Feelin' the Delta Blues

Reelfoot Lake State Park, Tiptonville, TN

BBQ smokers on every lawn, fields of newly planted cotton and folks sitting on stoops with all the time in the world sure made me feel like I was in a Faulkner novel. Life on the Mississippi Delta really is the most "Southern place on earth." What an incredible juxtaposition to our visit yesterday with all the showy antebellum homes and genteel folks. This is the land of bbq, catfish, and singing the blues. This area rates as one of the poorest, highest unemployment and worse healthcare in the county so you really appreciate how the blues resonates from their soul. We were only going to do a quick stop in Clarksdale, but the friendly southern hospitality, blues, bbq, and lazy summer day won out. The junction of Highways 61 and 49 in Clarksdale is where, according to legend, Robert Johnson sold his soul to the Devil in exchange for mastery of the blues guitar. Sounds like a great place to me to soak up the local color and get lost in time.
Our first stop was the Delta Blues Museum now located in an old train depot. It was incredible! So many of the famous blues singers came from this town, not just the Delta area. Unfortunately, we couldn't take any photos inside, but the stories, costumes, guitars and especially photos of all the legends were awesome. All the greats were featured - Muddy Waters, BB King, John Lee Hooker, Charlie Musselwhite, and tons more. Even Ike Turner was born here. By the time we left we were hooked and didn't want to leave the town. Big decision of the day was to either hit Abe's BBQ (world famous for ribs) or Morgan Freeman's blues joint called Ground Zero. We popped into Ground Zero to take a look and were greeted my Miss T who was so warm and welcoming that we decided to stay. Ned got a local draft beer called Southern Pecan, I got some tea and we were settled in for awhile. Today's menu was a full plate lunch for me (by now it was around 2ish so it was lunch & dinner- really!) pulled pork, the best turnip greens I've ever eaten, black eyed peas and cornbread. Ned opted for the hamburger with pulled pork and grilled onion ON it and sweet potato fries. We got chatting with the waitress and the musician who would be playing that night. The big news in town was this was Election Day for mayor and the co-owner of the joint was running. They were pretty sure he was going to win so everyone was getting ready to share in the celebration. They almost convinced us to stay. It sure sounded like it was going to be a good time and a once in a lifetime opportunity to hear some great blues with the locals. Alas, we opted to poke around town for bit more and then continue our drive up the river.
There's a record and folk art store in town called "Cat Head". It's listed in the book of "1000 places to See Before You Die." Nothing at all fancy about this place, but it sure was fun to linger and check out their wares. We were the only ones in the store and the person behind the counter spent the whole time playing his blues guitar. It fit the mood perfectly. There's one photo of a man sitting on his guitar that I just loved! I'll put it in the photos below.
We continued on through the laid back backroads of Mississippi and then all too abruptly we were in Memphis and back to the modern world. Once out of Memphis, the GRR in Tennessee really doesn't hug the river nor does it seem to embrace the river life. The next 75 miles or so was suburban sprawl and strip malls. We really didn't feel like we were in vacation mode until we hit the lake road to Reelfoot Lake State Park. This 25,000 acre lake was created by an earthquake in 1811. We got a campsite right on the lake and arrived in time to see the sunset. Nice end to an unforgettable day.
P.S. - Just checked the election results before posting this and it looks like Bill Luckett is winning it by a landslide. Should be a good time at the Blues Club tonight!

