Natchez Trace Parkway

Have you ever heard the phrase “drink in the beauty”? I think whoever coined it was driving the Natchez Trace Parkway. The NTP is 444 miles of beautiful road that runs from Natchez, Mississippi to Nashville, Tennessee, following the path travelers wore in the landscape in the late 1700s to early 1800s. Originally traversed by buffalo for hundreds of years, it became well known as a travel corridor for “Kaintucks”, working folks who floated their cash crops down the Mississippi River on wooden flatboats to Natchez or New Orleans. There they sold their goods and the boats and walked or rode horseback toward home via the Old Trace. Today, the NTP is a paved corridor that curves through cool oak, dogwood and evergreen cover, unsullied by power lines or billboards. Just trees, rock, grass, water, brush and road. William Least Heat-Moon said “...to drive the Trace, one sees that highway does not have to outrage landscape.” It's a place to drink in beauty all day long.

Following my change of plans on Monday afternoon, I drove south toward Clinton, where I stopped at the Visitor's Center and museum. The docent there gave me a personal tour and much great information and advice of places to visit as I made my way south. I gathered up the stack of maps and brochures and Hanna and I headed on down the road. We stopped at each pullout along the way where historical information was offered, and finally ended up at Rocky Springs Campground. When I pulled in, I looked for the pay station, but didn't see it, so I flagged another camper and asked where we pay. “Pay?” she said. “No, it's free! Up to fourteen days.” Wow, I drove through looking over all the vacant sites before picking the best available one, and settling in.

There is no cell signal here, but I can pick up about 15 TV stations, including all the major networks. And I've discovered if Hanna and I walk about a mile up the road to the picnic area, I can get one bar of 4G, which is enough to send and receive text messages and emails, and check my social media. I think we will stay here for a few days and drive to Port Gibson, Grand Gulf and Vicksburg in the Fit.

Change of Plans

On Sunday, I drove northwest toward Jackson and the Natchez Trace Parkway. I had plans to pick the road up there and take it northeast toward Nashville, where I would leave the parkway and head to Paducah to visit my friend Denice. I drove only as far as Hattiesburg where I found a beautiful state park RV camp with full hookups for a decent senior price. I gave a fleeting thought to staying 2 nights, but was anxious to get to the Trace, so paid for only one night. Overnight guests were relegated to the pull through sites in a paved lot, so I was a bit disappointed not to be able to stay in the really nice, more rustic campground. But for just one night, it was fine. 

I left early the next morning and drove straight to Jackson and the Nachez Trace Parkway. I made a stop at a park rest just a few miles north of the city where I pulled out my phone to read messages. Lo and behold, I had one from Denice sent just after I left the state park saying she and her husband were both too ill to have me come visit right now. Oh dear, if only I had seen that before I left Hattiesburg, I would have settled into that lovely park for a couple of days while I figured out what I would do from there. I sat in the parking lot contemplating the dilemma, and decided to turn south and take the Trace down to Natchez instead of north to Nashville. From there I could figure out a route home.

Gulf Coast Excursions

The first few days were just a build up to the two day trips we took later in the week. On Wednesday, we had bigger plans.

I was concerned about leaving Hanna locked up alone in Minnie for an 8-10 hour day, so Wendy made arrangements to board all three dogs at a nice doggie day care kennel near them. We dropped them off just after 8:00 and headed east to Pensacola, and the National Naval Aviation Museum and home of the Blue Angels. We arrived in plenty of time to get great seats in the bleachers to watch the aviators' practice demo. It was an awe inspiring performance. I don't know when the last time I saw the Blue Angels perform was, but I know it has been many decades. Following the show, we went to get lunch while allowing the crowd at the museum to thin out. When we got back, the parking lot was ¾ empty, and we enjoyed about three hours in the uncrowded museum. We got back to pick up the dogs just before 6:00, and they were happy to see us. Hanna and I went home to crash for the night.

