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The one about doing nothing for 2 days.
I slept like a rock on Tuesday night. The temperature went down to 68. With the windows open, I am literally sleeping ‘outside.’ I needed a blanket! It was heaven. I was up early and walked Winston around the whole campground, which, actually, is very hilly, so it gave me a great walk. It must have been catch up morning on the telephone, because I had several lengthy conversations with family members, and it was good to hear from them. It was easy to break camp and I was on the road by 10.
Something on my bucket list has always been to drive the Natchez Trace Parkway. From their National Park Service Website: <em style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">The Natchez Trace Parkway is a 444-mile drive through exceptional scenery and 10,000 years of North American history. Used by American Indians, "Kaintucks," settlers, and future presidents, the Old Trace played an important role in American history. Today, visitors can enjoy not only a scenic drive but also hiking, biking, horseback riding, and camping.
On the parkway in Tupelo is the Visitor Center and Main Office of the Parkway, just about 1 mile from the wonderful campground. I toured the small museum, watched the 12 minute introduction video, bought a sticker for Moya and headed north thru rolling hills, corn fields, and farms. Just think of this. This park is 444 miles long, and the National Park Service maintains no less than 800 feet – sometimes more, sometimes less. Farmers/businesses can ‘rent’ within that land for their businesses/farms, but they must look like it did when the Indians and Kaintucks passed along the trail. I drove 25 miles north, but was also heading east. If I went any further than that, I would end up further east than I wanted to backtrack, so I exited and head north and west thru back country roads of MS seeing more farms and modern plantations and ended up on US45, a superhighway with limited cross roads, passing thru small towns with the usual church, grange hall, and some type of ‘dollar’ store.
I passed some interesting sights along the road – I am constantly looking, gotta keep my mind occupied. I saw a cowboy riding in the grass just off the road surface. He had on a white hat, a purple shirt, black skinny tie, and his horse had some purple on as well. It was a nice picture, but I wondered where he was going!! I also passed a small stand where the man was cutting logs into animals with his chain saw. The wood chips were flying and he had some pretty interesting stuff outside.
At Corinth MS I turned left and headed west along the northern part of MS until I met US15 north and entered TN and found my campground for the next 2 nights, Cherokee Landing. I was expecting to find a grocery store somewhere nearby…..NOT! I travelled for 10 miles and didn’t see a thing. Good thing I have plenty of food still packed from home, and time to eat some of it. Cherokee Landing is a Thousand Trails resort. Thousand Trails is the membership campground association I belong to, and my membership gives me 30 nights of free camping, after that I pay $3/night. I pay an annual fee, and when I amortize that fee over the number of nights I use it, I end up paying about $17/night. I never met anyone who stayed at Cherokee Landing, but I saw that it had over 300 sites, all water and electric with a few sewer sites. I know I can last 4 nights without sewer, and since I was here for 2, I was set. The last portion of the drive was thru a residential area. Hmmmmmmm. I arrive at the Ranger Gate, closed with a combination operated gate. No one inside. I started to back up and go in the exit, and saw those spiky metal things that will ruin your tires. I was looking on the internet for their phone number when an employee came up and registered me and told me to go find a campsite. OK…..I’ll do that! 300 sites here. During my drive around I saw 10 occupied campsites. As I looked at the site map I saw 4 pull thru campsites and headed for one of them. Even though they were far from the pool and the other campers who were huddled all together at the sewer sites, I opted for site #2, long, wide, water, electric, picnic table, concrete slab patio and totally shaded. It took a little jiggling to get level enough for the hydraulic levelers to be able to really level Moya, and now my stairs are way high off the ground. I put out my slide and then plugged in my electricity, and it didn’t work. GROWL. So, remembering something my father taught me many years ago, take the plug out, flip the breaker switch up and down one cycle, plug the cord back in and try again, and, thank you, Tom, that piece of advice worked. From my campsite I can see the main drive, but nobody comes in or goes out. There is an occasional bike rider and a few walkers; maybe more will come on the 4
th??
Being under the shade was awesome. I didn’t need the a/c at all, except for about 1 hour just at sundown when the breeze really stops, but when the temperature started to drop, again to the low 70s, it became unnecessary. Dinner was leftover chicken crockpot and an ear of corn I got the other day from Wal-Mart and both were yummy. Again I slept like a rock as the temperature dropped to the low 70s. Winston insists on waking me up at 5:30, he is still on EDT, and I hate it. I get up, do the bathroom thing, and lay back down and read for an hour or so (Dead in the Family) until he bothers me so much that I have to get up. Interesting to note, I won’t leave until I make my bed. After I am dressed, I make the bed and he insists on being on top of it while I am doing that, sometimes even laying down!!! He does the same thing at home. Pain!!
We took a long walk, probably 1.5 miles, up and down the hills here, and I found some lovely campsites that overlook the lake that I should have chosen one of……not any nearer the pool, just a better view. I did weight exercises and stretched, and that felt good.
Phone service is a little iffy, I have to be in the right location. No free or for pay internet, only in the clubhouse, another long walk away, only my iPhone wifi hotspot, but it works. There are no activities planned for the 4
th, their BBQ is Friday the 5
th. My 4
th was very very quiet. I washed the windshield inside and out, cleaned some of the bugs off the front, rearranged the rear cargo, crocheted, got all set to watch GH and it was a REPEAT!!! How dare they!!?? I see that the NYC fireworks are on NBC tonight. I get 24 wonderful digital stations on the air antenna, but no NBC. GROWL!!!! I have repositioned the antenna any number of positions, but NBC is among the missing. I will try again as it gets closer to firework time, maybe something changed in the atmosphere. The good news continues to be I am eating the food in my refrigerator, I am gradually getting space in both the freezer and refrigerated part, and I am eating nutritious, too!
On my way to Little Rock AR tomorrow morning bright and early – first time ever in AR! All the years Tim lived in Memphis, and I never crossed the river to put a foot down in AR. I will be staying in a downtown campground, which looks like it is a gravel parking lot with a few trees, small tightly packed campsites, but it is within walking distance of the Clinton Library, and that’s on my bucket list. And there will be other people there to talk to.
Kat out
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susan samuels
non-member comment
Yes add Susan L and Linda, I forward the last few to them, but it would be easier if they got it directly