The Great River Road - And So It Begins

Location: Leroy Percy State Park, Hollendale, MS

We were off to an early start this morning to explore the wonders of Natchez, MS. Before the Civil War this town had more millionaires than anyone in the U.S. largely due to the cotton trade. The wealthy plantation owners choose to live in town rather than on their more remote plantations and the mansions they built were quite impressive. Fortunately, this town was spared during the Civil War and over 500 antebellum homes are still standing today. Rather than do a bus tour or driving tour of these homes we decided to bike through the streets of Natchez and really see as many of these beauties as we could. The streets were lined with magnolias, thick with kudzu vines, spanish moss hung from huge old oaks, and the blooming lilac trees were intoxicating with their scent. Yes, it was quite the heady experience seeing these gracious homes so close up. The Melrose Home reminded me of Tara in "Gone With The Wind" with the huge expansive lawn and majestic oak trees. I could just see the ladies dressed in pastel colored large hoop skirts and holding parasols as they socialized with the upper crust. We also rode along the bluffs overlooking the Mississippi River. What a great way to view this slow moving mass of water on its way to the Gulf. We got excited about following her all the way to the headwaters.
Well, all this riding around worked up an appetite and since we're in Mississippi we HAD to get us some bbq. Where else but at the Pig Out Inn. Pulled pork and cole slaw for me and brisket and baked beans for Ned.
After a thoroughly southern lunch, we officially began the drive up the Great River Road (GRR). First stop was Port Gibson whose town motto is "Too beautiful to burn." General Grant spared Port Gibson from burning to the ground. We checked out the quaint town and kept moseying on the road. This part of the GRR reminded us of the Natchez Trace Parkway with rolling hills, lined with luscious broad leaf trees, and lots of mowed lawn lining both sides of the road.
Next stop was Vicksburg, MS to see the National Military Park. We enjoyed the movie, visitor's center and live reenactment all telling the story of the fight for Vicksburg. It was a long campaign (well over a year) with many back and forth battles, but in the end on July 4th, 1863 General Pemberton, head of the Confederate forces, officially surrendered due to illness and starvation. What I found really fascinating is that for the next 100 years the white citizens of Vicksburg refused to celebrate the 4th of July. The African American community, however, partied on.
Ned's favorite part of the park was seeing the resurrected and restored USS Cairo. This ship, one of the seven Union ironclad gunboats, was sunk on Dec. 12, 1862. It was salvaged and brought on land on Dec. 12, 1963. It took many years to partially restore it. The artifacts were preserved like a time capsule in the silt of the river. It's pretty impressive to see this beast reconstructed. Got a great picture of Ned grinning ear to ear as he spent a good hour climbing over and in her trying to figure out the inner workings.
Tonight we are camped at a State Park along the GRR. It's in a clearing among a forested area. It's beautiful and tranquil, but not much going on. No bike trails and the sign near the lake says, "Do Not Feed the Gators". I guess they like to keep them hungry so definitely no swimming tonight!

Creole Culture and the Corp of Engineers

Location: Natchez State Park, Natchez MS

We had a slow start this morning due to spending time with a Swiss couple, Peter and Theresa, who've lived for the last 30 years in Australia. They tour the U.S. almost every year for at least a month. They travel much like we do, light and back roads. Peter spent years shooting video of America Road trips for a Swiss TV Channel. It's amazing how much of America they have seen over the years. They've even done the Alaska Highway. We enjoyed swapping stories and giving each other tips of places to visit. They are encouraging us to take a road trip through Australia. In fact Peter was so emphatic about it that he brought over a list of all the places (with prices!) of Aussie camper vans for rent. Who knows this could be fun! One of the true joys of road trips is meeting interesting people like these folks.
Our first big outing of the day was visiting Natchitoches (pronounced "Nack-a-tish").
and the Cane River Heritage Area. Natchitoches is the heart of the Creole culture in Louisiana. The Creole Culture is a blend of Spanish, French, African and Native American culture. It took shape in this area around the 1800's. We took a walking tour of the downtown historic district, then did a tour of several old plantations. The historic downtown is quaint, still lined with brick streets, and has a gorgeous grassy embankment along the Cane River which is lined with fragrant magnolia trees. This is the town that the movie Steel Magnolias was actually filmed and is based on a true story of the author's sister from this area.
It rained hard last night, which was fortunate because it lowered the temperature and made for some dramatic cloud formations. It also set the tone for viewing some of these plantations. We were by ourselves on most of the tours. As we walked the fields, out buildings and slave quarters it was quite powerful. I wanted to honor and be respectful of the contribution and hardship of the people who spent their lives on these grounds. Walking over the wet plowed grass along the corn and cotton fields and viewing the plantation in this humidity made it feel so real.
Our next adventure was finding the Old River Control Structure on the Mississippi River. Ned and I have been reading "The Control of Nature" by John McPhee. In it he describes how the U.S. Army Corp of Engineers is trying to control the flow and direction of the Mississippi River. A pretty amazing (if not ultimately futile) effort. We were fascinated by how the Mississippi River used to flow into the Red River thus eventually making the Red River the more dominant river. A key element into preventing this, and keeping New Orleans from drying up, was building the Old River Control Structure. We had to go see it. Since the main point of this trip is driving the Great River Road and learning all about Ol' Miss, this was a natural starting point. We made a trip to the Army Corp of Engineer Visitor Center in Grand Encore and spoke with one of the old retired Corp volunteers. Turns out this structure was a mere 3 hour side trip. Pshaw, that is a mere drop in the bucket to us! So, off we were with this volunteer's directions, driving down some pretty obscure roads, and armed with a couple of maps. Our efforts were not wasted. It was incredibly fascinating and so rewarding to see in action something we had been reading about. Even though the Corp has done a valiant effort it does seem as if the Mississippi will eventually win out. We also enjoyed viewing the locks between the Mississippi River and the Atchafalaya River.
We sadly said goodbye to Louisiana and crossed over the mighty Mississippi for the first time this trip. We pulled into Natchez State Park outside of Natchez, MS rather late, but are rewarded with the first fireflies. Looking forward tomorrow to exploring Natchez and beginning our adventure on the Great River Road.

