JoDo Chasing Rainbows

Vicksburg, MS

We decided to spend the day as tourists.  We visited the Vicksburg National Military Park.  This is a hilly place.  While the trees and underbrush has grown, the hills are the same.  Moving all that artillery piece by piece into place; thinking about the men who had to carry gun powder and cannon balls up the hill to fire those cannons.  The infantry who were installed under the cannon lines.  American history bathed in blood.  Makes me wonder if we will ever find a way to work together for all our good.

Pictures are from: National Military Park, Jo and Do in front of Yazoo River, Bethel AME – the first AME church in Mississippi organized in 1875.  Campbell College, the first African American college in Mississippi established without the help of whites, operated out of the building behind Bethel.  This college was moved to Jackson, MS and eventually absorbed by Jackson State University.

Kisatchie National Forest

This is the most peaceful place.  Plenty of wildlife.  Shaded campsites. Considerate campers.  This is a magical place that everyone should visit.  Most of the sites are fairly level.  We don’t have automatic levers which would have made more sites available to us if we did.  Loop B has more spaces than loop A.  The only small disappointment is that the cloud cover did not dissipate so that I could see stars.  I woke about about 3 am in the morning to check again but the clouds were still in place.  I did have a moment with a deer though.  I was looking up at the sky as a deer came out of the woods. I watched it and it watched me.  It calmly walked through our camp site and moved slowly back into the woods.  I hope we get to visit this place again.