Epilogue

We’re home, after a wonderful trip around the country, with highlights of visiting with friends and family along the way. Many people will ask what the favorite part or location of our trip was, and I’m not sure how to answer that. There were so many highlights, from the snow covered views of Crater Lake to Death Valley, beaches from the Pacific to the Atlantic, the drives through the Smoky Mountains and down the Natchez Trace, and especially visiting with family in Florida and getting to know and play with our grand nieces there.

I’d have to say that the real highlight for me was my traveling companion. Erin is as easy to travel with as she is to live with. We enjoyed the same things, and also tended to avoid the same things. We shared in laughter, awe and amazement at all we saw. It was a joy to both introduce her to sights I’d seen in the past as well as to make new discoveries together. She was the best part of the trip, but don’t tell her I said that – it’d probably go to her head.

6/19 Long Beach, WA to Edmonds, WA

After checking out this morning, we drove out to the beach for another walk by the ocean. The beach was closed to cars, as some grading was going on, so we parked near the gate and strolled down the beach. There was hardly anyone there – it was more like a winter crowd, or non-crowd, than the beginning of summer. We brought along a gallon zip lock baggie, and Erin collected some sand. We now have some from the Atlantic, the Gulf Coast, the Pacific, and best of all, some white sand from White Sands, New Mexico. Erin uses it in some of her table decorations.

Even though it’s the last day of our trip, we were mindful that we were still on vacation, so chose a more circuitous route home rather than drive the Olympia to Seattle freeway corridor. From Long Beach, we drove to the towns of South Bend and Raymond, then towards Hoquiam, where we turned east on highway 12. At Shelton, we turned off onto highway 101, following the west side of Hood Canal. We stopped at a state park near the south end of the canal, and saw several people digging on the beach. There were many oyster shells on the beach, but they were digging clams out near the water at low tide. We walked out and checked one bucket, and they had a nice collection of little neck clams, and even a geoduck. Continuing on north, we crossed the Hood Canal floating bridge and made a stop in the town of Port Gamble. There was some activity going on, as they were setting up for a Civil War reenactment event on the weekend, but it wasn’t too crowded yet. We went to the general store to see if they had Erin’s favorite ice cream flavor – licorice. They did, and we each had a double scoop waffle cone. No licorice for me, though – I had pistachio and huckleberry.

It’s only about 8 miles from Port Gamble to Kingston, where we could catch the ferry over to Edmonds. Just as a reminder that we were close to home, we got a light dusting of rain while in Port Gamble, and a little more while waiting in line for the ferry.

We arrived home around 5 o’clock, and were Lucy and Rosie glad to see us. They ran back and forth between us and followed us out to the car as we brought stuff into the house. TJ was a no show – Mark had reported via email that she had disappeared a few days ago. We’re hoping she’s just in one of her quirky hiding moods.

It was a wonderful trip, but it’s always good to get back home. We’ve got quite a job ahead of us in editing pictures and videos, and that may actually have to wait. After some rest and boat preparation, we plan on heading out aboard the Potentate for a few more weeks of adventure before returning to reality. Stay tuned for another blog.

6/18 Walla Walla, WA to Long Beach, WA

The Columbia River Gorge was our focus for today. The Columbia flows in a southerly direction through the middle of Washington, then curves around to the west as it passes through the Tri-Cities area to form the border between Washington and Oregon. The Gorge is the only route between Eastern and Western Washington that doesn’t involve a mountain pass.

As we left Walla Walla, we saw a windmill farm for power generation along the bluffs. They literally went as far as the eye could see; there were well over 100, all turning, so they must have been putting out some serious megawatts. We continued west on highway 12, but where it meets the bend in the river, the highway heads northwest to Pasco and on to Yakima before crossing the Cascades. Rather than go to the Tri-Cities area to cross the river before coming back down to the Gorge, we turned left onto highway 730, which led us into Oregon and Umatilla. There we crossed the river back to the Washington side to pick up highway 14, which follows the Gorge to Vancouver. On the opposite shore, Interstate 84 follows the Oregon shoreline to Portland.

