Day 87 Mississippi River
The alarm on my phone rang at 4:30am. The plan was to wake up early, pack up and hit the water while still dark in hopes of enjoying a sunrise paddle. I begrudgingly poked my head outside and took note of two things. One, the sky was covered in clouds, two, a barge was cruising by on the far shore, almost invisible other than a small red light on the first container and the back of the towboat lit up.
With the cloud cover I decided a sunrise paddle would be better severed another day. I laid my head back into the winter jacket that serves as my pillow and happily fell asleep.
Once up, around 7am I made breakfast and packed quickly, wanting to give myself as much time as possible to reach my goal for the day, Natchez Mississippi.
The first part of the morning was spent looking for mile markers, hoping to gauge wether or not Natchez was possible to reach by dusk. Around 10am I spotted a marker on the Louisiana shore and broke out the binoculars to hone in on the numbers. 399. With Natchez at mile 364, I knew the goal was reachable with some effort.
A headwind picked up in the afternoon, meaning more effort and slower speeds were in store. With the river now nearly one mile wide I crossed back and forth a few times, picking up a small amount of water in the boat from breaking waves.
By 4 o'clock I could see Natchez off in the distance. After a bit of effort battling wind I arrived in town and stopped 50 yards or so shy of the boat ramp. A few trees that lined the shore looked like a good spot to stash my gear as I went into town.
After unloading and locking up the boat I walked through some brush to reach the boat ramp. When I emerged, I was covered, head to toe in small brown seedlings that stuck to my shirt, shorts, wool socks and shoes. It took about a half hour of tedious picking to remove the annoyance.
Once in town I walked up the hill and grabbed a BBQ dinner. Ribs, baked beans and Mac 'N cheese. I then wandered town for a bit. For a small community, Natchez was well put together and busy on this Friday night. Several bars and restaurants had live music beginning at 9pm.
Around 7:30pm I saddled up Under-The-Hill-Saloon, which I found out from talking with folks is supposedly the oldest bar along the Mississippi. With dollar bills tacked to the tall celling and photos of steamboats, old time black and white portraits and other various wall hangers this saloon had character.
Music began right on schedule at 9pm and the place filled in. A solid night with a cast of true characters from the Deep South. One gentleman, JD, stood about 5 foot tall and wore what I can only describe as a "plantation hat", a straw hat with a large floppy brim that seems slightly longer in the front and back than on either side.
A great night meeting all kinds of folks at the historic Under-the-hill Saloon in Natchez, Mississippi.