Wednesday, September 25, 2019

Vicksburg National Military Park




We are on our way to the Branson Get Together and today we visited the Vicksburg National Military Park.  I had not visited here before and it was well worth the stop.  It would have been better if the temperature was not 95, but it was a pretty interesting even with the heat.

We got up this morning and got started.  Filled up with diesel and got some biscuits at McDonalds across the street.  Milage yesterday on the second tank of diesel was 15.2mpg traveling with our speed averaging 60-65mph mostly on US highways.



Sometimes people ask exactly how maneuverable is the Fuse.  Here is a picture of ours at the McDonalds this morning.  Fits in the spot fine.

Our campsite was a short 10 min drive away from the main entrance to the park.  National Park fees have really gone up recently.  Entrance fee was $20.00.  Not that I mind paying.  I wish more of my tax dollars would go to the parks.  I love the National Parks and think they need even more money.

Our first stop was at the museum at the entrance.  It had a little movie and some nice displays.  Not large and we were in and out in less than 30 min.   Then for the driving tour.  This is what this park is mostly about.




There were lots of monuments and markers and other things to read.   It got kind of confusing since this was a siege and there were lots of Union monuments all spread out and fewer Confederate markers all bunched up.  But if you think of the battle and use the visitor's guide, it makes more sense.



So why was the battle so important?  Vicksburg controlled the Mississippi River.   There is a beautiful overlook on the Conferderate side of the line that commands the river.  From here you really understand why this place was important to both sides.



One of the highlights of the tour is a partially restored Union ironclad.  The USS Cairo.  It was sunk and recovered recently and is cut away so you can get a real good idea of how it was constructed.  There was a museum here as well with artifacts from the ship.



We spent all morning here and did not even get out and walk much.  We could have spent all day if we had, but the heat and Lily's back kept us in the Fuse.

Then we got some KFC chicken (2 blocks from the park entrance) and ate lunch at the Louisiana welcome station on I-20.  Another treat we do not normally do at home.



Then we drove to our destination for the night,  the Pecan Grove RV park in Lake Village, AR.    So today we drove 118 miles.  Not many for us but it was a full day.

For the first several hours today as we did the driving tour of the park we drove 25mph or less and had the Fuse idling when we stopped.  That was 2-3 hours.  The rest of the miles today were at 55mph down US highways.   The good news.  19.6mpg using a calculator to check the milage.


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