Natchez Trace Parkway: Tishomingo - June 26th to 28th, 2023
Natchez Trace is a National Parkway which follows an historical foot path from Natchez, Mississippi to Nashville, Tennessee. It is 444 miles long, crossing through three states. This post is the second of four posts on the Natchez Trace, covering Mileposts 385 to 305, from Meriwether Lewis Campground in Tennessee to Tishomingo State Park in Mississippi.
Monday we continued down the Natchez Parkway to Tishomingo State Park. Our stops included Napier Mine, Sunken Trace, Laurel Hill Lake, Rock Spring, Trail of Tears Overlook, and Colbert Ferry. The Napier Mine and Sunken Trace were not much to see, but there were informational signs. Napier Mine is a former iron strip mine, but nature has reclaimed the area. Sunken Trace is where you can see three parallel trails. All three are the old Natchez Trace. People would reroute the trail as they tried to avoid muddy areas where their wagons would get stuck.
Laurel Hill Lake is actually not part of Natchez Trace Parkway, but a fishing lake run by the Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency. It was just a few miles off of the parkway, so we drove over to check it out. What attracted us was the name, Laurel Hill. When Ann was a kid, her family belonged to a swim and tennis club called Laurel Hill. We saw a sign that said everyone needed to sign in and register, so we just took a picture and left. However, we did spot a couple of bald eagles standing on the shore.
Rock Spring Trail was a short nature trail, about half a mile long, that circled through the woods over to a spring. Nice stepping stones crossed a creek. We spotted a snake in the water by the spring.
The Trail of Tears Overlook is on the northern bank of the Tennessee River. One of the groups along the Trail of Tears rode barges along the Tennessee River.
On the opposite bank is Colbert Ferry. This where the boat ramp was for the ferry run by a Chickasaw leader, George Colbert. The ferry transported people traveling the Natchez Trace safely across the Tennessee River. He also operated Colbert’s Stand for travelers to get a meal and overnight in nearby. A stand is what they called an inn or trading post along the Natchez Trace.
Part of the Natchez Trace Parkway was closed from Colbert Ferry to Tishomingo State Park. We assumed it was due to some type of road maintenance or construction. We followed the detour through the town of Cherokee. We stopped at the Piggly Wiggly for groceries. Ann called an audible in the store and changed her planned menu on the fly, as they didn’t have the vegetables she was hoping for.
The campground at Tishomingo State Park is along a mile long road alongside a lake. We were in the newer section near the end of the road, with full hookups. That meant we were about half a mile from the closest bathhouse and a mile from the trash dumpster. The sites in the newer section had fewer trees and were a little more exposed. When we arrived, our site was in the full, hot sun. So we plugged in and turned on the air conditioner. Since we had a nice view of the lake, we put the awning out and sat outside in our chairs for a little while, until a gust of wind activated the wind sensor on our awning and it closed automatically.
Since we had full hook ups, we decided to try hooking the water up using our city water connection. Up to this point, we always used the gravity fill to fill our fresh water tank and use the water pump to alway use the water from our tank. That way, we had no danger of overfilling our gray water tank, since the fresh and gray water tanks are about the same size. Always using the fresh water tank also has the advantage that the water in the tank is alway being used and keeps bacteria from growing. However, hooking up to the pressurized water means we can save the wear and tear on our water pump, and it is quieter. We’ll just have to pay closer attention to the level of our gray tank and possibly adding a little bleach before using the fresh water tank again, depending how long we let it sit.
We forgot to empty our garbage on the way into the campground, so, after dinner as the temperatures started to cool down, we walked our garbage the mile back to the dumpsters. Before we went to bed, it had cooled down enough to turn the air conditioner off and open up the windows in Red Tail (our Winnebago EKKO). We sleep better listening to the frogs around the lake than the loud air conditioning unit above our heads, plus we prefer the fresh air.
Tuesday, we went for a hike. It was another hot day, so we started in the morning. We hit the trail about 10:15 am, not quite as early as we wanted, but we don’t like to rush. We were able to pick up the trail just a couple of camp sites over from ours. There was a short connector trail over to the official trail, the Flat Rock Trail (Blue Diamond). We combined several trails together to make a longer hike, with a goal of reaching a waterfall at the far end. In addition to the Flat Rock Trail, the trails were the Saddleback Ridge (Blue Triangle), Natchez Trace (White Diamond), Bear Creek (Red Diamond), and Outcroppings Trail (Yellow Diamond). The clear trail markers on the trees helped us navigate our way. Along the way we passed under the Natchez Parkway and followed alongside Bear Creek over to the Swinging Bridge near the swimming pool.
