Vicksburg, MS (part 1)

The weather was a little bit better yesterday. The temperature was in the 50's with a strong wind. If you stayed outside very long the wind chill would make you look for a warmer place. I drove around old Downtown Vicksburg and it looked like every other downtown. Empty buildings with new landscaping along the street and brick inlaid cross-walks trying to make it look pretty. They may be able to revive it, but if they do they will be one of the few towns in the country that achieves it.

Anyway, I went to the Vicksburg Visitors Center and picked up several more pamphlets of things to do. Sidenote to the chefs out there. The lady at the visitor center was telling the lady before me (yeah I was patiently waiting again) a trick about fresh herbs. She said cut them up, put them in ice cube trays with water and freeze them. When you need some in a recipe just put the whole ice cube in the meal, the extra little bit of water won't hurt. 

I visited the Louisiana Circle. It is on a high bluff overlooking the Mississippi River in both directions, north and south. Canons were placed there to protect the river from Yankee gunboats. A group of Louisiana soldiers manned the cannons.

Climbing the hill to the Louisiana Circle

Trying to get boats past this point in the river was called "Running the Gauntlet". The cannons were very accurate because they had rifled bores which would spin the cannon ball as it was shot. There were only a very few of those on the confederate side and were used only in the most important places.

Looking to the north up the Mississippi

As I looked over the Running the Gauntlet plague, I could visualize gunboats as they would be rounding the bend and the Louisiana boys springing into action. Tense times for both sides.







"Louisiana Circle" Cannon facing south

The bridges in the background are I-20 and old U.S. 80. You can also see a tug and barges heading upstream.

I will learn more on the battle in the next day or two as I begin to explore the battle park itself. People are saying it usually takes a couple days or more to see and appreciate it all. And since I'm retired, I have those days. The temperature this morning is a chilly 37 degrees. I think I'll have another cup of coffee and let the sun do it's job at warming the place up.

I'll be relocating to another RV park down the road about 7 or eight miles. It is in a more country location and the park is more open than this one at the casino. The casino park is OK, (on a scale of 1 to 10, it's a 5). I need to be out of here by 11:00. There is a big 18 wheeler parking lot for the casino and I haven't seen the first truck parked there. I plan to use it for an hour or so today to practice backing Liberty up. I need the practice before I get into some of those very tight older state/federal campgrounds.





 Freedom keeping an eye on the Mississippi as it rolls on by

Ya'll take care of each other. Cya