Day 7 - Friday, June 6, 2008

Day 7

Meridian, Mississippi to Shreveport, Louisianna

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Melt. Molt. Malt.

We left Meridian, Mississippi at 9:30 AM and it was already hot. By 11:00 AM it was 90 degrees. I think my stuffing is starting to melt. Or molt. But we cool down every few hours by stopping for a chocolate malt or ice cream sandwich, so I guess the heat does have its upside.

We headed west on I-20 to Jackson, with the archeologist reading Ivy & Bean books to the little human while the oldest human religiously followed the speed limit.

Traces of Natchez

In the early afternoon, we took a scenic detour to get on the Nachez Trace Parkway, an old merchant trail used by early pioneers that runs from Nachez, Louisianna to Nashville, Tennesee. At one point, the archeologist got very excited and yelled, "Look! Look! Flamingoes!" We all turned to look, wondering what flamingoes were doing in the middle of the forest, but all we saw were some curved red pipes sticking out of a swampy field. Apparantly, the archeologist's eyesight has been adversely affected by her glandular problem.

Vicksburg, Mississippi

In Vicksburg, the little human wanted to go to the Vicksburg Battlefield Museum, probably because it was shaped like a big battleship. Sort of. The overall architectural effect was somewhere between creepy and comical.

Amazing Coincidence!

In need of a bio break, we took an unexpected exit (124) off of I-20 West and had the wildest coincidence. There at the end of the ramp was a sign that said "Russell Sage Wildlife Area." Well, since I'm basically wild life (remember, I'm a bear!) and I'm from Russell Sage, I insisted that we go check out this place. It turned out to be a 17,000 square mile wildlife refuge run by the Louisianna State Parks. When I get back to campus, I'm going to find out if this is the same Russell Sage or if there could be two of them.

Shreveport, Louisianna

We continued to drive westward on I-20, stopping at Shreveport, Louisianna for the night. The archeologist took a tour down on the Louisianna Boardwalk and watched the sun set on the Red River overlooking the Neon bridge between Boussier City and Shreveport.

We decided to splurge and stay in a fancy hotel tonight. Sometimes you just have to go over your budget. One of the humans, the archeologist, is very excited about this because you can make your own gourmet Belgium waffles for breakfast.