Day 10--March 28--Dothan to Lake Park, GA

We have landed in Lake Park which is south of Valdosta at a super Good Sam Park called Eagles Roost. Almost all of the sites are pull throughs. There are many mature trees just dripping with Spanish Moss. On our way we passed through Donaldson and saw several peanut processing plants. We also drove through one of the prettiest little towns I've ever seen--Quitman, GA. Many of the houses looked like Thomas Kincaid paintings--cute little cottages with azaleas in full bloom. Unfortunately we didn't stop and take pictures. Next little town we come upon like this we've both promised ourselves to stop and take a walk around town.
We are putting our Charmglow grill that Jeff and Amy gave to us for Christmas to good use. We use it everyday. Tonight we had pork loin, potatoes and onions, and asparagus all done on the grill. Last evening Betsy even did pizza using the grill.

Forgot to tell the story of Rosalie which is one of the mansions in Natchez that is on the tour. Betsy and I were especially interested in Rosalie because its owned by the Mississippi Daughters of the American Revolution. We arrived and ask to buy a tour ticket only to be told that tickets had to be purchased downtown and the visitors center. We didn't want to go back downtown again so I told Betsy to go back in the gift shop building and see if they had any pictures of the interior so that we could use them in our power point presentation about our trip. While she did that I walked Tipper in a grassy area to the side of the mansion. Betsy joined us and I pointed to an unguarded gate which would get us into the mansion yard and we could take some better pictures. Betsy didn't want to sneak in as we might get caught. I told her just to keep walking and if anyone stopped us to just say, "My name is Jane McPherson from Kingston, TN and I'm by God a'going to see this house!" Jamie

I just purchased a Woodall's Campsite Cookbook for inspiration in my travel cooking. So far we are enjoying a varied well balenced diet but I did not how much longer I could go on with my meager camp cooking knowledge. My rule of thumb is----if it is hot (65+ degrees) I cook outdoors on the grill and it is is colder I'll cook indoors in the kitchen. If I get in real trouble with the cooking, I'll call my friend Lois who knows everything about outdoor cooking. Betsy

Day 9 Coffeeville to Dolthan, AL

Today is the day that we make a little detour and visit our special destination. A few weeks back I was going over our general route and just east of Coffeeville my eyes left US84 and travelled north on SR43. To my wandering eyes did appear--Kimbrough, Alabama!! I was just sure it would be a lot like Mayberry. A quaint little downtown area, with a few neatly kept houses. Well gang, I'm afraid my over active imagination has done me in again. Kimbrough, AL is a spot on the road with a crappy grocery on one side of the road, and not to be outdone, an equally crappy filling station on the other side. No houses at all. We were afraid to go into either place of business, but did stop and take a picture of the Kimbrough road sign. We drove over 250 miles today to reach Dothan so we're going to take it easy tomorrow. Plus we're sorta in a "tweener. We'd have to do another long haul to reach the Savannah area and the parks require a two night stay on the weekends. We'll try and split the difference and stay in the Valdosta area Friday night and then do a state park near Savannah on Sat and Sunday.
You know you're in the South when you see Piggly Wiggly grocery stores, Bunny bread, Pure Oil filling stations, cotton fields, red clay, and all you can eat catfish signs. Our site tonight has a Pecan tree and a Camellia bush in full bloom and Tipper has taken a liking to the nuts. We're not quite sure how that will affect his digestive system, but I guess we'll find out. We are only 89 miles from Panama City, FL on SR231.
I'm sure this is the route George and Dorothy would have driven years ago. Jamie

We enjoyed sitting on our patio last evening shaded by the Camellia bush in short sleeved shirts. Happy to have WiFi for a day or so and TV. I have given up on TV except for the news as Jamie hogs it with the NCAA tourney. I have found you can indeed find everything you need in the WalMart as that is the only shopping I have done on the trip. You know you are in trouble when you look forward to the trip to the WalMart Betsy!