The Gorge is absolutely beautiful, and today we had perfect weather, with clear skies and the ever present breezes, which are caused by the atmospheric pressure differences between eastern and western Washington. The highway on the Washington side is a two lane road that winds along the shore, sometimes climbing up the bluffs to provide even more incredible views. There are several small towns along the route, and we saw a variety of agricultural uses. There are several vineyards and wineries, cherry and apricot orchards, and the ever present wheat fields.

High on a bluff above the town of Maryhill is a full-sized replica of Stonehenge. It was built as a memorial to local soldiers who died in World War I, and completed by 1930. It is the first of several Stonehenge replicas that have been erected around the country. The site provides dramatic views of the river below, as well as views of Mt. Hood, a dramatic standout for most of our day along the Gorge. We descended from the Stonehenge down to the town of Maryhill, near the shore, where we found orchards and a fruit stand, as well as a nicely rebuilt church and quaint homes. Most of the harvest was a couple weeks behind schedule due to the weather, but we did get a pound of cherries to munch on.

Several dams control the river’s flow through the Gorge as well as generate electricity. We visited Bonneville Dam for a brief tour, and found we had to pass muster with several armed guards before being allowed to continue on to the visitor’s center. There we saw the turbines and generators in powerhouse #2, and read the remarkable story of how a new channel was dug and the highway and town moved to make way for the expansion of the dam.

The Gorge is one of the most popular places in the world for wind surfing and kite surfing, and we stopped at a fish hatchery location that is a popular location for the surfers. There were several out plying the waves, which were by now substantial as were the winds, and even more on shore picnicking and just watching the activity.

We stopped in Stevenson for some lunch, and to decide on which heading to take. Our choices were to head north into the mountains towards the town of Randle, where we could drive by the back side of Mt. St. Helens, or continue on down the Gorge. We decided on the latter, and to follow Lewis and Clark’s route to the sea. At Vancouver we took the Interstate north to Kelso, where we picked up state highway 4, which follows the Columbia to the sea.

We are now in Long Beach, on the Pacific Ocean, completing our journey from sea to shining sea. We didn’t go wading here, as the Pacific rarely gets much above 50 degrees at this latitude, but did walk along the shore. We have a room overlooking the beach, and can hear the surf from our room this evening. A cool breeze is blowing in from the sea through our open windows. It’s a breeze we could have sorely used during the weeks back east when the daily high temperatures were rarely less than 95 degrees.

6/17 Livingston, MT to Walla Walla, WA

Heading west from Livingston on I-90, we took an early opportunity to get off the freeway by choosing highway US 12, which took us north into Helena. We followed 12 all the way to Missoula and on to the Lolo Pass area, one of our favorite scenic mountain pass highways. We’ve been over it several times by motorcycle, and the PT Cruiser was up to the task of its mile after mile of curving hills as well.

We reached the summit fairly quickly, crossing from Montana into Idaho and into the Pacific Time Zone as well. From there we followed the Lochsa River through an area known as the Wild Scenic River Corridor for over 70 miles as we descended towards Lewiston. Along the way there were several trailheads into the wilderness, several which had a suspension walking bridge crossing the river. As elsewhere in the country, the river was running very strong with the runoff from record winter snowfalls. At one turnout, we saw a pair of motor homes with several kayaks strapped to the top of each one. We assumed they were scoping out the river and looking for a launch point. We continued on, and further down the road stopped at another suspension bridge. Here the river was a bit narrower, causing the water to run even more swiftly. Boulders on the river bed contributed to additional turbulence as well. We wondered if we’d see those kayaks coming around the bend soon, so waited a few minutes just in case. Sure enough, here they came – still secured to the roofs of the motor homes as they pulled over at this stop. Further down the mountain, where the river widened a bit, we did see both kayakers and rafters enjoying the day.

There aren’t many towns or establishments along the way, and we were getting pretty hungry by the time we came to Lowell, where we stopped at the local café for a late lunch or early dinner. I guess it was dinner since we didn’t have another meal later. Here at Lowell the Selway River meets the Lochsa to form the Clearwater River, which we followed for another 100 miles or so into Lewiston. We crossed over the Snake River into Clarkston and Washington State, staying on highway 12 as it wound through the hills of the Palouse towards Walla Walla.

