Trip East - Poverty Point. LA to Forkland, AL

We leave Louisiana and head to our next stop, COE Forkland Campground in Alabama.  We cross over the Mississippi River.

and are in Mississippi!

We stop at the Vicksburg Battlefield to check out the Museum and Film.  Don't want to add the 16 mile loop drive to the 253 miles we have to do today.

Watched the film then wondered the small museum. President Jefferson Davis wanted control of the Mississippi River.   There were only two Ports held the Union back - Vicksburg, MS and Port Hudson, LA.  In October 1862, he ordered Ulysses S. Grant to Clear the Mississippi of Confederate resistance.  Lt. General John G. Pemberton is expected to keep the river open with 50,000 wildly scattered troops.

life during the battle is depicted in life size representations. 

Confederate Troops in the trenches.

Homes in Vicksburg were converted into field hospitals

Tent belonging to a high ranking officer

The Soldiers/Freedom Fighters

Well to do residents of Vicksburg were forced underground into caves for shelter to survive the siege,

a nice break and visit.  Next time we pass through we will do the drive.

and then we arrive in Alabama!

We arrive at the Forkland Campground, just north of Demopolis, AL on the Demopolis Lake.

Home Sweet Home for the next 3 nights

 

Trip East - Poverty Point World Heritage Site, LA

 

We head to the Poverty Point World Heritage Site in Epps, LA

We start at the Visitor's Center

There are 5 mounds here.  The mounds contain 27 million cubic feet of soil.  If each basket they used to transport the soil head 1 cu. ft; of soil it would have taken 27 million baskets to form the mounds.

 There is a walking tour or a driving tour - we opt to drive.  You can see the Bird Mound in the distance across the road

 The mounds were built by indigenous people during the Late Archaic period in North America, between 1700 and 1100 BC.  Poverty Point was abandoned around 1100 BC.  Why remains a mystery.   A subsequent American Indian group came along around 700 A.D and occupied only a small part of the site for a brief period.  Then there was intermittent use for 2900 years until it was rediscovered in the 1800's AD

We pass by the 6 C shaped  earthen ridges, measuring 4 to 6 feet high in places, have an outside diameter of three-quarters of a mile apart.  These ridged are where the people lived

We arrive at the Bird Mound and are able to walk to the top.

Stair Master!

A well deserved rest.

Over the wing, between the two trees on the left, before the next tree line lays the furthermost mound.

Whoever goes up must go down!

There are two of these circles of white cylinders on the site.  Soil cores and excavations discovered   the circles were originally complied of large wooden posts up to 2.1 feet in diameter.  
The bottom of the posts holes were up to 9 ft. deep.  The posts did not rot in place but were removed and refilled with soil.  Around 40 of these circles were discovered by magnetic imaging.  Several were rebuilt numerous times.  It is still unknown why they were built and how they were used.

Mound C

Mound D

Mound E

The People brough dirt from this area to build the mounds

An amazing place, so glad we stumbled upon it .  Built between 1700 and 1100 BC, long before the Greek, Roman, Persian, Neo-Babylonian Empires.  Mound A dates to 1350 BC and is the largest mound built by American Indians at Poverty Point or at any earlier time in US History.  

Only the Mounds of Watson Brake are older, dating to 3500 BC. 

Trip East - Jefferson, TX to Poverty Point Reservoir, LA

 We leave Texas and head East.  

Nothing booked for the next couple nights.  I pray I find something.

  I call Poverty Point Reservoir State Park to see if they have anything available for 2 nights.  I am told they have plenty of space and to just come on in.  

We get a nice site.  I was expecting to pay $35 a night and get a Veteran 15% discount, the lady at the Gate said  the Senior rate was better - 50% off and you didn't need to be a State Resident.  Didn't need sewer connection so we paid $15 a night.

We take a walk down to the Reservoir

There are Indian Mounds here but most have been taken down by Farmers over the years and others are overgrown with grass and weeds.

Walked out to the fishing pier

People were fishing

Others just taking it all in

We tried the trail behind our campsite - Jesse James - Gary is all in

The trail is a bit muddy

and goes down to the Mississippi - it's a bit high

We continue on.

Until the trail goes under water

a nice hike none the less.

Tomorrow we will go see the Poverty Point Heritage site where there is still and existing Mound.