After our delicious lunch at The Tomato Place we headed onto the Natchez Trace to a free campground. As we drove along the quiet, scenic road we saw out of the corner of our eyes a tree begin a slow-motion free fall, directly across the road not 50 yards in front of us! We pulled to a stop to inspect it and saw that the roots were dislodged from the rain saturated ditch at the side of the road. Just then an armadillo crawled out of the canopy, looking none the worse for wear,  and scampered away, down the slope to the ditch and swam into the brush.

Just a few more yards and it would have been on top of us!

We had to backtrack and find another route to the campground, we got there just in time to get the very last campsite! We set up and took a hike on the Rocky Springs trail to the ghost town of Rocky Springs. Walking on the sunken grade of the old Natchez Trace in the footsteps of Native Americans, pioneers, merchants and slaves was an experience. We saw more evidence of the rain saturation walking around a mini landslide.

The landslide scar was still fresh!

A trail around the town site was interesting and informative. The only structure still standing is the Methodist church which continued to hold services until 2010!

The approach to the townsite reveals the church appearing to be on a bluff above the trail.

The cemetery behind the church was fascinating to explore.

The rain let up eventually and we headed the 45 or so miles to Vicksburg, crossing the Mississippi to the Visitors Center.

A barge heading upstream on the Mississippi.

We picked up some brochures and information and headed into the downtown area to explore. The city is so full of history, from Native Americans, French pioneers, Spanish forts, Civil War battles and Civil Rights struggles, we could spend a week here, but we have only a day. We chose to visit the impressive Warren County Courthouse.

The Old Courthouse on the hill commands a view of the entire city.

Lots of steps to get up the hill!

After our sightseeing we headed to the Tomato Place for lunch, highly recommended by the lady at the Visitors Center! Check out their website; www.thetomatoplace.com and make sure you watch their YouTube video!

A quirky veggie stand and restaurant with great Po’Boys!

We left Arkansas and headed into Louisiana in drenching rain. We stopped at Poverty Point Reservoir State Park, not to be confused with Poverty Point National Monument, to wait out the rain. We didn’t see anything of the State Park or the National Monument because of the downpour, but we did have a dry, happy place to hang out at the Waterfront Grill at the nearby Black Bear Golf Course, with a great appetizer and beers.

Our view of just about everything in Delhi, Louisiana!

While we’re waiting for Spring to arrive up north so we can head that way, we are exploring a little bit south. We finally decided to head to Crater of Diamonds State Park in southern Arkansas. With high hopes of finding a diamond as big as the Ritz we donned our work clothes and shoes, went through the Diamond Discovery Center, watched the video and rented the tools. At least it was a sunny day to walk in the mud, scoop buckets of clay soil and proceed to wash it in large troughs of cool, muddy water. After almost 3 hours of getting wet and muddy washing buckets of dirt down to a few handfuls of tiny grains of gravel we gave up. We took Mavrik for a hike and decided that the beauty of the Little Missouri River area was the real “diamond in the rough”.

Everyone is so optimistic when they enter the Diamond Discovery Center!

We took turns washing the dirt! The barren plowed field in the background has probably been washed several times over in the last century!

No, not diamonds, just crystals at an abandoned campsite at Crystal Campground in the Ouachita National Forest.

Back in Arkansas we took a nice walk in the sunshine along the nature trail at Tanyard Creek. Spring sure feels like it’s taking a long time coming in these parts! I can’t imagine the impatience of the folks up in Minnesota and Michigan waiting for Spring!

The falls, outlet of Windsor Lake Dam.