Vicksburg National Military Park - Weds., May 3, 2017

Well, well, well, today was a day of education for me about the Civil War. Bob is a big history buff and even he couldn't wait to see Vicksburg National Military Park. 

Our day started at the Visitor Center where we watched an 18-minute introductory movie about the battles at Vicksburg. This area was a hotbed of fighting over the all-important Mississippi River, the major highway for getting goods and people, weapons and cotton, from the north to the ports on the Gulf of Mexico. 

Another reason Vicksburg was so crucial is that it is in the center of the confederacy. If Vicksburg could be captured by the union, it would divide the confederacy. No two people stated these facts as succinctly as Abraham Lincoln and Jefferson Davis:

"Vicksburg is the key. The war can never be brought to a close until that key is in our pocket."  ~ Abraham Lincoln, President of the United States of America 

"Vicksburg is the nailhead that holds the South's two halves together."  ~  Jefferson Davis, President of the Confederate States of America.

After a quick look around the visitor center, we started the 16-mile narrated driving tour. First, we checked out the different types of cannons...

Off we go!

Impressive entry gate takes you immediately
to the Union lines

In the beginning of this campaign to take Vicksburg, General Ulysses S. Grant started out by trying to storm the city. However, this city was protected by riverfront artillery batteries, a maze of swamps and bayous to the north and south, and a ring of forts with 172 guns guarding all land approaches. General Grant was being repulsed with every attack. 

He also tried amphibious maneuvers to get the city to surrender, along with trying to build a canal to bypass the bend in the river where Vicksburg was located. Those strategies didn't work. 

Grant's next plan was to manevuer his troops west, south, then east, and come up behind the town. He had some success in defeating Lt. General Pemberton at Port Gibson to the south. He was then able to take Raymond and Jackson, the state capital. From Jackson, he marched west along the Southern Railroad of Mississippi. He fought his way closer and closer to Vicksburg's eastern fortifications. From then on, the Union soldiers attacked the Vicksburg lines.

Imagine being Union soldiers trying to sneak up on the Confederate soldiers who are encamped on top of the bluff and at the tops of the hills. There were no trees at that time. You can see the advantage of being at the top of the hill; you can see anyone trying to attack you from below!

The photo below is of Battery de Golyer. The Union forces were trying to take the Confederate Great Redoubt. A redoubt is a rectangular fort, fortification or barricade that protects the troops and artillery inside from attack from any direction. At one time as many as 22 federal (Union) cannons were positioned here. The Union forces were repelled and Captain de Golyer was mortally wounded in combat.  Scenes like this one played out over and over again in trying to capture the Confederate troops on these hills outside Vicksburg. 

The difference between a redoubt and a redan: two types of fort defenses.

Confederate Great Redoubt

Battery de Golyer

If you can believe it, there are 1,400 monuments at Vicksburg National Military Park. Wow! I took photos of a fraction of them. The photo above is a memorial to Illinois.

Wisconsin's memorial

Sculpture at base of Wisconsin memorial

U.S. Union trench

Bob wanted me to include a photo of how many
history markers there are...and this is just
on a fraction of the 16-mile drive!

General U.S. Grant's headquarters monument

We now enter the Confederate lines. Thayer's Approach is one of the Union attack points. The history marker below gives the details of the tunnel and the trenches that had to be dug. Whenever the Union soldiers dug a trench, they were in danger of getting their heads shot if they showed them even briefly above the top of the trench. Tools they used to help dig trenches are shown in a photo farther down the page. 

Thayer's approach

A tunnel approach

Tools designed to protect
soldiers as they dug trenches

USS Cairo, the Union's ironclad gunboat, has it's own museum in the park. This exhibit was our favorite. We've never seen anything else like it in our travels. These boats were fighting machines, but even though they were built tough (their boat's front armor was railroad rails), they were easily sunk with mines. Because they were so heavy, they went straight to the bottom.