Day 8-Natchez to Coffeeville, Alabama

Day 8, March 26, 2008, Natchez to Coffeeville, AL
We finished the final eight miles of The Trace. We were hoping that there might be a pull off spot where we could get a picture, light a few sparklers, and sing America The Beautiful. Unfortunately, reality was that The Trace ended with an exit ramp dumping you onto Mississippi State Hwy 61. So with a lump in our throats, an ache in our hearts, and tears in our eye’s we headed to the next highway adventure which was US84. According to the signs it does go from about Dallas to Savannah. Mississippi US84 was great—four lanes, with few stops. Alabama however is another story. We basically went from a highway like US30 in Indiana to SR17. They are working on a four lane here, but it ain’t a goin’ to be finished in my lifetime. East Mississippi and western Alabama must be where all the wooden telephone, and utility poles come from. We have seen truckload after truckload of them. Our campground today is four miles west of Coffeeville at an Army Corps of Engineers location which is hard by the Tombigbee Waterway that goes down to Mobile.
We’ve seen huge barges being pushed by tugs. I had read that Corp’s sites are about one step above the parking lot at Wal-Mart, but this must be the exception. The sites are great—wide and deep. I finally took off my flannel lined vest today since the temps were in the mid 70’s. Betsy wanted to burn it. Tomorrow we’re going off of 84 for a special destination that I found on the map. We hope to be in Dothan tomorrow evening. JK
I would burn the vest but he has it back on this evening. It has cooled off below 70. It did seem like an accomplishment to finish the Trace. I am still in amazement that we did it in 7 days and not the 2 Jamie originally talked about. We had a great time on the Natchez Trace, learned a lot of history about this part of our country and are now looking forward to the coast and the Atlantic Ocean. BK

Day 7 - Natchez, Mississippi

Day 7, March 25, 2008, City of Natchez
Houses, Houses, Big and Small
Houses, Houses, We Saw Them All
Actually we didn’t see nearly as many of them as planned, but what we did see was great.
Learned that many Northern capitalists bought plantations as investments during the pre-Civil War period. Consequently, Natchez as a city had strong Union ties. While Vicksburg, Atlanta, and other southern cities were burned, Natchez was spared and was quite a Union Army prize because of its control of the Mississippi River. Also learned that there were many freed slaves within the population of Natchez that became quite prosperous. Some even built a couple of the homes that are currently on the tour.
The flowering shrubs and trees are beautiful. We did manage one antique mall today.
Today the temperature hit 70 degrees! Tomorrow we hitch up again, finish the last few miles of The Trace, then head East via US84. I’d never heard of it, but on some of my map’s it’s called El Camino East/West. Next time we have wi-fi I’ll have to look it up. I think it goes from Texas to Savannah. jamie
Camellias, Wisteria, Azalea, Dogwood, Snapdragons, spring green grass being mowed and plenty of sunshine! Betsy
Picture 1. Melrose, National Historic Site 2. Rosalie, Mississippi DAR Home 3. This house actually has a National Historic Trust plaque next to the front door!

Day 6-Canton to Natchez State Park

Day 6, Monday, March 24 Canton to Natchez State Park
Got cold last night. Down to the mid-30’s. Since McDonalds was on the way out of town we stopped there for breakfast. Sunny today but cool. Highs will only be in the mid to high 50’s. We stopped at the Rocky Springs site for a little hike. In the first half of the 1800’s it was a prosperous little town, but when steamships arrived on the Mississippi River the foot traffic on The Trace dwindled and the town died. The only thing that remains is the Methodist Church with a great cemetery—lot’s of old headstones and hanging Spanish Moss. The interior of the church reminded me of the Leiters Ford Church. We had been eagerly waiting for a historic site called Locust Hill which is what, in the Midwest, we call a tavern where one can get a drink, meal, or room to stay. When we got there it was closed to the public since it appears they were putting a new roof on it. The old roof was probably only seventy five to one hundred years old, and yet we manage to arrive just now. Our destination today was Natchez State Park, and due to Locust Hill being closed we arrived early. We’ve checked in for two nights and have a great spot. We have one of two sites located at the lower portion of the campground. We disconnected from the trailer, set up camp, and then headed to Natchez to find the visitors center and sort of get a lay of the land. Natchez is a small and compact old city. Since the streets are narrow, most of them are one way which helps when driving Moby Dodge. We found Franklin Street where there are several antique shops. And we’ve selected three mansions to tour. We’re not quite sure how we’re going to get this done with Tippy in tow, but we’ll figure it out. According to the weather guy this should be the last cold night. Tomorrow we should see temp’s in the 70’s and the low tomorrow night will be in the 50’s. Jamie

