Wednesday, June 07, 2006

Day Two: Natchez Trace

My plan was to be on the road by 10:00 Saturday morning. My ultimate goal was to see and photograph the Natchez Trace Parkway Bridge. I had passed beneath it once before, travelling from Nashville to Memphis, and was fascinated with it. Remember thinking it looked like something out of the video game Halo.

I awoke around 8:45 after a peaceful night's sleep at the Belmont, showered and went into the dining room for breakfast. Had a bowl of cereal, a glass of orange juice, and a couple bites of a honey bun. Loaded up the car. Said goodbye to the innkeeper. Took a picture of the outside of the hotel. And was on the road shortly after 10:00.

Stopped to fill up on my way out of town at a BP station. There was no pay at the pump option. The gas pumps didn't have credit card machines in them, so you had to go inside to pay. That only added to the slower pace, the old-fashionedness--and yes, the quaintness--of the town.

About fifteen minutes down the road, I realized from the map that while I was on the right highway, I was going the wrong way. So I had to backtrack. All the while I was listening to a local AM radio station.

At 10:25, the announcer came on to read the day's local birthdays and anniversaries. Then he announced the winner of the daily birthday drawing. Then proceeded to announce each winner of the drawing for the past week, going all the way back to the previous Sunday. Finally, he said, "Tune in at the bottom of every hour for the birthdays and anniversaries." They read the birthdays off every hour?

That was followed by a rather lenghty live community calendar. Which was followed by a pre-recorded ad that said, "Tune in for the funeral announcements three times a day." Throw in a few commercials, and it was 10:39 by the time they played another song. It was like I was driving around in my Model A Ford waiting for FDR's fireside chat to come on.

It was nearly 11:00 by the time I got to the Trace. End to end, the Trace is 444 miles long. It's almost entirely two lanes and the speed limit is 50 the whole way. There are no stop signs or traffic lights. No stores or commercialization. Mostly just trees and fields on either side of the road and signs that say "Historical Site 0.5 miles." The bridge is located around milepost 438. I entered the Trace around milepost 302. So I had about 140 miles of driving ahead of me.

One of my first stops was Colbert Ferry. The story here was a man who operated a Ferry along the Trace across the Tennessee River. And that he once charged Andrew Jackson $75,000 to ferry his army across. I encountered a lady and little girl walking a puppy here. As I approached the puppy started barking. I spoke.
"I was gonna say what a cute puppy, but now I'm not so sure."
"She acts mean, but she's all talk," the lady replied.
The puppy then proceeded to walk around and in between my feet, pulling on her leash. Looked like a Spaniel. It was cute. All the while the little girl was saying, "She is cute. She is cute."
"She sure is. And so are you," I said, as I walked back to my car.

There was a hike there, but I didn't take it. The next place I remember stopping was Rock Spring. I did take a 20-minute hike along a trail there. And took some pictures. I was nervous at first about leaving my vehicle and walking off into the woods by myself. But soon got used to it.

There wasn't much traffic along the Trace. There were a few cyclists. But the most common site was bikers. Mostly riding alone or in pairs. Rarely would a car come up behind me. Maybe three or four times the whole trip. It was nice to drive along at 50 miles an hour and not be in a hurry or feel like I was going too slow.

Three different times I had to slow down, almost to a stop, to let what I believe were wild turkeys cross the road. One of the times there was a mother with her young. She made sure all the young crossed first, then she followed. It was beautiful!

Still, at this pace, it soon became evident that I was going to have to be selective with my stops. One stop that I wish I hadn't skipped was the Meriweather Lewis Site. Which has a monument to the explorer of Lewis & Clark fame. He died along the Trace, of gunshot wounds, while travelling from Louisiana to Washington, D.C.

I wanted to stop at places where there were hiking trails, but the maps weren't always clear on that. I also tried to stop at any place with Falls in its name. Two such places were Fall Hollow and Jackson Falls. Both had fairly steep trails.

I got off the Trace sometime around 3:00 and drove into Columbia, Tennessee, to get lunch. Brought the food back to Jackson Falls and ate at a picnic table there. Then I hiked down to the bottom of the falls. The hike at Jackson Falls was the longest and most intense that I went on that day. I was a bit disappointed as there wasn't much water coming down. I got much better pictures at Fall Hollow earlier in the afternoon.

The hikes were my favorite part of the whole trip. Just walking thru nature, nearly untouched by man. Hearing birds singing. Seeing all kinds of trees, plants, flowers, insects, in their natural habitat. The hikes were my favorite part.

It was probably 4:30 by the time I got back on the Trace. I don't think I stoppped again until I got to the bridge. And there it was.

Spanning more than 1600 feet across. Rising 155 feet below the valley below. It was beautiful. With its graceful arches and artful design. I remember when I was little, I was scared of bridges. Now I'm fascinated by them.

I took several pictures, both from bridge level, and then from the valley down below. And then it was time to go.

There was a Krispy Kreme in Franklin that had been calling my name for the last couple of hours. I stopped off there, and then hit the interstate home. Back to life. Back to 80 miles an hour.

But sometimes, every once in awhile, it's good to slow down.

"Don't tell me how to be. Cos I like some suffering. Don't ask me what I need. I'm just fine here finding me..."

