Sunday morning, bright and early (again much to Dave's dismay), we trudged down to the local Huddle House for breakfast. About the time we were expecting to be served, there was a loud crash.Dave looked at me and said "there's your ham." Dang if he wasn't right. This pretty much sums up our dining experiences outside of Memphis and Clarksdale. We just wanted Barbecue!
We headed west from Indianola, towards Holly Ridge, where Charlie Patton lies. This was a really interesting drive, we got to watch an crop duster doing his best moves, diving in and out between wires, trees, and the occasional building. Pretty impressive. The directions we had to the grave site were pretty good and of course we had the mighty GPS. I would like to visit again during spring, everything was visually dramatic, but carried the post-winter bleakness still. I can only imagine when everything is blooming it would be a grateful sensory overload. There are two other graves in this cemetery, Willie Foster and Asie Payton.
We set our GPS to point the direction for Moorhead, where the Southern Crosses the Dog. This is an engineering marvel of two railroads intersecting at a right angle. The track is still there, however only one railway still exists.This is a common destination mentioned in many early blues and work songs. The town is very interesting as well, with many buildings that have survived the years.
Morgan City is the first grave site for Robert Johnson. Okay, its really not a grave site, but a very interesting marker. I must admit, by this point in the journey, I was starting to be overwhelmed with stuff; maps, camera, books, stuff I bought, etc. So that's my excuse for reading the wrong page in my Blues Traveling book. I set off to discover RJ's grave the book said was in the back of the cemetery, near the woods. So as I was trying to find my way through the heavy brush, looking for the missing headstone, I failed to notice my next step was about to put me right in the middle of a very soft patch of ground, about the size of an old grave! I finally realized after I had sunk to ankle depth, I was sinking. No I did not scream.I did, however, move rather quickly. Mt. Zion Church outside Morgan City, not a grave site.
Next is Quito. Don't expect to find a town. This is a marked grave at Payne Chapel, just a flat stone that has the required collection of guitar picks and Robert's name on it. This is not a confirmed grave site, but is important enough to the quest to deserve a visit.
North of Greenwood is the official grave site. It seems like a fitting place, near a busy highway, but outside of town. I suppose this is where his family could afford to bury him. His death certificate says the family provided for the burial, and the gravediggers wife said in interviews she remembers an important musician laying up in his coffin under the tree, while her husband dug the grave. This one has the largest collection of picks, harmonicas, and empty bottles...and an official Miss. Blues Trail road sign. We spent a fair amount of time here, Robert I hope you don't mind me leaning against your stone and playing one of your songs.
Only one grave site left to visit, Elmore James in Ebenezeer. We debated this one, because we were at least 2 hours away. This was the coolest headstone, and if you rank these guys in order of importance, Elmore James is a transition man. He came between Charlie Patton and BB King. He was the master of the slide guitar, and it is his effect we see in pretty much any modern slide player. What the hey,we didn't come all this way to quit now! So on we go....to Ebeneezer. About 10 miles outside Greenwood we came to a stop. We found out there had been a head on collision with two fatalities. There was a long line of cars, some turning around, some heading off down a path between two cotton fields. After we a sat there for a few minutes we asked a lady parked on the shoulder if there was a way around. Yep, down that path for a mile, comes another dirt road for a ways, after it turns to pavement,turn back on the road we were on. Now, in Florida, when you drive off the road, you get stuck in sand. In Mississippi, if it hasn't been raining, its hard pack dirt. As we turned onto the dirt road, we could see the remains of what were two vehicles, one was a pickup, the other I couldn't say. Standing by this one, several people were standing, holding hands as the rescue workers removed what was covered with a white sheet. I wondered if the departing soul's journey was aided by the obvious outpouring of love and sorrow. We usually leave alone, even when we are with someone. I wondered if it was different here and if I would ever know that answer. After we traversed two or three miles of hard pack dirt road and almost getting smashed by an emergency truck coming at us over a railroad crossing we could not see over, we arrived back on our original road.
The remaining drive was wonderful, through some beautiful though desolate landscapes. We were happy we made the trip to Ebeneezer, but dang we were getting hungry. We found Elmore James and Lonnie Pitchford. Don't know if they knew each other, but they are close now. What a cool headstone, be sure to look at the picture album. One thing nice about Ebeneezer, its only about 25 miles from the interstate, something we had not been on since leaving Memphis, and now we need to return. Memphis was 160 miles away. We had a full tank of gas, didn't neither of us smoke cigarettes, and we had sunglasses, so we were ready. We made it as far as Granada before the hunger took over. We hit the exit and what do we see...............BARBEQUE!!!! At last.And it was GOOD. Can't tell you what the name of it was, but eat there if you get a chance!
