Stop Seven - Dale and Margaret

 Here I am in Mississippi, state nine. I'm with long-time friends, Dale and Margaret. They don't want me to post pictures of them. But they are two of the most important people in my life. You wouldn't be too far wrong if you said they saved my life. I'll be here a few days, so there will be more to tell.

It was a long drive today, and I stopped on the way to take a little walk in DeSoto National Forest on the Tuxachanie Trail.

Winter somehow followed me to Louisiana. It was 19 degrees with snow and ice when I left Loretta's this morning. By the time I got to where I hiked, it was 61.

Just an attractive wetland along the trail. The trail is just under six miles long. It follows the route of a former "dummy" railroad. A dummy is an engine that is enclosed in a box that makes it look like a regular rail car. I'm not sure why that was done here because it wasn't a passenger line where this was usually done. This was a turpentine line!

Apparently there was a small town here named Howison. Industries were sawmills and a turpentine plant. Natural turpentine comes from distilling the sap of pine trees. The longleaf pine was often used for production.

Two days ago, I showed you the mature trees and bark. Here is a young longleaf pine. They almost look like a palm tree. The needles are about a foot long.

I'm so ignorant on many of these southern plants. I think this is switch cane, Arundinaria tecta. This is a form of native bamboo.

Here's one I had no clue at all about. If any botany persons want to take issue with me on these southern plants, feel free. I hope I have them right, but there may be subtleties I don't understand. I think this is one of the Bully trees, Sideroxylon sp. Very shrubby and with thorns.

I could not take time to hike the whole trail, but I walked in for 1.5 miles to just past the McHenry Branch and then back to the car. Nice distance to break up the drive.

Tuxachanie Trail, De Soto National Forest, Mississippi. 3 miles

See Church and Chilling