The day started with a visit to the Mississippi State Capitol in Jackson. From there we made our way towards Baton Rouge with a start along a section of the the Natchez Trace Parkway. The Parkway is a 444-mile recreational road and scenic drive through three states. It roughly follows the “Old Natchez Trace” a historic travel corridor used by American Indians, “Kaintucks,” European settlers, slave traders, soldiers, and future presidents.
The Parkway was a pleasant drive, with perfect tarmac, no traffic and a constant canopy of trees overhead to shield us from the heat of the sun (much appreciated as it was low 30’s all day). Imagine a road running through Lothlorien in Middle Earth, except with wind noise instead of elvish choral music.
Stopping in Natchez we grabbed a coffee at the Nanchez Coffee Shop, a busy local diner with a multi-linqual loo. In a discussion with our waitress, we learned that US-61 – our original route to Baton Rouge – was NOT a nice motorcycle experience. So we checked a route on the Louisiana Side that looked more promising and went with that.
We crossed the Mississippi on the I-425 to Vidalia and headed south on LA-131 and LA-15. Along this route we noticed farm lands and then large levees including the Old River Control Structure which regulates the flow of water from the Mississippi into the Atchafalaya River, thereby preventing the Mississippi River from changing course.
Joining LA-1 we continued on to Oscar, a small community along the False River where there were numerous beautiful riverfront homes.
Picking up Hwy 190 and I-10 we eventually arrived at the Louisiana State Capitol for a quick visit before heading to our hotel.