We got a later mid-morning start on Thursday, and drove down to Gulf Shores. That's about a 50 minute drive from the Allyn's, and we marveled at the magnificent resorts along the water front on our way to “The Gulf”, one of Wendy and Denny's favorite local restaurants there. We ate burgers and fish sandwiches out on the deck while watching the million dollar yachts and catamarans sail by. After lunch, we drove to the public beach to put our toes in the ocean. We relaxed on the pristine sand for about 90 minutes before we had to make our way back home because there were dinner plans ahead.

The friends who we met on Sunday were having a birthday party for one of their own, and we were invited for dinner and cake. It was a rowdy, fun evening sharing a delicious meal and fellowship with their wonderful friends. By the time I got back home for the night, I was bushed, but well satiated.

Friday was a lazy day. Hanna and I walked in the morning, and finally saw an alligator swimming near the shore. Luckily, he was more interested in the lady alligators than Hanna and me, and we watched in safety.

I went to the Allyns late in the afternoon for dinner. Denny grilled marinated chicken and Wendy made roasted potato packets and salad. We topped it off with cake and ice cream I had brought from the store. We said our goodbyes and passed around hugs before I left.

My original plan was to leave Meaher the next morning and begin making my way toward Paducah, but rain on Saturday morning and a tornado watch and thunderstorm forecast for that evening made me delay my departure by a day. Hanna and I tucked into Minnie and we rode out the storm among the trees, listening to the wind, rain and thunder from 7:30 p.m. until nearly 3:00 a.m. It was a little scary being in an RV in that weather, but the worst of the storm went north of us, and we were fine.

It was bittersweet to pack up and pull out on Sunday morning. I had a fantastic week, visiting with my dear friends, and being treated to so many wonderful sights, trips and meals. I hope it's not six years again before our next get together. Thank you, Wendy and Denny! It was a blast, and I love you both to the moon!

L.A.

Blog post title note: Wendy told me when she first came to Alabama, she was puzzled why so many things were named after Los Angeles. Then someone told her L.A stood for Lower Alabama, and it all made sense.

I arrived at Meaher (pronounced mayer) State Park around 2:00 on Friday, and got all set up in my space across from the water. I was thrilled with the park; it is the nicest pay RV park I have ever stayed in, with full hookups, bathrooms/showers/laundry facilities, and large grassy spaces among the trees overlooking Mobile Bay. I texted Wendy that I was here, and she and Denny came over after dinner. Such a lovely reunion. It's been six years since we have seen each other.

Rain moved in overnight thwarting any enthusiasm for sight seeing, so on Saturday, I took my laundry to Wendy's and hung out with them while my loads washed and dried, and our three dogs got acquainted. Denny picked up pizza for us for dinner, and we watched the Cardinals play baseball.

We all went to church on Sunday for a great worship service and sermon, then out for brunch in Fairhope. We met up with some of their friends, and I got acquainted. I came back to my Minnie and Hanna for a Sunday afternoon nap and stayed home the rest of the evening. Hanna and I got some good walks in around the park, looking for alligators. None so far.

On Monday, Denny was “working”, something he claims to do for fun. He's one of those weird retirees who finds it hard to be lazy all the time, and he loves outdoor work. (Go figure!) He fell into a part time position selling pine straw, which is the L.A. equivalent of gravel or wood chip landscaping material that you pile around trees and flower beds. Anyway, Wendy and I are not foolish enough to hold retirement jobs, so we drove around Daphne and Fairhope sightseeing and window shopping. We walked around the Grand Hotel (sort of reminded me of the Del Coronado), which would require me to take a part time job in my retirement if I were to stay there. We wandered the shops downtown and had lunch in a little cafe. We went back to their house for a delicious lasagna dinner, which Wendy had prepared earlier in the day.

On Tuesday, Hanna and I hung out at Meaher walking the trail and pier, and again looking for alligators. Still none were sighted. In the afternoon, we all went out to a movie - I Can Only Imagine – based on a true story of the man who wrote the Christian song of the same name. We all loved it (and all shed tears). Before I came back to Minnie, Wendy wrapped up a serving of leftover lasagna for me. I thoroughly enjoyed it as much the second time around.