We got back in Memphis pretty late, checked into the Holiday Inn, and got ready to go to Beale St.
http://picasaweb.google.com/jcvitte for more pictures
We headed west from Indianola, towards Holly Ridge, where Charlie Patton lies. This was a really interesting drive, we got to watch an crop duster doing his best moves, diving in and out between wires, trees, and the occasional building. Pretty impressive. The directions we had to the grave site were pretty good and of course we had the mighty GPS. I would like to visit again during spring, everything was visually dramatic, but carried the post-winter bleakness still. I can only imagine when everything is blooming it would be a grateful sensory overload. There are two other graves in this cemetery, Willie Foster and Asie Payton.
We set our GPS to point the direction for Moorhead, where the Southern Crosses the Dog. This is an engineering marvel of two railroads intersecting at a right angle. The track is still there, however only one railway still exists.This is a common destination mentioned in many early blues and work songs. The town is very interesting as well, with many buildings that have survived the years.
Morgan City is the first grave site for Robert Johnson. Okay, its really not a grave site, but a very interesting marker. I must admit, by this point in the journey, I was starting to be overwhelmed with stuff; maps, camera, books, stuff I bought, etc. So that's my excuse for reading the wrong page in my Blues Traveling book. I set off to discover RJ's grave the book said was in the back of the cemetery, near the woods. So as I was trying to find my way through the heavy brush, looking for the missing headstone, I failed to notice my next step was about to put me right in the middle of a very soft patch of ground, about the size of an old grave! I finally realized after I had sunk to ankle depth, I was sinking. No I did not scream.I did, however, move rather quickly. Mt. Zion Church outside Morgan City, not a grave site.
Next is Quito. Don't expect to find a town. This is a marked grave at Payne Chapel, just a flat stone that has the required collection of guitar picks and Robert's name on it. This is not a confirmed grave site, but is important enough to the quest to deserve a visit.
North of Greenwood is the official grave site. It seems like a fitting place, near a busy highway, but outside of town. I suppose this is where his family could afford to bury him. His death certificate says the family provided for the burial, and the gravediggers wife said in interviews she remembers an important musician laying up in his coffin under the tree, while her husband dug the grave. This one has the largest collection of picks, harmonicas, and empty bottles...and an official Miss. Blues Trail road sign. We spent a fair amount of time here, Robert I hope you don't mind me leaning against your stone and playing one of your songs.
Only one grave site left to visit, Elmore James in Ebenezeer. We debated this one, because we were at least 2 hours away. This was the coolest headstone, and if you rank these guys in order of importance, Elmore James is a transition man. He came between Charlie Patton and BB King. He was the master of the slide guitar, and it is his effect we see in pretty much any modern slide player. What the hey,we didn't come all this way to quit now! So on we go....to Ebeneezer. About 10 miles outside Greenwood we came to a stop. We found out there had been a head on collision with two fatalities. There was a long line of cars, some turning around, some heading off down a path between two cotton fields. After we a sat there for a few minutes we asked a lady parked on the shoulder if there was a way around. Yep, down that path for a mile, comes another dirt road for a ways, after it turns to pavement,turn back on the road we were on. Now, in Florida, when you drive off the road, you get stuck in sand. In Mississippi, if it hasn't been raining, its hard pack dirt. As we turned onto the dirt road, we could see the remains of what were two vehicles, one was a pickup, the other I couldn't say. Standing by this one, several people were standing, holding hands as the rescue workers removed what was covered with a white sheet. I wondered if the departing soul's journey was aided by the obvious outpouring of love and sorrow. We usually leave alone, even when we are with someone. I wondered if it was different here and if I would ever know that answer. After we traversed two or three miles of hard pack dirt road and almost getting smashed by an emergency truck coming at us over a railroad crossing we could not see over, we arrived back on our original road.
The remaining drive was wonderful, through some beautiful though desolate landscapes. We were happy we made the trip to Ebeneezer, but dang we were getting hungry. We found Elmore James and Lonnie Pitchford. Don't know if they knew each other, but they are close now. What a cool headstone, be sure to look at the picture album. One thing nice about Ebeneezer, its only about 25 miles from the interstate, something we had not been on since leaving Memphis, and now we need to return. Memphis was 160 miles away. We had a full tank of gas, didn't neither of us smoke cigarettes, and we had sunglasses, so we were ready. We made it as far as Granada before the hunger took over. We hit the exit and what do we see...............BARBEQUE!!!! At last.And it was GOOD. Can't tell you what the name of it was, but eat there if you get a chance!
We got back in Memphis pretty late, checked into the Holiday Inn, and got ready to go to Beale St.
http://picasaweb.google.com/jcvitte for more pictures
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