Fall 2019 Trip Wrap Up

It had been cold for the last five nights and we have run the furnace.  We had an appointment for winterizing Monday so we would need to run the furnace when we got home.  We decided to make sure we had a full propane take.  We were on the road by 8:30.

Crossed into Missouri... one more state until home.

I have basically planned the trip and routes we would take; however, I left the decision of how to get from this KOA to home.  He decided to take I-55 around St. Louis.  When we see these bridges, we know we will soon be in Illinois.

We (basically me) was excited to see this snow.  Decatur has had snows while we were on this trip.  We have had cold temperatures the last few days but no snow.

Here we are...home.  We made it back at 4:00 p.m.  I was on a mission to get as much unloaded so I could do motorhome clean-up tomorrow.  Mission accomplished by 6:30 with the exception of the big closet in the bedroom.   Sunday I finished unloading and cleaning.  Got motorhome winterized Monday and now are waiting for appointment time to put it in storage for winter.  We have never stored the motorhome but felt $30 a month was a bargain and inside storage would lessen wear and tear on it.

We drove the motorhome 3,383 miles and the car 2,209.  We met many nice people and dogs.  As we talked with them we heard their travel stories.  We talked to old-timers, new-timers, part-timers, and workkampers.  One new-timer we met was a young man from California.  Carol was sitting in the driver's seat of the RV one evening and he came to the window and struck up a conversation.  He was traveling in an older Bounder (ours is a Bounder) and wanted to compare notes on the motorhomes.  He was a lawyer and wanted to start out fresh in Georgia.  He sold everything, bought a motorhome and was seeing the country as he relocated to Georgia.  He was traveling with a young man who had been a teacher.  Here were two professional men, quitting their jobs and seeing the USA in a 1995 Bounder.   They reminded me of some of the pioneers we heard about who left the known for the unknown.  We also got to reconnect with old friends like Dena Carvell and Jim and Karen Peyton.  It was great to catch-up with them.

This trip was two days short of seven weeks.   For the last five years we have taken fall trips out west.  John and Family lived in Colorado so we would head that direction and visit with them.  Now that they live in Florida, we changed directions.
The trips we took west gave us jaw-dropping, heart-stopping scenery.  Nothing can top the Grand Canyon, Yellowstone and so many other places for beauty.  The vastness of the skies and views gives us memories that put smiles in our hearts and on our faces.

As I think about the trip this year, we still have memories that put smiles in our hearts and on our faces even if our jaws didn't drop or our hearts stop.  Instead, we had great times of reflections on this country, its history, and the sacrifices of so many people before us.  It was good to be reminded the struggles this country has had...the wars for independence and freedom.

One common denominator with all our trips is the fact that we get to spend time with John and Family.  It is wonderful to spend time with them.  This year we went to Disney World with them.  It was a great day.  We also spent Halloween with Katie and Aidan. 

This wraps up our trip.  Looking forward to next years travels...I will probably begin planning in January.

Scenes from US 61 North to Memphis

On the road by 6:00 a.m.  We only had a little over 200 miles to go so we took our time driving on the road.  Route 61 is an interesting highway.  It is four-lane mostly.

One of the first things we noticed as we drove north was the abundance of signs like the above.  Most were homemade but there were others professionally done.  From what I can find on the internet, this part of Mississippi had 114 consecutive days of rain last spring causing unprecedented flooding.  Pumps have been proposed but environmentalist have managed to delay the project.

Part of US 61 goes through the Mississippi Delta.  Carol  said he wasn't sure he had ever been on a road so flat.

We thought this was an unusual name for a town.  We also passed a sign pointing to Sledge, Mississippi.  Carol said Charlie Pride was born in Sledge.

If you lived in Illinois, you would think that the white stuff by the road was leftover snow.  In Mississippi this is cotton and it lines the roads.

Although we didn't stop, we did see two blues museums.

Cotton gin.

We saw so many bales of cotton setting in fields along the highway.

Cotton fields.

We saw several semis transporting cotton bales.  When you see the bales on the bed of a semi, you realize how big the bales are.

