Day 12: Natchez Trace

Today was a day off for us. Aside from grocery shopping, we laid low at our hotel, rested, cleaned our gear, and sorted and packed food for the next week. We were grateful for the hotel during these cold couple days and are hoping for warmer weather this next week.

On a different note, we felt that it would be interesting for us to mention the historical significance of the Natchez Trace Parkway. It was funny that we chose to walk this parkway based on the idea that it would merely be a pretty walk. Little did we know that aside from its beauty, it served as one of the most significant routes for Native Americans, early American merchants, and US soldiers in the early American frontier. What we originally thought would be merely a quiet walk in the woods turned out to be a historical and cultural pilgrimage in many respects. Recognizing that we could never begin to do justice to the rich and plentiful history of the Trace on this blog, we encourage everyone reading this to take a minute to research the topic on your own.