After talking smart about getting an early start, we finally arrived at the Trace at 11:00am!!!! Someone left their riding gloves at home (or couldn’t find them in his gear bag) so we drove through Vanderbilt campus looking for a bike shop. My new gloves fit fine. (found the ‘forgot at home’ pair the next day!!!)

Within the first mile of riding we knew this was going to be a great trip. No traffic to speak of, great road surface, no billboards, and NO WIND!

. . . and another great thing is this driving rule! When a car approaches a bicyclist from the rear they are supposed to pull fully into the other lane. Nice!

At one of the first stops down the road, the Double Arc bridge, we met a bunch of Harley riders including this gal who had holes drilled in her helmet to let her red hair pull through and flow with the wind. I asked her why she was wearing the face mask and her reply was that it was already so cold down here in the south. She was from Louisiana.

Great autumn view as the boys roll across the bridge.

. . . not much of a guard rail  . . . and a long ways down!

Great scenery and just enough elevation gain to keep things interesting . . . and it was dry. The locals said it had rained for 4 straight days. Good thing we delayed the start of our trip!!!!

. . . . one does need to keep their eyes on the road though, here a motorcyclist took their eyes off the road a bit too long and soon they were headed for the woods. Looked like they recovered OK.

Some of those southern folks have done quite well selling grits and hog jowls . . .

A great view at one of the scenic overlooks. There was an over overlook or historic pull off about every 10 miles so we wheeled in and got educated!

Just about every building has been removed from the Trace. Here was an old barn the Park Service made sure you knew was ‘off limits’ with a Closed Sign every 50 feet.  Worried about liability problems????

Continuing my Southern Tier tradition, my first documented road kill of the trip . . . dead armadillo.

One of the pull offs commemorating the Battle of 1812. Lot of history down this way, including these two ‘old guys’.

Our first view of the actual ‘old Trace’ . . .

  . . . which was a trail formed by boatman who had come down river, sold their goods, disassembled the raft and sold the wood, then walked back to Nashville. Most did it again, time after time. In some places the constant foot traffic wore down a pretty good groove.

One of the historic sites explained the importance of tobacco to the southern US and it’s economy. The US Park service has had cutbacks, like all Federal agencies, and instead of having a naturalist or docent  to explain local history, here they uses ‘guide dogs’ who would grab your sleeve and lead you on the tour. Here Elmo was eagerly awaiting another group of tourists . . . we gave him a nice cookie for his efforts.

. . . how the tobacco was dried . . .

  . . . and auctioned off. Nice sample hanging out of his mouth!!!

One of the other remaining buildings  was the Gordon House, an old farmstead settled by a farmer, woodsman and ferry across the Duck Cr owner. He died right after his wife competed supervising the construction of the house!!!!

Great color to see as we biked along. The colors are probably about 25% complete.

Unidentifiable road kill. Would have made a nice hat!!!

On the road again . . .

. . . where we left the Trace for the day and rolled into our home for the night, the Fall Hollow Campground. We are staying it the

Bed and Biscuit’ option.

. . . our quarters are behind the restaurant and we have our own ‘secret entrance’.

. . . we’ll have a full breakfast in the morning . . .

. . . nice digs!!!

. . . of course you can’t go anywhere down here without seeing portraits of the ‘King’.

Our hosts, Sherry and Noel have only owned the campground for two days. We were there second group of guests! There cellphones still have a 414 area code. They just relocated from Milwaukee.  SMALL world.

After cleaning up we headed into town for dinner, the first stop of course was at the liquor store . . . where BillyB bought some beer, a bottle of whiskey and some vodka.

. . . and where gas was CHEAP!!!!!!

We headed to the local steakhouse, The Junkyard Dog. Note the tall water glasses . . . that was it for the drinks, water only. NO LIQUOR license. After dinner we walked across the street to the ‘River Rat’ bar for a couple of beers. BilllyB bought. The owner only had his liquor license for two months. The place was packed!!!!!

After a couple, beers we retired back to our nice digs for a nightcap and a viewing of the ‘Hurt Locker’, a new flick for TommyH and the G. Everyone was sleeping by 11:00pm. Only 36 miles tomorrow!

We woke to a VERY foggy morning. In this area of the country, 4G, even 3G coverage, is spotty and it ended up the only place you could get it was standing in the front of the window in BillyB’s and my room . . .

. . . as you can see, out room became very popular. I’d been working on the journal since 6:30am. They showed up about 7:30am and it was like Grand Central station!!!!

. . . what a great breakfast. We could smell  the bacon cooking and soon Sherry rang the dinner bell and we all headed down the hallway to breakfast.

