This is a section of the original Natchez Trace that ran from Natchez, Mississippi to near Nashville, Tennessee. Today, a pleasant road follows the route.

(CORRECTION: On my last posting, I mistakenly listed the days as Wednesday, 11/22, and Thursday, 11/23. I got the dates right, but the days of the week were wrong. It should have been Monday and Tuesday. Retired, and on the road, means that one completely loses all track of time and dates. When I looked up the dates, I mistakenly looked at a December calender instead of November. Also, I have been informed that it is Jack Daniel and not Jack Daniels. Thanks John, for that heads up. All other spelling and grammatical errors I blame on auto-correction. Lol.)

It might have been Buzz Aldrin, the second man to walk on the moon, that lamented something to the effect that he could never equal or top that momentous achievement, and that left him with a profound melancholy.

I think Meriwether Lewis struggled with the same feeling after his remarkable Lewis and Clark Corps of Discovery Expedition. After showing exemplary courage and bold leadership on one of the most audacious expeditions of all time, he floundered badly afterward. He committed suicide at a rest stop on the Natchez Trace in central Tennessee.

Our new campground is at the Meriwether Lewis National Campground, on milepost 385.9 of the Natchez Trace Parkway, where Meriwether ended his anguish on October 11, 1809.

To pay tribute to Meriwether, we downloaded and listened to Ken Burns’, Lewis and Clark audiobook. We saw the PBS documentary years ago. This was an abridged version of that documentary, but it was well done and brought back a lot of the awe and magic that Lewis and Clark encountered.

A re-creation of Grinder’s Tavern, the house that Lewis stayed in on the Trace, was built here on the original site. What a sad ending for such a great explorer.

Meriwether Lewis National Campground.

The pad was a bit un-level. Notice that we had to bring out the red levelers.

The re-created Grinder’s Tavern.

Another section of the original Natchez Trace starting at Grinder’s Tavern.

An info plaque introducing the above section of trail. It is a little difficult to read, but it is interesting and informative.

The Natchez Trace Parkway is another road built and maintained by the US Parks Service. We’ve now experienced the Blue Ridge Parkway, the Foothills Parkway, and Natchez Trace Parkway. These are very special roads. There is no development along the way. There are no billboards. There are no towns with their ubiquitous string-streets of franchise burger joints. There are no fields of clearcut logging to tarnish the forest. There are no junky farms. There is just a curving ribbon of road winding through beautiful woods with the occasional stop at a unique waterfalls, overlook, or rock formation….

A lovely valley with a horse ranch seen from an overlook along the Natchez Trace Parkway.

The Natchez Trace Parkway stretches 444 miles from Natchez, Mississippi to just outside Nashville, Tennessee. Today, we drove north from the campground towards Nashville. We then cut over to the city of Columbia, a QT that I had highlighted in my Gazetteer. Columbia (population 42,000) is about 10 miles off the Natchez Trace Parkway and deserved a visit.

I liked Columbia a lot. Franklin, located about 20 miles to the north, is more dedicated to upscale tourism. Instead, Columbia is just a nice vibrant “regular” small city. It has the usual layout - the county courthouse in the middle of the historic downtown, with businesses ringed around it in a large square.

However, it was the lack of genuflecting to the Confederacy that impressed me. There were lots of military memorials on the grounds surrounding the county courthouse, but they were recollecting military sacrifices from all wars. One large stone monument included the names of the people of Maury County that “fought and bled” in all military actions including the War of 1812, the Alamo, Spanish-American War, etc. They even honored the local black soldiers that died in the Civil War fighting for the Union. My favorite was the plaque commemorating the Gold Star Families.

We walked the historic homes section. Most were built in the late 1800s. Most have been well maintained. I love that old opulent architecture. Wealthy people can sure put on a show.

The Maury County Courthouse in the center of downtown.

This is a pretty cool “outfitters” store. They sold sweat shirts with this upside-down sign on it.

WZ? Wanda Zuege?

There was a Puckett’s in Franklin, Tennessee, just a few miles to the north. Is this a franchise? It looks like a nice restaurant, bar, and stage for bands.

Memorials on the courthouse lawn.

Homes in the historic homes section of town.

When I planned out this trip, I was nervous about finding a campsite at this campground. All the reviews raved about it. It is boondocking, but boondocking at its best. First of all, it is free. It is first-come, first-serve. The sites are nicely laid out, wooded, and with plenty of room. The bathrooms are flush toilets and clean. The last review that I read was for October 28, 2021, just a month ago. The reviewer said the campground was nearly full.

Being the day before Thanksgiving gave me pause. Will the holiday bring people out camping, or will it take them home to be with family? I was betting on family. I bet right. This evening, only about 1/3 of the sites were taken. Our site was one of the best.

Glossary of terms used for newcomers: 1) V-Jer. The name of our camper. 2) Saturn. The name of our Van. 3) Duende. Our mischievous gremlin that breaks things. 4) Tata. The good gremlin that helps us fix Duende’s dirty work. 5) The Black Hole. This is what we call Walmart because every time we go in for just a couple of items, we come out spending way more than we figured. 6) QT. Quaint Town. 7) Little Buddy. This is what we call our Dyson cordless stick vacuum.

Dave and Wanda

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