6/16 Riverton, WY to Livingston, MT

Within a mile or two from our departure, we could see in the distance the snow capped Rocky Mountains – a sure sign that we’re making progress in our journey across the country. A little further down the road from Riverton we spotted a small spillway in the distance, and found a road leading to it. It was a mile or two off the main highway, and our little service road took us right across it. The dam is a diversionary dam built on the Wind River back in the early 1920’s to provide irrigation water through a series of canals. It is still in service, along with several other irrigation projects from that time period. Behind the dam the river was widened into small lake that blended in with the prairie grasses and reeds. It provided a haven for several ducks and geese, and probably fish as well, as we read this was one of the first dams built with a fish ladder. On the other side of the dam, the river continued on its course, but some of its water was also diverted into a canal that headed off in another direction.

Continuing on northwesterly on highway 26, we passed through Crowheart and Dubois, as well as some smaller towns that sometimes didn’t even show up on the map. Many had only vacant stores or gas stations, remnants of a time before much of the cross state traffic traveled via the Interstates. The rolling hills became rockier and more suited to sage brush than pastures as we neared the mountains. Some of the foothills showed varying colors of red and brown in their upheaved strata, and a geologist would probably be able to describe just how they formed that way.

We crossed the Continental Divide at Togwotee Pass, where the elevation was over 9600 feet. The weather was great – sunshine with temperature in the low 70’s, and the road was dry with patches of snow alongside at the summit. After a delay of several minutes waiting for a pilot car through some construction, we descended towards Moran Junction, where we could turn south to Jackson or north to Grand Teton and Yellowstone National Parks. We did a little of both. We headed into Grand Teton National Park, taking the Teton Park Road from Jackson Lake Junction through some scenic areas and on into the town of Jackson, south of the park. We hadn’t been to Jackson since Erin and I stayed there on one of our first motorcycle rides 18 years ago. We drove by the park in the center of town with the archways built of antlers, and up and down a few streets. It was pretty hectic, with a lot of construction projects going on, as well as a lot of tourists wandering about. We even saw a construction flagger working his flag on crutches.

After checking out the town, we decided to head north into Montana, via Grand Teton and Yellowstone. Since we’d come through the lower part of the park on Teton Park road, we headed north on the “high road”, which also provided us with some majestic views of the Grand Teton Mountains. What a sight! We stopped at several overlooks for photos and to just admire the majesty. We got a different show heading north from Jackson, as some weather had developed, blowing in some clouds. I can report that between Teton and Yellowstone, as well as our other travels for today, we set a new record for photos snapped in a single day – 143. Thank God for digital cameras – sure wouldn’t want to pay for that much film or processing. I’ll have quite an editing job to do for this trip.

We’ve been through Yellowstone several times in the past, but we were treated to some new and outstanding views. Although it was a bright summer day, the park had not completely shed its winter coat, and in the higher elevations we enjoyed seeing snow between the trees and along the marshy areas where elk are sometimes spotted. We took the western side of the loop drives, past Lewis Lake into the West Thumb area.



It’s always a treat to see some wildlife up close, and we weren’t disappointed. We saw many antelope and elk grazing in fields near the road, with some venturing near the shoulders. In several areas, bison sauntered along the road, oblivious to the traffic backup as folks in both directions stopped to watch and take photos. At one point, while in a more remote area taking a landscape photo, we heard some barking and howling in the distance, and spotted a lone wolf in a far meadow, broadcasting to the world. He stood there surveying his domain for the longest time, then turned and headed back into the woods.

We stopped briefly at the Old Faithful area, but I was pretty sure I’d caught a glimpse of the geyser from the road, and we didn’t want to wait around another hour or more for the next eruption. The area was under construction, and we noted that new roads and ramps had been built into the area to accommodate the additional traffic. We continued on to some of the other geyser areas and points north, as we were now hoping to reach the Livingston, Montana area before dark. We did.

6/15 Ogallala, NE to Riverton, WY

We headed northwest on highway 26 as planned, and it was scenic indeed. The highway follows the North Platte River as it meanders through areas of sagebrush and pastureland. We made several attempts to find a scenic overlook or park along the road where we could stop and admire it, and take a few photos. Those opportunities didn’t come, so we just stopped in the middle of a bridge to snap a photo. Nope, no traffic was held up.

