Breakfast at La Quinta Inn, was nothing special but free and included in the room rate. We got on the road by 9:30 am, and once again we started by heading north. We wanted to see a couple of the POI that were near the Reservoir that we couldn’t see because of the darkness the previous evening.

First was the Tupelo-BaldCypress Swamp Trail, (mi 122) which is an interpretive trail through the swamp. Julie really likes wetlands so this was a treat for her. The 1/2 mile loop trail took us an hour with all the stops along the way. We heard and saw a woodpecker along with all the tall trees growing out of the swamp.

Next we stopped by the Reservoir Overlook (mi 105), where Megan played with the straw and pretended to make a birds nest. This was a great overlook of the large reservoir that’s just north of Jackson, and if you ever fly in to Jackson, you’ll be sure to see it, if you look out the window just before landing.

We stopped to see the Rocky Springs, (mi 55) but it was rather overgrown and hard to make out. Owen’s creek (mi 53) a couple of miles down the road was much more interesting. The creek was low, so there wasn’t much water trickling over the water fall, but we got to walk over it, and then climb down to the bottom of it. We skipped some rocks in the pool, and then got back on the road.

At Mile marker 41 we stopped and checked out the signature Sunken Trace, which is part of the original Natchez Trace Trail, and the erosion that makes it a pretty deep gully. There was a white cat hanging out there, that someone’s been leaving food out for.

Along the road, we saw Turkeys and armadillos.

Two more stops along the Natchez Trace included the Bullen Creek Interpretive Trail (mi 18), and the Coles Creek (mi 17) and we enjoyed the serene quiet of the woods and streams.

Around dusk we reached the Southern Terminus, and then we headed south in the darkness towards Baton Rouge, LA. We took photos of the state capitol, and found dinner at the Louisiana Bayou Bistro Deli in Brusly. We partook of fried catfish, and it was quite yummy. Lodging that night was at David’s Country Cottages in Grosse Tete, LA. A quaint cottage in a small town just off the interstate. They were still recovering from the years Hurricanes, Gustav and Ike, so trees were down in the area.

Overall we drove just under 300 miles that day.

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