The USS Cairo was raised from the bottom of the Mississippi River 100 years after it was sunk. The museum has artifacts that were preserved like a time-capsule. What the salvagers found were information on naval construction, naval stores, armaments, and the crew's personal gear. The recovered artifacts are exhibited at this museum.

When we arrived here, the wind was howling and it was starting to rain. By the time we left the museum it was raining but the wind had died down. On the remainder of our drive through the park we saw lots of leaves and some branches down on the roadway. 

USS Cairo

Bob checking out the cannons

Railroad rails lined the bow

From the USS Cairo, we drove through the Vicksburg National Cemetery, then continued on with our tour.

Below is Missouri's memorial. It commemorates where brothers fought brothers. Confederates from Missouri fought Union soldiers from Missiouri. Friends or even family members fought for opposite sides with different ideals. This war was Americans fighting Americans.

So MANY history markers!

Jefferson Davis

Texas monument

Alabama monument

The way the war concluded was that Gen. Grant fought the Confederates back into the town of Vicksburg and kept them trapped there for 47 days. There was no way for the troops to receive food or supplies. On July 4, 1863, Vicksburg was officially surrendered.

After we finished the 16-mile drive, we went back to the Visitor Center and watched the movie again. Then we needed to get lunch. 

We wanted to see the old part of Vicksburg near the river since we hadn't been there yet. We drove up and down the streets, saw the old Court House, and looked for restaurants that were unique to Vicksburg.

The old Court House, now a museum

The old train station

For lunch, we found just what we were looking for: Monsour's at the Biscuit Company. Luckily we made it just in time for lunch. We arrived at 3:30 p.m.; they serve lunch until 4. Whew! The place was empty and we were given a table overlooking the canal and the mural wall. A group of four people came in after us.

Waiting for lunch at Monsour's at the Biscuit Company

I zoomed in on the mural wall from our table

The dining room overlooking the canal

Monsour's at the Biscuit Company bar area

Looking at the menu, we decided on something that should be a specialty here because it is in a biscuit factory. We ordered the chicken pot pie appetizer. This is totally southern comfort food!

The waitress assured us one appetizer would feed both of us. In hindsight, we should have ordered two because it was the best pot pie we have ever had. All future pot pies will be measured against this one! The chicken pot pie was poured over a huge freshly baked biscuit. There was no "top" of mashed potatoes or crust on this chicken pot pie, but it didn't need it because there was a luscious biscuit underneath. Mmmmmmmm! If you order this, be patient because they make the biscuits from scratch. 

After lunch, we were going to walk along the mural wall but it was raining, so we drove by it instead.  

From downtown Vicksburg we headed back to the RV park after another long but satisfying day. Tomorrow will be a driving day to Montgomery, Alabama. 

Natchez Walk and Drive to Vicksburg, Mississippi - Monday, May 1, 2017

Two days just couldn't be any different. Yesterday we had thunderstorms, lightning, high humidity, torrential rain, and tornado warnings; today: blue skies, perfect temperature, light breeze and low humidity. 

Our drive from Livingston, Louisiana, to Natchez, Mississippi only hit one snag. There was an accident midday on I-10 west in Baton Rouge which caused about four miles of creeping traffic. After that, we didn't have any problems and enjoyed our drive on US 61 north from Baton Rouge. The road was mostly four-lane, divided highway with very little traffic. We departed the RV park at 10:45 a.m. and arrived at the Natchez Visitor Center about 1:05 p.m.

Great RV parking at the Natchez Visitor Center

After looking around the Visitor Center and collecting information, we paid $2 each for a mediocre movie. I stamped my National Parks Passport Book. 

If you like guided tours, the Visitor Center sells tickets ($20 per adult) for a one-hour Open Air Tour. The vehicle is a glorified golf cart that holds about six people. 

We decided to drive to the Melrose House, an antebellum mansion. We asked the clerk at the Visitor Information Center if there was RV parking at the Melrose House. She said yes, there's plenty of parking. [Tip for other RVers: Do not believe everything the clerk in a Visitor Center tells you. Be sure to ask if they've ever driven an RV into the site they're telling you about. More about that in a minute.]

