Well, well, well post number 100 and it is a long one!
At some point in 2018 my Mom told me that for Christmas she didn't want gifts anymore because she didn't need things she just wanted time spent together. So I started doing what I love to do, planning a road trip. We had driven a little bit of the Natchez Trace Parkway a couple of years ago when our best friend from High School had finished her Medical Program in Jackson, MS. I knew my Mom wanted to drive the whole Trace at some point because it is one of the most beautiful drives and at 444 miles it isn't that bad a trip.
So I worked out a mix of stops that included some of the beautiful examples of nature, major sites and towns along the way, and historical locations along the Trace. Her full Christmas gift was an all expense paid three day trip down the Natchez Trace.
For those who don't know about the Natchez Trace it is a path from Nashville, TN, to Natchez, MS, that has been used by both animals and humans for 9000 years. The years between 1790-1820 saw some of the heaviest foot traffic along the Trace as many different groups used it from Choctaw, Chickasaw, and Natchez Indian tribes, the rough and tough Kaintucks,boatmen who sailed their wares and crops down the Mississippi River to trade and sell in MS and then walked back to their homes as far away as Iowa, to the speedy riders of the early Pony Express, to settlers looking for more land and a future in the southern states of MS and LA, and finally troops marching home during the War of 1812. Eventually steamboats would take over as the best way to travel and the Trace saw less and less traffic. Today the Natchez Trace Parkway follows fairly closely to the old Trace path.
One traveller, Francis Bailey in 1797 said of the Old Trace:
"Surrounded on each side with a deep wall of woods, I enjoyed the serenity of the evening in silent meditation: everything I saw and heard taught me a lesson which required not the powers of oratory to embellish it."
This is going to be a long post because I think we stopped at just about every single stop. They were marked nicely with sign posts identifying each stop and a warning sign about half a mile that noted either a historical marker or nature stop ahead so even stops I didn't have planned beckoned to us.
DAY 1:
The trip began early with breakfast at the Loveless Cafe less than a mile from the 444 mile marker of the Natchez Trace Parkway. The Loveless is well known in Nashville as a great spot for southern cooking and especially the home made biscuits and freshly made jams. I knew a hearty breakfast would keep us going on the drive especially because, since the Trace is a path known for its scenic and natural path, there aren't gas stations or restaurants to easily pull off at during the ride. Most stops involve leaving the Trace and traveling a bit. We did pack a cooler of water, Diet Coke, and YooHoo keeping in mind that we would not be able to easily stop for drinks during the trip.
There is so much to see along the Trace if you like history and nature that we never really went very far before we had another stop especially in the early part of the trip. Stop three was at mile marker 426.1 at Leiper's Fork when we came to a memorial marker for the troops who used the Trace during the War of 1812. General Andrew Jackson had moved troops North and South along the Trace, to ward off the British forces.
"This Monument memorializes War of 1812 soldiers buried along the Old Natchez Trace, and it honors the service of all brave volunteers who marched on the Natchez Trace during the War of 1812 to help establish American Independence. The Natchez Trace served as an important route to move troops for the defense of the gulf coast region. Tennessee volunteer cavalry under leadership of Andrew Jackson marched down the Natchez Trace to Natchez in 1813. General Jackson marched with his soldiers on their return April 1813. Soldier detachments under Jackson's command again marched on the Natchez Trace in 1814 and following the Battle of New Orleans most of the Americans who fought the battle returned on the Trace. Volunteers marched hundreds of miles often in severe weather with little food and inadequate equipment. Natchez Trace inns served as hospitals. Soldiers who did not survive the marches are buried in unmarked graves along the trace. On General Jackson's return near this point he proclaimed his view of the significance of the victory earned by the soldiers' sacrifices 'Our rights will henceforth be respected.'"Mile marker 423.9 and the Gordon House was our fourth stop of the day. The Gordon House is significant because not only was it the home of John Gordon who in the early 1800s made an agreement with Chief George Colbert of the Chickasaw Tribe to operate a trading post and ferry on the Duck River but amazingly the home is still standing today. John Gordon began operating his ferry in 1803 and despite dying shortly after the house was built his ferry was used for over 100 years until 1896 when a bridge was built across the Duck River replacing the ferry.
