Moving Trip (Part 1) - Day 2

I got up around 0700L and ate breakfast in the hotel. During the meal I learned more about last night's commotion: two cocaine dealers (!) were in the room next to mine but didn't have the sense to stay inside. Instead, they ventured out and got into their car just as a policeman happened to do a search of the hotel parking lot. They were, apparently, acting suspiciously - so he searched them, their car and the room. Of course, they were then removed... No more disturbances after that - helped me sleep, anyway. Back on I-20 and got some gas near the Louisiana-Mississippi border - crossed the Mississippi River (first time in Vicksburg in quite awhile) around 1000L. Got off the Interstate west of Jackson and got on the Natchez Trace Parkway. I've always wanted to drive the remaining part of this historic trail - just saw a few short sections in 1993, 1994 and 2000. After getting information at a small visitor's center, I headed out on the road. The best thing about the Parkway is that there are no traffic lights, stop signs or major areas of population - and the speed limit is 50 mph. After I cleared the Jackson city limits, there was almost NO traffic for the rest of the day. I stopped a few times (Indian mounds, other historic landmarks from the 1800-1840 era) but could have driven all day with the cruise control on without ever applying the brakes (that's good, since I need new rotors...). One bad thing, though, is that there are no signs for fuel services on the entire 400+ mile parkway... It didn't matter for most of the day as I had entered with a full tank and I got great mileage (nearly 500 miles in one tank!) but it came back to bite me eventually... Found a section with odd tree damage - looked like a forest fire without the burning (trees chopped off at the top). A hand-made sign along the road identified the culprit: the Spring 2011 Tornado - wow!!! I encountered lots of deer in that area and saw some unfortunate folks' homes surrounded by tree debris on all sides. Saw lots of familiar names - the Choctaw and Chickasaw Indian tribes lived in this area before behing expelled to Oklahoma. Listened to the radio all day. One of my goals had been to stop at the Meriwether Lewis memorial (about 2/3 of the way to Nashville) and I made it there about 30 minutes before they closed. It wasn't much - although they are improving the facilities there - but it had a grave marker for one of the prominent explorers from the 1804 expedition. I feel like I've come full circle this year - with all the places I encountered Lewis and Clark, this was a fitting end. I had hoped to find some gas near that site, but still hadn't found any. Decided not to chance it and got off the Trace Parkway at US-412. Despite some disorientation on the outskirts of Columbia, Tennessee, I managed to locate a gas station. At the same time, I discovered that this was the town where President James K. Polk had lived most of his life. Decided then that this was as good a place as ever to spend the night. Made a reward night reservation on my iPhone (how handy!) and then drove over towards the hotel. Made another mistake, though, because I wasn't in the correct lane and ended up headed out of town again on US-31 (Nashville Highway) before I could turn on the Saturn Parkway and find I-65. Fortunately, my hotel was at the next exit. Checked in and then drove over to eat at nearby Stan's Restaurant. It reminded me of a Cracker Barrel (which was funny, since one of those was across the street) but they had something different: outstanding Tennessee BBQ! I enjoyed my dinner a lot (after snacks all day) and headed to my room satisfied. Spent the rest of the night planning the following day - I want to get the most out of this last chance to "dawdle" on the way to a new job...