On Friday we drove down to Port Gibson, south of Vicksburg. It was a warm sunny day and a beautiful drive. We stopped by the Ruins of Windsor. It was built in 1860, west of Port Gibson by Smith C. Daniell, II. Unfortunately Smith died shortly after the house was completed. His family continued to live there but struggled during the war. In 1890 the main structure was destroyed by fire, leaving only the stately columns as mute evidence of a glorious, historic past. It is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
We stopped at the Grand Gulf Military Park. The park is a Civil War Battlefield site. We climbed the observation tower to get a glimpse of the Mississippi River. There are many buildings and artifacts including a cemetery on the grounds.
Port Gibson provided a unique chapter in the pages of American History, During the Civil War it grew in strategic value as the struggle for the control of the Mississippi River intensified. General Grant made Port Gibson his first objective in his 1863 campaign to capture Vicksburg.
Port Gibson is a beautiful town with many antebellum homes along Church Street. General Grant is reported to have spared the town because it was "too beautiful to burn".
After returning to Vicksburg we went to Goldies for BBQ which was great!
Saturday morning we left Vicksburg at 6am and headed west across Louisiana and Texas. Shortly before coming into Dallas we encountered rain. This is the first time that we have driven in rain since we bought the coach last year. The traffic in Dallas was awful! We finally made it through Dallas and on to Denton, just to the North of town. It was a long day of driving. Got some laundry done and a good nights sleep before we were off again on Sunday morning, early once again. Today we are headed to Amarillo for the night and to watch the NASCAR race.
Tomorrow, Monday, June 16, we are headed to Santa Fe, New Mexico for a couple of days to see the sights.
That is all for today. We wish all the fathers out there a Happy Father's Day.
Be sure and scroll down and see the photos that I posted for our Vicksburg stop and see the grave marker for Daniel the Camel.
Until the next time.
Candy and Johnny
