Five states in one day, Part 4: Mississippi

thrills of the day:

a tulip tree in bloom
at the welcome center
green everywhere
little purple flowers in the grass
bugs on the headlights and windscreen
my first mosquito bites
(this thrill will wear off soon...)

the rest areas say
24 hr Security Provided
or
No Security Provided
I've never seen this
up North.

a few hours in Jackson
with my cousin

her funky bottle tree

and her menagerie:

Mocha

Fuzzy

Grace the demon cat

Cocoa

and on to Baton Rouge

Five states in one day, Part 2: Missouri

The bridge from Illinois into Missouri
pale blue turquoise
graceful crossed arches and braces
a temple, a gateway
soaring above
offering benediction.

no photo, alas;
it came upon us by surprise
and I don't shoot and drive

Lurid green
covers the fields
like spilled paint

Trees broken and flattened by recent wind
In moments of sun between the cloudbursts
We bask, lizards in the front seat.
Gusts play with the car
It begins to seem real.

We trade stories of long ago,
Childhood memories of Stuckey’s
On trips to visit the grandparents
In Indiana
Hauling a car over the mountains in this Jeep,
How I met KJ, whom we will see soon in San Antonio.