Natchez Trace Parkway
— — the old trail under a slow road.
Not only on a wall.
“A two-lane parkway that runs 444 miles from Nashville to Natchez, following the path of an old Native American and frontier trail. The 33-mile Alabama stretch crosses the northwest corner of the state through hardwood forest, with pull-offs at Freedom Hills Overlook and the Buzzard Roost spring. Commercial traffic is banned. The speed limit holds at fifty. The road keeps the woods close on both sides. from the studio
Natchez Trace Parkway, on ceramic.
Each tile is finished by hand in our Knoxville studio. Artwork is slowly infused into the ceramic surface under high heat and pressure, and rests beneath a thin glossy finish. The colour lives in the surface, not on top of it.
Pick any four 4-inch tiles — National Parks you've been to, a Smokies set, the four seasons of one place. $ for a set of , cork-backed, ready to live on the table.
The place, in three passes.
The Natchez Trace Parkway is a 444-mile scenic road administered by the National Park Service, running from Nashville, Tennessee to Natchez, Mississippi. About 33 miles cross the northwest corner of Alabama through Colbert and Lauderdale counties. The route follows the Old Natchez Trace, a foot and pack-horse trail used by the Chickasaw, Choctaw, and Natchez peoples and later by Kaintuck boatmen returning north from New Orleans. The parkway was designated a unit of the National Park System in 1938 and finished in 2005.
The Alabama miles cross the Tennessee River near Colbert Ferry, where the road bridges the wide grey water and climbs into the hardwood ridges of the Freedom Hills. The forest holds oak, hickory, and sweetgum, and the spring flush is heavy with dogwood and redbud. Freedom Hills Overlook, the highest point on the parkway's southern half at about 800 feet, opens west across the rolling country toward Mississippi. There are no billboards on the parkway and no commercial trucks.
The parkway stays open through most of the year, with occasional winter ice closures on the Alabama ridges. The speed limit is 50 mph. Commercial vehicles are banned and pull-offs are frequent — Buzzard Roost Spring, Colbert Ferry, and the Rock Spring nature trail all sit within the Alabama stretch. The NPS visitor centre is at Tupelo, Mississippi, two hours south. Plan for slow driving and short walks. The southbound run from Florence to the Mississippi line takes about an hour.