We left at 9:30 a.m. and drove Hwy 72 East back to the Natchez Trace Parkway in Alabama. We crossed Mississippi once again and fuelled at Burnsville for $2.99/gal. We headed south-west on the Trace and stopped at Bear Creek for lunch, a very nice area near the creek and sooooo peaceful!
After lunch we continued down the road to Bear Creek Mounds which dates back to 1200 A.D. These would have had some ceremonial structures on them. This is also where we crossed back into Mississippi. We will now be in this State until the end of the Trace.
Cove Springs, our next stop, was a caved in area caused by erosion. It created small caves where it is suspected Indians lived. Inside one of the cave, there was a small lake and we could stand up in it. (See Pictures, #28 Natchez Trace)
Tombigbee-Tennessee waterway which connects the Gulf of Mexico with the Tennessee River in the North, was our next sight. This is a man-made waterway, a navigable canal 459 miles long. From here it was the Pharr Mounds, 8 mounds in a farmer’s field dating back 2000 years. It is believe they were burial grounds. We stopped at Dogwood Valley where we took a short hike on a trail to look at all the Dogwood trees which are prominent here and also to walk the “Old Trace”.
Shortly after, we went on another walk on the Old Trace but this time, it was to see 13 graves containing unknown Confederates soldiers. The original tombstones were stolen! Absolutely unbelievable!!! Fortunately, the Park replaced them.
We finally arrived at the Park’s headquarter at Tupelo and stopped to get information for a campsite and the area. We decided on the Fish and Wildlife Park as it is the closest to town and only cost $15 per night. We will be here 2 nights minimum and maybe 3 if I can find a place to fix the leaky Pinion seal at the rear end
It was cloudy most of the day and windy but the sun did manage to come out on a couple of occasions. Right now, 5 P.M., it is raining.
N 34* 18’ 32”
W 088* 38’ 59”
Alt: 390 feet
Dist. Today: 284 KM in 5.5 hours
Av. Sp: 48 mph
NOV. 16, Sunday, visiting Tupelo, birthplace of Elvis Presley
A sunny day but very cool. Never got above 50*F!
We went into town and visited the place where Elvis was born and was raised to the age of 13. The house, the church and the car are all replicas but built to the exact scale of those days. There is a sidewalk surrounding the house and each square has a year in it from 1935 to 1977, his years alive. (See pictures in folder # 28, Natchez Trace) There is also a statue of him when he was 13 y.o. There is also a fountain with water jets shooting on plaques representing each year from 1935 to 1977. Then there was the “walk of life” also known as the “story wall”. There are dozens of letters from people who knew him and either played, fought or prayed with him. Some of the stories were very touching and some very funny.
From here, we drove to town and saw the downtown but unfortunately everything was closed due to being Sunday. We drove on and stopped at an empty parking lot where I called my daughter and Vanessa to wish her a happy birthday. Afterwards, we visited the battle ground of the civil war that took place here. Time for lunch…fish and chips and Gumbo for Val.
We also visited the State park and got information on one in Jackson which I called and made reservations for the 18th. I also checked out a couple garage to have the truck fix tomorrow morning. We fuelled at 2.77/Gal
NOV. 17, Monday, truck fixed so onwards onto the Natchez Trace
I got up at 7 a.m. to be in town first thing to see about that leaky pinion seal on the truck. Stopped at a garage I had seen yesterday and got them to fix it. 3 hours later, (we had to wait for parts) I was on my way. While there and talking to the mechanic, I learned that he lived in Kamloops for 4 years with his parents. His father is a Mennonite preacher. Just amazing who one runs into. That’s the second American guy I meet who has been to the Kamloops area.
Anyway, back on the Natchez trace we go. We stopped a few miles down the road for lunch at the Chickasaw Council House. This village was known as the Capital of the Chickasaw Nation.
We crossed the half way point at Tockshish, Mile 249. Our next stop was Bynum Mounds and then the Jeff Bushy area where there is a gas station (closed) and a store(closed). There is also a camping State Park here with no services. We decided to go on.