One of the other natural attractions we came upon while still in Nebraska was Chimney Rock. This formation was a major landmark along the Oregon trail for settlers heading west in the early to mid 1800’s as well as Pony Express riders, and marked the end of the plains and the beginning of the climb to cross the Rocky Mountains. It has eroded some since those days, but still stands about 325 tall from the base to the top of the spire.

We stayed on highway 26 into Wyoming, and we noticed the adjacent railways were just about as busy today as yesterday. There appeared to be even more trains idling, waiting for a turn to head eastbound with their loads of coal. We speculated that maybe there could be a blockage somewhere down the line due to the massive flooding taking place in Iowa as well as other areas in the Midwest. We noticed that some of the trains had been positioned for a long wait, as they had been disconnected mid-train to leave some small, private crossings to farms and ranches open.

Near the town of Douglas, we saw a sign for Ayres Natural Bridge, so decided to check it out and see what it was. It was about 5 miles off the highway down a narrow road, so we speculated not many people would venture that far off the road. Boy, were we wrong on that count. The area has very nice picnic grounds and campsites, and due to it being Sunday and Father’s Day as well, probably half the population from 50 miles around was there picnicking and enjoying the water. LaPrele Creek runs under the bridge, and there are some stone dams built to make wading pools there. It’s just knee deep or less, and many children and adults were there enjoying the water. The natural bridge itself is one of only three in the world to still have water running underneath it. The creek continues around the picnic grounds and along some red rock bluffs. If we hadn’t just had some lunch recently, we would have set up a picnic ourselves because it was so pleasant there.

We fueled up in Casper, and decided to head on to the next town that would have lodging, about 120 miles away in Riverton, where we are now. Tomorrow we’ll continue on along highway 26 to the Grand Tetons, then either through Yellowstone or a bit south to Jackson Hole. We’ll figure out which way to go when we get there.

6/14 Hiawatha, KS to Ogallala, NE

On cross country drives, my goal is usually to get 200 miles down the road by noon, then let the rest of the day take care of itself. Today’s the first day we actually got that far by noon. We got an early start, and we’re into an area where no matter which road you choose, it’s fairly straight with few obstructions or interesting stops.

We started out headed for Minden, Nebraska, where we planned to visit the Harold Warp Pioneer Museum. This is a place I first stumbled upon about 35 years ago while driving across the country. I had stopped to look around for an hour or so, and spent most of the day. Since then I’ve been back maybe twice, but not for many years. The museum is a collection of all things Americana from 1830 through present times. We spent about 3 hours wandering around the grounds viewing various artifacts. There are several buildings from the 19th and early 20th centuries, and a massive collection of all sorts of machinery, tractors, appliances and automobiles. Erin enjoyed checking out an old school house that still contained all the books left over the years it was in use, as well as exploring old log and sod houses. I found examples of my high school cars, a 1937 Chevrolet coupe and a 1950 Hudson Pacemaker. The Hudson here was actually a 1949 model, but they were very similar, with just the dash and steering wheel being somewhat different. The cars dated back to a few horseless carriages made in the late 1800’s, and there were quite a few antique airplanes and airplane engines as well. A collection of outboard motors contained a few models that were very similar to what we used on the lake as kids, and some of our household appliances from those days were on display as well. Kinda dates you seeing familiar stuff in a museum collection.

One display was of a 132 year old broom making machine, which was hand operated. A broom maker was there making various brooms and we spent 5 or 10 minutes chatting with him. On our way out a couple hours later, we went through the gift shop, where Erin planned to buy one of the brooms. The brooms are all numbered and hand signed, and after seeing the name on the broom, we headed back to his booth, where he was still making brooms. “Are you Pat Haight from Lake Stevens?” I asked. He was indeed. Pat is a little older than me – in fact he was in Gary’s graduating class in high school and was considering coming back to L.S. for a 50th reunion next year. Back in the early to mid 1950’s, I used to take my Radio Flyer wagon, and later my bicycle, up the road a half mile or so to the Haight Farm, where I’d fill a couple of one gallon metal milk containers with milk, mark the purchase on a board on the wall, and take the milk back home, where dad would skim off the cream and put it in his hand cranked churn to make butter. Pat has lived in Minden, Nebraska for the past 32 years, although he’s been the broom maker here for just the past couple of years. He’s retired from both school teaching and school custodial duties, but dabbles in antiques and has a miniature golf course in addition to his broom making. It’s a small world indeed.

