On the Road Again-heading home to the desert

After a night of rain, flash flood warnings and tornado watch in the north and southeast of Alabama, we're headed south and west into Mississippi. We fueled and had a hot lunch at Flying J in Jackson, then headed west through Miss. Today, Jackson, named after Andrew Jackson is the capital and the state population is about 3 million. It's eclectic mix of culture and heritage shows with reminders of the Civil War found everywhere in this state. Vicksburg was a battlefield for 47 days as people used mules and rats for sustenance. Monuments, battlefields and cemeteries recall the ravages of war while white-pillared antebellum homes tell a story of prosperity brought about by river and cotton commerce, the cotton fueled by slave labor. We crossed the Mississippi River discovered by a Spaniard in 1541, the state seceded from the Union in 1861, rejoined after the Civil War. Going into Louisiansa, we stopped at the Welcome Center which was red brick with white columns, even the bathroom building. Inside was a cotton plant with a sign saying 'Keeping your cotton picking hands off the cotton picking plant.'
In 1962 James Meridith became the first black person to attend the University of Mississippi which we drove by today. What were you doing in 1962? Hurricane Katrina devastated the Gulf Coast in 2005, but when we went to New Orleans we were not near the area it struck. Mississippi calls itself the birthplace of America's music. From blues legends, Muddy Walter and B.B. King to the king of rock and roll, Elvis Prestley, to the father of country, Jimmy Rogers, they portray the sounds of America's music.
We're parked for the night at Shiloh R.V. Park in Monroe which has a stocked lake in Louisiana. Good drive today, a little wind but easy going.

History and Heritage

I have thoroughly enjoyed our time here. With 300-400 years of history, it's fascinating. Evidence of the Civil War is everywhere and history and heritage are revered. Every town commemorates the fallen with plaques and cannon, as in Tupelo. Brice's Crossroads National Battlefield nearby is where the Confederate Calvary defeated Union troops. There is a cemetery where 95 Confederate soldiers are buried, all identified but one.T hey have walking trails and signage explaining battlelines and troop movements with an Interpretive Centre. It features a video and artifacts.

Up in Coberg County, there is a Coon Dog Cemetery. A fellow buried his beloved coon dog there in 1937, an area they loved to hunt. Now more than 185 certified coon dogs have joined him and it must be proved that the dog is authentic.

For years, Alabama served as a stage for pivotal civil rights struggles. In 1983, they published a Black Heritage Guide, indicating sites where significant events took place, Rosa Parks Museum in Montgomery, National Voting Rights Museum in Selma and many more. I'm sorry we haven't been able to get to some of these places.
It would be safe to say there is a church on every 2nd corner, some very beautiful with stained glass windows. There is even a Heritage Church tour one can do. Here's a typical house in this area, red brick with white columns and swing and 2 rockers on the front porch. I get disappointed it there aren't any rockers.

A Day at work

I know it sounds silly but this feels like work. We are up, organized and unplugged by 6:50 to go into the bays. There are different areas for work, paint, diamond shield, upholstery etc. The staff are juggling everybody all the time. The shop is clean and huge. As it is a non-smoking shop, half the guys have 'chaw' of tobacco in their cheek. It's hard enough for us to understand their drawl to start with, but this really is a challenge. There's Ron in the lounge, where you pick up lots of great tips.
Yesterday we went to the Freightliner dealer to have a small leak in the wheel axle gasket replaced. Ron's on a chassis that will become a motorhome. Then the window blind people arrived to install our new living room shade at 5 p.m. This morning we were out to Brannon's shop to have a surge protecter wired in. Now we're waiting for the blind man to come back with the one that wouldn't fit behind a valence.

And it's all about Food

As the customs are different, so is the food.

Our first indiation was at a Flying J Truck Stop, the pork and beans were really black eyed peas. I thought there was spinach but it was collard greens. Warm sausage, pulled pork and pulled beef are standard here. All delicious.

In Louisiana, highway signs were advertising crawdads (crayfish) and bodins, a sausage of rice and pork. Our first dish was a chicken and sausage jambalaya in New Orleans. Apparently, the 'red' jambalaya made with tomatoes is characteristic of New Orleans Ceole cooking while the 'brown' version, no tomatoes is the Cajun version. You start with a roux (flower and oil) and when nicely browned, you add spices and whatever you want. I have 2 recipes for chicken and sausage and a ham and shrimp one. The one we had was delicious, served on top of a bowl of rice and nicely spiced. It made us think of Randy's Low Country Boil, a dish served by the Louisiana tailgunner on our Yucatan caravan. It is said originally the Indians made a soupy kind of dish and added whatever vegtables they found and shrimp, wild pig, whatever. Time has stirred in the Old World influences from France, Italy, Spain, a dash of Africa and the Caribbean. We had red beans and rice on Bourbon St, which also had sausage in it and very good. Jambalaya is a twist on Spanish paella.