Frizzell + Fruitcake = Fun!

Location: North Toledo Bend State Park, LA

We are now officially in East Texas. How do I know? People greet us with "Y'all", sweet tea is ubiquitous and I'm a bit dewey. (We southern ladies don't perspire, we just glow and get dewey). Yep, we've officially left the dry baking heat and entered into the land of humidity. First destination today was Corsicana, Texas. Home of Lefty Frizzell and Collin Street Bakery. What, you don't know Lefty Frizzell, honky tonk country legend of the 1950's? Perhaps this will refresh your memory. Lefty Frizzell
The Lefty Frizzell Museum is located in Pioneer Village, a reconstructed little hamlet that has a blacksmith shop, old cabins, law enforcement and crime museum, slave cabin and a trading post. This little village was created in 1956 by the local historical society, and God love them, they preserved it ever since in exactly the same state. This includes the worn and yellowed newspaper clippings, black and white photos and hand written references to things such as "This is how your grandparents lived." The Lefty Frizzell museum is a real little gem. It pays homage to many country music legends, including Merle Haggard who was first asked on stage by Lefty. I especially liked the custom Lefty cowboy boots, embroidered jackets and photo of Lefty with a very stoned looking Johnny Cash. The local park also has a statue of Lefty. To my fellow country music fan Eric, you would have loved this! I so wanted to get a postcard, but as the sweet elderly volunteer at the museum said, "Oh my, we haven't had those in years!". Well a fellow or gal can work up an appetite looking at all this memorabilia (oh did I mention the Bonnie & Clyde gruesome death photos?) so a trip to the world famous Collins Street Bakery, renowned for their DeLuxe Fruitcake, in downtown Corsicana was in order. Ned remembers "fondly" as a kid receiving this fruitcake with a cowboy on the tin lid each Christmas. We each got a sample, but in all honesty I ate them both. (Truth is I love fruitcake!) I was disappointed in that they only give factory tours during the fruitcake making season. Sigh.
We thoroughly enjoyed the drive today. This morning, traveling through the prairie and lakes section of Texas, we passed fields of corn, wheat, sorghum, sunflowers and cotton. The wild flowers were abundant and lined the road. This afternoon we crossed into the Piney Woods area and were overjoyed with the dense woods and rolling hills. Dogwoods, mimosas, pine trees and lots of big broad well kept lawns were mostly what we encountered on the back roads. We made a few stops at some farmer's markets picking up peaches, mangoes (different variety than we get back home), and veggies for dinner.
Finally we left the great State of Texas behind us and crossed over into Louisiana. Every time we've traveled to Louisiana we've had some incredible experiences. Today was no different. We are camped at North Toledo Bend State Park on a peninsula jutting into the Toledo Bend Reservoir. Best campground of the trip so far!
It's a heavily wooded area with generous space between campsites and the facilities are top notch. And for some reason on a Saturday night it's almost vacant. Another great perk is it has free laundry facilities. One week on the road and it couldn't be better timing. We got here a little late to use the swimming pool so we hopped on our bikes to explore the vast park. For those of you worried about Ned getting his grove back I can honestly stay - The Nedster is back. We had a bike race up a hill and he beat me fair and square. All the more incentive to hit Fit Culture gym when I get home!

