This will likely be my last day off riding until I reach the Gulf.  We looked again at the mileage and likely places for lodging and decided that four days should do it. 

We had a really nice day as tourists in both Mississippi and Vidalia.  This weekend is the annual Natchez Balloon Race and Festival. The day started by spotting some of the morning balloonists. 

 

While waiting for the morning rush to leave our planned breakfast place, we went for a walk and enjoyed the Natchez river walk.

 

 This offered a great view of the bridge from Natchez, MS to Vidalia, LA

As well as upriver to show where I have come from the last few weeks.

 

After this, we went to a cotton plantation where we were provided with a very entertaining and educational tour of the historic workings of the farm.

The tour included a short film about the history of the plantation after which we were led around the property where many of the original slave buildings and implements have been preserved.  The Frogmore Plantation is a working cotton farm as well as a museum of the cotton industry.

 

 

The smoke house and all the ways they used a hog.

Slave quarters before the war - color dyes not yet introduced and the bed is quite primitive

After the war. 

 

 

 The bed was better and things were more colorful, but life was not any easier.

 

A sample of implements of the time.

 

A lot of history was contained in the ginning and baling shed

 

 

The original cotton gin invented by Eli Whitney

 

and a machine invented to feed the cotton to a larger gin powered by machinery.  The wood is magnolia!

 

A finished cotton bale weighs between 350 and 500 pounds

 

 

Some more antique farm machinery

 

The rolled bales you see in the distance hold many bales and weigh between 3,500 and 5,000 pounds.

 

 

We returned in time to see balloons again floating above our motel.

 

 

There is supposed to be another race tomorrow morning.  I may get shots as I ride out of town.

 

The Bike

 

 

Ready to ride.  Note how color coordinated I am to celebrate the occasion.

 

I left Vicskburg on residential streets that quickly became suburban.  Once I quit meandering from one road to another, I finally found a spot worth a picture.  Had I been just a minute earlier, I would have caught a crane just taking off from the foreground of the pond.  He was probably camera shy.  He settled again on the back right corner of the pond.

 

 

 

 

If you look closely you can see a bit of white to the right of the tree in the close up below.

 

I also liked the nearly perfectly triangular house across the street.

 

 

Soon I was on completely rural roads.  Another 'no hands' shot.

 

 

Occasionally it appeared to be farmland, but mostly it looked like grazing land.

 

At about mile 23, I turned onto the Nachez Trace Parkway where I would stay for 59 miles.  This was my first look. 

 

 

The trees you see lined the road for at least 50 of the 59 miles.  This was a beautifully smooth pavement and, while there was no shoulder, I probably did not see 50 cars coming or going.  Also, I started the morning with a tailwind but shortly after joining the Trace, the wind shifted to be a mild headwind.  Despite that, I actually made better time because I was in the trees so much I rarely felt the wind.  In addition, the trees kept the air cooler and despite an air temp of low 80's most of the day, it felt more like mid 70's.

 

Because Cathy had to head straight for our motel to ensure we could get a room (they would not take a reservation under any circumstances), I knew I was on my own for the whole day.  In addition, there were no services at all on the Trace, not even a campground.  Consequently, I decided a good lunch stop would have shade, a place to sit, and protection from traffic for both me and my bike.

 

Voila!

 

 

 

After that, my only problem was running low on water.  Fortunately, I found a rest stop at about mile 68 with a water faucet and I cruised on into Vidalia, LA (across the river from Nachez), my tenth state of this trip.

 

Data

 

 



A good part of the day was spent finding lodging for the next three days.  There is a balloon festival near tomorrow's destination and everything within a reasonable distance and for a reasonable rate is booked solid for Friday and our destination planned for Saturday is even more heavily booked.

We found a motel that does not accept reservations.  Cathy is heading straight there tomorrow.  They have assured us that by the time she gets there they will still have available rooms.  Because of the lack of lodging Saturday, we are staying there two nights and I guess we will take in the balloon festival.  The last push to the Gulf starts on Sunday.

The rest of the day was spent anxiously waiting to hear from the bike shop.  They called around 4:00 and my bike is ready to go.  For those who care about such things, the new frame is a Trek Domane Six Series.  I'll have a picture tomorrow.

If you find yourself in Jackson, Mississippi needing bike service, I could not recommend more highly Indian Cycle and Fitness.  If I had to wait for a crash replacement from Specialized, I would be here at least until mid-week next.  Daniel knew how important this was for me and made sure the bike was ready today.

 

Tomorrow I ride!

I feel like I am on vacation from the vacation.  We tried to see an art exhibit but, despite its entry in a local "what's going on", it had not yet arrived at the venue.  After two more aborted attempts to see something cultural, we did the next best thing--lunch including ice cream for desert and a movie. 

