Natchez Trace - Day Three - Trails End

I was feeling a little melancholy this morning, knowing it was our last day on the Trace. We left the campground and passed the farm with the imaginary animals - or should I say the "plaster of Paris" animals. I've seen deer statues in people's yards but several horse statues and a cow? That's a bit much!



At milepost 330.2 we stopped at Rock Spring. There is a 20 minute walk along Colbert Creek. We met a couple walking up the path. She said, "Don't worry, the five dogs are very friendly." At first I thought that she had five dogs herself, off leash, coming up the path. Then she added, "There's a mother and 4 pups down there. I really wanted to take a puppy!" I thought, "Oh no, not again!" She said that the dogs all looked healthy. I was happy/sad that we did not run into them as we walked along the creek. There were these neat stepping stones to get across the creek.




The creek was fresh and clean at this spot. But as we walked further around the curve, the water had pooled into an area, thanks to beavers building a damn. The smell was pretty rank. We saw a brown spotted/striped snake slithering in the water. Not sure if it was a water moccasin or a harmless brown water snake. In either case, it gave me the shivers. Not a fan of snakes!

We continued down the path and ran into an elderly couple, along with their daughter, who were from Wisconsin. The older woman really knew her wildflowers. She identified several to me while I took pictures and Jim took notes. This one is called Jacob's Ladder.



Here is a purple phlox:



This third one is called trillium. I thought it was interesting when I looked up some info on this. Another name for this is Stinking Benjamin because the flowers have the smell of rotting meat, and they are pollinated by flies! Who knew?



We have met some really nice people on the Trace. Fellow RVer's, bicyclists, motorcyclists, and car enthusiasts. Either we strike up a conversation or vice versa.

At one stop we found a thirsty bicyclist who asked us for water. Luckily I had put some bottles in the refrigerator earlier in the morning so we were able to give him a nice cold one. He was waiting for his group to join him. The group was driving/biking the whole Natchez Trace - he had to drive 2 days, but he's been biking for 300 miles including today.

At another stop we ran into a group of car enthusiasts. We didn't get a chance to talk to them, but I was able to snap a photo of some of their cars.



One woman really was into playing her role as you can see by this photo:




At mile post 404.7 is the Jackson Falls. Right off the bat we spotted this unusual bike in the parking lot.




I had to take a bunch of pictures of it, then found out who were the owners.



There were two trails available - one that was very steep, 900 feet, that went down to the falls. The other was, according to the sign, a "gentle" 1/4 mile trail that leads 300 feet (30 stories) high above Duck Pond. We were obviously misled about the "gentle" part. About a third of the way up my joints started speaking to me. About a half the way up I started answering them. Jim went on ahead to see how much further we had to go. I looked around and dug up a thick branch to use as a walking stick and began walking up the steep hill. Jim came back and didn't even ask where I got the walking stick - did he think I pulled it out of my butt or what? Finally the path leveled off for awhile and Jim volunteered to go on ahead to see what he could see. It turned out there really wasn't much to see - the trees were blocking the way! We turned around and headed back down the path. I was mumbling a few choice words under my breath. Somehow going down hill was a lot easier. Kind of like trying to stop a steamroller. We met a young couple charging up the hill. The woman was carrying a baby (maybe 15-20 lbs!) in a carrier that hung from the front of her. I don't think she was even breaking a sweat! The way I looked at it, I was climbing that hill as if I were the octoplet mom with 8 babies hanging off of me! Ok, maybe I exaggerate a little. I could lose about 3 babies weight! Anyhoo, I felt appropriately ashamed for about 2 seconds then continued down the hill. We ran into another more reasonable couple towards the bottom, who were already sweating. I smiled, told them it was a rough climb, and bequeathed my walking stick to them. My good deed for the day.

Did I mention the bugs around here? They are BIG down south. Especially their bumble bees. They sound like freakin' B-52 bombers when they fly by you, and they're almost as big! They would bounce off our large side mirrors on the truck (about 18 inches long). I'd hear, "Bing!" Every once in awhile one would bounce into the truck. They'd only be stunned momentarily. I heard a bing! felt something hit me in the chest, I let out a yelp and started freaking out. I looked at my feet and found what looked like a lighting bug on steroids! He was about 5 times the width of a normal size lighting bug. I had to be brave and kill him because Jim was driving. It was not pretty.

