Vicksburg to Shannon Mississippi

Saturday, March 21, 2020

Tom and I are sitting in the parking lot of Elvis' Birthplace in Tupelo, Mississippi. It is a grey cloudy day and we have just finished walking the grounds. Nothing here is open because of the Coronavirus and there are at the most 10 people here and everyone is keeping their distance. I will be posting pictures at some point when we have better internet service where we are parked.

We are presently staying at the Natchez Trace RV Park in Shannon, MS. This small park is located just off the Natchez Trace about 8 miles south of Tupelo, MS. The internet service here is very slow and inconsistent.  We are able to send and receive calls, text, and messages so that is good. After finally getting the blog caught up it is not looking good for keeping it up to date.


Wednesday, March 19, 2020

Up before the sun this morning we wanted to pull out of the Shaw Performance Parking Lot before they were open for business. Tom had turned the Stinger "B" around the night before so her nose was pointed out. Our initial plan was to head towards a Mall down the road to hook the Jeep up. As we were getting ready to leave we decided to see if Tom pulled ahead would it be level enough to hook the Jeep up and as luck would have it was. After hooking up the Jeep we were on our way by 7:20.

Starting this blog post with a little sunshine these are outside 
our door where we are presently parked. These little flowers
say spring to me and I think they are beautiful.

We are on our way.

We were on I-20 heading East for  about 45 miles today and during that time I started to take pictures of the semis passing us in each direction. I certainly did not capture them all but I took quite a few. You will notice a theme in today's blog. Things in our world have changed and I do not need to repeat it here you are living it just like we are. 

As we were riding along it was hard not to think about the women and men who are driving these trucks. They put in long hours as many of the workers in our country and the two countries that border us do on a daily basis so we have what we need to live. Things that up to just a couple of short weeks ago we just expected to be on the grocery and pharmacy shelves when we needed them.

Making our way along the outskirts of Jackson to I-55 North.
Did you ever think you would see a sign telling you to wash
your hands as you drove down the interstate? 
I know we did not.

We stopped for an early lunch at a rest area
just south of Winona, MS

We are on US-82 heading East.

After about 70 miles we turned north on US ALT-45

Driving through West Point, Mississippi

Then we were turning onto MS-41.

Then we saw the sign for the Natchez Trace.

We were only on the Trace  

for about 5 miles today.

After 5 miles we turned off of the Natchez Trace at County Road 506 and made our way to the RV Park which I need to take a picture of.  While we were driving today we heard from Shirley and Ken. They had been north of where we are visiting Ken's brother. I had mentioned where we would be earlier in the week hoping they would decide to possibly head this way as they made their way home. I am happy to say this morning they decided to do just that. They arrived a couple of hours after we did just in time for Happy Hour.  Tom and I were so happy they made the decision to travel a southern route home and we got to spend another evening together.


Thursday, March 20, 2020

We had a chance to see the new truck that is pulling their Mansion this morning before they headed off.  There was only time for a short visit and a couple of pictures and it was time for them to be on their way. Even though it was a short we are glad they made the stop. Until next time we wish them safe travels as they make there way west and north to their home.

A picture in front of the new truck, a selfie, and they are off.

After they left we took a short drive into Tupelo to put gas
in the Jeep and a quick stop for a couple of groceries.

Driving back we went past our turn and checked this out.

Our hope while we are here is to be able to take a ride a ways back south on the Natchez Trace and then check out Elvis's Birthplace in Tupelo.


Friday, March 21, 2020

Today it rained and rained. We did take a ride into Tupelo to a Walgreens to pick up a couple of prescriptions. On the way back we stopped at the turn out pictured below.

We also took a quick ride over to Shannon, MS.

As I mentioned above while here we are planning on taking a ride south on the Natchez Trace and make a visit to see Elvis's Birthplace. We want to enjoy where we are but at the same time not ignore what is going on. So we are, also, thinking about where we will head next. Our plan is to get closer to home and yet try to stay in weather that is a little warmer. Like a lot of our friends with everything going on we do want to be by family but at the same time we need to be realistic about the weather we return to. The other thing we need to think about is where will we park. Now that we no longer own a house in Escanaba the "when" we get there depends on a park being open. For the most part parks in the area we are from do not open until May 1st and that date could change if the ground has not thawed. These are all things we need to keep in mind as we travel North and that is the direction we are now headed. For now we are safely parked and when we move the goal will be to be in a place we can say the same thing about.  None of us know what tomorrow will bring and what is going on in our country is something most of us have never experienced before. What steps our government and the various states take to control the spread of the coronavirus we have no control over. What we do have control over is what we do and our decision is to use common sense, plan our trip North knowing where we will stay next, and not dwell on things we have no control over.