We went out for dinner with another couple to Gill's Grill locally. I had grilled catfish which had a light Cajun spice and was delicious. It was served with mayo slaw, baked potato with oleo ( margarine, no butter around here it seems), hush puppies, and a quarter dill pickle. Hush puppies are 2' round, deep fried cornbread and were good. Today we went to Swamp John's and it was a hoot. It is an old garage with pumps out in front and the inside is now an eating area. The concrete floor was painted red once but it's worn off and the oil stains are most prominent. Ron stuck to his omelet and I had a "smashed potato". They take a large baked potato and literally smash it on your plate, then cover it with chicken, onions, green peppers, tomatoes and cheddar cheese. Very tasty. One of your finer diners, you get 1 plastic fork, Styrofoam cup and plates, mine covered in tin foil. We haven't had any gumbo or po-boys yet. I would love to have enough time and eat my way through Louisiana.
When we went to Tupelo, the town where Elvis was born, we had lunch at Johnnie's Drive In where it is said that Elvis used to go. Talk about a scene from the 60's, the booths are still the original plywood and the green Formica on the tables has been worn off to plain white.

Ann and Ron

The Meandering Mississippi

I used to think of state or province dimensions mostly in straight lines. This river, the boundary between Alabama on the East and Louisiana and Arkansas on the West is like a squiggly line and acts like a kid wandering home from school. It is the 2nd longest river the the U.S., starting in Lake Itasca in Minnesota. It takes far longer and travels much farther than needed to reach the Gulf on Mexico, going 2340 miles or 3766 kilometers. It has been constantly changing, wrecking havoc on bordering land. As it's shifted to find shorter routes, it has gnawed away plantation lands, shifted parts of one state to the other, left some high and dry or under threat of drowning. We crossed over it down by Baton Rouge. The Army Corps of Engineers started in 1940 to try and tame it as best anyone could with concrete mattes, jetties and a series of levies longer that the Great Wall of China. It ranges from broad expanses to having swamp areas in the south with it's 'Spanish Moss'.

Country Customs

I am finding it totally fascinating seeing the different ways things are done in all the different regions we've been going through. As we drove back down the Tammy Wynette Highway going to Tupelo, we noticed the garbage collection bins. We saw 4' cubes made of plastic, wood slats, wire mesh, wood lattice, steel rods, chicken wire or several plain steel barrels which sit at the end of the driveway with garbage in them. Obviously, no bears here. What about in the heat of the summer?
This is deer country as Stanphills Deer Shack indicates on the sign; 'You wack em, we pack em. This area is rolling hilly country, dull brown at present with 1/2 leafless deciduous trees, the rest Ponderosa Pine but the earth is very red. Red Bay, founded on 1807 as a railroad town, was named for the red earth and bay trees. Today a mural shows the history from the railroad to the motorhome. You know you're somewhere different when you see Shelters located all over for Tornadoes. There are wild turkeys around here and there's even one used as a ball hitch.

Graceland, Tennesee

We drove 2 1/2 hours West through Miss. and 30 miles north to Elvis's home, Graceland and it was certainly worth it. We toured the Mansion and it was fascinating to see where he and family lived on a day to day basis. You had a headset describing of all the surroundings as you went, narrated by Elvis, Lisa Marie and others. It was on 18 acres with horse and barns, racquetball building, swimming pool etc. The living room was white with a 20 foot couch, grand piano in the music room and stained glass peacocks between. The dining room was formal and the kitchen was a definite 60's room. The family room was carpeted, ceilings and all, in green shag. It was used for recording in later years. There were actually 4 trophy rooms, plus the racquetball court with awards, gold records and clothes. the family received special permission and have Elvis and family graves in a Memorial Garden beside the swimming pool. Across the street, we went through the Automobile museum, all the motorcycles, cars and mobile toys Elvis had. Next were his 2 planes, Lisa Marie, a 707 and Hound Dog a smaller Lear Jet. The big one had a green conference table and chairs, 2 bedrooms and even gold sinks and 24 caret gold seat belt clasps. elvis bought it for $900,000 and spent 1 + 1/2 million to renovate it.

