May 20, 2013. Ridgeland to Natchez, MS. 87 miles.

The breakfast at Econolodge was as bad as the motel itself...we brought in wheat bread, peanut butter, and the rest of the boiled eggs to add to the cold cereal and packaged danish and muffins.  We said goodbye to Barbara and Stan at the motel and Fred and Tom took them to Jackson Airport to pick up their rental car.

Bill dropped me, Dianne, Diana, Otis and Ed at milepost 87 and we started our ride in 80 degree muggy heat with a headwind, of course.  By the time we got to milepost 76 Fred and Tom were there and they joined us on our ride. The wind was worse than ever, so we all joined a pace line, pulling as far as we each could before taking a break at the back of the pack.


There were not a lot of places to stop on this section of the trace.  At 15 miles into the ride I suggested we pull off at the next opportunity, but that did not happen until over 10 miles later! We pulled into the Rocky Springs area and Bill was already there. Diana told us she had broken a shifting cable--fortunately Ed is a bike mechanic and brought his took kit with him, including a spare cable! Fred lent a hand and soon we were all back on the road.

I had been suffering with a bad headache all morning, took as much medicine as I thought I should while riding, but decided after the break that I would quit riding at lunch and go back for Fred's truck. Dianne and I rode the Natchez Trace Parkway last year from the beginning to milepost 59, and this would serve several purposes--Fred and Tom could finish the ride without worrying about getting the truck, and I would be able to get out of the relentless wind that I suspected was the cause of my headache... also, Stan had told me not to miss seeing Rocky Springs, which was a couple of miles uphill from where we rested, not something we wanted to do by bike.

Our lunch stop was at milepost 41.5, which I had been talking about since the beginning of the ride! It is the most dramatic view of the old trace that I have seen. Looking at this section of the trace we could all imagine the traffic through here hundreds and thousands of years ago.

We ate lunch and loaded up my bike and Dianne's and when the rest of the group pedaled out, Bill drove us back to Fred's truck. Once in the truck I headed straight for Rocky Springs. It was several miles uphill on a one-lane paved road. Where the road quit there was a path into the ghost town that was a thriving community in the mid to late 1800s. It was a little spooky walking alone through the remains... all that's left are a couple of safes and cisterns, a church and cemetery.

I walked past the church and through the cemetery, which was draped with Spanish moss.

After Rocky Springs we headed back down the trace to find the bikers. After we passed them we decided we had time to see Emerald Mound, another feature that is too far off the trace to do by bike; uphill of course, on a rutted narrow road. This burial mound was built about 700 years ago by the Mississippi Indians.

Emerald Mound is the second largest burial mound in the United States; its footprint is 8 acres and it towers  above the surrounding land. I stopped along the road to take the photo directly above--it was impossible to get the whole site in one photo.

And then we were there!

After patting each other on the back and getting a cold drink, we loaded up and headed for the Isabella B&B at Port Gibson. And what a wonderful way to wrap up our trip!

We had arranged ahead of time to have dinner here, and we chose our entrees before showering. Dinner was ready by the time we all came down from our rooms. We had a leisurely dinner and dessert, all prepared by owners Bobbye and Phil. After dinner Dianne and I played a few games of Scrabble in the game room--I still had a headache but we could not pass up this opportunity to play in such a perfect place!

May 19, 2013. French Camp to Ridgeland, 79 miles.

We got an early start since we had so far to go and it was going to be very hot and humid... By 7:30 we were all on the road. I left by myself, unfortunately, and did not catch up to a group until halfway through the ride. It was very windy, mostly right on the nose, but it slued around right and left... or perhaps the road meandered that way, but the gusts came from every way but behind us!

I found Diana, Bill, Dianne, Ed, and Otis sitting on the wall at about 38 miles into the ride. We all had a break and I left with them. They were riding a pace line, the best way to handle a headwind. I joined them in the line and it was wonderful after riding 38 miles against the wind by myself! We each took a 2-mile turn at the head of the pack and then moved to the back. Very nice.

We stopped at various points of interest along the trace, but did not stay too long at any of them.

Bill took a photo of our pace line; by then there were 7 of us! Fred and Tom had turned around to get Fred's truck. That's the problem with traveling with 9 cyclists and one full time driver--we need to move the second truck forward every day. It hurts us all (especially Fred) not having a second driver.