TommyH, the King of Biscuits and gravy loads up the gravy . . .

. . . but there was plenty to go around!!!!

Our last task to complete was make our little flag to add to the visitor map. BillyB does the honors . . .

On the way out of town we passed this trailer dealer where the B had stopped the day before to put a down payment on this nice little trailer he bought to replace the mice and vermin ridden pop-up trailer he has stored in the barn on his farm for the last 10 years. This one is guaranteed to be mouse proof!!!!

Then it was back onto the Trace and another beautiful day of riding. Things may change tomorrow . . . 80 percent chance of rain!!!

We did stop at a winery along the way. Nice setting but they were not set up for tasting yet, and we had 55 more miles yet to bike . . .

Amen . . .

nice setup . . . maybe we will stop back on the way drive home.

A new view around every corner . . .

. . . 386 miles of it, to be exact!

We stopped at the Meriwether Lewis memorial, where 30 years after his burial his body was dug up and the skeleton examined to make sure it was him. Meriwether was half of the famous Lewis and Clark Team who discovered much of the United States.

 

Here is the Grinder cabin where Meriwether lived out his last years and died a mysterious death. Either murder or suicide . . . no one is sure!!!

Great joinery on the cabin corners . . .

. . . the broken column on his monument is supposed to represent his life cut short.

We ran into a group of riders from Muscles Shoals, Alabama out for a day of riding. They gave us some good advice on places to eat and visit.

We did have lunch today supplied by Paw’s Bar-be-cue . . . the real thing . . .

. . . made by a real guy named Paw!!!

Yummy sandwich served southern style completed with coleslaw!!!

Some had more than others . . . not to mention names (TommyG and BillyB).

There were no picnic tables at this rest stop so the  G was eating his lunch on top of the trash container. A woman stopped to drop some trash in the can. She thought the G was a homeless person and asked him if he wanted a couple of dollars to buy a real meal and not dumpster dive.  He took the money!!!!

We finally arrive at Miss Monetta’s B&B, located in Collinwood, TN. Her beauty shop is in the front of the building and our room is in the back!

 

Miss Monetta’s real name is Diane and her she is with her husband Larry. They live right next door. She bought her shop from the real Ms Monetta who lived to be 100 years old and only recently died!!

Our entertainment and dining area . . .

The palatial suite the B won in the coin toss . . .

followed by the suite TommyH won  . . . TommyG’s twin room and my couch in the sitting room (no photos)!!!!

Big bathroom!!!.

Collinwood is a dry town. No liquor stores, no bars, no liquor or beer served in restaurants. Good thing we brought our own!!!

We all slept great last night but I was up at 5:00am and ready for breakfast soon after. I got an early start because I had lost a bet and had to do an extra 25 miles today!!!

While the other were eating breakfast . . . I was on the road my 8:00am. Had to wait for it to warm up!!!

We have not seen much wildlife on this trip but along the way this morning, in the early light, I saw this mother and her does feeding along the edge of a field.

These were some very curious looking geologic features I saw along the way . . . maybe someone out there knows what they are??

In twenty miles I was to the Alabama state line and stopped to commemorate the moment with a photo of Traci TREK.

Caught between two states . . . which way to go!!!!

Not only were we biking along a National Parkway but we were also passing through a National Heritage Area today . . .

Soon the boys tied up with me at the Tennessee River where we crossed the highest bridge we would cross on this trip.

Lets roll and try to beat the rain!!!

We rolled across the landscape through Alabama on our 57 mile route today. Rain predicted at 1:00pm and we were hoping it would hold off. No stopping for lunch today . . .

. . . so BillyB had packed enough in his jersey for all of us!!!!

Another very interesting landmark we stopped at the Bear Creek Indian Mound . . . it was, well, . . . BIG!

Another state line  today as we cross into Mississippi. We will ride the rest of the trip in Mississippi.

Soon we had finished the ride but not before the rains started. We cycled through sprinkles and light showers for the last 5 miles of the ride. Cold and chilly we decided to van to Florence for lunch. Since the start of  the ride we have seen exit signs off the Trace for  Florence, so we thought that was the place for lunch. We were staying in Belmont tonight and from the looks of it on the map, Florence might be a better lunch menu.

After hitting a ‘packaged goods’ store we headed across the street to Logan’s Roadhouse, which is very similar to a Texas Roadhouse. We chomped away on peanuts, through the shells on the floor, drank beer and waited for our wet gear to dry.

