Travels of Geo Nova: We have Turned North

We have turned north

We are now in Natchez State Park and are planning to head north up the Natchez Trace Highway tomorrow. Our next stop is only 50 miles up the road to Port Gibson “The Town Too Pretty to Burn” a quote by General Grant during the Civil War.

Blackwater River State Park was our last place of residence in Florida. We had a wonderful week of hiking, biking and most of all kayaking down the river. The river meanders through undisturbed wilderness with multiple gorgeous white sand beaches around every other bend of the river. The current in the river was relatively fast, as the area had recently experienced some torrential rainstorms. We drove 12 miles up stream to launce the kayaks and had a leisurely paddle down the river to the park with a stop on a beautiful sand bar for lunch. Upon returning to the park I got on my bike and retrieved the truck from the launch place. The other highlight of our time there was a trip into town to have lunch and a walk with our friends Scott and Jennie from Maine. We also went back into town to do a 14-mile bike rail trail. This week was a triathlon for Diana over 3 days she hiked 10 miles, kayaked 12 miles on the river and 14 miles biking and I live to tell about it! Blackwater River SP may be my favorite state park this season. The campsites provided full hookups, very clean, widely spaced and only 30 sites in the park.

The next stop was a state park at the head of Mobile Bay in Alabama. This part of the trip represents a change in gear for us. We are now acting like traditional tourists. This stop was only for 2 nights but we managed to get a bunch of touring in.

In the middle of downtown Mobile is replica of Fort Conte the first European out post in the region. It predates New Orleans. A walk through the historic district brought back memories of New Orleans with the French architecture and its stunning wrought iron work. The next day was spent exploring the site of the last battle of the Civil War in Blakeley. In fact this battle occurred one day after General Lee surrendered in Appomattox officially ending the bloody conflict.

Continuing west we passed through Mississippi into Louisiana to Tickfaw State Park for 4 nights. This park is situated in a Cyprus swamp. Our activists included the usual hiking, biking and kayaking. The kayaking presented and challenge for Diana due to the spooky environment of a Cyprus swamp. The water is brown with silt and infested with poisonous snakes not to mention alligators. After a short while the shear beauty of the place helped displace the anxieties it created. We did a day trip to Baton Rouge to visit the LSU rural life museum. We learned a great deal about the history and culture of the area. While touring there were lots of people milling about with packets of papers in their hands. At first we wondered if they were from the university. We happened to run into the Director of the museum. He explained they were from Sony Pictures getting ready to film a Minnie Series on Slavery.

The visit to Natchez Mississippi has immersed us deep into the history of the Antebellum Ere in the South. We have visited several of the stately mansions in town. Yesterday we took a ride across the Mississippi River to Frogmore, a cotton plantation that has been in continuous operation since the early 1800’s. They have much of the infrastructure from the pre Civil War Era.

The afternoon was spent at a Natchez Indian mound and then walking the trail along the Mississippi.

Today we explored the Trace Highway and saw the second largest Indian mound in the US. We walked for 30 minutes along a section of the original Trace. Thinking of the men walking home from New Orleans, the slaves that were brought from Virginia and the mail riders on their ponies, it was moving.

We also saw one of the last original standing homes on the Trace. The new park ranger told us she had just taken over the job from a man who had lived in the house until 1944.

Tonight’s activity is a concert presented by a local gospels group singing songs from the days of Slavery.

We will be back in touch soon with more adventures and history.