How did Native Americans (the Choctaw and Chickasaw,) traders and early residents of the US South move back and forth between Mississippi and Tennessee?

You’re looking at it; the dirt path in the photo on the left is part of the original Natchez Trace that ran from Nashville down to Natchez, on the Mississippi River.

This particular section is called the Sunken Trace; it’s one of the only parts left of the original trail.

How did travelers use it?

The National Park Service says that “Kaintucks,” or boatmen….

floated merchandise down the Ohio and Mississippi rivers from states throughout the Ohio River valley. Agricultural goods, coal, and livestock were among the many products that were floated to markets in Natchez and New Orleans. Once the goods on the boats were sold….the boatmen would begin the long walk home [from Natchez.] Research indicates that more than 10,000 Kaintucks traveled the Old Trace in the year 1810 alone. The 500 mile trip on foot typically took about 35 days. Lucky travelers that rode horses could expect to cover it in 20 to 25 days.

Today, the 443-mile Natchez Trace Parkway (similar in concept to the Blue Ridge Parkway in the eastern U.S.) winds along over much of the original route. The Sunken Trace section is located at Milepost 41.5, and it is worlds away from the modern, two-lane asphalt Parkway nearby.

It is quiet here, and the canopy of trees and embankment lend a “mists of time” air (especially at sunset, when this photo was taken.)

The picture also does not give you a sense of a slight problem in warmer weather — the aerial bombardment by local mosquitoes. At the time of my visit, I was soaked in Deep Woods Off repellent, and it’s still a miracle that I wasn’t carted away by hundreds of buzzing companions.

To continue exploring the early culture of the area, investigate the seven groups of Native American prehistoric mounds in Mississippi, along the present-day Parkway. Many were constructed 2000 years ago and were occupied as recently as 400 years ago.

Just be sure to carry bug repellent and apply determined swats.

Turns out I’m not the only fan of postcards.

Pam over at Nerd’s Eye View is one too and she’s planning her own ‘postcard revival’.

Here’s what she has to say…

I still adore postcards, getting them, writing them, sending them off. I love them so much that I’m going to send one to you. But you have to send ME one, too. Tacky, gorgeous, vintage, just plain used, a picture of some place you’ve never been or went 12 years ago and still have postcards from, send ‘em my way and I’ll send one to you.

In a nod to technology, we first have to trade addresses via email: [pam (at) nerdseyeview (dot) com] Send me yours, I’ll send you mine. Don’t be shy; I won’t send you anything inappropriate and I’m not stalkerish or weird. (Well, not weird in a scary way.) I have some postcards that we’ve made ourselves over the past view years, some that I never sent out, and, if I run out, well, who knows what I’ll send you.

I’m in…

What about you?

Head over to Nerd’s Eye View and let’s get this revival going…

But Pam’s not the only one talking postcard revival.

Back in 2006, a Portuguese man was deeply concerned by the way technology was taking over the age old practice of sending and receiving letters and postcards. Determined to keep the art of postcard sending alive, he established Postcrossing - The Postcard Crossing Project.

Two years later, Postcrossing has over 50,000 members who have sent over 1 million postcards around the world. As I write, postcards were being sent and received from the United States, Germany, Taiwan, New Zealand. How do I know - the constantly scrolling mailbox on the Postcrossing site.

So it looks like postcard lovers around the world have already united. Let’s join them.

Viva la Revolution postcard!!!

I love sending postcards. It’s a great way of keeping in contact with family and friends while traveling foreign lands. Sometimes, the postcards are sent as a ‘look where I am’, other times as a ‘wish you were here’, but mostly they’re sent to share my travel antedotes, events, and experiences.

But a recent San Francisco Chronicle article is suggesting that sending travel postcards is almost a dying art.

Turns out that while those at home still check their mailboxes daily for glimpses of foreign lands, we travelers are too busy blogging, emailing, and photo-txting to find the time to sit and put pen to postcard.

As one executive of a West Coast Company that distributes postcards states in the SFC article, technology has changed the way we communite when traveling.

“It’s [too] easy to take a picture of yourself at the Golden Gate Bridge with your camera phone and email it to a friend. In five seconds, it’s done.”

Postcards take so much longer. First you have to find one and then work out what to write. Then there’s finding a stamp and a mailbox. And of course, there is no guarantee that the postcard will arrive home before you do or that it will arrive at all.

So what do you think?

Are postcards on the edge of extinction?

When was the last time you sent one?

I’ve just come back from nearly three weeks in Rome, Vienna, and a couple places in between (thanks to Sheila and Liz for holding the fort!), where I expected my 8-month-old, plus stroller and diaper bag, to hamper the routine. Instead, being a mother suddenly became my primary travel experience. It drew interactions that a loner introvert like me would usually have had to work at.

It’s no secret that the Italians love kids. Groups of Italian teenage girls dropped their boyfriends’ arms and turned their backs on the Colosseum to take pictures of my little boy, who smiled away and took it all in stride. I left his legs bare much of the time and once a woman ran out of her shop as I was passing, not to lecture me about covering him up, but to kiss his bare little feet while he was slumped over asleep in his stroller. Elderly people made a point to play with him in restaurants when he got fussy during dinner time. It all made me want to move there immediately, because, frankly, the US doesn’t do a good job of making you feel like the coolest person in the world for being a mother.

What really struck me was the middle-aged woman I met in passing, or simply passed on the street. They melted when they looked at him, of course, maybe thinking of their own grown-up children or grandchildren to come, but there was something else, a kind of pathos and patience in their expressions that gave me the odd feeling I was constantly passing retired goddesses who spend a lot of time doing dishes.

