Friday, December 3, 2010
I had to call the front desk guy this morning to show me how to get hot water in the shower! That's what happens when on the road for a while. I ate breakfast at the motel, and headed out around 7am. Vicksburg is about 18-20 miles, and that's the destination for today. As I was leaving town, noticed artificial Christmas trees spaced out in the bayou alongside Hwy 80. I bet that is quite a sight at night. I also noticed a couple of blue herons in the water.
As I had been warned, there's not much between Tallulah and Vicksburg. Some marsh, lots of plowed fields, and many, many, grain trucks heading to unload at the Mississippi. The road is flat and straight for miles, with light traffic. I passed a sign for a place called "Thomastown", but never saw a place. A woman whose church assisted the cross carrying woman (Morgan Strong), called to see if I had seen Morgan. I hadn't for a couple of days, but gave her Morgan's phone number and told her to try that. Never heard back from her, so assume she was able to contact Morgan.
I passed a small community named Mound, but wasn't much there.....at least along hwy 80. On days like this, when there's nothing around, I can cover miles pretty quickly. Before noon, I had reached a point close to the Mississippi River where Hwy 80 merges with I-20 to cross the river. There's another route, LA Road 3218, that goes through a small community named Delta, and has the "old" bridge. (Kristi from Rayville told me Delta Airlines was started near here....hence the name.) According to Google Maps walking directions, pedestrians can use the old bridge....although it is closed to motor vehicles. Located at this intersection is "The World" bar and restaurant, so I decided to eat lunch before making any decisions.
As I was entering the place, a guy approached me, introduced himself as Tony Powell, and handed me a little money for my lunch. Tony works at the nuclear plant nearby, and had stopped in for lunch. He told me every type of person from "vagrants to millionaires" frequent The World, so I figured I fit in there somewhere. I ordered lunch, and then asked around the room if anyone knew whether the old bridge was open to pedestrians. Most said no, some didn't know, and at least one said he thought so. If I walked that way and it wasn't open, it would be 4 miles extra walking.....2 there, 2 back. After lunch, the guy who thought it might be open and I drove to Delta to check out the bridge.....it was closed to pedestrians. So I have to walk over the I-20 bridge. The guy who drove me to Delta was interesting.....he pilots a ferry boat across a river (not sure if it is the Mississippi), and I enjoyed talking about that.
I said my goodbyes to the folks at The World, and headed to I-20. There is a wide shoulder initially, and the early part of the walk was fine. When I reached the bridge going over the Mississippi, the shoulder narrowed to about 3 feet, and the 18 wheelers wanted a part of that. Although the river isn't too wide there, by the time I was on the other side I was worn out from that traffic. But, I made it, and am now east of the Mississippi......that's a milestone. I stopped for a while at the visitor's center, one of the nicest ones I have ever seen. Plus, it was decorated for Christmas which made it even more so. I talked to a couple from Minden (didn't get their names), and they said I walked right by their house on Hwy 80.
Vicksburg sits high above the river, and is a very historic town.....one I would like to visit again some time in the future. But I needed to find a camping spot, so asked around and was told there is a campground near the Vicksburg Battlefield....about 4 miles away. I set out for there, and about the time it was getting dark, finally arrived. Talked to the owner for a while, checked in, and set up the tent. Soon had it loaded, and I was inside eating a sandwich and reading the USA Today newspaper. It's not too cold this evening, but supposed to drop significantly tomorrow night. But, I'll worry about that tomorrow.
About the pictures:
I had to call the front desk guy this morning to show me how to get hot water in the shower! That's what happens when on the road for a while. I ate breakfast at the motel, and headed out around 7am. Vicksburg is about 18-20 miles, and that's the destination for today. As I was leaving town, noticed artificial Christmas trees spaced out in the bayou alongside Hwy 80. I bet that is quite a sight at night. I also noticed a couple of blue herons in the water.
As I had been warned, there's not much between Tallulah and Vicksburg. Some marsh, lots of plowed fields, and many, many, grain trucks heading to unload at the Mississippi. The road is flat and straight for miles, with light traffic. I passed a sign for a place called "Thomastown", but never saw a place. A woman whose church assisted the cross carrying woman (Morgan Strong), called to see if I had seen Morgan. I hadn't for a couple of days, but gave her Morgan's phone number and told her to try that. Never heard back from her, so assume she was able to contact Morgan.
