Natchez Trace - Day Two

Hi all - Dianne here. On Tuesday we continued down the Natchez Trace Parkway from Tupelo all the way to its end in Natchez, Mississippi.

I'm going to make this a quick entry so that Roger can elaborate on our day in Natchez. We decided to separate this into two separate blogs, due to the large number of photos we took in Natchez.

Day Two on the Trace was another peaceful, quiet drive. We saw lots of wildlife on the way - several deer (running across the road in front of us, as well as on the side of the road). We also saw lots of wild turkeys, both female and Tom. I had never seen a turkey fly before, but they actually do. In fact, one almost hit the windshield of our motorhome as it flew past! (I think I remember reading somewhere that they aren't very intelligent....) We also drove past a snake and turtles along the road. I would say we saw a couple of armadillos, but the ones we saw were both road kill, so I guess that doesn't really count.

The most beautiful sight (and site) of the day was the Bald Cypress Swamp turn-out along the Trace. We took the short hike around and through the swamp, and it felt almost surreal. The photos can describe it better than my words. Another beautiful day and beautiful drive.

There were a lot of downed trees along the Trace, especially as we traveled its southern portion. The man in the motorhome parked next to us at Trace State Park had just come north on the Natchez Trace, and told us about all the downed trees. He spoke with a park ranger who explained that they had had a terrible storm and the Trace had actually had to be closed for a couple of weeks due to numerous trees across the road. They are working hard to remove them, but they are still piled along the sides of the road, for miles and miles and miles. I believe this to be the same storm that eventually came east to Georgia and hit hard the day before we arrived at Lake Lanier several weeks ago. (We had delayed our trip north from Florida by a day due to the weather forecast). That must have been one heck of a storm here in Mississippi.

We crossed the bridge in Natchez to Vidalia, Louisiana, and set up camp at River View RV Park right on the Mississippi River. Roger will take over from here in the next blog.

Natchez Trace - Day One

Hi all - Dianne here.  We left Summit Lake State Park a day early to enable us to drive down the Natchez Trace to New Orleans, rather than staying on the interstate highways.

 Sunday morning we left Summit Lake and traveled to just north of Nashville, Tennessee.    

Monday morning we set off down the Natchez Trace Parkway, which spans 440 miles, from just south of Nashville, Tennessee to Natchez, Mississippi.   We have our friends Harry and Bobbi to thank for encouraging us to take this route.   What a scenic, peaceful drive!  

 There was hardly ANY traffic, no stop lights, no semis, lovely scenery and short hikes.   I will let some of the photos speak for themselves.  

 A few of the highlights were the double-arch

 bridge,

 Merriwether 

(of Lewis & Clark fame) grave and monument, and best of all Jackson Falls.

  Roger has never met a rock in a creek he hasn't climbed on, and when he climbed on the rocks at the falls, he realized that the view we THOUGHT was the falls was only the lower section.   He quickly came back for the camera to photograph the upper section as it spilled like a water chute down to the lower falls.   Any man-made water feature could only dream of being as fabulous as this water fall.   It was a very steep, short hike to get to the falls, but well worth it.  

 We also stopped at several of the other turn-outs

 and took some photos of the interesting sites featured in each.  One of the things I really wanted to do on this trip was to take a short hike on a portion of the original Natchez Trace.  If you aren't familiar with what the Natchez Trace is, it is the route the "Kaintucks" and other pioneers from the fertile lands of the Ohio Valley would take after floating their crops down the rivers to Natchez.  Since the current was too strong to float back up north to their homes, they would dismantle the barges and sell the lumber, then set out for home on foot or horseback.  The Natchez Trace was the route taken by these pioneers for many years, and Indians and Buffalo before them.

After hiking for a while down the old trace portion, the surface turned from dirt and gravel to foot-tall grasses.  Roger suggested we turn back, but I wanted to push on, because I was really getting into the historical vibe of the old path.  (Roger made up one of his silly songs as I did this, the theme song from Daniel Boone as he substituted my name for Daniel's.)   

As usual, I should have listened to Roger and turned back, because once we were in the motorhome, we had to spend about 15 minutes pulling several ticks off the legs of  both dogs.  Since their fur is very light and short, it was easy to find all the little varmints and banish them back outdoors before they had a chance to dine on our dogs.

I must explain the little map photo.  When I was a young girl (probably 10 or younger), I cut this little map out of a small paperback book.  Every time I traveled to a new state I colored in that state with whatever I had with me at the time (usually just a ball point pen), usually as I crossed the state line.    

