Third Day: Tupelo to Natchez

Today’s leg of the trip brings us to the end of the Natchez Trace.  Along the way we stopped at Mount Locust, the only remaining Inn or “Stand” on the trace.  It was built in 1780, and operated as a plantation and an Inn.  We also stopped at the Sunken Trace.  The trace appears sunken in this spot due to thousands of travelers walking on the easily eroded loess soil.  It is just a short part of the old Trace, but it is the Trace’s iconic image.  

The Natchez Trace started as a path followed by migrating wildlife, from the Mississippi to the salt licks at Nashville.  Native Americans followed the trace following  the animals, and over time the road evolved.  The original path is no longer continuous, but it still exists at many places.

Most unexpected sight:  a long stretch of the trace where a tornado touched down in April 2011 (which we know because of a sign).  The tops of the trees on both sides of the road were broken off.  This tornado was one of the many spawned in the April 25–28, 2011 tornado outbreak, the largest single-system tornado outbreak ever recorded.