After much discussion, we had to ask Toby our waiter which state we were in TN, AL or MS????? Ended up we were in MS!!!  We explained our whole ride to him and how we were so enamored to see what Florence had to offer that we had driven 45 miles to have lunch there after our ride. He laughed and told us we were not in Florence  . . . but Muscle Shoals, AL !!!! We had stopped at the first ‘packaged goods’ store we found and thought it was in Florence. Florence was another five miles down the road, So . . .  after all of our efforts, we never got to Florence. Next trip!!!!

We had a great lunch, that stretched into about 2 hours of eating and drinking, warming up AND drying out. TommyH had the special that had only been on the menu for two days . . .

. . .  a smoked turkey leg.

He was hungry and it only took about 20 minutes and this was the result. The Horror . . . The Horror!!!

BillyB had a ‘small steak and baked potato’ but was still hungry so decided to have a ‘small’ dessert!!!

You may think he is asking God for forgiveness but he is really trying to channel with his wife, Marci, who is a nutritionist!!!!

Yippeeee!!!!

Billy has been trying to eat healthy, though. This was his breakfast from the other day . . . he acquired a taste for bacon during his career as a firefighter . . .

. . . but he does do a good job of countering the ’ying’ with the ‘yan’!!!

We finally had eaten, drunken and desserted, as well as dried out, so it was time to say goodbye to Toby and  Sara from the Logan Roadhouse and head back to the Belmont, and the Belmont Hotel, our home for the night.

The City of Belmont population is under 2,000 and they are currently many, many yard signs posted around town regarding allowing liquor or not. The referendum is being held November 3, so we will be checking on the outcome.

The Belmont Hotel is a stately Grand Dame of a place and we had a great time talking to the manager Gary.

Almost too good of a place  for our unruly group. Gary encouraged us to wheel our wet bikes right through the foyer onto the back room for storage. So we did!!

It was a quiet night last night at the Belmont Hotel, in spite of the fact we were right next to the railroad (no trains running last night!!!!)

Which was good because we were all anxious after hearing the ‘ghost stories’ Gary, the Manager, had shared with us. We all slept with our bicycle pumps by the side of the bed . . . just in case.

TommyH almost wacked me with his pump when I got up in the middle of the night and passed by his bed on the way to the bathroom!!! Nice rooms and a nice continental breakfast. The 100% rain that had been predicted this morning was now done to 5% with the main rain pushed back to 4:00pm.

As we pedal along the Trace we cross over lots of local roads. The roads we crossed over in TN and AL were all paved an very picturesque . . . the secondary roads here in MS leave a little to be desired, maybe a few water bars to prevent erosion would be a good start!!

Shhhhhhhhhhh . . . he’s just sleeping in on Sunday morning.

We came to some great Indian mounds located out in a farm field. One of the more interesting stops today . . .

. . . they looked like they were floating out there in the field.

40 miles down the Trace we arrived at Tupelo, the home of Elvis Presley.

The King lives . . . and swims!!!

It is also the ‘official’ headquarters for the Trace. They have a big information center that was well done and explained the history of the Trace.

This model is the type of boats the oarsman would bring down the Tennessee River from around Nashville . . .

. . . loaded to the max. Once they arrived in Natchez, they would deliver their cargo, disassemble the raft, sell the wood, and walk back north, many time to Nashville.

In 1935 the Trace received it’s official US Government recognition, was assigned to the Department of Interior, Park Service and a permanent parkway was constructed along it’s route.

The museum had lots of info about the Indian tribes who lived along the Trace and interacted with the settlers. Here is a woman’s doeskin tunic worn by the Chickasaw. Quite styling with the off the shoulder look!!!!!

After lunch we were back onto the Trace and came across this poor little snake.Surprised some bird had not made a meal out of him yet!!!

Along the way we came to the location of a Chickasaw settlement.

One REALLY had to use your imagination to imagine the buildings because having been made of wood, they were long gone.

There was a couple visiting the site when we arrived and chatting with them we found out they were from the Milwaukee area. Sherry was from Shorewood near the area BillyB had lived as a child!!! Small world. They are spending a couple of days in Tupelo, renting a car, driving to Jackson, then continuing on, riding the Trace. We will see them in Natchez again since we are all there the last night of our trips.

LOTS of possums on the road the last two days. They are either ‘rutting’ like deer or just moving around a lot right now. Many are not making the journey.

The Park Service is doing lots of insect trapping. Not sure what they are trapping or studying, but we have seen many traps along the way.

We came to this bridge. . .

. . . which gave us a stellar view of this damn and lock system. VERY impressive.