As you can see, this little almost-50-year-old scrap of paper was just missing three states prior to today, one of which was Mississippi.  I happily colored it in as we crossed into Mississippi on the Natchez Trace.  All that is left now is a trip to New England to take in Vermont and New Hampshire.  We have Maine taken care of from a day trip we took with Ambassadaire Travel Club several years ago, by plane.   I also need to make it to Alaska someday.  I don't even think Alaska was a state when I started coloring in this map!   Any 10-year-old kid who kept a map like this for almost 50 years was destined to full time in a motorhome in her golden years, don't you think?

We made it all the way to  Tupelo, Mississippi on day one.  Harry and Bobbi also recommended we stay at Trace State Park outside Tupelo.  Wow!!  What a beautiful place!  

 The last six photos are of the views from our camp site at Trace State Park. 

  It's a shame we are only here for one night. 

  We had a nice camp fire and called it a day.  

Check back soon for day two of our Natchez Trace adventure, our journey from Tupelo to Natchez and on into Louisiana.

Florida Friends + Summit Lake State Park

Hi all, Dianne here.

Our two weeks here at Summit Lake State Park have gone by so quickly! We finally had a chance to take some photos so that we can describe this park for you.

We have so many places to see and travel to all over the U.S., but I know that I will always have a yearning for springtime in Indiana.

Best of all, our new friends from Franklin Lock Campground in Florida, Harry and Bobbi, came for a quick visit and set up camp next to us for a couple of days.

It was so good to see them! We always learn SO MUCH talking to them when we are together. For instance, this time they knew we plan to go to Texas next winter, so they brought their photos from their winter Texas trip. They gave us lots of good ideas of places to see and camp. They also gave us the idea of perhaps taking an extra day to get to New Orleans and following the Natchez Trace instead of just zipping down the interstate next week.

Harry can fix anything and has a lot of RV knowledge, and he even showed Roger how to fix a pesky bay latch that had been driving us nuts. We expected to have to replace the lock and spend big bucks on it, but Harry fixed it for us and showed us what to do if/when the other latches act up. This has been bugging us since we left Indiana last December, so we are thrilled to have this new knowledge!

Yesterday, the four of us hiked on one of the trails with the dogs.

The wildflowers are in full bloom here, and the weather was mild and sunny. A perfect day! Bobbi and I took lots of photos. I'm sure she will post hers on their blog (see our blog links for Have Trailer Will Travel).

Last night we enjoyed a pitch-together supper outside and a campfire and more good

conversation. We know we'll cross paths again, probably in Michigan next time (where they live).

Back Home Again In Indiana....

Hi all -- Dianne here. We made good progress in sprucing up our yard, planting annuals, deadheading, etc.

 One of my pet peeves in spring (my favorite season) is seeing brown, dead debris left over from winter spoiling the fresh, green spring growth.  Now it is gone, and we have planted fresh greenery and flowers in the window boxes.  We're ready for someone new to fall in love with our house, as we did 11 1/2 years ago.  (If you want to see photos of the house, click on the "photos of our house for sale" link at the right side of the blog.)   We did have a second showing the other day.  The couple love the house, but the wife was recently laid off, so they are not able to move forward with it.   Oh well, maybe next showing....

I was very happy to discover that my geraniums survived the winter in our cellar. Normally, I water them a few times over the winter and they make it.   They always look a little scraggly at first, but soon fill out and get bigger each year.  When my daughter went to water them for me while we were gone (late in the winter), she said they looked brown and dead.  I was expecting to have to just throw them in the trash.  Imagine my delight when I went down to the cellar and under the fluorescent light saw an abundance of green, even some blooms!    This is an advantage of a 100+ year old house with an old-fashioned cellar.  Here is a link showing how they looked last summer in one of our planters on the deck:   http://gi63.photobucket.com/groups/h130/B95K6YRCB8/pergolaforframe-1.jpg 

Here's another link showing how the same geraniums looked in a different planter five years ago (judging from our old van in the background): http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y14/DianneN/Photos%20for/Digital%20Frame%20Photos/backyardview2forframe.jpg

  These geraniums are older than my 10-year-old granddaughter!   I know that is true, because I have a photo of her as an infant with the already large, salmon-colored geraniums in the background.

