Late December 2020 to mid-January 2021

Before we jumped back on the Parkway, we paid a return visit to Elvis Presley’s birthplace in Tupelo, MS.

His rags to riches story took place in the span of a few short years, and his impact on music was profound. Fans still come by the thousands to tour the museum and see the small, one-room house where he was born.

We spent New Year’s Eve in Trace State Park, just outside of Tupelo. Seemed like a good way to kick off 2021.

From Tupelo, we took the Parkway down to Jackson, MS. As on our previous trip, we saw very few travelers on this road. It’s quiet and the interpretive roadside markers provide food for reflection on its history. The Parkway is an interesting switch from routes through small towns with lots of stoplights or blasting along the interstate. It was also cold.

The arctic blast that brought the Northeast a snowy Christmas also delivered frigid temperatures to the deep South. You would think that former Vermonters could easily handle temps in the 30s and 40s, but living outdoors most of the time is different. We rely on our on-board furnace to take the chill off before climbing into bed and to warm up the van in the mornings. When we realized this was going to be an extended cold snap, we went to a Cabela’s and bought more thermal underwear. Lots of layers.

Our meals on cold days lean more toward hot soups and stews, or we throw in the towel and go out for a hot meal in a warm restaurant. Late afternoon is a good time to step out. We usually find we’re the only diners in the restaurant, and it puts us back at the campsite before dark.

In Jackson, we stayed at LeFleurs Bluff State Park. It’s unusual to find a large, wooded campground within city limits. Inside the park, it felt like being out in the country. We spent an afternoon hiking in the woods along the river.

The city of Jackson is a block from the park entrance, close to restaurants, a vast hospital campus, businesses, shopping, universities, and museums.

We decided to visit the Mississippi Civil Rights Museum. After decades of preparation and fundraising, this museum opened in December 2017. Its eight interpretive galleries document the history of the American Civil Rights Movement and the contributions of famous Mississippians, such as Medgar Evers. It felt especially timely that we came to learn more now, while the story of American civil rights is still so dramatically unfolding. We were surprised by the size of the museum – we couldn’t see it all in one day – and its intensity. It’s emotionally powerful. The museum is extremely well done, and we wished we’d had a another day in Jackson to visit a second time.

This seemed like a good junction for leaving the Parkway, so we decided to leave and head southeast toward the bayou and, hopefully, warmer climes.