Day 39--Day 2 on The Natchez Trace

We have definitely left the warm weather behind us now, but at least every day is sunny with no sign of clouds. Last night it got down in the twenties as the heavy frost on the truck windshield attested. We had a warm bowl of oatmeal and took down the camper before driving a short ways (part of it along the old Trace itself) and taking the trail through the ghost town of Rocky Springs. It was hard to believe that two old rusty safes, a couple of rock cisterns and a lovely brick church are all that remain of a thriving rural community of 2600 back in 1860. Yellow fever, poor land management, the Civil War and boll weevils all conspired to wipe out the town, with the last store closing its doors in 1930. The church, built in 1837, is still used every Sunday and the doors are left unlocked, inviting people to stop by and look around, which we did, of course. Then it was time to head up the Parkway to go to Vicksburg to see the National Battlefield. We wasted some time frogging around when we should have followed the signs to Tourist Information but it all worked out okay. We went to a private Battlefield Museum first which was so-so. Then we went to the National Battlefield Visitor Center and learned the story of the siege of Vicksburg, which gave the Union control of the Mississippi, so crucial to winning the war. Lincoln said, “Vicksburg is the key…we cannot win without the key in our pocket.” With the story firmly in mind we took the auto tour of the area and could see the remains of the trenches and bunkers of each side. It was time to get back to the Trace so returned and continued north, stopping to have our picnic along the way. We talked to a couple from Minnesota with an Airstream who invited us in to see it. They were also hoping to camp tonight at Jeff Busby campground. We didn’t make as many stops as yesterday, wanting to get to the campground in time to enjoy the nice (mid fifties) day. We picked out our site and left the camper without setting it up. We hiked about a mile up the road to Little Mountain lookout, at 605 feet one of the highest points in Mississippi and the highest along the Trace Parkway. It was a great view to the east and the west. We found that there was a hiking trail through the woods leading to the campground. So we took it back and came out right down the hill from our campsite. We set-up the camper and had soup for dinner. Our provisions are running pretty low but since we’re at the end of our trip, we’re making do so we don’t end with lots of food. But tomorrow night we’ll need showers and Wi-Fi so we’ll pick our campground accordingly.