21 comments:

  1. It looks as though you had a delightful time, a trip I would definitely like to take someday.

    The bridge is breathtaking from the pictures, I can't imagine how it must have been in person.

    I wanted to tease you something about the puppy being real or not, but 's too late for anything witty from me. He sure seemed frisky.

    I love the new title pic of the bridge, even if you had to take the sunset down... it looks great.

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  2. You lost me at Krispy Kreme . . . (sorry about the drool.) Actually, sounds like you had a nice, Southern (aka slow) weekend, and took some really good pictures. :)

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  3. I've never traveled the Natchez Trace, but know about it from history. It would be a neat road to bike. Sounds like you had a nice trip, the hotel looked wonderful, the bridge awe-inspiring. thanks for sharing.

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  4. Great story and great photos... wonderful job!

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  5. Sounds like a perfect day. I love that area up there. It's just so nice. We could all use more days like that where we just take things slow and enjoy the ride.

    Nice pics, by the way and like the new one at the top!

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  6. OCG: Thanks. This puppy was definitely real. And sooo cute. I want to go back when I can take more time, stop more places, hike more, picnic, stuff like that.

    Carmen: I understand. I love those things!

    And it's no Egypt ;-) But it was nice to get away, if only for a day or so.

    Sage: It's definitely bike-friendly. I should have done a little more research about places to eat and stay near the Trace.

    J-Mo: Thanks. It'd be hard to take a bad picture there.

    Tenacious T: Pretty close to a perfect day, I would say. And thanks. I had help with the banner at the top.

    Dea: Thank you. I plan to give the person who helped me with it a big bear hug. lol

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  7. OK, I'm jealous. Pulling off the road, hike, eat, drive, pull off, hike, picnic. Sounds like the perfect road trip!

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  8. Ah, the reasons that I miss the south. Bone, sometimes I just think we were meant to be.

    Glad you had a great time.

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  9. This is my fourth try. Only because I've been transposing IYROOBTY for a year now

    Think you should go back for two nights and spend one entire day hiking

    Though the mysteries that I have read and that make the Trace sound so Southern exotic make it sound like a hot bed of criminal activity, they're fiction

    Only one bite of a honey bun? The Krispy Kreme in my 'hood closed due to Atkins and weight watchers--so did the bakery that specialized in mini-honey buns come to think--but I was only in it once--for my sister--and will have to take a picture to show her otherwise she won't believe me

    What did people do before cells with cameras to prove points like that?

    $75,000? Wow

    Really beautiful post Bone--and if this doesn't take-uh

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  10. i am with ocg- love the new pic for the title. i like how both of you have amazing pics posted today. :)

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  11. Sounds like a great trip. I don't know if I'll ever get DH to do a southern trip. He likes to tease me endlessly for being from LA...the state.
    I'm glad you had a good time and shared it with us.

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  12. Carnealian: Well, I only ate once. You added an extra picnic in there ;-)

    Naj: Miss it? As in, you've lived in the south?

    Pia: Yeah, Blogger was baaad today. Sorry about that. I think going back for two nights and spending one day hiking is an excellent idea.

    As for the honey bun, I used to eat them all the time. Until I noticed the fat content on one a year or two ago.

    Xinh: Thanks. And by bride, I assume you mean bridge :) I do love it, but I'm not going to marry it.

    Ms. Sizzle: Thank you. Yeah, she just had to try and outdo me :)

    Renee: I didn't know you were a Lousiana girl. You gotta get him to take a southern trip. There's lots to see here. Even if I didn't always realize it.

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  13. Sir Bone: There was no try involved... let us not forget who here has the "photographer's eye"
    ;-)

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  14. Oh yes, I've only been in the Northeast for a year now. Send me an email and I'll tell you more details.

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  15. OCG: Oh yes, I've heard that about you. I will dutifully accept second place in the June 7th photo contest :)

    Naj: From the South to New York? Sounds like the kind of path I'd like to take.

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  16. Where's the bridge? I don't know that I've seen it before.
    One of my best friends lives in Columbia, and we got two dozen donuts from the Krispy Kreme in Franklin last Friday night. We ordered half a dozen chocolate, half a dozen plain, but they gave us a dozen plain. When we realized the mistake, we drove back around and they gave us our original order, and let us keep the first dozen! Bonus!

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  17. Jennifer: The bridge is part of Natchez Trace. It's where the Trace crosses Highway 96, west of Franklin.

    My KK order was 3 chocolate covered glazed, and 3 glazed creme-filled. Mmmm!

    Xinh: Haha. Perhaps. Either way, it's a really cool bridge.

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  18. *cough*woooo*coughcough*pigsooie*coughcough*

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  19. Do you read these when they're posted several days later????

    Anyway, I was on my way to a free concert in Brentwood tonight and I heard on the police channel that there was a wedding on a bridge. The only bridge I could think of was the Natchez Trace one you have pictured. Then I got to thinking about what a cool idea it would be to have a wedding there!

    Nice pics, btw.

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  20. Naj: Aha! Are-can-sus! That would explain the hatred of Texas ;-)


    Buzz: No, I don't.

    That's odd. The last thing I think of when I'm on a bridge is getting married. Sometimes I think about how I'm 33 and still not married. But never about getting married :)

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