The Natchez Trace

Upon leaving Tishomingo, we decided that rather than racing across country on the interstate and getting blown away by convoys of speeding semis, we would take the Natchez Trace Parkway.  "The Trace," as it is called by the locals, is a federally owned scenic byway that travels through some of the most beautiful parts of Mississippi, Alabama, and Tennessee.  The Trace has been the way to go for travelers, commerce, Native Americans, and charlatans for hundreds or years.

The Trace started out centuries ago as a migration way for the great eastern bison herds that used to roam these parts of the country.  With those herds came the native tribes that used to hunt them.  Then came fur trappers, settlers, and business people who quickly realized that this old bison trail was the most direct route from Natchez, MS all the way to Nashville, TN.

Today the Trace is a beautiful two lane highway with a mellow 50 MPH limit and a prohibition on commercial trucks.  It also lacks fences, gas stations, fast food restaurants, and tourist traps.  Driving the Trace is a chance to road trip slowly and enjoy some beautiful scenery.  On our drive we saw countless wild turkeys, raptors, deer running through huge fields of flowering clover, and many fascinating historic sights.

We also saw dogwood trees.  Everwhere.  Stunning, luminescent, flowering dogwood trees.  While these trees are domesticated and found in yards all over the eastern U.S., they are breathtaking to see wild. 

 Basically, the dogwoods are a small tree that for a majority of the year is overshadowed by the great hardwoods above it.  It is essentially an under story tree.  

But each spring, the dogwoods have their chance to shine.  Through a symbiotic agreement with its arboreal neighbors, the dogwoods get to come out and play first.  They erupt into full flower before most of the other trees in the forest even completely leaf out.  For a few short weeks, this leads to an ephemeral sight.  Clouds of lustrous white flowers, which due to their trunks blending in with all the other trees, give the impression that they are floating throughout the hills and hardwood forests.

Along the way, we also passed another sight of historical significance.  To avoid having this blog start to sound like a boring history professor constantly droning on, I will refrain from spewing too many details.  But, in southwestern Tennessee, you do pass the final resting place of an American legend. Captain Merriweather Lewis.  Lewis died under somewhat material circumstances while traveling along the Trace from the Louisiana Territory (where he was Governor) back to Washington D.C. to deliver to President Jefferson some of his notes, specimens, and artifacts gathered on his great expedition to the West with Lieutenant William Clark (Clark's rank was not officially raised to Captain until Bill Clinton did so in 2001).

Lewis has always been an inspiration to me.  A true renaissance man.  Politician, scientist, outdoorsman, adventurer, and a leader of men.  A man, as President Jefferson eulogized, of "courage undaunted."

After 160 some miles of pleasant cruising on the Trace, we arrived in Franklin, TN, just south of Nashville.  Here we have been hanging out with some good friends and seeing some sights, including back stage at the Grand Ole Opry, which was quite an experience.  Stay tuned.