Day 91: Natchez, MS

With 2+" of rain forecast for tomorrow, we've opted to stay at Natchez State Park for two more nights, though we've moved to a new campsite.  The next campground on our route has no power, water or showers (not the sort of place where we want to spend two days in the rain), and it is a long way to the next campground down the line (which has been described in a couple of blogs as the worst campground along the entire Southern Tier bicycle route [we pick up the Southern Tier about 50 miles south of here]).  

Last night we were in Campground B, and the site that we were on is reserved for this weekend.  So we drove over to Campground A (which is considerably closer to town) and found a new site that is nearer the restrooms and doesn't require us to trek down a muddy trail to get to them.  If it rains tomorrow as predicted, we'll appreciate not getting nearly as wet and muddy when answering nature's call (as would be the case if we had remained in Campground B).

This morning Alea drove me back to where I had picked her up at the end of yesterday's ride, and from there I rode the 16 miles or so to the end of the Natchez Trace and into Natchez.  In all, we've been on the Trace for about 400 miles or so, and while we've enjoyed it, it has become somewhat monotonous.  But we will miss the chance that we've had to meet other cyclists, though we are hopeful that we may catch a few cyclists headed east on the Southern Tier, provided they left San Diego around mid-September (the late end of the fall crossing window).  Anyway, now we are set up for a short day's ride to the next campground, as it is likely to at least be showering when we head there on Sunday (if they've got the forecast right).

While I was riding into town, Alea drove into town to get us caught up on laundry, which is where I rendezvoused with her.  When she was done we had a brief look around downtown Natchez, to see a little of the surviving Spanish Colonial architecture, to get a peek at Louisiana (across the Mississippi River) and to get a sense of what there might be there to occupy our time tomorrow while it is raining.  It was interesting, but nothing that inspired us to take any photographs.