Homeward Bound

We stopped in Shreveport, LA on our way West. The RV park owners told us to be sure and see the R. W. Norton Art Gallery if we were interested in art. Us? Off we went!

This gallery is BIG and it houses the art collection of R. W. Norton. It was built by his son as a tribute to his father and open to the public free of charge. The staff told us the family struck oil in Louisiana and this is what oil could buy. There are special exhibits, collections of Steuben glass, 19th and 20th century paintings, 16th century tapestries, and rooms full of Western art (by the biggies) with large galleries devoted to Remmington and Russell. It took us more than two hours to tour the collections. (No photos inside, of course.) It's a fabulous collection. Ben and Sarah called to tell us that we had to go to Strawns Pie Shop to try their strawberry pie. We did - and they were CLOSED! Guess this means we'll have to go back to Shreveport one day...

We made a decision to forego our planned stop in Fort Worth and head home. It just felt like it was time... We were 830 miles from home - 2 1/2 days in RV terms. On day one we stopped for gas in Texas where Ed got a made to order lunch on the road in the convenience store. Nice stop. Ed posed with the chef.

We stopped for the night in Wichita Falls, TX and watched the weather reports of a "severe weather warning." We left early in the morning planning to go only as long as the driving was good and the conditions not dangerous. We drove into some fog and misting rain. It was COLD outside! but the roads were not icy and Ed felt good about continuing the drive. Finn stayed on his rug...

The worst of the storm had passed during the night. The trees were covered in ice and with the fog there was a very ethereal quality about the scenery.

We pulled into a rest area so I could take a few photos of the trees.

When we hit Amarillo the storm was over. There were still warnings about wind, but Ed decided to continue on to Tucumcari. It was the toughest part of the drive, but not unsafe. We were delighted when we saw this sign:

We hadn't seen sunshine for about a week but it was out in New Mexico!!! We made a short stop at the New Mexico Welcome Center.

We pulled into a park in Tucumcari where the owners handed us the menu!! Homemade dinner to be delivered to our RV at 6:00 p.m. Heaven. They gave us a level pull thru site so we didn't have to set up anything, and told us the winds would stop at 8:00 p.m. They did - on the dot.

It was so cold in Tucumcari that our water froze. We decided Winter camping isn't for us...

Going Home Day! A beautiful sunrise...

A hot shower, clean clothes, and we were on our way. Weather - perfect!

Our off-ramp!

Home! and our mountain has snow on it!

Our street!

Ed unhooked the car for the last time on this trip. That storm left it so dirty you couldn't see through the windshielf.

Coming up our driveway! H O M E!

9100 miles in the RV and even more in the Jeep. What an adventure this has been!

On the way home we talked about the experiences we've had. We couldn't come up with one highlight because every sentence ended with "and..." Maine and..., Charleston and..., meeting so and so and,... New Orleans with Ben and Sarah and,... Appomattox and..., Lowell, MA and..., Chautauqua Institute and..., the Hudson Valley and... It goes on and on.

We've both come back a lot smarter than we were when we set out on this journey. We learned so much...in every possibile way. This trip was so much more than we expected. We feel blessed to have had this opportunity. We're certainly richer for it.

It's good to be home...for awhile...

M I S S (i s) S I P P I

Miss - sippi. That's how I would pronounce it if I lived there. I'd also say "yes" as if it had two syllables. How they ever learn to read is beyond me...!

The weather in Mississippi left a little to be desired when we rolled into town. We crossed the mighty Mississippi River and checked into a campground on the Louisiana side. The state line goes right down the middle of the river.
This is the view from the front of the RV from our campsite. We could watch the tugboats and barges going up and down the river or take a walk on the paved river walk along the water. It was one of the nicest campsites we've been in. Natchez is just on the other side.

We began exploring Natchez. This lovely Victorian home is called Glen Auburn and is circa 1875. It's just one of the historic homes in town.

Stanton Hall, 1857 is now an inn. Several of the antebellum homes are now boutique hotels or B & B's.

A riverboat! Turned out to be a casino (the common use of the river corridor). It shows the bridge to our campsite, and it is a charming sight.

Fort Rosalie was spared during the Civil War as was all of Natchez which accounts for the abundance of antebellum homes. The house was the headquarters of the Union forces when they took Natchez.

We continue to find elaborate synagogues in the Southern towns. Natchez is another community that once had a thriving Jewish community, mostly merchants. Their presence can be traced to 1780. Congregation B'nai Israel was established in 1843. This temple was built in 1905. We think it is no longer being used.

A short drive to the local cemetary and we found this Confederate plot. These are not soldiers who fell in battle. They were old veterans who wanted to be remembered as Confederate soldiers.

