After awaking, we packed, remade the bed, and loaded the car. Nan and George were already up, and we discussed whether or not we would travel home via the New River Gorge National Park (NP). We said our goodbyes, and once in the car opted to drive to the out-of-the-way park. After driving 200+ miles west on mostly interstate highways, the small NP visitor center sat among the southern West Virginia mountains. 

President Jimmy Carter signed legislation establishing New River Gorge National River on November 10, 1978, as a unit of the national park system “for the purpose of conserving and interpreting outstanding natural, scenic, and historic values and objects in and around the New River Gorge, and preserving as a free-flowing stream an important segment of the New River in West Virginia for the benefit and enjoyment of present and future generations.” And then the New River Gorge National Park and Preserve Designation Act was incorporated into the 2021 Appropriations Act (former Senator Joe Manchin, WV), and signed into law by President Donald Trump on December 27, 2020, changing the designation to New River Gorge National Park and Preserve. Less than 10% of the original national river (7,021 acres) was redesignated as a national park (NO HUNTING), while the remaining 65,165 acres was designated as a national preserve (HUNTING ALLOWED). Some months ago, this same ploy was attempted in Arkansas regarding the Buffalo River (making it a national park and preserve), but never materialized due to the mass outcries of the public.

We drove to various locations to observe the NP’s highlights, but were grossly underwhelmed—it is a rafting river, no more and no less.

After the route deviation, we began the long drive towards home, overnighting in Cookeville, Tennessee.

The drive home on Friday was definitely a Friday the 13th adventure. First, I began breaking out in whelps similar to mosquito bites, mostly on my left side (I sleep on my left side) except they didn’t go away and swelled to the size of quarters. Over a dozen bites appeared (BED BUGS). And we stayed in a highly rated and somewhat expensive hotel (Comfort Inn and Suites), Room 213. As we slept in different beds, Kay escaped any bites.

And then, just west of Little Rock in Interstate 40, traffic came to a complete standstill for an hour and forty-five minutes due to a 4-vehicle wreck. Another standstill was experienced southwest of Little Rock on Interstate 30, but only for a few minutes. We were very happy to arrive home, our place of refuge.

After a night of good rest, Kay explored the breakfast area (i.e. kitchen), seeing what was offered for the “breakfast” portion of the B&B. To our dismay breakfast was a serve yourself minimal continental breakfast: for us that was coffee for the both of us, juice for me, and raisins and bananas for the road. Nevertheless the accommodations were clean and comfortable.

The first stop of the day was French Camp at MP 180.7. French Camp. The town dates back to circa 1810, when a Frenchman, Louis Lefleur, established a stand or trading post and inn.

Another Old Trace stop at MP 221.4 preserves a portion of a nearly 200 year old postal road, the Old Natchez Trace.

Bynum Mounds, at MP 232.4, is the oldest mound site along Natchez Trace Parkway. These mounds were created by American Indians in what was known as the Middle Woodland Period between 100 BCE-100 CE.

Around 2,000 to 1,800 years ago native people built Pharr Mounds (MP 282.7), a complex of eight dome-shaped mounds, spread over 90 acres.

A stop at Sunken Trace, MP 350.5, provides a view three different detours made to avoid mud.

When the trail became so water logged that wagons could not be pulled through, travelers cut new paths through the nearby woods as a detour.

Meriwether Lewis Death and Burial Site, MP 385.9 features a Daughters of the American Revolution marker commemorating the historic Natchez Trace, a section of the Old Trace, and the Meriwether Lewis Burial Monument. The Daughters of the American Revolution, D.A.R, began a program in 1903 to place markers along the old Natchez Trace to prevent losing all traces of the one-famous military road in Mississippi. This is one such example. Similar programs were later adopted in Alabama and in Tennessee.

This trail is a section of the Old Natchez Trace, evolved from bison and American Indian trails, into a mail route and government road is the old southwest, cut and opened under authority of the US government, after treaties negotiated with the Chickasaw and Choctaw nations in 1801.

Lastly, The Meriwether Lewis monument marks the burial site of famed explorer Meriwether Lewis on the Natchez Trace Parkway near present day Hohenwald, Tennessee. The Meriwether Lewis Monument was built in 1848 with funding provided by the Tennessee legislature. The legislation provided $500 “to preserve the place of internment, where the remains of General Meriwether Lewis were deposited.”

