Days 148 & 149: Meriwether Lewis Campground, TN

We are back on the Natchez Trace, and we have already managed to cover the 34 miles or so that we missed last year (our Great Rivers South route had put us on the Trace south of its northeern terminus).  We are enjoying the lower traffic volumes, usually wider lanes and the generally easier gradients.  An added bonus on Sunday was that there were a lot of locals out on training rides.  But we saw no bicycle tourists and even RVs are fairly scarce at this time of year.

Lots of wild turkeys...

We should have more pleasant temperatures and drier weather for a few days.  Which works well for traveling the Trace, as there are a few very nice campgrounds that are all free, but they are also all primitive.  So cooler nights make it much more pleasant to sleep at night.  At least they allow us to run our generator until 10 pm, if needed.

We are camped at Meriwether Lewis Campground (free, flush toilets, water available), which we had stayed at last year when we came through this area.  The campground is nearly empty, with just two other RVs and the host.  The campground host, Ian, is one of the more interesting and friendly hosts that we have encountered in the past year. 

We had been wondering if the flooding in Louisiana would force us to change our travel plans, but it appears our route is a bit north and/or west of the most impacted areas.  So we'll find our own route from Natchez and then south the 50 or 60 miles through Louisiana to where we can pick up the Southern Tier route.

We were also relieved to find out yesterday that Larry's Bicycles had sent our missing chainring via 2 Day Priority Mail.  It is now waiting for us in Collinwood, TN, where we will pick it up tomorrow.

We spent Monday doing some chores.  I had reviewed the owner's manual and realized that, with all the towing that we have been doing, it was time to get the transmission fluid changed.  While we were waiting for that to be done, we got caught up on laundry, since we aren't too likely to find a convenient laundromat in the next couple of days.

Lana had a blast today, as there is a creek just below our campground.  It was nice and shallow - perfect for her favorite game of playing fetch in the water.  But there were some deeper spots, so I started tossing the ball in a shallow area that she needed to swim to.  As a result, she has learned to launch herself into the water.  She loved it!  Here she is in action...

Check out that bow wave!

And again...