This mural celebrated the centennial of the town of Raymond.

For some reason, US 80 was not officially signed in this part of Mississippi. However, non-standard signs like this west of Edwards marked the old road. After I took this picture, I started to sip some water, but a guy  sent his dogs out to chase me away. They were huge but docile, thank goodness.

This steel truss bridge on US 80 was one of a disappearing breed.

Yes, there was a town named Bovina (there was another in Texas).

Vicksburg had an old Coca-Cola bottler's building similar to the one in Fort Valley, Georgia.

In Vicksburg I reached the mighty Mississippi River.

Looking south, I could see two bridges. The one in the foreground with the American flag was the old US 80 bridge. Since the bridge closed in 1999, there was no legal way to ride a bicycle  across the Mississippi River  anywhere between Natchez and Greenville, a stretch of 130 miles. There was once a push to reopen it as a park and bike path  like the Chain of Rocks Bridge near St. Louis, but it didn't work out. I had to hire a ride over the I-20 bridge in the background instead.

The Widow Blakely, so named because it was the only Blakely rifled cannon in Vicksburg, once defended the city from Union forces.  Now she stood ready to bombard the riverboat casino parking lots should the need ever arise.