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| Dutch isn't impressed with history |
Since moving to Memphis I've been infatuated with the Natchez Trace, the 444-mile scenic by-way stretching from Nashville, TN to Natchez, MS. Originally a migratory path for buffalo and other animals and later a trade route for Native Americans and frontiersmen. Goods would be loaded aboard crude flat boats and floated down to Natchez or New Orleans on the Mississippi river. After the goods were traded and the flatboat sold for lumber the arduous task of getting home began. Many early Americans walked or, if they were lucky, went by horse along this route.
Toward the end of March we recently headed east to go explore the Tennessee portion of the trace. We had traveled Interstate 40 on several occasions, it's the only major east-west route across the state, it passes through the TN's three largest cities. Travel on I-40 is rarely fun, but often thrilling; owing to the numerous big rigs you encounter.
First stop
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| Too bad it's someone else's silver lining... |
Just outside of Jackson we hop off the interstate and begin on State Route 20 headed to Linden, TN, population 1015. As luck would have it we arrived in time for the annual Blooming Arts Festival, featuring local artists and craftsmen. That's about as far as our luck would go it seems. Clouds began rolling in in earnest as we crossed the Duck river. A small storm system tracked directly above us for most of the day. You can actually see the blue sky and sunshine that someone else got to enjoy. A quick check of the radar showed us it wouldn't last long which was a relief as our plans centered around camping that night. Why not wait out the rain while having lunch? We try very hard to eat somewhere locally, thankfully there are resources and apps out there that make the task a little easier. We settled on the Rusty Fish Hook. Sweet tea, some amazing fried cat fish, and the Weather Channel on t.v. Seems we weren't the only ones with a plan. After lunch we headed to the festival, the rain never completely ended so the camera stayed in the car. The festival was a wonderful mix of ages and cultures including Amish crafts and baked goods. We are suckers for locally produced items. Whether it's canned goods, pickled products, or in this case pottery. Kevin spent much time debating whether or not to buy a handmade mug from Pottery by Robyn (Robyn Neubauer) from Paris, TN. He finally left me and Dutch by the town square to go back for the mug, but he returned instead with a bowl. Afterwards we stocked up on essential camping supplies (marshmallows and hot dogs) and headed farther east past Hohenwald to Meriwether Lewis State Park.
Meriwether Lewis and Grinder House
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| Memorial over Lewis' remains, 1848. |
Meriwether Lewis Park, located at milepost 385.9 on the Natchez Trace Parkway is the site of Lewis' mysterious death and final resting place. Lewis (of Lewis and Clark Expedition fame) was traveling the Trace headed to Washington DC when he and several companions stopped for the night at Grinder House. In the early morning hours on October 11, 1809 he would be discovered with several gunshot wounds in his room. He died a few hours later and was buried in a pioneer graveyard nearby. In 1848, Tennessee erected a monument to the former explorer, a broken column representing a life cut short.
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| One of the many pioneer graves. |
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| Grinder house stones |
An inscription reading: Immaturus obi: sed tu felicior annos Vive meos, Bona Republica! Viva tuos (I died young: but thou, O Good Republic, live out my years for me with better fortune.) can be seen at the base of the memorial. All that remains of the Grinder house are a few foundation stones and a replica building that serves as the park office and a small exhibit room. There are also some nice hiking trails throughout the park that are short but scenic. One near the campsite follows along Little Swan Creek and then meets up with a section of the original Natchez Trace.
After some photos it was time to setup camp. The campground was located a short distance from the memorial. We pulled out our small 2-man tent while everyone around us had campers and RV's of various sizes. Well, we're roughing it, pioneer style. Pioneers had air mattresses right? During an ill-fated camping trip back in September we discovered that the tent rain fly had been packed in to a friend's tent. It was a clear night and we were 3 hours from home so we risked it without the protection. Several lessons were learned: 1) never trust the weather to stay the same 2) always check your gear before heading out 3) packing up camp at 2 a.m. with a torrential downpour threatening and driving several hours home, is in no way enjoyable. This time we were prepared, a small tarp and some paracord would do the trick. Plus, I got to use a bowline knot and a taught line hitch. People using RV's don't get the opportunity to hone useful skills like that!
