Sunday, May 20, 2012

Day (19) Grand Gulf Military CG, Grand Gulf Military Monument, Port Gibson, MS

 

LINK:

Grand Gulf LINK

It was a short drive to Port Gibson (31 miles) so we arrived fairly early. We were pleasantly surprised at the CG. Although a small CG the sites large with concrete pads and full hook-ups all for $17.00 a night. Once again it was really hot – another 92 degree day with sky-high humidity.

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Later in the afternoon we toured the Grand Gulf Military Monument Park adjacent to the CG.

The campground was under water during May of 2011. The Mississippi had crested at over 57 feet on May 19, 2011 and the cities upstream opened their levis causing the water to rise even faster here.  The Park Ranger was telling us that they were shooting water moccasins that were in the yard and buildings. Also that the alligators were up near the homes and buildings as well. It took three weeks for the water to subside and months to clean up the mess.

Entrance posts at the CG stand about 6 feet high – no flood waters.

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Only the tops of entrance posts visible during May 2011 floods.

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Fortunately they had three days to clear out the artifacts from the museum and surrounding buildings so nothing historical was lost.

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                          Hearse

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                 Grand Gulf Jail

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LET ME OUT ---- PLEASE!!!!!!

 

 

 

 

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Really Cool Old Fire Engine

 

 

 

 

 

    Imagine Crossing the Country in one of These!

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Old Presbyterian Church

 

 

 

 

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These were cool, one-man submarine and an old whiskey still.

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Then it was off to an old cemetery with grave sites over 150 years old.

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Of course it is not a tour unless we climb a set of stairs so this time we climbed the Watch Tower. It was still 92 degrees out but the view at the top of the tower was great and the breeze over the top of the trees very cooling.

 

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The view from the top was beautiful with glimpses of the Mississippi in the distance.

 

 

 

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             Looking Down

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We went back to the MH and later in the evening took a ride to check out the area that was once a fort.  Again, nothing but signs and a good imagination.

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We took a ride down the road from the CG to walk along the shores of the Mississippi. The CG host was telling us that the river is treacherous and it runs very fast with many whirlpools that are difficult to escape. The saying is you can never paddle upstream on the Mississippi. They weren’t kidding and the water was running at least 20 mph with visible whirlpools everywhere.

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I think they get flooding on a regular basis here. Check out the trailers on stilts.

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I think the roof over the trailer protects it from the hail and hot sun. We have seen a lot of this down here.

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Tomorrow we will take a ride into Port Gibson and then to the Winsor Ruins.

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