Day 2: 6/20/24: Colbert Ferry to Big Hill Pond State Park

I was the only person at the bike only campsite last night.  It was nice and quite so I slept well except for the few times I had to get up during the night to get rid of some of the water I had consumed during the day.

The first 7 or so miles this morning was on the Natchez Trace Parkway.  It was shaded and cool which made for a very pleasant ride.

After I got off the Trace near Cherokee AL, I was on U.S. Hwy 72 for several miles until I reached the Mississippi state line.  That part of Hwy 72 is a divided highway with a wide shoulder, but the speed limit is 65 mph and the traffic noise was terrible.  At the state line, the shoulder on Hwy 72 went away, but I was fortunate to be able to take a back road to Iuka that runs parallel to Hwy 72.  The remainder of my route today was mostly on lightly travelled roads.

Pic below of the Tennessee-Tombigbee Waterway, a 234-mile artificial U.S. waterway built in the 20th century from the Tennessee River to the junction of the Black Warrior-Tombigbee River system near Demopolis, AL.

I made my way through part of Mississippi today (pic below).  Then I entered into Tennessee, but the road I was on did not have a Tennessee state sign :(

I ate breakfast at Jacks in Iuka.  I always order the Deluxe Breakfast without the meat, and it has never been a problem at other locations.  Notice in the pic below what comes on the Deluxe Breakfast.

Well, today I stuck to tradition and ordered a Deluxe Breakfast but no meat.  I could see the panic on the cashier's face and I told her I understood the cost would be the same, and that's okay.  This "special request" threw off the cashier and she called the manager over to ask her how to do it.  The manager asked what all I wanted on it, and I went through the spiel again that I wanted a deluxe breakfast with everything but the meat. She did some punching on the register and said it would be $6.38.  That was close enough to the price shown on the menu that I accepted everything as okay.

When the order came out, it had eggs, biscuit, gravy and grits.  I went up and asked the manager if I was supposed to get hash browns and she said no.  I told her that I ordered a Deluxe Breakfast without meat and it comes with hash browns.  She said I paid less than a Deluxe Breakfast costs, and I pointed out to her that I actually paid more than the one with sausage.  I then point blank asked her if I was going to get hash browns and she said "No, it wasn't rung up that way."  (She's just a Hash brown Nazi) They then had the gall to tell me they could ring me up an order of hash browns.  Thought in my head: "Not no, but h#** no" : ) I was not about to get anything else at this restaurant out of fear it may come with some added "special sauce."

After Iuka,  I pedaled through the towns of Farmington and Corinth, all in Mississippi.  Below is a pic providing information about a Civil War battle near Corinth.

The day heated up nicely and the hills of North Mississippi -Southern Tennessee were very challenging.  I was glad when I made it to Big Hill Pond State Park (pic below ), where I will camp tonight.

So far, I am the only person at the campground.  There is no sign of anyone else joining me at the campground tonight, so hopefully another quiet night for sleeping.  I took this as an  opportunity to sink wash my cycling clothing as they were beginning to smell bad.  I hung them out to dry on signs near the bathhouse (pic below).

Pic of view from my tent below.  I may fall asleep watching the sun go down.

Total miles today: 67.8