Hey Y’all,
It is great to be back on the road and it is great to be back writing This Week on the Road. I’ve missed you all, and this weekly post and this journey. While it was definitely good for me mentally to go back to work for a few months and then spend some quality time with my friends and family back at home, I feel really good and very blessed and happy to be back on the road.
I left home in Washington DC last Thursday and aimed for my dad’s place in Charleston, West Virginia. It was a cold and windy ride through the mountains, and snow whirled and blew as Shadow Catcher and I made our way west. The winter blast made me happy we were heading south and it felt good to have months ahead of us and only our plans and our wits to guide us. It was wonderful passing through and past some of the earliest destinations of this journey when we first set out way back in November of 2017. It was cold then too and the days were short, and my dad’s place was definitely a point of refuge as I got all of this off the ground. But driving past exits for Blackwater Falls and Weston and Morgantown and Harpers Ferry all brought a huge smile to my face. We’ve come a long way since then and it was good to take a drive down memory lane.
I spent 2 days with my Dad and Judy, and it was great to catch up with them and enjoy their company. I helped them with a few things around the house and they took me out to a nice meal. It’s always great to see them, and it was my last taste of home for a while.
We set off from Charleston on Saturday, headed west into Kentucky and then south from Lexington into Tennessee. This ride took us past even more wonderful memories from this journey as I thought back about my time in both of those states. Though these three states border each other, I was in each at a very different stage of the trip. It is fascinating to look back and think of all the things I didn’t yet know when I was in West Virginia that I had figure out by the time I got around to Tennessee four months later. By the time I reached Kentucky, I was almost a solid year into this adventure and things were moving like a machine. And now, passing through these places, I am ready to embark on the next leg of this trip. I’m older and wiser and better equipped to make this time amazing and to fulfill my lifelong dream of traveling across the country and seeing all the great little places along the way.
I spent that night just shy of Nashville, and got up early to push on to Shiloh, my destination for the day. For those of you who have been following along, you may remember that I was in Shiloh during my time in Tennessee, but I got there too late in the day to really spend the time that Shiloh deserves. The Civil War Battle of Shiloh was a real turning point in the war. It was when both sides dug in, suffered tremendous casualties, and understood they were too deep to turn back. There were more casualties in two days at Shiloh than in all previous American wars combined. I had a fascinating stay. I spent a lot of time in the Visitors Center talking with the ranger, and enjoyed the excellent, though long, park film on the battle. Then I took a long meander through the cemetery and the overlook of Pittsburgh Landing and then we took the driving tour of the battlefield. It was a fascinating day and you can read more about the day, the battle itself and see pictures HERE.
I left Shiloh just before dark, and cruised down over the Mississippi State Line and dropped into Corinth. It was cold and dark when I got there, but I had a little wander around downtown to get my bearings, and then got some work done before calling it a night. It was great to be in my 11th state and poised for the next day.
Monday I went to the Civil War Interpretive Center there in Corinth to learn about the occupation by Union troops after the Battle of Shiloh. I also learned a lot about the later Battle of Corinth which took place when the Confederacy tried to retake the town in what was to be the last offensive of the war in Mississippi. The museum, run by the park service, was excellent. It detailed the causes of the war, the opening shots at Fort Sumter, Mississippi’s secession, the Battle of Shiloh and all that followed. It was amazing and I was there for hours. Beyond the museum, the center has a beautiful artistic water feature out back which represents the United States from its founding through the end of the war. It was brilliantly done and really touching.
I left the center about lunchtime, and headed down to Borroums Drug Store across from the courthouse. This is an old pharmacy and soda fountain which has been open since 1865. Another thing I missed out on the last time I was in the region was the opportunity to try a “slugburger”. A slugburger gets its name because it once cost a “slug” or a nickel. It was made with some beef, and an extender like oats or soy. To be honest, it was just okay, but I’m sure that had more to do with what it is than this iconic Corinth institution. My onion rings were delicious. A belly full of slug, I went for a nice long walk around town and took some photos. The weather wasn’t great, but it was still a neat town to visit, especially to see the rail crossing which made it such a strategic location to begin with.
Before I left Corinth, I wanted to go and see the “Contraband Camp”. This was the name given to the area set up for runaway slaves who fled to Union lines during the war. They were put to work, but were paid for their time and were given the opportunity to build their own homes and churches and school and to plant gardens to help feed themselves. Missionaries came in to help educate them, and many learned to read and write there. And, of course, some joined the military to help fight against the Confederacy. While the camp was abandoned about a year after it was established with its residents being moved to Memphis, it is still a fascinating part of the region and the country’s history. Today, the site is pretty empty, but there are wonderful bronze sculptures there to help interpret the site. You can see photos of these statues in the post I did HERE.
I left Corinth in the late afternoon and headed out to lovely Iuka (pronounced AYE-OO-KA). This small town takes its name from the Indian chief who once ruled the area, and is famous for its natural mineral water. When I arrived I went straight for the springs which are in their own park just outside of downtown. I had a bottle, and to be honest I wasn’t sure if I was tasting the minerals or the rust in the pipes. Between that and the slugburger, my belly had quite the day. The things I put myself through for this blog!
