61 Highway and Clarksdale

Tweet As I turned left off Canal Street in Natchez onto Highway 61, Mississippi Fred McDowell was playing on my Ipod. I was ready for my trip up the famous blues highway to the town of Clarksdale -- the place where Robert Johnson sold his soul to the devil -- at the Crossroads.

Most of Highway 61 is four-lane, but there are places where it narrows to two -- and it was then that I felt I was driving on the legendary roadway. Endless fields of un-harvested cotton, soybeans and corn -- line both sides of the roadway.

I got goosebumps when McDowell's 61 Highway came on the player -- I'd forgotten it was on the Ipod. Then, it was B.B. King, John Lee Hooker, Muddy Waters, Big Mama Thornton and Howlin' Wolf -- doing Highway 49.

The music created this feeling that I was driving through history -- past the old fields, the old buildings and the little churches.I highly recommend this trip up to Clarksville -- and the Delta Blues Museum is a must-see for Blues fans -- lunch at Abe's BBQ topped off the short visit -- Abe's is located right at the legendary crossroads of Rt 49 and 61.