Monday, October 3, we said farewell to Durango, CO. and head toward home. We said goodbye to the train that passes by the campground each day from Durango to Silverton
, and headed out of town. Our first stop on our route was Tucumcari ( the sunrise photo is of the rising sun over New Mexico!). Then on to Denton, Texas for the night and then to Shreveport, Louisiana. From Shreveport to Duson, Louisiana we passed through Natchitoches, Louisiana. While passing through Natchitoches I discovered that Natchitoches was established in 1714 by the French and is the oldest permanent settlement in the Louisiana Purchase territory. Maybe next time through Louisiana we will stop and explore this town. While in Louisiana we were looking forward to some good southern home cooking!!! And we found some!! Duson is the frog capital of the country, so we went out to dinner and had gumbo with frog legs and it was out of this world! The next day we found ourselves on Avery Island, the home of McIlhenny Tabasco Pepper Sauce. We took the tour and learned how the peppers are grown, and how the sauce is made. Very interesting!
From pepper pods obtained shortly after the Civil War, Edmund McIlhenny cultivated a crop, invented a product, and founded a company. Today on Avery Island you can see pepper plants being nurtured for next years crop. Seeds from plants grown on the Island are exported to Central and South America. Main reason for sending them to these countries is so that if there is a drought or insect infestation, the whole crop is not destroyed. Mr. McIlhenny's recipe was so unique that he was granted a patent on it, and it is closely followed today.While in Duson we went to the Shucks (world famous) restaurant! Once again we had a fantastic meal of Crawfish Etouffee, along with their famous oysters. I could eat there over and over again the food was that great!!
From Duson we headed east and decided not to stop in New Orleans, instead we headed east to Biloxi, Mississippi for two nights. As John is from the south we headed to "Beauvoir", home of Jefferson Davis (the only president of the Confederacy) and his Presidential Library. Beauvoir is a National Historic Landmark and a Mississippi Historic Landmark. It is privately owned and managed by the Mississippi Division, United Sons of Confederate Veterans.
The house was originally built by James Brown in 1848 and completed in 1852. Problems following the Civil War and the death of Mr. Brown in 1866 forced the sale of the property in 1873.
The property was eventually sold to Sarah Dorsey, who names the property"beautiful view" because of the vista it afforded of the Mississippi Sound. Jefferson Davis had visited Beauvoir twice during the mid 1870's. Impressed by its natural beauty and serenity, the aging leader accepted Mrs. Corsey's invitation to write his memoirs at the estate and moved to Beauvoir in early 1877. Mr. Davis purchased the estate in 1879, including some furnishings
for $5,500.
In the early 1890's, after Jefferson's death, Mrs. Davis and daughter Winnie, moved to New York.Despite hurricane damage and lucrative offers to purchase the estate, Beauvoir remained in the hands of the Davis family until 1903. It was sold to the Mississippi Division, United Sons of Confederate Veterans. The terms of the sale required the USCV to maintain the site as a memorial to Jefferson Davis and the Confederacy and allow the home to be used as a home for Confederate veterans, along with their wives, widows, servants and orphans.
The home was finally closed in 1956. Restoration of the structures and grounds continued in 1953-54 and again in 1978-79. Today the historic site encompasses 51 acres of the original Beauvoir estate. Five of the seven building were destroyed by Hurricane Katrina in 2005. Many of the artifacts were also lost during the hurricane. It has taken time however the home is once again open for tours.
As we drove along the Mississippi coast the destruction of Hurricane Katrina is still evident! Biloxi is coming back, however it will take some more time. Biloxi did not get the press that New Orleans did during the storm but they suffered as much or more. Many of the beautiful homes along the beach are now just empty lots. Not sure if these people will ever rebuild.
We left Biloxi and headed east to Tallahassee for the night before continuing home. We arrived home on Thursday, October 13, having traveled 8,370 miles. It was a wonderful summer and we saw so many wonderful places, however it is always nice to be home again.
We hope that you have enjoyed our travels. We had a wonderful time..... until next time....
Candy and Johnny
