October 19, 2019
Collinwood, TN to Tishomingo State Park, MP 355 to MP 304
Seeing the Natchez Trace by bicycle is a good way to get the feel of the slow mode of travel used by many through the ages. Traveling by foot or horseback one would hear the sounds of the birds and insects and smell the flowers, cedars and pines along the way. The same is true for the cyclist.
The National Park Service designates the entire parkway as a bike route and all commercial traffic is prohibited. The maximum speed limit is 50 mph and there is limited access to the parkway. Some stretches go for miles without entrance ramps. There are zero stop lights, stop signs, or traffic circles. The biggest vehicles we encountered were horse trailers and RV's. There were NO dogs chasing us since there are no farms or residences directly on the trace. The parkway is a bit of a dream for a bicycle ride. The prevalence of campsites and picnic stops as well as bathroom facilites every 20 miles make the ride a welcome relief from our usual route. Today's journey started in Tennessee, passed through the northwest corner of Alabama, and ended in Mississippi.
Just a few hundred feet off the parkway is the wichahpi stone wall. It is a place for quiet and reflection. Read the link above for the story of the wall. While we were there a group of Episcopalians were celebrating mass within one of the alcoves. There were quite a few people just walking around observing the walls. Past visitors had left geodes and pretty fossil rocks and some carved stone figures atop the walls.
October 20, 2019
Tishomingo State Park to Tupelo, Mississippi, MP 304 to MP 260
Collinwood, TN to Tishomingo State Park, MP 355 to MP 304
Seeing the Natchez Trace by bicycle is a good way to get the feel of the slow mode of travel used by many through the ages. Traveling by foot or horseback one would hear the sounds of the birds and insects and smell the flowers, cedars and pines along the way. The same is true for the cyclist.
The National Park Service designates the entire parkway as a bike route and all commercial traffic is prohibited. The maximum speed limit is 50 mph and there is limited access to the parkway. Some stretches go for miles without entrance ramps. There are zero stop lights, stop signs, or traffic circles. The biggest vehicles we encountered were horse trailers and RV's. There were NO dogs chasing us since there are no farms or residences directly on the trace. The parkway is a bit of a dream for a bicycle ride. The prevalence of campsites and picnic stops as well as bathroom facilites every 20 miles make the ride a welcome relief from our usual route. Today's journey started in Tennessee, passed through the northwest corner of Alabama, and ended in Mississippi.
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| A Mississippi cotton field |
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"Only the stones will remain."
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| There are a number of curved alcoves surrounding altar-type structures. |
We rode one mile across this bridge. Luckily, there was no wind and the traffic was light.
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| The Natchez Trace bridge over the Tennessee River (photo courtesy of natcheztracetravel.com) |
About twenty miles into our day, just after we left the stone wall area, a steady light rain started to fall. It continued throughout the day and with the temperatures hovering in the middle 50's it was a pretty uncomfortable ride. I was worn out by the time we finished nearly 55 miles and rode into Tishomingo State Park.
The campers in the next campsite really helped make our evening. Their young son offered to help Tom set up camp and later he brought us some burgers and sausage because he was worried that we couldn't possibly have enough food to eat in our small bicycle bags. His parents offered to share their campfire with us and eating by the fire in the misty rain definitely renewed us in body and soul. Even though our tent was set up on a concrete pad (only level/dry spot in our site), we both slept soundly all night.
October 20, 2019
Tishomingo State Park to Tupelo, Mississippi, MP 304 to MP 260
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| This is a lock through a dam that holds back Bay Spring Lake. |
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| Pharr Mounds |
Pharr Mounds is the most important archeological site in Mississippi. It is a complex of eight earthworks mounds located within the National Park right along the Natchez Trace. Many of the artifacts found within the mounds are made from non-local materials and offer evidence of the complex trade which took place within the Hopewell peoples. Some materials come from the Great Lakes region. The mounds were built between 1 and 200 CE.
We are going to be staying tonight with a friend of a Warm Showers host. The host isn't available and so he convinced a guy in his bike club to host us. We are just glad to have a shower and a place to do laundry at this point. We plan to rest for a day or two in Tupelo, but need to find somewhere to stay for that.
There are supposed to be some very good restaurants to visit. We are enjoying eating our way through the south.
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