I passed a small community named Mound, but wasn't much there.....at least along hwy 80. On days like this, when there's nothing around, I can cover miles pretty quickly. Before noon, I had reached a point close to the Mississippi River where Hwy 80 merges with I-20 to cross the river. There's another route, LA Road 3218, that goes through a small community named Delta, and has the "old" bridge. (Kristi from Rayville told me Delta Airlines was started near here....hence the name.) According to Google Maps walking directions, pedestrians can use the old bridge....although it is closed to motor vehicles. Located at this intersection is "The World" bar and restaurant, so I decided to eat lunch before making any decisions.
As I was entering the place, a guy approached me, introduced himself as Tony Powell, and handed me a little money for my lunch. Tony works at the nuclear plant nearby, and had stopped in for lunch. He told me every type of person from "vagrants to millionaires" frequent The World, so I figured I fit in there somewhere. I ordered lunch, and then asked around the room if anyone knew whether the old bridge was open to pedestrians. Most said no, some didn't know, and at least one said he thought so. If I walked that way and it wasn't open, it would be 4 miles extra walking.....2 there, 2 back. After lunch, the guy who thought it might be open and I drove to Delta to check out the bridge.....it was closed to pedestrians. So I have to walk over the I-20 bridge. The guy who drove me to Delta was interesting.....he pilots a ferry boat across a river (not sure if it is the Mississippi), and I enjoyed talking about that.
I said my goodbyes to the folks at The World, and headed to I-20. There is a wide shoulder initially, and the early part of the walk was fine. When I reached the bridge going over the Mississippi, the shoulder narrowed to about 3 feet, and the 18 wheelers wanted a part of that. Although the river isn't too wide there, by the time I was on the other side I was worn out from that traffic. But, I made it, and am now east of the Mississippi......that's a milestone. I stopped for a while at the visitor's center, one of the nicest ones I have ever seen. Plus, it was decorated for Christmas which made it even more so. I talked to a couple from Minden (didn't get their names), and they said I walked right by their house on Hwy 80.
Vicksburg sits high above the river, and is a very historic town.....one I would like to visit again some time in the future. But I needed to find a camping spot, so asked around and was told there is a campground near the Vicksburg Battlefield....about 4 miles away. I set out for there, and about the time it was getting dark, finally arrived. Talked to the owner for a while, checked in, and set up the tent. Soon had it loaded, and I was inside eating a sandwich and reading the USA Today newspaper. It's not too cold this evening, but supposed to drop significantly tomorrow night. But, I'll worry about that tomorrow.
About the pictures:
One is of the I-20 bridge and the railroad bridge from the east bank of the river
The other is a sign for a plantation established in 1853, 8 years before the Civil War.
Hi Jeff, Proud of you !! Delta Airlines began as a crop dusting service and served out of Monroe for many years after they began their commercial operations. They used to have all their stock holder meetings here till 12-15 years ago. They went big time and moved to Atlanta.
ReplyDeleteI hope that Mississippi is a pleasant walk for you so stay safe and I'll continue to watch your progress.
Mick, in Monroe, La.
Hi Jeff,
ReplyDeleteCongrats on making it to the Mississippi! My family follows your blog daily. Thanks for taking us along on your journey. Take care. Mike Killebrew
Jeff,
ReplyDeleteThe way you are moving along you must be singing I'll be home for Christmas. Guess you'd have to become a running man to do that.
Larry Bowden
Keep warm and safe. Delta Arlines did start as crop dusting service then R.J. Reynolds, Jr. purchased most of the stock and helped convert it into an international airline. A good old southern boy from North Carolina. I look forward to reading about your trip each day. Hope to see you in SC or NC.
ReplyDeleteMorning Jeff,
ReplyDeleteI looked back at the History of Delta Airlines, to refresh my memory. It moved to Monroe, La. in 1925 and was named after The Mississippi Delta, the river bottom, agricultural lands, once claimed by the river itself. M.S.Biedenharn, was one of the largest stockholders in Delta and much of his family still live here. This was their main office for the company until they moved to Atlanta ! M.S. Biedenharn, was the FIRST to bottle the original Coca Cola, in Vicksburg and when the Biedenharns moved to Monroe, the also brought their Coca Cola Bottling company here too. They sold most of that operation to Coca Cola, USA, about a dozen years ago so not sure of the holdings left in the family on either company now. The La. community of Delta was named as such because it is in the Ms. Delta ! The Delta Airlines first served the Delta Areas then stretched out to Dalles, Ft. Worth, Jackson, Atlanta as equipment and demand grew for their operations.
Monroe, La. owes much gratitude to the Biedenharn family and their heirs as they helped build Monroe to a Business Hub.
Have a great day, scream if you need me,
Mick
.