DeSoto Magazine October 2016

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October CONTENTS 2016 • VOLUME 13 • NO. 10

features 48 Bass Pro’s Wildlife Museum Leading conservation venue set to open

62 Civil War Ghosts National sites filled with haunted tales

56 Oak Haven Forages Seeding Mississippi

departments 14 Living Well Get to rucking

44 A Day Away Little Rock, Arkansas

18 Notables America’s favorite fisherman, Bill Dance

46 Greaters Goods

24 Exploring Art Wolfe birds

70 Southern Harmony Listening to Lucero

28 Exploring Books Following a raindrop?

72 Table Talk The unique Rattlesnake Saloon

32 Into the Wild Mississippi’s Red Bluff

76 In Good Spirits Caramel apple martini

36 Exploring Cuisine Cooking with cactus

78 Exploring Events

40 Exploring Destinations Texas’ Enchanted Rock

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68 Homegrown A Wiser calling

80 Reflections The Great...Indoors?

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editor’s note } october

Out the Backdoor

Talking about the Great Outdoors is great until memories of chiggers, poison ivy and unexpected deluges cloud those misty-eyed conversations. I can’t help talking first this month about Adam’s Reflections piece which reminds us that nature rules--and usually leaves us laughing or crying in her wake.

If I’ve learned one thing in the 13 years working with DeSoto is that our readers love to share stories of outdoor adventures and travel. While some issues may stay closer to home, others carry us into the bigger world, maybe another state or even region as our readers cover the Southeast--and love to learn about new possibilities for exploration.

In her book “Roadtrip with a Raindrop” on page 28, Gayle Harper teaches us again that one crystallized curious moment can grow into a fullfledged adventure. From Minnesota to the Gulf, she follows a raindrop. Cool concept, huh?

Whirlwind travel writer Rebecca Bingham caught up with the man whom fish fear, Bill Dance, and what follows is an intriguing glimpse into his career and life.

Catch the story (excuse the pun), on page 18.

If climbing interests you, head to Texas where the Enchanted Rock affords a healthy hike and a glimpse over the vast Hill Country of Texas. Or closer to home, discover Mississippi’s own little grand canyon at Little Red Bluff. Located on private land, this interesting geologic formation can nonetheless be seen.

OCTOBER 2016 • Vol. 13 No.10

PUBLISHER & CREATIVE DIRECTOR Adam Mitchell

PUBLISHER & ADVERTISING DIRECTOR Paula Mitchell

EDITOR-AT-LARGE Karen Ott Mayer

ASSISTANT EDITOR Andrea Brown Ross

CONTRIBUTORS

Closer to my home, I had the pleasure of spending a morning with Steve Payne whose work is all about the outdoors, wildlife and habitat. More importantly, his efforts are ensuring the beneficial complex plant environments have a chance of surviving against the increasingly monocultures taking over our outdoors.

Nature is complex, and thankfully, will always outsmart man whose need to control or take lasts only as long as a lifetime.

This month, head out the backdoor and find your own piece of adventure. We might just pass you on the trail.

Stay safe and Happy Halloween!

Karen on the cover

Cooking cactus can be tricky! Use a pot holder and a sharp knife to scrape the cactus spines off the nopales (cactus paddles). The most desirable ones are small, bright green and firm. You can boil, grill or sauté the nopales, and use them in scrambled eggs, salsas, salads and stews.

Read more on page 36.

Photo courtesy of Norbert Bomm

Clint Kimberling J. Eric Eckard Jim Beaugez Andrea Brown Ross Chere Coen Rebecca Bingham Robin Gallaher Branch Charlene Oldham James Richardson Devin Greaney Adam Mitchell Jeanni Brosius K.C. Ervin

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by DeSoto Media Co. Parties i n t e re s t e d i n a d v e r t i s i n g s h o u l d email paula@desotomag.com or call 901-262-9887. Visit us online at desotomagazine.com.

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living well }

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rucking

Rucking it

By Andrea Brown Ross. Photography courtesy of goruck.com and itstactical.com

With the changing of the seasons, comes a good time to change up your typical fitness workout. With more moderate temperatures in the foreseeable forecast, an outdoor workout may be what you need to get out of a rut or simply enjoy the cooling temperatures. Rucking, a military inspired team sport, has been gaining momentum in the outdoor fitness craze. With outdoor obstacle racing perhaps at its peak in popularity, rucking makes a nice fit.

According to goruck.com, rucking is an active resistance training simply meaning “to put weight on your back and go for a walk.” Deriving from the military term for backpack, rucksacks are typically weighted down in gear.

In rucking events with civilian participants, weights could be a variety of items from sandbags to bricks to rucking plates.

Goruck.com contends that the physical benefits include “cardio because of your body’s movement over distance and strength because of the weight on your shoulders and back.” Rucking promotes individual fitness goals within a team setting.

Marine Corps veteran and Hernando Miss. resident, Jimmie Speck, began participating in rucking events three year ago.

“Rucking has what I consider the Crossfit mentality.

There is a sense of community with this form of fitness as we practice, train, and participate in events together.”

He explained the real point of rucking is to build camaraderie, self-confidence, and physical capability. “In the actual GORUCK events you may be given instructions to carry items for miles that one person couldn’t possibly do on their own. You have to come together as a team to effectively move that object as quickly as possible,” he continued.

Events are a led by a “cadre”. As Speck explained, “The Cadres are all former or current special forces operatives that are also combat veterans. They plan, run, and ensure the events are carried out in a safe manner. They are also diligent task masters who will force you to push your body beyond your own perceived limits.”

Teams can consist of up to 30 participants. Teams may be divided up to accomplish a particular goal given by the Cadre, but everyone who signs up is on the same team, explained Speck. If more than 30 people signed up for a DeSoto 17

challenge or event, additional Cadres are added as needed.

Events, or team challenges, are divided up into categories by the rucking weight and length of event. For example, the light challenge is six hours and covers approximately three miles. The tough challenge lasts 12 hours, and typically begins at 9 p.m. in the evening. The heavy challenge lasts 24 hours, and there is even an individual 48-hour rucking event considered one of the world’s hardest endurance events.

For those who find the idea of rucking for several hours a daunting task, it is adaptable for varying degrees of fitness. For those who may be just getting into shape, they may start out just walking. As they build core strength and stamina, weight and distance may be increased.

“I’ve seen people build their confidence as they meet their fitness goals through rucking. Many have noticed how quickly they have gained muscle, stamina, and their legs become rock hard, said Speck.

Additionally, the amount of weight you carry is based on what event you sign up for. You must finish with the same starting weight amount.

“Everyone carries weight, but since it is a team event, if you see a teammate struggling you can take on his ruck in addition to your own to give him a rest. It’s completely about being a team, and making sure everyone completes and meets the standard set by the Cadre,” elaborated Speck. To that point, there are no individual winners in rucking events or racing for the best time.

“It’s completely about being a team and how you overcome obstacles thrown at you by the Cadre, elements, and the team dynamic. It’s never about winning, but how you forge 18 DeSoto

a group of individuals into a cohesive team that will put the needs of the mission, or completing the event with everyone still standing, above personal needs. Sometimes that sacrifice means you are going to suffer and do things you never thought you were physically or mentally capable of,” said Speck.

A participant receives a patch representative of their specific challenge level. As Speck emphasized they can’t be bought, only earned. And perhaps the lessons learned in rucking can be applied to life.

“I personally train with increasing amounts of weights in my ruck and extra items like a log or heavy sandbag because just like in life, you never know what will be thrown at you.”

LIGHT CHALLENGE WEIGHT REQUIREMENT - Under 150lbs: 10lb sandbag / 2 wrapped Bricks / 10lb ruck plate - Over 150lbs: 20lb sandbag / 4 wrapped Bricks / 20lb ruck plate

TOUGH CHALLENGE WEIGHT REQUIREMENT - Under 150lbs: 20lb sandbag / 4 wrapped bricks / 20lb ruck plate - Over 150lbs: 30lb sandbag / 6 wrapped bricks / 30lb ruck plate

HEAVY CHALLENGE WEIGHT REQUIREMENT - Under 150lbs: 20lb sandbag / 4 wrapped bricks / 20lb ruck plate - Over 150lbs: 30lb sandbag / 6 wrapped bricks / 30lb ruck plate You can use bricks, sandbags or rucking plates.

From www.goruck.com

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notables } bill dance

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Bill and Dianne Dance

A young Bill Dance with his first bass

On the water with

Bill Dance

By Rebecca Bingham. Photography courtesy of Bill Dance

Bill Dance has earned plenty of bragging rights as a professional angler and television personality. But even after 46 years of continuous outdoor television programming, he consistently shares credit with his family and the team of professionals who make it all possible.

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Bill Dance with a large snook

“It all started in Lynchburg, Tenn., where I spent summers with my grandparents,” said Dance. “My grandfather Paul Dance first taught me to dabble a hook in Mulberry Creek.

I never imagined simple family fun would eventually lead to my dream of having a job in the fishing industry.”

Along with dreams of fishing, Dance dreamed of true love, which he found on a blind date set up by a mutual friend.

“From the minute I saw Dianne, I liked everything about her— mannerisms, looks, everything. It was all good, good, good, good, good! Fifty-five years of marriage later, she’s still that way, what I call a ‘step above.’ Almost every day, she talks to each of our children – Bill, Jr., Paul, Patrick and Pamela.”

Bill and Dianne’s marriage in 1961 coincided with the infancy of professional bass fishing tournaments a few years later. “With a lot of luck and hard work, I was fortunate enough to win more than a third of the first 15 tournaments I entered and placed in the top five in all the others. Recognition from that winning streak led to my first full-time position with a national lure manufacturer.”

