Sunday May 5 2024

Sunday May 5^th

Cinco de mayo is a travel day. We leave Tennessee behind and head down the Natchez Trace to Mississippi and Hugh White State Park. The Natchez Trace was an old walking path established 1000s of years ago by indigenous peoples, then by settlers starting in the 1700s. Kentucky men used to float barges of goods from Kentucky down the Mississippi to the Baton Rouge area, sell their goods and barges, then walk 400 miles north to Kentucky along the Natchez Trace. It was a dangerous trail back in the day – lots of bad guys hiding in the bushes. Now the Natchez Trace is a 2 lane parkway, very popular with cyclists and a very relaxing drive when heading south from Nashville. We travelled more than half of the parkway before veering off to our campground at Hugh White SP. Quick note on Mississippi – it seems to be suffering from some inequities with respect to the rest of the country. We drove through a number of small towns that were hurtin’ – but of all the states so far, gas was cheapest. We paid the equivalent of $1.05 per liter in Canadian dollars!

We arrived at Hugh White SP and were impressed by how lovely the area looked. The landscape was rolling, lush forests with hardwoods and pines. The park is on Lake Granada, a reservoir (largest in the state) and the campground sits below the dam beside the spillway and the Yalobusha River. This was a public works project in the 50s to help with flood control. At first glance the park looks amazing, on closer inspection we realized it needs some attention, especially the washroom facilities. We opted to shower in the Alto, which we don’t normally do. Anyway, the park was fine, very quiet and lots of birds and wildlife all around.

Got settled in and enjoyed the evening.

Lake overlook close to the entrance to the park and the south end of the dam

Our campsite by the river