Morning fog enhances all the odors nature has to offer. The road for the first leg of today’s journey followed the Leaf River toward Hattiesburg. It was foggy all the way and the smells of magnolias and dead things were amplified by the fog.

Once the sun cleared the fog, it was clear and hot. We passed the Mississippi Welcome Center at Vicksburg and could see it had a good view of the Mississippi, so we turned around and visited the overlook.

Vicksburg was under siege during the Civil War. That cannon is really big!

Of course the casino the big, modern day attraction.

The afternoon ride on I-20 was warm and typical for the super slab. The 75 mph speed limit in Texas is fine except when there is traffic; it takes some skill to keep from getting run down by the pick ups doing 80-85. Also, Texas is the land of highway alligators. Beth said she has never seen so many retread carcasses in one day. We also passed many new, enormous schools. No Texan gets left behind thanks to George W … By mid to late afternoon we decided to put on our wet vests and they worked very well. They kept us cool for the last couple of hours.

This evening we are in McKinney, TX. We rode 576 miles in 12 hours. For dinner we are going to try, “Hank’s” Texas barbecue next door.