History, history, history - and new friends

I'm slowing down - both in driving, because of so many great historical sites, and in posting, because I haven't been paying attention to internet. Spent the last couple of days in Mississippi, Alabama and now Tennessee along the Natchez Trace Parkway. It's a National Park Service thoroughfare between Natchez and Nashville which follows old foot paths taken through generations by Native Americans, early settlers, traders, soldiers, etc. If you haven't been there, check out the site and video: https://www.nps.gov/natr/index.htm

In Jackson, Mississippi, I spent as much time as I could at two newer museums, the Mississippi History Museum and the Civil Rights Museum. Both very well organized, interactive and extraordinary collections. You could easily spend an entire day in Jackson with all of the landmarks and gorgeous architecture. Thankfully it was a Sunday and the streets downtown were deserted, otherwise I probably would have caused a few accidents, touring and driving simultaneously.

A short detour to Tupelo, Mississippi took me by the birthplace of Elvis Presley and a stop for lunch. I thought long and hard about it but I just could't bring myself to try the gator taters.

At the Meriwether Lewis Campground, the campground host introduced me to a gathering of a few other women solo campers and I immediately felt like I'd found my tribe. It was so great to share company with like-minded travelers. Most are out for much longer trips and have fine tuned their vehicle and equipment set-ups. One woman still works full time remotely as a book editor, two are retired and one was an adventurous and inspiring 28 year old who did all of her own woodwork in converting her van. We shared contact information and I plan to see them again somewhere down the road.

I was trying to capture the wild life of this pond which was a short 3/4 mile hike from the main road. I kept Hannah quiet and knelt in the bushes for about 10 minutes until this beaver/otter (?) swam by and I got the video. When I stood up, I turned, shook out my creaky knees and saw a big black, mottle-skinned snake about three feet from me. I did not try to get a picture. In fact, the next moments immediately after the video are me shrieking and jumping back awkwardly. It could have been a nonvenomous black racer of some sort or a cotton mouth - regardless, it was huge, ugly and freaked me out. No more hiking into the Tennessee woods.

The Civil War Battle of Franklin was my focus yesterday with a visit to the site, cemeteries, and Carnton Plantation. Carnton was the home of the McGavock family and became a field hospital during the 5 hour engagement which resulted in 9,500 soldiers either dead, wounded or missing. By about 9:00 p.m. on the evening of the battle (November 30, 1864), dead and dying men were spread out across their lawn, outbuildings and back porch. The McGavock's sheets, towels, table clothes and shirts were torn up for bandages. The next day, the federal casualties were taken away for burial while confederate bodies lay everywhere. John and Carrie McGavock started burying them and ultimately established a cemetery which remains there to this day. Carrie's story has been fictionalized in a book by Robert Hicks called The Widow of the South.