Activities in Southside

We have been here a week, today, and have already done a ton of stuff. I installed a 30 amp RV service on the side of the garage, so now have a little more "juice" to run one of the AC units on/off to keep the humidity down. Although, it really hasn't been that bad.

Saturday we went to a beautiful waterfall park called Little River Canyon. The day was perfect and we hiked down to the top of the falls to check out some very unique riverbed patterns from softer soil being washed away by currents, leaving the harder rock layers. Just beautiful! Here are a few pix:

Yesterday and today, the temps have been mid to upper 70's with no humidity, so we took advantage of the great weather and the bunch of us, went to the Birmingham Zoo. A super great day had by all. This is a really nice zoo with plenty of space for each animal species, and a very unique path through the exhibits ... like a maze where you keep walking in one direction and encounter different animal habitats as you go ... like walking in the woods, sometimes.

And Louise found a cool hat at the gift shop! Such a great time being with family. We found a hole-in-the-wall Mexican restaurant on the way home and all ate more than we should ... soooo good!

Stay tuned, more to come ...

Southside, AL

After 16 different camps, 2,864 miles, 32 nights, and many unique and wonderful adventures (and interesting people we've met), we arrive at the half-way point of our 3rd cross-country trip today ... Dan and Christie's home in Southside, AL. But first, a 1-hour detour to Camping World in Anniston, AL to pickup a new propane detector that quit on us during the trip.

We plan to be in Southside for a couple months (at least the length of time it will take me to work through the requisite list of "daughter-do's" 😊). We have been so looking forward to this visit, seeing our kids and Granddaughters, and getting caught-up on all that has been going on ... it's been awhile!

Meanwhile, the Blog will be static unless I have cool stuff to share ... maybe some of the Daughter-do's? Maybe a fishing trip or two on Dan's new bass boat? 

Louise and I hope you've enjoyed riding along with us ... we've had a blast!

Please standby ... there is more to come!

More Meridian, MS

First, a couple pix of our current camp in Meridian. The sign doesn't look like much, but the park is Good Sam anointed and a good place to stay for a few days.

We got an early start this morning, Sunday, and headed for the Gristmill about 20 minutes away. Somehow, a cellphone GPS isn't always as smart as you think it is, and we took a wrong turn. We ended up exploring a 4-wheel drive-only road that took us down into the river canyon where, we determined a little later, the water from the mill drained to.

So, 4-wheeling back out of the canyon (4-wheel high; no sweat), we returned to the 1-lane paved road we turned off from and discovered the "real" entrance to the mill was a 100 yards further ... around the corner! Adventure!

The mill is an interesting POI amid beautiful surroundings, a pond, and hiking trails. Unfortunately, it is also in need of some restoration before it all slides down the mountain into the river. We tread very carefully on the old wooden flooring inside the mill, stepping on floor joists rather than between them ... creak, groan, crack ... we pressed on, ignoring the sign that stated, "You are responsible for any injury". Not kidding!!

Louise remarked, "If walls could talk ... imagine the sights and sounds of this place long ago." Leaving the mill unscathed, we headed down the multiple flights of stairs to the river below to take some pictures of the falls itself, and the lower workings of the huge wheel that propelled the mill in its day. A picture of one of the pond's inhabitants above is also included.

Next on our list of things to do in Meridian was the Dentzel Carousel in Highland Park, about 10 minutes back towards the City itself. Highland Park turned out to be a huge public park with freshly-mowed lawn, playgrounds, and other summer-fun activity potential, like a complete steam engine with coal car and connected caboose.

The place was abandon ... not a single fun-loving resident in sight; only a couple maintenance workers wrenching on a sprinkler or something. And, the beautiful carousel, housed in a single building in the park ... was closed! I managed a few pictures through the dirty glass, and one of a carousel horse in the playground. Note: there are at least 60 of these horses placed all around the city at various points ... very cool, indeed.

