Mark is finding that driving on this narrow road with no shoulder takes a lot of concentration to stay between the lines. But the speed limit is 50 mile per hour, and there is less traffic than the interstate. Of all the nice scenery out there, Denisa thinks this is the best view.
Just like there is no trash on the trace, there is also no billboard litter allowed. We only saw those little brown national park signs, and occasional signs to remind drivers that the speed limit is 50. In the 146 miles of the Natchez Trace that we traveled this day, there were 30 different points of interest. We knew we were approaching another one of these sites when we would see a sign like this.
Then we would slow down to check out the parking area to make sure our 53-foot rig would fit.
Our first stop was Cypress Swamp. That would include a half-mile walk through the water tupelo and cypress trees.
We love these old cypress trees that thrive with their feet wet. If they're really happy they start producing the little knobs you see in the water that are called cypress knees. Here is Mark smiling because this is fun-knee.
Since we have stayed pretty close to the coast, by definition we have been pretty close to sea level in elevation. But today we did some up-hill hiking all the way up to one of the highest points in Mississippi. At 603 feet in elevation, this isn't quite up to the 13,000 feet mountains we were hiking last summer. Quite appropriately, this peak is called, "Little Mountain." We would have to say it is a very little mountain.
But it was fun to actually see over the surrounding tree tops. There was a group from the University of Alabama that was taking advantage of this lofty height for transmitting ham radio signals. This is part of the special 100th anniversary celebration of the national park system that is going on in 2016.
We packed a lunch and had a picnic among these giant trees at milepost 193.1. It makes us feel quite small to hang out with these big boys.
Along the trail were large groups of wild hydrangea plants. The withered leftover blooms from last summer were still hanging on to the stalks. We would like to return to this trail again when they are in their full glorious bloom!
Speaking of the coming of spring, we couldn't help but notice that some of the deciduous trees are starting to leaf out along the Natchez Trace. As we drove by at a blazing 50 mph, Denisa snapped a picture of one of the trees that was covered with bright red tiny buds today.
Of the 30 possible stops, we found that many of them pointed out things that used to be at that historic location. There was the place where the Choctaw mission used to stand, and the spot where Louis Lefleur's stand opened in 1812, and the former roosting area for millions of passenger pigeons (that are now extinct). We didn't make any of those "used to be" historic stops. But we did park at the Bynum Mounds, that were built 2,000 years ago.
After a full day of driving and historic stops, we departed the Natchez Trace at mile post 262. We drove through Tupelo and headed toward our night's stay in Fulton, Mississippi. At Fulton we experienced another first for us, but that would be the subject of another blog post . . .
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