Road Trip: The Natchez Trace Parkway

This weekend, we took a ride along the Natchez Trace Parkway. It's a two-lane road that runs through Tennessee and Mississippi, following roughly the same route as the original trail.

It was an absolutely gorgeous day for it! The sun was bright and the air was filled with the first crisp, cool bite of autumn.





Those photos were taken from one of the many overlooks on the Tennessee side of the Natchez Trace. Of course, I loved looking at the many barns that dot the sides of the road, too...



The trip was flawless...with the slight exception of watching out for these big boys, because they had a habit of coming right up on the road:



We wound up at Loveless Cafe, where we spent way too much money in the gift shop, laughed a lot and met up with old friends. The trip was worth every last minute. Highly recommended!

Best. Shake. EVER.

It's the little things that make me happy. Like taking another impromptu road trip, finding a little roadside ice cream shop and discovering the best Orange Crush Milkshake ever made.

The shop? The Big Dipper in Killen, Alabama. (For those who like further direction, that's on Highway 43 in the northern part of the state, about ten miles north of Florence.) It's a quaint little place where the owner works her own counter and makes her orders by hand. No mixes there...it's the real deal. And it's priced nice.

And it's better than good. It's almost better than sex.

If you happen to be in northern Alabama, you must go. (Let me know you're coming, so I have an excuse to head down there again and get another one.)

Nature Shots

Here are some shots, as promised. We drove up through Land Between the Lakes. The wildlife was really out and about...we spotted so many more than this, but wild animals usually don't hold still for a good picture.

We just love LBL. Isn't it lovely?