Delta Backroads

"knows the cure is to go buzzing around these delta backroads with my camera, a cold beverage, and pandora on the airwaves. come on cooler weather. please."

i posted this as my status on facebook earlier today. and there's no truer statement. i've gone down delta backroads many a time to cure what ails me. and the rare times i couldn't be fixed, the ride sure made me better than i was.

riding the roads of the delta is something i've done near daily for the past 49 years. the ride is a ritual. it is in my blood. not sure that i could exist without riding delta backroads. i can do it solo or with a loved one. i've just got to do it.

i hear so many comments from those visiting the delta for the first time about how flat and vast the land is. many think that what they see is the way the delta has always looked. definitely not so. many, many changes have taken place. wish i could print the picture i see in my mind so they could see how it was when i was just a small girl. seems you could just look out and see flat land for days.

i've watched the cycles of planting and harvesting in the fields. depending on the time of year, the view is either lush spreads of green, solid fields of white, or barren winter brown. i've seen the delta land go from being dusty, bone-dry, and thirsting for rain to later covered over with water from the melting northern rivers and flashfloods.

i've seen tenant shacks, massive barns, grain elevators, beautiful old homes, backroads, and hundreds of acres of cropland vanish before my eyes and replaced with massive monster-like casinos, shopping centers, hotels, parking lots, and subdivisions. Not to mention miles and miles of highway.

i've deeply expanded my appreciation of music because of my delta backroad trips. remember that music is definitely an intregal part of any delta backroad trip. i've gone from having just AM radio, to FM radio, 8 tracks, cassettes, cds, satellite, and currently my favorite, pandora. just as the scenery changes on every backroad trip, so should the musical background.

i've traveled delta backroads both as a passenger and as the navigator. and i must say i favor being the navigator. navigating is my cup of tea. especially when i don't know where i'm going. on really good trips, there is no dictation of direction. and usually, no road goes the same place twice. for sure, no matter where i go or how far, i always find my way home.

if you happen to visit the mississippi delta, come on down to clarksdale, my hometown, and treat yourself to a ride on one of my delta backroads. i'm sure it'll cure what ails you. so come on and ride those blues away.

and remember, all delta backroad trips are guaranteed memorable adventures!

{all photographs taken by me during my backroad ventures}