Hi Guys, it’s that time of the week again. It’s been another great week on the road in Mississippi, and I’m happy to share some of the highlights with you here. My week started in Cascilla in the rural center of the state, led me on a quick loop through the Delta with night stops in Cleveland, Clarksdale and Greenwood and is ending right here in beautiful but rainy Vicksburg. It’s been a week of beautiful towns, incredible food, good music and some really great photo opportunities. Despite the gloomy weather which has been a pretty constant companion this week, my spirits are high and I’m enjoying myself out here. I’m finding some good balance and trying to stress less and enjoy more. In all, it’s been a pretty awesome week out here.
Storms came hard in Central Mississippi as my week began, with hail, tornadoes and damaging wind. I was grateful to my friend John and his family for giving me shelter from the storm last Wednesday night (and for two nights before that). By the time I left Thursday morning, the worst of the storms had passed although the clouds persisted. Shadow Catcher was a whole different vehicle with new shocks, and we no longer bounce down the road like Tigger. That would come in really handy on the less-than-ideal roads of the Delta. I went with stiffer shocks because it’s a big van, so it’s not a smooth ride, but it’s enormously improved on what it was last week.
Decending from John’s place in the hills and heading west on Route 8, I came out into the beautiful, pancake-flat Mississippi Delta. Cotton fields hemmed in the road, and the familiar sights of rusted out cars in front of old sharecroppers’ cabins made me feel like I was once again on familiar ground. I made a quick stop in Ruleville and took a quick stroll around downtown, reading about the history of the “Greasy Street” music clubs on their Blues Trail marker.
The cold temperatures that day drove me back to my van pretty quickly though and I headed down the highway to Dockery Farms. Dockery Farms is considered by most people to be the “Birthplace of the Blues”. This old cotton plantation was a meeting place of sorts for many of the earliest blues musicians. Some, like Henry Sloan, Charley Patton and Son House lived at Dockery, while others like Robert Johnson and Howlin’ Wolf just passed through now and again. I can only imagine what it was like to be there in the 20s and 30s and to hear some of these legends sitting around a fire and playing the blues. I’ve visited Dockery many times before, but decided to pull in anyway and get a photo of Shadow Catcher in front of the Dockery sign. I’m sure glad I did. The recent rain left some spectacular puddles, which made for some wonderful shots. While it was a grim and cloudy day, I still enjoyed my brief stay very much. For anyone visiting the Delta, Dockery is a must-see stop.
From there, I headed on to Cleveland and spent several hours at the new GRAMMY museum there which opened just a few years ago. I asked at the front desk what Cleveland’s association with the GRAMMYs was, and they told me it was more about Mississippi’s ties to the awards than the town’s, but that a local woman had pushed hard for the town to be home to an east-coast branch of the L.A.-based museum. It is, after all, right down the road from Dockery, and as a state, Mississippi has more GRAMMY award winners per capita than any other. Satisfied with this answer, I headed into the museum. I was told it would take between 45 minutes and an hour to see, but I was there for at least 3 hours. The introductory video, which was really just highlights of the award show, was amazing - so much so that I watched it twice. I learned that the GRAMMY takes its name from the gramophone (which should be obvious, but I had no idea), and that the awards never take into account record sales or money earned, just the music in its purist form.
There were wonderful displays on the awards, the music, the costumes and a great look at Mississippi music. Special exhibits when I was there were on women in country music and So So Def Records in Atlanta. I loved that this museum looked at music across all genres. There were some great interactive displays as well, and while some of them could use some tweaking or repair, most were pretty cool. I even recorded a blues song in the “recording studio” (although the computer crashed right when I had finished it). Since I was there on a Thursday afternoon, I had the place pretty much to myself. While there were definitely things I disagreed with in their interpretation (as there should be when discussing music), it was a cool museum. The $14 price tag was a little high, but I know things aren’t easy in the Delta so I was happy to pay it. I hope a good chunk of that money stays here in Mississippi.
It was raining again when I left the museum, so I tucked in at Mississippi Grounds coffee shop to get some work done and have a hot cup of coffee. It was a cool little spot and I enjoyed a nice little slice of king’s cake as well. When they closed I got some more work done at McDonalds, and then tried to find some dinner, but most places were closing up. I ended up with some Chinese food and Netflix in the back of my van, which wasn’t a bad option on a rainy night.
