Mississippi Petrified Forest

The Mississippi Petrified Forest is a privately owned park near Jackson, close to the town of Flora. The only petrified forest in the Eastern United States, it is believed to have been formed 36 million years ago from fir and maple logs washing down an ancient river channel, and coming to rest (and petrify) where the remnants now reside. The park is open to the public and for a small fee you are welcome to walk the one-mile interpretive loop and learn a little about the conditions that led to this National Natural Landmark. The forest, a mix of ancient wood and living trees, is filled with birdsong, sweet smelling flowers (honeysuckle was in bloom when we were there), and our walk wound us through a shady pine needle covered path. The short walk ends up in the earth science museum where you can browse a collection of fossils, petrified wood, and minerals, and a gift shop highlighting gemstone jewelry as well as decorative pieces of petrified wood.

Jackson, Mississippi

In late August 2007 Dan and I pulled our trailer out of Sacramento to begin a new phase of our lives, living life on the road. One of our goals was to make it to every State Capitol as we worked our way around the country. We didn't impose any sort of schedule on ourselves to complete this goal, instead just making it a point to work these visits into the mix as we traveled through each of the states. On April 27, 2015 we made it to our 50th and final State Capitol in Jackson, Mississippi. As luck would have it, the entire building was apparently going through a major renovation. Scaffolding completely surrounded the dome outside, construction workers were everywhere, and building projects were underway inside as well, blocking our view of the rotunda. Upon entering the capitol, we noticed the entire place seemed rather quiet, almost deserted. In fact, we seemed to be the only two people in the building. Then we noticed the entire downtown area was rather like a ghost town. Unbeknownst to us, the last Monday in April is a state holiday in Mississippi (Confederate Memorial Day). Due to the holiday, much of the building was closed off, so our final capitol visit, restricted by both construction work and the holiday, was a bit anti-climatic, but one we won't forget.

Some fun facts about Jackson and Mississippi:

• Jackson is one of only four cities of the world sanctioned by The International Theater-Dance Committee to host the International Ballet Competition. The other three include Moscow, Russia, Varna, Bulgaria and Helsinki, Finland.
• If Mississippi smells lemony fresh, that’s because Pine Sol was invented in 1929 by Jackson native Harry A. Cole, Sr.
• Still have your first teddy bear? Thank Theodore Roosevelt. On a hunting expedition in 1902 in Sharkey County, President Roosevelt refused to shoot a captured bear, an act which resulted in the creation of the teddy bear.

Natchez Trace Parkway (Tennessee)

The Natchez Trace Parkway, a federal park maintained by the National Park Service, has long been on our list of places to visit. Carving out the time to explore this National Scenic Byway worked into our plans to be in Alabama and Mississippi for our last two Capitol visits. Also known as the "Old Natchez Trace", or simply, the Trace, this historical path extends roughly 440 miles from Natchez, Mississippi to Nashville, Tennessee. It was created and used for centuries by Native Americans (including the Natchez Indians) and later by European and American explorers, traders, and emigrants in the late 18th and early 19th centuries. The developed Parkway follows the approximate path of the Old Trace, and parts of the original trail are still accessible to park visitors.

We started the first leg of our journey near the northern terminus of the trail, in Hohenwald, Tennessee. Our RV Park, Falls Hollow, provided easy access to the Parkway, located just across the road from one of the many entrances. The first day out we drove 40 miles north towards Nashville stopping at the many points of interest along the way. We hiked to beautiful waterfalls, sometimes through fields of colorful wildflowers. We were treated to stunning views of hills and valleys (known as hollows, and pronounced "hollers", in Tennessee). We hiked through dense forests along creeks and over bridges. We heard beautiful songbirds, the chirping of the frogs and were sometimes sharing our space with the resident insect life. We also picked up some history lessons along the way. If this is just the first 40 miles, we'll need more than a couple of weeks to take it all in!

Here are some pictures from our first journey on the Trace.