02-Nov-2010 -- Reconfirming Mississippi longitudinally is a long state, while discovering this confluence point is not in the running for the “World’s most exciting CP” title.

On the road on national Election Day in the U.S.A., I drive south from Tennessee on a route that takes me through three of Mississippi’s four congressional districts. Below Laurel, I leave the divided highways behind to pass through the small towns of Ovett, Richton, and Beaumont on Mississippi Route 15, taking the opportunity to survey the number of political campaign signs in people’s yards, and confirm the impending Republican landslide.

After crossing the Leaf River, I head southwest into the De Soto National Forest. Passing signs for Camp Shelby’s East Bombing Range, I encounter traffic cones and warnings of possible military maneuvers in the area, the most ominous ones advising that tracked vehicles might cake the pavement with mud while crossing. Fortunately, no tanks were seen, and no bombs heard…

Spoiler Alert: If you are patiently waiting for this report to become more exciting, it probably isn’t going to happen in this paragraph. In fact it may not happen at all! I head west on MS highway 29, then turned south on Patterson Road. Just before a final turn west onto an unpaved forest road numbered 388B, the road narrowed and I passed between a couple of residences where the speed limit was posted as a slow 5 mph. After weeks of very dry weather in Mississippi, severe enough to bring a ban on outside burning, rain has picked today to return to the state. I’ve driven through several showers already, and as I approach 31N 89W, the clouds to the west indicate more precipitation is on the way. Will it hold off until I complete the task at hand?

As I approach the cp, I see a piece of yellow flagging tape tied in a tree on the right. Is this the spot? I stop and begin my search for the elusive zeroes. The 89th meridian is easy to locate on the road, but the 31st parallel seems off in the woods. 31N is easily located in the woods, but finding 89N again is a fight with the tangle of vegetation east and especially west. Finally success, just as the rain begins to pour. I finish taking my photos and quickly retreat to the car. I conclude (as I’m sure you have already) that 22 1/2 months since the last report on this cp, 31N 89W remains unchanged, and somewhat underwhelming.

The last four DCP visitors to this spot combined a stop here with a hunt for 30N 90W, and, with Daylight Saving Time still in effect, I can still attempt to continue the trend today. The forecast for the afternoon is 90% rain, and as I head towards New Orleans, I hope that 10% of non-rain sits on the edge of the Inland Waterway…