Saturday, May 20, 2000
Dickson, TN - May 20
We are currently at a small private park right next to I-40 about 40 miles west of Nashville. We are not doing any "country music" stuff but are just catching up on laundry & cleaning for two days.
After Tupelo, our next stop along the Natchez Trace was at Tishomingo State Park (named for the last war chief of the Chikasaws) in NE MS. This was a lovely, quiet park right along the Trace and we had a lovely campsite on the shores of Haynes Lake. We did some hiking in the park along limestone edged canyons -- magnificent formations with fallen boulders. We enjoyed seeing if we could see where they fell from, like a giant 3D jigsaw puzzle. We also drove on the Trace and did all the stops and nature trails nearby. Our favorite was one to Rock Spring which we liked so well we hiked it twice! We hiked along one short trail that led to the gravesites of 13 unknown Confederate soldiers. It was sort of eerie.
We also enjoyed just relaxing by the lake and watching the wildlife -- including a snake swimming by! Was it a moccasin? We tried not to think about that! Lest you think we always get the "perfect" site, this one had two major drawbacks -- a very bright security light and a park generator that ran from time to time -- luckily not often at night. We had the normal water & electric hookups here.
Then we headed for Meriwether Lewis CG, one of the three Natchez Trace campgrounds which have no hookups and no fees. We liked it there well enough that we decided to stay four nights. We went south on the Trace one day, north the next, and hiked around the campground for the third. The stops along the trace were lovely with several trails leading to small waterfalls. We also did several drives and hikes along the "old trace" since the road does not always follow the exact path -- in fact it rarely actually follows the original trace. The Meriwether Lewis gravesite was located near the campground, and we read all the literature about his mysterious death. Briefly, there were two gunshots heard in the night, which were not investigated until morning. He was found with two bullet wounds, muttering something about "doing the deed", so suicide seems most likely. He was an amazing and energetic man who did a lot in his 35 short years.
With each passing day the heat and humidity increased, as did the number of ticks we discovered, mostly attached to Willie. By the time we left, we were really glad to be heading for "civilization" and air conditioning, TV, unlimited water and a laundry. Coincidentally, we arrived just in time for a cool front to pass through, so we are enjoying that too.
We saw the northern part of the Natchez Trace about as thoroughly as can be done without actually hiking it, and we recommend it highly for a car trip or bicycle trip. It is quite relaxing to travel at 50 mph and never have to stop. We are looking forward to exploring the southern part in the near future. Tomorrow we will head for Kentucky, where we will stay until the day after Memorial day. We will sightsee and visit with our friend Daisy Holt who lives in Princeton, KY.
After Tupelo, our next stop along the Natchez Trace was at Tishomingo State Park (named for the last war chief of the Chikasaws) in NE MS. This was a lovely, quiet park right along the Trace and we had a lovely campsite on the shores of Haynes Lake. We did some hiking in the park along limestone edged canyons -- magnificent formations with fallen boulders. We enjoyed seeing if we could see where they fell from, like a giant 3D jigsaw puzzle. We also drove on the Trace and did all the stops and nature trails nearby. Our favorite was one to Rock Spring which we liked so well we hiked it twice! We hiked along one short trail that led to the gravesites of 13 unknown Confederate soldiers. It was sort of eerie.
We also enjoyed just relaxing by the lake and watching the wildlife -- including a snake swimming by! Was it a moccasin? We tried not to think about that! Lest you think we always get the "perfect" site, this one had two major drawbacks -- a very bright security light and a park generator that ran from time to time -- luckily not often at night. We had the normal water & electric hookups here.
Then we headed for Meriwether Lewis CG, one of the three Natchez Trace campgrounds which have no hookups and no fees. We liked it there well enough that we decided to stay four nights. We went south on the Trace one day, north the next, and hiked around the campground for the third. The stops along the trace were lovely with several trails leading to small waterfalls. We also did several drives and hikes along the "old trace" since the road does not always follow the exact path -- in fact it rarely actually follows the original trace. The Meriwether Lewis gravesite was located near the campground, and we read all the literature about his mysterious death. Briefly, there were two gunshots heard in the night, which were not investigated until morning. He was found with two bullet wounds, muttering something about "doing the deed", so suicide seems most likely. He was an amazing and energetic man who did a lot in his 35 short years.
With each passing day the heat and humidity increased, as did the number of ticks we discovered, mostly attached to Willie. By the time we left, we were really glad to be heading for "civilization" and air conditioning, TV, unlimited water and a laundry. Coincidentally, we arrived just in time for a cool front to pass through, so we are enjoying that too.
We saw the northern part of the Natchez Trace about as thoroughly as can be done without actually hiking it, and we recommend it highly for a car trip or bicycle trip. It is quite relaxing to travel at 50 mph and never have to stop. We are looking forward to exploring the southern part in the near future. Tomorrow we will head for Kentucky, where we will stay until the day after Memorial day. We will sightsee and visit with our friend Daisy Holt who lives in Princeton, KY.
# posted by Doug and Willie @ 10:13 AM 
