We were up and on the road by 9:45 AM on another sunny, hot day with a cloudless blue sky. Because it was still early there was a cool breeze so it was comfortable driving with the MH windows open.
Before leaving we stopped in to say good-by to Ranger Jim and to let him know he was right about that fired chicken. Ranger Jim is a very friendly man and easy to talk to. He wished us well and invited us back.
As we were driving down the road we came upon a large group of dogs ambling down the center of the road. There are a lot of dogs running loose in this area – most wild dogs.
We arrived at Natchez Trace State CG and were pleasantly surprised to be able to secure one of the 6 full hook-up sites for four nights. Even more surprising – the incredible nightly fee of only $14.00 including tax.
After setting up we took a ride to the Natchez Visitor Center where we watched a film on Natchez and gathered information so we could plan our visit.
The city of Natchez is the oldest settlement on the Mississippi and sits on a bluff overlooking the Mississippi. Because of its location, Natchez attracted many wealthy planters to build their homes. At that time Natchez had 50% of all the millionaires in the country living there. 
From the time of statehood until the Civil War in the early 1860’s Natchez grew as a center of wealth and culture. There were days when cotton grew in the lower river lands stretching as far as the eye could see.
Despite the fact that there were many slaves working on the plantations and working as servants in the mansions there were some free blacks who owned businesses and operated plantations where they too employed slaves.
Many of the of the men and women of culture, intellect and social class were from the North and opposed secession and formation of the Confederate States of America.
Nevertheless, when the Civil War began, Natchez people supported their state and the South and sent many of their men into battle.
Natchez as a city survived the Civil War with little loss of property. The town was quietly occupied in the summer of 1863 when Federal troops set up headquarters at Rosalie one of the antebellum mansions.
We took a ride to the area called Natchez, Under the Hill. Overlooking the area is a spectacular view of the Mississippi and the Gazebo a scenic spot atop the Natchez bluffs.
As the afternoon progressed the heat became intense but we thought we would walk down to the Natchez, Under the Hill. We didn’t bring our water so after about 1/2 mile downhill we opted to turn around and get the car.
Stairs to Trail Flood Walls
Interesting Iron Work on the Verandas –This was the home of one of the free black men.
The sign on the right caught our attention because it was a memorial sign set up for over 200 people that had lost their lives in the Rhythm Nightclub fire in 1940. It piqued our interest because we had read about the famous Coconut Grove Fire in Boston and then the more recent Station Nightclub Fire in RI. We had never heard about this particular fire so planned on researching it.
More homes with interesting lines and architectural details
As we drove around Natchez as with all of the neighborhoods in Mississippi you couldn’t help but notice the stark contrast between the very rich and very poor.
The woman at the visitor center recommended that if we do nothing else in Natchez we must take a ride through the Natchez City and National Cemetery. That it is an interesting and beautiful place to visit.
The cemetery is over 100 acres and is the biggest cemetery we have ever been too outside of Arlington Cemetery in Washing ton, D.C.
It was interesting to learn the cemetery encompasses all religions as well as a National Cemetery. Also interesting, but surprising people bury their pets at the cemetery as well!
As we drove around we spotted a very pretty family plot and decided to get out and look. We initially had thought that this family had lost a lot of young children because typically in an old cemetery the smaller stones were for children but to to our surprise they were not the human children of the family but the canine children. Yes, they allowed pets to be buried in the cemetery as well. There were eight carved stones of Saint Bernard's that this family had laid to rest with them.
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As we drove through the enormous expanse of cemetery we realized that Natchez residents were definably well off. The size of the stones sometimes was overwhelming and just to think that someone has enough money to bury eight people sized dogs with engraved stones in a huge plot is mind boggling. Especially since Mississippi is considered the poorest state in the nation. (Here I go – the bleeding heart) Just saying, that the money spent on stones could feed a lot of poor people.
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Tomb of the Unknown Confederate Soldiers
Private Mausoleum 
By 6 pm we were getting hungry and Ron had a desire for barbeque. Of course he remembered his trucking days and how good the barbeque was down here. So I pulled out the TomTom and plugged in restaurants and as luck would have it we were .7 miles from the Pig Out Inn Barbeque. Ok then we would give it a try.
It was a quaint little place with a lovely pink pig outside feeding its’ babies.
Inside was equally as bizarre but the food reasonable and absolutely delicious. Ron loves potato salad and I don’t, but I must say it smelled good so I tried it. It was heavenly. Not sure what they do differently but it was and is great. So good that we bought some to go. Did I mention the sweet tea. It is scrumptious but really bad for the diet. You cannot get ice tea that tastes that good except in the South.
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We were impressed with the food and although not sure if we should eat at the Pig Out In were glad we stopped. Back at the CG we took Jewel for he walk and settle in for the night.
We plan to tour a couple of the antebellum mansions tomorrow and what ever else we can fit in.
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