Twenty minutes to the west of Jackson, I hopped on the Natchez Trace Parkway. This road is the cousin of the Blue Ridge Parkway, which I drove in Virginia, and it may well be even prettier. The direct sunlight filled up the morning, and the sheer variety of trees kept me interested around every turn. I stopped to walk along a dry creekbed filled with fallen leaves and was surrounded by animals. Squirrels cascaded across the trees, and a white-tailed deer sprang out of the leaves across the creek. What a delightful, natural place to spend the morning.
I spent two hours on the Parkway, which unsurprisingly ended in the town of Natchez. Initially, the streets were populated by chains of all kinds, but as I crossed over Highway 61 and neared the Mississippi River, a true downtown emerged. In many ways, it looked like a New England downtown, with venerable brick and wood buildings and cobblestone alleys. But the streets were gridded, not tangled, and the occasional dramatic mansion gave the area some local flavor.
The best part, of course, was the riverwalk. I took a small stroll in the early afternoon, then came back at sunset. It’s much quieter than I would have expected; the streets aren’t busy and the riverboats are silent. I had slipped a bit with my diet (extra fried chicken), so I needed to get my steps in. I walked a mile each way along the Mississippi, admiring the shifting views and the slow gradient of color as the sun tucked itself away.
The weather is warm enough that I can start camping again. I’ve made the adjustment several times at this point, so it shouldn’t be too hard to get comfortable in the car again. I will try to return to a normal eating pattern tomorrow, but with some of the restaurants coming up, that may be an impossible battle.
“The Mississippi River towns are comely, clean, well-built and pleasing to the eye, and cheering to the spirit. The Mississippi Valley is as reposeful as a dreamland — nothing worldly about it,,, nothing to hang a fret or a worry upon.” — Mark Twain, “Life on the Mississippi”
Those are really impressive pictures, by the way.
Agree with Dave. The picture of the riverfront is one of the best of your travel photolog. You caught the setting sun at just the right moment. Sounds like you were really enjoying Natchez. Quite a change from Jackson. Sounds like you would prefer sleeping in hotels rather than your car (of course!!) but it’s good that you are now far enough south that sleeping in the car will be warm and comfortable enough. I hope you have fair weather during your time there in the south and will enjoy what you find there. As for the upcoming restaurants in your life, well, I can’t say or suggest much. I always made excuses for enjoying a good meal out when the opportunity presented itself. I come up with all kinds of rationals. Soon enough you will be back home and able to lose all your extra trip weight. Taking walks as much as possible helps. I guess there will be no more opportunities to hike around the mountains. They have turned into wintry locations at this point. I would avoid them because there could be snowy or icy roads. We had to delay our trip home from Louisiana one time because there was an ice storm on our way north ahead of us in Tennessee. Good thing we waited for it to be over — when we finally headed north there were jackknifed trucks all over the place on the way. Enjoy the south while you can! Love, Grandma