Yesterday morning, we walked across the street to Cracker Barrel for breakfast before pulling out of the Opryland parking lot. We had a quiet night with no disturbances. Our plan was to head south down the Natchez Trace Parkway to the Meriwether Lewis National Monument (map). The monument is operated by the National Park Service (NPS). It’s located just east of Hohenwald, Tennessee and features a free campground with paved roads and 32 paved sites.

Ozark the cat got comfortable on Donna’s pillow before Donna made the bed and we headed out

Our route took us around the south side of Nashville on I-440 then south on I-65. We stopped in Franklin at the Walmart to stock up on groceries. Then we detoured west on TN840. This route took us over the Natchez Trace Parkway and we had to loop back to Leipers Fork to access the parkway.

The Natchez Trace is an old forest trail. Some say it’s existed for centuries as a game trail. It was used by native Americans and became a major trail for commerce in the 18th and 19th centuries. The trail runs some 440 miles from Nashville, Tennessee to Natchez, Mississippi and traverses the northwest corner of Alabama.

Thomas Jefferson wanted to connect the Mississippi River frontier with settlements to the north. In 1801, the US Army began blazing and improving the trail. Early settlers in the north referred to as Kaintucks would float their goods down the Mississippi River in flat boats to sell in Natchez. They would sell their goods and their boats and walk the 440-mile trek on the Natchez Trace back north. In 1810, it’s estimated that 10,000 Kaintucks walked up the trace to start another river journey. This led to commerce on the trail. Trading posts commonly called stands appeared. Settlements formed along the trace.

The development of steamboat traffic on the Mississippi river made it easier and cheaper to transport goods. In the late 1800s, the Trace lost its importance as a trade route.

In 1809, Meriwether Lewis, who along with William Clark explored the upper Mississippi and the Northwest, was governor of the Louisiana Territory. He was traveling up the Trace to meet with Thomas Jefferson when he died near Grinder’s Stand. There’s much controversy surrounding his death. It was officially ruled suicide but many believe he was murdered. I read a great historical novel – a work of fiction that incorporates factual history in the story – about the Lewis and Clark expedition and Lewis’ death. I read the book about 20 years ago. I looked for it online but can’t find it. I think the title was Who Killed Meriwether Lewis.

The Natchez Trace Parkway is a paved two-lane highway that follows much of the original trace. There’s limited access – only about 50 access points along its 444 miles. We didn’t realize that at first, but found the access points on the Tennesee map we picked up at the visitor center. The road is operated and maintained by the National Park Service. No commercial vehicles are allowed and the speed limit is 50 mph. The road surface is in great condition. It’s a scenic drive with many historical markers and scenic overlooks. We saw a few gangs of wild turkeys along the road and had two whitetail bucks run out in front of our rig, requiring me to brake hard.

Overlook on the Natchez Trace Parkway

I had looked at Google Earth the night before to see what the Meriwether Lewis National Monument looked like. I was leery of pulling into a park that wouldn’t allow us to get turned around and back out again. The satellite view of the campground was obscured by trees but I could see the main road had a turnaround loop at the end. We pulled off the parkway and entered the monument. When we reached the campground entrance, Donna suggested pulling over in a turnout by the entrance and walking through the campground to check it out before pulling in.

The paved roads through the campground are tight with lots of trees along the sides. There are 32 paved sites, some back-in and some pull-through. Most aren’t level. The sites are well spaced with lots of trees and vegetation separating them. There are two loops. The first loop has 13 sites and was totally unoccupied. The second loop is larger and has a bathroom (no showers). There were only a few campers there. After looking around, we thought it was doable and liked the look of site 8 which is a back-in and site 14, a pull-through.

I backed us into site 8 with Donna directing me with a handheld Cobra CB radio. The site was too short for us by a few feet – once I backed in far enough to clear the road, our slideouts were too close to trees. We pulled out of there and moved to site 14. We easily fit our 56-foot overall length in this site.

Site 14

Donna went out for a hike on a trail that leads from the campground to the original Natchez Trace. She was out for about 90 minutes and said she would not recommend the trail for inexperienced hikers or anyone nervous about being alone in the woods. It had a few water crossings and seemed to vanish in the underbrush at times. She returned covered in cobwebs as well as scratches on her lower legs from prickly vegetation. But the trail did lead to some beautiful stretches of river. Here are a couple of pictures from her hike.

Water crossing on the trail

Little Swan Creek

A park ranger came by later and stopped to chat with us. The park is very clean and quiet – it’s hard to believe it’s free. There are no hook-ups although there is a water spigot between our site and site 15. A reader commented on yesterday’s blog that they had just pulled out of this campground and said the water is really good here.

View from our doorstep

I grilled turkey burgers on the Weber Q for dinner. With the special sauce, they were very tasty on toasted onion rolls.

Last night was very dark and quiet. I slept soundly. We’ll hang out here for another night before we head west.