We left the Baton Rouge area at about 8:30 AM on Highway 61 North and almost immediately came upon a low overpass that was only 13’6” high. We pretty much use 14’ as our minimum so I got out and walked ahead as Bill approached so I could stop him if we were in danger of making the motor home a convertible. We cleared the top with about 6” to spare and continued on our way. We took the Natchez Trace Parkway route and stopped at several historical points of interest. At the first stop was a family graveyard for the Barnard family and in the fenced in area were the graves of eight children ranging in age from one to 18. The dates of their deaths were all different so it was not as a result of a tragedy such as a fire. The ranger at the information center had no knowledge of the cause of their deaths. The next stop on the route was Mount Locust which was used as an inn for early travelers. It is the only one of several that is still in existence. We only traveled about 25 miles of the 445 mile route and then turned off towards Vicksburg. We arrived at Vicksburg National Military Park around 1:00 PM and watched a short video before going with a private tour guide for a narrated 16 mile driving of the Vicksburg Park and a visit to the USS Cairo.
The Cairo was an iron-clad river boat sunk by the Confederates in the Yazoo River. The boat/ship was recovered and missing parts were reconstructed. We finished at Vicksburg National Military Park at 5:00 PM then traveled east on Highway 20 and south on Highway 49 to Hattiesburg, MS. We stopped for the night at the Shady Cove RV Park, set up and went to Cracker Barrel for dinner.
