Deja Vu on Tenn-Tom

Day 4   Tupelo, MS to Florence, AL    106 Miles.   Total after four days - 387 mi

The Natchez Trace Parkway passed over where Rick and I cruised on Breaking Away back in Oct, 2010! The structure you can see in the background is a tall lock, with an 84-foot drop. I have gone back to my blog from that trip and copied and pasted a photo of us inside that lock:

I also cut and pasted what I said about this lock: "Rick and I headed off for the day, first going down this HUGE Jamie Whitten lock, an 84-foot descent! That was the highest lock I'd been on yet of the 90 or so I'd been through. Can you believe how high those lock walls are?? This time we were not alone; another cruiser joined us for the mighty drop."

Another deja vu for me yesterday was riding off the Parkway to go see exactly where Rick and I had anchored in the lake above the lock. I surprised myself by actually finding it! I had to walk down a steep incline to the shore to get this selfie photo with the little bay in the background:

This photo is mainly for Rick, since I know he's reading this blog. It hope it looks familiar to him, as it did for me.

After this, I rode to where Rick and I landed the dinghy with both bikes. Yet another deja vu for me was then riding exactly the route I rode that day, up onto the Natchez Trace Parkway. Just now as I have gone back to look at these entries in my old blog, I was happily surprised to find that I said this: "I rode 14 miles north on the Parkway and into Alabama, then came back. Rick went the other direction. I loved it, and someday hope to do a group ride the entire length with Paul Wood, who led the Blue Ridge Parkway ride."

I hope Paul sees that! I had forgotten I mentioned him by name in my blog like that. How cool! And now: Here I am.

The whole experience of leaving the Parkway to re-trace these fond memories of my Great Look boat trip made yesterday special for me. (I am writing this blog the next morning because last night as I was beginning to work on this, all the electricity in the entire hotel and nearby community went out -- for 75 minutes, as I learned this morning. So I just hopped into bed and went to sleep.)

Going back to the day's start, a bunch of us rode up to the Elvis birthplace (the opposite direction of our eventual destination). Of course, I had already seen it. A couple others, Bob Long and Thurman, weren't too interested, so the three of us departed. We rode together the four miles back to the Parkway, and another six to the Natchez Trace Visitor Center. By now, I knew most of the history and info about the Trace. For one thing, I had scanned three books on the subject that Paul had in the van during the all-day drive to Natchez back on May 1. But I did buy four souvenirs!

By the time I left, everyone had gone on except Paul, Nate, and Myron.

The four of us rode pretty darned fast to catch up. I can blame myself, because I led the paceline for quite a few miles riding hard, before pulling over and letting others "pull" the group (and allowing me to take this picture).

We reached the first rest stop, with Myron and me all pooped out, while everyone else was still there. As usual, Rod and Lisa found a nice shady spot for us, and had their wonderful spread for us, including carrot juice.

On the right of this photo are Nate (the tall one) and Paul. Lisa is drinking something, Myron is in the middle, and on the left, in matching clothing, are Lonnie and Lorraine who ride the tandem.

I rode off by myself from this stop and soon reached the bridge crossing over the Tenn Tom Waterway. I took some photos in both directions from the bridge, and then on the other side departed the Parkway. I rode up to another road just below the lock and got this photo back at the Trace Parkway bridge where I had just been:

I distinctly remember from 2010 cruising under that bridge and thinking how one day I would be riding over it.

I texted Paul to let him know I was off doing my own thing. I rode on up to the lake to reminisce, and then finally headed off north on the same frontage road I was on 3½ yrs ago. I reached the Parkway where I did then, and let Paul know by text I was back chasing them and would see them at the lunch stop, another 7 miles up the road. Don't tell anyone, but by taking my diversion like that to the lake and dam, I missed about six miles of the Parkway. Didn't ride it in 2010, and didn't ride it yesterday. Uh oh, I won't be able to say I rode the entire Parkway (when we're done on Friday). But you know what? Let's just forget this little trivial point; I WILL DO THE ENTIRE PARKWAY!!

Lunch was off the Parkway, down at a little campground on Lake Tishomingo. Beautiful setting, and great food including a homemade strawberry "soup" (more like a dessert). Rod made me a custom beef/cheese wrap. We got back on the Parkway, and continued on the portion I had ridden in 2010.

We crossed the entire state of MS, and now we entered AL. I passed this same spot in 2010 and took a photo of the sign, but of course I was not in it. So yesterday, Myron took my photo. And, you can see my new Black Bear Adventures jersey Paul had just given me the night before.

As the group continued on into AL, four of us went off the front and I got pretty tired again. We eventually reached our next rest stop (Parkway Mile 327), which was just before the bridge crossing the wide Tennessee River. Since the four of us arrived first, I had time to ride down a side road about ½ mile to see some Natchez Trace historical sights.

So, in today's money, how much did George Colbert get when Andrew Jackson's army crossed the river on his ferry?

Down by where the old Colbert Ferry launched, I got this great photo:

That is the Trace Parkway bridge we would be riding across in just a few more minutes. The river is especially wide due to its being a lake behind the Pickwick Dam, where Rick and I were in 2010.

I returned to the rest stop and actually rested for quite a while. I have included this photo because I'm actually in it!

The two sitting beyond me are Rick and Pam Johnsen from Seattle. Lisa is walking behind them, and to my right is the back of Laura from Campbell, CA. She and her partner, the "other" Bob, are flying back home today (from Nashville Airport, where Rod will drive them). Bob and Laura have another bike ride event they want to do there.

Five of us then rode across the Tennessee River, and left the Parkway a few miles later. We needed to ride 20 miles east to reach the town of Florence, where we are staying two nights. (Today is our rest day.) This Marriott is a lavish resort.

Out my 6th-floor window is the TN River. Actually, it's called Wilson Lake because it is behind Wilson Dam, which is just to the right of this photo. I plan to walk over there for a better view some time today. Its lock is 100 feet tall, one of the largest in the world, and THEE largest in 1924 when it was completed.

For dinner, we all drove into downtown Florence and ate at a cool Mexican restaurant.

The margarita was excellent, as were my fish tacos. Great group. Long day. I feel much better this morning after a good night's sleep. I'm not sure what I will do today on my day off. Right now I need breakfast! Helen Keller's birthplace and museum is nearby, so I hope to see them.