Friday, March 16, 2012

Natchez Trace Parkway to Natchez, MS…

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We left the campground in Mississippi called Lake Tiak-O'Khata early yesterday morning. I am going to miss their cable TV with March Madness in full swing but it is time to move on. The 207 mile planned route was to take the Natchez Trace Parkway all the way down to Natchez. A long day of driving but it would be along the scenic Natchez Trace.

natches signThe drive went well as we traveled about 45 miles to get on the Natchez Trace. The road is narrow and the speed limit is only 50 mph, so why would we want to take the RV on this road? Because it is very scenic and we are NOT in a hurry – We love this life… That is until we got to milepost 98.4 – and the road was CLOSED! When I researched this route earlier there was no notice of this so apparently this happened after I did my research… next time I will check the web site again before we enter another scenic highway.

natchez trace parkwayHaving to get off the Natchez Trace Parkway with no signage to enable us to get back on it after this detour we let “Alice” (our GPS) reroute us and then had to trust her to get us through Jackson MS. Blindly we went on and even though Alice disagreed with Sharon’s GPS about a turn in the route we made it just fine to the Mississippi river and found our camp River View RV Park just across the river in Vidalia, Louisiana.

miss river bridgeThe campground is right on the Mississippi and is a Passport America park but you can only use that rate for one night. We are staying an additional night where they let us use our Escapees Discount as well. Nicejohn in Natchez location on the river but there is not a whole lot of wow factor at this park. Without the discounts it is way overpriced but it is very close to Natchez, MS which appears to be a neat little town that we plan to checkout today…

Tomorrow we head to a state park near the Toledo Bend Reservoir on the border of LA and TX. Then it is onward towards College Station where we will stop in and visit friends for a couple of weeks, but we are in scramble mode right now since the two parks we wanted to stay at are booked up. I am sure we will find something in College Station though…

11 comments:

  1. Loved the Natchez Trace parkway. And the fact that the boondocking campsites along it are free! I wonder why part of it was closed?

    www.travelwithkevinandruth.com

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  2. Loved that drive through MS to LA on the Natchez. Sorry they closed it on you :(

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  3. Spring breakers are probably filling the parks. I am at my daughters house for 3 weeks, so I don't have to worry this.

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  4. We just came up the Natchez Trace a few months ago. It sounds like a new obstruction.

    Natchez is one of my favorite places in the world. I was born and raised in Jackson, MS. Be sure to check out the old bar in the Under the Hill section of Natchez. I can imagine pirates coming down the Mississippi while sitting on the porch. That wood has to be so old. Have fun!

    We just came up the Natchez Trace a few months ago. It sounds like a new obstruction.

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  5. We've driven from Natchez to Nashville a couple of times... and the beauty of it is that it IS only 50 MPH with some nice (historic) campgrounds along the way. We've only done it in the spring... I bet autumn is gorgeous too! Sorry you didn't get to do the whole thing.

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  6. This was on the plan for this spring but we got waylaid in Florida for who knows how long. But we'll get there yet. Love the idea of 50mph and boondocking all over.

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  7. I think it is hard to always find the correct info on routes. I usually check the dot sites for closures, low clearances and bridge weight limits if we are not on US hiways but several times have found road closures that were not listed and its hard to always trust the GPS.

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    1. Second comment I've seen about GPS. Doesn't anyone know how to read a map any more?

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  8. I cant way to see y'all!!!! Your grand-kids are super excited =o)

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  9. The Natchez is on our list we will be sure to check the site before we start.

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  10. We have a friend who is volunteering at a National Park in Natchez. She is loving it there. Safe travels!

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