Today's scenery was a stark contrast from the Mississippi we've seen over the last 3 days.  Long gone are the endless cotton fields and mind numbing flat terrain.  They've given way to rolling hills, lots of trees, and pasture land along the Natchez Trace.  We rode out of Vicksburg on back roads that connected to the Trace about 50 miles out of Natchez.  It was a pleasurable departure in tree covered roads and along a few rural residential areas until getting out into some open pasture land before the Trace.  The riders were greeted with a couple good climbs during the first 20 miles to give the old climbing legs a wake up call...payback for those who "wimped" out and took the gradual hill out of the motel.

After entering the Trace, we rode to where it ended 10 miles short of Natchez and from there, wallered around on quiet back roads all the way to downtown Natchez.  A couple of the last country roads were on the rough side and gave us all a "loose bolt check" before we got to smoother pavement.  The Trace is a bicyclist's dream.  It has no commercial traffic and vehicle speeds limited to 45-50 MPH.  The road surface is good to excellent and the scenery ranges from tree lined vistas to open pastures and hay fields with the occasional cotton field thrown in for good measure just to remind us that we are still in Mississippi.  I told some of the riders that the cotton that grows on the Trace is a smaller variety than we've been seeing...probably 50% polyester or it may be the "pre-shrunk" variety that you see in higher priced clothes.  When I said that I heard one rider in the back of the room say to another, "I didn't know that."  Sometimes I love my job. 

There were several interesting things to see while we were on the trace (besides the pre-shrunk cotton fields).  There were a couple of Indian burial mounds along the way, several grave yards that marked areas where settlers made their living in pioneer times, and even signs of the original Trace.  A sign at the Indian mounds stated that when a chief died, all his aides were killed and buried with him.  Sounds like a "dead end job" to me.  I think if I were going to apply for that position, I'd want to make sure the chief was a young dude.  I guess from the chief's perspective, his aides would really do all they could to keep him alive, but if I were an aide and the chief got sick, I'd start applying for a position in a different tribe.  Don't think they would have to advertise, "Only the serious need apply." 

At one point we passed an area called The Sunken Trace.  Story has it that it's the original trail that merchants used for commercial travel from Nashville TN to Natchez MS.  They'd haul goods to the river to load on river boats bound for ports in New Orleans and haul goods back to Nashville.  The wagons wore a path in the earth almost 20 feet deep in spots and the "ruts" are preserved for all to see in this area.  You can see me (right) riding along the route pioneers used over 100 years ago...you can also see how deep the road had been worn into the earth.  I would have been happy to have taken photos of others riding in there, but no one wanted to ride in it. 

Several riders commented that they couldn't believe we were still in Mississippi after the last 3 days. Something we haven't seen since Illinois is a hay field and we are starting to see some interesting rail fences (left) along the back roads of western Mississippi.  Those who had never been in the deep south enjoyed seeing the cotton and the flat terrain when we finally got to them a couple days ago, but even they were getting a bit tired of it after 3 solid days.  On our final days we'll see even more crops we haven't seen yet...like sugar cane in Louisiana.  Tomorrow will be our last day on rural roads as we are nearing Baton Rouge and New Orleans.  

We are staying downtown by the river in another Casino.  Those that still have some money left after last night's gambling in Vicksburg, will get another chance to blow some more tonight.  Most got in fairly late and began the scrounge for food as soon as they got in...several ate at Big Momma's and sampled their "knock you naked" margaritas...sounds good to me.  :-)~  Tomorrow, we need to get to St Francisville by 3:00 PM to be able to eat...everything in town closes at 4:00 so we will have a late lunch at Magnolias, a great little hole in the wall with great food...well worth the rush to get in early.

We only have 3 days left on this tour.  I just hope we can keep our focus and ride the remainder safely.  As ride leader, I always hold my breath until we all get to the destination and this year we've got the added stress of watching Ivan churn its way toward the gulf coast.  We will be busy for the next couple of days and we may even have to scramble to get out of the way of Ivan. 

We have the banquet in 2 days, then we have to get everyone down to disassemble bikes before they leave either Wednesday night or Thursday morning...either in New Orleans or maybe Jackson if we have to evacuate...busy, busy, busy.  Cross your fingers for us...see you tomorrow.