USS Cairo Museum

USS Cairo (pronounced Care-o) was named for Cairo, IL and commissioned on January 16,1862. On December 12,1862 in the Yazoo River north of Vicksburg. Cairo was struck by two underwater torpedoes(mines) sinking in less than 12 minutes with no loss of life.

Union ironclad commander Thomas O Selfridge, Jr.

Preserved by mud and silt, Cairo sat on the bottom of the Yazoo River for 102 years. It was raised in 1964 and later restored. This ironclad is the last remaining of its kind.

Vicksburg National Military Park

The campaign for Vicksburg is considered to have been the most critical campaign of the Civil War. The Union victory severed the Confederacy geographically and cut vital supply lines to the Confederate states and was important in bringing about the Confederacy's defeat.

Along the Union lines..

Vicksburg National Cemetery was established in 1866. There are nearly 17,000 Union soldiers buried here, about 13,000 are unknown. The cemetery is also the resting place for veterans of the Spanish-American War, World Wars I and II, and the Korean Conflict. It was closed to burials in 1961.

Vicksburg, MS...Day #1

Crossing the Mississippi River on I20 and entering Vicksburg...

Ameristar Casino's RV park is a good central location to stay and see the battlefield.

View from Ameristar Casino of Mississippi and I 20 bridge.

Historical homes in downtown Vicksburg..

Pembertons's Headquarters(Confederate General) during the siege of Vicksburg led by Union General U S Grant from May 23 to July 4, 1863.

Cedar Hill Cemetery, commonly known as City Cemetery, represent more than 150 years of history in Vicksburg.

This section of Cedar Hill Cemetery was established by the United Daughters of the Confederacy and contains the graves of 5,000 Confederate soldiers who died during the Siege of Vicksburg.

Heading East Across North Texas

Crossed Texas using Hwy 287 and 380....surprisingly these Hwys were 4 lane most of the way...

Had to have our favorite Whataburger in Cross Roads, TX(north of Dallas) along our 3 day trip through the state.

"On the Road" Colorado Springs, CO to Capulin, NM

We have started our major push back to the east coast, so Ted took a few shots as we were rolling south on  I25, then SE on NM 87

Downtown Pueblo, CO on I 25 a wind turbine came of it's trailer and all traffic was being diverted ...later we heard that I25 was later closed in both directions.

These were our neighbors during our stay at Capulin RV....Capulin volcano is in the background.

United States Air Force Academy Stay

After leaving Denver we spend a few days camped at the Famcamp on the Air Force Academy grounds.

Of course, one of the places we visited was the golf course. Ted hit some balls and took in the scenery...