Natchez Trace

On Saturday we headed to Franklin again. Hoping parking would be better on the weekend. Again, we never made it. On the way we were driving down the Natchez Trace. It is a 444 mile scenic route though MS,AL, and TN. It goes from the campground to just outside Nashville. Along the way there are all these markers that tell you about historic sites or other points of interest. We were passing one called Metal Forge and Eric had remembered reading about it so he wanted to do a quick drive by. Well the was the beginning of the end of our plan to hit up Franklin. Metal Forge is the site of an old Iron Forge. It has a nice little area you can wade into and so we did. It was a blast. William was shocked we could just walk on into this river and when we were leaving g said the best thing ever. "I never knew nature could be so cool!!!" This is coming drop my kid who u less he is in a pool or theme park has no use for the outside. Eric and I just looked at each other and knew that was it. Franklin was NOT happen ingredients. Instead we would be exploring the Trace and all its cool offerings. 

                                                            Ashton liking the area

Tiny little cute rapids

Me and Zoey with our feet in the water. (Shoes are a plus, owwwww rocks)

William really starting to dig this nature thing

The sign telling about the stop

 Before we took off we went back to the campground to stop at their little store to grab some drinks since we had not planned on being out and about. We were not far so we figured it was the easiest way to get drinks. We were right. There are no stores along the Trace. There are some off shoots where you can find other towns with gas and food but in the Natchez Trace itself there is nothing. 

  We continued down and did a drive by of where Merriweather Lewis is buried. Again William shocked us all and asked to go walking on the trail. We told him we would have to go back because we all had on flip flops and no water bottles. Again I was not sure WHO this kid was but it was cementing in the fact that we decided to hit the road and travel again. 

                                                                            The sign 

The monument 

Where he died. It is a debate on if it was suicide or murder.

Remake of the Grinder House

About the Natchez Trace Trail

Next up was a spot with a little waterfall. Once again our footwork posed a problem as the path to the bottom is a bit rough. So we just took in the sights and went back on our way. 

  

  That is when we came upon it, the highlight of our day. Jackson Falls. It is along the Duck River and is a very steep angle down. However it is paved with a wide sidewalk. William was really scared and didn't want to go because the start of the path has no railing and he was scared he would fall down the side of the mountain. I worked with him and got him over his anxiety enough to start down the path. He was really scared, wringing his hands and whimpering but worked through it like a champ. Soon there was a railing and he felt much better. We saw the falls and though it was pretty there was not much water coming down. We were a little bummed but then this nice family told us about the slide. 

  "Hey if you go up there you can slide down the waterfall."  I looked at Eric, he looked at me. We both looked at the waterfall. We both look confused and quite frankly SHOCKED as we said What??? I mean surely we heard him wrong. Was he NUTS?!?!?! We really are not fans of broken bones. His wife then laughed and said "Oh no you can't see the slide from here. It is over there." Sure enough we moved up a fee steps and saw it. The most amazing thing ever. A waterfall with a flattish part with water running down it ending on a large flat area. Holy cow it was a waterfall water slide. I will tell you I don't know when we all had so much fun and we had annual passes to all the parks in Orlando. At one point William again said he never knew nature could be so cool and that he gave the slide 5 stars!!!! After riding the slide for a while we went down to where there is supposed to be a swimming hole but there wasn't enough water. So the kids and Eric tried to make a damn. Ashton did a lot of the work and he really had it filling up by the time we left. 
  
                                                   The sign. The really mean STEEP!

William finally walking down the path on his own. I was so proud of him! 

William going down the slide

Ashton going down

Family picture. Man I love them all!

Hubby at the bottom of the waterfall. This might be my favorite picture ever of him. Le sigh! <3 p="">

Ashton plugging up the damn with some mud and leaves.

Finding rocks for the damn.

 We pulled off a few more times to read this sign or that one. Then we came to this little off road the was marked as the Old Trace and you could drive on it.  It was just dirt roads with a huge drop off. It was tons of fun to drive down. It lead to talks about how this path was used over 100 years ago by Merriweather Lewis and other explored and people living in the area. How they used to go on. It on hoseback or with carts. How the roads were made and cleared. Ect. We all really do take modern times for granted. 

                                                                           The road. 

The drop off. So pretty though. 

  Eventually we hit the end of the Trace. We didn't know where we were and had no phone signal. Another thing the Trace doesn't have is signal. At all. So we decided to follow the signs to Nashville and find something to eat. So Eric made a random turn and the was The Loveless Cafe. It was on my Pinterest Board to try put and we had seen the episode of Showdown with Bobby Flay it was on so we took it as a sign and stopped in to eat. Look for that review coming soon. 
  Overall it was an AMAZING day. We had tons of fun and even the hardest to please kids had a blast. We will have to revisit a few spots again before we leave. We all fell asleep nice and early and I woke up feeling very old. Lol We had planned to go the other way on the Trace Sunday but we were spent so we just chilled out. So if you are ever near the Natchez Trace you must take the drive and see the sights. You will not regret it.