Unfortunately the first day of the trip was a little rainy and very muddy so our next stop wasn't fully explored because it would have involved a walk to Jackson Falls in one direction and Baker Bluff in the other. However we were only about forty miles from home so some day when the weather is better we will return. we did get out to walk around a little but didn't go all the way to the main falls. We did stop to admire one of the beautiful trees we kept seeing along the Trace as we drove. We were so early in spring that most trees only had small buds if anything on them but then there were these beautiful purple flowering trees that stood out among the mostly barren trees.
At mile marker 400.2 we came to a stop along the trace Parkway that my Dad would have loved and probably considered his favorite. Reading about it immediately made me think of him. The stop is called Sheboss Stand. During the late 1700s and early 1800s stands or inns were opened at roughly a days journey distance from each other. The Chickasaw tribe who owned the land allowed the operation of Stands as long as the proprietors were Native American. The sign explained that somewhere near the spot we were at Sheboss Stand was operated. The reason for the name was that a woman whose last name was Cranfield operated the inn along with her second husband who was Native American. When travelers would stop and ask him a question he would point to his wife and only answer "She boss." I'm pretty sure that had my Dad heard that story he would have adopted that same answer when ever someone asked him a question and would have pointed to my Mom.
Our next stop again was washed out but would have been at 391.9 for Fall Hallow Waterfall which would have been a roughly hour long walk to the falls. We skipped it and continued to one of the most mysterious locations along the Trace at mile marker 385.9, Grinder's Stand. Here the explorer Meriwether Lewis who along with William Clark had explored the Louisiana Purchase and Pacific Northwest passed away on October 11, 1809 and was buried under curious circumstances. Lewis was traveling to Washington DC, nearly bankrupt, to submit paperwork on his expeditions and writings on his discoveries. It is unknown though suspected that he committed suicide as he had been very depressed at his bankruptcy and his failed political career. Though there are also reports of him being concerned that he was being followed and that some thought they had seen a man run from his quarters after hearing a gun shot. The monument stands in the Pioneer Cemetery over where Lewis was buried but was built in 1848. Also buried around him are early settlers that lived or passed away while traveling in the area.
The monument is a broken column representing the life cut short and along the base all four sides have writing about the life of Lewis:
Nearby was some informational plaques about Lewis and his historical importance as well as a compass rose pointing out the distance of some of the locations Lewis had lived and explored in his short life.
Next we stopped at Napier's Mine and the Metal Ford. The location was used to cross the Buffalo River when as long as there hadn't been a heavy rain travelers would be able to cross. It was called metal ford because the stone of the river reminded travelers of stone 'metaled roads.' We marveled at the way the stone changed color and how beautifully clear the water was to allow us to see the differences.
And then we reached our first State Line of the trip as we passed from TN into Alabama.
Our first stop in Alabama was at mile marker 338 at the Wichahpi Commemorative Stone Wall otherwise known as Tom's Rocks. Tom is Tom Hendrix who had worked for over 30 years to build the wall in memory of his great great grandmother's journey. Her name was Tel-ay-nay and she was a member of the Yuchi Tribe who lived along the Tennessee River in the 1800s. She was forced to leave her home along with her family and the rest of her tribe during the Indian removal to Oklahoma in the 1800s. For her tribe the Tennessee River was called the Singing River because according to myth a woman lived in the river and sang to them. According to family stories when she arrived in Oklahoma she said the streams and rivers did not sing to her and she wanted to return home. And she did so alone. His family passed on the stories of her amazing journey to Tom and he was moved to build the wall when he was speaking to an elder who told him "all things shall pass. Only the stones will remain." Unfortunately Tom passed away but the current owners of the property still allow people to visit the wall. When we were there walking among the stones two woman pulled up shortly after us. They were returning visitors and told us how on a previous visit Tom had been outside and stopped to speak with visitors about his family stories and the wall. Wichahpi means 'like the stars' which is appropriate since the stars are so many and of various degrees of brightness and color and so are the rocks. The path is very natural as it curves and changes width. One visitor, Charlie Two Moons, was quoted as saying:
"When they come, some will ask, 'Why does it bend, and why is it higher and wider in some places than in others?' Tell them it is like your great-great-grandmother's journey, and their journey through life-- it is never straight."