The cemetary seems to go on for miles. It dates back to 1822.

The National Park Service operates two sites in Natchez: Melrose Mansion and the William Johnson House.

Johnson was a black former slave who was freed by his white father. Because he could read and write, he kept a diary of his life. He amassed a sizeable fortune, owned a home, a barbering business, and was a well respected citizen of the city. He also owned slaves - a fact that surprised us. He was murdered at age 42 over a property dispute.

Melrose Mansion, a cotton kingdom estate, was built to showcase the weath of John McMurran and his family. McMurran had a profitable law practice, became a state legislator, married into a respected local family and acquired the first of five plantations and slaves. We toured the home with a National Park Service Ranger guide. McMurran's plantations were in other locations.

We had never seen a "punkah" before. This one is a magnificient mahogany piece suspended over the dining table. A rope attached to the bottom is threaded through a loop on the wall beside the window. When operated by a slave, it shooed flies away from the food.

The main parlor in the mansion is covered in gold leaf. The light fixtures, the curtain valences, the wallpaper. We were told that the McMurrans furnished Melrose with "all that fine taste and a full purse" could provide.

Leaving Natchez for Vicksburg, we drove through Port Gibson. There on Church Street amid all the lovely historic homes we came upon Temple Gemiluth Chessed. Again, Jewish merchants played an large role in the community at one time. It is no longer an active synagogue.

We arrived in Vicksburg wondering just when we would see the sun again. Vicksburg, like Natchez is a Mississippi River town.

Vicksburg is home to one of the largest Civil War battlefields. Battlefield Park is under the wings of the National Park Service. It's a somber testament to the horrors of that war. We drove the field making stops along the way after watching the film in the Visitors Center detailing what happened on this land. The arch is the entry to the battlefield tour.

This is the battle that placed Ulysses S. Grant on the national scene. It was his greatest triumph in the Civil War. When one looks at the fortifications and the topography of the area, one understands the magnitude of Grant's achievement. His tenacity and bullheadedness is the only way to explain this victory. He showed a great deal of imagination in using ground and naval forces in amphibious operations - unheard of in their scope at that time.

The field draws the Union and Confederate battle lines and is host to monuments, statues, placques, artillery pieces, and a Union cemetary.

The vastness of this battlefield is mind boggling. It takes 45 minutes just to drive the field tour.

This is the largest monument. It honors the Illinois fighters and fallen.

This is the Cairo - pronounced Kay-row. It was a steam paddlewheel ironclad ship built for the Union forces specifically to operate on the Mississippi River. It's timber framed and clad with iron plates and guns on all four sides. It was being used during the Vicksburg campaign when it hit a Confederate mine and sank in twelve minutes - with no loss of lives. It sat on the bottom of the river until the mid-1960's when it was raised, shipped to Florida, stored for 19 years until it was restored and placed here at the battlefield as a museum. This exhibit was a highlight for Ed. It's incredible to walk inside and try to imagine what it was like during battle.

The Old Court House Museum is an amazing place. The building survived a tremendous bombardment lasting 47 days. It now houses an eclectic collection covering all aspects of life in Vicksburg. The curator describes it as "Grandmas attic."

The exhibits would make most museum curators wince. Everything is displayed with little regard for preservation. However, it's a marvelous display of 19th century museumship. We were taken into a back room and shown the ledgers and files left as they were found when the building became a museum. We looked into drawers full of "Confederate Pensions."

Our path to state capitols continued when we drove to Jackson, Mississippi. The Old Capitol Museum is now the state history museum. The building dates to 1839, but it's most recent renovation was after Katrina. The 1861 secession convention was held here.

The new State Capitol was built in 1905 - and it's a beauty.

This is the rotunda...

The House and Senate arebeautiful rooms, but what is unique are the stained glass domes over both chambers. Not to hard to work under something so lovely.

The Govenor's Mansion is right in the middle of downtown Jackson.

We had a treat in Vicksburg when we were given a tour of the George Washington Ball home. Our guide, resident, and restorer, Betty, gave us the history of the home and talked about the process of restoration. She was lots of fun.

This is the exterior of the home.

We've enjoyed our stay in Mississippi. It was, in antebellum times, the most prosperous of the Southern states. Natchez was the center of the wealth. We were told there were 19 southern millionaires and 16 of them lived in Natchez. The wealth came from cotton and shipping on the river. Today, it's long past its prime, but the charm remains. The people are friendly and welcoming. We noticed a difference in the black population. They don't appear to carry a chip on their shoulders. It was nice.

It's our last night in Mississippi - and it's snowing!!! We're continue to head West and expect to be home soon. We're on our way to Shreveport, LA.