Mississippi River – Wandering Dawgs

Cruising through the state of Mississippi

March 15, 2025Posted in Historic Sites, MississippiTagged BB King, Blues, Greenville MS, Hot tamales, Mississippi, Mississippi River, Natchez, One Mississippi, River Cruise, Steve Azar, Vicksburg, Viking Mississippi16 Comments

Part 2 of our Viking Mississippi Delta Explorer Adventure – Mississippi

Natchez, Mississippi

Our first stop in the state of Mississippi was the town of Natchez which sits on a bluff above the Mississippi River. The fog was thick when we arrived.

We took a bus tour through the town of Natchez with a great local guide. We visited a museum featuring old historic photographs depicting life in Natchez through the years before touring Magnolia Hall located in Natchez. The Natchez Garden Club owns the home and lovingly restored it. Mardi Gras decorations and flower arrangements from a recent flower show were displayed around the home.

We stopped at on overlook on the top of the bluff for a look at the river. The light was not good for a photograph but I couldn’t resist taking a picture of our ship anyway.

Vicksburg, Mississippi – Vicksburg National Military Park

This was our third visit to the Vicksburg National Military Park. On our previous visits we drove through the park on our own. This time we were on a bus with a guide who told us about the battle of Vicksburg and pointed out important sites of the battle. I enjoyed hearing the details about this pivotal battle of the Civil War. The day ended with a beautiful sunset over the river.

Greenville, Mississippi – Steve Azar’s Mississippi and the B. B. King Museum

Greenville, Mississippi is the self-proclaimed heart and soul of the Delta. The City of Greenville has received a Trademark on the title “Hot Tamale Capital of the World” from the United States Patent and Trademark Office.

Jim Henson, who created the Muppets, was born at the hospital in Greenville and grew up in the nearby town of Leland where he made his first Kermit the Frog puppet out of his mother’s green bathrobe.

One of the highlights of the entire cruise an event called “Steve Azar’s Mississippi”. We enjoyed a delicious brunch of local foods and a live concert with Greenville native Steve Azar. The event was held in the beautiful Jake and Freda Stein Hall located at the E. E. Bass Cultural Center in downtown Greenville. We had a nice conversation outside with Steve Azar before the show.

Servers brought each course to the tables. The meal started with a Bloody Mary. The first course was delicious hot tamales. The second course was fried catfish and hush puppies. Next up was pulled pork barbeque, rolls, rice, and macaroni and cheese. Near the end of the show we had a toast with moonshine followed by banana pudding for desert.

The show began while we were eating. We were entertained by stories about the state of Mississippi and the culture of the Delta. The music was great and included the song “One Mississippi”, Mississippi’s new official state song written by Steve Azar. The video is of the band performing the first two stanzas of the song.

After the fantastic show we boarded a bus for a 30 minute ride to the town of Indianola to visit the B.B. King Museum. We had another entertaining local guide who told us lots of fun stories and pointed out points of interest. The museum was filled with memorabilia and was very well done. Seeing another beautiful sunset over the river was a great way to end the day.

Final Day on Ole Man River

Our final day on the ship was a perfect day for watching the barges on the river as we cruised from Greenville to Memphis, Tennessee. The last sunset over the river was spectacular.

We had a fun week aboard the beautiful Viking Mississippi. The crew was excellent, stateroom spacious, food delicious, music outstanding, and the excursions were fun with great local guides.

Let the Good Times Roll

March 9, 2025March 10, 2025Posted in Historic Sites, LouisianaTagged Cajun Pride Swamp Tour, Cruising, Jazz, Louisiana, Mississippi River, music, New Orleans, River Cruise, Rosedown Plantation, Viking Mississippi, Zydeco23 Comments

Part 1 of our Viking Mississippi Delta Explorer Adventure – Louisiana

The Mighty Mississipi River runs through ten states and is the second longest river in the United States (the Missouri is slightly longer). During our RV travels Henry and I crossed the Mississippi River many times, stopped to explore many places along the river, and camped in campgrounds next to the river so we could sit and watch the barges go by.