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| Dutch holding down the fort. |
With the tent pitched an the all important festival chairs set up all that was lacking was a roaring fire. I was excited to get to use my Swedish Firesteel ferrocerium fire starter. Generating dozens of sparks at several thousand degrees Fahrenheit how could it not start a fire? After 5 minutes I reverted to the tried and true method of the Zippo. Wet, unseasoned fire wood would make a having a roaring fire a challenge.
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| Tonight, we dine like kings. |
Kevin successfully scavenged enough dead fall to provide a means of cooking dinner. Camp set, fire started, dinner prepared, and marshmallows successfully toasted. Time for bed, tomorrow will be a long day. Next morning we broke camp after a less than restful night. A 2-man tent and air mattress for two grown men and a dog with lower than expected temperatures doesn't make for good slumber. We may need to upgrade our accommodations.
Hitting the trail, a southern detour...
At mile post 382.8 the pioneer trail is crossed by the Buffalo river at Metal ford, so named because of the stone river bed resembling "metaled" (stone laid) roads. There's a trail that leads to McLish's stand, the brochure doesn't mention that you have to actually ford the river to get to it. We have a strict policy of no river fording before 9 a.m., especially brisk moving frigid waters. Nearby you can follow a trail made from the mill trace that diverted water to the furnace of Steele's Iron works. Nothing is left of the operation except the slag (by-product of the ore smelting process). Supposedly there is a pile of it, we couldn't find it, maybe it was under the poison ivy? The furnace stood here around the 1820's, interesting to see that evidence of it is still visible. A mile further south (mp381.8) brought us to Napier mine, an open pit mine that provided much of the ore for the iron works.Headed to Nashville...
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| Don't disturb the Balrog! |
First stop on the northern trek is at milepost 390.7, an old phosphate mine that's now collapsed. Not much detail in the brochure about it, but a small plaque informs you that the phosphate layers in the limestone came from shellfish deposits 400 million years ago. If it's on a government plaque it must be true. Looking down into the dark, seemingly interminable tunnel, Kevin summed it up best with "That scares the bajeezus outta me". We spotted some trillium and a few emerging ferns, Spring is an excellent time to be on the trail.
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| Fall Hollow Waterfall |
After picking up someone's beer cans that were thrown down a few feet from the trash can we moved on to Fall Hollow (mp 391.9). A quick trail along a stream that leads to some tucked away waterfalls. Shoes with plenty of traction are beneficial, the trail is wet, rock, and steep in places. Someone left their jeans on a handrail near the falls. Guess we'll never know why. Much time was spent honing camera skills trying to capture the perfect shot of the waterfalls until Kevin and Dutch were both giving the evil eye and wanted to move on.
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| Conopholis americana |
Two miles up the road you come across Devil's Backbone State Natural Area (mp 394). Not too long of a hike, going along a ridge of the Tennessee Highland Rim sloping down about 200 feet then back up. Grab a snack and some water, it's almost lunch time. Lot's of vegetation, which changes depending on if you're along the ridge or down in the valley. One of the more noticeable plants we spotted was Conopholis americana a non-photosynthesizing plant that parasitizes the roots of certain trees (no, not labeled but Google can be very informative). Cool. A small stream offered me and Dutch a chance to test out our crawfish catching skills. If only he had invited a few dozen of his friends along.
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| No crawfish were harmed in the making of this road trip |
Mile post 400.2 is Sheboss Place where an inn once stood, now there's just an interpretive sign regarding the origins of the name. Driving on to the Tobacco Farm at mp 401.4 we find an exhibit explaining the tobacco growing process and an old barn where tobacco would be hung up by hand to cure. That brought back some fond childhood memories. There is also a 2 mile north bound section of the Old Trace that can be driven down.
