You Can Bet the Farm on This One

As it cuts across the midsection of Mississippi from Meridian through Jackson to Vicksburg, US-80 intertwines itself above and below I-20, like a cat weaving around one's legs.  The interstate has captured most of the traffic through the state, while the well-maintained two-lane asphalt artery of US-80 connects a string of small towns, most with a population well below 1,000.

US-80 ROLLS THROUGH LAKE, MISSISSIPPI.

Before leaving Meridian, we stopped by Rose Hill Cemetery to pay our respects to Kelly Mitchell, the legendary "Queen of the Gypsies" of America.  Kelly's 1915 death while giving birth to her 15th child at age 47 led to a funeral attended by more than 20,000 Romani loyalists.  This monarch continues to have a following, and her devotees often leave trinkets and other gifts at her grave in hopes that her spirit will visit them in a dream and offer solutions to their problems.

RUMORS OF A GOLD CASKET TEMPTED WOULD-BE GRAVE ROBBERS.

From the Romani royal, we drove south of town and then several miles out a red dirt road with dust flying to visit Stuckey's Bridge.  Legend has it that a fellow named Stuckey, a member of the Dalton gang, built an inn along the Chunky River in hopes of attracting travelers passing by on the river.  Unfortunately, most who checked in never checked out of the inn as Stuckey robbed them, murdered them and tossed them into the river (or buried them on the riverbank, depending on which version of the legend is being told).  Eventually he was caught and hanged from the newly completed 1901 bridge near the inn.

WITH THE BRIDGE NOW UNSAFE FOR TRAFFIC, BARRIERS BLOCK AUTOS BUT NOT PEDESTRIANS.

After his death, rumors ran rampant of Stuckey haunting the bridge.  Some claimed to see an old man walking the river bank with a lantern; others swore they heard the loud splash of his corpse hitting the water or saw his lifeless body dangling from the bridge.  One local even insisted Stuckey's ghost had pushed him off the bridge into the river.  We had no such encounters ourselves.  Before retracing our tracks back out the dusty road, we hid a letterbox behind a nearby tree to give others the opportunity to visit Stuckey of the Chunky.

IT'S A VIEW, YES, IT IS.

At the entrance to Roosevelt State Park near Morton, a "scenic view" sign lured us to a viewing tower that purported to offer a panoramic view of the surrounding Bienville National Forest.  Except that it didn't.  We did get a great view of McDonald's and Exxon though.

IT MAY SOUND A BIT NERDY BUT IT'S QUITE ENGAGING.

As we drove into Jackson, we planned to make a brief stop and push on to Vicksburg.  That was before we encountered the Mississippi Ag Museum.  North of downtown Jackson, the Mississippi Agricultural and Forestry Museum is a 40-acre complex with an amazing variety of entertaining exhibits that belie its rather humdrum moniker.  There's a heritage center gallery with artifacts and exhibits telling the history of farming in Mississippi.

THIS DOUBLE-PEN MULE BARN WAS BUILT WITH NOTCHED LOGS.

An entire farm with its many outbuildings was moved from south Mississippi and reassembled on site.  Operated as a living history exhibit, most of the farm's structures date back to 1860.

THE AG MUSEUM HAS A 4-H LEARNING CENTER ON SITE.

Adjacent to the farm is "Small Town, Mississippi," a collection of authentic 1920s era buildings assembled from all over the state.  There's a doctor's office, sawmill, filling station, Masonic lodge, church, blacksmith shop, general store, and more.

ALL THE TINY TRAINS LOOKED CONVINCING EXCEPT THOMAS THE TANK ENGINE.

Let us not forget the meticulously crafted model train exhibits in the heritage center.  Landscapes in the display depict cities, industries, and various agricultural settings in the state from the Delta to the hills of Vicksburg.  Of course, the most appealing part of the rail miniatures is the set of interactive buttons that allow visitors to start and stop the trains, as well as providing sound effects for other elements in the scene.

THEY MAY NOT HAVE BEEN AUTHENTIC TO THE '20S, BUT THE CHEESE STRAWS WERE DELISH!

Before we knew it, we had spent two hours wandering around and examining the museum's many treasures.  By then we were ready to call it a day and postpone Vicksburg until tomorrow—especially since Jackson has a Whole Foods store and a brand new Residence Inn, a hotel brand we like.  We couldn't leave the Ag Museum without planting a letterbox in our "Hit the Brakes" series as our way to share the fun of this place with others.

Tomorrow we hope to make a little better time and maybe even make our way across Louisiana.  Extrapolating from the seven days it has taken us to travel 600 miles from Savannah to Jackson, we're wondering whether it'll take us a month to get across Texas.  

MONDAY, 21 NOVEMBER 2016
    •  Started in:  Meridian, MS
    •  Ended in:  Jackson, MS
    •  Miles driven:  129  (trip:  1,200)
    •  Weather:  28° to 66°, clear
    •  Letterboxes:  Found 2, Planted 2  (trip:  F19, P7)
    •  Walked:  3 mi  (trip:  19.5)
    •  States:  MS  (trip:  3)
    •  Counties:  5  (trip:  48)
    •  Towns:  13  (trip:  91)
    •  Log trucks:  83  
    •  Narrow bridges:  41
    •  Farm outbuildings at the MAM:  16
    •  Scaled down items in the train exhibits:  72,916