Well, we found spring!!! The trees are well into their leafing out process and the wildflowers at our campsite are farther along. Outside our door as you will see in the picture, is a beautiful full flowered dogwood tree. Natchez is a beautiful old prosperous river town that is currently overrun with tourists for the Pilgrimage, an annual event. The tourists pay to see the grand old homes of the south. It is quite an organized operation and the garden clubs are making a killing on the tickets. In town the azaleas in every color imaginable are blooming. We are in the beautiful old south at springtime. Lovely! Betsy
Picture 1. Our beautiful campsite at Natchez State Park and 2. Rocky Springs trail

Day 5-Tupelo to Canto, Mississippi

Day 5, Easter Sunday, March 23 Tupelo to Canton
We took off from our campsite and headed to Wal-Mart for a couple of things and then at Betsy’s request we had breakfast at IHOP. She would have preferred Cracker Barrel, but IHOP was next to Wal-Mart. We got back on The Trace and headed for our first point of interest which was a Chickasaw Village site. With our trusty and nearly worn out map at hand we knew we were close so naturally we paid attention to the road signs on the right side of the road which is where all the other 987 sign’s had been during the trip. As we whizzed by at 50 mph there was our sign on the left! Not a promising start but we did an off and on again at the next exit and got back to the site.
I’ve been meaning to mention that I was surprised at the amount of farming we saw in the Lawrenceburg, TN area. Big fields. And we continue to see small cattle operations. Traffic on The Trace as it ran through Tupelo was somewhat heavy this morning, but there was one stretch later in the day where we went about twenty minutes where we didn’t see another soul. Kind of spooky.
We are seeing more and more leaves on the trees, and the grass is getting longer and greener as we move south. We see dogwood everywhere and my favorite, the redbud. We were getting tired so decided to stop at a private campground just outside Canton, MS. Basically it’s a big field with a bunch of RV sites. There are a bunch of huge Class A’s sitting out here but no one is home. The bathhouse is about a mile away and I have yet to see a trash container. Oh well, they can’t all be Paradise. At night we listen to the radio, because our TV antenna doesn’t seem to bring in a good signal. Also discovered that I can’t get our furnace lit now that we’re on the road. Luckily I packed a little space heater that we plug in. If it’s real cold we pull the curtain that closes off the “bedroom” and that seems to hold the heat in. jamie
The pictures are 1. Ye Ol' Starship Avion at the highest point in Mississippi overlooking the Mississippi River Valley and 2. "On the Trace"

Day 4--Crockett SP to Tupelo, MS

Hooray, we're back on the road today. I mentioned earlier that driving The Trace is sorta weird and other dimensional. Today it dawned on me that it's like driving back in the 50's or 60's--two lane road, little traffic, and slow speed. The Trace crosses
the NW tip of Alabama and shortly thereafter we encountered a detour which took us off The Trace onto a very rural road.
I don't think Martha would do well down here. This Trace drive is really a cheap date. On Thursday we spent a total of $16 and that was on the campground fee. We cooked all three meals on the road, didn't buy gas that day, and no treats. For the most part there is nothing to buy, absolutely no billboards advertising that next mall or Dairy Queen Blizzard. Since the speed limit is 50 our gas consumption is great at almost 19 miles per gallon (normally at Interstate speeds of 65 mph our mileage is 15 miles per gallon). We traveled about 125 miles today and have arrived in Tupelo, MS., birthplace of Elvis. We've checked into a private campground with
wi-fi, cable TV, and clean bath houses. The sites are right on top of each other, but the amenities can't be beat. The scenery at the State Parks is much, much better but they really don't have all the extra's. I think we'll probably get into a routine where we stay in SP's for 2 or 3 nights, then hit a private campground to check e-mail. Betsy ask me today if she should do laundry while we had the opportunity. I had to admit that after three days on the road I changed shorts, socks, and shirt. I didn't change my jeans because I knew I'd be crawling under the truck. I did change them today. I'm pretty sure I've been placed on Hygiene Alert Status, and that my performance will be monitored for the near future. jamie

