271. Natchez, Adams County (MS01)

Oh, Mississippi!

So I took a little drive across a bridge and ended up…

…on the eastern side of the mighty Mississippi River. I just wanted to dip my toe in and get a souvenir, but I was already in the county seat so why not? The courthouse, as you can see above, is absolutely lovely. I was also caught (once again) by how small its grounds are. I’m definitely starting to believe that giant courthouse grounds are more a Texas thing. Of course, small footprints mean little room for monuments, but there were two:

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The former of the two I expected of Mississippi. But the latter? What did this guy do to rate getting buried here? All I can find is some stuff about a court case that went to the Mississippi Supreme Court having to do with a British land grant. Oh, and that his name is spelled wrong on the stone here. Otherwise, the Intertubes fail me and that makes me sad. I also had something else to do here…

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At an old train depot two blocks from the courthouse would be my answer. On that iron fence was a little tube with a magnet in it. It was quickly grabbed, signed, and returned! One quick log later and boom! A new state! I also ended up getting a nearby virtual requiring a photo with it (which, from what I understand, isn’t really allowed except for grandfathered old virtuals), but I messed up and forgot to put something in the photo with me. The owner reached out to me to tell me that he would have to delete my log since I didn’t fulfill the conditions. I asked him if he could do me a solid and let it stand because I didn’t know when or even if I would ever be back (though I hope I will be) but if he has to do it, then I’ll understand. Well, it hasn’t been deleted so I guess I got lucky. Mercy is nice. But if I go down by one virtual some time, I’ll get it. [UPDATE 6/20/20: No mercy for me. It was deleted today…]

And I spent a few minutes looking at the enormity of the river. As the song says, it just keeps rolling along. And then so did I. I had a cache to grab back in Vidalia. And once that was done, I headed back to my lodgings for the night. I needed to be well rested to get on the road early the next morning to reach…