Day Six

I’m in Redneck Hillbilly Country now and nothing brought that home stronger than the two good-old boys sitting around, one on a rocking chair, chewing the fat at the Collonwood Visitor Center. With all the overnight thunderstorms I slept restlessly and after getting caught up online managed to fall back to sleep this morning and nap until nearly 10:00. When I did start off managed to forget to unplug my landline. Fortunately I did no damage to it or the plug-in though I was somewhat embarrassed. This is only the second time I’ve done such a thing. Guess I’m getting used to boondocking in Trace Campgrounds that lack such utilities.

In my travels today I departed the State of Mississippi, crossed a corner of Alabama and entered the home of Bourbon, Tennessee. I stopped to get some fresh air and walk the Dogwood Valley Trail. Alas the flowers in the valley have not yet opened though there was lots of sign of erosion on the trail and a marker for a tree stump that sprouted new trunks which was no longer present. The rolling hills made me thankful I was driving and not biking those inclines though I saw two groups doing just that. I noted in passing milepost 333 making 3/4 of the 444-mile Trace. Mile 385.9 marks the Grinder Stand where Meriwether Lewis then governor of the area lost his life at age 35.

After taking so much effort to create campsites one would have thought the army corps of engineers would possess the ability to make the parking areas level for RV’s. To their credit there are signs of a great deal of effort being taken to improve the park including new picnic tables, new rail fences marking the Old Trace, new tree planting, and a roped off new visitor centre and large parking lot. I may not be particularly superstitious but I did not take site number 13. The drive up though only a mile and half seemed to take forever trapped behind someone babying their fifth wheel trailer over all the bumps. In the end they drove back out and left the park.