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In April, 2008, we drove along the Gulf Coast of Mississippi, making a delightful stop in Old Town Bay

St. Louis. Here we found a town blown apart by Katrina almost 3 years earlier that was now

reinventing itself as a funky artists' colony. Sitting right on the shores of the unpredictable Gulf, only

the leaning trees and windowless buildings hinted at the ravenous power hidden in the pretty waves.

But this town had its own secret -- an irrepressible optimism that life could be fun and spirited once

again.

In April, 2008 we visited the city of Natchez perched on the Mississippi River a ways from the coast,.

This city of elegant mansions sparked our imaginations as we pictured life on the plantations in the

mid 1800's, with the elegant gowns, grand parties and conspicuous wealth. We roamed the back

streets of town and wandered along the swollen Mississippi River, wondering how much higher the

water could rise. The buildings on the Louisiana banks already appeared to be partially submerged!

At the end of April, 2008, we traveled up the Natchez Trace Parkway as far as Jackson, Mississippi.

This is a beautiful parkway that is closed to commercial traffic and is filled with layers of history from

prehistoric times to just 150 years ago. The Parkway runs alongside the original Trace, an ancient

hiking trail that was widened to a wagon road in the early 1800's. People used it for travel and trade

for ages, and portions of the original Trace can still be seen.

In mid-March, 2009 we stopped at the free Rocky Springs Campground and rode our bikes along the

Natchez Trace Parkway. Although it is just a thin strip of roadway, the Trace is a world unto itself.

We visited an Indian Mound and found once again that the Trace is a place of both history and

mystery.