Returning to the Trace today was great as it is a trip back in time....................definitely slow time. Hi-lights today were the wildflower walk at Sweetwater Branch, wild turkeys along the parkway and collecting 4 stamps at the Natchez Trace NPS Visitors Center. If you wonder what National Park Service stamps are, look it up on the NPS website. My daughter started me collecting in 2005 on a trip to San Diego. It is really fun and I highly recommend it as a learning experience. The pictures are of the three of us in front of the Tennessee River in Mississippi at the Colbert Ferry Site and the other picture is of the sunken trace. So many animals, people, horses and wagons passed that the path became very worn and deep. Weather was sunny and warm with temps in the mid-60's.

Day 3 ---Lawrenceburg, Tennessee (again)

Day Three, Friday, March 21
Well, we found out what tomorrow would bring. This morning we had stowed and packed everything and planned on heading to Wal-Mart for a few things, and then to McDonalds for breakfast and posts to the blog and check our e-mail. Then I noticed the
5 inch puddle under the trucks engine. The liquid smelled like gear lube to me and based on where the puddle was I thought it might be a gasket in the front differential. We did go ahead and hit Wal-Mart and then discovered that a Dodge dealer was just across the street. The Service Dept was open and they would work us in. To make a long story short it took them about four hours to figure out that it wasn’t from the differential, but
was from the power steering unit—they could order the part but it wouldn’t be in for
two or three days—the mechanic suggested that we just buy a quart of power steering fluid, and a long funnel & keep on truckin’. Before we left I had him show me the pump and where to fill. During our wait had breakfast at Shoney’s, played with Tipper, I continued a book I’d started the night before, fixed a squeaky panty door, and took a nap. It was 3:30 PM local time when we finished with the dealer and the auto parts store so we decided it didn’t make sense to head back to The Trace. Instead we decided to head back to where we began the day. So we’re here at Crockett State Park again. About the only interesting thing was that when we checked in to the park one of the workers was holding a corn snake that was about 4 or 5 feet long. I ask her if I could touch it since to my knowledge I’ve never touched a snake. She said it would be okay. She kept a hold of the critter and I petted it. She then offered to let me hold it. I told her no thanks, I was fine with getting to know snakes on a very slow basis.
J did not mention we saw a naturalist talk around dinner time across the way with a Barred Owl and a Great Horned Owl as the main attractions. We learned about the wildlife in the area and are hopeful none will move in with us tonight.
We had a nice fire and watched the full moon through the trees. Lovely it was.
Betsy

Day 2----Nashville to Lawrenceburg, Tennessee

Day Two, Thursday, March 20
Woke up this AM (after a chilly night) to sun and no rain. Hooray!! After breakfast, showers, stowing stuff, and disconnect we headed on I-40 West to meet the terminus of the Natchez Trace. The Nashville end of the Trace is the terminus because early settlers walked back from Natchez after floating down the Mississippi with their goods. Hell, it’s only 440 miles. Pat and Jack will be thrilled to learn that our total mileage today was only about 120 miles (50 to get around Nashville, and 70 on the Trace where the speed limit is 50 mph). Driving on it is sorta weird in that you meet very few vehicles and you are always turning or going uphill or down. It gives you the feeling that maybe you’ve crossed into another dimension. We had the choice of pushing it to arrive at a certain campground further down but then discovered that we were close to a campground that would make every male baby boomer stop. Wait. What’s that? Do you hear it? Listen,
someone is singing. D-a-v-e-y, D-a-v-e-y C-r-o-c-k-e-t-t, King of the Wild Frontier.
Yes-sir-re-bob we’re at David Crockett State Park just outside Lawrenceburg, TN., about 14 miles from the Trace. Where the heck is my coonskin cap and muzzleloader? Betsy will tell you about some of the places we stopped today and post some pictures. jamie