Here are some photos from the Visitor Center. The write-ups on kudzu and facts about the Mississippi River are quite educational, especially for someone who has not traveled in these areas before.

The Great River Road

Toll Plaza Colonnades -- these used to flank the
toll plaza on the Mississippi River Bridge

A Jell-o plan was made (although we didn't know that's what it was when we made it) to drive to Melrose Mansion, park the 5th wheel there, look around, then do a walking tour of downtown Natchez. Remember, we were told there was plenty of RV parking at Melrose Mansion. 

We drove about 2-1/2 to 3 miles the mansion. When we got there, we saw a small gravel road going through a narrow gate. We couldn't see the parking lot from the road we were on. In an act of faith and with much trepidation we drove through the gates, down the road, and saw a parking lot ahead. 

Melrose antebellum mansion

Back of Melrose

Thankfully, there were very few people at the mansion this afternoon! If the lot had been full, we would have been in big trouble with our 33' 5th wheel. As it was, Bob backed up our 5th wheel under trees so the cats could have shade. Then he took a look at the map we picked up at the Visitor Center. It quickly became evident we would not be walking to and through downtown from the parking lot at the mansion. We had no idea the mansion was three miles from downtown. 

A large, old oak tree on the grounds of Melrose

New plan: After walking the grounds of the mansion, we drove back to the Visitor Center and walked to downtown from there. Thank you, Bob, for noticing how far it was. You're right, I wouldn't have been happy with the length of that walk. 

From the Visitor Center, it was a straight shot into downtown. Some interesting homes and a view of the Mississippi lured us to Bluff Park. 

Rosalie Mansion

The Mississippi River Bridge from Bluff Park

Looking north up the Mississippi River

Barge pushing a long load upriver

The Parsonage

Some trivia for you: The Methodists refer to their minister's house as a "parsonage," while Presbyterians use the Scottish term "manse." A priest of the Roman Catholic or Episcopal Church resides in a "rectory."

Edelweiss, a Swiss Chalet-style home from 1883

Reminds me of New Orleans

Apparently, almost all the restaurants close from 2:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m. If you want lunch, you need to eat before 2:00. We didn't know that and we were hungry. We spent almost 30 minutes walking up and down downtown Natchez streets looking for a place open for lunch. The Visitor Center had told us about two: neither of them was open. 

As we traipsed back-and-forth and up-and-down the streets of downtown Natchez, we noticed a dearth of people and vehicles. It was like a ghost town. We wandered around so much we passed two men sitting on a bench, who had a dog, three different times. I told them on our third time by we liked them so much we had to keep coming back to see them. They laughed.

We asked at a tavern that was only open for drinks if they knew of any restaurants serving food and they told us of a coffee house three blocks away that was open all afternoon. Off we went on another wild goose chase. The coffee house was open, but their kitchen had closed at 3:00 p.m. (We arrived at 3:10 p.m.) We opted not to have muffins or cookies for lunch and continued looking. 

Finally, we found the Pig Out Inn Barbecue. Success! We both had smoked turkey barbecue sandwich plates with two sides and a drink. Ahhhh. 

"It's swine dining at it's finest"

On the "Pig Out Inn" wall. Enlarge the photo below
for the rest of this.

Enlarge, this is wonderful! It's on the wall.

We liked this place! With full tummies, we continued our walk to the nature trail and along Bluff Park, by the old train station.

Nature trail

Factoids on Spanish Moss...
it's related to pineapple!

Good thing we ate a protein-packed lunch.

 Bob decided it was his turn to take photos of me by the Mississippi.

The day was perfect!

After Natchez we hit the road, Natchez Trace to be exact. The part we drove from Natchez to Port Gibson was beautiful, peaceful and just a few cars. We didn't spend time stopping to see sights but we were happy to be off U.S. 61. No semis or large commercial vehicles are allowed on Natchez Trace.