The area I have seen and people I have met so far have convinced me the Allyns made a great decision to move to the Alabama coast from Evansville, Indiana. It's one of the most beautiful areas in the country, with lush foliage, blue skies and white sand beaches, as well as all that southern hospitality that oozes from everyone. They have a beautiful new home in a lovely neighborhood, and the Gulf coast is just a short drive away. It's easy to see why they love it. For me, of course, the only drawback is the humidity, but I'm told you can get used to that, just as we desert rats get used to the dry heat.

And our week wasn't over.

Sugar Land

After four days at the seashore, I drive north toward Galveston Island. I had found a free beach camp at Freeport with my AllStays app, but when I got there, I found it was too sandy for Minnie. So I drove over to Quintana Beach County Park and paid for a space with hookups. It was a nice park, but the wind was still howling, so activity was limited. Hanna and I walked down to the beach, but it was full of wood debris, making it unpleasant. We pulled out the next morning and headed inland a bit toward Houston.

My cousin Cindy lives in Sugar Land (a suburb of Houston) and I had made plans to visit her while I was in the area. I stayed for two nights at Riverbend RV Park in nearby Richmond. Cindy came out to my RV Tuesday afternoon and we talked for a couple hours before going out for dinner at a nearby Mexican restaurant. On Wednesday, her husband Vernon took care of Hanna while Cindy and I went to the Museum of Natural History in downtown Houston. It’s a beautiful museum, and we really enjoyed perusing the exhibits. We spent several hours there before heading back to their house where Vernon made us a delicious steak dinner. It was a wonderful visit and we were so busy enjoying ourselves with nonstop talking, we totally forgot to take one picture of us together!

I left Richmond and drove a long day looking for a decent place to overnight. I had to go all the way to Ponchatoula where I found a great Walmart off the highway with trees surrounding the quiet parking lot. I settled in for the night.

The next day, Friday, I made it to Meaher State Park in Spanish Fort, Alabama.

Padre Island National Seashore

I arrived at the National Park entrance on Thursday at  just about 1:00 and asked the ranger if Malaquite Campground was open. He replied he had not heard otherwise, so assumed there were still spaces. I drove the five miles in and lucked out. I got the last vacant space in the campground! After getting set up, Hanna and I walked down to the beach. I pulled her close enough to the surf to get her feet wet, but she fought against it so hard, I decided she is just not a water dog. From then on, I let her stay in the sand away from the waves while I walked along the water’s edge. Twice a day, we would walk a mile down the beach and a mile back up, getting over four miles a day.

On day two, I left Hanna in Minnie and drove up the road to the Visitors Center. I wandered around and got my passport stamp, but there was really not much there.  Each day, we drove back down toward the park entrance or over to Bird Island boat launch to get a bar or two of cell phone signal so I could catch up on messages and touch base with family.

On Saturday, I left Hanna in Minnie again, and drove into Corpus Christi. I headed to the Science and Natural History Museum, but it was closed! I had read in Mom’s journals about a mansion they had visited, and I googled Fulton Mansion, about 30 miles north in Rockport. I drove up there and toured the site. It was very interesting, and reminded me a little of Wrigley Mansion in Phoenix that Glenda and I went through last spring. Both were from the same era, and included many innovative and progressive elements. The Fulton Mansion in particular, was built with a rare wood technique with 2x6’s stacked flat on each other to give added strength against hurricane winds. Turns out, it was a very effective structure, because it withstood Hurricane Harvey last fall. Rockport was the hardest hit area along the Texas coast. The Mansion did sustain roof and flood damage, and it is under renovations, but still open during construction. I stopped at Walmart on my way back and came home to a happy puppy.

Front of house facing the ocean

Interesting “jack & jill” bath. 

Shared tub/toilet area, with double doors leading to 

sink alcoves in each of the two bedrooms. 

Wood construction

Back of house

Sunday was another lazy day. I walked on the beach three times, read a couple books, watched TV (I picked up all the network channels plus a few independent cable stations) and chatted with other campers.