To our family and friends we hope and pray you are staying healthy and safe. If you are reading this as you travel we wish you safe travels and dry roads ahead.

We are glad you stopped by!

If you have time to leave a comment we would enjoy hearing from you.

Leaving Arkansas and Crossing the Mississippi River into Mississippi

Saturday, April 19, 2019

 (We are presently at a Michigan State Park near Marine City, MI. Since it is Easter Weekend we have been watching RV's of various sizes and shapes coming in pretty steady since we arrived yesterday. There are a lot of families and dogs all around us. It has pretty much been raining on and off, since yesterday, sometimes just a sprinkle other times a downpour. Yet we can see them setting up, laying out their rugs, and putting table clothes on picnic tables under their awnings strung with lights. I do feel bad for them because I would guess they have been planning this weekend for awhile. I know we made our reservations back in February and at that time the good sites were pretty much gone. I hope we see the sun at some point but right now it is not looking good for this weekend. Though in a bit we will be at our Son and Daughter-in-law's getting grandbaby hugs so that will be "sunny" enough for us.
One last thing, for our Ontarian Friends, we can see Ontario, Canada across the river...high guys! )


Thursday, April 11, 2019

Now back to catching up this and the next four postings will be just that.We left the Walmart in El Dorada, AK and  "Hazel" took us back out to US-82 on a route with wider roads and a more direct path to the highway. Evidently she had re-thought the route and adjusted and we appreciated her efforts. Checking the weather ahead there was the mention of wind and are hope, at this point, is that it would not be to bad. Regardless, we wanted/needed to put some miles behind us and get farther east and north. Our plan was, if it gets to bad we will just find a place to park and stop. In the end we put 259 miles behind us and ended the day at the Walmart Supercenter in Batesville, MS. There was some cross wind as the morning progressed and we made our way east but Tom did not feel it was bad enough to stop. The last 60 miles we were traveling north on I-55 and the wind was more help then a hinder.

The pictures are still mostly being taken through a dirty bug covered windshield.

Back on US-82 and for now the wind is a non-issue.

Going through bayous we can see water on both sides of the road.

Then the road ahead looks like it may just drop off and end

but instead we are crossing high over a river.
One I did not get the name of.

Then there was construction, the road itself was actually good and
our first thought was we were glad we were going east.
It is hard to tell but that drop on the edge going west was about a foot.

Then we turned a corner and the drop was on our side.
I wonder if leaning left helps keep us on the road?

Then there was a weave around a logging truck.
They have cut quite a few large trees down to improve this road.

Though there is still really no shoulder on our side the drop is gone.

Then in Hamburg, Arkansas a sign we like to see . "End Road Work".
We could see more orange signs ahead but it was just a crew cleaning up the street.

Hamburg

This sign

and the road ahead.
Tom decided to obey the sign.

On the right of this picture those trees from a distance looked like giant ferns.

Bayou Bartholomew just needed to be included in today's blog.

Not a great picture but we are still passing fields filled with yellow.

Passed some bogs on both sides of the road.

They do grow rice in Arkansas and we wondered if this might be what
was going on in this area. No signs. 

Then the road curved and we were driving beside the Mississippi River.

A bridge in the distance

and a sign Mississippi River

and we are crossing over the Mississippi. It is at this moment we feel

that the west is behind us and we are truly in the east.

A barge on the Mississippi taken through my side window ans screen.

Always enjoy looking over the tree tops as we cross a high bridge.

We noticed a lot of trees 

in the river's water.

Then we are in Mississippi.

Remember Fred's Super Dollar well

there is also a Fred's Pharmacy.
Passed a couple more of these today.

The wind has picked up.

Some vine covered silos. They must be pretty when covered in green.

More bogs. Can not tell in picture but I could see some tiny white caps and
the water splashing over the edge.

Just liked this bridge and I was glad we fit under.
From a distance they always look so low.

More yellow fields to brighten the day.

We have now turned north onto I-55. 

How can you not like a city called Coffeeville?

This is was a first for us.
Nice to know Uncle Sam want us to be safe in Enid Lake.

Batesville, MS our stop for the night.

We have passed a lot of these large crosses over the years.
This is the first one I have ever seen with a wreath of thorns.

After stopping and enjoying a few quiet moments,
we walked across the way to a Chili's for dinner.
The small field we walked across was filled with wishing dandelions.

It was a long travel day but even though there was some predicted wind gusts of 25 to 30 mph we lucked out and did not seem to encounter anything strong. It was breezy in the Walmart parking lot when we arrived but calmed down in the early evening. It actually felt good to have a breeze flowing through the windows as it was in the 80's when we stopped.

We are glad you stopped by to visit. 

Hope you enjoyed today's pictures even though they were through a bug filled windshield.

If you have time to leave a comment we would enjoy hearing from you.