Soon after Dance accepted the position, the bait company wanted him to expand their sales and marketing efforts by hosting a television fishing show. “I had grave reservations about my abilities in the areas of photography and post production, mostly because I had absolutely no experience,” he admitted. “Yet the idea of getting paid to fish on TV was 22 DeSoto

exciting beyond my wildest dreams. My wife is actually the one who encouraged me to take advantage of the opportunity. With her support, I dove into the task of finding a sponsor.”

Dance’s daily cold calls to area television producers led to a string of dead ends. “There were already a couple of fishing shows on the air, both of which were barely making it,” he recalled. “One TV guy I approached went so far as to say doing another fishing show was a dumb idea. I was quickly becoming discouraged, wondering if the critics were correct.”

Once again, Dianne fueled her husband’s dream.

“She reminded me it was easier to convince myself I couldn’t do it than to convince myself I could,” he said. “When I went to bed that night, I kept saying over and over to myself, ‘I can, I can; I will, I will.’”

The next morning, Bill awakened with renewed motivation. “Dianne said, ‘Isn’t ABC a sports-minded network?’

I agreed. And from there, I headed in a new direction with confidence. I decided I would not quit until I found someone receptive to my idea.”

The first person Dance went to see that day was Lance Russell, program director for the local ABC affiliate. “Lance had previously hosted a radio show in Jackson, Tenn., focused on local anglers and fishing conditions in area lakes. Since we had similar interests, I felt like he would be a good prospect for my idea. And I was right. He was interested. All I had to do was

come up with a sponsor and bring him a pilot episode.”

This time, Dance was not discouraged by his lack of expertise.

“I went and got some 16mm film and found an editor to show me what to do with the camera. Then I went to see Billy Woods, the sporting goods manager at Fabulous Surplus City, who agreed to sponsor the initial series. When I went back to Lance with the pilot and a sponsor, he gave the okay to get started. I was finally on my way.”

From a fledgling weekday latenight airing, Bill’s show soon moved to a more popular weekend slot in the Memphis market, 52 weeks a year. “We were beginning to find out there are a lot of folks interested in fishing. That’s when I got a call from the ABC affiliate in Jackson, Miss. They wanted me to produce a show once a week in their area.”

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and big sponsors followed. “We soon added WBRR, Channel 2 in Baton Rouge, La., sponsored by a big Ford dealership. Then came the ABC affiliate in Paducah, Ky., sponsored by J.C. Penney. I was crazy busy with work, doing 52 shows a year in four separate markets – 208 individual shows! Add to that, fishing tournaments, fishing with writers and buyers, as well as making appearances at fishing trade shows and keeping all the sponsors happy, which is always a priority.”

After more than a decade of local and regional programming, Dance’s show moved to The Nashville Network (TNN) in the 1980s. “Through the superb efforts of many talented people, we hit a home run with national exposure. Before long, we picked up Walmart, Chevrolet and Mercury Marine as sponsors.”

Bill Dance Outdoors now airs all year on the Outdoor Channel; Bill Dance Saltwater, on the Sportsman Channel. More than 2,000 episodes make up the show archives, including 36 educational videos and a 12-segment DVD series on a variety of subjects. His popular “Bloopers” shows – hilarious outtakes from actual filming – have aired around the world. And their social media audiences on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and YouTube total more than one million fans.

“ N o t m a n y p e o p l e h av e the privilege to turn a hobby into a profession,” says Dance. “But you’re only as good as the people you work with, and they deserve a lot of the credit.

People like Leslie Finney, my assistant of 12 years; Shane Bell, producer and chief editor, 23 years; camera operators Pete McClure, 30 years, and Timmy Gooden, 22 years; secretary/treasurer Don Holmes, 30 years, and my son, Bill, Jr, 27 years.”

“I’m especially grateful for my wife, who knows the mind is a powerful thing,” Bill said. “She elevated my ‘I can’t’ to ‘I can.’ Thanks to everyone else who continues to help us, my job still doesn’t seem like work. This is the only life I know, and I wouldn’t trade it for anything”.

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exploring art } wolfe birds

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For the Birds

By Cheré Coen. Photography courtesy of Wolfe Birds and The Square Cupboard

Sometimes the least expected career path falls into your lap. Such was the case of artists Karl and Mildred Nungester Wolfe when they were given a small electric kiln by Karl’s sister who dabbled in ceramics.

The Wolfes had opened a gallery and studio in Jackson, Mississippi in 1946 to sell their paintings, said Elizabeth (Bebe) Wolfe, their daughter.

“They were both fine artists, painters,” she said.

But once they received the kiln, they began experimenting with ceramics, first using clay from the underbelly of their gravel driveway. When that clay shrunk and cracked, they moved to a more sophisticated material, making vessels and jars with lids.

“One of the jars had a bird on the lid and people went crazy for the birds,” Wolfe explained.

From the 1950s until today, the Wolfe Studio in Jackson has been producing slip cast ceramic birds, known as Wolfe Birds, plus nativity figures, a few other animals such as rabbits, and decorative plaques, jars and mosaics. In addition, they sell prints by Wolfe artists, including the founders.

In 2009, the studio received the Governor’s Award for

Artistic Excellence in Visual Arts in recognition of Karl and Mildred Wolfe’s lifetime of work, their artistic influence in the community and the longevity of their artwork.

“It was something that they fell into,” Wolfe said of her parents creating the ceramic birds. “It was kind of an accident that they hit upon the birds.”

Wolfe Studio today

Following family tradition, Bebe Wolfe chose the artistic life, attending the Portland School of Art in Portland, Maine, and receiving a BFA in painting. As a child her parents enlisted her help in the gallery as both an education and to keep her occupied, she said, and her love of art remained.

After her father’s death in 1984, she moved back to Jackson with her husband, David Weidemann, to help Mildred Wolfe with the studio business. Mildred Wolfe continued to paint and work until her later years.

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“She was still painting until she was 90,” Wolfe said.

The Wolfe Studio, where Bebe Wolfe was reared, is situated on a pristine piece of property, now on the frontage road of Interstate 55, near Meadowbrook Road.

“It’s like inheriting a family farm,” Wolfe said. “It’s a beautiful place to live. It’s a fortunate piece of geography.”

The couple later purchased the adjoining property and expanded the business.

“My husband and I made a bigger business of the ceramics and now we have 10 people working for us,” she said. “It’s a nice little creative endeavor. And unusual.”

What may look like an assembly line production, the Wolfe Birds are quite the opposite. There’s lots of experimentation involved, Wolfe insists.

“Every time we fire the kiln something of interest will be in it,” she explained. “The results are a pretty wonderful product.”

Each bird is created from the original cast and hand-glazed but the coloration varies according to the whim of the artist. While birds purchased online will adhere to a standard, — Wolfe explained the product must look like its website photo — there’s more variety in the artwork offered for sale in the gallery.

“In the studio, everything’s much more varied,” she said.

Wolfe can’t say enough about the artists who work for her, many of whom hail from Jackson schools, including the Power Academic & Performing Arts Complex (APAC), a public school that emphasizes arts education.

“It’s really a collective effort,” she said of her work with the studio artists. “It’s not just my doing. I really value and am amazed at the ability and the creativity of the people who work for me. It’s a wonderful thing.”

For more information and to order artwork from Wolfe Studio, visit thewolfestudio.com

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exploring books } roadtrip with a raindrop

An Iowa cornfield under a painterly sky

Houmas House Plantation Mansion in Louisiana

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The 90th sunrise – the last day of the journey at Venice, Louisiana

Following a Raindrop

By Robin Gallaher Branch. Photography courtesy of Gayle Harper

A good story starts with a journey, leads to adventures, and changes the adventurer. Gayle Harper’s award-winning book combines all three.

“Roadtrip with a Raindrop: 90 Days Along the Mississippi River” takes a reader from the Mississippi’s headwaters at Lake Itasca, Minnesota, to its mouth in Venice, Louisiana, 2,400 miles downstream. Her parallel journey on the Great River Road, a national scenic byway, sliced America in two and switchbacked across 10 states.

The trip began as a challenge. Harper read on the National Park Service’s website that a drop falling into the Mississippi’s headwaters would reach the Gulf of Mexico in 90 days.

“Every cell in my body felt the impact of that and came to full attention,” Harper wrote. She knew she would make that 90-day trek, although she didn’t know how it would happen. Blocking a route, she calculated a raindrop would travel roughly 26 river miles daily. She wrote chambers of commerce explaining her vision, providing her website, and asking for lodging.

Her background helped; Harper is an accomplished

travel writer and photographer with 24 years of experience.

The response was abundant, gracious, excited. “I had more than I needed!” Harper exclaimed. The chambers asked for her requirements. She replied, “Clean sheets and Internet access.” They invariably arranged lodgings reflecting local charm. Harper had ready welcome mats and instant friends who shared their love for the River that shapes their lives.

She named that raindrop Serendipity. It gracefully punctuates the book’s 55 vignettes like an exclamation point.

The vignettes, containing pictures of people and the River, highlight stopping points along her way.

The cover shows the River near Helena, Arkansas, on a cold morning. Harper had left a comfy bed and breakfast filled with the aroma of baking cinnamon rolls. She chose, as usual, a back road winding its return to the River, and saw a regal, single tree blanketed by purplish ground cover, robed in gray mist like an ermine cape, and attended by a tree whose orange top proclaimed the upcoming fall. Harper snapped, DeSoto 31

Effigy Mounds National Monument – Harpers Ferry, IA

knowing that in less than two minutes the dawn’s brightness would burn away such foggy beauty.