Friday dawned sunny and warm, and it was great to see. I headed into town to get a little work done at the library in the morning, but the internet was hit-or-miss and I’m tired of losing my work so I wasn’t there long. From there I headed to the tiny but very worthwhile Mississippi Delta Chinese Heritage Museum on the campus of Delta State University. This museum tells the story of Chinese immigrants who came to the Delta in the wake of the Civil War to work in the cotton fields. Many ended up staying and opening laundries and grocery stores. Some of these families go back a long ways in Delta history, and it was fascinating to read their stories. I hope this museum continues to grow and expand as I would love to see more on this subject.
After the museum, I headed out Route 8 to Rosedale and stopped at the legendary White Front Cafe for some delicious tamales. While tamales clearly have Mexican roots, you’ll find plenty of people in Mississippi who claim them as a distinctly regional food. I believe the story is that Mexican farm laborers brought them into the fields of Mississippi a hundred and fifty years ago, and these compact, hearty and delicious treats caught on with the locals. The White Front is on the Tamale Trail (there’s a trail for everything in this state, and I like it), and they were definitely some of the better ones I’ve had.
From there, I headed up the Great River Road (Mississippi 1) to the town of Gunnison and stopped at the Bassie Service Station for a chat with the owner. He told me the guy who built the place was from nearby Alligator, Mississippi and had built businesses the length of the state from Memphis to New Orleans. This gentleman had worked for the owner for 15 years and when the owner was getting on in years he wanted to be sure his loyal employee had the chance to buy the station. He did, and has been there for 15 years since. It’s a pretty awesome looking spot, and I’m glad I stopped in.
On up the road I went, through some pretty depressed little Delta towns until I made it up to Stovall Farms, the one-time home of the great Muddy Waters. When Alan and John Lomax were out recording folk music in the Delta for the Library of Congress, they were trying to track down Robert Johnson. Since Johnson had passed away, the locals pointed them out to Stovall and told them about Muddy Waters. They loved him, and recorded him on the spot. and later sent him a copy of the record. When Muddy heard it, he thought he was as good as anyone else on the jukebox, so he packed up his things and headed to Chicago and into music history. The farm is still in operation there, and I just stopped off for a few photos.
I moved on to the tiny hamlet of Friar’s Point, hometown of Conway Twitty and one-time home of Robert Nighthawk. It’s a pretty beat-up little town, but there was some charm to it too. I’ll tell you one thing, you’re not going to speed in Friar’s Point, as there is a speed bump on every block. I’m really happy I had my new shocks or Shadow Catcher might have bounced clear off the road.
As dusk was approaching, I made my way into Clarksdale. I’ve spent a lot of time in Clarksdale in the past, and have watched it change dramatically in the last 15 years. Mostly for the better, although it is starting to reach a tipping point. I’m happy to see these Delta towns get a boost, but I fear for the soul of a place when a lot of outsiders come in and push their own agendas. Clarksdale has a lot of soul and a lot of history and I’d hate for it to turn into a Blues Disneyland. I stopped for dinner at Ramon’s, an extremely local place outside of downtown, and enjoyed some wonderful shrimp and pasta. Then I went to Red’s Juke Joint for some music. Bill “Howl-N-Madd” Perry was playing, and I was disappointed that so few people turned out for the show. For most of the evening there were only 5 of us there. There was a lot of music going on around town, it being a Friday night, but Red’s has always been the spot in Clarksdale for real blues music. Like I mentioned, maybe it’s the beginning of the end for Clarksdale as an authentic off-the-beaten-path destination. I sure hope not.
Saturday morning I went for a bit of a wander downtown, taking some photos of some of the new murals and some of my old favorite spots. I went for breakfast at Our Grandma’s House of Pancakes on 3rd Street. It was a great way to start my day. After breakfast I went to the library for a bit, and then went to see Joey Young, the artist who runs Lambfish Art Company, at his studio right across from my breakfast spot. Joey is a cool guy who grew up in the same town as my friend John, and whose sister went to school with John. He’s been in Clarksdale for a little over a decade, and makes some truly beautiful pottery. I really enjoyed his work, and if you’re ever in Clarksdale you should definitely stop by and check it out.
