It’s still dark outside when the alarm goes off ... yes, I keep setting the alarm even though we're on vacation haha.
Bundled up against the crisp morning air we
walk to the office where the hotel offers a free breakfast. It's more than decent -- lots of options to choose from and I fix myself a plate with a DIY waffle,
scrambled eggs on toast, bacon strips, yogurt and some slightly frozen fruit.
We’re making good time driving into town and I’m amazed at
the lack of people – it was so crowded yesterday! Maybe everyone is still
sleeping?
We even luck out and get a parking spot right near the
bluff. It’s chilly so we decide to wait in the car with the radio on … and a short
time later they announce that this morning’s balloon race is cancelled due to
“high” winds. Apparently the balloons can’t fly when the wind exceeds 9mph. :-(
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| At least we were blessed with a beautiful sunrise |
A bit disheartened we drive through a deserted downtown
admiring some of the historical homes, then head over to the visitors center
where all the pilots are packing up their rigs. Judging by the pictures on
their trailers it would’ve been so cool to see them all flying over the
Mississippi ...
Since we are now unexpectedly a
bit ahead of schedule we spend some more time exploring historic Natchez.
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| Orange glow is from the rising sun |
Then we move on to one of Natchez' more famous homes, Stanton Hall:
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| Walk-in entrance facing the front door |
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| Side view |
Dunleith Plantation only allows you to walk their grounds if you've booked a tour of the house -- luckily we don't realize that until it's too late.
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| Love the columns |
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| And in color |
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| Trees reflecting in a sugar cane cauldron |
Longwood -- the largest octagonal house in the US -- is next on the program, but when we get there the
gate is still closed and we don’t feel much like waiting around. Instead we return
to the visitors center now that the National Park staff is there to get
my NP passport stamped.
Our first stop “on” the Trace is the Natchez Village site. Really, there is not a lot to see here; a small mound and a couple of reconstructed huts so after a few minutes we press on.
It's official:
There’s a sad family plot nestled near the top of the hill
at the turn off to an Old Trace Exhibit. The graves are in poor condition, with large slabs of stone missing and for some reason it's mostly kids that are buried here.
Beautiful Spanish moss.
We didn’t plan on stopping at the Loess bluff, but it’s more
like a pull through so we stop for the obligatory picture. The area is actually
kind of cute.
Mount Locust is the only surviving inn along the Trace, providing food and shelter to weary travelers. Nowadays it’s
no longer in use, but the park service keeps it decorated the way it would’ve
been back in the day.
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| Back porch |
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| Cute antlers mounted on the front porch |
Coles Creek is ok, but the banks are very steep so you can’t
get down to the river.
There’s a relatively new trail about a mile off the trace
called the Mt Locust scenic trail, but it needs some work; after walking a
short distance our path is blocked by a large fallen tree. To make matters
worse the last part of the trail is overrun with a low growing little plant
that has left sticky seeds ALL over my shoes and socks. Yuck, I’m still plucking
stuff from my socks when we get to the next stop. On the plus side it means we
get to drive on a dirt road again … now our vacation is complete! |
| Experimenting with the editing software ;) |
Very surprised to see that the columns are made out of brick
covered with plaster
I love the sunken trace! A path worn so deep it leaves steep
banks on either side.
Owen’s Creek, once a mighty waterfall, is now barely a trickle because of changes in the water level. Worth a stop? Questionable.
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| Water drips down slowly from a large shelf over a shallow pool |
The church has held up quite well.
While we are there a large group of people on horseback show up.
Initially we think they are the same people we saw riding along the edge of the road a while ago, but this is a different group
comprised mostly of children -- all without helmets of course. There’s a lot of whooping
and hollering, with Daddy instructing the kids to “just yank ‘em!” and “kick ‘er harder!” One of the boys decided it's more fun if you stand up on the saddle and then squat down, while two toddlers ride by doubled up on a very rotund and stubborn pony. It's like "People of Wallmart" on a trail ride.
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| Fortunately the picture is blurry (which may or may not be due to the fact that I was trying really hard not to laugh/cry) |
Vicksburg National Military Park is a battlefield park that
in many ways closely resembles Gettysburg; there’s fields, cannons, and an
abundance of memorials donated by the various states.
Beautiful vantage point over the glowing hills.
One of the Illinois memorials has an open in the center of
its roof that allows in a lot of natural light. It also has a crazy echo that a couple of rambunctious children are more than eager to demonstrate by shrieking with delight. Ouch, my ears.
Beautiful mosaic.
Send a horse fanatic to a battle field and you end up with tons of pictures of cool horse statues
There’s also a Naval vessel called the USS Cairo. It was
badly damaged and sunk during the war. They brought it the park to restore it, but for reasons unbeknownst to me decided to do only a partial restoration, which means you can see right through it -- like a naval skeleton. Except for naval enthusiasts there's not much to
see here, but there's a place near the back of the boat where -- when the wind is just right -- you can catch the smell of wood and it smells so good.
From the same parking lot you can walk, or drive, to the
cemetery. The black and gold gates are really striking, but it’s hard to get a
good shot while the gate is open so I pull it shut to take a picture while
Sandy pulls up the car behind me. Of course, when I’m done with my picture and
I turn back around instead of Sandy I find two other cars lined up waiting by
the gate. Oops haha. Obviously we're not in DC anymore because no one even honked at me as I went about my business.
I prefer modern, ornate cemeteries but when you
catch old military ones like this one at the right angle they are quite interesting.
View of the river from one of the highest points in the
park.
Random memorial – at this point they’re all running
together.
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| Note the kid dangling from the statue lol. |
To save time we drive back along Route 20 which puts us back
on the Trace around Clinton. There are a couple of stops in between that we ended up missing, but I think Vicksburg is worth a stop.
The sun is starting to set by the time we reach Barnett
Reservoir Overlook and although I would have liked a good view of the setting sun, the pastel sky over the water's edge is very dreamy too.
When we arrive in Canton we ask the hotel clerk for dinner
recommendations and she suggests either Mexican or an upscale place called Two
Rivers. Sandy rules out Mexican and for some reason Two Rivers is closed for the night so instead we end up hitting my beloved Sonic. And yes, we tiptoed around to the hotel's back entrance to avoid being seen by the concierge who recommended those nice upscale places haha.
Tomorrow- day two on the Trace! Breakfast: Days Inn Natchez
Dinner: Sonic
Hotel: Best Western Canton
Total: 248 mi
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