You are in Redneck country you know - Natchez, Mississippi

Day 30 - Clinton, Mississippi to Natchez, Mississippi 97.5 miles

Today was our last day on the Natchez Trace.  What an amazing stretch of riding it has been!  The history, the wildlife viewing, the camping, the scenery and of course the endless miles of bike friendly roads made this stretch one of the highlights of the trip.  

The last 5 miles on the Natchez Trace

We were at a rest stop when once again we were approached by strangers bearing gifts!  A group of four ladies from Arkansas were travelling the Trace and shared cold, clear bottled water with us.  They had just been to Baton Rouge and were really excited about a swamp tour they had taken.....more gators!

Rejoining the Mississippi River Trail on the Natchez Trace

Later in the day, we had to stop when we rounded the bend and came across fields of corn.  The  corn looked ready to harvest.  We thought back to our visit to Illinois and how small the corn was at that time.  Incredible the difference a few days and a few miles makes.....

Corn as high as an elephant's eye!

We visited Mount Locust, a restored plantation house and historic stand.  Mount Locust is the only remaining inn on the Trace.  Again we were struck by the hardships the early travellers must have faced when they trudged along the Trace.

Spanish Moss

As we approached Natchez an older gentleman on a racing bike was riding south to north.  As we passed he gave us a friendly wave.  Minutes later he turned and road back to meet us.  He stopped, asked if we had water, inner tubes, gave us advice on places to see in Natchez and then to quote, "remember you are in redneck country....friendly rednecks, but be careful on the roads!"  He gave us a quick wink, wished us luck and was back on his way.  He was quite a character...long grey hair tied in a pony tail, long grey beard, thick southern accent, black and pink bike shorts and thin as a rail!   

Giggle of the day:

We hit the 2,000 miles and of course decided to mark the occasion by taking a picture, using our fingers to symbolize 2,000.  We then had a very LONG discussion (debate) about which way the photo would show the "2".  We simply could not figure it out.  We blamed the heat, humidity and physical exhaustion on our inability to solve this simple problem...and then came up with a creative solution.  We took the picture both ways.

Celebrating the 2,000 mile mark!

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