Mississippi bucket list: Moon Travel Guides lists 3 ways to have a great summer vacation
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Mississippi bucket list: Moon Travel Guides lists 3 ways to have a great summer vacation
There are more than 200 stops on the Mississippi Blues Trail. Explore the Bynum Mounds, a culture, trade hub in ancient times. Visit the Grammy Museum in Cleveland or the B.B. King Museum in Indianola. Check out the Devil’s Crossroads in Clarksdale, where Robert Johnson sold his soul to the devil in exchange for his phenomenal talent. The Bill Waller Mississippi Craft Center is headquarters for the Craftsman’s Guild of Mississippi, which displays and sells its work at the center. It also hosts demonstrations and craft classes for kids and adults, so check the schedule if you want to make your own piece of art there.
Moon Travel Guides has created a bucket list of three things to do in all 50 states, plus the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico.
Suggestions across the country include a mix of time in nature and exploring the history and culture of each state.
Here are the Top 3 options that Moon thinks will make your Mississippi vacation unforgettable.
Follow the Mississippi Blues Trail to learn about music, history
This one might take several visits. There are more than 200 stops on the Mississippi Blues Trail. There are lots of options to get stellar food and hear live music near the markers, so be sure to soak in the flavor of the South while you’re exploring.
The largest cluster of markers is in the Delta, the birthplace of the blues. But the trail spans the state from around Memphis down to the Gulf Coast.
Check out the Devil’s Crossroads in Clarksdale. Blues musician Robert Johnson famously sold his soul to the devil in exchange for his phenomenal talent. The pair reportedly met at midnight, where highways 61 and 49 intersect today. CNN also recently called Clarksdale one of America’s Best Towns To Visit.
There are also markers for specific musicians and juke joints all across the Magnolia State.
Visit the Grammy Museum in Cleveland to explore the latest exhibits. Or tour the B.B. King Museum in Indianola, where the legendary bluesman is laid to rest.
Bynum Mounds was culture, trade hub in ancient times
The Bynum Mounds are along the Natchez Trace Parkway, near Houston in Chickasaw County.
According to the U.S. National Park Service, the mounds were built by American Indians between 100 BCE and 100 CE, during the Middle Woodland Period.
There originally were six, but NPS archeologists excavated five in the 1940s.
“Exotic trade goods and other artifacts were uncovered in the excavations which gives evidence to a vast and varying trade network throughout the southeast,” according to the National Park Service.
The two largest were rebuilt. The landmarks, found at milepost 232.4, range from 5 feet to 14 feet high.
There’s a 200-foot paved path that winds past the mounds and through an interpretive shelter.
Learn about Mississippi art, crafts at the Bill Waller Mississippi Craft Center
The William “Bill” Waller Craft Center, 950 Rice Road, Ridgeland, is headquarters for the Craftsman’s Guild of Mississippi.
More than 400 artists and masters of their crafts display and sell their work at the center. Pieces include baskets, quilts, woodcarvings, pottery and jewelry.
The center also hosts demonstrations and craft classes for kids and adults, so check the schedule if you want to make your own piece of art.
Bonnie Bolden is the Deep South Connect reporter for Mississippi with Gannett/USA Today. Email her at bbolden@gannett.com.