Day 72 11 Jan 2016 Natchez to Jackson MS (124.6 miles)
The Natchez Trace Parkway is maintained by the US National Park Service. It is 444 miles long going from Natchez Mississippi in the south to a point about 17 miles southwest of Nashville Tennessee.
Mount Locust. A reconstructed house that was a way-station on the Natchez Trace.
Sunken Trace is an eroded section of the original trail worn from use.
An odd juxtaposition, especially for a grave site in the middle of nowhere. As surrealistically beautiful as the chance encounter of a sewing machine and an umbrella on an operating table.
Outside the Mississippi Crafts Center in Ridgeland MS. The shop inside had some lovely items, but no bargains. Ed liked a $600 patchwork quilt
In Jackson-Ridgeland MS we stayed at Extended Stay America for $42. This motel chain provides rooms with full cooking facilities--a concept familiar to New Zealanders, but not common in the USA.
Day 73 12 Jan 2016 Jackson to Tupelo MS (185.9 miles)
Just North of Jackson is the 50-square-mile Ross Barrett Reservoir, formed by an earthen dam on the Pearl River. The Natchez Trace follows the western shore of the reservoir where there are shallow backwaters with tupelo and baldcypress trees.
We still have no idea what this emblem on this car is about, but in the interests of personal safety we thought it best not to ask the guy sitting in the car.
Attala County Court House in Kosciusko MS, just off the Natchez Trace. The town was originally named Red Bud Springs and seems best known as the birthplace of Oprah Winfrey and James Meredith, and site of Magnolia Bible College.
Building on the main square near the Attala County Court House.
Sign marking the site of Oprah Winfrey's first home, just outside Kosciusko MS.
Statue of Tadeusz Kościuszko, a Polish-Lithuanian military engineer and a military leader who fought on the American side of the Revolutionary War. The highest mountain in Australia, 2228-meter Mount Kosciuszko in the Snowy Mountains, is also named after him.
All along the Trace, the Park Service had many signs about the ecological, geological and cultural history. All were 'pretty interesting', but we'll spare you, our dear blog reader, the tedium of reading each one.
By 5pm we were in Tupelo MS, the birthplace of Elvis Presley.
This woman was a guide at the house and knew Elvis.
Bedroom with an inset photo of the family that hangs on the wall.
Day 74 13 Jan 2016 Tupelo MS to Asheville NC (465.4 miles)
Midge caught up with some email before a better than usual motel breakfast.
We knew it was a marathon driving day, but still made a relaxed start, leaving the Red Roof Inn in Tupelo at 9.30am. Midge drove the entire 465 miles to Asheville in 8 1/2 hours.
River near Decatur AL
Huntsville AL is a big NASA center.
Crossing from Alabama to Tennessee on Route 72.
Crossing Tennessee River on I24 before getting to Chattanooga.
From Chattanooga we took I75, then I40 through Knoxville. Made a rest and gas stop at Love's Travel Stop west of Dandridge at 5.30 PM.
I40 turns southeast to cross Douglas Lake, where it was getting dark at 5.45PM when we took this photo.
I40 continues southeast to cross the Smoky Mountains, following the Pigeon River from Tennessee into North Carolina before heading east toward Asheville. Got to our motel at 7PM EST.
Day 75 14 Jan 2016 Asheville NC – Biltmore Estate (25 miles)
We're re-crossing our westward path from this summer (see our previous blog, 7 June 2015). In June, we made a brief stop in downtown Asheville, but today we're headed for the Vanderbilt estate, Biltmore. The estate and mansion were built to impress, and it does so even today -- right down to the soap dispensers in the loos.
There is a long drive from the estate gates to the parking lots and then a walk (or bus ride) to the mansion.
We walked a roundabout route to a statue of Diana overlooking the gardens above the mansion.
Just below the statue, the view of the 250-room mansion opened up, providing the intended wow factor. This is the largest private residence in the US.
Italian garden and south wing of the mansion.
South wing with terrace (former bowling green) in right foreground.
West side.
West side detail
We went for a tour inside the mansion, but there was No Photography. These interior photos are pinched from several websites.
Dining Hall
Library
Billiards room
Breakfast room
After the house tour, we wandered the gardens. The gardens and grounds were designed by Frederick Law Olmsted, who also designed Central Park in New York and Mount Royal Park, Montreal Quebec (See Day 85 of our earlier blog http://or-or-bust.blogspot.com).
This is the wisteria and trumpet creeper vine arbor south of the mansion and east of the bowling green.
Another view of the Italian Garden
and some of the statuary.
Gate at southeast corner of east lawn.
From the Italian Garden, we walked through the shrub garden to the Conservatory.
Midge inside the Conservatory
Just outside the Conservatory there is a walled garden.
with espaliered fruit trees on the south-facing wall
and a gardener's cottage.
A display in the garden serves as a reminder that Biltmore was a working estate, designed to return an income. Gifford Pinchot, developed a management plan for the 100,000 acres of forest that were part of the original estate.
The woodlands close to the mansion were part of Olmsted's plan,
while the forests were farther to the west, but visible from the elevated situation of the mansion.
The estate had a farm that provided an income as well as food for the household.
Recently, the estate owners, descendants of George Vanderbilt, have diversified by offering many other things including accommodation, restaurants, house and garden tours, a winery
a brew pub,
and an ice cream parlor.
The ice cream was delicious. The wine was mediocre and the beer fair to good, though even the loyal Biltmore staff admitted both were a lot better than a few years ago. Judging by the great way the estate manages most things, it will be worth trying it all again in five years time.
...We thought you might not ask, but since you do, we bought a bottle of "Limited Release Tempranillo", the best of the wines we tried ($20). We also got a six pack Cedric's Brown Ale ($10.50), named after Cedric, one of the Vanderbilt's dogs.
Cedric's Ale was definitely better than Budweiser (mascot: Clydesdale Horses), but not up to Moose Drool (mascot: Moose, of course).
Tomorrow's a long day of driving, so we returned to our motel by 6.30 pm, booked motels for the next three nights,
Not sure why we'd want a "pool view" in January.
and at 9pm had a meal at Cracker Barrel across the road. Back at the motel we tried to watch the Republican Party presidential debates, but it was too disjointed and depressing.
.oOo.
.
Not sure why we'd want a "pool view" in January.