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| Tishomingo State Park, Mississippi - Tupelo Visitor's Center, Mississippi | |||
| Total Daily Miles - 41.56 miles |
Trip Total - 107.09 miles |
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Click on Pic to Enlarge |
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Leaving the State Park this morning was hard! It rained very hard most of the night, and although I was dry and slept really well, its almost like I was moving in slow motion. It took me close to an hour to pack up camp, eat some oatmeal, and start pedaling. I was almost out of the state park, and on the trace, when it started raining again. . . . |
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Lucky for me, the rain didn't last long . . . The wind however, is another story. . . If there is one thing have learned about northeast Mississippi, its that it has plenty of Hills and Headwinds . . . I pretty much made up my mind this morning that I would make this an easy day, and believe me, the wind saw to it that I stick to my plan! about 10 miles later, I decided to take a small break and was visited by 3 mutt dogs. They could smell the food in my panniers! |
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I stopped to view the Pharr Burial Mounds, and ran into my camping neighbors from last night. "Did you get wet last night?" I replied, "No, did you?" He said, how in the world did we stay dry? I told him, If I got wet, I wouldn't have known it, because thats how good I slept. It was right after 2:00pm when I arrived at the Natchez Trace Visitor's Center. I felt pretty good and could have gone more, but didn't feel I could go 25 miles more, and that was the next available campground. Besides, for a biker campground, this one is great! |
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This site also doubles as a camp for kids, and there are cabins with bunks, a porta-john and fresh water. The cabins had no locks on them, and I didn't notice until I already had my tent set up. I could have dropped the Thermarest and sleeping bag onto a bunk and saved myself the trouble. |
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About 3:30, I went ahead and fixed something to eat: Noodles and Bagels. I also put up a clothes line to dry the gear that I put away wet this morning. But I mainly just spent time enjoying this area. Its very quiet here. I did make a few phone calls back home to let everyone know I was fine and enjoying myself to this point. |
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| I have read on some biking boards about the possibility of "Stealth" camping on the trace. I have identified countless places to where it could be done. I prefer not to stealth camp, but some days, things just don't work out. I am hoping to make Jeff Busby tomorrow. Its about 75 miles south of me tonight. I am not sure that I am ready for that kind of ride with 60# of gear. If I don't make Jeff Busby, I might have to try stealth camping! |
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| Yesterday, while in Tennessee, I noticed lots of Armadillo Roadkill. I didn't even know they were in Tennessee! But today I am guessing I saw at least 8 on the road dead. Along with maybe 6 possums, a few snakes, frogs, and birds. At one point, I too were almost roadkill! What a stupid RV Jerk! He must have thought the trace was 110 feet wide, and decided to pass me with traffic oncoming to us both. He made it through . . . . I didn't . . . . I took the grassy shoulder, and at one point, could have licked the side of his RV. I have nothing against RV's! I used to own one. But I detest some of the ignorant people who drive them, and don't take the time to practice respect for smaller vehicles on the road such as bikes. Truck Drivers show much more respect to bicycles than most Motorhome Drivers. |
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More Day Two PicturesClick Picture to Enlarge |
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| Day One | |||
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