It had been a while since we had seen the Mississippi River so we recently took a Mississippi River Cruise from New Orleans to Memphis. We learned a lot about the history of the river and the area, ate delicious local foods, visited historical homes and battlefields, and enjoyed fantastic music from the region.

New Orleans, Louisiana

“Laissez les bons temps rouler” (Let the Good Times Roll)

Our trip started with a long travel day to New Orleans. Somewhere between home and New Orleans I managed to twist my right knee and was limited in the amount of standing and walking I could do. But, I was not about to let my bum knee keep me from having fun.

We arrived on a Thursday night less than two weeks before Fat Tuesday’s big Mardi Gras celebration. We learned that in New Orleans many people begin celebrating Mardi Gras right after New Year’s Eve. Some people leave their tree up until Mardi Gras, replacing the Christmas ornaments with Mardi Gras colors of purple, gold and green.

We enjoyed drinks and delicious crawfish etouffee and gumbo at Daisy Dukes Express near our hotel on Thursday night. On Friday we explored the French Quarter around Jackson Square and St. Louis Cathedral. The day was cold and windy. Beignets and hot chocolate at the famous Cafe Du Monde warmed us up.

People were in a festive mood and many had on their Mardi Gras colors. Balconies and businesses were sporting Mardi Gras flags and decorations. As shown in my header image, even the bridges over the Mississippi River at the Port of New Orleans were lit up in Mardi Gras purple. The following gallery shows a few of the highlights from the day.

First night on the Viking Mississippi

Saturday morning we took an Uber to the Port of New Orleans and boarded the Viking Mississippi, our home for the week. While we waited for our stateroom to be ready we explored the ship and I walked around the port. The ship was docked on the Mississippi River underneath two bridges.

The Mother River statue at the Port of New Orleans.

Jazz musician Wendell Brunious (he has led the Preservation Hall Jazz Band since 1978) and his Swedish wife Caroline performed a Tribute to Louis Armstrong that evening on the ship. It was the first of several wonderful music performances we enjoyed while sailing up the river.

Darrow, Louisiana and a Cajun Swamp Tour in the rain

A series of levees have been constructed along the banks of the lower Mississippi to prevent flooding. The ship docked next to the levees and passengers had the option of walking up the levee or taking a golf cart ride to the top.

The rain was coming down hard when we took a golf cart ride to the top of the levee at Darrow. We were dropped off in the parking lot of the beautiful Houmas House and Gardens where we boarded our tour bus. Our local Cajun tour guide kept us entertained with stories about the history and culture of the Cajun people during the 30 minute ride to LaPlace, Louisiana for a Cajun Swamp Tour through the Manchac swamp.

It was still raining when we boarded our covered pontoon boat and Captain Brian took us into the swamp. As we rode along he pointed out the different trees and plants and we learned about the folklore and history of the swamp. We learned that cemeteries were always on high ground because of flooding. We passed by a lone grave which is allegedly the burial place of Julia Brown, a medicine woman who died in 1915. Her ghost is believed to still be in the swamp.

Alligators were once almost extinct but now there is a large population thanks to licensed alligator farms. It was the wrong time of year to see many alligators in the wild but we got to meet Louie, a 2 1/2 year old alligator who will one day be released into the wild. Everyone on the boat got to meet Louie.

When we returned from our excursion we had hoped to tour the historic Houmas House and gardens but the rain was still coming down and we opted to spend the rest of the afternoon on the ship.

St. Francisville, Louisiana – tour of Rosedown Plantation

The ship was docked next to the levee in St. Francisville, Louisiana. This levee was pretty steep and we were glad to ride the golf cart to the top.

Our local guide was a former school teacher who loved history. As we traveled to the site we learned about about the history of the area and of the Rosedown Plantation State Historic Site. We passed through sugar cane fields and crossed the Mississippi River before arriving at the beautiful home and gardens. Daniel and Martha Turnbull began construction on the main house at Rosedown in 1834 and furnished it with furnishings brought from Europe. Many of the original pieces are still on display at Rosedown.

