The Rolling Hills: Mississippi - Natchez and Natchez Trace Parkway

We left Pensacola on the 9th and headed over to the metropolis of Bassfield, MS. We are visiting friends, Chuck and Anita. It’s a little, and when I say little I mean little, town. The town area is 1.1 square mile and has a population of 315. We pass through here every couple of years and I’m always amazed at how remote it is. Nevertheless, while here I’ve managed to get in some new sites.

Anita and I took a day and set out to drive part of the Natchez Trace Parkway.

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.

First we visited the town of Natchez. It was like stepping back in time. The main street is much like it was in the early 1900's. Natchez was the capital of Mississippi until 1822 when Jackson became the capital.

St. Mary's Basilica (1842)

Of course I had to visit the cemetery while there. Natchez City Cemetery, 1822.

Confederate Cemetery within the 10 acre Natchez City Cemetery (1822)

The cemetery overlooks the mighty Mississippi River.

Mississippi River

We stopped to have a cup of coffee at Slick Ricks Foods, Organic Spices & Gourmet Foods. The sign would lead you to believe that they serve the kinds of foods I eat, “weeds and seeds” as T would say. NOT THE CASE! They serve typical southern fare. I had to snap a shot of the “balanced diet sign”. If only it were true.

We then headed out to drive the parkway. Along the way we stopped to take in a few historic sites. We drove the portion from Natchez to Jackson.

Anita at entrance to Parkway

The Emerald Mound Site (22 AD 504),... located on the Natchez Trace Parkway near Stanton, Mississippi, United States. The site dates from the period between 1200 and 1730 CE

Anita

Glo on the mound

Windsor Ruins are in Claiborne County in the U.S. state of Mississippi, about 10 miles (16 km) southwest of Port Gibson near Alcorn State University. The ruins consist of 23 standing Corinthian columns of the largest antebellum Greek Revival mansion ever built in the state.^[4] The mansion stood from 1861 to 1890, when it was destroyed by fire. The 2.1-acre (0.85 ha) site was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1971 and was designated a Mississippi Landmark in 1985.^[3]