Her trip began August 24, 2010 with the sighting of a black Timber Wolf in Itasca State Park. “He does not move,” she wrote. “He stands erect, watching me, fearlessly. I freeze, locked in his gaze, holding my breath. I feel him. I feel his wildness, his lithe, fierce grace and his dominion in this wooded kingdom.” A backwoods guide took this rare sighting as a good omen for her journey. Harper agreed.

Her trip ended November 24, 2010 while watching the marriage of the waters of the River and the Gulf. Describing the River’s force she wrote, “Only we humans have the capacity to struggle against the current, to make life harder than it is meant to be. When we loosen our grip, even for a second, on our notion of how things ought to be, then lo and behold, our damn feet bob right to the surface and we find ourselves in the flow of life.”

In between those dates she obeyed the River’s route. Her blog attracted 20,000 faithful. She captured the River’s morning blueness in Prescott, Wisconsin; its oranges in a stupendous sunset near New Madrid, Missouri.

Her camera honored the Mississippi River Arch at St. Louis; a sunset framed by cypress trees near Tiptonville, Tennessee; a barge pushing 36 containers in the River’s wideness near West Feliciana Parish, Louisiana.

Her pen, meanwhile, warmly chronicled new friendships, making them become a reader’s friend, too. She investigated back roads on whims that turned out to be guidance. She saw horses frolicking and a woman laughing as she endearingly stroked their ears and kissed their noses. “Come on in—they love company,” the woman named Lisa Aragon called, explaining that Tanner and Musta were “just big spoiled pets.” Harper steadied her camera and tried not to be trampled as she photographed the romp.

Locals frequently invited Harper to destination eateries fondly known as greasy spoons. One diner, Doe’s Eat Place in Greenville, Mississippi, is painted white and has limited parking but lots of heritage. Its current owner, Baby Doe, seemed to live over a fiery broiler cooking countless massive steaks. Harper learned that “Baby 32 DeSoto

Doe took over from his Daddy, ‘Doe Junior,’ who replaced his Daddy, ‘Big Doe,’ who started it all in 1941.”

While sharing a long table with new friends, Harper listened and laughed.

Reflecting on her evening she wrote, “Conversation is an art form in the South, a bit like music. When a friend joins a group, he or she is granted the stage for a time and allowed a brief solo, before the others resume.”

Positive feedback abounds for Roadtrip and Harper; she now writes for National Geographic’s Travel Planning website. Winner of four awards including the Clarion Award from the National Association of Women in Communications, Roadtrip is enjoyed in various ways. A woman shared, “I was reading your book and you made me miss church!” Another reads a vignette to her husband before bed.

Harper and Serendipity maintain their River connection. They are guest artists/ presenters on the American Queen Steamboat’s Mississippi cruise for October and were for its August and September cruises, too. www.gayleharper.com

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into the wild } red bluff

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Mississippi’s Little

Grand Canyon

By Robin Gallaher Branch. Photography courtesy of Chase Ladner

“Red Bluff matches any beauty that I have seen in the United States!” exclaimed Stan Galicki. That amazing statement comes from someone well qualified to say it, for Galicki is professor of geology at Millsaps College.

“It’s breathtaking,” Galicki continued. “Its beauty is taken from the perspective of looking down. The colors go from yellow to orange to red to purple. Everything is colored and weathered.” Rolling knolls of pine frame the vista in green.

Locals fondly call Red Bluff, located off MS 587 near Columbia, the “Little Grand Canyon of Mississippi”. Galicki and his colleague, Darrel Schmitz, likewise a professor of geology but at Mississippi State University, have written a book due out in October and sure to become a handbook for day trips to Mississippi’s scenic sites. Called Roadside Geology of Mississippi (Mountain Press, 2016), the book provides maps, drawings, and geological information on roughly 30 sites throughout the Magnolia State; it includes Red Bluff. The authors relate, in layman’s language, the underpinnings of the fascinating, large area that mockingbirds call home.

Schmitz agreed with Galicki’s exuberance regarding Red Bluff but stated it differently: “Red Bluff is certainly the most spectacular exposure of the earth in Mississippi because of its size and the colors on the bluff’s wall.”

“Red Bluff is approximately 100 feet deep, one quarter to one half mile wide at the top, and one half to three-quarters mile long along the rim at the top,” Schmitz said.

Galicki took photographs this spring of Red Bluff from the top of the bluff looking down. Because Red Bluff is private property, he did not venture down to the base of the gully. “It’s possible to view Red Bluff from a north and south perspective after a short walk from your car,” he said. ”I prefer the northern perspective, but that’s just me. If you drive there, I would suggest viewing it from both vistas.”

Since the bluff faces northeast, “the pattern of the erosion advances toward the southwest,” Galicki added.

From a geologic perspective what’s been happening is, “ground water activity goes down the bluff and sloughs off sand,” Schmitz said. Iron is one of the soil’s minerals. The water, air, and sand oxidize the iron; oxidation produces the bluff’s stupendous colors.

Looked at another way, gravity wins. “The slope is literally falling apart,” Galicki said. That means footing is precarious and exploration dangerous. Furthermore, the land is private and footpaths are not maintained.

Brenda Pounds, co-owner with her husband Paul of Corner Oaks, a lovely bed and breakfast in Columbia, recalls childhood excursions to Red Bluff. “I grew up here,” she said.

“I remember when families would go out there on picnics and the children would slide down the gullies. It was safe then; I wouldn’t recommend it now.”

The children undoubtedly liked the adventure of exploring the ravine with its streams and nearby Pearl River and railroad track. “It was cooler down there,” Pounds smiled.

The bluff is part of the Citronelle Formation, a geologic unit of sands and gravels. “Because of this formation and its makeup, it can be eroded. The Pearl River is an eroding agent on the west valley wall, which is a steep wall. When you add water to a steep slope, the slope tends to fail,” Schmitz said. In addition, springs discharge ground water at the bluff’s base.

The exposed area contains escarpments, changes in the terrain that separate land areas of different heights.

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containing more iron pigment. The bluff’s yellows mean that “there is not as much iron in that zone,” Schmitz said.

Schmitz continued sharing geologic information. The Citronelle Formation, present in the southern areas of the state mainly south of I-20, deposited sand and gravel from ancient streams some two and a half to three and a half million years ago. “What we know now is the state of Mississippi eventually filled in with sediment over millions of years,” he said.

Galicki has no idea how long the erosion at Red Bluff has been going on.

However, it has been progressive, because MS 587 had to be moved several years ago because of erosion along the bluff’s rim. The new MS 587 loops away from Red Bluff.

“It’s pretty obvious where to park and where to go to look,” Galicki said.

Ann Atkinson Simmons, past president of the Mississippi State Historical Society and past president of the Marion County Historical Society, said that Red Bluff is on private land owned by three owners.

“We’re in the preliminary stages, again, of working to get the bluff into public hands. Once it’s fixed up, it will be a great destination,” Simmons said. She indicated that previous efforts were not successful. Plans include parking, a scenic overlook, a picnic area, public facilities, and hiking and repelling opportunities. “It’s an extraordinary, natural site,” she said.

Schmitz provided a last thought.

Granted, Vicksburg and Natchez promote their famous bluffs, and even nearby Memphis calls itself the Bluff City, “but Red Bluff is unique in Mississippi.”

Directions: From the junction of MS 44 and MS 587 just west of Morgantown, MS, take MS 587 1.5 miles north to the southern entrance point for Red Bluff.

A sign alerts people that Red Bluff is on old MS 587. The northern entrance (old MS 587) is three-quarters of a mile down the road.

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exploring cuisine } cooking cactus

Fried cactus tacos

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Ensalada de Nopal

Cooking with Cactus

By Charlene Oldham. Photography courtesy of latinofoodie.com

As an indigenous plant that can survive in hot, dry conditions, cactus served as a staple for the early natives in many parts of Americas long before the first Europeans arrived. Over the centuries the plant has evolved and can now be found as an ingredient in everything from margaritas to migas on an increasing number of menus well outside Mexico and the U.S. Southwest.

Cooking with cactus can present a prickly puzzle for chefs who’ve never worked with it before, but those who have used everything from the green paddle to the prickly pear say there’s no reason to shy away from the surprisingly accessible ingredient that even comes in a jar. Shoppers can find jars of the cooked, sliced green parts of the cactus – nopales or nopalitos in Spanish – in Mexican markets, international grocers or online.

“I think for people who are looking for the fastest, easiest thing or are just curious about how it tastes, that would be the quickest way to get to know cactus. I like to use it as a topping for tacos or you can chop it up and cook it with eggs,” said Lesley Téllez, author of “Eat Mexico: Recipes from Mexico City’s Streets, Markets & Fondas.”

Likewise, home cooks can also order prickly pear pureés, cocktail mixes and syrups made from the colorful fruits – or tunas, in Spanish – of many Opuntia cactus varieties. And,

given that grocers are increasingly selling the fruits in stores, making a simple syrup at home is also easy once careful cooks remove the small, hair-like spines called glochids, said Joy Harris, author of “A Culinary History of Florida: Prickly Pears, Datil Peppers & Key Limes.” Some cooks simply peel the fruit, but Harris likes to char hers first to remove glochids, wearing gloves to protect her hands during prep.

After holding them over a flame, using tongs to singe them, Harris slices through the skin and pulls it off the fruit.

She then presses the pulp through a sieve to remove the seeds, boiling the resulting prickly pear juice down, stirring in a little lemon juice and honey, to taste.

