The Natchez Trace

Garrison Creek

Day 40: Friday, September 21, 2001

Stop and Enjoy

You can make pretty good time on this 50-mile-per-hour, two-lane highway because of the low traffic. But you've missed the point if you don't stop often and see the sights along the way.

The Park Service maintains this path for our use.

3:20 PM: Nobody but the users maintained the trace long ago. This was a favorite spot for bandits to increase their wealth, so people would gather at a tavern near the terminus, at either end, and wait until a sizable group accumulated. They would travel together.

We were about a half day ahead of schedule, so we decided not to drive to Tupelo, Mississippi — our intented stop along the Trace — today. There aren't too many large towns along the trace route, so we stopped a little early and took Tennessee-7 to Columbia and found a nice motel there.

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