So I had to go out to Clarksdale, MS today to do some work for an annexation project. I was amazed at how dramatically the topography of the land changed between here and there. Those of you who have been in Oxford know that it is a somewhat hilly town. It's not mountainous by any means, but there are some unfortunate intersections in town which are on 45 degree slopes. If you get on Highway 6 and drive west not forty minutes, it goes from hilly, to FLAT. What is intresting, is how quickly it goes from hilly to flat. The hills do gradually taper off, but then just fall off around the Tallahatchie River, just a few minutes west of Batesville...Panola County's seat (which is just over a half hour from Oxford). I noticed a remarkably sudden difference as I crossed the bridge over the Tallahatchie River, right beyond a Corps of Engineers Levee, then it is flat for several hundred miles on out to the Ozarks of Arkansas and Missouri. Here are a few pictures I snapped between Marks, Quitman County's Seat (which is just west of Batesville...and before Clarksdale....which is in Coahoma County). If you look closely, you may be able to see some cotton lining the roadside. Apparently it is right near harvest time. I even saw some MSDOT trucks sweeping the side of Highway 6 in Clarksdale to clean it up. Incidentally, I ate at a BBQ restaurant at "The Crossroads"--the former intersection of US 49 (now DeSoto Ave.) and US 61 (now MS161) where early blues legend Robert Johnson allegedly sold his soul to the Devil to tune his guitar so he could play anything.
But I digress...as promised...the very flat Mississippi Delta Region (not unlike a slightly more sylvan version of northern Indiana between Indianapolis and Chicago along I-65). One of these, I do not remember which, was taken on my cell phone, so I apologize for the quality:
1 comment:
I enjoy your travelogue. You're right---FLAT---just like much of Florida. Make sure you save all of your writings. They are very interesting.
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