“You can play around with it,” said Harris, who has used the syrup as a drizzle for meats and a mixer in a simple vodka martini. “If you want to make a jelly or jam, you can go from there.”

Prickly pear cocktails are also making their way onto DeSoto 39

more restaurant menus, with The Hyppo Gourmet Ice Pops shops, based in Florida, even offering Prickly Pear Margarita pops as one of its seasonal flavors.

On the savory side, cooks who want to try fresh cactus paddles can also find them in a number of grocery stores as Latinos settle in more parts of the country and home cooks of all ethnicities look to expand their repertoire of recipes. Shoppers should buy paddles, which many say taste like a cross between okra and green beans, that are firm, not floppy or soft. When they are available, Téllez also opts for smaller paddles, which are considered more tender.

If they have already been cleaned, use the paddles as soon as possible since they will turn brown fairly fast in the refrigerator. If they aren’t cleaned, cooks should protect their hands, cut off the outer edges of the paddle and scrape off the rest with a sharp knife before trimming off the base of the paddle.

From there, paddles can be boiled, grilled or used raw in juices. To grill them, Téllez scores them to allow the slime – reminiscent of okra -- to ooze out during cooking, tosses them with a little olive oil, salt and pepper, and heats them whole in a cast iron skillet over medium or medium-high heat until they have some nicely browned spots on both sides.

“I will eat them just like that as a side vegetable,” she said. “For millions of people in central Mexico, it’s … one of the main vegetables they would eat on a daily basis.”

Her book includes more involved recipes that incorporate cactus paddles into a fajita filling or uses them as a base for a topping of refried beans, vegetables and cheese, toasted under a broiler until the cheese is golden brown and bubbly.

So, rather than being viewed as a daunting delicacy, cactus paddles and fruits are one of many versatile foods available for those looking to expand their culinary horizons.

“I think there are so many great ingredients to be found at Mexican markets that people may not know about,” Téllez said. “It’s worth going, exploring and trying something new.”

Get a great recipe for an Ensalada de Nopal (Cactus Salad) on our website.

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exploring destinations } enchanted rock

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The

Big Rock of Texas

By James Richardson. Photography courtesy of James Richardson and Adam Mitchell

There are many reasons to visit the Texas Hill Country. One reason is to see the bluebonnets which are primarily viewable in the spring. But the Enchanted Rock State Natural Area is there every season, looming large above the rest of the surrounding Texas Hill Country. The park is about 17 miles north of the city of Fredericksburg and 23 miles south of the city of Llano.

According to Scott Whitener, a park ranger in charge of interpretation, resource management, and volunteer coordination, the park contains 1,643.5 acres, and is “a batholith made of Town Mountain Granite covering over 100 square miles. Much of the granite is covered up by vegetation, but the exposed part of the granite is what is known as Enchanted Rock State Natural Area.” The huge granite formation is thought to be the second largest in size only to Georgia’s Stone Mountain and rises approximately 425 feet above the surrounding terrain.

As with most geologic features in the U.S., Indian legends contributed largely to the tales about the Rock. Indian lore told of groans emanating from the Rock on cool nights and of seeing flames on the surface following a rain.

According to the Texas State Historical Association website, “Scientists have since theorized that the glittering is caused either by water trapped in indentations in the rock’s surface or by the moon reflecting off wet feldspar, and the

creaking noises by contraction of the rock’s outer surface as it cools.”

Several legends involved Enchanted Rock. Two of the stories involving Enchanted Rock were recounted on the TexasHillCountry.com website. One spoke of a young Spanish soldier, Don Jesús Navarro, and his rescue of an Indian maiden named Rosa, who was kidnaped by Comanches with the intent to sacrifice her to the spirits of Enchanted Rock. Her rescuer followed them and managed to rescue her just before she was burned at the stake. The tale professes the two lovers’ souls still remain on the highest point of the rock today.

Another legend told of an Indian princess that threw herself off the top of the rock when she saw her tribe being slaughtered by other Indians. Now, her spirit is said to haunt Enchanted Rock.

So much for legends.

Rock climbing and rappelling, hiking, primitive and DeSoto 43

tent camping, bird watching, nature study, and picnicking are the major activities at Enchanted Rock these days. Those on the rock are obviously the main attractions for visitors. Rock climbers must check in at park headquarters where route maps and climbing rules are available. There are several trails in the park. A four-mile Loop Trail circles the Rock and winds around granite formations and the Summit Trail rises 425 feet over six tenths of a mile to the top of the dome where good views are guaranteed.

There will not be many large critters on the Rock... except human. Maybe a few lizards. An occasional armadillo or squirrel. More will frequent the trees and brush at the rock’s base. Birders will find plenty of activity on and around the granite dome. A bird list is available at the park headquarters.

Another credential added to the park’s list of things to do is star gazing.

Whitener added, “We went through the process of becoming an International Dark Sky Park. That is, we want to preserve the astronomical view shed, a.k.a., the night sky.”

Fees are $7.00 per person per day for entry into the park. Children 12 and under are admitted free of charge. Tent camping sites are $17.00 per night and primitive camping sites are $14.00. Only primitive and tent camping is allowed at the park. It is “walk-in” tent camping. Tenters must carry their equipment a short distance from the parking area. Backpackers have three 20-acre areas with 60 sites for primitive camping. They must also carry their water in and their trash out. Most of the primitive sites are located behind Enchanted Rock and can only be reached by trail where no vehicular traffic is permitted. Only four people are allowed in each primitive camping site and up to eight people can camp in the tent area. The camping fees are in addition to the entrance fees.

Enchanted Rock is a very popular destination on weekends. Whitener stated the park visitation for this year was 340,000.

The park can get so crowded during the summer months that rangers must close the parking area temporarily. It is recommended to arrive before ten in the morning to avoid the crowds. The rangers will open the parking area usually within a couple of hours to allow other visitors to enter.

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a day away } little rock, arkansas

Little Rock, Ark. 9:00 Start the day off at award-winni ng C ommunity Bakery on South Main Street in Downtown. Savor a hot cup of coffee alongside assorted donuts, croissants, bagels and danish, baked on-site daily.

10:00 Tour the C linton Presidential Library. Enjoy a self-guided look back at the C linton presidency from the Inauguration to life in the White House. Highlights include the Presidential limousine, State events and the early years.

12:00 Head over to the River Market District for lunch and shopping. The popular destination includes an outdoor farmer’s market and indoor market featuring tons of different culinary delights from fresh sushi and artisan breads, to mexican and asian cuisine. Walk across the street to the park along the river and enjoy a picnic with a view.

2:00 After lunch walk through the Vogel Schwartz Sculpture Garden along the banks of the Arkansas River. View over 70 beautiful sculptures placed along walking trails.

3:30 Head down Kavanaugh Blvd. to The Heights, a quaint neighborhood known for upscale shops, art galleries and fine dining. Take a break from shopping at Cupcakes. Flavors like the Margarita, Razorback Red Velvet and Lemon Drop are almost too beautiful to eat!

6:00 Bruno’s Little Italy on Main Street downtown is the perfect ending to the day. Established in 1949, it’s one of Little Rock’s oldest authentic Italian eateries.

Each dish is made to order, so sample the toasted ravioli, housemaid bread or assorted antipasto while you wait.

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For more information: littlerock.com communitybakery.com clintonlibrary.gov rivermarket.info sculptureattherivermarket.com intheheightslr.com eatacupcake.com brunoslittleitaly.com

Upcoming Events: Arkansas State Fair October 14 - 23 Bill Clinton Presidential Library Fair Grounds 2600 Howard Street Downtown Little Rock The Arkansas State Fair provides many different venues for entertainment and education for the citizens of Arkansas. Visit arkansasstatefair.com for more information and musical lineup.

Holiday House November 10 - 12 Statehouse Convention Center 101 East Markham Street River Market District Holiday House is the highlight of the holiday shopping season in central Arkansas. The 26th annual three-day shopping extravaganza will offer more than 180 specialty merchants from across the United States. For more information visit wwwjllr.org.

Arkansas Remembers Pearl Harbor: 75th Anniversary December 5 - 11 Arkansas Inland Maritime Museum 120 Riverfront Park Drive North Little Rock The tugboat Hoga, which fought fires for 72 continuous hours on Battleship Row and is the last floating Navy vessel that was present in Pearl Harbor during the attack, will be available for public viewing from the outside.

The submarine Razorback will be open for free self-guided tours. Various museums and organizations in central Arkansas will be hosting events in relation to the Pearl Harbor attack and World War II history.

Visit AIMMuseum.org or visit the Arkansas Inland Maritime Museum Facebook page for more information.

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greater goods } fall decor

Fall Decor 1

2

3

4

5

6

1. Happy Fall Yall door sign, $40, The Blue Olive, 210 E Commerce St # 4, Hernando, MS 2. Entertaining for the holidays, Towel $12,/candle $13/art $16, Merry Magnolia, 194 E Military Rd., Marion, AR 3. Etta B Fall Pottery Collection, Paisley Pineapple, 6542 Goodman Road, Suite 115, Olive Branch, MS 4. Wooden Pumpkins $24/$26, Cynthia’s Boutique, 2529 Caffey Street, Hernando, MS 5. Fall scented Woodwick candles, Bon Von, 214 W Center Street, Hernando, MS 6. Seagrass green twill pupkins, $40, The Wooden Door, 2521 Caffey Street, Hernando, MS

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greater goods } on the trail

On the Trail 1

2

3

4

5

1. Kavu packs and slings, $35-$50, The Bunker Boutiue, 2631 McIngvale Suite #106, Hernando, MS 2. Yeti products, $25-60, The Blue Olive, 210 E Commerce St # 4, Hernando, MS 3. Patagonia backpacks, $50-$120, SoCo, 300 W Commerce Street, Hernando, MS 4. Corkcicle canteens, $28, The Pink Zinnia, 134 West Commerce Street, Hernando, MS 5. Danner Mountain 600 Waterproof Hiking Shoes for Men, $180, Bass Pro Shops, 1 Bass Pro Drive, Memphis, TN

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50 DeSoto

A Wild Wonder

By Clint Kimberling. Photography courtesy of Bass Pro Shops

Theodore Roosevelt, the 26th President and well-known conservationist, once instructed us to cherish the natural wonders and resources of our country. This is a sentiment and tradition that John Morris, the founder of Bass Pro Shops, takes to heart. Morris is a leading conservationist himself, and his latest endeavor represents his belief in real terms.