There was wisdom in those faces, adoration of this new human and knowledge of everything I am to experience over the next decades of my life: the joys my son will give me, but also the heartbreaks. Their expressions of pleasure and sadness said everything anyone needs to know about life. It’s simply here to be lived, every little part of it.

For almost as long as civilization has been around, literature, history, and current affairs has focused on the meetings and clashes of great minds and overblown egos. It has focused on the activities of men, ignoring the activities of women who were simply at home making life happen. The trials of bringing up children and making food and creating a home-space have been ignored as trivial.

But last week, while George Bush took his ego on a trip to Jerusalem and Gordon Brown frantically tried to save his political career, I was standing in various places talking with other women about teething, and I knew, suddenly, that there was nothing more important in the entire world than two women from different cultures, neither of them speaking the other’s language, waving their hands around to talk. We gestured to demonstrate methods of alleviating teething pain; we rolled our eyes and laughed ruefully to show how exhausting and frustrating it was to have a baby at all, and how wonderful. We didn’t need words or trade deals or peace treaties or conferences.

Even elderly women in Vienna, a city not known for its love of children, smiled at him. “Hold onto it,” said one 80-something-year-old on the U-bahn as she was getting off. “Hold onto every minute.”

I could, I realized, go anywhere in the world and have something essential to talk about with knowing anything about local politics. Motherhood is universal. And if you think discussing teething and sleeping habits and pooping is trivial, consider this: how many despots, dictators, and paranoid egomaniacs are running the world right now because their mothers were too harassed, tired, uninformed, or incompetent to hold their babies when they were crying? If you believe that a butterfly flapping its wings in China affects the weather of the whole world, then how do you think the world is affected by how one single mother deals with her teething baby when he’s screaming?

Welcome to the carnival where you can tour the world in one blog post!

If you’d like to host the 28 May or 4 June Carnival of Cities, please email me at sheila “at” sheilascarborough “dot” com. Thanks!

Some intriguing contributions this week….

** Cities in the Americas **

Seattle, Washington, USA Mary Jo Manzanares says that An Angel Whispered to Me: “See Corteo” posted at The Seattle Traveler. This Cirque du Soleil production is worth seeing, whether in Seattle or one of their performances in another city.

Colonial Williamsburg, Virginia, USA Leslie Carbone gives some historical background and then presents a video on Dunmore’s Proclamation, Liberty to Slaves at her blog Leslie Carbone.

Miami, Florida, USA Michael writes that Downtown Miami’s Skyline Looks To Be Stretching Skywards posted at Michael Emilio. Of course, the Florida real estate picture is pretty grim, so who will buy all those condos in the sky?

Burlington, Vermont, USA Gray says that A Single Pebble has the best Asian food in the county and possibly the whole state. Posted at SoloFriendly.com.

Chicago, Illinois, USA TherapyDoc wonders if those City Cats are going to start strolling right down Michigan Avenue; “It isn’t every day the big cats come down to the big city.” Posted at Everyone Needs Therapy.

Arlington, Texas, USA The Whited Sepulchre is not happy about The Texas Sinkhole; no, not the Houston one, but the tax-subsidized one for “America’s Team.” Posted at The Whited Sepulchre.

Mexico City, Mexico Jack Norell describes Coyoacan, Mexico City posted at Eyeflare - Travel Articles and Tips, saying, “Coyoacan is a gorgeous leafy suburb of Mexico City. It is famous for its markets and, on a Saturday and Sunday, for great secondhand bookshops and also ice cream (you should try mil flores flavor - “a thousand flowers.”) The name Coyoacan means ‘Place of Coyotes’.”

Loganville, Georgia, USA Amy @ The Q Family describes how to Pick Your Own Strawberries at her blog The Q Family Adventure, saying, “Enjoy Spring; go out and pick your own strawberries in this Atlanta suburb.”

Daytona Beach, Florida, USA Kara Williams got up to racing speed at the Richard Petty Driving Experience at Daytona International Speedway posted at Traveling Mamas.

Branson, Missouri, USA Jeff Sullivan describes the Knudsen Brothers in his post Six - Best New Shows In Branson posted at Branson Travel Attractions.

Whistler, British Columbia, Canada Debbie Dubrow writes about Exploring Whistler Village posted at Delicious Baby, saying, “Read about our family vacation to Whistler BC, where we enjoyed the last ski-weekend of the season.”

** Cities in Europe **

London, United Kingdom Caitlin Fitzsimmons has the scoop on how to Save money in London: Part 1 - Transport posted at Roaming Tales, saying, “The first in a 5-part series on how visitors can save money in London.”

Larnaca, Cyprus Andrew Edgington says that Inexpensive Cyprus Apartments In Larnaca Are A Great Deal posted at Cyprus Informer.

** Cities in Asia **

Jaipur, India Lokendra Rathore describes some beautiful Gardens Around Jaipur posted at Karan’s Guest House.

Hanoi, Vietnam If you’re curious about Vietnam and have wondered, “So, what’s Hanoi like?” then read Pam Mandel’s description of the cacophony of city sounds (including the 6 a.m. morning announcements) posted at her blog Nerd’s Eye View.

Coorg, India AdmirableIndia.com spends time in Coorg, Madikeri and includes photos on the AdmirableIndia.com blog.

That concludes this week’s edition; the Carnival of Cities host next week (on Wednesday, 21 May) is the ever-entertaining Nerd’s Eye View.

Submit your (one, non-spammy) blog post about any aspect of a single city by noon US Pacific Time on Tuesday, 20 May, using our carnival submission form. Past posts and future hosts can be found on our blog carnival index page.

Thanks for visiting!

Technorati tags: carnival of cities, blog carnival.