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| Each comments entry box in the guest book is limited to approx. 250 characters including spaces. For longer messages please e-mail us at morton@rmortonc.com |
kids, we left Fort Wayne on December 5th. It had snowed the night before so we had to wait until the early afternoon when the streets were cleared and passable. It was still quite cold with the RV covered with snow and icicles (see photos). It was already dark when we reached Wright-Patterson AFB Fam Camp near Dayton, OH. That night the temperature dropped to 8° F. Since we had no water hook-up we planned to use the internal water tank but the water froze in the pump, which is at the rear of the RV in an unheated compartment. We did our shopping at the commissary and then headed to Falmouth, Kentucky (see travel route) for the annual Morton Christmas gathering to be held on December 8th. We stayed a few miles from Falmouth at Kincaid State Park for four nights. The temperature rose to above freezing during the day and the pump began functioning again although it was some time before it stopped grinding the ice in the lines.
make it this year, and Michael who couldn’t come from Fort Wayne because it also happened to be the day that Katja’s basketball team was playing its most important game, to be followed with a photo event.
and the following day we met Chuck’s cousin Don and his wife Linda from Louisville, and had lunch together. Afterwards we drove to Bowling Green, KY and spent the night. It was cloudy and in the 50’s as we continued southward past Nashville, TN (see photos) and drove on to Manchester, TN where we checked in at Arnold AFB Fam Camp for two nights directly on the lake (see photos). We spent the following evening in Manchester with Pauline and Bill Moran (see photos) who came to Stuttgart, Germany in 1972 and were our neighbors from 72-74. |
Their daughter Susan was Michael’s girl friend when he was 4-5 years old. We had last seen the Morans in 1978, almost thirty years ago. We would never have recognized each other if we had passed on the street. It was a very nice evening with many things to talk about. On December 14th we finally began our planned journey along the full length of the Natchez Trace Parkway (<-- please click) that began for us on the northern terminus a few miles from Nashville. We spent the first night at the Meriwether Lewis Campground at mile marker 385.9. There are three free campgrounds on the parkway itself and many state parks and private campgrounds nearby along the way. The parkway itself is a well maintained two lane highway with a maximum speed limit of 50 mph, with no commercial vehicle traffic allowed and no businesses or private residences on its entire length of 444 miles. At the visitor center in Collinwood, TN we obtained a wealth of informational brochures and received a gift in form of a CD containing a collection of photos from sights along the parkway. As we passed through Alabama we got off the parkway and drove to Florence, AL to make a stop at the last ALDI that we would be seeing for quite a while. Then after getting back on the parkway and crossing into Mississippi we stopped at mile marker 303.9 to spend the night at Tishomingo State Park. The weather had turned wet and miserable so we decided to lay over a day, hoping to see more than the rain of fog we had been experiencing. As we left on December 17th the weather had changed to sunny and warmer. We had researched the Mississippi State Parks and decided to stop at Tombigbee State Park near Tupelo, Mississippi, the birthplace of Elvis Presley. We spent three days there shopping and mailing the last Christmas packages. Of course we also had to visit Elvis’s birthplace and the museum (see photos). On the 21st we left Tupelo and took the parkway on to Kosciusko, MS where we had our first Wal-Mart with an electric hook up! We also found a goose at the Wal-Mart so decided to have a full Christmas dinner on the 25th. Later we realized we didn’t have the other ingredients such as potato dumplings and red cabbage, but a little research on the internet and we found a store in Jackson, MS that had an international foods section. The following day we made a short stop in Jackson. Later along the parkway we stopped at the Cypress Swamp (see photos). That evening we camped at Rocky Springs Campground in the same spot where we had been in January 2007. At that time we had only driven a short distance on the southern portion of the parkway and it had whetted our appetites to see the rest of it. Shortly after dark we were surprised by a sudden violent thunderstorm. But within a few hours the sky was clear and star-studded. The following morning was sunny and before we left, we toured the sight of the former town of Rocky Springs. Today there is only one standing building (a church), a few cisterns and an old safe (see photos). We left around 2 PM and late that afternoon we arrived at Natchez State Park where we would spend Christmas. On the way there we visited Mount Locust (see photos) to see what a traveler would have experienced along the Trace 150 years ago. On Christmas Eve we had a campfire and grilled giant sea scallops wrapped in bacon, along with grilled zucchini. Lobo also got his share of the goodies. We spent a peaceful and reflective evening together. The following day was a success. The goose was tender, juicy and quite delicious! On the 26th we began our sightseeing in the city of Natchez (<-- please click) and the surrounding area (see photos). We spent the next few days touring the antebellum mansions (<-- please click), ruins, churches, slave market, museums, Indian village and touring the city. On the 31st we left Natchez State Park under sunny skies and almost 70°F. We crossed the Mississippi River (see photos) into Louisiana. In Colfax, north of Alexandria, LA we pulled into a waterway recreation area where the New Year was celebrated without much fanfare. We plan to spend a little time here while a few maintenance items on the RV and truck are accomplished. To be continued…… |
Travel Journal December 2007
Our Motto: Home is, where our RV is.
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| Christmas Eve in our RV at Natchez State Park in Mississippi |
