After you have visited Memphis Tennessee - head south onto Route
61 into Mississippi and the famous Delta Region. You will
be leaving the familiar landscapes of Malls and into
Mississippi's history. This route is often referred to as
"Blues Alley" You can explore the origin of the
Blues at the Delta Blues Museum in Clarksdale. The
museum's vast collection of memorabilia includes B.B. King, Muddy Waters and
many other Blues legends. You can even find out what juke joint has live blues
that night. The best one - in the middle of nowhere is Junior's in Holly
Springs. The blues performed here will be as originally intended - party
music for rural blacks and possibly performed by the sons and grandsons of the
music's pioneers.
Continuing south there are many wonderful places to stop and eat such as Doe's
Eat Place (a dilapidated kitchen in Greenville, a Mississippi Delta river
city, serving great steaks). Greenville is also where you will
learn about one of Mississippi's leading industries: farm raised
catfish. You may even catch feeding time at one of the ponds.
Trace the history of the Native American in this area the Winterville Mounds
Museum State Park; then, if you feel lucky - go to one of the several
local casinos.
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Leaving the flatlands of the Delta head south and you will pass the Civil
War battlefield of Vicksburg and the mansions of Natchez. You can take a
boating trip on the Mississippi River and visit the Old Court House Museum and
tour the Biedenharn Coca-Cola Museum, where Coca-Cola was first bottled.
Further south is Port Gibson, the town which General Grant said was "too
beautiful to burn". On to Windsor, and the exhibits in the Grand Gulf
Military Monument Park. |
Before winding its way south and out of the state, Highway 61 leads you to
Natchez, the oldest permanent settlement on the Mississippi River. This
quaint city of stately mansions offers a glimpse of the American past in the
grandeur and elegance of the antebellum South.
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