Day 23 June 20

We left beautiful Vicksburg and continued to headed north passing through Memphis, Tennesee (home of the late, geat Elvis). We stopped for the night at a charming town, Cape Girardeau, on the Mississippi River.

The town is near the site of a French trading post established in the 1700’s when France still owned all of the vast territory surrounding the Mississippi River. The town later became a major port on the river during the period when paddle wheel steamers provided the main form of transportation west of the Alleghenies.  

We drove to a place near town called the Cape Rock, said to be the site that in about 1733 an adventuresome French soldier, Jean D. Girardot, established the trading post.  It is now a park and has a beautiful overlook of the river, now in full flood and swallowing up areas that would  normally be fields and wooded areas.  From the rocky bluff you can really see the fallen trees and other debris being swept down river. The flooding also continues to damage roads and port facilities along the river and many areas were closed to travel or were being repaired.

The town itself is a typical gorgeous river town: old shops, cafes and dock areas near the river with old houses surrounded by big trees and gardens on bluffs overlooking the twists and turns of the river. We drove around, enjoying the views. The town is protected by a tall concrete levee which unfortunately limits river views when actually next to the river.  The view has been improved by colorful portraits on a "Missouri Wall of Fame."

Hoping your views are beautiful,

Linda and Richard