We finished our 78 miles ride today at 3:00pm, an hour before the rain was supposed to start. Unfortunately, the weatherman got it wrong and the rain arrived again during our last hour of our ride today. Wet and cold we headed to Houston and the Houston Terrace Motel, our home for the night. Houston is in one of the Yellow colored counties which means DRY!!!! Good thing we brought our own liquor (not that we have a problem of course). Houston’s population is about 3,500 and the population is declining. One reason may be because there does not appear to be a non-fast food restaurant in town. However there was a McDonalds, Burger King, Hardy’s Sonic, Pizza Hut, KFC . . . you get the idea.

We chose the Pizza Hut because we HAD to be back to the motel by 7:00pm to watch the packer Game, at least BillyB and TommyG did.

Those two had a 16 in pizza . . .

. . . TommyH and I had what was supposed to be Chicken Milano.

When we first arrive in an overnight town we always tour around to get the lay of the land and find out what the restaurant possibilities. After seeing what the town had to offer for food choices, we went to the grocery store across from our motel and bought a little snack. We joked about getting a TV dinner and taking it back to microwave, before the big game.

Little did we know we would have a TV dinner at Pizza Hut.!!!  In the past they cooked, and served, their pasta dishes in small individual crocks. Guess they changed their modus operandi. The town got the last laugh.

We are leaving early tomorrow morning because we have another 70+ mile day. Don’t know what we will do for breakfast!!!

After the big Packer loss last night, I was surprised the G and BillyB were in as good of spirits as they were this morning. Easy come  . . . easy go in the sports world, I guess. Last night you would have thought the world was ending.

We woke to a dreary cloudy, misty morning. The forecast was for mid 60 temps with a probability of rain before 10:00am, and that chance dropping during the afternoon hours. 70+ miles today, so we might get wet.

Our usual ‘Monty Python’ flying circus start every morning . . .

We were on the Trace before 9:00am, or al least some of us were. We got to the Trace and the G could not find his baggie that held his wallet, extra keys etc. He is always giving me a bad time for not taking my wallet along during the day, only the cash I might need, and this was the perfect example of why I don’t. A trip back to the motel resulted in the baggie being found in the parking lot outside of our rooms, right where he had kicked it out of the car!!!

TommyH and I had started riding while all this drama was unfolding . . . . wasn’t long before I spotted this poor critter in the ditch. The deer seem smaller down south here . . . probably not corn fed like they are in SW WI.

Soon we reached the half way mile marker for the 444 mile Natchez Trace. Nice to think it is all down hill from here to the ocean . . . ?  ? ?

Before long we were all grouped back up together and ran into  a group of riders from Red Wing, Minnesota who were riding the Trace self-supported. I was jealous!! Here TommyG and Gail discuss Wisconsin politics!!!

They were a happy group and having a great time. They did not postpone there start in Nashville last Tuesday (like we did . . . remember, we did not start riding until Thursday) and said it rained for two solid days!!!

After 222 miles of riding on the Trace, this is the first example of road problems we have seen.  Before this, the road had been as smooth as a new born babies bottom. No freezing weather and no truck traffic on the Natchez Trace keep it in pristine condition. The edge of the road here was a little ‘wavy’ so think there may be a foundation issue.

A great example of the Old Trace the oarsman used to walk back to their homes. Wonder if the Park Service mows it????

In French Camp, we stopped at a historic museum  of early settler life.

. . . great job of recreating what things looked like in he past . . .

. . . right down to the loom.

I rode through the parking lots and connecting gravel roads of the outer builds and almost stopped at the café that was featuring freshly baked pie!!!

Oh we know about passenger pigeons in WI where, Martha, the last known female passenger pigeon resides, stuffed, at Wyalusing State Park!!!

As we pedaled on we rode through a tornado damaged area that seemed to stretch for miles . . . it did as a matter of fact, an 8 mile swath.

. . . mother nature always wins in situations like this.

Remember those gravel parking lots I rode through 5 miles ago, back at the museum. I think that is where I had picked up this porcelain shard that made my tire go from 120psi to 0psi in about 10 seconds!!! First and only flat so far anyone has had on the trip, although TommyH did ride through the same parking lot.

. . . another great example of the Old Trace.

She’s as Sweet As Tupelo Honey . . . Just Like Honey Baby from the Tree . . .

Tonight we are staying at the Maple Terrace B&B in Kosciusko, MS which is supposed to be the birthplace of Oprah Winfree. Every small town has to have their claim to fame!!!

The B&B is quite nice and we may be the only one’s here tonight. Well maintained with the usual period furniture and not too many doilies’!!!

Big kitchen which will be put to use for our hungry group of riders. Full breakfast included in the $155/room charge. The most expensive place of the trip, so far!!!

Sunny sitting room . . .

BillyB and my room for the night. Each of the two rooms only has one bed and a roll away. We flipped a coin . . . I got the bed!!!

Nice . . .

