Travel Resource

Before I continue with posts on our January trip through the South, I thought I would share the travel resource we used to find information on the places we were driving through.

I have this book on my bookshelf.

I don't remember when we got it and it is several years old.  I decided that it was a book to keep when we were downsizing last spring.  I"m glad I did.

Before the trip I tabbed the states we were going to drive through: Tennessee, Mississippi, Louisiana, Alabama and Florida.    

Then I marked particular attractions that I thought our route may take us through.

Though it was a fairly big book, I packed it and was glad I did.

Once we returned from the trip I marked the spots we got to and the date.

I'm sure there are more recent publications of this book, but many of the attractions are still going to be there despite the age of this copy.

Our next stop after Baton Rouge was on our way to New Orleans - Oak Alley.

Look for that in my next post.

Baton Rouge, Louisiana

Our travels south along the Mississippi brought us to Baton Rouge, Louisiana, the capital of the state.     It was Sunday so there wasn't much traffic and it was easy to park on the street.

We parked in front of this castle and then learned it was the old state capitol.  It sits on that rise overlooking the Mississippi River.

Many of the towns along the river have flood control levees or walls.  Baton Rouge had a huge levee. The red on the side of the levee is letters spelling Baton Rouge.

Dan ventured down the steps to get a closer view of the river.

I stayed up on the promenade that runs along the top of the levee.  

There were railroad tracks to cross to reach the promenade but it wasn't clear if they were still in use.

Returning to our car I noticed the lovely stained glass window in the old capitol.  The sun was hitting it just right.

We stayed overnight in the outskirts of Baton Rouge.  Monday we were headed to New Orleans.  More to come on the next part of our trip.

Joining Through My Lens

Natchez, Mississippi

On our road trip through the south in January we stopped for lunch on Sunday in Natchez, Mississippi.  We arrived there by way of the Natchez Trace that we picked up south of Vicksburg near Port Gibson.

The Natchez Trace is maintained by the National Park Service and is a 444 mile road from Nashville, TN to Natchez, MS.

It commemorates a trail first used by Native Americans and then by European settlers of this area.

The road is only two lanes and on Sunday it was little traveled.  There was still ice in spots and thankfully when the well pointed buck ran across in from of us it was not on an icy patch of road.  We missed him thankfully, but it was a near miss.

This was a remarkable looking church in Natchez.

Joining Inspired Sunday

View of the Mississippi River from the riverfront park.

We ate here at the Biscuits and Blues Restaurant and then headed on our way south to Baton Rouge, LA.

U.S.S. Cairo

"On December 12, 1862, the Union ironclad gunboat, Cairo, and several other vessels steamed up the Yazoo River, north of Vicksburg, to destroy Confederate batteries and clear enemy obstructions from the channel,  Suddenly two quick explosions tore holes in the Cairo's bottom.  In minutes the ironclad lay on the river bottom, only tops of its smokestack and flagstaff showing above the water.

Cairo was the first vessel ever sunk by an electronically detonated torpedo (today called a mine), but its place in history comes from what went down with it.  Preserved like a time-capsule were information on naval construction, naval stores, armament, and the crew's personal gear."

quoted from Vicksburg National Military Park brochure.

The exhibit under a huge tent is a mixture of the salvaged parts of the iron clad and reconstruction.

This is the amazing part of this story.  Read below.

A model of the Cairo.

Despite its sinking it was a formidable looking vessel.