At mile 60 Bill was waiting at a park with our lunch. There really are no other lunch options on this trip, especially on a Sunday. Here in the Bible Belt everything is closed on Sundays.

We were all finished the ride and the bikes were loaded by 2:45, quite remarkable for a 79 mile day in a headwind! It was 88 degrees when we drove into Ridgeland and checked into our hotel. What a letdown after all those wonderful B&Bs! We are at Econolodge. Talk about culture shock!

May 18, 2013. Houston to French Camp, MS. 54 miles.

We had a wonderful breakfast! If you're going to stay at a bed and breakfast it helps to choose one with an owner who is also a caterer! And here, unlike the last place we stayed, we got to eat off of the lovely dishes!

This house has 12 foot high ceilings, which makes for a very long staircase! All of our rooms were upstairs.

We trailered the bikes out to the Natchez Trace Parkway and mounted up for our 54 mile ride to French Camp. It was in the 70s and extremely muggy, but at least it was not raining! Bill was waiting for us at about 12 miles into the ride, with food, water, and encouragement. 

Seeing the Old Trace after a day and night of rain really made us think--imagine those struggling people fighting the mosquitoes and poison ivy as they trudged along this muddy path through the woods! The creeks and rivers were running fast and muddy after the rain, and there were no bridges in the old days...

At our lunch stop there was a road up to the Jeff Busby overlook and most of us made the climb. Here are Barbara and Diana descending from the overlook. After lunch it was a quick 14 miles to French Camp--really quick for me--I was riding with Stan for the first time, and he is one fast cyclist!

This B&B is part of the French Camp Historic District. It was founded in 1810 when Louis LeFleur opened a "stand" as inns along the trace were called back then.

The building most of us are staying in is built from 3 cabins that were moved and combined into one. The original cabins were built around 1820 near here. Above is Diana carrying her bike into our inn.

Fred. Tom, Otis and Ed (above) are staying in a nearby cabin.There are also a blacksmith shop, gift shop, post office building, museum, barns and sheds on this site, all owned by the nearby French Camp Academy, a Christian boarding school that specializes in helping children from troubled families. 

Bill and I have "Sallie's Room", above. Each room is as lovely as the next...

We walked around the French Camp Historic Park on our way to dinner.  The Cafe here on the grounds is the only option. Fortunately it was very good! They have soup, salad, sandwiches and dessert. We partook of all those things and were well satisfied. (The Mississippi Mud Cake was scrumptious!)

After dinner we had our map meeting in the inn, and since tomorrow is the last night that Stan and Barbara will be with us, we sang our silly song. The previous evening Barbara did a wonderful interpretation of Elvis, so I worked it into the song.

Sung to the tune of Dixie, of course:

It's Nashville where our ride began: Natchez Trace Parkway end to end, 

Chorus:

Look away, look away, look away to Natchez.

Well I wish I was in Natchez, hooray, hooray.

To Natchez where this parkway ends, I'm riding with my friends.

Away, away, away down south to Natchez.

We rode 50 miles to reach Fall Hollow, where Bill served breakfast on the morrow,

Chorus

We loaded the bikes when the road got scary, drove to the coon dog cemetery.

(BL:You ain't nothin' but hound dog!)

Chorus

We met the Stone Talker and bought a bird bath, meandering down this ancient path,

Chorus

We got in the truck one rainy morn, drove to the house where Elvis was born.

(BL: You ain't nothin' but a hound dog!)

Chorus

Saturday was foggy and damp, we rode 54 miles to French Camp,

Chorus

We'll ride 80 miles to get to Ridgeland, where we say goodbye to Barb and Stan,

(BL: You ain't nothin' but a hound dog!)

Chorus.

This being a Christian site, there is no alcohol allowed... not a problem for us, but we laughed and carried on so much with the song that we figured the other couple in the house (they came in while we were at dinner) must have thought we broke that rule!

May 17, 2013. Belmont to Houston, MS.

When we loaded up this morning it was raining. It was still raining when we got back to the NTP so we decided to drive forward to the NTP Visitors Center at Tupelo. When we finished there it was raining even harder, so we we went into Tupelo for a late breakfast/early lunch.  While there it poured rain. A few among us (not me) wanted to go see Elvis Presley's birthplace, so we did.

