We have zig-zagged across the country and, boy-oh-boy, do we have some gems to share! Browse campsites, off-road trails, scenic outlooks, oddities, museums, hiking trails, and more.
We were looking for a place to sleep. There is no shortage of options along the California/Arizona border. Snowbirds flock to expansive RV parks for the warm weather. But we weren't interested in parking in a lot, staring into the windows of neighbors right next to us. No, we wanted something rugged and beautiful. We wanted the Kofa National Wildlife Refuge.
Some stops we plan. Others we do not. We were speeding along highway 8 to the California border so it was not as if we were anticipating any stops. Then I saw the sign for the Painted Rock Petroglyph Site and we had to stop.
We raced through Texas. We have plans for that state for a little later in the winter. Right now, we have some people to see further west. For all the fury of travel, we do make a point to get out of the car each day. Today, that stop is along the very small wedge of New Mexico that is traced by the 10: the New Mexico Farm and Ranch Heritage Museum.
Back in Texas, we finally saw the sun and were treated to blue skies. Up until this point, we had traveled under constant cloud cover. At the beginning, I loved the moody atmosphere set by the clouds. But, after enough shots were abandoned due to the lack of any color at all, I was ready for some brilliant blue to set off my shots.
Medicine may be one of the most expressive examples of how society has progressed and improved over time. Doctors have done a lot of crazy and down right dangerous things in the attempt to heal people, whether their malady is real or perceived. When I asked a doctor friend "at what point in history was visiting a doctor more likely to help the patient than harm?" he didn't have to think hard. He immediately replied: with the invention of penicillin.
After days on the road, it's time for a little rest and relaxation. By that, I mean, it's time for a shower. So, tonight we are splurging on a hotel. But it's more than just a shower that we are after because this hotel is along the French Quarter of New Orleans. Tonight, we will wander down Bourbon Street, delight in delicacies, and swoon to the music of the Big Easy.
It has only been a few, cloudy days from Nashville to Natchez, but here we are. The Natchez Parkway ends just outside of Natchez, Mississippi but we continue through town for our first view of the Mississippi River. At the shore line, we meditate on tradition, history, and natural wonders along the Natchez Trace. We have traveled the entirety of the Natchez Trace Parkway.
Many times would see cars pulled to the side of the road. People were crouched, filling bags with items picked from the ground. This time of year, pecans are falling from the trees in Mississippi and we joined the random assortment of people along the side of the road in picking up a couple pecans for ourselves.
The Mississippian Period Mound Builders perfected their art by 1250 AD when ancestors of the Natchez tribe began to sculpt a natural hill into the second largest Pre-Columbian earthwork in the country. Named after a 19th century plantation that surrounded the ancient earthworks, Emerald Mound's history represents what might as well have been another world. The mound's base stretches 770 by 435 feet. While the main portion of the mound is 35 feet high, two secondary mounds on top of the main body elevates it another 30 feet. Here was the cultural center of this region. Chieftain and cultural leaders lived in structures on the mound. Ceremonial rights were conducted here up until 1730s. The descendants of these Mound Builders, the Natchez, continued to use the mound until the late 1730s. By then, the Natchez had moved their ceremonial center 12 miles north to the Grand Village of the Natchez.
By modern terms, the Mount Locust Inn is a modest structure with four small rooms for guests and the resident family. But in the days of the "Kaintucks" traveling along the Natchez Trace, Mount Locust Inn offered some of the finest accommodations a traveler could hope for.