Of course, we couldn't leave Meridian without mention of one of its famous native son's, country blues and folk singer, and actor, Jimmy Rodgers (1897 to 1933). There are streets and buildings, an annual festival in his honor, a museum, and probably a sandwich at the local deli named after him.

After running away from home, he joined a traveling medicine show ... a combination of entertainment and live commercials for mostly useless and often dangerous medical remedies.

His father caught up with him (a second time) and gave him the choice of going to school or working on the railroad. Jimmy chose the railroad and worked as a brakeman for 10 years, learning to play the banjo, ukulele, and guitar, and picking up songs from others who traveled along the way. This earned him the title of, "The Singing Brakeman". Jimmy Rodgers was the first country musician to be inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame.

One last thing ... Louise wanted you to see this picture of one of the local places to eat. Note: teeth need not be required!

Picayune & Meridian, MS

Heading further inland now, we spent two nights in Picayune, MS at the Sun Roamers RV Resort ... a nice level, FHU, pull-through for $35/night. And, no trains, airplanes or freeway noise. 

Next day, after a hearty breakfast at a Waffle House, we spent a half day roaming as the Park's name suggested we should be doing. Unfortunately, NASA's Stennis Space Center rocket engine test facility was closed to the public, and the Science Museum was also closed for another week due to the pandemic. The waitress at Waffle House told us the ground shook when rocket engines were being tested ... 5 miles away! 

So, we decided to spend the afternoon just relaxing in the RV, reading and napping. A few pix from Picayune follow:

After a day of rest in Picayune, we pulled anchor and headed 150 miles North towards are final Alabama destination, and further away from the flooding in the South.

Meridian, MS: The next stop was Benchmark RV Park in Meridian. Another beautiful Good Sam park with FHU, level concrete and no noise for $33/night. Since we arrived about 1pm, we decided to head into town to one of the planned excursions for this stop, the Industrial Heritage Museum.

First, a little history ... During the civil war, Meridian played a key link in support of the Confederacy being at the junction of two railroads, an important part of the Confederate supply line. On February 14, 1864, General Sherman and a Union force of 20,000 entered Meridian with the intent to destroy it. 

Believing Sherman's true target was Mobile, Alabama, Confederate Lt. General Polk had evacuated Meridian leaving it defenseless. Sherman's forces spent a week destroying railroads, burning buildings and homes, and confiscating anything of value. After their departure, Sherman declared, "Meridian no long exists". Despite this destruction, the rail lines were rebuilt in 26 working days and the city continued to grow.

The Mississippi Industrial Heritage Museum was truly a step back in time to the early 1900's and the industrial revolution. The steam-feed and belt-powered works, machine shop, blacksmith shop, steel forge and supporting elements, encompasses one full city block. The wooden flooring is stained with a century of oil and grease, and still has that smell of hard working machines and manly men ...  ARRRRRGH!! 

Truly a journeyman machinist's dream, this facility helped to catapult Meridian into the largest and one of the fastest growing cities in Mississippi (now slipped to the 7th largest).

The self-guided tour is full of  well-written placards explaining the history or purpose of each machine, some of which were operating by electric motor (still belt driven, however). A fascinating place to walk through, Louise was thrilled to be there ... well, maybe the gift shop anyway.

A few pix of downtown gives you a sense of what this city once was, now slowly declining. The museum community is making an effort to revitalize the downtown ... The railroad museum had yet to open, but promises to be a must-see stop for a future visit, maybe?

Of course, any excursion wouldn't be complete without something to eat, right? On museum staff recommendation, we stopped at La Pinata a few blocks away and were not disappointed. The food and service was excellent! Booths and chairs were all 3-D carved wood and hand painted works of art ... truly remarkable.

Tomorrow we visit the Dentzel Antique Carousel and Dunn's Falls, that formerly powered a Gristmill (open for tour) and the manufacture of Stetsen hats. More pix to follow ...