April 10 -11 Natchez Trace and home

Saturday, April 10

We awake to 61 degrees with a light rain, which continues for about an hour.  Back on the Trace, we stop at Jack's Branch picnic area and have breakfast overlooking a forest with lots of dogwood trees.  I love how these delicate flowers seem almost to be floating amongst the trees. They are an understory tree which shine.

We cross into Alabama and begin to see occasional downed trees and standing water from recent storms.

 Rock Spring trail, which the write-up says wonders through a tupelo tree and cypress wet area, is a short trail into a flooded swamp. 

There are quite a few historical stops, some of which we've seen previously. Colbert Ferry is the site where a ferry operated across the Tennessee River from 1800-1819.

We pass some beautiful fields of wildflowers.

 

And soon we are in Mississippi, crossing Dogwood Valley.  We stop to take a look at a bit of the "Old Trace", the actual track used by Indians, soldiers, pioneers and others. (Today's Trace roughly parallels it.) The graves of 13 unidentified confederate soldiers are nearby.

More standing water at Cole Creek Nature Trail, and we see more fallen trees. 

 There have been nasty storms and tornadoes across the area recently. Hurricane Creek stop is supposed to show the last stages of a tupelo-BaldCypress Swamp and first stages of a  hardwood forest. But it too is under water.   A sign there talks about how "plants need water much as men need money.  Some are satisfied with a little; some can not flourish unless they have a lot".  Looks like some have a bit too much now.

 We are in the Chickasaw Homeland here, where these natives lived on the land, harvesting corn and  native plants and built log framed winter homes.  There is a detour for a short while because of road-clearing and storm-damage maintenance on the Trace.  

Back on the Trace, we continue to Rocky Springs Campground at MP54.  There are many open sites but a few of them are water-filled.  We find a relatively dry one and enjoy the fresh cool air and lively night sounds of crickets and frogs.  This seems to be a popular camping site for some of the many cyclists we've seen.

 Sunday, April 11

We pull out about 8:15 and travel slowly through some heavy fog for a bit. 

 After looking at options, we decide to wind our way across Mississippi and Louisiana on smaller roads, rather than going the whole way down to I-10 which is always a bustling, busy, truck-filled road.  Instead we travel pretty nice roads with a few towns here and there.  Much more relaxing. 

We know we are in Texas when the speed limit jumps to 75 near Jasper.  At Livingston, we head south on I-69 to 99 and then - we're home about 1:30pm.  

Total: 3,469 miles.