More Parkway and Over to Vicksburg
Comfortable continuation down Parkway with brief detour into Jackson for gas and groceries. Out of Jackson as quickly as possible and back on Parkway. South about 10 miles and then west to Vicksburg. Settled in nice RV park. Tomorrow, tourism.
There is one community right on the parkway. It is the village of French Camp. Historic site established in mid 1800’s to house a religious school. School still functions. ( Students have to work several hours a week in various village spots. Met a teenaged girl working in gift shop who now lives in Mississippi but was from Sacramento. Probably as a young child because she had no recall of the area. )Lots of neat old buildings in good repair or authentic restoration and most of them functioning.
Sorghum field. What do you do with sorghum?
Make molasses
Sorghum press in operation. There is a horse off to the right that was brought in later. Tractor was used to more rapidly get starter batch of juice.
Cut sorghum ready for press
Feeding stalks into press. Note steady stream of juice coming from press.
Boiling trough to purify and concentrate juice into molasses.
Raw juice vat that feeds boiling trough.
Boiling trough. Jars are filled from spout on far end when juice boiled to proper consistency.
While watching the molasses process we met a woman who lived not far away. “Where are you from?” “California”. “What part?” “Auburn, near Sacramento.” - “My brother lives in Nevada City” The world keeps getting smaller.
Swamp
Met this fellow about 8 inches from side of nature trail. Black with yellow/white under belly. Stout body. Pit viper shaped head. Research says possibly water moccasin. Days excitement.
Trees are ‘Bald Cypress’. Pointed spiky things are not rotted trees. They are projections that grow from roots. Thought to help stabilize tree. Called ‘knees’.
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