For me it was a peaceful place and you could feel the power, love, and dedication in his task.
After this we reached our first trip off the trace at mile marker 320 we exited at the Buzzard Roost Spring where Levi Colbert a Chickasaw Chief had once owned and operated a stand for travelers and we headed to Tuscumbia, Alabama and the birth place of Helen Keller built in 1820 by Helen's Grandparents David and Mary Fairfax Moore Keller.
Here I got to see the well that Ann Sullivan famously used to introduce seven year old Helen to language. As she poured water from the pump into one of Helen's hands she traced out the word water in her other hand. 
We left Helen Keller's home to drive along Andrew Jackson's military road, one of the larger roads that were built in the 1800s and eventually took the place of the Natchez Trace. The military road was commissioned in 1815 to be a shorter and more direct path between Nashville and New Orleans making what had been a month long journey possible in 17 days. We passed by the Coldwater Stage Coach Stop which would have served as a rest stop for travelers on the military road.
We drove a town over to Florence, Alabama to see a home designed by famed American architect Frank Lloyd Wright.
And the birthplace of W.C. Handy referred to as the "Father of Blues" because he brought blues music to a much larger audience and greatly increased its popularity. Reading quotes from Handy it is clear that he found music in everything from nature to the sounds made by those around him. One of my favorite songs is Walking in Memphis and in the song the singer asks W.C. Handy to "look down over me."
That was our last stop for the day and we spent the night at the Wyndam Microtel in Florence. As we checked in we asked the staff if there was any place they recommended to get a bite to eat. They asked what we were looking for and we said local cooking, not a chain. They recommended a nearby place called Momma Jean's. So we finished checking in and put my Mom's dog in the hotel room to rest and we headed back out.
The food was country cooking and we all ordered some version of a meat and three (meat and three sides). The food was really good and just what we needed after a long day of driving. We had gone 120 miles on the Natchez Trace Parkway on the first day and were exhausted.
DAY 2:
We started day 2 by visiting two of the oldest sites on the Natchez Trace. The first was Bear Creek Mound at mile marker 308.8. The mound was built by Native Americans and housed a temple on top of it. This site dates back to 8000-7000 BCE.
Twenty miles later at 286.7 we came to the Pharr Mounds, the largest and most important archeological site in north eastern Mississippi. Pharr Mounds are not as old as Bear Creek, dating to around 1200 AD, it is a series of eight dome shaped mounds used by the Chickasaw people to bury their dead. Bear Creek was flat on top to hold the temple as opposed to the domes of Pharr.
A few miles later at 269.4 we reached a different time period in the history of the Trace. A short walk brought us to the graves of 13 unknown Confederate soldiers. The soldiers had died nearby while troops moved along the Trace and they were buried. It is not known when they passed as there were several different times when troops moved around the area.
Three miles later at 266 we reached the Natchez Trace Headquarters. Here there is a gift shop and lots of information about the Trace including a roughly 20 minute movie about the different people and events of the Trace. We watched the video already recognizing several points of interest from our travels and we picked up our National Parks Passports and stamps for the Parkway. Now I can use the passport book to pick different National Parks for the three of us to visit in future road trips.