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Savannah Lion

Opening soon in Springfield, Missouri, The Wonders of Wildlife National Museum and Aquarium, will stand as a monument to conservation, celebrating the critical role that responsible hunters and anglers play in conserving the wilderness. The planned attraction will be elaborate and unlike anything else in the world.

The Wonders of Wildlife will be located next to Bass Pro Shops’ flagship store—the largest Bass Pro Shop in the world— making it a world-class attraction for sportsmen and outdoor enthusiasts. Wonders of Wildlife will be a 315,000-square-foot conservation capital that will feature multiple attractions and exhibits, as well as an aquarium, natural history museum, and halls of fame all allowing visitors to engage with several aspects of wilderness under one roof.

This museum is a natural extension of the Bass Pro Shops brand—a company who has long been committed to preserving natural resources and the principles of 52 DeSoto

conservation. As a strong supporter of environmental and habitat conservation organizations, Bass Pro has often been recognized for its conservation initiatives. And now, the Johnny Morris Foundation continues that work with a one-of-its-kind conservation landmark.

Bob Ziehmer was recently named Senior Director of Conservation and lead director of the Johnny Morris Foundation. Ziehmer’s new post seems a natural progression for his career. Ziehmer grew up in Central Missouri, hunting small game and fishing in the Missouri River and he brings over 25 years of conservation experience to this role.

These days he spends a lot of time thinking about our natural resources and the ways we interact with them. “I want to know how we can enhance the quality of life that these resources provide. And, on any given day, how we can manage them.”

Ziehmer is perhaps more excited than anyone about

the museum. “Wonders of Wildlife is a celebration of 80 years of conservation success. Visitors will be able to experience the success and history of conservationists throughout history and will see, up close, where hunters and anglers invested.”

He continued. “This is the result of a vision that John Morris had. At the core, this is an education endeavor. He wanted people to learn firsthand about the impact that we can all have.”

Wonders of Wildlife will exist on a scale that is previously unseen and will feature multiple attractions, exhibits and interactive displays. Ziehmer says there’s no harm in learning “in an over-the-top, family friendly and awe-inspiring way.”

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2015 Conservation Summit

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Calling the Wonders of Wildlife water exhibit an aquarium probably undersells it a bit. This section boasts a 1.3 million gallon aquarium with 35,000 species represented including live fish, mammals, reptiles, and birds. Visitors will be completely immersed in the exhibit as they are taken on an elaborate trail system that winds around marine habitats including coral reefs, underwater caves, rainforests and swamps. Visitors will get a hands-on look at a variety sea creatures including sharks, rays, jellyfish, and eels.

The museum section will be just as impressive and features several spectacular exhibitions. For example, Fishing Heritage Hall is another water installation featuring a 300,000 gallon “open ocean” habitat that pays homage to angling. Also on display is a legendary collection of boats, including the very first Tracker boat (first introduced by Bass Pro in 1978) as well as boats used by celebrity anglers Jimmy Buffet and Ernest Hemingway.

The Hunting Heritage Hall is a 50,000 square-foot showcase that features recreations of lifelike environments including 4D animal diorama displays, real foliage and waterfalls as well as lighting, sound, wind, and temperature variations that mimic the habitats of the animals being displayed.

Ziehmer notes museum goers will walk a winding path over a mile in length that allows them to experience a trip around the globe. “They will move from the Arctic to Africa and walk right into a re-created habitat including smells and temperatures of those areas. It’s a very engaging experience.”

Another standout feature is the King of Bucks display which is the largest collection of trophy white-tailed deer in the world. There will also be displays from leading conservation groups such as Ducks Unlimited, Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation, and national Wild Turkey Federation.

Boone and Crockett Club’s National Collection of Heads and Horns will also be relocated to Wonders of Wildlife. Boone and Crockett Club, founded

by Theodore Roosevelt and first debuted in 1922, will feature more than 40 North American big game mammals. With this addition, guests can see bears, bison, caribou, elk, and walrus, many of which were world record sizes at the time of capture.

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Shipwreck Reef

Northern Lights

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If you still have time, you can visit The International Fishing Hall of Fame, National Archery Hall of Fame, and The NRA National Sporting Arms Museum all of which are all being relocated to Wonders of Wildlife.

“The collections and Hall of Fames are a natural for Wonders of Wildlife and a great addition because it brings it altogether for our visitors, allowing them to see so many different things in one visit.”

As one of Springfield’s most prominent corporate citizens, Bass Pro Shops maintains a close, mutually supportive relationship with the city of its birth. Susan Wade of the Springfield Convention and Visitors Bureau notes that the mood around town is one of eager anticipation. “We’re on the edge of our seats waiting for the opening.”

She added, “The outdoors are an important part of the culture in the city. You don’t have to drive very far to be hunting and fishing in the Ozarks. So, Bass Pro provides a great place for conservationminded people to get what they need, as well as learn.”

All of the exhibits and attractions are geared for family fun and the goal is to have a good time. But Ziehmer reminds that it is important to keep in mind the overall message of conservation.

“Overall, we have a goal of increasing knowledge and action. To show the world how important these resources are.

I hope the museum and aquarium inspires all visitors to action. To have them say, ‘I want to be part of this in my own way.’”

“Wonders of Wildlife is a celebration of 80 years of conservation success.

Visitors will be able to experience the success and history of conservationists throughout history and will see, up close, where hunters and anglers invested.”

Bob Ziehmer, Senior Director of Conservation and Lead Director of the Johnny Morris Foundation

The museum is set to open in late 2016. Visit www.wondersofwildlife. org for updates and information.

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Wildlife Biologist, Steve Payne

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Mississippi’s

Seed Man Story and Photography by Karen Ott Mayer

When wildlife biologist Steve Payne walks into a Mississippi field in late summer, an original conversation unfolds. While landowners may talk only of bush hogging or spraying weeds, Payne’s conversation reflects a deep knowledge and understanding of plants, ecosystems and land management that have driven his personal philosophy and commercial work through Oak Haven Forages for the last 20 years.

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As a professional wildlife consultant and wildlife habitat manager, Payne serves as a published and speaking voice across the state and region.

Raised on family land just east of Senatobia, Miss., Payne now walks these same fields where bidens, ironweed and wild soybeans grow.

“My grandmother was a biology teacher in the area and lived to be 102. She died in the farmhouse here,” he said. Influenced through those tender years by her words and wisdom, Payne says he clearly remembers the many times she’d walk a field, identifying plants.

Today, he carries on her tradition not as some piein-the-sky naturalist, but as a man of science who works as a consultant to hunting camps, landowners, and conservationists seeking to attract wildlife or build complex natural forages. Few and far between are the Southern landowner like Payne who prefers to talk ragweed over Bermuda grass, but it’s exactly that type of subtle knowledge that sets him apart. He knows quail prefer sage brush for nesting and dove weed (also known by a handful of other names) appears too late for actually attracting dove but the birds adore the residual seeds, foraging on them over the winter. He knows that the old soybeans from the 1950s and 60s have had the “black bred out of them.”

What drove his original inspiration behind his work was simple necessity. “So much of the seed for these plants wasn’t available. Over 20 years ago, I visited Mississippi State 60 DeSoto

where we went through old seed banks to find some of these varieties.” Even then, it took three to four years to actually grow some of the seed. As university research programs have lost funding, research programs and conventional seed varieties have dwindled, the scarcity issue has been further compounded.

Passionate about his work, Payne realizes his voice stands alone many times in a world that is fast devaluing natural and varied landscapes. Moving way beyond those expected recommendations for planting monocultures like Bermuda grass, fescue or Rye grass, Payne gets excited talking about ragweeds, both common and giant or ironweed which can bring as much as $200 per pound. Not only has he spent time sourcing, growing, harvesting and selling seed, Payne has created custom mixtures of seed available for sale online. When asked about the science behind the mix, he responds with an easy laugh and characteristic humor. “It’s called not putting all your eggs in one basket.” While certain mixes are specific to a season, most combine different characteristics to overcome whatever Mother Nature throws out. “Some may tolerate drought more or shade better while others may tolerate wet ground. The idea is to get a good mix that will perform.”

Payne works with clients who own everything from five acres to 15,000 acres. Ninety percent of his clients are hunting clubs. But he views the opportunity to grow just as important for one client as another, in fact, encouraging landowners of all sizes to set aside acreage or a small plot where they can just “let

it alone”. Some plants may require more than a season to produce and establish.

He views the wholesale manicuring of the outdoors as an extreme disadvantage to the land, people and wildlife. “The worst thing you can do this time of year is clip and be neat. I tell people don’t bush hog. The plants are heading out and producing seeds for next year. Some birds nest this time of year as well. It’s fine to bush hog a few lanes if you’re having a hunt, but everything doesn’t need to be clipped down.”

