Team Tully started our holiday break a little early (with full blessings from Luke's teachers - which is a funny story in and of itself). We headed out on a mini roadtrip to visit some unexplored states for us and to make our way to the Mighty Mississippi River and then on to Hot Springs National Park. We love love love to travel and this roadtrip was such a welcome break in this still COVID sensitive world. We wandered, we learned, we spent time as a family and we are back home now reminiscing and being grateful for all the places we have been and all the people we have met.
Birmingham, Alabama. Rich in history and southern hospitality!
We spent the next morning at the Civil Rights Institute in Birmingham. This is Kelly Ingram Park located right outside the institute. This was an especially somber location in that this is the site of nonviolent protests led by children during the civil rights movement that were met with violence.
If you ever find yourself in Birmingham the Civil Rights Institute is a must. It is an incredible place full of history and stories and perspective. Extremely well done. We learned so much and we spent the next leg of our trip talking about what we learned and how we felt. It was a powerful experience.
Crossing the great state of Mississippi. I loved driving through MS, there was one longer stretch when we were on secondary roads and it was just such a VAST landscape; incredibly flat, incredibly empty, incredibly beautiful.
We made our way to Vicksburg, Mississippi. What a great little town! We loved it so much!! We crossed the Mississippi River into Louisiana and commented on how huge and far reaching the river landscape is. Nature's power to alter the land is never-ending. Just incredible!
The National Biscuit Company on the banks of the Mississippi would soon become what we know as Nabisco.
A small town locally owned bookstore is one of my very favorite things in life! And...to make this one even more amazing is that we rented the apartment above it (also owned by the bookstore owner) for our Vicksburg stay! The AirBnB was amazing!
Love this kid for appeasing me!
Vicksburg is best known for its place in the Civil War. The battle of Vicksburg lasted for just shy of 2 months and arguably was one of the major turning points in the Civil War.
As with almost all aspects of this area of the country the Mississippi River played a large role in the Civil War in that it was how the Confederates received many of their supplies. The Union army was able to cut off their supplies and take control of the river and then basically waited the Confederates out by surrounding them on this battlefield. Without supplies the South began to suffer from starvation and many illnesses. The Confederates eventually waved the white flag of surrender.
This National Military Battlefield is immaculately maintained and we were blown away by the detailed descriptions of each troop advance and position.
Looking up from inside one of the Union army memorials. It was not lost on us that standing here was about 100 years prior to where we stood in Birmingham. We let that sit for a while...a powerful acknowledgement in many ways. 100 years.
The national cemetery marking the lives lost. Such a powerful image to this time period.
From Vicksburg, MS we headed northwest, crossing the Mississippi River again, to Hot Springs National Park in Arkansas.
In true Tully fashion we were on the trails before 7:30am! It was freezing! For real, freezing...I think our hike start time had a reading of 29 degrees. Brrrrrrrrr. But, that made for quiet trails and gorgeous blue skies.
A mountaintop sunrise! Hot Springs National Park is unique in that quite a bit of the National Park is the town of Hot Springs and its beautiful bath houses on "bathhouse row". The trails wind all around the backdrop mountain so we started in the woods and on the trails and we finished our hiking in town.
Hot springs everywhere! Such a welcome thing on this VERY cold day. Our hotel provided us with a jug so that we could collect and sample along our hikes and route.
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Team Tully
Each historic bathhouse had its own distinct architecture and history. The belief and rituals surrounding the hot springs was SO interesting! Famous gangsters (Al Capone) and baseball players (Babe Ruth) as well as the more affluent frequented these bathhouses often! Those who could not afford a visit to the bath houses simply found one of the many hot springs that made their way to the surface on the surrounding hillside. Makeshift tent cities were constructed and outdoor hot spring bathing was deemed the cure for many health issues.
Lots of interesting and beautiful details
And to round out our trip some downtown Hot Springs kitsch, HA!
We snaked our way home back across the Mississippi River, western TN, and northern Mississippi. We saw lots of new things and met lots of new people. Experience is the greatest of all teachers...of this I am sure!
More hometown and family holiday goodness is on tap for the days to come! Happiest of Holidays to you all!
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