Had a bit of
a look around Indianola, Mississippi this morning. Went to the BB King Blues
museum. BB King grew up in Indianola and comes back every year for a welcome
home parade. Indianola is in the heart of the ‘Mississippi Delta’ the home of
the Delta blues etc. The Delta that they are referring to, isn’t really a delta
but a Mississippi River flood plain that extends from Memphis in the north to
Vicksburg in the south. The soils are
rich in nutrients from previous floods and make for excellent agricultural use.
Cotton is very big around here. The true Delta is the Mississippi River Delta
where it joins the sea about 300 miles south.
From here, I
headed over to Alabama to a place called Gees Bend. You won’t find it on the
maps because it is so small. I had a heck of a time finding it. If you look up Boykin AL in Google maps you are in the right vacinity. You can even see the path the ferry takes on the river. I had to flag
down a local for final instructions. It is way, way off the tourist routes and
deep in Alabama. Every local I speak to says “What are doing here?” They never
get visitors down these parts. I am here on an errand from Laraine to see some
ladies about quilts. Their web site is:
This is Mary Ann Petway. She is the Director of the Gees Bend Quilt Collective
To get back
to the nearest town with accommodation, Camden AL, I had to take the ferry or
do about a 40 minute drive. I was the only car on the ferry. Total
cost....$3.00. I will going back over
the river tomorrow to finish up with the ladies.
Coming in to dock
The houses
around here are lovely. Everything is lush and green and all the trees have their
spring leaves. Most the homes have expansive lawns of about 3-4 acres by the
looks of them.
Tomorrow
after I finish, I am headed towards Georgia. I’ll see how far I get.
Hey Brad, if you haven't already on some of those fantastic views you've seen, take some panorama photos (multiple overlapping shots) and we can stitch them together on your return.
ReplyDeleteI don't know if you have done it before, but I find the best way is to rotate the camera vertical and take each successive shot overlapping with the last by about 1/3. Try to keep the camera in roughly the same spot as you rotate.
I have done it in one place up in Colorado. It is called the Pando Valley. Problems is my camera just aint cutting it. I think I need to get another one. Great for underwater and little things but definately not for scenery. Slightest angle towards the sun and 'white out'. The glare kills it. And as you know, the sun is lower in the sky here.
ReplyDelete