Day 37 (8/4) New Orleans –> Moundville, AL –> Atlanta. (Lin) Woke up to a super muggy morning in New Orleans (even in our hotel room – air conditioned, but still damp). Got on the road and enjoyed driving across part of Lake Pontchartrain (smaller section, not the N-S long bridge). It was also fascinating to realize that the wide open terrain and roads we had enjoyed in much of Nevada, Utah, New Mexico, Arizona, and Texas had completely disappeared. Instead, the highway in Mississippi and Alabama is tightly closed by trees on either side – pretty much like highways in New England. Although it felt familiar, honestly, we missed the wide open space and the never-ending view.

In Alabama, we stopped at Moundville Archaeological Park, a serene and lovely field in which a dozen or so large grass covered mounds can be viewed. The mounds date back 600 – 1,000 years ago and were built by southeastern Native nations as part of a concentrated living area / mini urban area. The mounds were usually used by royalty and religious leaders, who lived on top of them. Although the largest mound is only 60 feet high, it is still impressive to ponder the volume of dirt that had to be displaced to build it. Clusters of mounds like this exist all over the southeast, reaching up to Ohio. It was super wicked hot and humid, so only Harrison and Eden joined me in climbing the 100 stairs to the top of Chieftan’s Mound.

After a quick tour of the museum and some of the displays and artifacts on display (and some ice cream to cool down), we hit the road again. We had been hoping to stop in Tuscaloosa to see some friends, but we had to keep moving for time’s sake, which was unfortunate.

Atlanta traffic was slow, but it was slightly past the peak when we arrived. We drove to the northern section of the Atlanta, to Alpharetta, to stay with our friends the Stantons from our Gordon-Conwell days.

(Can click on pics for larger versions.)

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