After seeing "The Girl on the Train", we stopped by the bike shop.  They were nearly done and it was nearly closing time.  I should have my "new" bike fairly early tomorrow.

I got to thinking about it and realized I have been on a black/red alternating color scheme for about 30 years.  I had a black Fuji bike when Cathy and I met.  It was stolen from our "secure" apartment in Capitol Hill.  I then got a red Trek bike that I rode for over 15 years.  When we agreed I deserved an upgrade, I bought a black Rodriguez that served me really well. When a thief broke into our basement and stole my old Trek (missing the Rodrigquez that was in the garage), the insurance mostly bought my red Specialized Roubaix.  I would likely have been riding that but what I thought was a chip in the paint turned out to be a crack in the carbon that may have been developing for a couple of years.  Specialized provided a "crash warranty" replacement (essentially a bike at wholesale price) that was a black Roubaix.  The new frame I am getting now is a Trek and is red and white.

Stay tuned.  I expect to be in Vidalia, Lousiana Friday night.

Still a tourist in Jacksonville.  Yesterday we visited the Mississippi Sports Hall of Fame and Museum. 

This was fun and truly something to be appreciated.  The state has chosen to honor athletes, coaches, announcers and others who have contributed to sports at all levels from high school to professional.

In addition, they have made the top floor a complete exhibit about Jerome 'Jay' 'Dizzy' Dean.  For anyone like me who enjoyed listening to Diz call a baseball game this was a real treat.

Mississippi certainly has a long tradition of sports stars and heroes from Olympic athletes like Ralph Boston to NFL greats Archie Manning, Jerry Rice, Walter Payton and Bret Favre; baseball players from the Negro leagues like Cool Papa Bell and MLB like Dizzy and Rafael Palmiero.  There are nearly as many women basketball players as men and there are exhibits about the stickball game played by native Americans.  I could not have enjoyed this more.

Afterward we went to eat at a barbecue and beer joint call Pig and Pint.  I love the sign outside.

 

Spokes were ordered yesterday morning with next-day air delivery.  They should be here today and my bike should be ready tomorrow.  Unless something weird happens, I should be back on the road Friday.

Obviously no riding--but there is hope.  I found a bike shop that is selling me a really good used frame and doing the buildout for a reasonable price.  How long it will take to get back on the road is dependent on how long it will take to get replacement spokes for my rear wheel.  They are not standard and bike shops do not typically carry them.

If I'm lucky, I am back on the road Friday.  If not, it could be middle of next week.

We went to the movies and saw Mrs. Peregrine's School for Peculiar Children.  It was great.  Tim Burton can always take my mind off things.

We had always planned to spend an extra day in Vicksburg.  We didn't realize we would spend the entire day visiting one attraction.  The Vicksburg National Military Park preserves the site of the Civil War battlefield with signage and an audio tour that is both immensely informative and entertaining and gives anyone a true feel for the logistics and scope of this battle.  Other displays clearly show the planning and execution on both sides that led to the Union victory. 

The states that had forces involved have since erected a variety of monuments to honor their participants.  I tried to get photos of all of them but missed a few.  Cathy and I were there for over five hours.  We did one 3-mile loop of the park on foot and then used our car for another 13 miles.

Here are the state monuments I found:

Alabama

Arkansas

Georgia

Illinois

Indiana

Kansas

Kansas Plaque

Kentucky

 


Minnesota



Missouri

Mississippi

Mississippi crest

New Hampshire

New York

Texas

Wisconsin

Tennessee

I had never thought about how many states were involved in a single battle.  In addition to states' monuments, there are hundreds of small monuments commemorating the various fighting groups listing their commanders and the number of killed, wounded and missing at this battle.

Other notable monuments:

Ulysses S. Grant

Black Soldiers



This monument recognized, not a meeting of Lincoln and Jefferson Davis, but the schism of a divided country epitomized by the state of Kentucky with fighters on both sides. 

This one example of the way batteries are displayed throughout the park.  This particular one is the Battery De Golyer.  It was accompanied by an audio description you can hear for yourself by dialing 601-262-2100 and selecting location #1.

 Signs throughout the park were either in Blue for the Union or Red for the Confederacy.

The view from the bluff.  Why Vicksburg was so important to both sides.  With it under Union control, the Mississippi river was effectively lost to the Confederacy as a means of transporting troops or supplies.

The park also included a museum focused entirely on a salvaged Union gunboat, the SS Cairo (pronounced Kay-ro).  Much of the ship is original with some reconstruction to enable easier and safer viewing.  The museum includes a video of the actual salvage operation.

 While touring this park, I also came across another new flower to me--one I had seen several times while riding.  Perhaps someone can identify this.

All in all, this was the perfect way to spend the day to keep mind off the day before.  Today we head to a bike shop near Jackson to see if there is a way to keep me on the road.