On to Natchez

Our next stop was Shreveport, Louisiana. We had a free day here so, on the advice at the Visitors Centre, we had a look at the Louisiana State Museum. 75 years ago a curator started creating dioramas representing the various industries of the state.  It took him 25 years to complete 21 dioramas and they are still on display. Every item in the display was custom made, from the people and animals to each plant stalk and flower. This display depicts hand picking cotton. The figures are about 6 inches tall. You'd swear you were looking at an actual scene caught on camera. 

This scene depicts harvesting sugar cane. Each sugar cane stalk was created by rolling tiny bits of paper and hand painting the color on them. The scenes were usually about 6 feet deep and 12 feet wide, but I couldn't capture the detail with a full photo. Other dioramas showed oil drilling and refining, salt mines, logging and farming. Each animal and plant was custom hand made. No wonder it took over a year for each diorama.

After building up an appetite at the museum, we stopped for crawdads. If you recall my Louisiana blog from awhile back, I developed a taste for them. Kind of like eating giant bugs.

Our next stop is Vidalia LA, just across the river from Natchez Mississippi. Our campsite was right on the shore of the mighty Miss. First night there, we got a huge thunder storm with over 5" of rain falling. Next morning I went to check that the river wasn't going to overflow. Apparently not.

Natchez is filled with huge mansions, mostly built just before the civil war when slaves and cotton were making many plantation owners very wealthy. A lot are still privately owned but this one is in a state park; it's being refurbished so the white columns aren't.

The main reason we came this way was to travel along the Natchez Trace, a 444 mile trail from Natchez to Nashville. Before 1820, trappers and farmers boated their goods down the Mississippi to New Orleans where they sold everything and tramped back home along the Natchez Trace. This is the only surviving stand left where weary travelers could rest and get food. They were located every few miles along the Trace.

This is a part of the trail called the Sunken Trace. Due to the soft soil and thousands of walkers every year, the trail had sunk in some areas almost 30 feet deep. 

Towns flourished and disappeared as the Trace became obsolete due to the steam boats. This safe is the only reminder of the town of Rocky Springs. I didn't feel that safe either.

Some mansions were destroyed during the civil war. This one survived the war but burned down in 1890, leaving only the 23 columns standing. It is the most photographed historic site in Mississippi.

Last night, we had a repeat of the huge thunderstorm but this time with less rain and a lot more wind. We both went to check to make sure the river was OK.

We noticed on our return to the Trace that a number of trees had fallen due to the wind. Someone must have been out early because the road wasn't blocked although lots of cutting and dragging was in evidence.

Today we diverted off the Trace for a bit to spend a little time at the Vicksburg Civil War memorial. One of the big goals of the Union army was to take control of the Mississippi River and cut the Confederate army in half. Vicksburg was the only major city still holding out. After many failed attacks, the Union army surrounded the city and starved them out. Cannons, like this one fired back and forth every day for 2 months before the Rebels surrendered. The park has plaques showing all the battle lines and where each battalion fought.

Each state that supplied troops has built a monument to their gallant fighting men in the years since.

Because the battle was beside the Mississippi river, the Union army used iron clad gun boats to ferry troops and supplies and to attack from the river side. This is the salvaged USS Cairo, which sank when it hit an underwater mine, the first boat ever sunk that way.

Just a bit of time left in the day to visit a Cypress swamp before dark.

Signs said to watch for alligators which we poo poo'd until we saw this little guy. I guess maybe there are gators in swamps, who knew. Well, we've done about 90 miles of the 444 mile Natchez Trace. Lets see whats next.