Following our museum visit, we headed west on US 30. It parallels I-80, but is much less used and a more peaceful drive. There are also railroad tracks that parallel the highway, and rail traffic has been busy. There are at least two sets of tracks, and usually three, alongside the stretch of highway we were on. We watched several trains passing by in either direction. The majority of trains by far were coal trains – full ones heading east and empty ones headed west. Each eastbound train had a hundred or more cars, all laden with coal. For every train we saw in motion, there were another two or three standing by waiting their scheduled turn to move. Most of the trains had two engines at the head, and another at the end. We’d pass one stationary train, and a mile or so down the track would be another. Their engines were idling and we wondered how much fossil fuel was being burned to transport other fossil fuel east for power generation.

We passed through several small towns, and are now in Ogallala. In the morning we’ll head northwest on highway 26, which is marked as a scenic route on the map. We’ll see…

6/13 Russellville, AR to Hiawatha, KS

As planned, we continued our northbound trek through the Ozarks this morning on highway 7. We soon came upon a sign that warned “Caution: Road is Crooked and Steep next 63 Miles”. Well, there were some hills and pleasant corners, and it may have been considered steep and crooked by those in the flatlands, but I noticed that while I cruised along at 60, an 18 wheeler was gaining on me. Not wanting to get behind him in the approaching steep and crooked part, I stepped it up to 70. He was still about a quarter mile back, and slowly gaining, even in the curves. We eventually caught up with another car, then stopped at a scenic turnout for some great views and to let him go by. The funny part is a couple hours later we heard some locals talking at a small general store, and apparently one of the activities here is to collect “passes”. They were talking about so and so, who could collect more passes than anyone else. A pass is achieved by passing a tourist on the highway. We never did come upon any true switchbacks, and for the run to the Missouri border we were even in the passer and passee count.

We passed through many communities that weren’t on the map, including Chigger Hollow and Booger Hollow. As we got further into the hills, the road got even better, as did the scenery of mountains and green, plush valleys. Our course before us was like a loosely thrown ribbon of asphalt over a velvet green landscape. We enjoyed the drive and the views from the highway and overlooks. In one small town, a young lady noticed our Washington license plates, and came over to ask where we were from. She had moved there from Yakima, and was definitely ready to return.

When we crossed the border into Missouri, we found ourselves headed for Branson, Mo., a destination town with lots of country western shows and attractions. We both prefer the scenic countryside to the more structured and “created” attractions, so we turned west on a small gray line that took us through the Lake of the Ozarks, another twisting and scenic drive that led us over a few bridges and by some marinas. We could see that the water level was high, a result of the flooding that has been happening a little higher upstream.

We stopped at a small café for some lunch, and by the time we were through, the weather front, which we’d been watching on the local news for the past few nights, was getting pretty close. It’s a band of rain and storms working its way across the Midwest. Within a few miles further down the road, we were driving through a thunderstorm with the wipers on high speed. This lasted less than an hour, and we emerged on the other side to more fair weather, but not as hot, for which we were grateful.

We had programmed the GPS to take us to Minden, Nebraska, avoiding freeways, and it led us into downtown Kansas City right at rush hour. We managed to get out of that, but instead of following the Missouri River further north we decided we’d get across it now before the water rose any more. We crossed into Kansas a bit north of K.C. on highway 36. We could see flooding in progress, and on the railroad bridge near our highway bridge the water was within a couple feet of the tracks. We soon came upon a backup where one lane was closed due to a bridge problem. Erin had noticed a detour feature on the GPS whereby we could avoid an obstruction and return to the highway. There was an exit just a few hundred yards ahead, and we were instructed to take it. We did a few turns, went through a couple of neighborhoods, crossed a couple bridges spanning rising waters, and found ourselves on a nice two lane highway going our direction. We stayed on it the rest of the day. Later that evening in our motel room, we watched a news report of the flooding of streets and homes in Weston, where we had crossed hours before, and think the traffic delay we encountered on the main highway may have been flooding related. We are high and dry in Kansas and headed west, hopefully out of the flood area.