Sometimes Jim and I would get confused after we'd turn into one of the scenic areas. We'd pull out and couldn't remember if we were heading north or south. Because of our mistake and we had to turn around, we were able to have our lunch at a beautiful location - a nice picnic area overlooking Lake Pickwick. A cool breeze coming off the water blew the humidity away and the big bugs! This is the John Coffee Memorial Bridge over Lake Pickwick.



Our last stop on the Trace was at the Double Arch Bridge. We pulled off there so I could take pictures.



A car pulled up with a Hispanic girl all dressed up, along with her friends. I think they might have been celebrating her 15th birthday, or Mexican Quinceañera. I thought it was cute how she stood on the bridge and waved to the cars passing underneath.



There were so many motorcyclists on the Trace. It's a beautiful road for that purpose. Jim and I had just gotten back into the truck when I saw this couple getting ready to leave on their motorcycle. I quick snapped pictures from my seat, across Jim, through his window. I call this one "Tough Love". You'll see why.





Well, we did it. We drove all 440 miles of the Trace and enjoyed every minute of it. We think we might just come back down this way on our way to Arizona in the fall, but visit the outlying cities. All in all, it was a wonderful trip, and we'd recommend it to anyone. Thanks to our friends Norma and Larry for telling us about the Natchez Trace in the first place. Did you plan our next trip?

Natchez Trace - Day Two - The Miracle of Three

We had an easy “get-away” in the morning since we had left the trailer hooked up from pulling in the day before. So we got on the road before 9:00 a.m. That’s early for us! It was a nice drive back on the bridge over the reservoir that connects the campground to the Trace. All along the reservoir were many Great Blue Herons. I bet we saw over ten! Jim said that they were staking out their own fishing spots because they seemed to be sitting about 20 feet apart from each other! I was happy because I saw a group of pelicans (3*) floating on the water! We sped by and I couldn’t get a picture off.

We planned to backtrack a little and go south on the Trace to make up for what we missed yesterday. First we stopped for gas, and then headed directly to the Mississippi Crafts Center. Here beautiful arts and crafts were displayed and for sale, from hand woven baskets, to stained glass hangings, to handmade wooden chairs, pottery, jewelry, just to name a few. It was nice to wander down the aisles and pretend I had money, debating which items I would purchase. I love the “bottle tree”. What is a bottle tree? It is a tree filled with bottles. The bottle tree's origins can be traced back to Africa. It was believed that bottles suspended in the trees would attract evil spirits when the sun glimmered through the bottles. The evil spirits would then be trapped in the bottles.




The man working the welcome desk also repaired cane chairs. He was in the process of fixing one when we came out of the store, so he showed us how he repaired the chair. He explained that “caning” was really a lost art and that he had 12 chairs waiting for him at home to be repaired!



Continued down the road and then saw, Yuk!, a snake slithering across the road. It was about 2 feet long and a bluish color. Of course we had no choice but to hit him. Jim described it as, “Bap, bap, bap-bap-bap.” (Front tire of truck, back doolies, 3 tires on trailer!) That sucker was road kill for sure! As a matter of fact, we saw two other smooshed snakes on the road later in the day, for a total of 3*.

My all time favorite stop of the day had to be at mile marker 122 – the Cypress Swamp.



The swamp was filled with both Cypress and Tupelo trees. Did you know that Tupelo was a tree? Yep, that’s what we learned today. And yes, the city of Tupelo is named after the tree. Looking into the swamp we could see a mirrored image of the trees above. There was a small trail surrounding the swamp with little signs that talked about the trees, animals, etc. Alligators are few, but can be found in the swamp. I happened to be walking first on the trail, and Jim said to me, “Watch for a log that looks like its breathing!” Isn’t he just the greatest?

Zooming down the road to our next stop we saw 3* wild turkeys fly/run to the side of the road. Man, we almost had food for a month!

The drive has been so peaceful. The smell of pine trees is so powerful, and every once in awhile you get a whiff of something sweet that’s in bloom. Today we happened by a couple of guys who were cutting the grass on either side of the road and we smelled wild chives.

We stopped at Cole Creek, mile marker 175.6, another tupelo/bald-cypress swamp, but it wasn’t as nice as the other swamp. Again there was a little trail around the swamp that we walked (it felt good to stretch our legs.) Again my husband felt it wise to share a little of his wisdom. “If you should see a snake with what looks like cotton in his mouth, it’s not really cotton.”

I replied, “Let me guess, it’s a cottonmouth snake. But believe me, if I see a snake, I’m not going to study it to see if it has cotton in its mouth!”

“No? What would you do?”

“Well, I’d jump in your arms!”