TommyH and TommyG are holed ups in this room. TommyH won the coin toss for the bed!!!

We will be here bight and early tomorrow.

The B&B is owned by a local eye doctor who supposedly lives in this nice Victorian across the street from the B&B.

The boys went out on a tour of the town while I  was working on the journal. After several laps around town they came to a consensus for Bel Piatto, an Italian restaurant that until recently had been a Mexican restaurant. The food was good and they did serve beer, no wine, they did not have their liquor license yet.

Italian jambalaya . . .

After dinner, and several beers, it was off to WalMart for a beer/vino run. They has some selection but it was so limited we decided to  wait until tomorrow when we are near Jackson to stock up. But Sonic  did have ice cream so we headed over there for a little treat before we turned in for the night.

160 miles left on the Trace, spread over three days . . . piece of cake!!!

Vanessa was in the kitchen, bright and early, cooking up our vittles using the menus we had filled out last night. She lived in Milwaukee for 14 years, close to where BillyB lived. Has everyone lived in Milwaukee at some time in their life!!

Sterling silver service used at breakfast . . . just like at home!!!

There was an administer for the Veteran’s Affairs staying over night at the B&B. We had a nice chat with her about WI, which was in her old territory she administered. No breakfast for her, she just headed out for WORK . . . a painful word to our ears!!!

TommyH pushed the menu option list by ordering Biscuits AND Grits!!!

Just after breakfast Dr. Larry showed up to pick up some of the left over biscuits (mid-morning snack?). Nice guy! He owns several restored Victorian B&B’s in the area and when they all fill, he hosts the overflow in his big white Victorian across the street!

As we left town we saw this . . . work release prisoners tidying up the town square, complete with stripes,  and safety vest!!! WOW!!!!

Back on the Trace it was quiet. It’s the work week again so not much traffic . . .

On the way out of town we passed Oprah’s old homestead . . .

. . . which, as best we could determine, was now a powerline Right  of Way!!!!

One of the messages someone had written on the back of the sign . . .

. . . and another!!!!

Right down the street was the Buffalo Town Hall, where the sign says Oprah had her first audience!!!!

Some of her old neighbors are not doing quite as well as she is . . .

. . . and as you can see, most of the visitors thought the experience was TERRIBLE!!!!

Back on the Trace, we read about the importance of Southern Pine, a staple in the wood yard at Menard’s .

Many of the info signs today dealt with the Indian tribes and their important history in the local area . . .

We met a relative of an early settler from the Motherland, Rachel, who heralded from Sussex, UK. Rachel flew into Atlanta, took a week to ride her bike to Nashville, and is heading south on the Trace to Natchez. She will be there on Thursday night, as will the couple couple we met earlier in the week from Wisconsin. This is Rachel’s second bike trip to the US, having ridden the Pacific Coast Trail several years ago. Riding self-supported, today she was going to have close to an 80 mile day, while ours was about 55 miles!!!! But hey . . . she is a lot younger than us!!!

BillyB has turned over a new leaf with his new lunch regime of fruit and cottage cheese . . .

. . . after the sterling silver set up this morning, he remembered he had his own cutlery set along and broke it out for lunch use!

Our lunch stop was at the north end of a ten mile reservoir. We would bike along it on the way into Ridgeland, a burb of Jackson, where we would be staying in tonight. What’s that BillyB is pointing to off the end of that log . . .

. . . A GATOR!!!! We thought it might have been a decoy put in the water at the rest stop to amuse the tourist’s stopping by. When it moved, we figured it was the real thing.

Click here for the death defying video . . .

The B was so worried about the critter coming ashore and eating his lunch, he wouldn’t take his eyes off the landing. They say gators can move as quick on land as they can in the water!!!

Soon we loaded up and were on the road for the last 20 miles to Ridgeland. The G’s NightRider headlight has been malfunctioning (a common malady with this off brand light) but he wacked it and it starting blinking again Although there is little traffic on the Trace we are all running headlights and taillights. Safety First!!!!

First mowers we have seen long the Trace. At the visitors center, the docent told us the mowers are all permanent Park Service employees and they mow steady for 9 months of the year!!!!

Just north of Ridgeland we biked by the south shore of the reservoir . . .

. . . where for some, livin’ is easy on the back bayou!!!!

And . . . last but not least . . .

Happy 85th Birthday tomorrow, November 4, to the best mother in the world . . . MINE. I would not be the person I am today if it had not been for her strong influence, followed secondly only by the nuns at our Lady of Victory school. I hope you are with us for many more years to come Mom . . I love you, (and am sorry I missed your big party last weekend) . . .

