Driving to Oxford yesterday, we got to ride on one of the prettiest roads on this trip so far--maybe the prettiest--the Natchez Trace. It is an ancient trail used by Native Americans, and since it is a national monument or something, no billboards or even big road signs are allowed, and about every mile or so there is a pretty little turnout where you can learn about the history of the road. Here are some pictures:

There were many small meadows, perhaps wintering agricultural fields, but small and not attached to any farms, beside the road. Very few barbed wire fences, so I doubt that they have cattle there, but also very few places with obvious rows like for crops. It almost looked as if they just keep the meadows mowed for us to find pretty.

I loved seeing an actual section of the trail the way it looked before it was turned into a highway. I wished we could hike along it awhile.

There were many places where you could learn about the Native American history here. These mounds show where a small village stood, and it's literally right along the trail. Katie ran down the hill 4 times once she got the courage, and didn't want to stop after that.

I didn't want to leave the Natchez Trace, but we got to Tupelo and had to leave it behind, to go see Oxford. Oxford is the home of Ole Miss (University of Mississippi) and also William Faulkner and other famous writers, such as John Grisham. It is a nice looking college town with a central square dating back to 1839. However, most of the town was burned by Union troops after the Civil War, so it doesn't have the Antebellum mansions of Columbus. But it has the prettiest little bookstore I think I've ever been in, which is apparently nationally known, called Square Books (because it's on the central square). There are three Square Books on the square: the main store, which is two stories, with lots of antique velvet chairs and couches to lounge in, a store a few buildings away which sells the stuff they want to liquidate, and a cute children's store which is sort of catty-corner on the square, with books but also lots of toys for your kid to play with while you figure out how many cool kids books you can afford (for us the number was one). Here is the main store; the kids store is in just as cool a building:

This store has loads of signed books; they get lots of authors through there and I guess they have them sign a bunch of their books or something. They even have a signed-book-of-the-month club, and apparently, those folks who have been on it for years have now got signed Grishams and other famous 1st editions, as well as signed books by now-nobodies, I guess. Sounds very cool, if pricey. Here is an old department store, that is still an old-fashioned department store and the same name, since 1839 I think:

Here is our site by a dam, where we stayed our one night in Oxford:

Today we are off to Arkansas, to Hot Springs. I am so excited by the thought of soaking in a warm spring!!