Monday, April 11, 2011
What could be finer than awakening to a bird symphony? Soft… and then louder; then the sweet sound of a soloist nearby. Apparently Sandy and I had set a date to go walking at 730 but I forgot and she slept in after having been awake in the night. The birds got me up and I even got a batch of steel cut oatmeal made.
Our walk was short because the Mississippi River is quite high right now. The Ranger said that they watch the weather and river in Cairo, Illinois, and can gauge where the river in Grand Gulf will be in eight days.
The small museum at the Park is considered one of the best collections of Civil War memorabilia. Most interesting to me was a rocking chair made in 1905 by Duffner for A.K. Shaifer, whose plantation he occupied during the war. The battle is depicted on the chair.
On to Port Gibson, which General Grant proclaimed “too beautiful to burn” and so… spared it. We saw a very nice exhibit of local quilts but I still like Sharon’s (see Santa Fe) better.
On to the Ruins of Windsor, a grand estate built in 1860, which survived the war only to be destroyed in 1890 by fire. Only the columns remain but you still know that it was an elegant house. Who says you have to go to Greece to see ruins!
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