Yet another catchy title. I guess the people of Vicksburg upset me a little, so I'm going to rag on them some.
I was heading for Texas and had some extra time, so decided to stop in at a casino in Vicksburg and practice up for the big gambling trip my son and I had planned. Then I saw a billboard advertising the battlefield and decided that would be nice to see also. I've been thru Vicksburg many times, but have never stopped. Also haven't seen any significant Civil War battlefields either. Coming into Vicksburg from the East on I-20, you'll see an exit 4B that advertises a Visitor Center. Be Wary! If you try to pull into their parking lot, you'll probably jump the curb like I did. Inside, the lady said that most RVers parked over in the lot across the street -- occurred to me that it would be nice of them to put up a sign .. oh well. Anyway, I told her I wanted to see the battlefield and go to Harrah's to gamble a little. She tells me the battlefield is right across the road and Harrah's is right down Clay Street on the other side of town. I asked if Clay was a decent-sized street and if they had RV parking at Harrah's --- oh yeah .. no problem .. hohoho.
The battlefield was about what I expected. First you got to see an 18-minute film telling why Vicksburg was so important. Turns out that it gave the Yankees control of the Mississippi River and split the Confederacy in half, so I guess it was sort of significant. Then I took the driving tour -- about 2 hours if you stop to look at stuff. It's a very large place with lots of thick forest, hills, etc. -- wouldn't want to have fought my way thru without any paved roads. Must have been a very difficult battle. Lasted from May 19th to July 4th -- quite a long time to be fighting in this sticky heat. Allow me to show you a few pictures, then I'll continue the story.
CLICK ANY PICTURE TO GET A LARGER VIEW.
First, a picture of me, relaxing at Tuckaleechee Campground in Townsend, Tennessee -- beer in hand, trout-filled creek in the background, laptop in front of me ... hey, how's everything with you? But more about Tuckaleechee later -- first the battlefield.
Here we have cannons. There were quite a few around, but these overlook the Mississippi River, so are more important. I plan to travel the entire Mississippi in the near future, so thought pictures of the river would be worthwhile -- and could be re-used later.
Anyway, after cannons .. that's a replica of a Confederate foxhole that was up in the Visitor Center. Doesn't look like a place I'd like to live in 90-degree heat for two months with Yankees shooting at me!
Next we have two of the Generals involved -- Grant and Pendleton. Grant won.
Below that a better shot of the mighty Mississippi and a memorial to some battalion or other. They had alot of memorials throughout the park dedicated to various Northern and Southern soldiers. Some were just a stone and some were much more elaborate.
At the bottom right, a view of the General's tent -- also in the Visitor Center. I don't know which General -- they probably had similar tents.
Straight below here on the left, a really neat sign I saw coming out of the campground in Nashville this morning. You'll have to click on it to see what it says .. hahahahaha
Anyway .. to continue. I spent a couple of hours at the battlefield, climbed some hills, thought about what really went on there, and was impressed. I forget how many were killed there, but it sure is rough country and not my idea of a "battlefield" at all. I thought battlefields were large, flat fields -- not so.
After the battle, I started out toward Harrah's Club -- another battle was before me. Clay is not a large street -- it's four-lane, so looks large to townfolks in their cars, but the lanes are about 7 feet wide, so are a challenge to an RV person. I follow Clay along, then I see a sign telling me I'm about to go thru "old town Vicksburg" -- as expected, that means many traffic lights and more narrow streets. Then I come to a bi-i-i-ig hill, down to Harrah's Club .. hmm .. no apparent parking for RVs. I circled the hotel, parked on a seedy little lot down behind the casino, and phoned them. The valet directed me to a lot behind the casino that was clearly marked "No RVs, Trucks, or Busses" -- he said it would be ok if the lot wasn't very crowded, which it wasn't. In fact, it was rather secluded -- except for two rednecks without shirts in a pickup truck, who watched with interest as I backed the RV into the far corner of the lot. I went over and chatted with them for a few minutes, decided they probably wanted my TVs and microwave, so turned around, got into my truck, and drove back across old town Vicksburg. Probably saved a hundred dollars or so on casino time, plus the cost of whatever the rednecks might have taken.
I then drove further East until I saw a sign advertising the Rainbow Casino -- aha! another chance. Another long drive down a narrow road, down a re-e-e-eally steep hill, and into their parking lot. Then a little guy on a bicycle with Security on his shirt comes out and tells me I can't park there -- in fact, I can't park anywhere at the casino! ... jeez .. He tells me there's another casino up the road that has "like an RV campground or something" -- I tell him I don't want to camp -- I just want to park for awhile and give them a couple hundred dollars. Oh well, probably saved another hundred or so there.
Got back on the highway, stopped at the Texas Visitor'sCenter (just over the line from Vicksburg) , and phoned the 4B Vicksburg Visitor Center to thank them for sending me on the unpleasant trip thru town. Lady said she assumed I had reservations, so didn't mention the parking problem. I suggested to her that she warn anyone else in an RV to not attempt the trip to Harrah's ... or Rainbow .. or Vicksburg in general, for that matter! I guess it really ticks me off when people in visitor center don't know enough about their city and their visitors to give correct answers.
Well, enough about Vicksburg -- I don't plan to stop there again anyway. From there, I went on the a nice little Passport America campground (Shilo RV and Campground) in Monroe, Louisiana, where I camped for $10, had a pull-through spot, a phone connection in the clubhouse that I used for a couple of hours, and it was right on I-20. From there, I zoomed on to Texas and all the adventures I talked about in Chapter 38.
Click below to go "Back to Index" and control your own destiny, or leave it up to me and I'll take you to Tuckaleechee Campground in Chapter 40.
39. Vicksburg -- Not an RV Town
My Travel Log
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