Day 7, Huntsville, AL to Natchez, MS

July 9, 2006
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The day started with a couple cups of (ugh) Big Red 6 coffee, but soon I was awake enough to load up and saddle up. Headed west and after about an hour of riding came upon a roadside cafe like I'd hoped to find more often on this trip. Stopped for a cup of real coffee and a breakfast of grits and eggs. Hadn't had grits since I was in the Air Force, and I enjoyed them a lot.

Shortly after I got my breakfast a couple of bikers and their "babes" came in and sat down at the next table to have breakfast before beginning their Sunday ride. Nice folks tattooed and dressed in their Harley "uniforms". One had the Harley logo tattooed on his left shoulder, though I'm sure he wasn't getting paid for the billboard space.

Finished my grits and headed outside to get on the Natchez Trace Parkway and the day's big attraction. Just outside the door were two tricked-out Harleys, one with a helmet hanging on it with many stickers, the most prominent of which said, "KKK is the only way!" The charm of the deep south has its flip side.


Around Cherokee I got off 72 and entered the Parkway, which begins in Nashville and ends in Natchez. Read more about it here. http://www.nps.gov/natr/

This is a beautiful road, just as advertised. Between Cherokee and Tupelo is was much like driving through a well-manicured golf course. No signs. No shoulder. Recently mowed green grass all the way up to the narrow roadside. No commercial traffic allowed. On this quiet Sunday morning, I was virtually all alone. A few miles down the road, a young deer ran across the road about 50 yards ahead of me. A beautiful side of nature to start my ride down the Parkway.

I got off the Parkway at Tupelo, both to get some gas and to see if I could find Elvis' birthplace. I was successfull on both counts.


This plaque began a timeline display outside his birth home.


Elvis' actual place of birth. Behind it is the obligatory museum and gift shop. Tons of junk for sale similar to the shops at Graceland in Memphis. Easy to pass up.


A statue of Elvis at 13.

Though I hadn't planned to stop at Tupelo, I had taken along a couple of Elvis CDs and loaded them into the changer in Boston before I left. I couldn't pass up the opportunity to drive out of the museum parking lot with Elvis #1 hits blaring from the bike speakers. People smiled and waved as I drove out, but I'm sure they were thinking, "Look at the dork on the big motorcycle."

My next gas stop was at a small town named Raymond, about 4 miles east of the Parkway. It has some significance as a civil war site, but it was a bit hard to figure out from the small signs in the area. http://battleofraymond.org/


The center of downtown Raymond.

This is my first trip through the deep South, and Raymond really matches the stereotype I expected of a Southern small town. Maybe it was even less economically "advantaged" than I expected. My glitzy Wing seemed pretty out of place. Several people at the gas station expressed their admiration, one saying with a wide grin, "Boy, I'd pay a million dollars for a motorcycle like that." I felt a little like a celebrity on the red carpet, and didn't like the feeling.

Most of the road between Tupelo and Jackson was less than impressive, but from Jackson to Natchez it became beautiful again. The sun was coming down but I took a few pictures from the camera hanging around my neck.

The radar detector seen here took a few hits in small towns across the country, just as I'd expected.


Reflected the the windshield is the Trace map in the plastic map case contributed by Ed in Massachusetts. It served me well. Thanks, Ed.


On the lonely road.


A short segment of the original Trace is preserved here. The depth of the well-worn trail is amazing.


Very late in the day, but the flash version is worse.



This is a common type of fence in this area. It reminds me of a scene from the movie "Gettysburg". This is just a few miles from Natchez.


Just before sunset. From here it was a quick run to the State Park to set up camp before it got dark. It was Sunday night and there was only one other camper there. It was extremely quiet, in a very good way.

There was a full moon, or nearly so, and I tried hard to get a picture of it shining through the trees in the park. The digital camera failed me and I longed to have a good 35mm camera. Here is the best of many bad attempts.




Today I covered 413 beautiful miles. 2077 since starting out.