Jackson, Natchez Trace Parkway and Port Gibson

After a late start, Ron and I traveled to Jackson, MS about 45 miles east to find a Freightliner dealer.  Ron is forever leaving our gas caps at gas stations.  He just loves to leave caps for others who may have forgotten theirs.  After purchasing two (a spare, just in case), we drove around Jackson, but were not impressed with what we saw so started back toward Vicksburg getting off at an entrance to the Natchez Trace Parkway just east of Jackson.

What is the Natchez Trace Parkway?  It is 444 miles across Mississippi, Alabama and Tennessee which commemorates the Old Natchez Trace which began as a Native American footpath leading between the Chickasaw and Choctaw Nations.  Later the path became a postal road and pioneer trail.  Today it is a beautiful two lane highway with limited access through thick wooded areas and open farmland with numerous wayside exhibits, natural trails and interpretive signs which tell the history of the Parkway.

Despite a torrential downpour along the way to Port Gibson (about 40 miles southwest of Jackson), we really enjoyed the slower pace and the beautiful scenery.  We left the Parkway in Port Gibson driving around the small town taking in the old buildings and Victorian homes.  These small towns are always so interesting and this one did not disappoint us.

This old bank building was built in 1901.

Return to Vicksburg stopping by the local Elks Lodge for a drink and conversation with some of the locals.

Heading to Mississippi and Vicksburg

Wednesday, May 13, 2015

Our habitual overcast sky is still with us as we head toward Vicksburg, MS today.  We had an early morning shower before leaving Jacksonville, TX but no rain for the remainder of the day.  The sky was actually fairly clear and we could detect sun when we arrived  in Vicksburg; however, we were told that the next four days will probably bring rain showers to the area.  Guess the rain just follows us around.

Our day was spent driving through beautiful treed areas, small towns and just plain pretty countryside on good state highways  and I-20 across the top portion of Louisiana.  Many small towns in Louisiana to explore at a later time when weather is better.

Tomorrow we plan to explore the Civil War sights and have a more interesting blog with pictures.

Crossing the Mississippi River into Vicksburg.

The mighty Mississippi River.

Thursday, May 14, 2015

Today we set off to see the Vicksburg Military Park which is quite  extensive with a stop at the Visitors Center first to see a movie about the battles that took place here.  Thanks to our Senior Pass our entrance was free.  The benefits of being over 62.

The drive through the Park is a one way road through extensive forest and rolling hills with many state and regimental markers, monuments and tablets along the way and places to pull over for closer views.  When the Park was established in 1899, it included the entire extent of the siege and defense lines here in Vicksburg.

Along the way, we stopped at the U.S.S. Cairo Museum which included items recovered from the Union ironclad U.S.S. Cairo which  was sunk in the Yazoo River north of Vicksburg in 1862.  It was believed to have been the first vessel sunk by an electrically detonated mine.

Across the way from the Museum is the road taking you through the Vicksburg National Cemetery which includes the graves of 17,000 Civil War Union soldiers and more than 1,200 veterans of other wars.

After finishing our visit at the Park, we drove to historic downtown viewing the many old homes and buildings and stopping to tour the Old Court House Museum (circa 1858-1860) and the Biedenharn Coca Cola Museum where Coke was first bottled in 1894.  Ron, who worked for Coca Cola for 25 years, was quite disappointed in what he saw.

We also drove down to the River and saw this long double row of  barges being pushed down the river by a pilot boat.

Leaving the Hill Country

It's still overcast this morning, but at least it is not raining as we leave this beautiful campsite on Canyon Lake. We really enjoyed our time here and with Kathy's family and look forward to another visit perhaps later in the year.

Today we are headed to Jacksonville, TX.  Make the mistake of taking the OSR (Old San Antonio Road) along the way thinking we would save time and avoid the traffic through College Station.  It was a lovely drive (or would have been) if not raining and the road would have allowed us to drive faster than 45 -50 mph.  The road took us through beautiful wooded areas, large cattle ranches and some small towns.  Our previous travels through Texas gave us no indication that these lovely areas even existed.  This area has seen  a great deal of rain lately and we saw many, many overflowing rivers, creeks and fields along the way.  Thank goodness none were overflowing the roadway.

Arriving in Jacksonville, TX, we find the one and only campground set among the pine trees and like everything else today, a bit soggy with all the rain.  It will not be on our return to list, but will do for the night.

Tomorrow we will move on to Vicksburg, MS where we hope to stay for a couple of days taking in some of the Civil War sights in the area.

Mother's Day

Sunday, May 10, 2015

The Potter's Creek campground is beginning to clear out as people return home from their weekend here.  Weather is rainy at times, sunny and just plain humid all the time.  People made the best of the weather and enjoyed themselves.  We are looking forward to peace and quiet once again.

We spend the afternoon with Kathy's daughter's family in Kyle, Texas with a nice dinner together.  It has been about 26 years since Kathy and Laurie have been together for a Mother's Day.  Laurie was in high school when they were last together for this occasion.  It is a sad day as well as we think of both Ron and Kathy's mothers who both passed away last year.

Returning to the campground in the early evening, we find there are only two RV's, ours and one other.  We will remain here for Monday and if weather permits, continue on to Shreveport, LA on Tuesday. There have been severe thunderstorms and tornadoes north of us and more expected.

