Days 89 & 90: Natchez State Park, MS

Yesterday didn't start out looking too good, but we did manage to avoid rain.  We saw wet pavement all day long, so I suspect we were just north of it most of the day.  But at least we saw the sun on occasion by mid-afternoon.

One of the highlights of our day happened at one of our leapfrog stops once we had gotten far enough south to clear most of the Jackson, MS traffic.  When I arrived to refuel, Jim Powell was unloading his Trek Madone 4.0 for his daily ride (about 15 miles out and back on this occasion).  Jim is a retired landscaper and we'd guess he was in his seventies, but it is very hard to say for certain.  We mentioned that landscaping can be very hard on a body, and he replied "No, not for me.  I was like a surgeon - bring me this, put that there, I need this tool..."  So he was in excellent condition, and a very pleasant person to have had the opportunity to chat with.

Jim Powell on his training ride.

I arrive at a fuel stop - the Battle of Raymond pullout.

We managed to run into Dave and Jayn Butler one last time.  My ride ended at Rocky Springs Campground (free, primitive), and right after we had set up camp they breezed through, needing a pit stop.  The water at the campground was pretty nasty (almost opaque white, perhaps due to Mississippi's prolonged drought?), so we offered them some of our ice water, which at that point in their day was quite a treat for them.  Their plan was to stay in hotels the next two nights, so they should stay ahead of us for the remainder of our time on the Trace.  Before departing, they warned us that Diane and Bill were behind them and were planning on camping at Rocky Springs.

Dave and Jayn Butler on their Co-Motion tandem at Rocky Springs Campground.

Sure enough, not long afterward, Bill Bramlette and Diane Henderson arrived on their touring bikes and eventually set up camp a short distance from us.  We invited them over for wine (plus ice cold water, chips and guacamole) to learn a bit more about them.  They've toured several Adventure Cycling routes; some of them more than once.  They actually started this trip at Davenport, Iowa, though we never pinned down when that was (we were there around the 26th of September).  So they have probably been within a few days of us for quite some time.  They'll continue on to Biloxi, MS before returning to New Orleans, from whence they'll return home.  So there is a small chance our paths may cross again within the next week or so.

Bill and Diane pass by us as they make their first pass at finding a campsite at Rocky Springs.

Today was Alea's turn to ride.  She had clear skies and a tailwind, but with enough elevation gain and humidity that it took more out of her than she expected (I suspect she may have been pushing harder than normal with the great early riding conditions - nearly the entire way was freshly paved!).  So we left the Trace at Mount Locust Information Center and drove to Natchez State Park ($19.26, power, water and showers).  We now understand why Bill, Diane, Dave and Jayn opted not to stay here.  It's a nice enough park, but well off the Trace and with some short steep roller coaster hills to get there.  And to top it off, the registration office is 2.3 miles inside the park, past both of the campgrounds!

After getting set up, we took the opportunity to drive into Natchez to get restocked, knowing that we wouldn't see a fair sized town again any time soon.

We've now covered more than 75% of our intended route.  At our current pace, Thanksgiving is a pretty good estimate of when we might reach Central Florida.  But at the same time, we may need to hunker down at times along the way, to stay put when severe or exceptionally wet weather threatens us.  So we'll get there when we get there.  But we are closing in!