Watch out for the Plants in Mississippi!

Next stop on our way to Texas: Biloxi, Mississippi.  We stayed at Parkers Landing, just off of I-10, while we were there for 4 days.  Parkers Landing was very convenient to the interstate and we had a site at the end of the park with a view of Parker Creek, which was nice.  In a sign of the times, my initial impression of this park was a little negative as I was stressed that the park host wasn't wearing a mask when I went inside the office to check in.  However, after I got over my stress and looked around, the owners really have made an effort to beautify their park, with plants and decorations all around.  The sites did have cracking concrete pads and drainage issues, but overall the park was decent looking and we had full hookups, free cable, and free wi-fi.  The picnic tables at each site were brand new and they had fire extinguishers mounted at every other site - not sure if this was a local regulation or their own ingenuity.  We did note that the 'back' campground (there were two sections to the park) consisted of all waterfront properties and had a much nicer overall feel - but those sites were more expensive.

Campsite at Parkers Landing

This being our first ever stay in Mississippi, I got to add another sticker to our map!

Look at that Mississippi sticker!

Our first outing in the Biloxi area was the Mississippi Sandhill Crane National Wildlife Refuge.  The refuge itself is a decent size but it only has two short hikes available.  I was interested in the C.L. Dees Trail, which is known for its carnivorous plants.  It seems that we didn't go at the right time of year to see the plants in all their glory, but we saw several different species leftover from last season or in their early stages of growth this season.  The coolest thing was to look out on the fields filled with pitcher plants - I've never seen so many together, and I didn't know they grew as big as they do!

Dwarf Sundew

Pitcher Plants

Yellow Butterwort

I'm not sure how well it comes through, but all
the dark looking vertical lines in the field are
pitcher plants

Later on the Fontainebleau Trail

Driving around Biloxi, I realized that its main claim to fame must be its numerous casinos, many of which were right on the Gulf.  We wandered around the former site of the Palace Casino, the building for which was torn away in its entirety during Katrina and 'floated' about a half mile down the coast.  The destruction was remarkable - metal water and sewer pipes and electrical cables completely sheared off and concrete destroyed as the casino was ripped from its foundations.  Now the site is used by the locals for fishing, but we hear an outdoor music venue is slated for the area soon.

What remains of the old Palace Casino site

Our next major outing was to visit Beauvoir, the post-war home of Jefferson Davis.  There was a small museum and library on the site, but the most interesting part of our visit was an hour long private tour of the house itself (private because we were the only ones there in the middle of the day on a work day).  Hearing about the long history of the house, owners, and grounds (Davis was only there for a short bit of it) was fascinating - we had a great tour guide who was an amazing storyteller.  My favorite part of the house architecture was the way it was composed of 3 separate buildings joined at the corners by expansive porches - this way, every room of the house had two outside walls to generate a cross-breeze in the hot Mississippi heat.  Aside from the main entry hall, the house has no interior hallways.

Waiting on the front porch of Beauvoir for the tour to start

An old grandfather clock owned by 
Davis's father, who fought in 
the Revolutionary War, then by Davis
himself.  It still runs perfectly!

After Davis's death, the home and grounds became a rest 
home and hospital for Confederate veterans and their 
spouses.  There is a cemetery on site associated with the
soldiers' home.

And last but not least...well, maybe least...we stopped by the world's largest rocking chair!  This chair is 35' tall, constructed by the Dedeaux furniture company to mimic one of they make in their factory.  I suppose if you read the fine print it was the largest when constructed and now is only the third largest...but it was impressive nonetheless!

Huge Rocking Chair!