On day 34 of “The Ultimate USA Road Trip” we drive from Memphis Tennessee to Vicksburg Mississippi. This day we will make many beautiful and interesting stops with the highlight being the Vicksburg Military Park.

We leave Memphis on Elvis Presley Boulevard and drive past Graceland, the Elvis Presley Automobile Museum and other landmarks of the King. Via a short stop at the local Harley-Davidson Dealer for a cup of coffee and a poker chip we drive south to Clarksdale.

Clarksdale is a true Blues town and known for the world famous Ground Zero Blues Club. The co-owner of this club is the actor Morgan Freeman. The club gets its name from the fact that Clarksdale has traditionally been referred to as "Ground Zero" for the blues. The club opened in May 2001 and is located near the Delta Blues Museum. It is an unrenovated building, which stood empty for 30 years, where the wholesaler Delta Grocery and Cotton Co. was housed. There is no decor, the Interior is a mishmash of styles and recycled materials, chairs that don't match, Christmas tree lights and graffiti everywhere. Clarksdale blues fans welcomed it as a place where local musicians get the chance to perform.
The kitchen is open from 11:00 AM to 10:00 PM and the menu features traditional Southern dishes and the restaurant has live blues music Wednesday through Saturday. In addition to the food and music, there are seven upstairs apartments that can be rented out to customers who want to enjoy the blues a little longer.

Within walking distance of Ground Zero is the Delta Blues Museum, a museum dedicated to collecting, preserving, and raising public awareness of the blues. In addition to holding significant blues-related memorabilia, the museum also exhibits and collects art that depicts the blues tradition, including works by sculptor Floyd Shaman and photographer Birney Imes.
The museum is home to many artifacts related to the blues, most notably the cabin where blues legend Muddy Waters is said to have lived in his youth on Stovall Plantation, near Clarksdale. The museum has been visited by many notable artists, such as Eric Clapton and Paul Simon. Texas-based rock band ZZ Top, most notably frontman Billy Gibbons, has made this museum their favorite project, raising thousands of dollars in support. The museum also focuses on educating young people interested in learning to play musical instruments. Well worth a visit.

The next stop is in Leland, Mississippi, the town where Jim Henson is said to have lived. Jim Henson was the creator of the Muppets, Fraggle Rock, Sesame Street and most notably Kermit the Frog. In this town you can visit a small museum known as “Birthplace of Kermit”.

We drive on to the end point of this ride, Vicksburg in Mississippi. This city is historically a very important city, as it was here that The Siege of Vicksburg or the Battle of Vicksburg, the last major battle of the American Civil War, was fought.
In a series of brilliant maneuvers, Confederate General Ulysses S. Grant led his Army of the Tennessee across the Mississippi and imprisoned General John C. Pemberton's Confederate army in the defenses of the fortified city of Vicksburg.

After two attacks on the city on May 19 and 22, 1863, Grant laid siege to the city. Without reinforcements and with few supplies, the Confederate garrison lasted another forty days. The white flag was raised on July 4, 1863. The entire Mississippi River was now in Northern hands.
The surrender of Vicksburg and the defeat of Robert E. Lee at the Battle of Gettysburg are seen as the turning point in the war. The South was split into two parts after the loss of Vicksburg. The city of Vicksburg would not celebrate July 4 (the American Independence Day) for the next 80 years.

We drive through the Vicksburg National Military Park, where you will find next to the many monuments, remnants of the battlefield and the USS Cairo Museum and the remains of the USS Cairo, a gunship from the 19th century.
The USS Cairo, named in honor of the city of Illinois, was commissioned in January 1862. This powerful, ironclad 13-gun ship was part of a fleet of similar gunboats designed to help Union troops overcome Confederate opposition during the American Civil War.
But the Cairo was simply not destined to succeed in its mission, after less than a year in action, the boat was sunk by an electronically detonated torpedo just seven miles north of Vicksburg, Mississippi in the Yazoo River.

And there the Cairo remained until 1964, when it was salvaged. The original goal of lifting the boat out of the river without causing further damage was not achieved, but the boat was eventually recovered as best we could before being reconstructed, restored and moved to the Vicksburg National Military Park.

This popular Vicksburg attraction is well worth a visit and consists of two main sections: the museum and the gunboat itself. At the museum, visitors can view the various items recovered by boat, including:
Items used on board the gunboat include a safety lamp, fire hose nozzle and many more such as medical supplies such as ear syringes, medicine bottles and tourniquet clamps. But also stuff from the galley, kitchen utensils, plates, spice bottles and a jug. Also many personal belongings of those on board, ranging from shaving gear to leather shoes. Also pulleys, blacksmith tools and other tools and of course an assortment of weapons including muskets, 19th century pistols and much more.

In addition, visitors can view the reconstructed USS Cairo itself outside the museum. Although certain parts of the ship have been lost in the Yazoo, many original elements of the boat remain.

The Vicksburg National Military Park has so much to offer that an extra day in Vicksburg is definitely recommended, in the vicinity of the park there are several hotels to stay overnight.