At 259.7 we reached our second trip off the Trace as we left the Trace to visit Tupelo, Mississippi. We first came to a monument to all those who died during the Battle of Tupelo in the Civil War.
The battle of Tupelo was fought in July of 1864 and was a Union victory that assured Sherman's supply lines would be safe as he marched towards Atlanta.
Our next destination in Tupelo was the birth place of Elvis Presley. Though I wouldn't describe any of us as huge Elvis fans I wasn't going to be this close to the birth place of a musical legend and not stop. Looking at the small home he was born in and the 1939 Plymouth that his father had used to carry the family and all their belongings to Memphis in the middle of the night really made the quote displayed with a picture of Elvis in his Memphis mansion living room striking:
"We have come a long way from Tupelo."
That house, built by his father, was where on January 8th, 1935 one of the most iconic American musicians of all time was born. All around the Visitor Center were stories and quotes from neighbors, friends, and family about Elvis and his childhood. Of course one such story was when Elvis got his first guitar. Apparently for his birthday Elvis' mother had brought him to the Tupelo Hardware store owned by F. L. Bobo. Elvis had his heart set on either a bicycle or a rifle. However his Mother was concerned about the danger of a rifle and Elvis being injured on the bike. Mr. Bobo recommended a guitar and handed one to Elvis. Realizing he had no other option Elvis took the guitar. One thing I noticed on the boards was that his desire for a bicycle did not go away. One card from a friend mentions lending Elvis a bike to ride, another one says that Elvis had asked to switch his guitar for his friends bike.
After leaving Elvis' birthplace our last stop in Tupelo was some lunch at the Neon Pig Cafe proud home of the "best smash burger in the USA." Described as "house grind includes benton's bacon + filet + ribeye + sirlon + new york + benton's bacon bits + cheddar cheese + quick pickles + pickled onion + hoisin + comeback + ciabatta." And man was it good!
We returned to the Trace for our next stop at Black Belt or Black Prairie. Long ago the area had been under the ocean and shells and marine organism deposited to form limestone. Once the ocean retreated the limestone was exposed to all types of weather and resulted in a dark and rich soil now considered excellent pasture land.
Our next stop was Tockshish, in 1801 the second post office along the Trace was opened up. This served a relay station where post riders could switch tired horses for rested ones. After al they had a harsh schedule to keep too. They had a travel time of five days from Nashville and were expected in Natchez seven days after leaving Tockshish.
At mile marker 233.2 we stopped at Witch Dance a stop inside the Tombigbee National Forest. As the story goes in this location Witches used to gather for ceremonies and dances. Where their feet touched the ground the grass would wither and die and no grass would grow again. Looking around I saw several spots of dead grass around the new spring growth. Did witches once dance here and stop grass from growing? I hope not or else I'll never look at bald spots in my yard the same way again.We didn't go much further before we reached the Bynum Mounds built by the Chickasaw to honor their dead. As we were driving we had seen signs for the Indian Mounds tour, a path that would take travelers through Alabama and Mississippi to visit all of the long standing memorials to the Native Americans who once lived in the area. An informational plaque near these mounds quoted Tribal Anthropologist LaDonna Brown:
"Being a modern Chickasaw .... and knowing that the mounds and this civilization were created by my ancestors ... it gives us a sense of belonging."
Then we reached a monumental moment in the trip mile marker 222- the half way mark of the Natchez Trace Parkway. We were a little sad that there wasn't a good spot to pull over near the post to take a picture with but still were able to get a picture of the post alone.
I'm glad we took our time with the Trace and we were able to pull over and take in the nature and all the different aspects of the history of the Trace. For example we passed Line Creek which served as a boundary between the Choctaw and Chickasaw Native American Tribes. We also passed Pigeon Roost which marked the spot where millions of migrating passenger pigeons, now extinct, once settled.