In fact, Payne proudly (and humorously) describes himself as someone whose mowing appears to be the result of “clipping under the influence”. No matter the time of year, Payne advises landowners to get to know their forages and plants, then protect those by selectively mowing.

“Wildlife appreciates edges, so mowing in circles or mosaics rather than straight lines, avoiding all those good plants, can be beneficial.”

Walking through a field of blooming wild sunflowers, a bidens species DeSoto 61

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also know as beggar tick sunflower, Payne explains that over-management tends to be the greatest challenge for most landowners.

Payne has published many articles about mowing, clipping and burning. He advises reserving all the manicured mowing for February or March. “Mow, burn or clip just before everything greens up.”

Payne’s work carries him throughout the Southeast as he counsels, disks, mows and plants food plots. Through his travels, he’s observed the long-term environmental decline due to common practices. “I get calls all the time from folks in the Delta who ask, ‘why are my big trees dying along the fields?’ What’s happening is all the overhead spraying is slowly killing all the big trees. They may leaf out at the top but they’re dying back gradually,” he said.

In a field of soybeans, Payne is happy to see the ragweed about to bloom above the crop. The varied heights and mixed plants stand in stark contrast to a neighboring Roundup Ready field that grows like a green, neat carpet. Pointing to a vine with delicate purple blooms, he said, “This is the great grandfather of today’s soybeans.”

With rare knowledge equaled by his dedication, Payne seems as at home in the field as his plants. And every time he helps a client, his words spread a tradition that hopefully takes roots in other minds as well.

Visit oakhavenforages.com for more information and ordering.

Steve’s Sage Advice: Everything outside doesn’t have to be manicured and neat Plant mixtures and plant wildflowers Plant something that benefits you (food) or wildlife (food) Leave it alone! Even a residential yard can have a small corner where nature can take it’s course. Sow some seeds, then let it go a few seasons to see what happens.

Burning can be beneficial. Payne burns 90 percent of the time at night.

“I can see the embers and the wind is low.”

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Vicksburg’s strategic location high atop the Mississippi River was a crucial prize in the Civil War

64 DeSoto

The Unseen Soldiers

By J. Eric Eckard. Photography courtesy of visitmississippi.org, boft.org and thomasflagel.com

Bullet-riddled houses, bloodstained floors and scores of monuments serve as historical reminders of the American Civil War, where hundreds of thousands of men fought and died for honor, pride, adventure or even money.

Now, more than 150 years later, some say those soldiers are still fighting from another realm – the spirit world.

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Battle of Franklin Reenactment

“Ghosts are everywhere so any battlefield site will have its hauntings,” said Dr. Dave Oester, co-founder of the International Ghost Hunters Society and author of numerous books on paranormal activity. “We love Civil War battlefields because the soldiers who died kept on fighting in the spirit realm due to the intense emotions of the war. Each side (was) fighting for their way of life, and at death, they simply picked up their rifles and continued fighting.”

Millions of people flock to military parks each year to hear rangers recount stories of battles, troop movements and politics of the day. But it’s not just the history of the war that draws people to these parks. Many seek paranormal experiences that provide goosebumps and quicken heartbeats.

Reports of cannon fire, dying men’s deathly moans and misty apparitions attract ghost hunters – both professional and casual – to places like Gettysburg and Vicksburg. It’s common to see visitors in buildings and fields, straining to hear a call from beyond the grave or waiting for the Holy Grail, a soldier’s phantom appearance.

“There aren’t always sightings,” said Mark Nesbitt, author and ghost investigator who worked as a Gettysburg National Military Park ranger in the 1970s. “And that’s typical of paranormal activity. It could be very active one night and next to nothing the next night. When and where is not up to me, it’s up to them.”

Gettysburg, Pennsylvania

Nesbitt lived in Gettysburg for more than 30 years, 66 DeSoto

and he started collecting ghost stories in 1990 for a series of books. But he has had his own experiences. While employed at the park, Nesbitt lived in various buildings, including Cemetery Lodge, where the slain soldiers’ unclaimed property was stored after the battle.

“I was cleaning up after dinner, and I heard a very weird sound – like a high-pitched squealing,” Nesbitt said.

“At first, I thought it was the pipes, but then I realized it was a baby crying. Then I remembered that just down the street, there used to be an orphanage, and the second matron, Mrs. (Rosa) Carmichael would put the children out in the winter as punishment. That’s when I stopped, and I froze.”

Sites on the battlefield where more than 50,000 casualties piled up over three days of fighting also are hotbeds of paranormal activity, including Devil’s Den, Triangular Field, Cemetery Ridge and Culp Farm. To this day, Triangular Field visitors report problems with cameras, which had operated flawlessly only moments before arriving at the site.

Nesbitt admits that he’s still a skeptic, always on the hunt for evidence of ghostly legends. But he still gets the “willies” when he visits Devil’s Den just like he did 30-plus years ago as a park ranger.

Vicksburg, Mississippi

For nearly two months in 1863, Gen. Ulysses Grant laid siege to Vicksburg in an effort to capture the last major Confederate stronghold on the Mississippi River. Day after day, Union soldiers bombarded the heavily outnumbered and

poorly-rationed Southern troops.

“Soldiers were starving to death; men were dying from sniper fire,” said Morgan Gates, who founded Haunted Vicksburg and conducts historical and ghost tours in the area. “So, there are a lot of reasons we have restless spirits here.”

Lt. David Weeks Magill, an officer in the Confederate Army, was one of about 20,000 soldiers killed during the Vicksburg Campaign, and he’s buried near the McNutt House, now a bed and breakfast. Gates said that Magill’s spirit still roams the property around which he’s buried - and he’s got photographic evidence.

Gates said Magill’s apparition was one of several ghostly pictures that have been captured by visitors to Vicksburg.

Another photo that supposedly shows a Civil War soldier standing guard was taken at the Duff Green Mansion, which was used as a hospital during the war and now also is a B&B.

“We know there are a lot of restless spirits here,” Gates said of Vicksburg.

“People have reported being touched, seeing things moving, lights coming on and various smells that shouldn’t be there.”

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Carter House Cotton Gin. Franklin, TN

Vicksburg National Military Park basically surrounds the city, and it has more Civil War soldiers buried there than any other national cemetery in the nation - including Arlington.

The national park in Vicksburg adheres to the party line and shies away from any ghostly publicity. Gates conducts historical tours of the park, but he said on that tour, he doesn’t share any of the ghost stories of Vicksburg that he’s accumulated over the years. He knows plenty though.

“A woman was jogging in the park around dusk, and she heard footsteps,” Gates said. “She ran to a woman on a bike, and the two turned to confront the approaching footsteps”.

Nothing was there.

“The park does have some battlefield spirits, but really, all of Vicksburg is haunted.”

and two other investigators heard what sounded like a galloping horse. The sounds of the horse steps got closer and closer, he said, until they stopped about five feet from the trio.

“On occasion, you’ll get frightened,” he said. “But that’s usually only when they sneak up on you. They’re very protective of the place. You have to be respectful.”

Most professional ghost hunters ask the ghosts’ permission before taking pictures or making voice recordings.

And some even dress as Civil War-era soldiers in an effort to draw out the spirits. Unlike most government-run parks that shy away from promoting the paranormal, Perryville has embraced its prominence of poltergeists.

Waldridge conducts ghost tours at the park, mixing in bits of legend, science and history to the expeditions.

Perryville, Kentucky

Galloping horses, the smell of gunpowder and phantom soldiers are just some of the paranormal activity reported at the Perryville, Ky., battle site.

Jeff Waldridge, a ghost hunter who also conducts tours at the battlefield, recalled one investigation that still makes him feel a bit uneasy. Standing in a field where more than 7,000 men were killed or wounded about 150 years ago, Waldridge

Franklin, Tennessee

With thousands of wounded at the second Battle of Franklin, homes and churches that were converted to hospitals play a huge role in paranormal activity today.

“There were 44 separate buildings used as hospitals,” said Margie Thessin, who operates Franklin on Foot, a tour company that offers ghost treks. “One street has about 10 or 12 houses, and every one of them has a ghost story.”

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Tw o o f t h e m o r e f a m o u s buildings include the Carter and Carnton plantations, where some of the heaviest fighting occurred. Bullet holes and bloody footprints from medical operations mark the spots where ghosts and spirits still roam.

So said Thessin, who added that ghost tales in Franklin are so prevalent that she’s able to add a new story every week to her tour.

“There was a woman on one tour, and she was in one of the buildings with her 3-year-old,” Thessin said. “The boy wouldn’t go in one of the rooms because he said, ‘Man has blood.’ That house was used as a hospital after the battle, and there were many men with blood. I believe - I’ve smelled perfume where there shouldn’t be perfume. Lots of people believe. Our most popular tour is the ghost tour. I think it’s the unknown scare factor.”

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homegrown } wisecalls

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Called

to the Field

By Devin Greaney. Photography by Adam Mitchell

In the Midsouth, to call hunting a serious pursuit, is an understatement. Starting during the first weekend of September, Mississippi has a sales tax-free weekend on guns, ammunition and archery supplies. Mississippi, Tennessee, Arkansas and Alabama have a right to hunt spelled out in their state constitutions.

What is it that brings a person into the cold predawn wetlands and hide in a deer stand or duck blind awaiting that chance to put deer or duck on the table? Perhaps Trey Wiseman, founder and owner of Wisecalls, a family-owned business specializing in custom duck calls, sums it up best.

“It’s just the thrill of going out there and calling an animal up with a call you made to going out with your friends and having a good time.” With Wisecalls, Wiseman’s business, he hopes to bring a bit of what he has learned to other hunters.

