Day 20 - To Vicksburg & then Arkansas

We left camp by 7:15 and headed down the Natchez Trace Parkway toward Vicksburg and the Vicksburg National Battlefield Monument. After the informative orientation film we did the driving tour of the site including the USS Cairo, a Union ironclad salvaged in 1960. Excluding the grave headstones there have to be over 500+ monuments or markers at the battlefield site. Being from California it's easy to lose sight of how much the Civil War affected the rest of the country. Touring Vicksburg makes you understand. The USS Cairo is a pretty amazing piece of engineering, especially since she and and five other "City class" ironclads were built in 5 months.

We headed out North then West through farm country to cross the muddy Mississippi into Arkansas. This whole area looks just like Clarsburg. We stopped at a visitor center to get a map and decide where to live for the night. We debated quite a bit and decided that Cane Creek State Park would work out. We made a few pit stops along the way. Set up camp as usual and headed into the close by town of Star City for a yummy dinner. Ribeye steak with fixins and drinks for $15 total. What a deal.Read more