We then pulled over at stop for Jeff Busby Park. While serving in the US congress representing Mississippi on February 15, 1934 Busby introduced the bill authorizing a survey of the Old Trace in preparation for the road becoming part of the National Park System. We stopped to enjoy the beautiful overlook all around us and took a picture of my Mom's convertible looking like a page out of a travel magazine.
And that brought us to the last stop of the day at 180.7 and French Camp. Louis LeFleur started a stand here in 1812 at the time called "Frenchman's Stand" which he operated with his wife Rebecca Cravatt, niece of Choctaw Chief Pushmataha. Now a small town has developed centered around a Christian school which got its earliest begins in 1885 when an all girl high school was started with forty students. Later that year a school for boys was opened and was called French Camp Academy. In 1915 the two schools were combined under the name French Camp Academy. Most of the businesses in the historic downtown seem to be in service of the school and helping to cover expenses. The town also has some of the old buildings preserved for visitors to see as well as the coach of Louis Lefleur's son Greenwood Lefore, he changed the spelling of the last name.
We had our own cabin called the Buford Cabin dedicated on May 29th, 2004 in honor of William Burford a graduate of French Camp Academy class of 1937. The plaque at the door explains:
Also in French Camp was the Council House Cafe and from what I saw online we needed to try the potato soup and we did! I also had the FAMOUS Big Ed's BLT which the menu noted travelers rave over up and down the Trace. The description was crispy bacon, lettuce, tomato, and the one-and-only Council House spicy garlic mayonnaise.
We had our own cabin called the Buford Cabin dedicated on May 29th, 2004 in honor of William Burford a graduate of French Camp Academy class of 1937. The plaque at the door explains:
"This cabin is dedicated to the glory of God in memory of William Milton Burford. Bill considered growing up in French Camp as one of life's greatest blessings. Through that experience, he grew into a man of faith, integrity, hard work, optimism, and humor. His life and the twinkle in his eye warmed those around him like a ray of sunshine. No matter how far away life took him, French Camp always held a treasured place in his heart."
Also in French Camp was the Council House Cafe and from what I saw online we needed to try the potato soup and we did! I also had the FAMOUS Big Ed's BLT which the menu noted travelers rave over up and down the Trace. The description was crispy bacon, lettuce, tomato, and the one-and-only Council House spicy garlic mayonnaise.
DAY 3:
After breakfast in the dining room of French Camp Bed and Breakfast we left to continue our drive South along the Trace and spring became even more apparent. Day 3 weather was beautiful, day 2 was as well, and we were able to drive the whole way with the top down. Just like Line Creek served as a boundary marker we found a line of trees at mile marker 128.4 that marked the Upper Choctaw boundary as determined by the Treaty of Doak's Stand.
Our next stop was a splendid view of the Pearl River so named by Pierre Le Moyne in 1698 when he sailed into the river and found pearls.
And then we came to one of the stops I had been looking forward to the most: the Cypress Swamp at mile marker 122. Here we saw baldcypress trees and water tupelo, plants that take root in the dry summers and then can survive submerged for the rest of the year. As we took the twenty minute walk around the swamp we listened to the sounds of birds singing and marveled at the still reflections of the trees on the water. Walking slowly we also got to see some of the residents of the swamp including a snake, small lizard, turtles, and finally an alligator.After leaving the swamp we had long stretch of uninterrupted driving so Meghan used my phone to take a time lapse out the top of the car.
And then we took another trip off the Trace to explore some of the sites in Jackson, Mississippi. The first stop was the Boyd House or Oaks House. This was home to James Boyd who served as Mayor of Jackson several times. The house built in 1853 is one of the few buildings that survived the Civl War undamaged.
We stopped for lunch at the Pig and Pint, recommended by our friend who had lived in Jackson for awhile. She highly recommended the fried green tomatoes. So I ordered the Fried Green Tomato Sandwich with a side of mac and cheese.
