December 29, 2010

December 29, 2010

“The bicycle is the most civilized conveyance known to man. Other forms of transport grow daily more nightmarish. Only the bicycle remains pure in heart”. – Iris Murdoch

We started at Willowbrook Farm outside of Canton MS and we ended up in Tuscan Columns B&B in Port Gibson MS. Altogether we rode about 85 miles – a new record for MB and Miranda. (And it’s also the longest Daddy has ever ridden in one day on the triplet.)

Took the longer route back to the Trace to avoid the rough road and bothersome dog we’d encountered on the night before. Rode along Ross Barnett Reservoir and saw many blue herons, egrets, hawks and turkey vultures. As we neared Jackson MS we took a detour onto a cycle path to avoid the heavy commuter traffic. While we were on the path, we went to a Natchez Trace information center where we learned more about the Trace and bought hats.  

Many of today’s stops were about Indians. We saw mounds where they buried their dead and their belongings. We also learned that in some tribes, if a high-ranking person died, his slaves would be killed along with him. The most impressive mound we saw was Magnum Mound near Port Gibson.

Somewhere around the site of the Battle of Raymond, we had our first sighting of Spanish moss. It is grey and from a distance (it hangs from trees along the Trace) it looks like cobwebs or witches’ hair.  

We had lunch (peanut butter and jelly sandwiches) at the city of Clinton visitors center, where we sat out front in rocking chairs. (It was finally warm enough for eating outside, and for all of us to begin shedding layers of cycling clothes.)

Lots of animals today: Miranda spotted another armadillo; we saw five deer (only two of them dead); MB saw something she thinks was a muskrat; and near the Ross Barnett Reservoir we watched the flight of a beautiful black hawk with a grey mask.

We made a quick detour driving past the site of the ghost town of Rocky Springs. We also saw Owens Creek waterfall – once a torrent, now a trickle.

By now, having passed the state capitol of Jackson, we were in the Mississippi Delta and saw lots of swamps on either side of us as we rode.

Right before Port Gibson, as the sun was setting, we reached the Sunken Trace, where the Old Trace (the original frontier) road has sunken 10-12 feet into the ground. We may return tomorrow to take pictures.

Now we’re staying at Tuscan Columns, a B&B in an antebellum manor house. We’ve had pizza and chicken wings for dinner and are feeling very satisfied to have completed today’s long journey.