Our last stop of the day was at the Bynum Mounds. Prehistoric people built these mounds between 2,100 and 1,800 years ago and were used as burials and for ceremonial purposes.



But what was interesting was that as soon as we pulled up, a couple of dogs welcomed us. They came up to us wagging their tails. No one was around. I think someone might have left them there. One dog looked pretty scraggy;



The other one looked ok. I immediately wanted to feed them or at least give them water. So I grabbed an old plastic bowl from the trailer and gave them some water.



The two dogs drank most of the water, and then followed us to the area by the mounds. I stopped because a third little dog came out who was just precious looking. Jim continued to walk, but I was torn, looking at these dogs. The female dog showed me her belly like she wanted a good scratching.





Her tail was wagging. I noticed that all the dogs had flea collars on them, but no tags. I went back up to the water bowl and poured in the rest of the water from my water bottle. The female dog came over, drank all the water, then proceeded to pick up the bowl and run away with it! I hated to leave the dogs, but I did the next best thing. I called the emergency line and reported the 3* dogs to the ranger. Hopefully the dogs will be turned in to the nearest shelter.

So at the end of the day, I’ve seen 3 dogs, 3 snakes, 3 pelicans, 3 wild turkeys, and several great blue herons. It was a GREAT day!

We stopped to camp right off the Trace at a campground located in Tupelo, MS.

Natchez Trace - Day One - Here we go! 4/22/09

I was pretty excited to be on the Natchez Trace for real. I had this crazy idea that I would actually count the number of motorcycles, vehicles, RV’s, and bicyclists that passed us along the way. This wasn’t too hard to do in the morning. Then we left the Trace to go to the National Military Park in Vicksburg. By the time we returned to the Trace, it was late afternoon. There was a lot of traffic on it – then I realized that people were using it as a shortcut because of construction on another road. So I’m not going to consider those cars in my calculations. Over the course of 3 ½ hours, we passed 8 motorcycles, 40 cars, 4 RV’s, 22 bicyclists, and 1 turkey! That averages out to be: 11.4 cars, 2.3 motorcycles, 1.1 RV’s, 6.3 bicyclists and a turkey leg (or wing) per hour!

We blew past the stops we made yesterday, so our first stop of the day was Sunken Trace at mile marker 41.5. This was part of the actual road that had been worn down well over 12 feet deep by the thousands who traveled the Trace, be it human or beast. The picture doesn't do it justice, or truly capture the feeling of awe that we felt standing there.



A few miles down the road we stopped at Grindstone Ford/Magnum Mound. Before we even turned into the pullout, I was mesmerized by this beautiful scene.



There were two roads off the main driveway. We weren’t sure if either had a loop at the end to make it possible for us to swing around in with our large trailer. We noticed a lone bicyclist coming towards us. He was pretty friendly and told us that we’d have to go under a bridge that was only 11’ 14” leading to the Mangum Mound. Since our trailer was 12’ something tall, that road was out. We drove to the other site and saw old gravestones from the early 1800’s.




Jim walked to the other site while I took pictures of the farm with the horses.


At this point we opted to take a detour from the Trace and visit the Vicksburg National Military Park. We got in for free due to Jim’s National Senior Pass.



The Battle of Vicksburg lasted 47 days in the year 1863. Union soldiers, lead by Major General Ulysses S. Grant fought, and won, a bloody battle to take control over Vicksburg, and thus, the Mississippi River. This would also isolate the States of Texas and Arkansas and most of Louisiana – an area which the South depended heavily upon for supplies and recruits.

The Vicksburg National Park is spread out over 16 miles and 1,700 acres of land. We were able to drive completely around it towing our trailer. There were only a couple of spots we avoided because they did not offer a loop for us to turn around in.

Twenty eight states were represented in the battle, and each of them has a monument erected to honor their soldiers. Illinois has the best monument, I must say, and I’m not being biased. Here it is – you see for yourself.



It has 47 steps leading up to it, one step for each day of the battle. The walls inside the dome are lined with metal plaques listing all the names (almost 37,000) of the soldiers who fought in the Vicksburg battle. There is a hole in the top of the dome which allows natural light to come in.

This is the Shirley House. Union troops called it “the white house.” It is the only surviving wartime structure in the park. During the siege it served as headquarters for the 45th Illinois Infantry, members of which built hundreds of bombproof shelters around it to protect themselves against Confederate artillery fire. It has been restored to its 1863 appearance.



