As we were leaving the campground at Florence it happened that a steamboat had docked and was taking on and letting off passengers. So we had to stop to take a picture...
Just as I was dropping Alea off at the Tennessee/Alabama state line yesterday to resume our trip south, Dave & Jayn from Australia happened by on their tandem bicycle. They are the first self supported cyclists that we've met heading our way in seven weeks of traveling. But the road was fairly well crawling with cyclists today - at least two supported tour groups, plus a couple and a group of five self supported cyclists (all heading north). Even one guy that had what looked to be a 1980s steel 10-speed fitted with homemade panniers made out of large kitty-litter pails!
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| The Alabama-Tennessee state line. |
The weather for Alea was almost perfect - 65 degrees and sunny when she pushed off and a high of around 81 degrees by the end of the ride. The route continued to be scenic, and Rocks Springs was perhaps the best side trip of the day. It is a short hike to a spring and some beaver dams, with a very nice stepping stone path across a creek.
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| Hey, Dad! I figured out what these are for! |
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| Alea! Watch out for that arrowhead - it's pointed right at you! |
We stayed at Tishimingo State Park last night ($19.26, power, water and showers). We should have been camping lakeside, but the lake had been drawn down, so we were high and dry at our site. We also made the mistake of not getting out and inspecting the site we had chosen. When we got back we realized we were right next to a squeaky exhaust fan on the shower house. But we've come to expect noise most nights (usually from passing trains), so this wasn't too bad. But the takeaway lesson was that just driving by isn't a great way to select a site.
Dave & Jayn showed up after we arrived, so as they were setting up camp we invited them over for a glass of wine, BYOC (bring your own cup). They are wrapping up a three month vacation and are seasoned travelers, thanks to the very generous vacation policies of their employers. They start with 4 weeks off per year, but with many options to extend that while still having a guarantee that their job will be there when they return. If I had been lucky enough to have had a job like that I'd probably still be working (thankfully I didn't). We had a fun time swapping adventures and misadventures, until darkness and coolness set in (there was a burning ban in effect, so we couldn't have a campfire). It's always great to find others who have had a chance to enjoy extended periods of time together while being active.
An interesting thing about their tandem is that it has a folding (actually a two piece frame, with no hinge joint) design. It has interlocking joints that can be disassembled so that the whole bike fits into two wheel-sized bags for transporting. We may need to rethink getting small wheeled folding bikes when we go to Europe, as having a full size bike like their tandem would be more comfortable and efficient (though it would be heavier than a standard bike due to the weight of the interlocking joints).
It was my turn to ride this morning, and like yesterday the weather was perfect. There wasn't a lot along the Trace that piqued our interest, so we pushed hard and arrived in Tupelo, MS around 1:30 in the afternoon. The first order of business was getting restocked before heading to the campground. Supposedly we got one of the last two sites at Trace State Park ($21.40, power, water and showers), though I suspect they may have been saving other sites for larger rigs. But it's good enough for an overnight stop, and the showers are much better than average.
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| Pharr Mounds. |
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| Lana on the Dogwood Valley Trail. |
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| I arrive at Dogwood Valley trailhead. |
Right now we're back in Tupelo, getting caught up on laundry. After that we're heading out to dinner at a Greek restaurant before returning to the campground for the night.
An interesting thing about the campground - when I walked Lana around our loop it seemed that every license plate was from Lee County, MS (where Tupelo is located), so it seems we are surrounded by locals.
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