Dianne came back out to the truck to tell us that they were going to stay for a half-hour movie and then tour the house. The movie was free so most of us went in to see it.

Ed got tired of being wet and bought an Elvis umbrella in the gift shop. He must have been really wet to pay $27 for an umbrella! The rain eased up a little when we were leaving Tupelo so Ed and Barbara got on their bikes to ride to Houston. The rest of us stayed in the truck for the ride to our B&B.

Bridges Hall Manor is right on the main street in Houston, and we can walk to our dinner. There are 5 bedrooms for us, but some of them have only one bed so we have Otis on the floor and Tom in the pink bed (below) and Fred on the floor in a different room with Ed.  We'll all get by... it's a lovely place and we are glad to be here.

We all walked to dinner at "No Way Jose" where the rest of the group surprised Bill and me by buying our dinner! Thanks guys! We walked back to our inn; Dianne and I played a few games of Scrabble, some read their books or watched a movie. The rain seemed to be done, but then at 3 AM more thunderstorms rolled through.... it was good to be indoors!

May 16, 2013.Tuscumbia,AL to Belmont, MS. 68 miles.

There was a lovely staircase at our hotel last night and we all lined up for a group photo before starting out this morning.

We drove back to mile marker 338 on the NTP to see the Stone Talker. He is not listed in any tourist brochure or the AAA guide, but the locals told us not to miss his place. His real name is Tom Hendricks; we listened to his story and it was a good one....

Tom's grandmother passed down stories of her Yuchi (American Indian) grandmother to Tom and made him promise to keep the stories alive. He memorized the stories as a child, and some years ago he attended a multi-tribe powwow in Tennessee and met other Yuchi people. At first they did not believe his story, because his great-great grandmother was the only person known to have escaped from the Indian Reservation they were forced to walk to in the 1830s. She walked all the way back to her native country (now Lauderdale County Alabama), where she married an Englishman and became a well know medicine woman. He proved his heritage by speaking their language with them.  The "grandmother" of the Yuchis at the powwow spent three days with Tom and he went home with a mission--his mission was to build a wall in honor of his great great  grandmother, and this mission would take the rest of his life.

The wall is huge, spreads in all directions, and he is still working on it in his 80s. There are multiple passageways throughout the property with areas set aside for reflection. He has spent almost 40 years working on the wall every day (only 6 days so far that he did not work on it). He collects rocks in his pickup truck and lays them (without mortar) with only a wheelbarrow to help move them through the extensive rock wall maze.

He wrote a book about his great great grandmother's journey back home after the trail of tears (forced march to OK) and most of us bought the book; our group also bought a hand carved cross, a frog, and one of us is bringing home a hand carved Alabama limestone bird bath....

After spending time with the Stone Talker we drove to the point where we left the NTP yesterday, unpacked the bikes and started out, quite late for us, almost 10 AM. We fairly flew along the trace, with Fred, Tom, Ed, Stan and Barbara setting the pace at about 20 MPH. Ed and Diana were not far behind them.... Dianne and I managed 17.7 MPH and nobody saw Otis!

We stopped at the state line to take photos, and then found Bill at the overlook for the Tennessee River. We all had lunch there, and that slowed me right down... they all told me that potato chips were a good ride food. NOT! I had indigestion the rest of the day! At one point I thought I might not be able to finish!

We stopped at the Ancient Burial Mound--there are several along the trace from people who passed through here about 5000 years ago.

Soon we were at the Mississippi state line! Right after the Entering Mississippi sign was a sign telling us we were in the Mississippi Hills area. Uh oh... There were indeed hills, but they were not as serious as those we encountered earlier in the week.  Bill was waiting with water and snacks every 20 miles along the way, and then parked at the turnoff to go to Belmont. Good thing too--there was no sign!  The 8.8 mile route into Belmont was steeply hilly, a lot of curves... but the little traffic there was remained polite. When we got to town there were enough dogs worrying us that we decided to put the bikes in the trailer and drive back out to NTP in the morning. 

We are staying at the Belmont Hotel, built in 1927 to accommodate the railroad men. The town has fallen on some hard times lately, but we managed to find a restaurant and a laundromat.... some of our crew ate chicken livers and fried whole catfish, but everyone was well satisfied.