Traveling the Natchez Trace

The Natchez Trace Ride

     I was talking over ride ideas with a reader one day. He suggested that my idea of writing a ride report on the Natchez Trace would be a waste of time since it has been done a thousand times.
     I looked around and he was, of course, right.
     Then my wife needed an outing and the perfect candidate, in my mind, was The Trace. I've enjoyed it during my few rides in its vacinity. Expanding my knowledge of The Trace while giving her a great getaway sounded like a foolproof idea, just the insurance I needed. The timing was right. The hot, humid, hurricane filled summer was gone. The sky was Colorado Blue. Fall was strong in the air. Its presence was invigorating
     After telling our kids we were going to Florida, we left for Natchez, Mississippi..
     She asked if I would do a "vacation" report on line so she could just print the pages for her picture album. She has bugged me and bugged me, so here it is: Another Natchez Trace Article..
     All kidding aside, the Natchez Trace and adjoining areas are a very special gift from our past, Nature and the Park Service. If you can, do it. If you can't, read about it. There's lots of material out there. and a little here.

On the way to Natchez I took all my north bound back roads. My wife got the tour of Port Barre, Krotz Springs, Melville, Simmesport and on up La.15 where once again we stopped to appreciate the Corps of Engineers, hoping that their plan there was more viable than the one in New Orleans.

This was our last view of Mother Louisiana. That's Vidalia over there. Ferriday is just west of there.
I just saw Jerry Lee Lewis this morning and that made me think of Ferriday. If I'd thought of his cousin Jimmy Swaggert, it would have made me think of the Airline Highway near Harahan. If I'd thought of Mickey Gilley, another cousin, I'd thought of Pasadena,Texas and his honkytonk. But, Jerry was the best known of the cousins.. Jerry Lee was thrown out Bible College for doing a boogie-woogie version of a hymn. Their loss, our gain. Buy his new CD, "Last Man Standing".

     I was all dolled up as a trailer queen (a person who trailers his or her bike to a spot to ride from there instead of riding the bike "there"). I drug the bike up and down The Trace and only rolled it off the trailer once. A Trace Trip is riding and stopping, stopping and riding. Maybe one day I'll ride, stop, explore, ride, stop, explore.
     Here we are parked at the Natchez Visitor Center. It's a nice building, but that is about all. It has some nice views of the river, but that's about all. Don't watch the movie. It is not worth your time and they charge. Natchez should learn some Southern Hospitality.
     By the way, everyone there was very helpful and nice. I'm bi-polar.

My wife's Big Surprise was the Town Carriage Ride. I don't usually do stuff like that. I guess it was time to get with the program and leave her speechless. That was worth the price of admission which is about 7 bucks a person. Fair.

I had considered making up names and stories for these homes and buildings seen on the carriage ride. It's too early in the ride for that. Plus, Fred is probably reading this.

The tour stays pretty close to downtown. I was disappointed it did not go north of into those neighborhoods. I had blundered into an old-money area and I suspect they do not want to be on the tour. Still, you get "the idea" that Nachez is something special.
It is "The Old South".

The driver kept a constant, informative rap going.

Here, a carriage seems the appropriate means of travel.

Below is the line of large old homes along the Bluff. I almost said "Victorians".I would have been right. Queen Vic lived from 1819 to 1901. That picture was taken from a previous trip. There have been homes lost to the cliff giving way. In the bottom right the new buttress system can be seen.

Below are more pictures not seen on the tour. They were taken on our walk from the carriage stop back to the Visitor Center.

These are the ones I liked.

One last look at the Old Man before pushing on. Do do Natchez. Forget the movie.
Get a walking tour off the web and do it all.

This place has been "on the beaten path" for a while.