6/12 Natchez, MS to Russellville, AR

On the road again, we pulled out of Natchez and crossed the Mississippi, this time for good, into Louisiana and headed north on US 425 for the Arkansas border. We wanted to get to Little Rock in time to spend a couple hours touring the Clinton Presidential Library – but there was also time to stick to the smaller highways, which we took through the Louisiana countryside.

We continued on into Arkansas, sticking with the back roads until we got to Pine Bluff – there we hopped on Interstate 530 for the ride into Little Rock, and the GPS led us to the library on Clinton Avenue. I could see why some critics have referred to its architectural style as similar to a single wide on stilts, but the official explanation is it’s modeled to depict the Bridge to the 21st Century, the Clinton campaign theme. In any regard, it is nicely done and the exhibits are nicely done as well. When we entered we were routed through an airport like security gate, although we kept our shoes on. We emptied our pockets to pass the contents through the X-ray machine, and my pocket knife drew some attention. I thought I’d be making a trip back to the car, but the guard decided that between my good character and the length of the blade I could continue on in. I didn’t tell him that Leatherman tool opened into a pair of scissors.

Ticket prices were very reasonable - $7 for Erin and $5 for the old guy. The first exhibit, and the only one where we could use a flash for pictures, was a scale model of the White House and West Wing. It was there for a three month exhibition – don’t know where it’s going next. I Googled it and found that it’s a one inch to one foot scale model, and took 32 years to construct. All the furnishings were carved to scale, chandeliers had miniature working lights, dining tables were set with china and silverware, and some rooms in the residence floor actually had tiny working television sets. The outer wall was off so you could see the details of each room. It was very nicely done.

There were three floors of exhibits in the library, and the upper two floors contained racks with volumes of presidential papers in holders, with exhibits detailing milestones of the Clinton presidency, as well as his early life and that of governor of Arkansas. We saw a collection of memorabilia, several saxophones that were given to Clinton as gifts, documents and letters, accounts and photos of major events, as well as video clips of various speeches and meetings. There was a full size replica of the cabinet room, and of course we posed in the president’s chair there. There was also a full size replica of the oval office, but for our viewing pleasure only – no sitting at the desk.

We took a shuttle for a 5 minute ride down the street to the gift shop, where we browsed and picked up a few souvenirs. They were nicer and more reasonably priced than the Elvis souvenirs – I’m now the owner of an Air Force One baseball cap and a Clinton yo-yo.

We were anxious to get back to some scenic country driving, and since it was nearing rush hour in Little Rock, we hopped on I-30 westbound for about 25 miles to get out of town. Fortunately the backups were in the opposite lanes. We exited near Hot Springs National Park, where we found state highway 7 heading north through the Ouachita Mountains. What a contrast to the city – there were few towns and they were relatively far between. But, there must be quite a few people out here, because we came upon a Wal-Mart store in the wilderness. As we passed through the mountains, the curves and switchbacks made this an ideal motorcycle road, although the 95 degree heat made it an ideal air conditioned ride in the PT Cruiser.

We are now in Russellville, and plan to continue north on highway 7 tomorrow through the Boston Mountains and on into the Ozarks.

6/11 Natchez, MS

We decided to have a lazy day in the south and stay at our suite alongside the Mississippi River another day. Just think – that’s $50 in gas money that we won’t spend today. Yesterday was the first time in two or three weeks that the temperature didn’t reach the mid to high 90’s – it only got to about 87, but today the heat was back, along with what felt like higher humidity.

We did a couple of driving tours around the city, looking at both the stately homes and those in need of repair, often in the same block. We visited the Natchez Cemetery, which was full of history, with some gravestones dating back to the 18th century. The cemetery is huge, covering about 100 acres. We learned it was established in 1822, but that some remains of those who died in the 1700’s were later moved from private burial sites or church yards to the cemetery. There is a variety of beautifully designed iron fences, gates, marble headstones and iron mausoleum gates throughout the grounds. One section is devoted to unknown soldiers of the Confederacy.

Along the bluffs above the river we found a row of mansions, most designated as historical buildings, and several are now bed & breakfast establishments. We may come back for a visit some year in the winter or springtime, when it’s not so HOT!

