Published: April 24th 2017
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Total of 21 pictures. Make sure you see them all.
I was not happy with the weather report for Saturday morning’s travel to Vicksburg, but I pleasantly surprised when it changed at the last minute and the rain went around us and our planned route. We broke camp, leaving the barking beagles, and were on our way by 10:30 to our next stamp, Vicksburg Mississippi, 1.5 hours north.
The ride was pleasant on a beautiful highway. The last 3 miles of the trip we travelled a road that said ‘no trucks.’ I led the way very slowly, and other than a few low limbs that didn't reach my rig, we made it through safely. Ameristar RV resort is run by a nearby casino, it has about 60 sites with full hook ups, mostly a pavement lot with some grass. Very clean. There's a shuttle bus that takes campers across the highway to the casino. There are 4 other casinos nearby. I saw a report on TV that q1 casino revenues are up, the first time in a long time. Ginny begged off doing any activities in the afternoon, she wanted to do a couple of chores and make some
phone calls, but I really think she just wanted a nap. Kim and I took the car and headed for the Biedenharn Coca Cola museum. This is in an Old storefront downtown Vicksburg that looks like it could have been a soda fountain at one time. The museum cost $3.50 to get in, and it was filled with Coke memorabilia. I wouldn't call this a museum, really, but an interesting collection anyway. Martha would love it. I must say they do need to do a thorough housecleaning of their displays cabinets both inside and out; they were so dusty it was embarrassing. They also offered ice cream cones and sodas, we opted not to have one. We then drove around this part of the downtown area where there's a wall where some local artists had painted murals. Impression so far of Vicksburg is this is a poor city, certainly not as elegant as Natchez. It looks like they've tried to restore the main street, but it failed in many buildings.
As we left downtown we stopped at the casino associated with our campground, and both of us made a small contribution. We hoped to find a decent restaurant there
to go to for dinner, but there really wasn't any. Back at the campground Ginnie had done her chores and we decided to stay in for dinner. Good thing, because the skies opened up thunder and lightning, not as bad a storm as we could have, but certainly a lot of rain was put down.
We were on our way at 10 Sunday morning for the Vicksburg Battlefield. We stopped at the Visitor Center, watched the very interesting movie, got our passports stamped……time for a story. The National Park System just finished its 100th anniversary year. Each Park had a commemorative 100th anniversary stamp. It seems every park we have visited, the Ranger tells us, ‘You should have been here yesterday, we just retired the commemorative stamp yesterday.’ I feel like Groundhog Day movie, same events keep repeating, or The Endless Summer movie, ‘You should have been here yesterday.’ For $11.95 we bought the battleground tour CD - follow the directions, pause when need more time, you get the idea. We stopped frequently, taking pictures, reading historical markers.
The most interesting part, seeing the restoration of the iron clad GunBoat Cairo, (say KayRow). Another gem finding. I have
taken a lot of pictures of the signage at this exhibit, so read them if you want more info. Basically, the gunboats were used to shell Vicksburg during the siege to wear the Confederate army out. The gunboats also carried goods to the Union army. During one of those trips, the Cairo was sunk by hitting an under water mine. Not one crew member perished. It was raised by a Herculean effort in 1963, much of the structure and many furnishings and fixtures being preserved by the silt. Each artifact was painstakingly restored by staff and volunteers, and there is a large amount. The shell of the boat has been reassembled with as much of the original wood as possible, supplemented with modern planks. A walkway has been built so the visitors can see the actual insides. It is a wonderful exhibit.
Interesting things about this battlefield national park. The union lines were signed with blue signs, and the confederated with red signs. Most of the states who sent soldiers were from the south and midwest. Monuments of most states were usually one large structure or tower. Illinois and Iowa had a small monument in each space one of
their regiments was stationed. That was impactful for me, as Illinois was well represented. While the south won every significant skirmish of this long long campaign, they eventually surrendered when their remaining soldiers and townspeople starved due to the length of the siege, or succumbed to malaria or other fevers.
This tour took us almost 4 hours, and, yup, we were hungry. Kim found us a local joint where went had grilled shrimp plate, one side, salad bar, and it was excellent. Ginnie saw people she had spoken to at our Natchez campground. Small world. Then we looked for a gas station that all 3 of us would fit in and has diesel for Kim. This will be a sight to see tomorrow.
Back to the rigs to walk the dogs. No ticks here, but the weeds have those annoying burrs that stick to Winston and burrow into his fur. Then on to another casino, Lady Luck, who did not shine on us. No wonder profits are up, the machines don’t have any winners!
I had a conversation with one of our camping neighbors. They have been living full time at this campground for 4 years now.
Ugh. He works at the local mall, among other things, he is Santa Claus and the Easter Bunny, and she, too, did bunny duty. The reason they are here? She had her knee replaced here 5 years ago, they severed one of her nerves, and she doesn't want to leave while the suit is still going on. Ouch. Poor thing, she really can hardly walk. They gave me southern speak lessons, trying to get me to say y’all properly. Ain't ever gonna happen.
On to Tupelo tomorrow.
Kat out
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