Natchez Trace Day One

I have wanted to drive on the Natchez Trace since the 90's.  On one trip from Pine Bluff to Marietta, GA to take my mother home she requested that we drive for a few miles on the NT.  I remember the beauty, the quiet and the history and that I wanted to come back.

We left LR early on Wednesday and headed to Natchez, MS.  I really wasn't sure what all to expect on our trip up the NT but it was not like anything like I thought it would be.  The Trace is a 444 mile National Park.

Our first day plan was to drive from Natchez to Jackson.  There are over 100 stops on the entire Trace and we stopped by most of them.  I was struck by the diversity of things we saw- Indian Mounds, Meriwether Lewis' grave, waterfalls, swamps, Confederate graves, a phosphate mine, several overlooks, picnic areas and several 'stands'. Stands were places where, as you were walking the Trace, you could pay $0.25 to sleep in the yard of a house and possible get a warm meal.  What you don't see are traffic lights, commercial vehicles ( or rather you shouldn't), gas stations, motels, bill boards, or street lights.

We ate at all local restaurants starting with The Carriage House in Natchez.  That is where I noticed that Kaitlin had matching hair, buff, fitbit and sweater!

These were the only signs on the Trace.  We were able to walk on the original path in several places.

The Windsor Ruins in the next two pictures were just amazing.

A family built a house and it burned to the ground and all that was left at these columns.

Kailtin noticed the mile markers and suggest that we all mark our ages!

Here is some of the sunken Trace with Kaitlin getting in tuned with her inner Native America.  She thinks that the Park system should have guides walk the Trace in Native American costume.  She talks a good talk but if she had seen one she would have stayed in the van!

We didn't see much traffic at all from Wednesday -Friday so stopping was easy.

More pictures tomorrow!