Wiseman, originally from Southaven, Miss., went on his first hunt at age five. He was hooked. Hunting takes strategy and part of getting that potential dinner (or hopefully dinners) within range is patience and the right call. You can’t buy patience, but duck calls are for sale from online to retail stores around the area.

“I got tired of buying my own and I told my wife I was going to start making my own duck calls and that led to people wanting to buy them,” he said.

That was five years ago. He started a Facebook page - no website as of now- where those planning to head out to their happy hunting ground can purchase his audible artistry.

“My wife, Britanny Wiseman, is my manager and tells me what to make and where to send them.”

They go well beyond the typical “quack quack” calls most of us are familiar with echoing through Southern wetlands.

“You’ve got a coyote call, you’ve got an owl call, a goose call. We have many different migratory birds with Canada geese, snow geese and most ducks have different calls they speak to each other with. We also have elk calls and moose calls,” he says. As for the owl calls, he’s using the owl’s wisdom not his meat. “In the South we use owl calls when we start to hunt turkeys. It gets a male gobbler to respond and give up his position.”

Wiseman uses wood, polished and pristine, that makes them look like mini sculptures. The wood comes from abroad but the technology is pure Mississippi.

“My calls are unique because I make exactly the call the person is looking for and the sound they’re wanting it to make. Also, when it comes to the acrylic calls, I make all of the acrylic myself. My calls are also unique because I take my time into each call, making them with a deep passion.”

Wisecalls is no Duck Dynasty. He still keeps his job at Feuer Powertrain in Tunica. Making the calls are still a oneman operation which takes about two and a half hours per call.

“In the future I want to buy more equipment. I also have a buddy that I showed how to make calls and we hope to have a two-man team,” he says. “The main thing that drives me is making a call and selling it to someone and I get feedback on if they like it or not and that call was great for this year and they want another one,” he said. “People pretty much spread the word.”

He says some of his favorite hunting spots are around Arkabutla, Byhalia, and Coldwater in North Mississippi. This Thanksgiving around the table they will be enjoying deer and duck. As for turkey, season in this area is in the Spring.

“If we want turkey, we’ll have to go to the store.” They will also have a new guest at the table. Their first child, James Nash Wiseman is due in late October.

“I grew up on it and I can’t wait for my son to be able to hunt with me and for me to teach him the lesson in taking the animal, eating meat off the animal, and respecting the animal,” he said.

“Hunting is my absolute passion.”

To contact Wisecalls or to order calls, visit Wisecalls on Facebook.

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southern harmony } lucero

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Almost by accident, Lucero has come to define the sounds of Memphis.

All a Band Should Do

By Jim Beaugez. Photography courtesy of Lucero

Lucero didn’t set out to recast Memphis soul and R&B through the lens of its ragged punk-rock swagger. But on its three-record love letter to the City with Soul, the band has managed to thread its journeyman rock and roots into the Staxstyle soul, rockabilly and rhythm and blues of its hometown.

“I had an appreciation for that old rock ‘n’ roll and soul music, and grew up on it, but I never thought I could be part of it myself,” said frontman and songwriter Ben Nichols.

“I hadn’t thought that was something I could tap into. I always felt I was on the outside.”

Lucero’s roots are in the DIY music scene, where emotion and feeling are often valued over technical skill.

The band’s popularity grew on its heartfelt anthems and hardworking ethics, as it logs hundreds of shows across the continent every year.

After five releases on independent record labels, the band signed its first big-label deal in 2007 and set to work on 1372 Overton Park, a nod to its shared rehearsal and living space in Midtown above the old White Way drug store, which once served as Elvis Presley’s karate dojo.

Early in the process, Nichols was writing music that harkened back to the band’s roots. That changed when his bandmates started hearing something different in his songs.

They had already added Rick Steff on keys, but adding brass led them down a new path.

“I didn’t know how the horns would fit in at first,” he said. “But then Jim [Spake] came and started laying down horn parts, and combined with Rick’s piano and organ parts, that opened up this whole new world for me, which was this old-school Memphis sound. I got to delve deeply into that for the first time ever.”

As the band began to embrace the sounds of its hometown, Nichols’s songwriting veered toward rockabilly, soul and even gospel, whose roots are firmly planted in Memphis.

The group’s next album, “Women & Work”, showcased an even bigger shift in that direction. The record felt so much a part of the city, Nichols said, that they did the album cover shoot at the long running Arcade diner on South Main as a tribute.

“Women & Work” was done, start to finish, with those ideas in mind,” he said. “It was definitely the most rootsinfluenced record we’ve done—that continued this appreciation we had for where we’re from.”

On its latest album, “All a Man Should Do”, the band dialed back the explosive horns and swagger and explored a more introspective side of the band. For the first time in Lucero, Nichols played acoustic guitar almost exclusively.

“We stepped back from the horns and electric guitar a bit,” he said. “My favorite part of the record is that really dark first half, where you’ve got “The Man I Was” and “Woke Up in New Orleans”—that’s a pretty intense song. It might be one of the most personal songs I’ve written. Then it brightens up and everything kind of lifts up a little bit in the second half.”

A major influence on the album’s sunnier side is Big Star, the Alex Chilton-led Memphis band that famously eluded success in its 1970s heyday but found immense acclaim from critics and the generation of musicians that followed. Lucero also covered the group’s “I’m in Love With a Girl,” and borrowed its refrain for the album’s title. Jody Stephens, the only surviving original member of Big Star, even sings backup vocals on the track.

“We’ve always been Big Star fans,” said Nichols.

“They’re a quintessential Memphis rock & roll band, and that one has always been one of my favorites. It’s a quiet, simple song, which is kind of Lucero’s style. The style and lyrics of the song reminded me of something we might write.”

The tune also provides a transition into album closer “My & My Girl in ’93,” the slow-building finale that shares Big Star’s penchant for catchy melodies.

“It does put a nice ending to this arc of three records,” he said. “You go from the really early stuff, the rockabilly and R&B, and then you end up with the more modern stuff with Big Star.”

It’s hard to say where Lucero will go from here, but Nichols’s gritty vocals and storytelling songwriting will surely stamp it as Lucero, whatever flourishes the band adds to the top.

“It’s hard for me to pick a style and consciously go that direction,” he said. “The songs have to subconsciously form themselves and guide you where they want to go.”

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table talk} rattlesnake saloon

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Go for the Location,

Stay for the Food

By K.C. Ervin. Photography courtesy of Rattlesnake Saloon

Not many people can say they ate their dinner under a rock. In Alabama, however, you can definitely get your chance. The Rattlesnake Saloon, located in Tuscumbia, Ala., is not only an excellent source of food, drink, and even live music, but it is also built into the mouth of a cave. With horses tied out front and acres upon acres of natural land surrounding it, you can bet the Rattlesnake Saloon is a unique and charming experience.

Decades before the saloon came to be, Owen Foster bought 6,000 acres of land for farming and timber. And the Fosters worked the land until Owen Foster’s grandson, Owen Daniel Foster Sr., was inspired to create Seven Springs Lodge.

The family’s farmland became 3,000 acres of campgrounds, silos converted into cabins, and even outdoor horse stalls that can accommodate up to 150 horses. Flocks of people came to stay, with food in high demand. However, the guests had nowhere to eat.

“We couldn’t keep up with all the gas grills we had to give out to keep the guests fed,” said William Foster, owner and creator of Rattlesnake Saloon.

He and his father, Owen Foster Sr., knew they needed to create a saloon, and so William Foster took his hand to the task of transforming the vision into reality.

On the property, Foster’s grandfather had once created a hog pen underneath a rock, drilling a 33-foot hole he could send the feed through since the land was too treacherous to

drive around at the time. That was the place Foster decided to build his Saloon. He laid out some two by fours, marking where the shack would be, and then set to work. They fed the power cables for the saloon through the old feed tube his grandfather had made in the wall. Within 49 days, according to the Rattlesnake Saloon website, they had completed construction and were open for business just in time for Labor Day weekend of 2009.

Knowledge of the Rattlesnake Saloon was spread by word of mouth and through social media outlets, and within three years of the saloon being opened, the Saloon’s guestbook contained names from all 50 states, as well as names from 30 different countries.

When asked why his saloon has received so much business, Foster admits that its unique location is the main pull, although in the end, it’s the saloon’s food that really cinches the deal. The Rattlesnake Saloon has won several awards since it’s opening. It’s burgers placed second in the Alabama Cattleman DeSoto 75

The Rustler Burger at Rattlesnake Saloon

Association’s competition for the Best Burgers of Alabama. And they were even featured on the Food Network, the episode focusing on the saloon’s burgers, wings, and Snake Eyes and Tails.

As for the burgers, if you’re up for the challenge, you can attempt the Gigantor, a massive meal comprised of a two-pound, beef burger and a giant bun, a pound of fries and a half pound of onion rings, and a pitcher of your favorite drink on the side. Eat it on your own within 45 minutes, and you get the meal for free. Otherwise, the Gigantor is $45 and can feed up to four people, according to the Rattlesnake Saloon website.

If you’re in the mood for something spicy and fried, the menu also features their Snake Eyes and Tails. No need to worry if you suffer from a squeamish stomach; you won’t be eating actual snake. The appetizer is made of fried sliced jalapeno peppers and green beans, served with a side of “dippin’ sauce.”

But in the end, Foster made sure to mention their excellent wings. At $6 for six wings, it’s a good price, and you can get them with mild, medium, or hot sauce. Although he did recommend, “If you’re up to it, you should get the sauce on the side.” The wings are prepared with a special seasoning that makes them very tasty when eaten plain.