By that point it was time for me to get out of town, as I wanted to get to Greenwood to take some photos in the twilight hour. I got there and had some beautiful light for photography and downtown almost entirely to myself on a Saturday evening. The river was still and gave me some beautiful reflections, and the sky was clear. When the full moon rose in the east, it it was a magical sight. I stayed out after dark taking photos, and then made my way to Lusco’s, one of Greenwood and Mississippi’s most iconic and storied restaurants. I had wanted to get to Lusco’s in the past, but they’re only open on the weekends these days, so I’ve always missed it. Lusco’s dates back to near the end of Prohibition, having opened in 1933. You sit in private booths in the back, curtained off from the rest of the world, so you could drink all the booze you wanted. Judging by the rowdy group in the booth next to me, this tradition didn’t die off with Prohibition’s repeal. I went for the whole grilled pompano, and was sure glad I did. It was really delicious, and definitely worth the hype. The service was excellent and I enjoyed the history of the place. My server told me Lusco’s is for sale, as the owners are ready to retire, so if you’re interested in a truly historic restaurant in a great town, you should check it out. After a fine meal, I headed over to the Alluvian Hotel for a nightcap. It seemed to be about the only place in town for a drink, but it was nice and I enjoyed it there.
Since the next day was Sunday, I decided to have a more relaxed day. I did wander downtown a bit under clear and sunny skies and took a few last photos, but that was all the work I did that day. I went for a nice lunch at the Crystal Grill, Greenwood’s other famous restaurant. I managed to slip in between the early morning church people and the late morning church people and got a seat right away. It is a bustling place, and I enjoyed it. I had eaten there on my last visit to Greenwood in 2016, and it brought back some good memories.
After lunch, I headed out Money Road to Tallahatchie Flats where I had booked a cabin for the night. This place is awesome, and I’m so glad I decided to stay there. The owners have moved some historic cabins from different parts of the region to their property and fixed them up with great attention to detail. My cabin was spotlessly clean, but had the worn-in feel of the Delta and really made me happy. There was even a guitar on one of the chairs to play. The weather was due to take a turn for the worse, so after a much needed shower, I went out to take some photos around their property. With the Tallahatchie River on one side and Money Road on the other and situated less than a mile from Robert Johnson’s grave, this is a true Delta experience. After dark, Ben, the caretaker, helped me get a bonfire going in the fire pit, and I enjoyed the warm evening by the fire, the wind whistling across the top of my beer bottle while I listened to some old blues on my iPod. It was a wonderful evening and I had the place all to myself. Well, almost all to myself…
There was an old stray dog which latched onto me the minute I got out of my van and stayed with me until I left the next day. She was pretty badly beaten up, but Ben told me he’d been feeding her and she was just as sweet as she could be. She looked up at me with love in her eyes and put her face right on my knee every time I sat down. I thought her and I weren’t really all that different in the end. We were both just trying to find a warm, safe place to sleep at night, enough food to get by and a little love and attention now and again. If I didn’t know I was going back to work this summer and can’t bring a dog with me, I might have put her in my van and driven off with her. She was a real heart-breaker.
When the rains started back up around 9, I went into my cabin and cooked up some dinner - some delicious venison sausage my friend John had given me before I left Cascilla. Then I relaxed and watched the move The Help, which had been set in Jackson, but filmed in Greenwood. It was cool to watch while I was there. The storms kicked back off around midnight, with thunder so loud it woke me up. I was grateful to be inside that night, and hoped the dog had found a dry place to curl up as well.
The rain kept on through Monday as I made my way down the road towards Greenville. I stopped in Leland at the Birthplace of Kermit the Frog. Jim Henson had been born in Leland and lived there when he was a kid, and the town has made a lovely tribute to him and his work over the years. I had a nice chat with the lady who worked there, mostly about the weather and the rain which just didn’t want to let up.
Before leaving, I called the 1927 Flood Museum, something I really wanted to check out in Greenville, to see if it was open. The lady I spoke with told me that it wasn’t, and that she would come and open it up for me, but the road between her house and the museum was flooded. I thought that was appropriate and we had a chuckle about it. I headed instead to the Greenville Visitors Center which is in an old riverboat shaped building which I thought was pretty cool. They had a small but interesting museum about some of the history and people of the region.