Entertainment that night was Cajun and Zydeco music by Bruce Daigrepont. He told us their costumes were “Country Mardis Gras” costumes. The music was fun and he was a great story teller.

I posted about some of our previous travels along Mississippi River at A River Runs Through It.

Next up – More of our adventure on the Big Muddy in the state of Mississippi.

Lens Artists Photo Challenge #338 – Pick a Word

March 4, 2025Posted in PhotographyTagged Lens-Artists, Lower Mississippi, Mississippi River, Photo Challenge, Pick a Word, Viking Mississippi34 Comments

For this challenge JohnBo of Journeys with JohnBo has asked us to pick a word and feature three or four images that represent that word. I have chosen the word river for this challenge, specifically the Mississippi River.

We recently returned from a river cruise on the lower Mississippi River from New Orleans to Memphis. All of these images were taken during our journey the last week of February. I was standing on our veranda in our stateroom when I captured the header image of vessels passing under the twin bridges over the Mississippi River at the Port of New Orleans.

Tugboat pushing a barge on the Mississippi on a foggy morning near Natchez, Mississippi

Barge on the Mississippi between Vicksburg and Memphis

Sunset over the Mississippi River near Greenville, Mississippi

Many thanks to JohnBo for this challenge Lens-Artists #338 – Pick a Word

Lens-Artists #89: A River Runs Through It

March 28, 2020Posted in PhotographyTagged A River Runs Through It, blogging, Lens-Artists, Mighty Mississippi, Mississippi River, Mississippi River Headwaters, Photo Challenge20 Comments

This week Amy has chosen “A River Runs Through It” as the theme for the Weekly Photo Challenge. When I saw Amy’s challenge I immediately thought of the Mississippi River which runs through ten states in the U.S.

“The Mississippi River will always have it’s own way; no engineering skill can persuade it to do otherwise” – Mark Twain

The Mighty Mississipi runs from the headwaters in Itasca State Park, Minnesota south to the Gulf of Mexico in Louisiana.

” Here 1475 feet above the ocean the mighty Mississippi begins to flow on its winding way 2552 miles to the Gulf of Mexico” ~from the marker at the headwaters

Marker at the Headwaters of the Mississippi River

The Headwaters of the Mississippi River in Itasca State Park, Minnesota

Mississippi River at the headwaters in Itasca State Park, Minnesota

Ordered from north to south, the rest of my images are from several different viewpoints along the Mississippi River.

Potosi, Wisconsin side of the MIssissippi River looking toward Dubuque, Iowa

20090818Hannibal-(56) — View from the middle of the Mississippi River on a paddle boat near Hannibal, Missouri

Gateway Arch Riverboat in St. Louis, Missouri — Gateway Arch Riverboat on the Mississippi River in St. Louis, Missouri

Sunrise over the Mississippi River at Trail of Tears State Park in Jackson, MO

Barge going down the river at sunset — Sunset over the Mississippi River from at Trail of Tears State Park in Jackson, Missouri

20060909Mud-Island-(9) — Mud Island River Park river walk in Memphis, Tennessee is a 5-block long replica of the lower Mississippi river, from Cairo, IL, to New Orleans, LA.

Barge on the Mississippi River at Tom Sawyer RV Park in West Memphis, Arkansas — We sat in our campsite and watched barges on the Mississippi River at Tom Sawyer RV Park in West Memphis, Arkansas

Confluence of St. Francis and Mississippi River in Mississippi River State Park in Marianna, Arkansas

The mighty Mississippi River in Vicksburg, Mississippi

Many thanks to Amy for giving me an opportunity to relive some of our trips along the Mississippi River in this weeks Lens-Artists Photo Challenge – A River Runs Through It

Wandering Around America One State at a Time – Wisconsin

October 2, 2017October 1, 2017Posted in COE Park, Lighthouse, RVing, Tourist Attractions, Wandering around America, WisconsinTagged America the Beautiful, Door County, Good Old Potosi Beer, Green Bay, Lambeau Field, Mississippi River, snow15 Comments

State 44:

Welcome to the next post in my series highlighting states we have visited throughout the years. I hope you will enjoy coming along for the ride!