When we drove by Tunica, we saw this sign.  There must have been 6-8 casinos in Tunica.

Heavy-duty tree trimming in the median.

 In 2016 , 350 miles of US 61 has been designated as a "Mississippi Mound Trail."  There are 33 sites parallel to the Mississippi River.  The mounds were built in 1000-1500 by Native Americans.

We got into the West Memphis KOA around 1:30.  We had a quick lunch and I decided to get my laundry done.  That would be one less things on my "to do" list when we get home.   Everyone else in the campground had the same idea because it took me three hours.  I had to wait for washers and dryers and, of course, there was the usual number of machines that did not work.  The good news is that I am done and ready to relax before our last day of driving.   

Natchez

 We were up early to get to Natchez.  This is our last day to sightsee and we wanted to be back at the site in time to load the car and prepare for the next two days of driving.  Once at Natchez, we went to Melrose which was owned and built by a lawyer who owned five cotton plantations away from his home.  He and his wife spared no expense in building and furnishing his home.  The unusual thing about this home is that the property, home and furnishings are pretty much as they were in the 1820's.  Each succeeding owner purchased the property and home with same furnishings.  The furnishings are 85% original. 

The carriage house with three carriages.

The slave quarters.  Each building was divided into three separate "apartments" for the "house servants."

Huge live Oak that as the picture shows was not original to the home in the 1820's.

The top picture was taken in 1901 and the bottom 2011.  Not much has changed except for the tree.

Pictures from the interior of the home.  The Venetian blinds are original to the home.

The flooring on the left of picture is the original canvas glued to the floor.  The right side is a reproduced cover used to protect the original canvas floor covering.  The covering on the left is 200 years old.

This doll belonged to the daughter and has been in the family for nearly 200 years until donated back to the Park Service.

There were 10 of the bells.  The bell pulls were inside the house in the rooms.  The tones of the bells were all different. The bells summoned the house slaves living in the slave quarters to the house.  The slaves could tell by the tone of the bell  to which room to go.

Part of the formal gardens.

Front of carriage house.

 

When the house was built, there was no indoor plumbing.  A 16-hole outhouse was used.  These four remain.  Even though it is a outhouse, it was as modern as possible by having smaller holes for children.

This is a Mahogany "punkah."  It was operated by a slave and used the paddle to shoo flies away from the food.  The rope used to pull the fan can be seen by the window.

Master bedroom.  The smaller "bed" was used for naps during the day.

Daughter's bedroom.

Nursery with toys for play. 

After touring Melrose, we went into Natchez to see the William Johnson House.  Johnson was a black slave who was freed by his owner.  He became a successful businessman, barber, slaveholder, and diarist.  Although he was a black man, he owned slaves.   His diary covered 16 years of his life as a freed blackman in Natchez 1835-1851.  He had a very unusual story.  His diary was discovered in the attic of his house/barber shop 75 years later.  His home is being restored by the National Park Service so there wasn't much to see.

The last place we visited was a place called Windsor Ruins.  Windsor was built in 1859-61 by Smith Daniell who only lived in the mansion for a few weeks before he died.  The house managed to remain intact until February 17, 1890.  During a house party, a guest left a lighted cigar on the upper balcony and Windsor burned to the round.  Everything was destroyed except 23 of the columns and some ironwork.  These columns have stood for nearly 130 years just as pictured below.

This is the final picture of the day.  It was another good day.  It began to rain after we left Windsor Ruins so we were glad to head back to camp.  We filled the car with gas at $2.07 a gallon.  We won't be using the car again until we get home but couldn't let such a cheap gas price pass.  We loaded the car and will relax the rest of the evening.  Carol called Justin at Four Winds to make appointment to winterize the camper.  We will do that Monday.  That means when we get home, I will have to "hit the ground" running to get the RV emptied and cleans before Monday afternoon.  j

Tomorrow we will drive US Highway 61 North to Memphis and stay at a KOA in Marion, Arkansas.  Then on Saturday, we plan to make it home to sleep in our own bed.   It has been a fast almost seven weeks.