Traveling the Natchez Trace Parkway

The Natchez Trace Parkway extends from Nashville, Tennessee to Natchez, Mississippi - a distance of 444 miles long.  We are near one of the entrance points of the Parkway and traveled south for about 40 miles, stopping along the way to look at interpretive signs, actually walk the old trace road, see ruins.  If you wanted a non-stop way to get from Nashville to Natchez, this is the way to do it.  No lights, no towns to pass through, no stop and go.  There was very little traffic on our portion, no trucks or commercial vehicles are permitted, only cars, motorcycles, and RVs.  Seriously thinking of taking the Parkway to Natchez (our next stop) when we leave here in a few days.

Today's Trace

Today's Trace runs parallel to Old Trace

Green, lush forests, this trace is the original road that the Choctow, Natchez, and Chickasaw Indians used in traveling.  The French and Spanish used the road to move inland and the early pioneers used this road also move goods to New Orleans.  The Parkway at times uses the same path where most of the original Trace runs parallel to the modern Parkway.  We were able to hike a few places where the Old Trace is still in existence.  Saw an abandoned town - Rocky Springs - where only the church and cemetery remain.

Humbled 

Old Trace - Rocky Springs town

Old Church left at Rocky Springs 

Walked an area that is called Sunken Trace - felt that we were 15 feet down below today's ground level.  Weird.

Sunken Trace

One sensory we had - who mows this land?  Lots and lots of grass.  Another is in the old days malaria was a major problem - lots of bayous and bottom lands.

One stop we did was visit the Windsor Ruins, a magnificent home built in 1859 to 1861 and burned to the ground in 1890.  How sad.  All that stands are the 23 of the 29 forty foot columns that supported the roof.  Mark Twain had visited this mansion and stood on it's upper floors and watched the traffic on the Mississippi.       We will visit the Parkway again as we move more south.