Journaling the Trip

By now you all know that I love to journal my trips. Some trips have more opportunities than others!

I already mentioned a few posts ago that we discovered the Natchez Trace on our way north and drove about 150 miles of it into Nashville on our way from Florida to Illinois about 10 days ago. (See map to the left side crossing Alabama and TN and the Tennessee River).

We are now back to Florida (on a cool rainy Friday morning). BUT oh it feels SO good to be home!!

I did not get to enter very much in my journal about this trip...the weather was not too conducive to being outside much and I had one of my sinus infections for most of the travel (sigh). And we were in pretty much of a hurry due to time constraints...not our usual "blue highways" type of travel.

But we were both fascinated to read quite a bit about Meriwether Lewis on one of the historical stops along the way up the trace. His burial spot is one of the markers. It is an unusual grave...a broken pillar to signify a life cut short. He died "mysteriously" and it is recorded that some thought he committed suicide because he had been "troubled". But then it is also recorded he died of two gun shot wounds which seemed to us highly suspect. But, in any case, it was sad that someone so involved in the early history of our country (and who was a respected journalist) died alone in a small cabin int he middle of Tennessee at only 35 years old.

Because the day going north was sunny and about 60, we bought picnic things and ate outside under some lovely old cedar trees not far from his grave (my first journal entry). Just beyond the tree line was the Little Swan Creek and up the road we found some charming small falls. There were many places it would be lovely to sketch but time drew us on!