Day 14 May 27 Wed

Started by driving to the Poverty Point State Historical Site about 13 miles away. This park is the reason we came to this area. It is one of the oldest and rarest prehistoric archeological sites in the US. Really fascinating and well done. It was a permanent settlement of about 3000 people on what was the Mississippi in 1700 BC! That's about the time of the pyramids for crying out loud. Very strange with 6 semi circles where houses were around a wide open plain. Outside the circle were mounds and the largest was in the shape of a bird. Took a tram ride to see it. Guide very good.

There is a wonderful museum and just can't believe the artifacts they have found including beads, dolls, tools, etc. No one knows why they picked this particular place but they know they were trading with others up and down the river. No evidence of crops etc. They were still hunters and gatherers. Such a large group to be in one place is strange. Needless to say there are a lot of unanswered questions. One theory is that it has something to do with the strange magnetic field patterns they have found and they are exploring that. Apparently they have found similar magnetic strangeness at other Indian mounds. Unfortunately a great deal was lost because the land was a plantation in the 1800s and they leveled some of the semicircular mounds, etc.

Then went into this little town Delhi. It's kind of like Dade City with antique shops and some posh stores, etc. Drugstore that was built in 1873 has an old soda fountain counter. We had lunch served by the young daughter of the owner who says her dad makes her and her sister work. This was the first day of her first summer job. Too cute with new braces and all. Jack had black walnut milkshake. Their claim to fame seems to be pickles- bread and butter. Fried pickles appetizer, chef salad covered with pickles, and pickles on my chicken salad sandwich. Very good but a little weird.

The other picture is of the water playground across from our rv site. It is so great. Every little park and camp should have one. Kids love it and I won't mind getting wet myself.