Elvis' Birthplace, Tupelo, Mississippi

We drove back into Miss. to the small town where the king of Rock and Roll, Elvis Aaron Presley was born on January 8, 1935. He gave a concert in 1956 and the proceeds went to the city which bought his house and Church, Assembly of God and moved them to a 15 acre park provided for the local children. The modest 2 room house, decorated with flowered wallpaper, where he was born, is just 30 x 15, 450 sq. ft. built by his father on a dairy farm for $180. There is a bronze statue of him when he was 13, 2 years after he got his first guitar for his birthday. He grew up with the other neighborhood kids and often sat outside his friends churches listening to the music. There is a Story Wall with a collection of anecdotes from family and friends who knew him when he was growing up. There is a new Elvis Chapel build in 1979 with stained glass windows and pews donated by friends and fans worldwide. A green 1939 Plymouth 4 door sedan, similar to the one the the Presley family used to move to Memphis in 1948 for his Dad to look for work. There is a museum, gift store with the Elvis quilt, The Fountain of Life, a circle representing his years in Tupelo.

Done for now

We're up at 5 a.m. so we can drive the coach into the bay by 6:55, Ron's just waiting for the bay doors to open here. We woke to 28 degrees (-2 C). Cold. Thank heavens for furnace, heat pump and space heater and not having to pay the bill.
Everything is done for now and we were back in our site by noon. I put things away and cleaned, then tried our new washer/dryer. Works like a charm. I had to go into town to get soap at a store called Piggly Wiggly.
We are now waiting for new blinds in the living area and to get into the paint shop. We are totally impressed with the way we have been treated here. Everyone is impeccably polite. I am called 'mam' 40 times a day. The only problem we've had is trying to understand their speech. We've never said 'pardon me?, sorry?, what did you say?' so many times a day. People in Alabama are the most laid back, relaxed souls in our experience and their drawl is something to behold.
Red Bay is located in the Northwest corner, bordering the Mississippi state line. The post office was established 1887 so they named it after the red soil and bay tree, which looks like laurel leaves. It's located in Franklin County named after American patriot, Benjamin Franklin. It's a quiet little town with many small brick homes, most with columns in front and rockers and swings on the porches. They are fortunately to have several industries; manufactured homes, a pet food plant, Gates Rubber Company, Wrangler Male Wear and Tiffen Motor Homes. The area is a bird sanctuary with many bird houses around town. We've seen lots of red cardinals and western bluebirds, a bluebird with a red breast.

Tiffen Allegro Factory

We woke to 33 degrees (0 C) today with a strong wind. Chilly!
We have the best site in the whole campground. Actually, we're behind the last row facing south looking down a back road, beside a neighbors garden and we see the sunrise, sunsets and birds. The washer/dryer are going today. We're visiting with lots of interesting people in the lounge. One couple was arranging a bank transfer and having a hard time because there are no Bank of Americas in La,. Miss, or Alabama. That's our bank and we didn't know that.
We went on the factory tour and found it very interesting. You start at the Welcome Center which has 2 rockers and a swing on the front porch and 2 very old Texaco gas pumps at the side. An introductory video is shown, then you walk for 1 1/2 hours to see it all. There were front caps of a Phaeton, the back where the radiator goes, the floor being glued down, and many other things.

Allegro Campground

Norris came by at 8:20 this morning and although we had been told there could be a week or two wait, he said go on into Bay 6 right now. We were delighted. There is a nice customer lounge where you can hang out and you can access your coach any time.
It's a lovely sunny day, so we went for a drive. This town is located in the Northwest corner, bordering the Mississippi state line. To establish a post office in 1887, they needed a name so they named it after the red soil and bay tree, which looks like laurel leaves. They are fortunate to have several industries; manufactured homes. a pet food plant, Gates Rubber Company, Wrangler Male Wear and Tiffen Motor Homes. The area is a bird sanctuary with many bird houses around town. We've seen lots of red cardinals and a bluebird with a red breast. It's located in Franklin County named after American patriot, Benjamin Franklin. It's a quiet little town with many small brick homes, most with white columns in front and rockers and swings on the porches. There are several murals around town depicting their history, a museum looking like it would have in the 1880s and graves in the cemetery with people who were born back then.

A cold front has swept in over the entire state and we woke to 33 degrees today, that's 1 to you Canadians. Not our cup of tea!
The slide is being worked on and several little things adjusted. We found a washer/dryer in the store that had been swapped out for a 2 piece and it was only $500.
I took a 2000 piece jigsaw puzzle into the lounge and what a riot. It's so big, there's nowhere to put all the pieces so someone finally dragged 2 tables together and there' 5 -6 people working on it at all times. It's a scene of an orchestra with funny fat faces and bald heads.