After 5:00 p.m., the saloon begins serving alcohol, sticking with beer as the drink of choice (as long as you have proper I.D.). Often, the saloon also hosts live music and karaoke as well.

So, if you want a modern day interpretation of the saloon experience, head over to Rattlesnake Saloon. It’s a place where horses can often be found tied outside waiting for their dining owners, and even Momma Faye, William Foster’s mother, owns a trading post on the property where you can buy merchandise to commemorate your stay.

Find information for Rattlesnake Saloon on Facebook or on their website rattlesnakesaloon.net.

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in good spirits} caramel apple martini

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Fall in a Glass

By Jeanni Brosius. Photography courtesy of socialifenj.com

Amidst all the inundation of the ever-popular autumnal pumpkin-flavored drinks, the juicy, sweet apple still has its place in the world of cocktails.

A quaint restaurant in downtown Batesville, Arkansas seems an unlikely place to get a scrumptious Caramel Apple Martini. But among the beautiful exposed brick walls and handmade light fixtures of CIX Main, co-owner Cliff Brown serves up this delicious drink that is a sweet twist on a traditional appletini. It tasted like a crisp, sweet apple and cinnamon swirled in a little vodka.

Rimmed with cinnamon and sugar, the glass is coated in caramel and filled with butterscotch Schnapps, Sour Apple Pucker and vodka, which makes this wonderfully simple cocktail one that is worth ordering again. Even someone who doesn’t like most mixed drinks may love this one. The sweet cinnamon sugar on the rim is the first taste that hits the tongue, then the sweet, smooth apple and caramel-flavored martini washes over the taste buds. It’s quite light and refreshing but at the same time it’s warm and comforting.

CIX are the Roman numerals for 109, which is the address of CIX Main, a new addition to downtown Batesville, Arkansas. This new place is nestled inside one of the historic buildings on lower Main Street and serves flights of tapasinspired dishes, and the mixologist can serve up any cocktail you can dream up, especially the delicious Caramel Apple Martini.

Try this recipe for a delectable martini that you can make at your next dinner party.

Caramel Apple Martini 1 serving 1.1 ounces butterscotch Schnapps 1.1 ounces Sour Apple Pucker 2 ounces vodka Sliced fresh apple, apple cider, caramel and cinnamon sugar for garnish.

Directions: Rim martini glass with apple cider then coat the rims in cinnamon sugar.

Drizzle caramel on the sides and bottom of a martini glass.

Pour Butterscotch Schnapps, Sour Apple Pucker and vodka in an ice-filled cocktail shaker and shake.

Garnish with fresh apple slice.

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exploring events } october Cedar Hill Farm’s Pumpkin Patch September 29 - October 30 008 Love Road Hernando, MS For more information call 662-429-2540 or visit www.gocedarhillfarm.com.

Bridging the Blues September - October Arkansas, Memphis and Mississippi For more information visit www.bridgingtheblues.com.

King Biscuit Blues Festival October 5 - 8 Helena, AR Sonny Landreth and special guest Roy Rogers, John Mayall, Charlie Musselwhite and more. For tickets visit kingbiscuitfestival.com or call 870-572-5223.

Tallahatchie Riverfest October 7 - 8 Park along the river New Albany, MS Concerts by Ricky Skaggs & Kentucky Thunder. Plus arts market, carnival midway & kid’s activities. For more information visit tallahatchieriverfest.com.

Hernando Water Tower Festival October 7 -8 Courthouse Square Hernando, MS This free event begins Friday as the BBQ team’s fire up their grills for the annual competition. On Saturday, enjoy a 10K Run at 8am and 1-mile fun run, arts and crafts, vintage car show, kid’s games and a mix of gospel, oldies and rock music on the square all day. For more information visit www.hernandoms.org or call 662-429-9055.

Front Porch Jubilee October 7 -8 Clifton Gin Hernando, MS Family friendly. Bring a lawn chair or blanket. Food and drinks will be available to purchase. For more information visit frontporchjubilee.ms.

Carrollton Pilgrimage & Pioneer Day Festival October 7 - 8 Carrollton, MS All Historic Homes, Churches and other Buildings will be open on Friday & Saturday from 9 am - 5 pm. For more information visit www.visitcarrolltonms.com or call 662-237-6910.

The ARK 10K October 8 Lake Arkabutla, MS 8:00AM Join MS Wildlife Rehabilitation as they kick off THE ARK 10K! Run through the beautiful Arkabutla Lake trails as you are helping to raise money to build the ARK (Arkabutla Lake Rehabilitation & Nature Center). For more information visit racesonline.com.

KIX Fest October 8 BankPlus Amphitheater at Snowden Grove 80 DeSoto

Southaven, MS 1:00PM Featuring Justin Moore,Trace Adkins, Dustin Lynch and more. Purchase tickets at www.ticketmaster.com, BankPlus Amphitheater box office 662-892-2600 or call Ticketmaster at 1-800-745-3000. For more information, visit www.bankplusamphitheater.com.

30th Annual Fall Fling for the Young at Heart October 13 Tish State Park Tishomingo, MS For more information call 662-438-6914.

Delta Hot Tamale Festival October 13 - 15 Greenville, MS Cooking competition, parade, live music, Gala welcome dinner, street party and more. For more information visit hottamalefest.com or call 662-378-3121.

The Great Mississippi River Balloon Race October 14 - 16 Natchez, MS Held on the grounds of historic Rosalie. Live music, on-site carnival, arts & crafts, local craft beers and food. For more information visit natchezballoonrace.com.

Crown Benefit Autumn Soire October 14 Landers Center Southaven, MS 7:00PM Benefitting children of DeSoto County. Dining, dancing, silent auction and live music. For more information visit jadesoto.gives.

Sardis 150th Celebration October 15 Main Street Sardis, MS Starting at 9:00AM Food, live music, arts and crafts. For more information visit sardisms.com or call 662-487-3451.

Shake ‘Em on Down Film Premier Como Day Festival October 15 Como Community Park Downtown Como, MS 8:00 AM until Midnight Come to Mississippi’s smallest cool town for a day-long event that begins with a 5k race/walk and ends with the world premier of “Shake ‘Em on Down”, a documentary about Fred McDowell.

Live music from noon ‘til dark. Street shopping, local food, kids events, chili cook-off contest and Home Place Pastures BBQ. Free, family-friendly event. For more information, visitcomoms. com or racesonline.com Liverpool Legends - A Beatles Tribute October 25 HCC Corey Forum Grenada, MS Doors open at 6:30PM For more information call 662-227-2302.

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reflections} the great... indoors

The Great...Indoors?

By Adam Mitchell

I love spending time outdoors. I’ve always been an avid outdoorsman who loves to fish and camp, and I always get excited when the weather changes for the better. When the seemingly never-ending, hot, humid summer finally comes to an end and the nights get cool, I start planning my weekend camping trips.

I’ve had some memorable trips over the years. Maybe it’s the memories we keep of these outdoor excursions that make camping trips so great. After reflecting on many of mine, most of them were darn right disastrous. In fact, ironically the great outdoors often turns into the great indoors.

After a brutally cold winter I spent working in Amarillo, Texas, spring had finally sprung. The grass was getting greener and the birds were chirping. My boss and I had decided to drive up to Red River, New Mexico to celebrate the arrival of the new season. After driving over three hours and increasing our altitude by thousands of feet, we understood that spring in Amarillo didn’t mean it was spring in the Rocky Mountains. We drove through snow and arrived at a closed campground. We opened the gate, set up our tent and made a fire. After almost freezing to death inside our sleeping bags, we decided to sleep inside the truck. That was a one night camping trip.

Another trip to the Palo Duro Canyon became a debacle. A girlfriend and I found the perfect camping area down in the canyon. The views were spectacular, and I cooked steaks over an open fire. After a breathtaking sunset, the temperature dropped fast, and when it got dark… the coyotes came. Their eerie howls sounded like they were surrounding us, and they just got louder and louder as if they were getting closer! The rocky, canyon ground was ice cold, and I remember both of us tossing and turning all night trying to keep warm. We wanted to sleep in the car, but I think we were too afraid to leave the safety of our tent.

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Finally, there was a camping trip that I’ll never forget.

My friends and I went to Shelby Forrest State Park for the weekend. My father lent me an old, army green, canvas tent. I loved this tent because I camped in it with my family as a child.

It was at least 10 x 20 feet which meant all my friends could stay in one tent.

During the night the skies opened and the rain fell. The lightning woke us up, and the rain poured harder and harder. It was not going to end. My father’s poor, old canvas tent was put to the test. The roof collected a huge amount of water and was sagging down into the tent. One of my friends was a former boy scout and knew not to touch the canvas.

“DON’T TOUCH IT!” he yelled. “IT WON’T LEAK IF YOU DON’T TOUCH IT!” The swollen, sagging, mildewed roof looked like it was going to burst at any moment.

“You’re kidding me!” I said. “I’ve never heard anything so stupid!” As if it’s only going to leak if it’s touched by a single fingertip. Well… I touched it. It only took seconds for gallons of water to come pouring through the roof. My three friends and I were huddled in the highest corner of the canvas pool and the water was rising. We grabbed what we could and took off running for our dry vehicles. Another night in the great outdoors spent inside a car.

The next morning, I found the unsalvageable tent. I remember rolling it up and shoving it into a barrel trashcan at the campsite. I told my father what had happened to the tent.

He just laughed and said that he couldn’t believe that old thing had lasted that long.

October means it’s camping season again. I’d love to tell you about all my weather apps and gadgets that I’ve come to rely on, but that’s another story for another trip.

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