Texas Hill Country

Wednesday - Monday, May 6 -11, 2015

We awoke from a restful sleep this morning to overcast skies with sun trying to shine through.  Head down I-10 to the turnoff for Highway 290 heading east to Fredericksburg where we will stop for lunch at one of our favorite restaurants for German food. 

Turning on to 290 we begin seeing the late evidence of the Texas Bluebonnets which are so profuse in Gillespie County in the Hill Country of Texas.  Unfortunately, the Bluebonnets are fading as their most vibrant colors are from late March to mid-April.  Fortunately, the other wildflowers of Indian Paint Brush and Mexican Hat as well as others are still quite vibrant.  Below is a picture of the Bluebonnets when they were at their prime.

Fredericksburg, Texas is one of our favorite places to visit.  The historic town was established by German immigrants in 1846 and even today retains much of its German traditions.  German can even be heard on occasion.  The immigrants built their homes of logs and stone and later of limestone found in the area and a great many of the old homes and buildings are still being lived in and used for commercial businesses.  The Pioneer Museum complex on Main Street gives you insight into life in the 1800’s and worth the time to visit.

After parking the RV and tow on a side street, Ron and I walk a couple of blocks to the Silver Creek Beer Garden and Grille where we both order a Jaeger Schnitzel Plate consisting of breaded and fried pork with mushroom gravy, red cabbage, sauerkraut and hot German potato salad.  Yum!

After lunch we proceed to Potters Creek Campground located on Canyon Lake just south and west of Austin.  Our campsite has a view of the lake.  There is a fairly brisk breeze blowing off the lake  and the temp is in the low 80’s with the campground very sparsely populated.   It is a popular spot for locals for boating, swimming and fishing and will be teeming this weekend, it being Mother’s Day weekend.  Each site in the loop has a long asphalt pad for the RV with an attached arm for your towed.  

A couple of Canadian geese are roaming the grounds as are a herd of about 15-20 young fawns.  What a beautiful sight to watch.  We’ll keep our eyes open for other critters.

We will remain here until next Tuesday while we visit Kathy’s daughter and family before heading east toward Shreveport, LA.

On to Junction, TX

Tuesday, May 5, 2015

Start down the road about 8:30 and stop for a quick breakfast at a rest area about an hour later.  Headed for Junction, TX today, a 435 mile drive.  More than we like to do in one day, but sometimes it has to be done.  Weather is cool this a.m. but warming up quickly to a high of about 74 with partly cloudy skies ahead of us.  Catch up to the clouds and experience some intermittent light rain off and on. 

By mid afternoon we are seeing dense yellow wildflowers in the median and along the shoulder.  Really beautiful.  Arrive at Junction around 5:30 and find the city park where we will stay for the night.  Nice park along the lake with children’s playground, pool, ball fields and pull through areas for RV’s.  

Leaving Enchanted Trails

Monday, May 4, 2015

We leave Enchanted Trails in Albuquerque around 8:00 a.m. taking I-40 east to I-25 south toward Las Cruces where we pick up I-10 east to the Austin, TX area.   Everything along the way is familiar as we have traveled to Las Cruces and to the Austin area numerous times over the past few years.

We leave I-10 just outside El Paso taking Highway 375 which is a by pass around El Paso.  Exit I-10 at #6 and reenter I-10 at exit 34.  While it may take a few extra minutes and be a little out of the way, it sure beats going through El Paso during rush hour or for that matter at any time of the day. 

We stay the night at Mission RV Park at exit 35.   Coincidentally, we stayed at this same campground in our 1996 Dutch Star when we brought Kathy’s Mom to visit friends from Albuqueruqe back in 2007.

Off and Running

Tuesday, April 28, 2015

Well, the house on Eastford Place NW in Albquerque is now packed up and ready to be picked up by the movers for storage tomorrow.  While Kathy did about a third of the packing, it was nice to have movers do the majority. 

The full timing life began last night as we had moved “HaRVey III” to Enchanted Trails RV Park off I-40 west of town.  Met the couple next to us at the Park who are from New Jersey and have been full timing since October.  It was nice to exchange information about the RV life style, to talk about where Kathy grew up which was familiar to them and to offer some suggestions to them about things to see while in Albuquerque.   We will go to dinner together tomorrow night and introduce them to El Pinto and local New Mexico Mexican food. 

For those whom we may not have told, we traded in our 38 foot 2004  Diesel RV with two slide outs back in December for a 2008 40 foot Diesel with four slide outs.  It has more room and some features which we felt we would like to have if we were going to travel in the RV full time.

We will miss our friends here in Albuquerque, but will be back in September for doctor appointments so will catch up with them at that time.  In today’s world with cell phones, facebook and email, it is easy to keep in touch.  Don’t know if we will return here to live again, move to Texas to be closer to Kathy’s daughter Laurie or find some other warmer place to call home either for part of the year or full time once we decide to stop RVing.  Who knows.  Right now we just want to experience more travel and not be tied to a house in one place. Our adventures will be posted on this blog for those who may be interested in knowing what we are up to.    

The plan is for us to remain here until Monday, May 4 when we will leave Albuquerque headed for Kyle, Texas to see Laurie and family.  We will be trying out a State Park about a half hour from Laurie which she tells us is quite nice. From there we will head east toward Louisiana taking in the sights along the way before arriving in Virginia where we will remain for at least a month or two seeing Kathy’s son Bill and family and taking in many of the historic sights in the area including Washington, D.C. 

Stay tuned for our adventures across America.