But the two most important girls in my life were there at the party representing our little family unit. Many thanks to emJay for ‘allowing’ me to go on another one of these crazy bike trips. Won’t be long and when she retires we will be doing these trips together. I love you!

We ended up in Ridgewood, MS, a suburb of Jackson, last night.

BillyB was nice enough to cash in some of his frequent flyer mile so we were able to upgrade our Quality Inn stay over at at the Hilton. Thank you Marci!!!!

We headed out to Drago’s, the 6th rated Tripp Advisor, in Jackson . . . know for seafood.

Our waiter Chad was a great guy and put up with all of  our antics, with a smile . . .

. . . yummy vittles all around . . . .

. . . including the Boudin and Spicy sausage with maque choux. Big Hit!! Good night sleep for all.

We woke to another cloudy day today. So what’s new. No chance of rain just humid and cloudy. We would take a detour off the Trace today and in the morning drive into Vicksburg to tour the US Battlefield Park. By 9:00am we ere at the battlefield. It is highly recommended to ride bikes through the 11 mile battlefield instead of by car. One gets a more solemn feel due to the quiet and serenity of the hollowed ground. All we had to do was decided Yeas or No. We decided yes, and it was the right decision.

They had a wide a variety of cannons laid out at the entrance In the Visitor Center were great displays regarding life for the soldier during the war. The exhibit showing the type of exploding projectiles that came out of these cannons clearly demonstrated the rounds were meant to kill or maim many soldiers in one shot . . .

Each state that fought in the war has been allowed to construct monuments around the area showing where their regiment’s and units fought, made advances and suffer  losses. One of the first monument we saw, right in the parking lot was this one for Wisconsin designated a ravine they slept in one night, right across from the Quality Inn . . . must not have been any vacancies!!!!

It was a gruesome battle with troops from both sides dug in for the 47+ day battle. Here is what it looked like from the aggressor’s side . . .

. . .and here is what it looked like fro the receiver’s side.

For those who were hit and wounded, here was an example of the emergency medical kit a surgeon would use to do the repairs. The  most common procedure was an amputation of limbs. A skilled surgeon using the saw in the foreground could do an amputation in 5 minutes!!! Interestingly, most of the soldiers survived the amputation but many died from the subsequent infections. War zones are not the most sanitary conditions.

Before we could get riding, the G had  to deal with a getting his chain ‘unstuck’ from his chain catcher. A device that works pretty well from keeping one’s chain from dropping off . . . that is until it doesn’t work then one needs a big screwdriver to do some prying!!!  Not pretty words to hear for a fancy bike!!!

Finally the mbbt group moves out . . .  and enters the park.

One of the first battle memorials we saw was from the State of Iowa.

Followed shortly by one from Wisconsin . . .

. . . . but at this point, both states were outdone by Minnesota’s large obelisk.

But Illinois top them all with his large monument built in 1906.

Which had a VERY large grand opening in the Fall of 1906.

On we pedaled through the silence of the battlefield (except for about an hour when we seemed to be constantly run into a USPS tractor that had a HUGE leaf blower mounted on the back and was blowing leaves off the road. They are tidy here! The battlefield has hundreds of monument depicting where each states regiments made stands in the Battle of Vicksburg. It would have been nice to have taken the guide two hour tour that would have put all the pieces together for us. But, one did get a sense of how many charges, assaults AND retreats there were during the siege.

And here was the Union General who won the battle and maybe the War for  the north, Ulysses Grant. His troops surrounded the city of Vicksburg and basically waiting out the Confederate troops until they ran out of food, got dysentery from bad water and suffered from morale problems. President Lincoln had said at the time that Vicksburg, because of its control of the Mississippi River was the ‘key’ to winning the war and the north would not prevail until they had that ‘key’ in their pocket.

Soon we rounded a bend and here was Wisconsin’s ‘big’ memorial. Very nicely done . . .

TommyH and I stopped by to pay our respects .  . .

Shortly down the road was Surrender Pont where Grand and the Union General Penteble met to discuss the terms of surrender . . .

. . . must have been an interesting discussion between the two as they sat in the vast countryside opening. Grant didn’t want to take on and feed 30,000 Confederate soldiers so they agreed the Confederates would hand over their weapons, go home and not fight again. It seemed to work . . . the Union own the War .

The Union needed to control the Mississippi water way during the war thus the development of the ‘Ironside” brown boat, referred that way because they only really operated inland, along riverways. They were iron clad behemoths that weighed in at 880 tons.

The Cairo was sunk right out side of Vicksburg and remained in the mud on the bottom of the river until 1965 when she was raised, reconstructed and moved to her final resting spot, this great display area.