The pool was closed. The water was drained out of the pool and a man was there cleaning it. The sign said the pool is open only Thursdays through Sundays. This was Tuesday, so we’re not sure if draining it and cleaning it is a weekly occurrence or not.
We crossed over the swinging bridge and continued up among some neat rock formations to reach the water fall. The falls were a little underwhelming, but they made a nice goal. A family was playing in the water in Bear Creek. We’re sure the water must have felt refreshing. There is a canoe float down Bear Creek. You can park your car near the Swinging Bridge and a bus will transport you further upstream and supply all the gear you need. It is about a two to four hour trip. We’re not sure if a trip went that day. There were not many people around.
On a short flight of steps along the trail, Ann took a tumble. Luckily, she walked away with only a scrape on her shin. We’re not sure why she fell. Keith thought she might have kicked her trekking pole. She definitely was not paying attention, thinking about which direction we needed to head at the nearby trail junction.
All along the trails, we noticed a lot of little frogs or toads. Some of them were the size of a quarter, but most of them were smaller than that, about the size of a dime. They were hard to see until they moved, as they hopped away to get out of our way so we wouldn’t step on them.
When we returned across the Swinging Bridge after visiting the water fall, we found a nice picnic table in the shade to stop and have a snack. The restrooms at the pool were closed, but there was a soda machine, with cold cans of pop for $1. It was Pepsi instead of the Coke we prefer, but it was wet and cold. Temperatures were close to 100. However, we were hiking mostly in the shade. There was a soft breeze that kept our sweaty bodies comfortable.
On the way back, we took a spur trail over to the Pioneer Cabin and lily pond at what is called the CCC Pond. There were some downed trees to get around, just like there was on some of the other trails, but that just made the hiking more interesting.
We completed the 7.7 miles with an elevation gain of 587 feet of elevation gain in four hours and 25 minutes. It was hike #31 Of our 52 Hike Challenge for 2023.
Even though we were not uncomfortable during our hike, it felt good to get back in the air conditioning of Red Tail. Taking showers was also very refreshing. Again, the temperatures cooled down in the evening so we could turn the air conditioner off at night.
Sitting outside Wednesday morning, Ann watched the wildlife. A humming bird sipped from the blossoms on a nearby tree. A couple of bluebirds pecked at the ground. A great blue heron caught a large fish. It almost looked too big for it to swallow, but it managed.
After a relaxing morning hanging out at our campsite, Ann got out paddle board out and paddled around the lake.
The lake was pretty calm during Ann’s time out on the water. She was getting more comfortable on the board. Having smooth water along with no threats of alligators made it easier to relax. It is rare that alligators are found in the northeast region of Mississippi, although not impossible. Ann assumed there were none in the lake, though she did stay alert.
Ann did see a lot of turtles. The water was not super clear, so she couldn’t see very far into the water. In the one cove of the lake, turtles would pop their heads out of the water for a brief moment before diving back down. Chimney swifts were diving down to the surface of the water and smacking it like we had seen before at Poinsett State Park in South Carolina (Congaree National Park, South Carolina - May 21st to 24th, 2023).
After Ann was done with her time on the lake, we decided to do laundry. There was one washer and one dryer at the bathhouse that was about half a mile from our campsite. We lugged our three loads of laundry over, using our laundry backpack. Doing three loads of laundry, one at a time, took over three hours, especially if you count the time it took to walk over there and back.
Ann hung out at the bathhouse while our clothes were washing. There was no place to sit near the bathhouse, so she walked over to sit at a picnic table next to the lake at an empty camp site.
Earlier that day, when she was walking out the door of Red Tail, a group of Canadian geese were right outside the door. They approached Ann, hissing at her, until she backed off around the front of Red Tail and waited for them to leave. She wasn’t sure if the geese were begging for food or defending their territory. There was a larger goose hanging out in the back of the group of about seven or eight geese. We’re guessing the group of geese were juveniles and the adult goose was keeping an eye on them.
As Ann was sitting at the picnic table near the bathhouse, reading a book and minding her own business, the same group of geese came out of the water and made a beeline straight towards her. She grabbed her belongings and reluctantly kept backing up, keeping her distance from the geese. They were hissing at her again and kept following her. It wasn’t until Ann was almost at the bathhouse before they stopped their pursuit of her. Again, were they expecting Ann to feed them or letting her know that she was in their territory? We’ll never know for sure.
The Natchez Trace Parkway is a lovely drive, but stopping along the way makes the experience more interesting. Tishomingo State Park was a nice place to stop and explore, deepening our knowledge of the Natchez Trace. Walking part of the footpath helped us imagine what it must have been like for the earlier travelers along the trace.
Check out our related video: Natchez Trace Parkway: Tishomingo
(Ann)