#54 Natchez, MS 2-21-09

Below is the bridge we crossed going from LA into Mississippi. Under the bridge is the Mighty Mississippi River. "Old Muddy."

The first thing we did when we got to Natchez, was to have lunch in the notorious area called "Natchez Under the Hill." It has been written about in many books, including Mark Twain's "Tom Sawyer."

Then we took a horse and buggy ride through the old town of Natchez. The weather was cool and overcast. But, the horse went slow and the driver gave us a lot of history about the town. We drove by the house that has the picket fence that Tom Sawyer was supposed to paint. We also drove by the Ante Bellum home that was used in the movie "North and South." Above is one home that we saw on the tour, but it is not an Ante Bellum home. Do you know that Ante Bellum means "before the war?" I didn't until our tour guide/horse and buggy driver told us. On the 22 of Feb., we decided to take a drive to Vicksburg and see the National Cemetery for the Civil war. On the way we drove on part of the Natchez Trace. The road follows approximately the same path that was used by the Indians and then by the boatmen that brought their goods down the river to Natchez. The flat boat rafts that were used to haul goods from the North couldn't travel back up the river, so the boatmen would sell the lumber they were made of, and either walk or buy a horse and return to the North using the Trace (Path).I don't know if you can read the sign, but it tells a story about the Trace. I thought the picture on the sign was good.

This is the only "inn" that has been preserved along the Trace. It shows the kind of accommodations that were available, but were few and far between. The travelers mostly spent their nights camping out! There was a communal dining area and on either end of the dining area were bedrooms, usually with more than one bed. They were used for the travelers, and probably for the children of the family.

The family cemetery is a short walk from the inn. There are still some headstones for descendants that are still alive.

The family cemetery is a very peaceful and quiet place. It is nice to see this kind of things being preserved.

We only drove about 30 miles on the Trace. It is over 500 miles long. It took the boatmen and any other travelers months to traverse from Natchez to Kentucky.