This is the U.S.S. Cairo, a gunboat that suffered two explosions while moving up the Yazoo River just north of Vicksburg. It had hopes of destroying Confederate batteries and clearing any enemy obstructions from the channel. The explosions (caused from an electrically detonated torpedo) tore gaping holes in the bottom of the boat and sunk within minutes. The boat was salvaged in the early 1960’s.



We couldn’t drive to the cemetery because we wouldn’t be able to fit through the gates (darn!) so this is a photo I took overlooking the cemetery from where we parked.




We hightailed it back to the Trace when we finished our tour of the National Military Park. From the Trace we exited to our campground that a fellow camper had recommended to us. It was a beautiful drive along the reservoir. The campground itself was very nice.

Touring Natchez, MS 4/21/09

One thing we had to get used to was the humidity down south. What a difference from the dry air in Arizona! We worked up a sweat just getting in and out of the truck! Our first stop of the day was at “Forks in the Road”. This site was the second largest slave market in the Deep South during the early 1800s. Nothing remains from the market, but a historical marker is there, plus exhibits that describe how the market was run and how the slaves were paraded before the buyers. It was hard to read about how the blacks had been treated.

Next stop on the agenda was St. Mary’s Basilica, built in 1841. It is the oldest Catholic building still in use in the State of Mississippi.







Behind the church is Memorial Park, which has a lovely fountain in the center, grand old trees, and lots of park benches. I could see myself spending time there sitting on a park bench just daydreaming, or reading a book, with the gargling fountain as background music.



It was getting near lunch time, so we drove on over to the “Pig Out Inn”, a local restaurant that was advertised in a recent issue of Southern Living. I liked the eclectic atmosphere right off the bat when I saw the pig statue wearing cowboy boots out in front of the restaurant.



Inside they had a couple of kooky signs – one being, “What I love about the South”.





We munched down barbecue pork sandwiches with coleslaw right on the bun (of course), some chips, and pop. A nice touch was the squirt bottle with WARM barbecue sauce in it! Yumm!


There are many antebellum homes in the area which you can tour, for a price. I was happy just to snap pictures from the outside as we were passing by. Here are only a couple of homes. The first one is called Rosalie Mansion, which was built in 1820, and was used as Union Headquarters during the Civil War.




This is Magnolia Hall, built by Thomas Henderson in 1858. Mr. Henderson was a merchant, planter, and an elder in the First Presbyterian Church. It was one of the last mansions to have been built in the town of Natchez before the beginning of the Civil War. It did not escape that conflict - shelling by a Union gunboat damaged the home. In fact, a cannonball landed in the kitchen. Mr. Henderson had a stroke before the war ended and was confined to bed in the guest bedroom downstairs, where he eventually died. It is believed the home is haunted by Mr. Henderson, himself. I found out this information after we left the area, so this means when we travel back to Natchez that I'll just have to visit old Tom!



We also visited two other local churches. One was the First Presbyterian Church. The original Presbyterian church was built in 1815; the newer and larger church in 1828. The second floor of the church houses a photographic history of Natchez. It was like taking a step back in time.



The second church was the Trinity Episcopal Church built in 1822, making it the oldest Episcopal church building in the State of Mississippi. It has many stained glass windows inside, two of which have great significance, having been designed, fashioned and installed by Louis Tiffany. Here is one of the Tiffany windows, entitled, "Christ the good shepherd".




Next up was the William Johnson House. He became a freed slave when he was only 11 years old. He trained to become a barber from his brother-in-law. Once William completed his training, he bought his first barbershop in Natchez in 1830. Eventually he came to own and operate three barbershops and a bath house in the city. William kept diaries for over 16 years beginning in 1835 and ending with his death in 1851. These diaries tell what it was like to be a free person of color back in the time of slavery. This is where William lived in 1841, along with his wife, mother-in-law, 10 children, and some slaves. They all lived upstairs; downstairs was commercial space. The other half of the building he rented out.



Our final stop of the day was to see a restaurant that was talked about on Roadside America.com, called "Mammy's Cupboard". It definitely would catch your eye if you were driving by:



Yes, that's right. To enter the restaurant, there is a door in Mammy's skirt. The restaurant was closed at the time, but it was worth the short trip just for the photo opportunity!

Natchez Trace - A Glimpse 4/20/09

Camera? Check. Map? Check. Water? Check. We both were excited to start our trek on the Natchez Trace. We were keeping our fingers crossed so that no one would stop us because of the size of our truck.. If they did we were going to play dumb.

