Mileage: 62,811 Jeff Busby Campground Natchez Trace Ackerman, Mississippi

We began our day at the southern terminus of the Natchez Trace. We traveled the northern portion of this road on our way back from Alaska.

This route began as a Native American trail and as the west was settled, it became a postal route. Our first stop this morning was at the Old Trace.

We stopped at the Emerald Mound. This is a sacred Indian site. This mound began as a natural hill and was reshaped 800 years ago by the native people. This was and is an important site for social, cultural, and spiritual rituals. The mound was formed using primitive tools. People carried baskets of dirt to create the shape of the mound. It took approximately 300 years to complete.

I drove for 80 miles or so. This really is a gentle, soothing, lovely ride. The woods are lush and green. The weather was perfect with a soft breeze and warm sunshine. There was Spanish moss hanging from some of the trees. We saw woodpeckers and hawks and turtles. We passed farm fields and hay fields and meadows and cypress swamps. The road was flanked by tall pines and other mature hardwood trees. In some places the branches stretched across the road to form a canopy. We stopped for lunch at the reservoir overlook at the Pearl River.

We are camping in the National Park. It is very quiet and peaceful here. Tonight is the last night of this grand adventure.

In the past several months, we have lived in cities and towns, in the mountains, by the sea, on a river, in a bayou, in the desert, in national parks and state parks, in a wildlife refuge, in the woods, at Walmart, at the beach, and even at a racetrack.

This life enriches us. We encourage you to get outside and explore. Find beauty wherever you are. Find joy. Find peace.

We have reshaped our definition of home. Home is where we find ourselves alone together. Home is also in Reisterstown with our family and friends. And, home is in Atlanta with David and Dre and our 2 precious grandsons. Home is where we park it!

For the next several weeks, we will be in Atlanta visiting. Then, we will head back to Reisterstown for a month or two. We want to thank everyone who has followed us. It means a lot to us when we know our friends and family are reading. You can be sure that we are already planning our next adventure. In August we plan to head back to Atlanta and then out to Colorado. We will restart the blog at approximately the end of August.