Natchez

French coloniser Jean Baptiste le Moyne established Fort Rosalie in 1716 at the site of the present day Natchez. Later the Spanish for a while occupied the area. The town’s heyday came in the 19th century, when cotton growing was a leading industry and Natchez was an important river port of the Mississippi River. Fortunes were made, and vast plantations with magnificent houses reflected the prosperity of the period. All the work on the plantations of course  was carried out by slaves.

I stayed at Natchez state park for two nights in a shaded spot. Another superbly laid out park where there was plenty of deserted road to bicycle on and places to hike. Each day I drove into Natchez to tour the city. An excellent visitors center - where I could sit and compose this Blog with high speed internet and air conditioning. It was about 33C outside.

Funny to see a whole lot of Canada Geese at the park and I encountered a tortoise when out on a bike ride. I saw a numbers of colorful birds including a red Northern Cardinal.