Set up here at Grenada, MS..and a question for the “Bird Lady”.

We are all set up here at Grenada,MS, North Abutment Campground..Here is our spot..

Not too bad…and with our “old age card”, it’s $10 a night!! Here are a few more pictures taken in our park…

We have had some beautiful sunsets here, and I took these from our back window of the Hiker!

None of these sunset photos have been edited..and yes, I’m still using Picasa to edit photos.

When we headed up here from Natchez, MS, we drove about 50 miles on the Natchez Trace Parkway..It was so beautiful…The speed limit is 50mph and there is very little traffic. Also there are historic markers along the way. The Trace is 444 miles from Natchez, MS to Nashville, TN. The "trace" was first created by animals like bison to reach salt licks in the Nashville (French Lick) area, and their grazing areas near the Mississippi River. American Indians, developed the trace further for trading mostly, and also as a warpath. An unknown Frenchman was the first European to write about traveling the full Natchez Trace in 1742 .

They don’t allow roadside advertisements and billboards, and there aren’t many homes along the Trace.   “In 1801 the United States signed a treaty with the Choctaw Indians allowing construction of a mail road by the side the the old footpath. The new road soon became important to settlers. Eventually inns known as "stands" were built every few miles to offer travelers a room and refreshment.Midwestern farmers called Kaintucks often used flatboats to float their agricultural goods, coal, or livestock down the Ohio-Mississippi River to market in Natchez, or New Orleans. Once downriver, their boats were of little use, so they often sold them as well, and the boats were dismantled for their lumber. One of the ways they could return to Tennessee, Kentucky, Ohio, or Indiana was by way of the Natchez Trace. An estimated 10,000 Kaintucks used the Natchez Trace in 1810.  However, because their pockets were loaded with money they were frequently preyed upon by gangs of robbers along the trail.”

“Meriwether Lewis, Governor of the Upper Louisiana Territory, and a former leader of the Lewis and Clark Expedition was traveling on the Natchez Trace in 1809 when he died at Grinder's Stand [near Hohenwald], Tennessee^.  During the War of 1812 the ferryman at the Tennessee River, George Colbert, charged Andrew Jackson $75,000 to ferry his army across the river.The rise of steamboats that could easily return upriver, and rival roads such as Jackson's Military Road, built during the War of 1812, resulted in the decline of the Natchez Trace after 1816.”

..And you thought you might get through this without a history lesson…WRONGO!!

The day before we left Natchez State Park we went to town for groceries and fuel..(you RV’ers know the routine the day before you travel..). When we came back to our loop road in the park, this is what we saw…

This poor guy missed the corner, went too wide…and ended up off the road into the very soft mud..and he had to get a tow truck pull him out…

“DON’T HURT US CURTIS” showed up and it took him a bit, but finally he pulled the RV out..I love the name of this Wrecking Service..very catchy, Mr. Curtis!

So, before I close this blog, I need to ask The Bird Lady of Blogland, Judy, a question..I think I’m right, and am very excited if this bird is what I think it is..I heard him first, he does a chit,chit chit chit noise…and when I saw him my mind thought “Is that a Kingfisher?”…It was just about sunset..and I took a few photos in the dimming light..AND..I saw him dive down and get something from the lake…amazing!

Belted Kingfisher, am I right oh great Sensei????