After viewing the above sites, Kay and I enjoyed a picnic lunch under the shade of old, old trees.

From this stop we drove to near the northern terminus at MP 444, before heading north and east to our overnight accommodations in Abington, Virginia (we were delayed 45 minutes on I40 near Bristol, Tennessee, because of traffic.

About midnight, I arose from a “nap” and shaped the sourdough bread dough into a “ball” and shifted it to a parchment paper lined Dutch oven for its final rise. After a few more hours of sleep, Kay and I got up (4 am) and I put the bread into a preheated oven to bake. And then I mixed dough for sourdough Lemony Blueberry Muffins which went into the oven after the bread finished baking. Kitchen cleanup followed, and we prepped for departure. 

We left the house at 7:45 am, driving east then south some five and a half hours to the Southern Terminus,  Milepost (MP) “0” of the Natchez Trace Parkway (NTP).

Traveling the Natchez Trace Parkway has been a bucket list item for several years. The following describes some of the sights along the way.

From 1818-1845, Elizabeth Female Academy stood on the southern end of the Old Trace. It was the first female institution of higher learning charted by the state of Mississippi. It was one of the first institutions to offer college degrees to women in Mississippi and one of the first female colleges in the country. The ruins, at MP 5.1, are shown here.

The Mount Locust Historic House (c. 1784) at MP 15.5 is one of the oldest structures in Mississippi. The house sits atop a tract of land just off the Natchez Trace that was originally used for farming by the home’s original owners William and Paulina Ferguson. The grounds of Mount Locust include an enslaved person cemetery, the Ferguson-Chamberlain cemetery, and a brick kiln site, where slaves made the bricks to build parts of the Ferguson-Chamberlain home.

Constructed from a natural hill nearly 1,000 years ago, Mangum Mound, MP 45.7 is still a sacred site for today’s American Indian tribes.

We arrived at Kosciusko, Mississippi (MP 160) for overnighting at Maple Terrace Inn B&B. Restaurants were far and few between, “forcing” us to eat at McDonald’s. The B&B was a stately old house, and we stayed in the Bombay room. We were tired and absent enough sleep the last couple of nights, sleep came early (before 8:30 pm for me). Breakfast consisted of a DIY continental breakfast featuring frozen breakfast sandwiches and a bit of fruit—oh, of course coffee. Not what we expected.

It was all about pickleball Friday and Saturday morning as Kay and I played in our respective groups—competitive and fun. And then on Sunday, we observed four games of AAU basketball. Ridge played well, and he brought home a runner-up championship ring.

Despite wet conditions, pickleball was the activity of the day on Monday and it proved quite competitive and FUN.

It was too wet for golf on Tuesday (cart path only) so I drove to Middle Fork Barrens Natural Area for the first time in several weeks. Some decent wildflower blooms were photographed.

Also, a few butterflies flitted from bloom to bloom despite the wind.

Even a couple dragonflies were spotted.

Kay had a dental appointment Wednesday morning in lieu of Lady Duffer golf, and then we both played pickleball in the Diamante ladder in the afternoon. I played pretty awful, getting in too big of a hurry, and trying to make shots I’m not capable of making.

Thursday was a day of celebration as the first two butterflies of the year were observed in the butterfly garden.

And a few dragonflies and damselflies were zooming about the shoreline.

A not-so-good game of golf was played in the afternoon—decent ball striking, poor scoring.

Though we didn’t do anything unusual or extravagant, this reporting period saw us really busy. Gardening was a high priority. We worked lots of hours trimming shrubs, and neatening up various be in front, chipping shrub trimmings for mulch, and adding plants to the butterfly garden.

A couple of “first of year” bird species made an appearance. “Our” Green Heron arrived on Wednesday, April 24, and should remain here for the rest of the season. This will be the tenth year that this bird and/or members of its family have been here almost daily during the season. Here’s a photo.

And then early Thursday morning, April 25, a couple of Baltimore Orioles came by to check out the hummingbird feeder. We immediately put out an orange half and they decimated it; so, we put out another. And then, after they ate all of its pulp, we bought a bag, but the ensuing orange halves were never touched. They left our place on Sunday morning, April 27. I was never able to get a good photograph, but here’s one from April 28, 2018, when a number of Baltimore Orioles were visiting enmass for about a week.

In addition to gardening and picture taking, most of the days during this reporting period were filled with golf and pickleball.