And then we drove to the Mississippi Petrified Forest. Which was cool but not what i was expecting, I let my imagination get the better of me. Without knowing anything about it and just hearing the name I expected to find trees standing up from the ground that had been turned to stone. I don't really know how I thought that happened. The forest consisted of pieces of petrified wood surrounded by tall pine trees. It was amazing to touch and feel the ancient pieces of wood, some from tree species that are now extinct.
Next we returned to the Trace and passed the Battle of Raymond Memorial a battle that was a Union victory and convinced General Ulysses Grant of the need to take Jackson in order to be successful at the Battle of Vicksburg and to gain control of the Mississippi River.
All along the Trace we had seen signs pointing to the Old Trace but I had passed them because I had planned to stop at mile marker 41.5 to get out and actually walk along the old or sunken trace.
That was our final stop along the Trace and we entered the city of Natchez and headed to our bed and breakfast for the night Aunt Clara's Cottage part of the Devereaux Shields homes.
After settling in with we left to get dinner at The Camp restaurant in Natchez. The area where the restaurant is located is right along the Mississippi in an area called Under The Hill. We pulled up just in time for a beautiful sunset over the Mississippi.
We sat out back in their beautiful beer garden.
DAY 4:
We had a few stops planned in Natchez but not many since we had a long drive back home. First was a visit to St. Mary Basilica. The Basilica was designed and completed by James Hardie in 1882 in the Gothic revival style.
We stopped at City Hall to see a monument to a beloved city pet "Tripod the cat." Tripod had a four year term in city hall from June 1979 - October 1983. Tripod hung around city hall and employees began feeding him and soon he had a cat bed and a permanent home in City Hall. Although there is a story of one Alderman, Hall Wilson, who either didn't like or was allergic to cats. During a meeting he motioned for the cat to be banned from City Hall. The motion did not have a second and so did not pass. A second Alderman, Al Graning, then motioned for Hall to be banned from City Hall.
Our final stop in Natchez was at the donut shop for a sweet treat for the road.
Next we got a little lost and ended up making a beautiful discovery. Windsor Ruins is one of the most written and talked about places in Mississippi however it was a fifty minute detour of the Trace and I had chosen to skip it on this trip. Apparently that wasn't to be. We found ourselves at on a small winding road and soon right in front of the ruins.
We also saw a majestic bald eagle just a few miles away from the ruins. He was eating at the side of the road but as the car approached he took off into the sky. It was an unexpected and wonderful surprise.
Our trip took a sad turn as we drove through the flooded Mississippi Delta. On both sides of the highway we saw flooded fields, streets , and houses from rain waters flowing South. This was probably the same rain and flood that had caused the Cumberland to spill into Riverfront Park in Nashville. The Duck and Tennessee River had also flooded in several places throughout TN and further South as well. On the GPS the map showed green for fields but all we saw was water.
Our destination was Onward, Mississippi the birth place of the Teddy Bear. In 1902 Teddy Roosevelt was in Mississippi and during a black bear hunt he had been unsuccessful. Apparently a bear cub was captured and chained up so that Roosevelt could have a successful hunt. Teddy refused to shoot the bear. On November 16th the Washington Post ran a comic strip by Clifford Berryman called "Drawing the Line." Toymakers in NY saw the comic strip and began work on a new toy "Teddy's Bear" which became the Teddy Bear sometime around 1906.We then turned North and headed to Oxford, MS where William Faulkner, creator of Yoknapatawpha County, is buried. The first work by Faulkner I ever read was a short story called Barn Burning. The first full novel I read was Go Down Moses and it left me completely confused at times but also left me wanting to read more.
A short distance away we reached downtown Oxford where there is a statue of Faulkner sitting on a bench holding his pipe as if in a conversation with someone.
From Oxford we drove a few more hours back to Florence, AL where we spent another night in the Wyndam Microtell before finishing the drive the next morning.
What a great trip it was a lot of fun and really a beautiful drive. I feel like it is one we will be taking again. We certainly need to return to Natchez sometime, later this year there is a hot air ballon festival and we might try to see that.
