Off the Natchez Trace and Heading for the Mountains

We survived our night in Mississippi without air conditioning... Quite nicely! Then we were up at a leisurely hour this morning for a great camp breakfast. Nothing like a little fresh air to whet the appetite! And for some reason, I really enjoy cooking outside. Even though we have a set-up inside the Pop-up, I only cook inside when it's raining.

Here's a shot of our typical camp set-up:

You know you're still in the Bible Belt when you see a stop sign like this. I love it!

We managed to find our way back through the Mississippi "outback" to the Parkway, for our last 150-mile stretch of the Natchez Trace. What a beautiful, scenic, restful drive this has been for the last 3 days. These are some typical parkway shots...imagine 3 days of soaking up this chlorophyll!

At the Park headquarters I found a map that gives you a really good idea of our route for the last 3 days...and the next couple of months.

The Natchez Trace is in the lower left corner...the tan color. Now we'll head east into Western North Carolina, and then north again to the New England states. All the way to the very top right edge of the map and beyond.

We hit our first 1000 miles just after we nipped into the northwest corner of Alabama and crossed the Tennessee River, just shy of the Tennessee border:

We enjoyed several sights before leaving the Parkway... Among them the historic house where Meriwether Lewis met his death...and the mystery still hasn't been solved. 

Q

One more short hike down a portion of the original Trace...

...and then the scenic end of the parkway. 

What a wonderful drive through history we've enjoyed the past 3 days. Tonight we're enjoying the luxury of a motel in Murfreesboro,Tennessee. 

And tomorrow we'll head for the mountains of western North Carolina. We'll spend a few days with my stepmother, Bonnie. We last saw her almost a month ago at my father's burial at Arlington National Cemetery.  We all miss him so much...so it will be wonderful to spend some time together and give one another love and support.