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Building Cars and RVs While Dodging Tornadoes


April 1-7, 2018 — This week we continued our journey northbound on the Natchez Trace Parkway. Three days were spent boondocking at the Jeff Busby campground then we headed north to Piney Grove Army Corps of Engineers campground near Tishomingo, Mississippi. Piney Grove is slightly off the Natchez Trace but centrally located for a few points of interest we wanted to see. It’s hard to go wrong with COE campgrounds as they are located on lakes and waterways and generally have great views. 

Mile Driven – RV

Miles Driven – Car

Jeff Busby Park located on the Natchez Trace near Ackerman, Mississippi offers free boondocking for up to 14 days. The park was very busy during our stay with snowbirders taking a break on their migration to the northern United States and Canada.

Broken and uprooted trees were a common sight in Mississippi following recent storms and tornado activity.

Our boondocking spot at Jeff Busby Park. There was just enough of a break in the trees to give us adequate solar power to function. 

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We took a side trip to Starkville, Mississippi, home of Mississippi State University. Interesting that there are almost as many undergraduate students attending the University as there are residents of the city of Starkville. The campus is beautiful and very well-kept. 

Just off the Natchez Trace north of Tupelo, Mississippi is the Piney Grove Corps of Engineers Campground. It is located on a peninsula in Bay Springs Lake near Tishomingo, Mississippi. Most of the campsites offer great lake views like the one we enjoyed in the photo below. 

Blue Springs, Mississippi, population 232, is home to Toyota Motor Manufacturing Mississippi, Inc. where 1,600 Toyota Corollas are made daily and have been since 2011. Like all U.S. Toyota factories, this one offers tours of the manufacturing facility aboard a trolley. Tours are free but reservations are required. 

The red Corolla below was completed on December 12, 2017 and was the 1,000,000th car produced at the Blue Springs, Mississippi plant. 

Love the spring flowers we see in our travels. Anyone know what these are? Leave us a comment below.

A 1976 Tiffin motorhome, complete with avocado green shag carpet and wallpaper, is on display at the Tiffin Motorhomes factory in Red Bay, Alabama. 

Photo taken while on a tour of the Tiffin Motorhomes factory in Red Bay, Alabama. Read more about the tour here.

Our view out the front window while parked at Piney Grove Corps of Engineers campground on Bay Springs Lake near Tishomingo, Mississippi. Life is good!

In addition to all the activities in the photos above, we also spent time visiting with new friends, sitting around the campfire, hiking trails, reading and relaxing. Stay tuned to see what fun things we find to do next week!