Lincoln order 7 of this ships to be constructed by a company in Illinois who produced the 7 ships in 100 days!!! A manufacturing marvel. Cost, about $190,000/each. The ‘military industrial complex’ started way before the Eisenhower era.

Scale model of the ships  . . .

Only known remaining photo of the Cairo . . .

. . . whose crew numbered 185 enlisted men . . . plus officers and the captain. Not sure where they all slept!

To see one of these sliding along the river at dawn must have been a terrifying site for the enemy.

The pilot house was the armored  turret on the top o the main deck . . . we spent a good hour at this display. Really well done.

Eventually we rode away to the rest of our tout. We haven’t seen the sun since the second day of our trip and it made a BRIEF appearance today. I was so stunned I had to take a photo of it. By the time I put the camera away . . .the sun was gone. Maybe tomorrow again!!!

Adjacent the Cairo display area was the Vicksburg National commentary. Many many headstones for the unknown soldier. If they had not sacrificed their lives we might not be what we are today.

After a whole morning, and most of the afternoon touring, we were hungry, so loaded up the bikes and headed to the waterfront in Vicksburg for a little lunch. TommyH had the ‘Blue Plate Special’ . . . fried chicken!

Across the street was a GREAT looking old railroad depot, nicely preserved. Really a beautiful building. Welcome to Vicksburg!

By the time we left Vicksburg it was 3:00pm so our idea of returning to the Trace today and biking 25 miles to Port Gibson, our home for the night was not going to happened. We stopped at Sonic for a treat and headed, by car,  to Port Gibson . . . where we would be staying at the Isabella B&B.

We ended up with two single rooms and a double. A flip of the coins resulted in the G having this room . . .

. . . yours truly in this room . . .

. . .and BillyB and TommyH sharing  this suite. TommyH got the twin on the right. Coffee starting at 6:30am!!!

What a very quiet and peaceful night at the Isabella. We woke to find our bikes still resting comfortably in the morning room . . .

When I went downstairs at 6:30am for coffee . . . here our hostess, Bobbi, ready to start cooking breakfast

. . . and what a breakfast she had whipped up by 8:00am . . .

. . . which this group heartily consumed .  . . YUMMM. It would get us through our 40 mile day to Natchez and probably hold us for lunch, too.

Had a nice chat with Bob, the other half of the Isabella ownership team, about woodworking and the nice dining room table he made out of cypress. 12 inch boards without a knot in sight!!!!

TommyH, our resident cat lover, made a new friend. I thought he was ready to put this one in the van and ‘relocate’ it back to Wisconsin. To a cat, how can you explain . . . WINTER!!!!

Soon we were back on the Trace with FINALLY a sunny, cloudless sky over our head. The first in over a week of cycling!!!

Only  40 miles to Natchez.

Great road, no traffic, blue sky, perfect road . . . a bikers dream.

BillyB did some research and there were no historical education points for the first 26 miles!!!! There may have been one here but they removed it!!!!

Our first signs of Spanish moss occurring on the roadside trees . . .

. . . and the first sign of sharecropping on the Trace right of way.

This poor turtle unfortunately didn’t make it across the road.

The last several days we have seen a few logs from downed trees along the road. First we’ve seen since the start of the trip. The Park Service has been meticulous in cleaning the roadway right of way.

I stopped to take some photos along the way and lost track of the boys ahead. I figured they would stop at the first exhibit of the day, Mount Locust, but were not there. But Doug, from San Antonio was and we had a big chat about his new recumbent. He had just started in Natchez and was biking to Tupelo. NO HELMET!!!!

This was an excellent example of a rural plantation home that had been expertly renovated . . .

. . . and I got the whole scoop from Sherry who volunteers for  8 months of the year as a docent at various National Parks. This is the furthest east she has volunteered. She lives out of her camper and the Park Service gives her free electricity and plumbing. She stays with her son in Hastings, MN for a month each year.

The family room . . .

. . . master bedroom.

Kids room . . .

. . . complete with ‘coon skin’ cap.

No video games here . . . toys kids actually played with in their leisure time.

Everything one needed to tend to the garden.

A dark side of our history, the slave cemetery located right behind the master’s home . . .

It was a quiet, serene place today, but probably not always in the past  . . .

. . . there was only one gravestone left.

Even with all the rain last week many of the streams were starting to dry up along the way . . .

The second big attraction of today’s ride was, Emerald Mound, the second largest Native American constructed  mound in the United States. The largest is Cahokia, located in Illinois, near St Louis. This mound was about 1 mile off the Trace . . . over a section of town road that had the worst surface of the whole trip !!!

. . . but at least the locals were trying to solve the litter problem!!!

