Distance today = 55.02 km; Total distance = 10,521.29 km; Location = Booneville – 34 40.661′ N, 88 33.574′ W; Start time = 0913, Finish time = 1807

http://connect.garmin.com/activity/214491872

It was a long day. The roads here in Mississippi are picturesque, but probably the most pedestrian-unfriendly I have encountered anywhere. There is zero shoulder on just about every road. I am constantly meandering back and forth across the road, depending on which direction the latest car is coming from. When there is traffic on both sides, I need to jump into the long grass beside the road.

Another dog decided to follow me today. After it tagged along for some distance up the road, we decided it needed to be taken back, so we packed it into the car and Carmel drove it back to its home (sorry again, Chook). As nice as it is to have friendly dogs for company, I don’t want to be responsible for it being hit by a car or getting lost.

I’ve been through some interesting places the past few days. Holly Springs is where a Civil War “event” occurred, although it was relatively bloodless, when the Confederate Army took back a town and planted its flag in the square. We had lunch at a cafe in this town square. I also passed close to Tupelo today, which is where Elvis was born and lived as a child. It is also the inspiration for Van Morrison’s song Tupelo Honey (one of Mr Reefton Humblewood’s favourite songs, along with Cottonfields and Kumbaya).

One thing I’ve noticed that’s different in Mississippi are the flags. Everyone knows that Americans love to wave the flag, but I have seen more Confederate flags in the past two days (5) than US national flags (3). Mmmmm, interesting!

It’s hard to believe, but it took just 23 days of running to get from a state bordering Canada (Wisconsin) to a state bordering the Gulf of Mexico (Mississippi). I’m certainly happy with that sort of progress.

I have a couple of milestones coming up tomorrow, so stay tuned.