Mississippi Delta Mornings

By Webster Franklin on Thursday May 8, 2014

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It’s been about twenty years or so since I commented to my then wife to be, “look around you, is this not the most beautiful place on earth!”  The comment was made during one of our late afternoon trips through the Mississippi Delta from my childhood home of Greenwood to our new home in Tunica.  Our collective memory of that trip and my proclamation of the area’s beauty has been a source of laughter and great debate over the years since. 

She, hailing from the big city and defacto capitol of the Delta, Memphis remembers the view as a gray baron landscape of late winter.  While I, a true “delta boy”, saw a large setting sun in the western sky highlighting the trees and the fields that would soon bring the promise of spring – my favorite time of the year to grab a beverage and take a ride through the back roads of the Mississippi Delta.

Spring is indeed here in the Mississippi Delta and I think even my wife will agree with me when I say that it’s hard to beat the early morning drives or late afternoon rides through this uniquely beautiful region.  My mundane drive along Highway 61 from the Town of Tunica north the 12 miles to my office next to the Gateway to the Blues Visitor Center & Museum is always changing.  This time of year, the early morning sun shines down upon the red and green tractors as they plant the fields and I can see the grass at Tunica National Golf course change each day from its dormant gray to a healthy lush green.

Late afternoon rides with a cold beverage of choice however are my favorite.  The back roads of the Delta are full of wildlife, lakes, fields and scenery just waiting for you to take it all in.  The communities throughout the Mississippi Delta region all have unique offerings.  Tunica has the bright lights of the casinos, great golf courses and unrivaled views alongside the Mississippi river.  Clarksdale has Ground Zero, Cleveland has Delta State, Indianola has BB King, Greenville has Doe’s Eat Place, Greenwood has the Alluvian and Vicksburg has antebellum homes. 

I invite you to visit all of these wonderful places and attractions.  I only ask that you don’t treat the drive as a means to get from place A to place B.  I invite you to roll down the windows, turn up the radio and truly experience the Mississippi Delta for all that it has to offer!