Day 2 Natchez Trace Parkway

Day 2 Natchez Trace Parkway, originally uploaded by Gail S.

The day was chilly, but not cold enough for our leathers. We took some back roads to Hohenwald, Tennessee. (If you recognize the name of this small town, it's probably because it is home of the Elephant Sanctuary.)

From there we entered the Natchez Trace Parkway, a roadway that is managed by the National Park Service. The 444-mile Natchez Trace Parkway commemorates an ancient trail used by animals and people that connected southern portions of the Mississippi River, through Alabama, to salt licks in today's central Tennessee. Today, visitors can experience this National Scenic Byway and All-American Road through driving, hiking, biking, horseback riding, and camping. After riding along this smooth, pleasant road, it is hard to imagine that the "Kaintucks," or boatmen from the Ohio River Valley, would walk approximately 500 miles from Natchez to Nashville along the Natchez Trace in about 30 days.

Day 2 "Melancholy" Death of Meriwether Lewis, originally uploaded by Gail S.

Here's Sid at our first stop on the parkway. This monument, erected in 1848 over Meriwether Lewis' remains, is located just off the Natchez Trace Parkway and is maintained by the National Park Service. The etchings refer to the melancholy death of Mr. Lewis who died mysteriously at the age of 35 while traveling on the Natchez Trace to Washington, DC. We learned more from visitors who had studied Mr. Lewis' life and told us he had suffered from depression and, possibly, bipolar disorder.

Day 2 Meriwether Lewis Monument, originally uploaded by Gail S.

This marker at the monument tells much of the story of Meriwether Lewis, Senior Commander of the Lewis and Clark Expedition who later became governor of Louisiana and died at the age of 35 from a self-inflicted gunshot wound. (I just previewed this post on the blog and realized that the right edge of the photo has been cut off. Just click the photo to see the entire marker.)

Day 2 - The Parkway in Front of Us, originally uploaded by Gail S.

I shot this over Sid's shoulder to show you how it looks ahead of us. As Sid puts it, "We own the road!"

Day 2 - The Parkway Behind Us, originally uploaded by Gail S.

I shot this over my left shoulder showing our trailer and the road just traveled. Peaceful...

Day 2 - Collinwood Welcome Center, originally uploaded by Gail S.

We exited the parkway to visit the Welcome Center in Collinwood, Tennessee. This place was absolutely delightful! It is really spacious inside and houses a museum about the area. The volunteer we met offered brochures, magazines, homemade cookies and hot coffee. She exuded southern hospitality. We stayed in Collinwood for lunch at Chad's buffet where the townsfolk had gathered to share a meal after Sunday church services. Sid and I certainly stood out among the rest of the diners wearing their Sunday clothes.

It was another 30 miles down the parkway before we exited just outside of Florence, Alabama. We hated to get on busy Hwy 72 to make our way to Huntsville, our destination for the day. If you have followed our travels in the past, you know that we prefer to stick to "Blue Highways," a term coined by author, William Least Heat-Moon, to refer to small, forgotten, out of the way roads connecting rural America (which were drawn in blue on the old style Rand McNally road atlas). Well, our geekiness has emerged, and we are venturing into the big city of Huntsville, Alabama, to see the U.S. Space and Rocket Center, the largest space museum IN THE WORLD! Yes, that's enough to get these two space camp wannabes to fight the traffic and the crowds on our vacation.

Our trip from the Natchez Trace to Huntsville was uneventful. The sun finally came out, the dogwoods are in bloom in the state of Alabama, and the local folks were fishing on the Tennessee River in and around Joe Wheeler State Park. It was a lovely Sunday afternoon in the spring. Tomorrow, look for photos and updates from our space adventure!