Sunday, May 1, 2011

Leaving for Natchez in 3 days

     Sooooo much to do and the weather is just rotten.  It was a little warmer yesterday so Rick drained the anti-freeze out of water tanks and put in some bleach water to clean them out.  We are lucky to be able to use Marlene's (Amanda's mom) driveway to park the RV while we work on it.  We can fit this RV in our townhouse driveway, but it is at a pretty good angle which is not good for working either inside or out.
    We are headed for the Natchez Trace National Parkway.  It is over 400 miles long and goes from Nashville, Tennessee to Natchez, Mississippi.  The Parkway follows a trail that was used by both Native Americans going to the lands of the Chickasaw nation and by Kaintuk boatmen who floated goods down the river, sold the wood from their barges, and then walked back north to do it all over again.  I read about this area in a book by Nevada Barr whose main character is a National Park Ranger who works in many parks.  I have been interested in following this historic trail ever since reading the book. (In addition we can add many new states to our list of states we have visited in our RV travels.
     Rick had problems with the towed vehicle while driving the camper to Marlene's.  A complicated and lengthy process makes it possible to tow our Honda CRV with all wheels down.  Hopefully the problems were due to a mis-step in the process.  This trip will be a real break-in period for this new combination of Class C RV and towed car.  We had become pretty relaxed with the 5th wheel and truck combination, so I am sure that by trip's end we will also be comfortable with our new setup.  For now, however, Rick has made up some checklists and cheat sheets to be sure that we remember everything.
    Tomorrow I will make up our camper bed and get the rest of the non-perishable food into the cupboards.  All the maps and books are on board as well as some games, movies and insect repellent, sunscreen and sun visors.  Hopefully we will find some sun as we head south.  I am getting very excited!

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