It appeared there was tornado damage along the Trace. We drove through a few miles where trees were down or the tops were snapped off. All the branches had been cleared from the road; however, we did see electrical crews in cherry pickers repairing the lines along one section.

Many branches down here

Tops of trees missing

Big branch down

Whole top of tree snapped sideways

As we drove into Vicksburg to look for Ameristar Casino's RV Park, we saw the Ameristar Casino sign on the left-hand side of the road. Remember, we've never been here before. We turned left onto the road by the sign. As Bob made the turn, I saw a small sign that said, "No 18-wheelers or RVs allowed." Aaaaack! Noooo!

I only saw the tiny "No 18 wheelers or RVs allowed"
sign after we turned here (out of the corner of my eye)

We drove back to look at this sign again on our way out of town. The photo below is what the "No 18 wheelers or RVs allowed" sign looks like when you're in the left-hand turn lane. You can't read it at all. The upshot is: don't turn toward the river!!! Go straight at this Ameristar Casino sign and you will come to the Ameristar RV Park in about one block on the side opposite the river. Why couldn't they have told us that over the phone? I even asked the lady I made the reservation with if there were any special instructions to get to the RV park. She told me the address and told me to follow GPS. GPS wanted us to turn left at that Ameristar Casino sign and go down where we weren't supposed to go. Never, ever trust your GPS in an RV, even if you have the fancy trucker/RV GPS. 

Can  you see the "No 18 wheelers or RVs Allowed sign?

This is the Ameristar RV Park you seek.

Bob stopped the truck as soon as we were out of the intersection. Another 5th wheel was in the left-hand turn lane to follow us. When they saw us stop and put on the back-up lights, they wisely decided not to come that way.

As it turned out, at 7:30 p.m. not many cars traveled the highway we had turned off of. Bob had to wait through a couple of lights, but then the traffic cleared enough that I could stop one car while Bob backed our 5th wheel out onto the highway. We then had to go to a motel parking lot, turn around and head back past the road we had tried to take. The RV park was down about 1/8 mile on the opposite side of the road.

But wait, our adventure wasn't over yet. As instructed, we picked up our reservation paperwork with site number from the front door of the office as we were after-hours arrivals. We followed the directions to our site (#34) only to find a big Tiffin Phaeton parked in it. 

Site #35 was empty, so we pulled into the empty site. I knocked on the door of the Phaeton and showed the guy my reservation with site #34 on it. He explained when he called this afternoon, he was told they don't take reservations for Monday and Tuesday nights. He was told to take any empty site. I said, "Yes, they do. They took mine and put my reservation paperwork on the door of the office." He was perplexed, I was too. 

I told him I'd go to the office door and make sure no one else coming in tonight was assigned to site #35. (No one was.) We stayed in #35, he stayed in #34. He was on his phone talking to the casino about the SNAFU. He asked if I wanted to talk to them. (I did, so he handed me the phone.) The casino said we could stay in site #35, but to go to the office in the morning to finish registering. We will be out sightseeing before the office opens so I will call them after 9:00 a.m. We have decided to add another night in Vicksburg. 

That's the end of our action-packed day. Before we leave, Bob and I are going to walk up to the Ameristar Casino sign and take a photo of the baby sign by it that says no 18-wheelers or RVs allowed. From across the street where the left-hand turn lane is you can't see the little sign. I only saw it after Bob had already turned left. We also want to walk down the road and see what's at the bottom and why they don't want RVs down there.

Tomorrow we're off to Jackson, Mississippi to do the State Capital Volksmarch first thing in the morning. The weather is supposed to be awesome! 

We'll take photos of the RV park tomorrow evening. In the afternoon we're going to Vicksburg National Historical Site and will finish up visiting it Wednesday morning. We also plan to go back down Natchez Trace Parkway with just the pickup truck to do some sightseeing there as well. 

Good night.