We've written about the idyllic small town of Pendleton, Indiana in the blog before. One of the special things about this town is the many, many parades, festivals, and special events throughout the year.   One of these events occurred last weekend while we were working in the yard.  There is a giant garage sale that follows State Road 38 in Indiana from the town of Noblesville to New Castle.  Pendleton is right in the middle, and really makes an event of it, with the downtown merchants setting up outside, the garden club selling flower starts, etc.

The Pendleton Garden Club is very active in town.   One of their activities is a yearly "Garden Walk" showcasing some of the many lovely gardens in Pendleton.  My doorbell rang on Saturday, and two very nice women from the garden club said they had seen our side yard  http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y14/DianneN/Photos%20for/Digital%20Frame%20Photos/fountainarea3forframe.jpg from the garage sale at the house next door, and politely asked if we would like to participate in the Garden Walk on June 27.  Of course, I said yes! This will give us some good, free publicity!    Maybe someone from the Garden Walk will know someone who knows someone who's looking for a house with a beautiful yard....

I'll let Roger write about our short stay at Mounds State Park in Anderson, Indiana.  Our daughter, Amanda, granddaughter, Kaia, and our "grandpuppy" Cinnamon

 came out to our camp site at Mounds for a day of relaxing fun on Sunday.   Cinnamon has also kept us company in our back yard while we've been working.  She enjoys playing and sleeping with our two dogs, seen here sleeping on our screened porch

 on a cool, rainy day while we were outside planting flowers.

Roger here...  Since Dianne and I restarted our camping pursuits a few years back, we have always used the Mounds State Park in Anderson as our first shake-down stop of the season.  It is only 10 miles from our home in Pendleton - easy to get to and easy to solve any problems that might have arisen in opening up our travel trailer (then) and motor home (now).

This year the stop at Mounds was obviously different.  Since we have now been living in the motor home for five-plus months, the stop was due to convenience (near garden work at the house AND near our daughter and granddaughter).  

Often we do not appreciate the cool places and events that we are near.  This has always been the case with me and Mounds State Park.  When I grew up, it was a place for occasional school field trips and hikes in the woods, but little else.  I always knew that it was historic based upon the ancient Indian Mounds in the park, but it was too close to be of interest to me.  I much preferred going to some of the better known Indiana State Parks - Turkey Run, Brown County, Clifty Falls, Spring Mill, etc.  We have rediscovered Mounds as a restful, no hassle, nearby retreat.  The springtime view of the forest from our motor home was green and peaceful.

  A walk along the White River is beautiful in the fall.  The small campground fills up on summer weekends, but is very quiet during the week.  The old Indian Mounds bring a sense of wonder.  Why did the native Americans work so hard to build them?  What was their true purpose?

Last summer we hosted our granddaughter's 10th birthday party there by having four of her friends and our daughter spend the night.  The plan was to have the girls sleep in a tent with our daughter in an adjacent tent while Dianne and I slept in the quiet motor home.  That plan failed (as I should have known) when a raccoon ran across the campsite around 11:00 p.m. and the four screaming girls stormed the motor home.  There was also a "Daddy-Long-Legs" issue.  The girls had a great time.  Dianne and I were tired from lack of sleep for several days.  We should have anticipated the strain of the night.  After all, we did raise two daughters of our own.  Interesting how the mind sometimes forgets.  However, it was certainly worth the hassles - a birthday that Kaia will not forget.

The

 rock-hopping pictures were taken a couple of days ago 

when our granddaughter, Kaia, while riding her bike, found several boulders that had been placed on one of the campsites for obvious later relocation.  Kaia could not resist the temptation to hop from boulder to boulder (much better than the playground).  Her Mom joined in,

 and I walked over to snap some pictures.   I took my turn as well, but since I had the camera there were fortunately no pictures of the old man hopping around like a kid.  Later Kaia dragged Dianne over to take what Kaia described as a very careful turn.  It was great to see Kaia and Amanda having a great time goofing around outside with an activity that did not involve electronics, the Disney Channel, Hannah Montana, or the Jonas Brothers (not that there is anything wrong with any of those).   The other good news was that none of us broke any bones :-)

We are now staying at Summit Lake State Park outside New Castle, Indiana for two weeks as we continue keeping our yard and house ready for any upcoming realtor showings.  In our next blog, we'll describe another undiscovered gem, Summit Lake State Park, which has a very nice campground and large lake suitable for the S.S. Minnow, should we happen to get our work done!!