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| Longwood |
We crossed the Mississippi and arrived in Natchez, one of our nation's centers of wealth in the 1850s. Almost a quarter of the population back then, were actually Yankees who had come to make their fortune. And they did! Growing cotton and using the plantation system of the enslaved, mansion building become the showplace for these new rich. This society came crashing down, with the Union win at Vicksburg. With confederate money being worthless, most of these homes went into foreclosures and were purchased at "fire sale" prices.
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| Stanton Hall |
The town of Natchez with the DAR, the garden clubs, and other civic organizations, began restoring these mansions and rebuilding the historical past as a showplace. Today over 30 mansions are available on tour, including a number that still retain over 90% of their original furnishings. Longwood, the largest at 30,000 square feet was never completed, as the Civil War started, but the exterior was finished, while the family lived in the "basement" (10,000 sq ft) waiting for the war to end. We also toured Rosalie, Stanton Hall, Magnolia Hall, Dunleith, and Melrose; plus William Johnson's house, a freed slave who became the barber of Natchez.
Our base of operation for these days was Natchez State Park, 11 miles north of the town along the Natchez Parkway. Our driving into town in BIW proved Morey's driving skills as he drove through narrow tree lined streets, and gravel & dirt roads visiting the homes. A special birthday dinner for Ruthie was celebrated at Dunleith Castle, with BIW parked on the grass just short of a drainage ditch.
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| Ruthie biking the Trace...Spring is here! |
We've now started our drive up the 444 mile long Natchez Parkway. Took a break today with a bike ride and a stop at Mt. Locust, where Mr. Fergeson established an Inn along the Trace to service the 10,000 annual tired and hungry walkers. This included the Mississippi boatmen who piloted barges down the river, but then had to walk back North for the next trip.
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| Morey and the Mississippi Riverman |
Heading home for the summer at the shore, but first a MUST stop in Aberdeen to see Michael, Jess, and Jordan. We parked BIW next to their house and "moved-in" for a few days. Celebrated with an early Seder, enjoyed Jordan, did some home projects; and mostly just loved seeing our NC family.
Included in our stops was a visit to Vicksburg where the Union's victory ensured control of the Mississippi River and cut off supply lines to the Confederacy. Over 10,000 casualties along with the siege of Vicksburg were depicted in memorials and park service displays. Also on display was the Cairo, an iron sided battle ship that was discovered under 100 years of mud. This ship was one of the Union ships that snuck past the Confederate gun placements during the night, to get south of Vicksburg to block the Mississippi River from reinforcements.
A night spent at Aspermont, a RV park in process......
Morey even got to stand next to an actual Honest John rocket (tested the emergency systems for the Apollo moon program). He had flown his Estes model of this famous rocket with the grandkids; and now there the "real one" was there on display. {Please don't tell the grandkids, but we discovered that the rocket is actually called the Little Joe; Morey memory failed.}
Then we drove 30 miles north to Three Rivers Petroglyph Park (BLM). An incredible 21,500 petroglyphs, created 600 years ago, are all over the ridgeline on the exposed rocks. We walked the mile trail and spotted at least 500 petroglyphs. Out of this world? Pretty COOL! PS - A nice BLM campground with this park where we had a pull thru RV site with water and electric for $9!
Leaving the military, we stopped at White Sands NM where the gypsum dunes, unique in the world, glisten in their whiteness. Like snow, only not cold nor wet, you can climb and saucer down the dunes. The park even rents saucers for the fun. 
