Camping on the outskirts of Tupelo, after intermittent days of rain, gave us an early start on Monday to visit the birthplace of Elvis Presley and tour the town of ~30k. The town has a lovely music flavor, complete with a walking 'guitar route' highlighting historical Elvis (and is also part of the Mississippi Blues Trail) moments in time, to museums and historical buildings, including the hardware store where Elvis bought his 1st guitar. A very worthwhile stopover.
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| Elvis's birthplace |
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| the Presley families 1st car |
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| the plaque |
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| the house where Elvis was born |
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| the church where Elvis used to sing as a young lad |
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| did you know Elvis was a twin? |
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| Thee Hardware Store where the 1st Elvis guitar was purchased |
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| the 'guitar walking' route |
We left Tupelo in the early afternoon and got back on the NTP, with yet more stops to be made. One stop where 13 unknown confederate soldiers are buried, touched our hearts. Another, more Indian burial mounds, reminded us of our nation's history. We drove only 70 miles from Tupelo and chose to camp at the Trace's northernmost Mississippi State Park, Tishomingo. We started the NTP camping in Mississippi's southernmost State Park, and are ending the Mississippi portion at the northernmost State Park. We find that State Parks during our travels are most enjoyable (and with a $13 seniors fee in MS, you can't beat the price).
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| very touching |
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| beautiful |
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| views of the Trace from a short hike we took |
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| in bloom |
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| our nation's history |
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| some of the mounds |
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| our last camp in Mississippi |
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| yep, that's our van across the lake |
The NTP takes us through the NW corner of Alabama, roughly a 30-mile portion of which part of this stretch was done on our bikes. It's getting a bit hillier, but still just as beautiful.
Mid-way through the 30 miles through Alabama, we came to the Parkway's longest bridge crossing the Tennessee River. Absolutely beautiful!
While stopping for a border photo-op, one local stopped to chat. Troy called Buddy over and started talking as if we were old friends...he wanted to enlighten us about some historical places to see (other than the NTP--but that will have to be another trip--he did have some fascinating things to tell us) and then proceeded to tell us of a piece of property he bought in northern Mississippi with an old boarded-up cabin. Before burning the cabin down, he went inside and found, an almost complete, and in perfect shape, confederate uniform from the civil war. Talk about a find! He told us he had it authenticated at a local University's History department and has it safely tucked away. Now, how about that while stopping for a photo op!?
We must say, southern friendliness is abundant and the beauty of not
only the land, but the people, is genuine and authentic. We'll come
back, you can be rest assured.
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| on one of our many short walks along the Trace |
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| the Trace |
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| more in bloom |
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| says it all |
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| actually leaving Mississippi |
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| Cave Spring--probably used by the Indians (says history) |
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| crossing the beautiful Tennessee River--John Coffee Memorial Bridge |
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| the Parkway's longest bridge crossing the Tennessee River |
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| the beautiful bridge |
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| look how big those trees are compared to cyclists |
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| the State Line |
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| hello Tennessee |
We headed to our 1st State Park in Tennessee, David Crockett, nearly 15 miles from the NTP on the outskirts of the small town of Lawrenceburg. Davy Crockett, as he is more commonly known, was a famous Tennessee boy. He was a 19th century American folk-hero, frontiersman, soldier and politician, but identified as the 'King of the Wild Frontier'.
It was in Lawrenceburg, while heading back to the NTP the following day, that we caught our first sightings of local Amish.
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| the park |
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| beautiful flowers in the park |
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| a covered bridge within the park |
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| scenery in the park |
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| leaving the park, in Lawrenceburg |
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| parking at the grocery store! |
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| heading back to the Trace |
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| Amish going the opposite direction |
Back on the NTP we headed for the Lewis Meriwether Monument where we took another lovely out and back bikeride from where the famous explorer died in 1809. His burial monument is represented in the form of a short pillar, signifying his short life of only 35 years.
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| the Meriwether monument |
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| where Meriwether is buried |
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| this is the Grinder House |
While out on our bike ride we stopped at a beautiful waterfall and along an old section of the Trace.
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| Fall Hollow waterfall |
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| Buddy out on the road |
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| a short section of the old Trace |
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| Tennessee scenery |
Further up the road was an old tobacco drying barn, still in use, another beautiful waterfall, gorgeous views of the surrounding area (one of only a
handful of places where you can actually see off in the distance), and the end of the NTP.
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| tobacco dying barn still in use |
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| tobacco |
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| the tobacco barn with a lovely view |
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| southwestern Tennessee |
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| Jackson Falls |
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| Jackson Falls |
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| beautiful countryside |
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| Double Arch Bridge--the northern terminus of the Natchez Trace Parkway (only about 10 miles south of the outskirts of Nashville) |
This has been a true highlight in our travels and a lovely road to bike and drive. We drove the entire 444 miles, taking 8 days to enjoy the fruits of this parkway and cycling just over 100 of its miles. We recommend this to anyone out on a relaxing drive seeking beautiful scenery with time to take in this portion of the south.
Here we come Nashville!
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