Days 34 Oct 7 - The Secret Parkway

Once again, rain moved through overnight -- but the morning brought a wonderful day for motorcycling on the exact kind of roads that I envisioned as "backroads" when I made plans for this trip. The rest of Tennessee was a wonderful combination of curves, scenery punctuated with delightful small and interesting towns, and perfect weather. The kind of riding that refreshes rather than stresses, and I was still feeling like I had lots of miles left in me when I reached the stopping point near the Natchez Trace Parkway. Haven't heard of it? Well, I hadn't either until I started planning for this trip.

As one of the welcome center hosts told me, the Natchez is one of the best kept secrets considering it's a route which has been traveled for 8000 years. Today it is a 444 mile, limited access, top rated scenic roadway that runs from 17 miles south of Nashville, TN to southwestern Mississippi town of Natchez, MS. Managed by the National Park Service, it is devoid of all commerical traffic and signage, and provides a very straight, level and beautiful pathway amongst lots of trees and pastoral settings.

Interestingly, I had been "warned" by some Alabaman motel tailgaters (in Kansas) not to even consider taking the Natchez on a motorcycle because of the abundance of wildlife. But other motorcyclists and an area Deputy only confirmed that it had lots of wildlife, including plenty of turkeys, but it wasn't any more dangerous than any other road I had already taken. Their consensus was that in some respects, the Natchez was much safer because its heavily patrolled 50 mph speed limit, lack of traffic, and good visibility along the roadway.

Its lack of curves and flatness doesn't make it a particularly fun motorcycle roadway, but with the lack of traffic and the scenic beauty, I set the cruise control at 50mph and was lulled into such a state of wonderment over this oasis of beauty that I gobbled up 109 miles before I could convince myself that I really should quit for the day. I exited in Tupelo, MS (birthplace of Elvis Presley) with 366 miles for the day. Oh, and the only wildlife I got to see were a few suicide squirrels. I think Idaho still holds the record for showing me the most animal carnage.