We sold our house and are working our way west to Denver – hed’n to the wed’n.  Yup, our son will be getting married in November, so we are taking a slow stroll west.

First stop?  See old friends (sorry, did that sound catty or judgmental?) at TCPC (Tennessee Cumberland Plateau Campground), one of our favorite places.  This place is great, and nice to catch up with friends – lotta laughin’.

Departing TCPC, we headed to Nashville and then down the Natchez Trace Parkway, a 440-mile trek ending in Natchez, MS.  The Trace is an historic driving and recreational path that travels through 3 states (TN, AL and MS).

This is a beautiful drive with many places of historical significance (like the death and burial site of Meriweather Lewis) as well as many places to stop and enjoy the views, hike, or stop for a picnic.  There is no commercial traffic allowed on this parkway, although RVs are allowed.  We didn’t make too many stops or take many pictures, but this is a beautiful parkway

Partway through the Trace, we camped out for the night in Florence, AL in a city park on the shores of the Tennessee River.  This was a nice break and was right on our way since a section of the Trace was closed due to construction.

Just outside of Florence we went past a sign for the Coon Dog Cemetery.  What?  Karen gets online and sure enough, the Coon Dog Cemetery is a thing.  Now we didn’t stop, but on reflection this was a missed opportunity.  Nonetheless, the following photos are from their website.

The end of the second day on the Natchez Trace put us in Vidalia. MS – right on the Mississippi.  We seem to have a river vibe going on.  As has been reported, the Mississippi River is particularly low right now, although barges are still plying the waters – at least at this point in the river.  Even more amazing, the barges run at night – in the dark.

Moving into Texas, we stayed at Rayburn Park on Sam Rayburn Reservoir, which is an Army Corps of Engineers Park – always pretty and a good deal.  We camped right on Lake Rayburn and had a quiet night with rain and winds moving through.

Once again, we find ourselves in Austin, probably one of (if not the) coolest towns we have visited.  Very dog friendly, and very quirky, this is a great town.

We learned from others that in all the time we have spent here in Austin, we were not familiar with, or had been, to Chicken Shit Bingo!  How did that escape our notice?  Seems like it has our name all over it, so to speak.

As it turns out, the Little Longhorn Saloon, on Sundays starting at 4pm, hosts Chicken Shit Bingo, where for a small wager you bet on where the chicken, who is in a crate eating corn, will… poop.  Yup.  There is some comfort knowing there are people weirder than you.

We will actually continue our journeys from Austin to Marathon and Big Bend before turning our sights north towards Denver and the special event.  But since we will soon be leaving the grid, that’s all for now.

Keep on feeding them chickens!