I will be featuring the states alphabetically. The next state in my series is

Wisconsin

Wisconsin became the 30th state on May 29, 1848. The Capital is Madison.

On one of our trips through Wisconsin we had truck trouble on Saturday of Easter Weekend. It was too early in the season for the Madison KOA to be officially open but they let us have a site for the weekend while we waited until we could get the truck serviced on Monday morning. The campground was next to a cheese shop that had a little more money in their till after I got finished stocking up on wonderful Wisconsin cheese!

On Easter Sunday our server at the Cracker Barrel was from Georgia and I learned they serve grits even as far north as Wisconsin. After our Easter breakfast we drove around downtown Madison for a look at the state capital. On Monday morning the truck repairs were done early enough to hitch up the fifth wheel and continue north to our next destination.

20070408Madison-(2) — State Capital in Madison, Wisconsin

As we traveled north from Madison the snow started coming down. We arrived at Apple Creek Campground in DePere and set up camp in the snow. They weren’t officially open yet but the owners were great and let us have a site for a couple of nights. Seeing Lambeau Field and the Door County Peninsula were on our Wisconsin bucket list and the campground was close to both.

20070409Snow-in-WI-(13) — We set up our RV in the snow in DePere

Jutting out into Lake Michigan is the Door County Peninsula. Our visit was during the off season and as we drove around the peninsula very few places were open. There was beautiful farmland and several lighthouses to visit.

2070410-2Door-County-(2) — Door County Peninsula

20070410-1Sherwood-Point-(1) — Sherwood Point Lighthouse, Door County Peninsula

20070410-3Eagle-Bluff — Eagle Bluff Lighthouse, Door County Peninsula

20070410-5Cana-Island-Light-(8) — Cana Island

20070410-5Cana-Island-Light-(5) — Cana Island Light

20070410-6Baileys-Harbor-Lower-Range-Light-(3) — Baileys Harbor Lower Range Light is no longer in use

20070410-4lunch — Blondie got to put her feet in Lake Michigan

On the way back to the campground we stopped in Green Bay to see Lambau Field, the home field of the NFL Green Bay Packers.

20070410-7Lambau-Field-(1) — The fans love their Green Bay Packers

20070410-7Lambau-Field-(9) — Inside the Lambeau Field Atrium

On another of our trips we camped beside the Mississippi River at Grant River Corps of Engineers in Potosi, Wisconsin, population 711 in 2009. While we were enjoying lunch in the outdoor beer garden at the Potosi Brewery we watched as the town was preparing for their first annual Brewfest. The National Brewer’s Museum is located at the brewery. Also nearby was an interesting Grotto in Dickyville.

20090820Grant-River-COE-(5) — We looked across at Iowa from the Wisconsin side of the Mississippi River

20090820Grant-River-COE-(25) — Grant River COE on the Mississippi River

20090820Grant-River-COE-(19) — Sunset over the Mississippi River at Grant River COE

20090820Grant-River-COE-(23) — Our campsite was very close to the train tracks

20090822Potosi-(16) — Good Old Potosi Beer

20090822Potosi-(7) — Springs at the Potosi Brewery

20090821Field-of-Dreams-(55) — Grotto in Dickeyville, Wisconsin

20090821Field-of-Dreams-(34) — Grotto in Dickeyville, Wisconsin

While camping at Viking Village RV Park near Stoughton we bought more wonderful Wisconsin cheese. I counted nine little Thirteen Lined Ground Squirrels running around behind our RV. There were also some Sandhill Cranes running across a field but they were too far away for a picture.