The wind whistled every evening and all night long, but would quiet by dawn and was pretty nice each morning. I had heard wind was typical for the Texas Gulf coast, but locals said it has been worse this month than normal. I’ve seen the sun most days, but never had a cloudless sky. The temperatures were nice, but very humid. I put a hat on my head each time I went out just to keep my hair out of my face, but never once styled it. That would have been wasted effort!

Monday, I packed up and drove north toward Galveston. I’m in a county RV park in Freeport. Tomorrow I will drive into SugarLand and spend a day and a half with my cousin, Cindy. I haven’t seen her since 1998. We have some catching up to do. Until next time, see you down the road.

Four days on Interstate10

Sunday
I left Mesa Sunday morning after loading my final items, getting Minnie and the Fit out and hitched together, and filling the gas tank. I drove straight down I-10, stopping in Tucson to make a sandwich for lunch, and continuing on to Chiracahua National Monument. When I arrived the sign at the entrance said “Campground Full”. There was no place to loop around, so I drove 3 miles to the Visitor’s Center, arriving just as they were closing (4:30). There were two rangers there, and one held the door keys and said, “we’re closing,” while the other one asked, “may I help you?”  I asked from the doorway if the campground was indeed full and she said it was. I explained I couldn’t turn around at the gate and was using their parking lot loop and that I would go find another campground, when the second ranger helpfully pulled out a map and pointed out where there was free dispersed camping in the nearby forest, all while ranger #1 was jingling the keys. I thanked her and quickly made my exit.

It turned out there were quite a lot of camp spots in the woods and I selected the first one that would get me away from the road and settled in for the night. Hanna and I walked up the road before dark and found another family about a half mile away.

Monday
It took a lot of maneuvering to get turned around and out of the site the next morning, but I made it without mishap and we were on our way east on I-10 again. I stopped in Demming for lunch and hit El Paso at rush hour. I headed toward a Walmart in Horizon I had found on my AllStays camping app, as it said they were friendly to overnighters. The manager was very nice, simply requesting I park out away from the store. I spent a nice night without incident and pulled out the next morning to continue east on I-10.

Tuesday (my 66th birthday!)
I took a chance and left the freeway to drive 14 miles northeast to the town of Irann, seeking a space in one of three city RV parks there. I found an open spot in the third one, and it was a very nice little RV campground adjacent to a large city park. Hanna and I walked before dinner and again just before dark. On that second walk, I saw something out in the park grass and started to walk toward it to investigate when the little black creature with a big white stripe down its back got up and waddled away. Hanna went crazy, but I made a HASTY retreat, dragging her all the way.

Wednesday
I spent a quiet night until 5:45 a.m. when someone started up a noisy pickup and let it idle. After about 20-30 minutes, I heard a door slam and transmission shift and it drove away. By then of course, I was awake and couldn’t get back to sleep, so I got up and got on the road.

I hit the interstate by 9:30 and made it to Kerrville around 1:00. There I finally said goodbye to I-10 and headed southeast  toward Hondo and another set of small RV parks. I found open spaces in the first one I drove to and pulled in. After getting set up and hooked up, I walked Hanna, read, made dinner and walked again. We are not getting our full 10,000 steps a day, but we are working at it.

Thursday plans
I expect to get to the National Seashores National Park on Padre Island tomorrow. I’m headed toward Malaquite Campground, where Mom and Dad stayed in 1989 and 1990. The first year, they stayed over a week, relaxing, walking on the beach and watching the waves. They drove into Corpus Christi and did some other touristy things, but mostly stayed low key.

Yes, I’ve driven a lot of miles and a lot of hours these last four days, but this is a destination trip, not a leisurely lifestyle this time. And besides, I don’t like Texas much, at least the southern area I’m driving through. Some suggested I swing through Big Bend, but I honestly have no desire to go there. Even Mom wrote in her journal that she and Dad were terribly disappointed in it, describing it as nothing but desert and rocks. I’m headed for the ocean beach, and then on to visit friends.