On the Delta Blues Highway

June 9-11, 2015

Time to be moving on up the road. We had choices about which route to take north, but I am not much interested in interstate. In our present condition of needing service soon, sometimes I just have to give in to making time. However, on the morning of the 9th, thunderstorms and strong rain were in the forecast. To get ourselves out of the storm's way, we would have to hit some interstate. I did not want to get on too soon as we would miss crossing the world's longest bridge over water. Lake Ponchatrain Causeway spans 24 miles over water! Most of the drive there is no land in sight.

We thought we would spend an evening, midway to Memphis, but it made no sense spending time sitting around in the heat of the day, 96º 100% humidity at a state park. We kept making tracks north. Our evening destination would be technically West Memphis, in Arkansas. I so wanted to go to the Civil Rights Museum in Memphis, but once again, what do we do with animals in this heat? I am so disappointed regarding the sights and sites we are missing along the way. Next year we will need to plan more carefully about escaping the southern heat. Leave a little earlier?

Once we neared Vicksburg we vacated the I-55 and I-20 for U.S. Highway 61 running north to Memphis and skipped over to Highway 1, both roads forming the legendary route along the Mississippi River delivering a delicious slice of Americana represented by a genre of music known as the Delta blues.

The Great River Road

A road is a road, but sometimes it's more. Sometimes a road sings. Driving the old Blues Highway—one can almost hear the soul, gospel, and R&B spill out of car windows and church doors. Muddy Waters rode the Blues Highway. So did John Lee Hooker, Bessie Smith, and B.B. King. Elvis knew it, too—his rock-and-roll is rooted in the delta like a cypress tree. Dozens of artists recorded music along the Blues Highway and just as many or more were born and raised here.

The original road began in downtown New Orleans, traveled through Baton Rouge and ran through Natchez, Vickburg, Leland, Clarksdale and Tunica in Mississippi, to Memphis and north to the Canadian border. All along the way is markers memorializing the history, the artists, the music, the clubs and events.

Between Vicksburg and Greenville the Great River Road detours onto Highway 1 through the cotton-rich bottomlands. Before the Civil War, the land was mostly uninhabitable hardwood forests and swamps, home to snakes, panthers fire ants and mosquitos.  After reconstruction the valuable oaks and hickory were logged off, the swamps drained and levees built.

Winterville Mounds

At the north edge of Greenville, we came upon the 1,000 year old, 55-foot-high earthen cones remnants of prehistoric  people who lived a millenium ago. The Winterville Mounds are thought to have been sacred ceremonial sites.

I have loved that each night we have landed on a large body of water to set camp. We passed through Memphis and crossed the Mississippi into Arkansas to camp on the banks of the river.

We are still struggling with being locked inside the OZ mobile. At this site mayflies swarmed the vehicle... and again, we had to keep the van closed up and the air conditioning on through the night. The endless river traffic on the Mississippi is the main attraction at Tom Sawyer's park. This park has such a relaxed, laid back and peaceful atmosphere. Across the river is unspoiled Tennessee flood plain and just one bend upstream is the Memphis skyline. I can imagine in cooler temps sitting here for days keeping a campfire going and watching river barges travel up and down the river.

Ol' black water keep on rollin' Mississippi moon won't ya keep on shinin' on

Ol' Man River, that Ol' Man River
He must know omepinss', but he don't say nothin'He just keeps ',rollin he keeps on rollin' along

Crossing the Mississippi River into Memphis, Tennessee

At this point we were running low on coolant and needed to head to a dealership to replenish before spending the day traveling to Illinois.
Within 3 hours we crossed from Arkansas back into Tennessee and a few minutes later we were back in Mississippi and back through Memphis, Tennessee to cross the Missouri and Illinois borders not long after.

We were sure we didn't want to spend days in St. Louis, where we would be able to get service from Roadtrek so we kept trying to make contact with the manufacturer and get approval to land in Rockford, Illinois.
Finally, making that connection we continue our journey to Carlyle, Illinois.

We'll fill you in on the details of OZ Mobile's future in our next post. Until then...we keep on rollin'