We went on to French Camp where there was a small village and an old homestead with a store, craft items and a coffee house. It was really neat and old but well kept. We walked in the village and got fresh baked bread made that day and still warm. In the bakery, wouldn’t you know it, Val met the lady working there who was from Winnipeg and knew a few people that Val knew so they chatted for a good 20 minutes. I got myself scarce! We also met 2 Canadian couples who were camping back at Jeff Bushy for the night. One was from Ontario while the other couple was from Quebec but spoke good English.
We went on down the road and stopped at Kosciusko where there was an Info Centre. We learned that this is the town where Oprah Winfrey was born so we decided to spend the night and go see that in the morning. No campground but there was a Wal-Mart so we got water from the Centre and after getting permission, we camped at Wal-Mart.
N 33* 03’ 14”
W 089* 34’ 04”
Alt: 395 feet
Av Sp: 38 MPH
Dist. Today: 182 KM in 5 hours
NOV. 18, Oprah birthplace and Jackson, MS
Another cold night (32*F) but it warmed up in the day and it is sunny! We got on the road early today…7:45 a.m. and went to visit Oprah birthplace. It was a bit of a disappointment. There was the church where she faced an audience for the first time but the house she lived in was gone which was sad. I guess we expect too much some time when we go to places like this.
We got back on the Trace off Hwy 12 and drove south to our first stop at Myrick Creek where we followed a nature trail to learn about beavers. From here we went to “Red Dog Road”, named for a Choctaw Indian Chief. We walked the upper Choctaw boundary at mile post 128, a self guiding trail through a forest of tall pines.
Our next stop was “Boyd Mound” where a village was discovered and dating back 1200 years. After this, it was an overlook of the Reservoir, 8 miles long and supplying drinking water for Jackson and the neighboring counties. We stopped at the Craft Centre and found it interesting then it was onward to Jackson and I-55 south to “Turning Wheel RV “, a Fleetwood dealership where we will get the rubber roof on the small office slide fix (All warranty of course). Hopefully it will be done right this time.
We stopped for brunch and fuelled up at 2.66 then we drove back to exit 98 where our site for the next 4 nights is situated; “Lefleur’s Bluff State Park” where we paid $16/night for electricity, water and a site by the lake.
N 32* 19’ 44”
W 090* 00’ 37”
Alt; 290 Feet
Av Sp: 33 mph
Dist. Today: 190 KM in 5 hours
NOV. 19, in Jackson, MS
Sunny this morning and although it was only 30*F, but it did get up to 65 later in the day. We went into town to the Chamber of Commerce Info Centre and got some pamphlet on what to see around here. We parked behind the building and walked to the Capitol Building where it was a self-guided tour. We went through the whole building and people were very friendly and helpful. No one seemed to care where we walked in. We even had a MS Senator introduce himself to us and shake our hands. I have to admit that the inside was very impressive. We saw the Senate and House of Representatives Chambers. Val even sat in one of the chairs (see pictures in Folder #28, Natchez Trace)
From here we walked to the Governor’s Mansion but it was closed. The guard told us to come back in the morning as it is open only from 9 to noon. We walked through downtown back to our truck and drove on Farish Street, famous in the 60’s for the area where the Civil Rights Movement was located and in the middle of the Blacks’ Quarter. Today it is in disrepair but there are intentions of rebuilding it and making it a “World Famous” historic area. We stopped at “Peach” restaurant where we had lunch. This is where the AAC (African American Committee) would meet from time to time and also Luther King had a meal here. The menu consisted of only half a dozen items. We were the only white in there but everyone was friendly and helpful. Some were curious about our kayaks on the truck. The neighborhood housing is really rundown and in disrepair. Most are abandoned but some were occupied. Farish Street and the neighborhood is part of the “Civil Rights Movement driving tour” so we were living history.
We drove home satisfied with our day. I got a call from the Dealership that they’ve received authorization and are now waiting for the parts. Fran from Fleetwood also call to tell us that everything will be shipped tomorrow, so hopefully, it will be here Friday and we can get this repair Monday. We also paid for another night so our departure will be Tuesday, we hope!
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