Loaded with precious cargo and provisions, hundreds of people made their way to shelters in Natchez and Concordia Parish Wednesday to escape Hurricane Ivan.

Some had picked Natchez out on a map, while others made their way here because there was no room anywhere else.

By early evening Wednesday, at least 1,000 people rested in shelters in the Miss-Lou, a temporary home to residents from the Florida panhandle to south Louisiana.

Inside the Red Cross shelter at the Steckler Multi-Purpose Center, people napped on cots and played cards, their children keeping busy with coloring books or games of tag. Two televisions were tuned to the Weather Channel.

Outside, small groups huddled in conversation around the tailgates of trucks or relaxed in tents they set up just outside the shelter.

Susan Johnson and her family spread out on blankets and sleeping bags on the floor of the Multi-Purpose Center.

&uot;I’ve got insurance on my house but not on my grandbabies … not to replace them,&uot; said Susan Johnson of Pensacola, who watched as her two granddaughters played.

Johnson traveled with her husband, daughter and two grandchildren; her son and daughter-in-law stayed home in Atmore, Ala.

&uot;Charley left us alone and so did Frances,&uot; Johnson said, referring to two earlier hurricanes this season that devastated Florida. &uot;I knew when this one was coming I was out of there. I’m scared.&uot;

Many of the evacuees were grateful for the space they found at the shelters. Steven and Suzanne Smith set out from D’Iberville on the coast Tuesday evening &045;&045; later than they planned &045;&045; after packing necessities and valuables &045;&045; a new computer stored in the trunk of their car and the genealogy they have worked on for years.

The Smiths didn’t make it to Natchez until the morning.

&uot;We really didn’t comprehend that they would evacuate New Orleans,&uot; Suzanne said.

Once they reached Natchez, they found no room at the hotels, which were booked solid earlier in the week.

But they found helpful people &045;&045; desk clerk Patty Jenkins at the Eola worked the phones for half an hour before coming up empty, Steve said.

&uot;We have plenty of money in credit cards, but no one will take us,&uot; Suzanne said.

&uot;We’ll see about making a donation to the Red Cross,&uot; Steve said.

Across the river, residents of Plaquemines Parish in south Louisiana were also thankful to find space at the Vidalia High gymnasium.

About 150 residents arrived just before lunchtime, after riding nearly 24 hours on school buses looking for shelter. Up to 200 more people were expected later in the afternoon.

&uot;They brought us over here, and praise God they opened this shelter up,&uot; Mary Jane Gibson said as she ate a hot lunch in the school cafeteria.

Even as they rested from long drives, many of the evacuees wondered what they would find when they returned home.

John Geraghty’s family just moved from Chicago to Ocean Springs three months ago; Ivan is their first hurricane. They family &045;&045; John, his wife, their four children and a cat &045;&045; loaded up with their &uot;irreplaceables&uot; &045;&045; photos and the children’s drawings.

&uot;It’s hard to have any certainty about what you’re going back to,&uot; Geraghty said.

By early Wednesday afternoon, the shelter at the Multi-Purpose Center reached its maximum capacity of 400 people, leading the Red Cross to open shelters at Community Chapel Church of God and Washington Baptist Church.

At Washington Baptist, a small number of people set up their sleeping bags on the floor.

Melissa Gomez and Ashley Johnson drove with another friend from Gulfport; their husbands, members of the Navy, stayed behind to help with disaster relief.

&uot;We’re just worried about them,&uot; Johnson said.

Some evacuees said that now they had fled north from the storm, they wish they’d stayed put.

&uot;I was (on the Coast) through Camille, and I should have stayed this time,&uot; said Benny Davis, a Gulf Coast resident. &uot;My son stayed there. We could have stuck it out.&uot;

&uot;That’s right. I have faith in myself, and I have faith in God to protect me. We could have gotten through it,&uot; said Davis’ friend Mike Leggett.

&uot;I wanted to stay there, but …&uot; Leggett added, gesturing to his wife, who was busy getting directions to Community Chapel. Once she did, they were off again to another shelter.

&045;&045; Reporting by

Nita McCann

and

Kerry Whipple

.