Gabrielle:
Day 1 – Columbia, Tenn.
The Natchez Trace Parkway follows the path of a series of trails used first by Native American then later explorers, tradesmen, settlers, you name it. Tennesseans would float their goods down river to Natchez or New Orleans, sell the raft for timber, then start the long hike home. The Trace is dedicated to Americans as movers, people on the go.
After milling about in the South for so long, circling back and forth to reach battlefields and budget hotels, getting on this road and moving in a straight line felt really, really good.
We ended our first day’s drive in the small town of Columbia, Tennessee, birthplace of Memorial Day. We found a seat at a diner and talked to an auto worker from Flint, Michigan who informed us that most of Columbia was populated by fellow workers from Flint. He left and an older man known only as “coach” took his place, collecting the TV remotes and switching the channels to the sport du jour, which today, was college hoops. Even though he disliked basketball and complained there wasn’t a thing on, he still urged each of the players on by name.
Day 2 on the Trace – Corinth, Tenn.
Day two on the Trace was rainy and grey, not the kind of weather you want when you’re wandering aimlessly in search of a NPS Passport stamp. We knew that there were several to be had along the Trace. We also knew that most of the seasonal info stops would be closed. Still, it pains us to press our noses up to the glass only to see the prized passport stamp sitting on the desk behind bolted doors. Oh the misery.
A few more loops around the Meriwether Memorial site, which was the site of the stamp in question, and we found a maintenance garage with a NPS truck parked outside. Gab meekly knocked, slipped inside and emerged victorious. We were the first people to use the stamp since the last time the date was changed - Oct 2004.
For anyone who’s interested, as of today, we’ve collected 262 official NPS stamps from 174 NPS units ranging over 8 of the 9 geographical regions. We laugh at our Pokemon behavior, but it’s no joke. Gotta get’em all!
Friday
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