March 18, 2012
Because I went to bed relatively late the night before, I got a late start on my morning. Once I woke up, I got online to locate the nearest Starbucks. After I figured that out, I took a shower, checked out of my room, and set out for my morning smoothie and some time on the Internet.
Before leaving Starbucks, I figured out my next destination, route, and possible places to stay. I didn’t want to relive the experiences from the night before. Once I was comfortable with my decision, I committed my faith to visit Winterville Mounds State Park, located at 2415 Highway 1 N, Greenville, MS 38703.
I headed west on Interstate 20 from Jackson to Vicksburg, north on Highway 61, and Highway 1 to Greenville. It was a beautiful day, and the temperature was in the mid-80s, which was 25 degrees above normal.
This drive took me through the countryside just east of the Mississippi River. I drove alongside the levees at several different points and saw three hawks. The first two hawks flew across the highway directly in front of my van, and the third hawk hovered over a field to my right, as it looked for something to eat. I took the following photo shortly after seeing the third hawk.
Once I finally arrived at Winterville Mounds State Park, I entered the visitor’s center and introduced myself to Suzie, the park’s secretary.
Suzie was extraordinarily lovely and possessed tremendous knowledge about the various Indian mounds throughout Mississippi and neighboring states. She showed me the following map and informed me that the state of Mississippi was developing the “Mississippi Mound Trail,” which will eventually run south along Highway 1 and 69 from Greenville to Natchez, Mississippi.
The dark dots on the following map represent various mounds, most of which are on privately owned land.
This particular park is on the 33°29′ parallel.
Suzie and I talked for another fifteen minutes or so, and then I excused myself so that I could walk around the park. My first impression was that this park was much more primitive than the other parks, but I preferred it this way. It felt much more natural to me.
I made my way to the ceremonial mound and performed the same ritual I had performed at the previous mounds. While standing at the bottom of the mound, I said a prayer and asked the ancestor’s permission to ascend to the top.
Once I had reached the top, I walked to the center of the mound and placed the kidney-shaped stone on the ground.
I descended the mound and began walking around the park, searching for a stone to take to my next destination. While strolling around the grounds, I was startled by a large bird sitting in a nearby tree. I couldn’t get close enough to figure out what type of bird it was. It had to have been a hawk or an owl. I wasn’t sure.
I continued to search for a stone but couldn’t find one. I walked around every mound and through every patch of wood but could not find one stone.
That’s when I decided to head back to the ceremonial mound to see if I could find a stone there. As I approached the mound, I walked upon a huge black snake.
Snake offered the following medicine:
- transmutation,
- psychic abilities,
- being creative,
- immortal,
- connection to the magic used by shamans to connect with the other side.
- Being elusive.
Once I made it back to the ceremonial mound, I found two small stones on the walls of the mound.
As I left the grounds, I took the following photo. I titled this photo “The Tree of Life.”

The Tree of Life
That evening, I worked on my computer at McDonald’s and spent the night in a Walmart parking lot. Before I went to bed, I invoked the angel at the top of the page between 9:40 and 10:00 PM.