Exploring the Mississippi/Alabama Area

For those of you who don't know exactly where Red Bay is located, it is on the Mississippi state line, in the north west corner of Alabama. Not far from here is the Natchez Trace Parkway. I've heard about this road many times, and have it on my "must do" list. So, today we decided to take a drive and do some exploring.

We checked with the repair scheduler and found that it will most likely be Tuesday before we get in for our repairs, so no reason for us to hang around all the time. I checked out with the campground office so they'd know where we were, just in case the work crews got really lively and opened a spot for us. When I mentioned to Nancy, the campground hostess, that we were going to drive some of the Natchez Trace Parkway, she gave me a brochure.

From the brochure, I learned that the modern parkway parallels the old Trace, which runs from the Mississippi River in Natchez, Louisiana, to Nashville, Tennessee. The original path was used by Indians, then farmers who floated their crops and goods down the rivers to Natchez or New Orleans. They sold their boats for lumber, then had to walk back home, using the Natchez Trail. Inns, or stands which were overnight stops, were built for them to get a good meal and rest along their journey.

At the Tennessee River, a Chickasaw/Scotsman named George Colbert ran an inn and ferry crossing from 1800 to 1819. He charged Andrew Jackson $75,000 to ferry his army across the river. Tough job, but somebody had to do it.

Once steamboats began operating on the rivers, the Natchez Trace fell into disuse. In 1930, the modern parkway was started. In 1995 it was designated an All-American Road.

At the beginning of the section we drove, we took a side trip through Tishomingo State Park. I got a picture of a bird next to a large pond in the park, but have no idea what it is. I'm not sure if it's a good enough image for some of my bird-expert friends to identify. Any clues?

This is a walking trail in the state park:

A neat looking bridge:
Another cool bridge:
And, on the trace, an Indian Mound, a ceremonial structure estimated to have been developed between 1200 and 1400.

We didn't drive very much of the parkway today, so I'm hoping that we can take another section and go south on it at least to Tupelo. This area has some interesting history, besides Tupelo being the birthplace of Elvis. Helen Keller was born in Tuscumbia, which is about 45 miles from here.

We got off the parkway and came back through Florence and Muscle Shoals, although we only stopped to have a quick lunch. We had the dogs with us, so we stopped at a Wendy's so we could stay in the car and keep the a/c running. Hot day!

Thank you for all your wishes for us to get in quickly and get our work done. We knew we could be in for a wait here, since we didn't have a scheduled appointment, and our repairs are not anything that could be considered emergency. We're really content to stay here and wait, getting to know a few other owners and hear their stories. It's an interesting place, and we don't mind being here at all, it's kind of fun! Now, if the hurricanes and tropical storms will be kind to us, life will stay great!