With everything else pretty much closed, I headed to the library to try and catch up on a few things. Then I made my way out to Doe’s Eat Place, another iconic old Mississippi restaurant, and one of the best places to get a steak in the whole country. Doe’s is about as unpretentious a place as you’re likely to find, but their steak is truly amazing. It’s pricey, but worth it. I found it amusing that a Facebook memory popped up for me the next morning from Doe’s - I had apparently eaten there 4 years ago to the day. After dinner I went to the casino for a bit, as it was about the only thing going in Greenville. It was another stormy night, but we weathered it okay.
Tuesday morning the rain let up for a bit, and after breakfast at another hundred year old spot, Jim’s Cafe, I headed down the highway to Vicksburg. The rain held off for the drive, which was much appreciated, but kicked right back on in the early afternoon. I have been to Vicksburg a number of times over the years, but it’s been a while since I actually spent some real time here, so I’m glad to have a couple of days in town. I started off with a visit to the National Battlefield run by the National Park Service. I have been learning a lot about the Mississippi River Campaign, and Vicksburg, with its amazing location high on a bluff to afford ample protection, was the last town to fall to the Union, what Lincoln called “the Key to the South”. Vicksburg wasn’t taken by force, but was rather surrounded and starved into submission. The video in the Visitor Center is great, and I enjoyed a driving tour around the park as well. At the halfway point in the drive, you can visit the old USS Cairo, one of the ironclad ships used in the war. It sank in 1862, but was found in the 1950s in the Yazoo River. The Park Service brought it to the surface, and found many of the canons and other artifacts that went down with the ship. They’ve done a cool job of displaying what’s left of the ship and there is a museum there with many of the artifacts as well.
As the rain came down again, I headed to the library for the rest of the day. I had a lot of things to catch up on, and it seemed like a good way to spend the afternoon. When the library closed, I was happy to get back in the gym. It’s been about a week since I last worked out, and after all this good Delta food, my body needed it. Afterwards I was hoping to catch some good blues music at LD’s, but when I got there they told me the show was rained out. I stopped for a drink at the Cottonwood Public House instead which is a nice little spot, and then called it a night.
This morning, the weather cleared a bit so I spent some time wandering around downtown Vicksburg and taking some photos. It was still cloudy, so they’re not going to come out great, but maybe I’ll give some black and white a try. The sun actually came out for about 2 hours this afternoon, so I took advantage by going for a delightful lunch at 10 South Rooftop Bar & Grill at the recommendation of one of my wonderful readers. This is a great spot. The food was excellent, the service was phenomenal, and the view and atmosphere were spot-on as well. I enjoyed some great views out over town and up and down the river and can only imagine what this place is like on a clear day when the sun is setting. I wandered a bit more after lunch, and then tucked back into the library to finish this post right as the clouds rolled back in and the sky opened up again.
When I’m done with this week’s This Week, I’ll probably try and edit some more photos and then head back to the gym. I don’t have much of a plan for this evening although I’ll probably hang out downtown for a bit. Tomorrow morning I’m going to try and hit up a few of the museums around here before I head down the road. I’ll be off to Port Gibson tomorrow and probably on to Natchez tomorrow night. I’ve spent a lot of time in Natchez in the last few years, so it’ll probably just be for one night this time through. I hope to head up to Jackson this weekend and check out the State Capitol and the excellent museums I keep hearing about. From there I’ll pop up to the Choctaw Indian Reservation, and then start heading for the coast. This time next week I hope to be soaking up some rays along the beaches of the Gulf Coast. Mardi Gras is less than two weeks away, so there’s a very good chance I’ll be in New Orleans to celebrate.
I’ve been getting some great feedback on some of my Mississippi photos, and it’s been nice to hear from people as I make my way through the Magnolia State. I’ll start getting some of these Mississippi photos up on Instagram this week, so be sure you follow me there (@miles2gobeforeisleep), and on Facebook (@miles2gobeforeisleeponline). Thanks, as always, for following along. I’ll see you right back here this time next week.
-Mike