Natchez to Jackson - Natchez Trace Day 1

Today was an all-round beautiful day. Beautiful sunny weather together with beautiful scenery along the Natchez Trace.


We said our goodbyes for  now to the Pattersons around 9 AM and hit the road ourselves right around 9:30. We crossed the Mississippi 

and quickly found our way to the southern end of the Natchez Trace Parkway. Right over this overpass and we're at mile marker 0.0.

Right away the beauty of the Trace hits you in the face. Especially on this beautiful spring day. The greens were really green, the wildflowers were all kinds of colors, and the dogwood is in bloom. 

Today we traveled about the first 100 miles up to Jackson, MS. We stopped several times along the way to take a few short hikes and see some of the attractions right along the Trace.


First came Emerald Mound - a really big pyramid kinda formation created several hundred years ago by the local native Americans. Actually this mound is a pretty impressive place. It certainly took a lot of work to create this impressive earthen wonder.

We also visited the Mount Locust Stand. A "stand" in Trace language is a spot where travelers could perhaps find a bed and some grub along the way. The Mount Locust Stand was considered pretty fancy by Trace standards. Apparently its close location to Natchez allowed for the "upscale" construction. The "Stand" was actually a several hundred acre farm that doubled as an Inn along the Trace to take in some additional cash. It certainly is in a beautiful location.

A few miles up the road we stopped for a nice walk through a forest path. And in a few more miles we checked out a neat waterfall at Owens Creek.

Yessiree. A beautiful day.


And tomorrow we plan on doing about another hundred miles as we head north along the Natchez Trace Parkway - a true American treasure.