Our drive from to Tupelo, Mississippi was one for the books! The thunderstorm, pouring rain with down-bursts of wind, pushed our trailer around and scared us, but all ended well. We were very grateful to safely arrive at our campground in Tupelo which is a little slice of heaven with lots of trees, flowers, and birds.
We also experienced the epitome of southern hospitality here in Tupelo. The brace on our trailer steps needed to be repaired and we found a welder who was happy to do the 10-minute fix. After completing the work, he refused to accept any payment saying, “Welcome to Mississippi; it’s a blessing to serve!” We were touched by his generosity and ‘payed it forward’ by donating in his name to the World Central Kitchen.
The highlight of our time here was our bike ride on the Tanglefoot Trail, and this one is our first experience riding a “Hall of Fame” trail as listed by the rails to trails organization. The trail is the longest rail-trail in Mississippi and meanders through the hardwood forests of the Mississippi Hills National Heritage in the foothills of the Appalachians on a paved roadbed. While we did not ride all of it, we did set a new distance record for us of 42 miles of riding.
This trail preserves the abandoned Gulf and Ship Island Railroad built by the great-grandfather of Nobel-Prize-winning author William Faulkner based on a main route used by Chickasaw clan of native Americans.
Sue, of course, did a ‘ReLive’ video of our ride, so enjoy these details:
We had significant headwinds for the first 21 miles of our ride – with gusts as much as 30 miles per hour – but that was a gift as the return 21 miles trip was a relative breeze. We celebrated our successful completion of the ride with big bowls of yummy yogurt in New Albany, Mississippi. As our trip proceeds, we are feeling stronger and have thus far biked 175 miles.
It turns out that Elvis Presley was born and raised in Tupelo and our time here concluded with a visit to his birthplace and the church he and his family attended.
It has been a joy to spend time in beautiful Mississippi!