Natchez Trace Parkway

The GPS direction from Milton FL to Natchez MS is basically, "straight ahead on I 10" which is a similar direction received when my brother-in-law, Lloyd is navigating to New Orleans. The trip on I 10 is usually pretty boring and uneventful. Our destination was River View RV Park and Resort in Vidalia  LA which is across the Mississippi River from Natchez MS. Here is a little hint for you, any time you see the word "resort" attached to RV Park it usually means a couple of things. First the sites are going to be lined up one right after the other so that you can almost shake hands with your neighbor without getting out of your rig. Second, the price is probably going to get your attention. Another hint for the "old folks" reading this. Pay $10.00 to get a "Golden Age" pass when you are 62 or older. That gives you free entrance into all Federal Parks and 1/2 price camping fee in Federal and Corp of Engineer  campgrounds. The Golden Age Pass is good for life so it is $10.00 well worth spending. We opted for the RV Park and Resort because we wanted to have electric hook ups. It was hot and we wanted to make sure we could use the air conditioner when we were sleeping. We didn't plan on staying more than three nights. Many State and Federal parks don't have electric hook ups. July in Mississippi is definitely the time to use that air conditioner when you have it.We ended up joining Passport America to get the half price discount which actually paid for the price of the membership.  We paid $ 67.00 for three nights
Now we can use the Passport America in areas where we can't get Federal, State or Corp of Engineer parks.This campground boast of having a swimming pool and laundry room. Since the campground had full hookups,meaning we had water, electric and septic hookups,we were able to shower in our own private little shower in the coach.That is always a bonus compared to taking showers in public shower rooms in the campground. (Not always a pleasant experience.)

Our main mission at this point of the trip is to drive the Natchez Trace all the way to Nashville TN, 444 miles away. We have been to Natchez before, so we have already toured the Antebellum homes and have seen a plantation (very interesting by the way).The one thing we couldn't do that I would really like to see is the Great Mississippi Balloon Race. We were just in the right place at the wrong time. Maybe another time.  

We decided that we would leave our rig parked in the campground and drive the little HHR (affectionately known as a "Hillbilly Hot Rod") up and down "The Trace" to see if we really wanted to drive our 35 foot RV on a two lane highway for 444 miles. We had been told by my brother, Larry, that it was a boring drive. 

A description of The Natchez Trace as told by Wikipedia, the online encyclopedia, is as follows: The Natchez Trace, also known as the "Old Natchez Trace", is a historical path that extends roughly 440 miles (710 km) from Natchez, Mississippi to Nashville, Tennessee, linking the Cumberland, Tennessee and Mississippi rivers. It was created and used for centuries by Native Americans, and was later used by early European and American explorers, traders and emigrants in the late 18th and early 19th centuries. Today, the trail is commemorated by the 444-mile (715 km) Natchez Trace Parkway, which follows the approximate path of the Trace,^[1] as well as the related Natchez Trace National Scenic Trail. Parts of the original trail are still accessible and some segments have been listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

So we took a couple of day trips up The Trace and took the opportunity to get out of the car and learn a little of the history of the area. First,we stopped at Mount Locust, at milepost 15.5, it is the only remaining inn, or "stand" on the Parkway. We met one of the rangers who was there to share information on the historic structure. Instead of sharing information on the structure he invited us to be "host" at that location. Paul happened to have on his Shenandoah Volunteer shirt which led to the volunteer conversation. He showed us where the camper would be located. One of us would give the tours of the Inn and the other would man the book store. We declined the invitation because it just wasn't our type of volunteer service. We let anyone who is interested in volunteering know that there is a great opportunity to enjoy some beautiful scenery and do a service for our Federal Park. 
We also stopped at, The Sunken Trace at milepost 41.5.  We are told that it is one of the most photographed sites along the parkway. The National Park Service tells us that "the trace appears sunken in this spot due to thousands of travelers walking on the easily eroded loess soil." This short trail  gave us the chance to walk on the Natchez Trace just as thousands have before us." Paul and Gizmo were happy to pose at this fork in the Sunken Trace. 

The Sunken Trace

We stopped at milepost 54.8 and walked through the abandoned town of Rocky Springs.The spring no longer flows, in fact the only things left is the church and cemetery, two rusting safes and several abandoned cisterns. The Civil War, yellow fever, the Boll Weevil and poor land management brought an end to Rocky Springs. We walked along the short trail and read about the history of the community. When we reached the church, Gizzy went up the steps and pushed the door open. So we took that as an invitation to enter. It is a beautiful church inside and out. It is well taken care of and apparently in use by someone. 

 Gizmo was given the opportunity to take the pulpit and tell us about the error of our ways. He seems to think we don't feed him enough and that we should spoil him a little more. He seems to be telling us that we are on the road to Hell if we don't listen to him and change our ways. Yea right! OK Gizzy get down from there and get back outside before you get into trouble for being in the church.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                              

The church was very nice on the inside and appeared to  have someone taking care of it. It was built in 1837 by the Methodist congregation of Rocky Springs. Before the church was built the town had a circuit-riding preacher who only stopped by once or twice a month. The former congregation members continue to hold regular services here and gather here for their annual "homecoming" each spring. I hope Gizzy didn't leave any dog hair on the pulpit.

We spent a lot of time in the cemetery taking pictures and reading the tombstones. Many of the tombstones were from the 1800's. Quite a few of the headstones were right next to the trunk of trees and some were far off into the woods that surround the cemetery. 


We were satisfied that the Natchez Trace was far from boring and quite an enjoyable drive even in a motor-home. On our exploration of the area we found the Natchez State Park Campground and decided to move our home base there. It is much more suitable to our idea of camping, had electric hook ups for our air conditioner and it was actually cheaper.We prefer to travel during the week so that we don't have to worry about campgrounds being full with the weekend campers trying to escape their daily grind.  Now we are ready to continue this adventure following "The Trace" to the end without fear of being bored.