The Natchez Trace

On May 19 we spent the day traveling up the old Natchez Trace. This is a national parkway (like the Blue Ridge Parkway) except that there are fewer hills and turns. The Trace has an amazing history and it is worth it to stop in Tupelo, MS at the visitor's center to see the film and enjoy the exhibits.

One of the reasons we like it is that you can travel from Natchez, MS all the way to Nashville without a single stop sign, traffic light, bill board or strip mall! It's beautiful. There are many turn outs where you can stop to picnic or you can do short nature hikes. This one included a lovely spring and creek. While I sketched, Greg went off to hike the full circle hike (20 minutes) and saw the largest beaver dam he'd ever seen in his life! He also saw a few snakes! Both harmless but still startling! There are also historical markers here and there. I wrote about the Trace before as it is where Meriweather Lewis died (Lewis and Clark) under strange circumstances. His gravesite is along the trail. There is a lot of Indian history as well, as it was originally an Indian trail for the Chicasaw and Choctaw Indians. Once the steamboat was invented the Trace became obsolete and it was many years before someone thought to save it!