From Helen, we turned due west and headed through northern Alabama.  Very pretty with rolling hills and very rural.  Then we arrived in Tupelo, Mississippi which was the birthplace of Elvis Presley.  Tupelo is also one of the towns along the Natchez Trace.  In the late 18th century, farmers in Nashville, Tennessee hired men to ship produce down the Mississippi River to Natchez.  They would build simple boats, float down the river, sell the goods, take the boats apart, sell the wood from the boats, and then walk or ride back to Nashville.  This was about 450 miles!  They followed existing animal and Indian trails along what became known as the Natchez Trace.  The postal service used the trace and helped to develop stands along the route.  One of these was at French Camp, which was later developed into a private Christian school and is still in operation today.  By 1830, steamboats began making the trip up and down the river and this part of our country's history came to an end. 

While we were in Tupelo, there was a huge storm move through the area.  Watching TV, we saw numerous tornado strikes and warnings about 90 miles northwest of us.  Memphis, Tennessee saw a lot of damage and 29 people died in the area affected.  We heard reports of hail as large as 4" in diameter destroying cars.  It was 78 degrees at our campground at 10pm and we had a thunder and lightning storm with a lot of rain, but no damage.  The next morning we read an article about a tornado that hit Tupelo 30 years ago and killed 233 people.  (Have I mentioned that we love the weather in Salem?)

In Vicksburg, MS we toured the Vicksburg National Military Park.  We were here 3 years ago and had seen an ironclad ship, but the area was under construction and we were not able to visit it.  This time we got to walk around and through the ship and it was an incredible experience.  The Ironclad Gunboat U.S.S. Cairo was put into action in January of 1862 and was sunk in December of 1862.  It was one of 5 gunboats built by the Union to control the Mississippi and other southern rivers.  It was 175 feet long and had a crew of 175 (none of whom died when she sank.)  It was sunk by a torpedo (actually, what we would call a mine).  The North had all of the manufacturing areas, so the South had very few boats.  The Cairo was raised in 1964.  Amazing!

We went another 80 miles south to Natchez, MS.  We traveled along the Natchez Trace Parkway which has to be one of the nicest roads in America. It runs 450 miles from Nashville to Natchez.  It was set aside as a memorial road and has no billboards or other advertising.  It allows no commercial vehicles (Yeah!).  It has no stop signs or traffic lights, the road is mostly flat with gentle curves.  The speed limit is 50 mph, and you can set your cruise control and forget about everything.  The views are wonderful.  If you would ever want to visit "the Old South", this is one of the places to visit.  Mount Locust was built in 1780 and acted as an Inn along the Trace.  We attended a "play" in Natchez called the "Historic Natchez Pageant" which is put on every year.  This depicts life in Natchez up to the Civil War, through a series of scenes.  It was fun!  Most of the actors and dancers were kids (age 3 to high school).

Well, we needed to leave the deep south.  We left Vicksburg and headed east across the Mississippi River, then turned north traveling through Louisiana and into Arkansas.  We are now at Lake Chilcot State Park in Southeast Arkansas. Last night we found out that there are thunder storms and possible tornadoes in this area today.  Like last Sunday, it was 78 degrees at 10 pm.  So... I hope you appreciate the weather that you have.  We have had poor connections to the Internet since entering Georgia.  Less population and fewer tourists, I suppose.  Anyway, if you email us and we don't reply quickly, please understand that we might not get your message for a few days. 

We left January 16th and today is the 82nd day of the trip.  Several months ago we randomly picked May 5th as the date of our return.  Later, we realized that if we do return that day, this trip will be exactly 100 days long.  We still have a lot that we hope to see and do on the trip, but getting home is sounding good also.  There are lots of projects at home to do and we need to get ready for RFKC camp this summer.

Sorry I didn't get you a card or anything, but...

HAPPY  BIRTHDAY  JON!