Natchez Trace Day Two

We began our day in Clinton, MS.  We drove back to the spot where we got off the Trace and continued north.  The green line is the Trace.  Each black dot is a site on the Trace, some are just a sign telling about an event or a house that stood there, some are walking paths and some are overlooks.  This day was our longest.

At the end of day two we got off the Trace just west of Alabama and stayed the night near Pickwick Dam in TN.  I have a nest of cousins in Savannah, TN and I remember eating at a restaurant near this dam when I was younger.

Our trip started with very flat terrain and near the end of day two we are in rolling hills.

We started Day Two in the fog.

I promise you that Carl really is happy.

Along the Trace many of the restrooms and information sites are built to look like a building from times past.  Here is The Parkway Information Cabin near Jackson.

The Mississippi Craft Center was such a fun stop near Jackson.  The very kind lady who opened 15 minutes early just for us could not have been nicer.  I should have written down her name so I could tell you to go see her!  We bought several souvenirs and admired lots of art.  They also have wonderful bathrooms.

Here is a souvenir I bought for my fridge with the path of the Trace.

I loved all the history and science that we learned.  I had never heard of a water tupelo tree before this .

Kaitlin was usually our scout.  She would run ahead and see if I could make the trek or if they needed to go and bring me back pictures.  Kaitlin and Carl both got to 10,000 steps on their fitbits every day! Most of the paths I could walk.

Here is what the old Trace looked like in several places.

The view from the road we drove on differed all along the way.  Sometimes we saw wide open spaces, sometimes we were in a canopy of trees, and sometimes the road was hugging the side of a hill.

We saw some fall color but not lots because of the lack of water.

This is the half way point.  On Wednesday, Thursday and Friday we saw maybe 10 cars total but on Saturday we saw tons plus lots of cyclists, runners, and walkers.  We enjoyed having the road to ourselves so we could stop and take pics like this one!

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!