From there I headed into the tiny downtown area to try and take some photos before it got dark. As I wandered around, one of the local police pulled up and asked me if it was cold enough (it had reached a high of 26 F that day). I knew he was checking me out as a stranger in their small town, but it’s a very hospitable and pleasant way to do that, and something that doesn’t offend me. We had a nice long chat about where I was going and what I was doing, and he even told me about a fascinating historic home just a few blocks away that I should check out, which once housed Generals Grant and Rosecrans during the war.
As we were chatting, a truck screeched up and a man jumped out and started shouting at me and told the officer to take my camera away. We were both a little shocked and then the man said I was taking photos of his daughter (a complete fabrication obviously). I told both him and the officer that I had not taken any pictures of any people at all that day, but if someone was in one of the photos I had taken, I would gladly delete it. This very angry and very paranoid man asked me where I was from. When I told him he shouted again in disbelief that I just happened to be in Iuka, Mississippi taking photos. I replied that this was exactly what I was doing. Looking back, I can’t help but think that as strange as that may have been to him (though Iuka is a charming, small Southern town with some awesome antebellum buildings), the fact that I came all that way to take pictures of Iuka would be less strange than me coming all that way to take pictures of his daughter. Although I didn’t see his daughter – maybe she is some sort of model or beauty queen, I’ll never know. He said she called out and asked if she could help me and I “pretended not to hear her”. Again, I said “orrrrr I actually didn’t hear her” as I was a stranger there, and lost in my own little world taking photos. Regardless, he was really angry at me and wanted my camera. Mind you, this was in the heart of downtown, not some residential neighborhood. Thankfully, the officer kept as calm as I was and I gladly scrolled through my photos to show him that in fact I hadn’t taken any pictures of anyone. There was a car in one of the photos I took from across the street of a big church, and apparently that was the one that sparked the whole affair. He asked if he could run my license, which to be honest was a little offensive since I hadn’t done anything wrong, but I knew it would come back clean so I let him do it. It was a shame that this man came at the situation like he did. I’ve never met someone who came out swinging like that, and I was glad the officer was there to intermediate.
Unfortunately, that interaction cost me the last of my daylight. I headed out of downtown to McDonalds, one of the only places open and warm, to get some work done, and then relaxed in the back of my van for the rest of the evening. It was cold enough that I turned the heat on, and I enjoyed sitting back there sipping on some tea and picking the guitar my friend Pete has graciously loaned me for this leg of the journey. I had a good time back there and felt very warm, safe and happy.
Tuesday I got up early and headed into town to get some work done at the library. I met a wonderful librarian there who gave me the information I was looking for on the house the officer had mentioned the night before. It was actually a fascinating story, and one I hope to tell in the days to come.
I left Iuka midday, and made my way south of town to Woodall Mountain, the highest point in Mississippi at 806 feet. As I was headed up, I came across three young people pushing their car. I stopped to ask if they needed help, and they were out of gas. I had Blake hop in, and we went for gas and had a nice chat on the way there and the way back. I’ll be honest, every time in my life that I’ve run out of gas or had car trouble or whatever, someone’s always been there to help, even one time when I was in the desert at night, seemingly in the middle of nowhere. So when I can I pay it back and pay it forward. Karma is very real in that way. It only took a few minutes, but we got them back on their way.
That sorted, I headed up to the top of the mountain, and enjoyed what view there was from the top through the trees. The sign was definitely the highlight of the view, but I did see some beautiful white-tailed deer while I was up there.
From there, I cruised on to Tishomingo State Park, where I had reserved a lovely CCC Cabin for the night. It turned out to be really nice with stone floors and fireplaces, a full kitchen and plenty of room to stretch out and relax. And it was warm – something very welcome on another 20 degree night. I got in with enough time to go for a nice 2 mile hike on the Outcroppings Trail along beautiful Bear Creek before dark. This was a nice trail that went over the famous (in Mississippi) Swinging Bridge and then along Bear Creek for a mile or so. Then it looped back up to some amazing rock overhangs and some tiny waterfalls, some of which were pretty frozen from all the cold we’ve been getting. It was a nice hike and put me back at my cabin just before dark. I enjoyed a nice fire, some hot cider, a home-cooked meal and some real relaxation time with my feet up. It was a lovely day and a wonderful place to spend the night.
The following morning I got up, cooked myself some breakfast and then headed on down the road. I stopped in Tishomingo at the library to post this week’s This Week, and now I’m off towards Jacinto, Bryces Crossroads and Tupelo Battlefield with the hope of being in Tupelo by this evening.
I have to say it’s been an interesting week. There’s definitely some relearning of my road-skills going on, and some adjusting to my new way of doing things in the van. It’s been cold and the days are short. These have left me being less productive than I would hope, but such is the way in the dead of winter. I’ve been in this situation before, and I’m embracing it and I’ve been having a great time out here. It’s wonderful to be back on my own and back on the road.
This coming week will take me through some beautiful little towns and historic sites and I will be in Oxford for the weekend. One of my songwriter friends, Luke, is doing a show and I’m really looking forward to seeing him perform. I’m going to try and get a little work done on my van if I can, and then start heading back east and south in the beginning of next week. I’m not sure where I will be in Mississippi this time next week, but I’ll be right back here in this corner of the internet. I hope to see you then.
Have a great week out there guys, it’s good to be back.
-Mike