As one approached, it was hard to get a good feeling for how large this mound was.

 

Here is an aerial view that gives some perspective . . .

. . . and what it probably looked liked being used, soon after it was constructed.

There was a bicycle touring company, based out of New York, set up with a SAG wagon rest stop in the parking lot. Had a nice chat with the operator, referencing my days in the bicycle touring business, and met two of the riders who hail from Mpls!!!!

. . . goodies all around!!!

. . .up to the top.

Back on the road, I stopped to shoot one of the ‘artistic’ arrangements TommyG had been stopping to make every time he saw a tossed beer can or bottle. Sticking them in an ant hill makes it a lot easier for the Park Service volunteers to find them!!!

Along the way there was a exhibit sign regarding the formation of wind driven soil-constructed local bluffs. Reminded me of emJay’s love of the Loess Hills of Iowa.

One of the last examples of the ‘old Trace’. Here the path, due to heavy traffic,  had been worn down 4-5 feet.

A final stop was at the former site of the Elizabeth Female Academy. The academy was the first school for women to be chartered by the State of Mississippi. Founded in 1818, it was one of the premier institutions for young Southern women of its day.

Not much left of it today!!!

Soon the riding for today was over, as was our Natchez Trace riding adventure. Great weather today . . . so it was a great day to finish.

While we were at the finish, Rachel, the Brit, who we had met several days earlier rolled in so we took another group shot celebrating our international love of bicycle touring

We invited her to join us for dinner tonight at our celebratory meal. We headed over to the Magnolia Grill, located in the ‘under hill’ area of Natchez Trace.

Natchez proper is the town on top of the bluff; Natchez improper was the boat landing beneath the bluff on the bank of the Mississippi. This area of Natchez was described by numerous nineteenth-century travelers as one of the rowdiest ports on the Mississippi River. Here docked the keelboats and the flatboats, and, beginning in 1811, the steamboats.  mmmmm .  . . four middle aged guys from the midwest would probably not have fit in!!! But in 2015 . . . not a problem

A celebratory salute to our finish and staying as dry as we did considering all the potential for downpours . . .

Rachel had a true American classic, especially in this part of the country . . .  Catfish !!!

Several of us had the tasso, grits and shrimp special . . . YUM!!!!
We headed back to the river for one more look. Rachel had not been to Louisiana on this trip, or her prior US bicycle adventures, so we all decided it was time for a road trip, across the bridge to Louisiana . . . and another American classic . . . .

. . . the drive-in. Sonic is one of the last drive-in restaurant chains in the US. Click here to see her in action. She handled it like a pro!!!

We dropped Rachel off at her hotel, wishing her well on the rest of her journey, and were soon back at the Holiday Inn Express.

Breakfast tomorrow at 6:30am and on the road by 7:00am. Good thing we are leaving . . .100% chance of rain tomorrow!!!!

FINAL THOUGHTS TOMORROW . . .

We were in the breakfast room by 6:30am for  a hot complimentary breakfast. We loaded the van in misty, humid conditions. At 7:00am the temp in Natchez was 76 degrees. 945 miles to the north, in Madison, the current temp was 37 degrees!!!! Some of us wore long pants.

Once on the road we decided to drive in shifts and make the ride non-stop to MSN. Stopping just for gas and munchies we made it home by 10:00pm with no incidents other than a minor slowdown in Jackson, MS, for an interstate accident (not us!!!!).

 

FINAL THOUGHTS:

This was a great riding experience. 444 miles of low traffic, no commercial trucks, a paved road surface that looked like it had just been laid, and at least during the first third of the ride, enough elevation to keep things interesting and provide some vistas was fantastic.

The Park Service does and excellent job maintaining the Parkway and the informational/historic stops make it a learning experience along the way. The weather could have been better but by delaying the start of our trip, to miss the main influence of Hurricane Patricia, we made the best of a bad situation. It’s all part of the touring adventure!!!

The other learning experience was just off the Trace, as each overnights stay added additional memories. Finding restaurants was an issue and the choices were sometimes not what we would have preferred. As we came into most towns we were greeted by fast food restaurants and Dollar General stores  . . . and that was about it. We wondered how these towns held their young people from moving away. Maybe they don’t. Doesn’t seem to be much industry or businesses for future employment. Lots of vacant storefronts. Lots of farming.

But . . . all the people we met were very friendly and helpful. As in most places, when travelling . . . it’s all about the people!!!

p.s.

For those of you out there wondering how the liqueur referendum held on Nov 3 in Tishomingo County and Belmont turned out . . . the 42 vote margin for allowing liquor, beer and spirits sales from the 2013 referendum was reaffirmed this time by over 600 votes!!!.