We stopped for a lunch at the Pig Out Inn, a barbecue establishment a few blocks from our hotel. We had one sandwich of pulled pork, and one beef brisket. Both were good, and we have leftovers in our fridge to be consumed while traveling tomorrow. The steak Erin had last night at Cock of the Walk was so delicious we decided to return tonight. That was a mistake – or misteak. Although our waiter was just as successful flipping our cornbread from the cast iron pan, the regular chef had the night off, and our steaks, ordered medium rare, arrived well done. We sent them back and sometime later received a couple of nicely cooked steaks, but minus our baked sweet potatoes. They had thrown the originals away when they took our plates back, and then discovered they were out. Oh well – the second steaks were good, and they are also now in out leftover inventory. (The cornbread in the photo was so high it was still out of frame when I snapped the photo...)

We also drove across the bridge crossing the Mississippi, which took us into Vidalia, Louisiana. Didn’t spend much time exploring over there – we’ll take that route on the way out of town tomorrow morning.

6/10 Tupelo, MS to Natchez, MS

Sorry, Elvis, but we decided to bypass heading for Memphis in favor of continuing down the Parkway towards Natchez. Since we were in Tupelo, we did take the 3 mile trip from our motel to Elvis’s birthplace, a small two room house that is now the centerpiece of an Elvis park/shrine, surrounded by a museum, gift shop, chapel and pleasant grounds. It’s pretty commercialized, with the souvenirs made in China at double or triple their normal price with the Elvis signature on them. Two dollar beer coolers were six bucks, cheaply made mugs were 10 to 16 bucks and you could buy a tiny ¼ size “Elvis birthplace guitar” for only $40. Even a single book of matches was 45 cents. But, on the plus side, it was interesting seeing the tiny house and some photos from his early childhood.

After fueling up, we headed back to the parkway. For the first few miles there was actually some traffic, as it seemed to be a shortcut for the local commuters to get from one highway to another. Almost everyone exited the parkway where it crossed the Interstate, and we were once again about the only car on the road.

We stopped at a place called French Camp Academy for a look around. The academy has been in operation since 1884, but there was also a museum, restored home, blacksmith shop and several other restored buildings as well. Adjacent to this was a café and a bed and breakfast inn. Not much was going on, but we could see that the blacksmith shop was still operational – it had a hand cranked fan for heating the embers in the forge, and several tools from centuries past. Some turkey hens were roaming around – not the fat ones you see in the grocery stores, but descendants from the more wild species.

Further down the parkway we came upon a cypress swamp. It had formed over several hundred years when the Pearl River changed course and left a depressed area that formed the swamp. It is now occupied by stately Cypress trees and the water is covered with a layer of duck weed, similar to Gatorland’s pond in Florida. There are some alligators in this swamp as well, although we didn’t spot any.

Beyond the swamp we came upon a reservoir formed by a earthen dam on the Pearl River. The parkway followed its shore for about 8 miles. Near the dame were several marinas, condos and single family homes. Along the shore we saw people who had driven off the road down to the shore, set up their lawn chairs and gone fishin’. A small cove contained several anchored boats with their occupants drifting nearby on air mattresses or just wading in the waist deep water.

One of the last attractions near the parkway before we reached its end was Emerald Mound, a large ceremonial mound built and used circa 1300 – 1600 by ancestors of the Natchez Indians. The mound rises 35 feet, and covers 8 acres – it is the second largest Indian mound in the country, with the largest being somewhere in Illinois. There were secondary mounds atop the main mound, one at each end. These were probably bases for temples or spiritual leaders’ homes.

We reached the end of the Parkway and the city of Natchez around 7 o’clock in the evening. Natchez is situated on a bluff along the Mississippi River, and as one of the oldest civilized settlements on the river has lots of history. We had just an hour or so of daylight left, but we saw many antebellum mansions as we drove down the streets towards the river’s shore. We are currently at a hotel with a view out over the river. We can see a highway bridge to our left, and a pavilion directly in front of us.