Imagine driving on a two lane road, maximum speed 50 mph, where no commercial vehicles were allowed. No billboards to distract you.




Just you, the road, the beautiful scenic view, and a wild turkey or two. Southerners call them chuck-a-lucks.



First thing I noticed was the quietness - we drove with our windows down and the radio off. We could hear the birds singing as we passed trees.


Our first stop on the Trace was at the 5.1 mile post - the Elizabeth Female Academy. It was founded in 1818 and was the first school for women to be chartered by the state of Mississippi. This was all that was left of the school.




Another stop was at the Mount Locust Inn and Plantation, which is one of the oldest structures still standing in an area known for historic homes. Mt. Locust's first owner was John Blommart in 1780. Blommart lost a rebellion against the Spanish, causing him to be jailed and thus forfeiting his fortune and Mt. Locust. William Ferguson and his wife Paulina bought the farm in 1784 and operated it until William's death in 1801. Paulina married James Chamberlain, an overseer for the farm, a short time later, and they continued to build the farm. Mt. Locust was home to five generations of Chamberlains, with the last leaving in 1944.



We only drove about 20 miles onto the Trace to get a taste of it. Nobody stopped us; heck we hardly passed anyone on the road! Tomorrow we would be pulling the trailer behind us and heading on our way.

We left the Trace and hunted around for a place to eat lunch. We decided on trying a place "Under the Hill", an area under the bluff right on the river, notorious back in the day for gambling, drinking, and wild women (sounds right up my alley!) But it's now respectable - although there is a gambling boat anchored there called, "The Isle of Capri" that was calling to me. Jim didn't seem to hear it, though. We ate at a decent establishment called the Magnolia Grill. I ate a delicious "Shrimp Po' Boy".



Very, very tasty. I think Jim had a plain old hamburger. Me - gotta have a feel for the area, ya know?

After lunch I had this bright idea to drive around the Natchez City Cemetery. I love old cemeteries, and this one was no different. It had many old graves, many from the Civil War. I loved the old wrought iron fences around the graves.






The cemetery was great - only problem was - it was not built for a big truck like ours to be driving around. There were a couple of places that were so tight that I didn't think we'd make the turn without taking something out. We had to pull our mirrors in a couple of times. Then we pulled into a dead end (no pun intended) and Jim had to back up. It was a little tense for awhile. I gave a big sigh of relief when we finally drove out of there!

One thing I noticed on the road driving to the cemetery was the "Speed Hump" sign. I thought this was hysterical. Doesn't it usually say, "Speed BUMP?" "Speed Hump". Is that southern talk for a "quickie?"

Visiting Vidalia, LA 4/19/09

Our next plan of action was to camp near the beginning of the Natchez Trace and gather all the information we needed about it, before starting out. The 444-mile Natchez Trace Parkway, which runs from Natchez, MS to Nashville, TN, commemorates an ancient trail first used by animals and later Native Americans, early explorers, "Kaintuck" boatmen, post riders, and military men. Farmers would float their produce down the Mississippi River, sell their flatboats for lumber, then walk home via the Trace. Portions of the Trace later developed into county and postal roads.

Jim found this great campground situated right on the Mississippi River directly across from Natchez, MS. The river walk extended from in front of the campground to a couple of miles into town.








After we got the trailer all set up, Jim and I walked a little while on the river walk. It was a beautiful day. We saw mockingbirds, orioles, and even an energetic red-headed woodpecker trying to drill a hole through a metal street sign!






I enjoyed watching the tugboats pushing the barges down the river.

We gathered some info on the Trace from the campground and read in the small print that trucks over one ton were not allowed on the road, the same as commercial vehicles. No where did it say that on the web site. We were in a dilemma. Our truck weighs 1 1/2 tons but it's not commercial. We decided to drive a little bit on the Trace the next morning to give it a test drive and to see if anyone stopped us. If so, then we'd have to change our plans, but we were going to keep our fingers crossed that it would work out ok.

Rain, rain go away - Shreveport con't 4/17-18/09

Friday morning it just poured out. In the afternoon we drove out to R. W. Norton Art Gallery, another freebie. Luckily the rain had let up, and we were able to tour the beautiful gardens and walkways before the skies opened up again. Here are a few of the sights we saw there.












We toured the art gallery for over two hours! It was a very enjoyable way to spend a rainy afternoon.

We were supposed to leave in the morning, but heard there was going to be severe storms. So we arranged to stay put for another day, and left for the Natchez Trace on Sunday.