Old Man River - Natchez, Mississippi

Day 31 - Natchez, Mississippi to Natchez, Mississippi- 6.8 miles

...and on Day 31 they rested!!!!

 It is exciting to be back on the mighty Mississippi.  We look forward to following the river and the MRT route to New Orleans.

View of the Mississippi River - Natchez Mississippi

Isle of Capri Casino - Natchez Mississippi 

We are facing a long home stretch through the Louisiana wetlands with few services until we hit the Big Easy.  We were both feeling the effects of yesterday's long ride in the heat and humidity so we made the executive decision to schedule a rest day, explore Natchez and study the upcoming routes and maps carefully before starting our final leg.

Natchez is the oldest European settlement on the Mississippi River and has done a fantastic job protecting its heritage.  There are 500 plus pre-civil war structures and 13 properties that are National Historic landmarks.  The plantations and antebellum mansions are fabulous!

Before heading into historic Natchez, we decided it was time to restock and low and behold we found a Walmart.  (NOT one of the National Historic landmarks!)  Rob went in to shop and I stayed outside with the bikes and actively engaged in some quality people watching.  Folk move much slower here - I suppose it is the heat and humidity.  I watched carefully, as people came and went with hearty greetings - "How y'all doing?  Awright babe."  

Our first stop as we entered downtown Natchez was at the Visitor Centre where the staff kindly directed us to a casino for the night.  Can you imagine?  Casino, all you can eat buffet....what a perfect way to rest up.  We rolled our bikes right in to the lobby, where they kindly agreed to store them for us until check-in time.  We set off for a self-guided 10 mile walking tour (that seems like a rest after the miles we have pedalled) of the historic area knowing that an all you can eat buffet was waiting for us. (did we already mention the all you can eat buffet?)

Giggle of the day:

.. a picture says a 1,000 words

Redneck Rob on a Redneck Adventure