When we first arrived, we programmed the TomTom to find the restaurant “Cock of the Walk”, where I had dined at the river front in the early 80’s, and again about 12 years ago. It led us to the restaurant on top of the bluff, which didn’t seem right. It had been down a steep drive near the shore inside the levee. We drove down that road, and it was no longer there. After procuring our room, we returned to the new location for dinner – the restaurant had moved to the new higher location years ago due to repeated flooding. The atmosphere was the same, with old trestle-style tables made of 2 x 12’s, ladder back chairs and tin cups and plates. Our waiter brought us some cole slaw, pickled onions and cornbread, which he flipped high into the air from its cast iron pan before presenting it to us. Cole slaw can be very good or very bad at restaurants, with the majority tending towards the latter. This was definitely in the very good category, probably the best. I ordered the grilled catfish, and Erin ordered a rib steak. The catfish was excellent, but the rib steak was by far the better meal. It was a huge cut, and I had plenty of steak with my catfish. It was a great way to celebrate the day and our two day journey down the Natchez Trace Parkway.

6/9 Sevierville, TN to Tupelo, MS

A glance out over the river from the balcony of our room this morning revealed a field with some horses frolicking as geese and ducks paddled by downstream. There were some power lines impinging on our otherwise pristine view, but for the price we won’t complain.

We got a relatively early start, heading out around 8 am, westbound on US 411. We wound along on a series of highways that generally parallel Interstate 40, passing through many small towns. Some were too small to have even a store or a gas station, but they all had at least 2 or 3 churches. Traffic was very light on most of our road choices, but we did hit a few busy spots where the towns were in commuting range from larger cities, especially Nashville. At one point we saw a turnoff for a scenic view – it turned out to be a 2 mile one lane road up to a high spot that was shared by some picnic tables, microwave towers and a smoke watcher’s tower. The view and the haze were similar to that of the Smoky Mountains. There was a local lady there taking a break while watching the view, and when she left, she told us to head down the road a piece and see Ozone Falls. It was on our way, and that’s just what we did. The falls were a short hike away from a parking area, with the trail leading over some flat rocks that we assume were at one time on a larger river bed. There wasn’t a lot of water going over the falls at the time, but the setting was spectacular. The falls dropped into a small gorge, and our viewpoint was from the top of the falls. There were no railings and it gave us the willies to stand next to the drop off, which was probably 100 feet or so.

It was already 2 or 3 in the afternoon by the time we neared the Nashville area, where we got on the Natchez Trace Parkway. The parkway is a limited access two lane highway that runs from Nashville down to Natchez, Mississippi. It follows the original trail that was established beginning in the early 1700’s. Before the advent of steam power, merchants would build barges to transport their goods down the Mississippi River to Natchez and New Orleans, disassemble them there and sell the lumber, then walk back to Nashville along the trace to repeat the process. At one time there were taverns or inns along the way, sometimes as close as 20 miles apart, as that was about a day’s journey. Segments of the original trace still exist, as well as some of the structures. In a couple of locations, we were able to drive on a couple miles of the original pathway, where it was one lane through a tunnel of trees. We also saw the Gordon House, one of the inns, or “stands”, as they were called, and also one of the first brick buildings in the area. The distance from Nashville to Natchez via the parkway is 444 miles, and we followed it for about 170 miles to Tupelo, MS, where we stopped for the night.

We enjoyed the peacefulness of driving through the countryside, and could imagine the travelers hiking along or riding horseback centuries ago. Seldom did we encounter other traffic, and commercial traffic is prohibited on the parkway, so no trucks either. We passed fields where hay was being cut and formed into 500 lb. rolls, and envisioned farmers from another era cutting hay by hand with scythes, and bundling it into sheaves. There seemed to be some tidbit of history on display at almost every mile, so one could spend a lot of time traversing this route. We stopped at a couple sites where there were mounds built – some ceremonial and others for burial. They dated back to the time of Christ, and at one site there was evidence of civilization up to 8000 years ago. There’s quite a bit of wildlife along the trace as well. Besides a variety of birds, we saw several deer, wild turkeys, vultures cleaning up on road kill, and one coyote loping away from us across a parking lot.

We left the parkway a couple of times for gas or food, and the contrast between our serene drive and nearby modern civilization was remarkable, and we hurried back to the parkway as soon as possible. We are debating following it further, all the way to Natchez. Alas, it’s not exactly on the way home and would add an extra day or two, so we may just turn back to a northwesterly direction. If we do, we’ll probably visit some more modern landmarks – Tupelo is also the birthplace of Elvis Presley, where the two room house of his childhood is on display, and not far way to the northwest, in Memphis, is Graceland.