8:51 AM 64°F
With clean clothes and a good night’s sleep we left Grand Gulf Military Park and traveled the final half-mile to the Mississippi River.  A sign illustrated the height of major floods through the years. An additional sign had been tacked onto the original so the 2011 flood could be added at a record fifty-seven feet and one inch.  Another sign informed us that Grand Gulf was named of rate large whirlpool formed by the current of the river being diverted to the left by a nearby rocky headland. Union ironclads in the battle of Grand Gulf were buffeted by these currents and sent spinning downstream before they learned to stay closer to the western shore. The whirlpool was evident this morning. It amazes me that one boat can control 35 barges (7 across by 5 deep) through the currents of this big river.

Driving another mile to the site of Fort Cobun we passed evidence of the power of flooding. Distorted buildings were all that remained of the town that once thrived on the river bank.

Mobile homes have been elevated, some two stories above the flood plain, in hopes of keeping them dry. I can’t imagine being inside one as the river rises underneath.

The fort itself was cut into the side of a bluff. Very little of the fort remains, but informational signs tell the story of battles fought high above the Mississippi River.

 Heading back to the parkway, the town of Port Gibson showed signs of hard times with abandoned factories and homes. The First Presbyterian Church showed some optimism as their steeple is topped with a finger pointing heavenward.

27,779 10:28 AM 71°F
We’re back on the Natchez Trace Parkway stopping at Mount Locust Inn. A pleasant ranger volunteers and camps here one month a year, said he enjoys the morning sunrises from a rocking chair on the porch of the old Inn. This restored building is presented as it would have appeared in 1810.

27,815 11:20 AM
Pulled over at the entrance to the Natchez Trace Parkway at mile “0” as we completed the 444 miles of this National Park.

27,818 11:30AM
Found a shaded spot in the parking lot of the Grand Village of the Natchez Indians to make lunch. Toured the small museum after lunch amidst a school group working to find assigned clues in the exhibits. Rather small, the museum was a disappointment after visiting tribal museums in the southwest.

After lunch we stopped at the large visitor’s center in Natchez. The staff recommended leaving the van in their parking lot and walking into town. Though it wasn’t far, we found plenty of parking as we walked around town. Next time we would park near the restored train station. It is worth stopping at the visitor’s center for information and this great view of the river.

 Natchez has several National Park Service historical sites in the city. We enjoyed the William Johnson house, furnished to depict the life of the owner, a free black barber, in the 1830’s.

 Flowers on a courtyard wall

Looking like it could use some modern restoration, the impressive Temple B’nai Israel was built in 1905 on the site where the original temple built in 1872 burned down in 1903.

 An old fire station has been repurposed as a home. We wonder if there is a pole for sliding down to the main floor.

 The local garden club has quite a presence in town owning this, and at least one other, historic mansion.

Views of the Mississippi abound from the high bluffs of Natchez.

Looking upstream towards Minnesota.

One regal resident returning to a historic home in Natchez.

27,839 4:15 PM
Our spot for the night is number B46 at Natchez State Park. The ranger let us pick our own spot among many available on the lake. Water views and electricity for $19.26 is a real bargain.

We completed our goal of driving the Natchez Trace Parkway. Enjoyable and different, it was a low key way of traveling through a part of the country we hadn’t experienced before now. The road has broad curves and wide, grassy shoulders on both sides, quite different from the Blue Ridge Parkway nearer to home.  In retrospect, it isn’t a park we would travel across the country to visit, but we would certainly recommend it if you are in or traveling through this section of the country.

Next we will wander down the Mississippi, head east along the gulf to Florida with a goal of meeting a group of Pleasure-way camper van owners for a 30th anniversary rally in Sarasota. We have a couple of weeks to get there and no reservations, so who knows where we will stop along the way.