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| Baker Bluff Overlook |
Jackson Falls (mp 404.7) is only 40 miles from the Trace's terminus south of Nashville, we start noticing an increase in people. The falls are named after Andrew Jackson, who is entombed along with his wife at his estate, The Hermitage, northeast of Nashville. I don't think he would be to happy lending his namesake to a former stream that was hijacked by the nearby Duck river into becoming a tributary. A short board walk leads down to a pool fed by the falls, where we notice some teenagers yelling and carrying on, climbing all over the rocks and letting their dog run around off leash. Grumpy and hungry, I grab up Dutch and head back to the parking lot. Kevin snaps a few photos. We're hungry and grumpy. A sign indicates that a 'gentle' 1/4 mile walk will lead us to an overlook of the Duck river. Gentle it was not, a gradual incline of most of the trail then a steep decent led to the parking lot that you could have driven to. This was Baker Bluff Overlook at mp 405.1. Did I mention we were hungry and grumpy?
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| He had friends in high places. |
To get travelers across the Duck river John Gordon operated a ferry near mile post 407.7. The house standing here was built ca. 1818. Sadly, it was boarded up and locked. He was a captain under Jackson and a friend. This house was one of the first brick dwellings built on the Trace. There was a short walk down to the ferry site on the river, we opted to skip this.
Detour to Columbia, TN
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| Two hungry travelers |
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| James K. Polk House |
The Tennessee Valley Divide.
Back on the Parkway, a little over 15 miles further north of Gordon House we arrive at the Tennessee Valley Divide (mp 423.9). There's not a whole lot to see here other than a plaque. What's fascinating about this location is that it marks the 1796 boundary between the US and Chickasaw Nation. Also streams on the south side flow south to the Duck and Tennessee rivers, streams on the north side flow north toward Nashville emptying into the Cumberland River.
The Last Stretch
Burn's
Branch (mp 425.4) would be a nice stop for a picnic lunch, or just a
place to rest. It offered a horse trail and a crystal clear stream to
relax by. Garrison
Creek (mp 427.6), named for a nearby Army post from the early 1800's,
probably had the most people we had seen on the trail. This is not
surprising given the proximity to Nashville. Here you had access to
restrooms and a short trail to a scenic overlook. The portion of the
trail near the creek was nice, but the overlook was becoming blocked by
emerging saplings and the view wasn't as spectacular as some of the others on
the trail, skip this if you're pressed for time. Though the view was less
than spectacular I did spot a Jack-in-the-Pulpit (Arisaema
triphyllum) in bloom on the way back down the trail to the car.
It's one of my favorite wildflowers, and is easily identified, although I
had never actually seen one in the wild.
The Terminus
Located at mile post 438.0, 6
miles south of the end of the Parkway, is Birdsong Hollow. The key
feature here being an impressive 155 feet high bridge spanning the 1,600 feet
wide valley. We had seen this in pictures prior to the trip and were
looking forward to seeing it in person. This award winning, double arch
bridge illustrates that man-made structures can be integrated into surroundings
in an artistic and functional way. The bridge really seemed to compliment
the surrounding scenery rather than being an eyesore of asphalt and concrete.
On the north side after we crossed the bridge we came across the parking
area with access to a path down to the bridge with a view of the valley below.
If you are uncomfortable with heights know that the path doesn't have
guardrails. Kevin, who does not like heights, claims he probably wouldn't
have been able to drive over the bridge had he seen it from this vantage point
beforehand. The Natchez Trace Parkway ends when it intersects with TN
Hwy. 100 just south of Nashville. We then made our way over to I40 and
headed west back to Memphis as we planned how we might be able to see more of
the Trace on another trip. This trip only covered about 62 miles of the
444 miles.....imagine walking!!
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