Vicksburg, MS-October 4, 2012

We arrived in Vicksburg this afternoon for a night of rest. We went to the Welcome Center to see if the Natchez Trace is open. We can't travel all of it because it is 444 miles long, but we can at least see part of it. That's on tomorrow's agenda. While at the Welcome Center I got a few pictures of the Mighty Mississippi. It is also the muddy Mississippi. It is down a lot but not quite as low as we expected. It's still a mighty river. It hasn't been that long ago that barge traffic was restricted on the river because the water was so low. They are moving fast today.

There is a barge going under the bridge. Look closely at the bottom support

beam and you can see the foundation peeking out of the water. That means

the water is really low. The white on the other side is a makeshift beach of sorts.

Normally that's under water. The current on this river is unusally strong and powerful.

 

 

Trains get to cross the river here also.

 

We are a little surprised at how hot it is here. And not a single tree has changed color yet. Sad. We were looking forward to the pretty leaves. They are still pretty but green only. Hopefully things will change as we head to Tupelo.