What a beautiful day. Sunny and 60 degrees, bright and full of promise! The Trace is beautiful. We saw the dogwood beginning to bloom in the woods along the parkway. There are lovely pull off’s so you can take pictures and just enjoy the scenery. The speed limit is 40 in some places and 50 in others and is a nice pace for leisurely sight seeing. We completed two hikes. The first was at our lunch stop at Gordon House and Ferry site. We took a mile hike with some along the old original Natchez Trace down to the Duck River where the old ferry was. Amazingly we decided to end our day’s drive early and stay here at the state park, which is wonderful. Our campsite overlooks a ravine and is quiet and clean. After settling in we took our next hike along the Overlook Trail to the Boy Scout camp and back. Tippy got a bit tired and we think he will sleep well tonight. I imagine we will too. It is a lovely night with a full moon and clear. Favorite sights of the day…………Birdsong Hollow Bridge & Baker Bluff Overlook. Can’t wait to see what tomorrow brings………………..
Betsy

Day 1--Home to Nashville, Tn

Wow what a day!! We left E-town about 8:45 AM. The temperature was 48 degrees with light rain. I-65 to Louisville was packed with semi's as usual and between the rain and the spray they kicked up the visabiltiy was . poor. As we approached the JFK bridge over the Ohio we hit the mother of all potholes!! I saw it coming, but there wasn't anything I could do except drive right into what looked like a hole the size of a 5 gallon bucket. We bounced, and shuddered but Starship Avion stayed attached to the truck. The rain would alternate between heavy and just flat out pouring. We knew we were headed into rain but this was ridiculous.
North of Bowling Green the traffic stopped due to a wreck somewhere south of us. We sat there or crept along for almost and hour and a half. But that's why we installed Sirius. We could sit there and be entertained. Wrong! Betsy was listening to the Martha channel and the extra special guest was Lance Limpwrist who was the (get this!) Senior Color Stylist at some Foo-Foo
Salon in NYC. Betsy took pity on me and changed the channel finally, but only after blood started spurting from my eyeballs.
As we arrived in Nashville the skies started to clear and it almost stopped raining. We found our campground and got everything hooked up without incident. Betsy cooked a great meal. According to the weather forecast it's supposed to be warmer and clear tomorrow. jamie Hope springs eternal! maybe........sun tomorrow! Betsy

PACKING

The finial preparations and packing the trailer is well under way.  The truck has been given the once over, twice..........the tires, brakes, the Sirius radio and GPS are all functioning beautifully so our departure date is in sight.

Getting Ready

Preparations are well under way  to depart from Sandcreek township for our first extended road trip south.  The three of us, Jamie, Tipper & Betsy are ready to leave the snow and clouds for the warmth of the southern sun. 

The truck is almost completely road worthy with the connection for the Sirius radio the final preparation to be completed.  The trailer is not quite packed and provisioned  however this week work is being done in earnest. The curtains are almost all washed and ironed and one bed is made, Betsy's.  Many lists are being compiled and plans to laminate them for future trips are in place. 

Tipper went to the vet today to have a sore place on his toe looked at. He has new medicine to take and we have instructions to soak his paw for 5 minutes in bleach and water.  Can you even imagine how easy that will be???  We want everyone tip top.  Jamie goes tomorrow to get his feet looked at too!  We wouldn't want anyone feeling poorly as we take off.  

I'll take some pictures tomorrow to show all the progress as the preparations reach a fevered pitch.