This is a day of sightseeing. The Natchez Trace Parkway runs for 880 miles, from the Natchez, Mississippi to Nashville, Tennessee. In the early 1800's it was an important trail/road to get goods from the coast to the interior. Now, some of the original road/trail still exists, but the parkway has now replaced it. There are mileposts all along the parkway, with points of interest marked on the Parkway Trail Map. Our campgrounds are only 5 miles from the parkway, so we decided to explore a bit. The parkway is really very pretty. Tree-lined, manicured, and little traffic.
Our first stop was at the Meriwether Lewis death & burial site park. This was where Lewis, of Lewis and Clark fame, died traveling on his way to Washington DC. They have refurbished the Grinder House where he was staying when he died and erected a monument over his grave. OK. Nice park, though.
Our next stop was at the Swan View Overlook -- nothing to write home about, as there were trees growing that obstructed the view. But, it was a nice place to eat our picnic lunch.
Fall Hallow Falls- had a short walk to a sweet water falls in the woods.
Tobacco Farm/Old Trace Drive -- this was a 2 mile gravel road drive on the original Trace, through tobacco country. The tobacco barns look just like they still do in MA.
Jackson Falls -- This one was definitely worth it! We walked a very steep walkway down to a beautiful water falls, that cascaded over a tall, rocky overhang, and down a rocky slope, hidden in the woods. Interestingly, this falls wasn't created eons ago, but fairly recently, when the rain eroded away the land enough to shift the waterway to connect up with the big river below.
Gordon House Historic Site -- our final stop was at the site of the early 1800s trading post and ferry. The house is still there.
We then turned our path to go to the Davey Crockett State Park, located in Lawrenceburg, TN. It was a bit of a drive, but was very interesting. Apparently, Davey Crockett lived here with his 2nd wife and big family in 1817, running their "industrial complex" of a distillery, gunpowder factory and gristmill, until until it was destroyed in 1821 by a flood. He also began his political career here. Interesting.
Finally, back into Hohenwald, to the Walmart parking lot, in order to pick up a 2nd prescription for Peter, and to do my Sunday family Zoom call, as none of the places we visited today had decent cell coverage or internet service. A long, but nice day.
Meriwether Lewis park photos:
 |
| Gander House where Lewis died. |
No comments:
Post a Comment