Exploring Life in Mississippi

A thunderstorm cleared enough making it a safe 160 mile drive from New Orleans through Baton Rogue to Natchez, Mississippi. The last part of the trip was pleasant and scenic passing along lush green countryside. It felt good to be back in sunshine for a change. A lovely campsite for four days at Riverside RV Resort overlooking the Mississippi River set us up.

Lots of barges and tugboats are visible moving up and down along the busy river. There has been no shortage of excitement in this beautiful and friendly town on the Mississippi River. Natchez, the oldest settlement on the Mississippi River, has more antebellum houses than any other place in the United States.

The first night we watched a spectacular sunset on the bluff of the river and attended an evening performance at the community auditorium entitled Historic Natchez Tableaux. It showcased the history of Natchez with Southern belles and gentlemen of all ages in period costumes.

A Powwow circle gathering at the Grand Village of the Natchez happened to occur on the weekend of our visit. It was a lucky chance to listen to Indian drummers and chants plus watch dancers in colorful costume regalia representing their southern native tribes. Unfortunately missing were the Natchez people as their nation had been completely wiped out by the French in 1730.

There are the most exquisite antebellum mansions on the planet in this town. Many of the historic homes are open for tours during its Spring and Fall Pilgrimage events. The friendly local people welcome visitors to their historic city with warm Southern charm at these times every year. We’ve been able to tour a few old plantation mansions, drink in a bit of Deep South’s history, and enjoy a glimpse of its southern charm.

Stanton Hall is just beautiful and is among the last Natchez mansions finished just before the Civil War started. After the war there was no money, of course...not even enough for maintenance and taxes. A few years after the war, the home was sold for a few thousand dollars...the same amount the builders had spent on the iron fence.

At Longwood the construction on this architectural gem, the largest octagonal house in the U.S., began in 1860, but it was interrupted by the onset of the war. From the exterior it appears as if the house is complete, but actually the top four floors were never finished due to lack of funds.

 The Melrose Estate with its 80-acres is one of the few places that allows for photography inside an old mansion.

Evenings watching lovely sunsets over the Mississippi River have been most enjoyable.

The next part of our journey continues along the scenic Natchez Trace Parkway’s 444 miles northeast from Natchez to Nashville, Tennessee paralleling the “Old Trace” Indian trail.

You can just imagine us carefree with the volume turned up listening to Dixieland jazz tunes through the countryside as the wheels of the rig roll on and on.