TALLADEGA SCENIC HIGHWAY ON MT. CHEAHA ~ ALABAMA ~ photo taken by Dianna Stover
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Monday, August 24, 2009

PIC OF THE WEEK

THE OLD NATCHEZ TRACE
Back in the early 1800's the Natchez Trace was the most direct route northward from the port of Natchez on the Mississippi to Nashville. In between were 500 miles of wilderness. This path runs along the ridge of the Tennessee Valley Divide and is a remnant of the original Natchez Trace.
It was cool to imagine, as I stood there looking down this historic trail that boatmen, mail riders, traders, soldiers, Indians and outlaws passed here. On horseback and on foot (later with wagons) they followed the serpentine trail into the deep woods of Indian country. Very cool indeed.

Have a nice Monday everyone!

Lady R

13 comments:

Anonymous said...

Very nice photos.

Ride on,
Torch

Learning to Golf said...

I would love to ride a bike down that trail. Beautiful country!

Ann said...

Very cool. Nice pics.

FLHX_Dave said...

Walking with ghosts. Nice picts. It's humbling when you think about what other had to go through to get us to where we are today. Nice reminder.

mq01 said...

excellent!!! and hey, this months HOG mag, have you seen it? the shot of the bike on the double arch bridge...i thought it was you :)

Baron's Life said...

LadyR...thank you for telling us about this trail and bringing to us, at least to me, a bit of its history...I can now picture how this trail was used...hard to believe, but that's history...and it's important to know it

Lady R (Di) said...

Torch... Thank you!

AZD... There were parts of this original trail marked all along the way, so you could get out and walk on it. I'm not sure I'd want to ride the Glide on this... but an off road bike would be cool as you know what!

Ann... Thanks! I hope Sticks and Dimples are doing better. What's the latest?

Dave... I had to just stand there and absorb the history all around me. It was pretty cool when you really think about how many souls walked or rode right on this very ground.

mq01... yes... I saw it. I even showed my hubby and said, "hey look. It's me!" LOL!

Baron... We would talk about that very thing while we looked at different sites on the Trace. Imagining life back then and how hard it must have been is a little easier when your standing right in the middle of it's history. In my next post about the ride itself, I'll show you some very interesting historical sites we were able to visit.

GYMONR said...

love the story...keep it going...
Big Al

"Joker" said...

This looks like the South's version of the old Boston Post Road. You should Google that and check it out. What were walking trails blazed by American Indians for years before Europeans arrived evolved into a mail route between Boston and New York City. First ridden by mounted couriers a la Pony Express, the route eventually was widened to accommodate carriages and stages and became the first major highways in the US.
These old historic trails are really cool. As Dave said, you can almost see the ghosts.
It was like that for me riding through the Sonoran Desert, and in the Black Hills. Appreciating our history like this is just awesome...thanks for the great pics!

Lady R (Di) said...

Big Al... working on it! Hope to bring it soon!

Joker... I did google it... pretty awesome!
I appreciate history so much better now... I guess since I'm becoming historic myself with every birthday. LOL!

irondad said...

You captured the same thing I enjoy. Standing somewhere and thinking of all the people in the past walking over the same spot.

It would be so cool to go somewhere like Rome or the Bible lands and just soak it all in, I think.

Kathleen Jennette said...

That is cool to imagine the past. I am still looking at the pics imagining! Thanks!

Lady R (Di) said...

Irondad... I would love to go to the Holy Land! I know several folks who've gone with their church group. I can't even imagine what it would be like to stand or walk on the same ground Jesus himself did.

KT... That's what fun about visiting these old places. Lots more to it than just pretty scenery.