Day 12: to Tishomingo, MS

Today we cycled 34 miles with 1,739 feet of climbing. So many dog encounters! Thankfully, I found I could sweet-talk most dogs and keep pedaling. I did have to get off my bike once and walk past a dog. 

We cycled just over ten miles on the Natchez Trace Parkway as part of our route today. The second largest slave market in the Deep South was once located near the southern end of this parkway. Today the parkway is a designated National Scenic Byway (that does not allow trucks) that stretches 444 miles from Natchez, MS, to Nashville, TN. I understand that it can be tough to cycle the parkway on the weekends because the road is heavily used by recreational vehicles and there are no shoulders, but we had the road pretty much to ourselves today. It would be fun to cycle the entire parkway sometime. 

Today's route, part 1:

Part 2:

Part 3:

We rushed to complete the day's riding in the morning so we could shower and set up camp by early afternoon, and jump in the van to ride to Corinth and visit the Civil War Interpretive Center and Contraband Camp located there. (See separate post to follow.)

Photos from today's ride:

A snack-break spot along the Natchez Trace Parkway. 

Tonight's campsite, complete with resident goose.