Midnight Serenade at Balmorhea

Lake Whitney State Park, Whitney, TX

Well my prayers were answered and we did indeed have a cool breezy evening. Great for sleeping until about 1:15 am when we were awoken from a dead sleep with BLARING "Norteno" music. Now don't get me wrong, I can groove to some polka swinging Northern Mexican music, but not after midnight and when it's forced on me!
Some yahoos pulled into the entrance of the campground (we were campsite #1) and blasted this song not once, not twice, but four times before the campground host finally came out with a flashlight to see what all the ruckus was about. (I think everyone else was just scared to death and kept a low profile). Before our roving mariachis left, they backed-up, screeched their wheels, gave out a big yelp and took off. It took the sheriff 30 minutes to respond. Needless to say we didn't get a lot of sleep after that. It was pretty amusing this morning talking with the campground host (turns out she's a retired Texas police officer) and the retiree in the bus-size RV across from us. He said he wasn't afraid cause he always carries a .38 in the camper. Ah yeah, almost forgot we are in Texas.
Now back to the beauty and wonderment of Balmorhea State Park. It's a natural artesian spring, in the middle of the desert, from which 1.5 million gallons of water flows an hour. In 1936 the WPA built a "swimming pool" around this. (I've attached an aerial shot of the swimming pool being built in 1936 to give you a perspective of the size). It's the world's largest outdoor swimming pool and holds 3.5 million gallons of water. It takes the spring only 4 hours to fill the pool. Dang! The deepest point is 25 feet. There are low dives, high dives, turtles, catfish and lots of little guppies that like to nibble on your legs. Half the area is all natural (scuba divers come here) and the other half is like a regular swimming pool. It's incredibly refreshing because the temperature stays between 72 and 76 degrees, the water is crystal clear and obviously there's no chlorine etc. We swam until hunger took over. We had bought a couple of Texas size steaks for grilling earlier that day and they sure tasted mighty fine! After dinner we were still so hot that another hour or so swim was in order. We swam until the sun went down.
Today we cut through the heart of Texas on route 67. We expected more of the dry arid flat lands and were pleasantly surprised with the green rolling hills, big long mesas and beautiful wildflowers as we traveled farther into the prairie and lake country. After a very long drive (maybe 8 hrs?) we finally reached Lake Whitney State Park and were rewarded with a great campsite perched over the lake. It's really windy, but it keeps the flies away and the temperature down. We keep toying with the idea of going for a swim, but Ned put up the hammock and my get-up-and-go just got up and went.

Carlsbad Cavern and Texas Heat

Location: Balmorhea State Park, Balmorhea, TX

The wind kept up through most of the night which was much appreciated. Sleeping on the top bunk in the Winniemobile feels like you are sleeping on a veranda during the dog days of summer. We rolled into Carlsbad Caverns National Park in time for the 10:00 tour, the first one of the day. We really didn't know what to expect. Our main reference point was touring Mammoth Caves a couple of years ago. Let me just say that Carlsbad Caverns was absolutely amazing! It also helped that Mandy, our Park Ranger tour guide was engaging, funny and really knowledgeable. I've seen stalagmites and stalactite before, but nothing quite this stunning. We took an elevator down, down, down close to 800 feet underground. There was an old cafeteria (no longer in use) and a concessions stand but for the most part we were just greeted with a dimly lit cave. We took the Kings Palace Tour with Mandy and were able to view several cavern rooms on a path snaking in and out, up and down, twisting and turning through this magical underground world. Every turn you were greeted with another magnificent formation all cleverly lit. We learned that Carlsbad Cavern is a limestone cave in a fossil reef laid down by an inland sea approximately 250 million years ago. We fell in love with the tale of Jim White's discovery of the cave as a 16 year old in 1898. In fact, loved it so much we bought his 1937 book - ghost written by Frank Nicholson. At one point while on the tour all the lights were turned off. We not only experienced the pitch black darkness, but Mandy then lit one small lighter to show how Jim explored 19 miles of this 30 mile cavern by himself! Blew my mind. Ned and I then took a self tour of the Big Room and were equally amazed at the clear pools, magnificent formations and the unique geometry of the stalactites and stalagmites. I tried to take several pics along the way but none of them do it any justice. We timed our tour perfectly too because we were with a really small group and had the place almost to ourselves. As we left, the parking lot was almost full and busloads were being trucked in.
Next in order was figuring out the camping situation for the night. It felt unbearably hot especially after spending several hours underground in cool temperatures. The thought of staying at another dried up desert park seemed rather bleak. We've seen West Texas before and it ain't lush. We looked at a map of our Texas State Park options, saw an oasis in the desert, laughed and said "Well we always had Balmorhea." Six years ago on our first road trip we stopped at Balmorhea State Park and loved it. Even though it's a little out of our way (Ned reminded me that we once drove 200 miles for fried chicken) and a bit "tired", the idea of swimming in clear, cool, fresh spring water was more than we could resist. As we pulled into the campground around 5ish the temperature was hovering near 100 and it was all we could do to get on our suits and dive in. Tomorrow we have a loooong drive so I'll spend some of the time describing Balmorhea with pics. For now, this cowgirl is gonna hit the hay. (And pray for a cool breezy evening).

