Mileage so far today: 138
Total Mileage so far: 326
Current Location: Tupelo, MS (Starbucks)
This is a midday post because I will be camping tonight and no access to wi-fi.
Today, I started the Natchez Trace Parkway. According to the federal governments' website:
"The Natchez Trace Parkway is a 444-mile drive through exceptional scenery and 10,000 years of North American history. Used by American Indians, ‘Kaintucks,’ settlers, and future presidents, the Old Trace played an important role in American history. Today, visitors can enjoy not only a scenic drive but also hiking, biking, horseback riding, and camping.”
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| This girl has a lot of junk in her trunk |
I’m not riding the entire length as I started in Jackson, MS (the trace starts in Natchez, MS), but will be traveling a substantial chunk of it all the way to Nashville. The ‘winding’ road is suppose to imitate the Native Americans original footpaths in the area. The bison and other game in the area would graze for salt deposits, and the hunters would follow them creating footpaths that became well worn. By the time the European “Explorers” came the path was the best means of communication/traveling between the Mississippi River, Cumberland Plateau, and the Gulf of Mexico. The Native Americans had created a path that circumvented the larger hills (we call them mountains in Southern Louisiana), thus less taxing to travel. Brilliant!
The road is scenic. Not all turns, swerves, and steep dips. I would call it more a road to reflect on, or a reflective road. Maybe not. This is from the early morning looking over the reservoir.
I haven’t stayed on the road the entire time. I have been finding plenty of dirt, gravel, and tracks that some might dispute the designation of ‘road’. It has been fun, tiring, and invigorating to get in the intense concentration of riding off-road. What is the point of owning a BMW GS if one stays on the tarmac the whole time? I tell you none.
Friday seems to be a really good time to ride on the Natchez Parkway because the lack of traffic. I have gone miles and miles without seeing a single car. I have flown by maybe 3 motorcycles. Solitary and wondrous.
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| Taking a Moment |
At times, the gravity of the history of European settlers and explorers fills my mind. I have written research papers on varying aspects of the Native Americans (there is even a short film I did, which few have seen). This is one example of hundreds of treaties that Europeans have broken over the course of populating America. I can’t remember the exact number, but there are hundreds of treaties that have been broken due to the whim of European settlers. It still occurs to this day.
So, traveling alone means less opportunities of taking pics of myself. Here are a couple of attempts while hiking.
Along my travel, I spent some time in Kosciusko learning about the Chief Engineer for West Point, a Polish immigrant named Tadeusz Kościuszko. Yes, the town is named after him. I meet the two older, lovely ladies that run the museum (it is really just a single room with ‘artifacts’ from 1981). The ladies were the real attraction. They were hilarious and talkative. One would ask me a question and before I provided a full answer she was talking about the wild hog that lives in her yard. They did ask me where I was from as they could not place my accent. I told them I am from New Orleans. Their immediate follow up question was, “No originally.” They didn’t believe me I was born in New Orleans and lived in South Louisiana all my life. It just has my musing on accents, dialects, and my encounters with language (Basal!). With globalization is the ‘accent‘ a relative term? Just a musing from an encounter.
I'm finding some level of equilibrium. There is something about the motion and solitary that creates a situation of contemplation. The dirt roads have created mindless situations as I am completely focused on steering Simone through the gravel and dirt. Too many thoughts to bore you with at this juncture, but contentment is maintained.
So this is today's update. I'm probably heading to Tishomingo State Park for the night, since trying to push to David Crockett State Park might be too taxing. I'm on vacation so I'm lazier than usual.
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