White Sand and Little Gems

Location: Brantley Lake State Park, Carlsbad, NM

First stop this morning was at "New Mexico's Best Rated Farmer's Market." Turns out - not so much. The market is held on Wed. and Saturdays. The Saturday one is 7 blocks long and has lots of fresh produce vendors. Today's was mainly craftsmen. While it was fun to see their wares we were more in the market for fresh produce. We did manage to pick up some fresh spinach and pecans, a local favorite around here. There are many pecan groves that dot the surrounding area. Next in order was a trip to White Sands National Monument. We didn't have high expectations for this field trip and gosh were we wrong! The visitor center is adobe style and built by the WPA in the mid 1930's. The exhibits and film were really interesting and got us excited about exploring the dunes. Several people were buying sleds to slide down the dunes. We seriously thought about it, but opted instead for the one mile hike that led us over several dunes and through an interdunal area. We were amazed that we had the "trail" to ourselves until we figured out that it was high noon and 94 degrees in the blazing heat. (The ranger warned us against taking the 3 mile and 5 mile hikes, you'd think we would've had a clue). The saving grace was the wind. It was blowing so hard that we didn't notice how hot it was - at first. This hike was absolutely fascinating! We saw tracks from lots of different animals, learned about the flora and fauna in the area and got a close up feel for the amazing beauty of these gypsum sands. What I found most interesting was that the sand is not hot at all. I kept expecting it to feel like the beach when you are hopping on one foot to the other and yelling, "ouch, ouch, ouch" as you get to the ocean. Here the sand is rather cool. Turns out that there is water at approximately 12 in. under the sand! When you bury your hands in the sand it actually feels quite cool. I was goofing off and pretending that I had been crawling across the desert in search of water (yes, Ned documented this) and was quite surprised at the cool, moist feel a few inches below the surface of the sand. We continued to explore the park and enjoyed watching some others sledding. The picnic areas in the midst of the sand dunes look surreal and like a science fiction movie. Turns out this park is quite the little gem.
Leaving the park and heading East we assumed we would be traveling through more of the same arid landscape as is so much of New Mexico. Instead, we drove over the Sacramento Mountains, to an elevation of 8400 feet, and were delighted with the town of Cloudcroft. This scenic drive had cherry farms and apple orchards, lots of interesting rock formations and tons of coniferous trees. We were so fascinated by this little gem that we did a little research on it. Turns out Froders rated it in 2002 as the number 3 most overlooked and underrated destination spot. We concur! Unfortunately, after leaving the Sacramento Mountains we were again greeted by parched landscape and dry hot winds. We passed through a little town called "Hope", which actually seemed quite hopeless. We expected the same when we drove into Artesia. Much to our amazement it had a thriving downtown and we thought there must be a university there when we spotted the football stadium. Turns out the Artesia High School Bulldogs have been State Champions 25 or so times. This town takes their high school football very seriously. Go Bulldogs.
Our final destination, Lake Brantley, was supposed to be an oasis in the desert. Hmmm. The lake has all but dried up and instead of having a campsite on the water it's a good mile away. (See one of the pics). This however did not deter us from attempting to cool off from the parching 95 degree sun. We rode our bikes to the boat ramp, inflated our floaties, and plopped ourselves in the mud puddle. The wind thwarted our attempts to go more than a few feet offshore. Nevertheless, a good time was had by all.