Natchez Trace Facebook Fan Wins $500 Gift Card

The Natchez Trace Compact would like to congratulate Becky Mikell for winning a $500 Visa Card through our Facebook contest.

We asked our Facebook fans to upload a story of why they love the Natchez Trace Parkway. The Natchez Trace is a very special and beautiful place for many, and we wanted to hear why it is so unique from the visitors themselves. After uploading their story, Facebook fans were able to vote on their favorite story and the story with the most votes won a $500 Visa Card to spend along the Natchez Trace.

From Kosciusko, Mississippi, Becky Mikell frequently travels the Parkway in Tupelo, the Jackson area and Tennessee. She tells us she’s looking forward to spending her prize money on Christmas gifts for her family in Tupelo. While in Tupelo, she will also be presented with a gift basket at the Natchez Trace Parkway Visitor Center.

Take a look at Becky’s story about her father and memories on the Natchez Trace Parkway:

Memories of My Dad:

“I have traveled up and down the Natchez Trace most of my life because my father was from the Berea and French Camp area and we had aunts and uncles that lived on the Old Trace that we would go visit every weekend. What I love most about the Trace is that I have a lot of memories of my Dad and things we did together. There is a very special place that most people called Little Mountain, but it is actually Jeff Busby Park. My family and I would go there on Sunday afternoons and have a picnic lunch and walk the trail that went to the top of the mountain. It was mostly special because my dad would carry me on his shoulders when I would get tired. We would roll down the hills in the grass and just have a great time. Another memory that makes me love the Trace is because I spent many hours at night when I was sixteen learning to drive. My dad (Bud Mikell) would take me on the Trace at night when he would get off work because he said it would help you learn to drive at night and also get used to meeting cars with their lights on bright or dim, and he was right. I was very close to my dad and these memories will always stick in my mind forever, his smile and laughter when the family was together on Little Mountain and the satisfaction on his face when I would have a great night of driving.

There is one really special reason why I love the Trace and that is because my dad is buried at the small church, which is called Berea Baptist Church, and that is also where  we went to church until I was eighteen years old.  So  anytime we take a trip on the Trace,  I always know my dad is watching over us and we always make that special stop to  check on his grave and make sure everything is okay and sometimes my mom, my daughter and I will ride to the cemetery at  Berea and go to my dads grave and sometimes just talk to him and tell him what a great week we’ve had and that we still love him. I guess to sum it all up, just getting out on a Sunday afternoon and riding to French Camp or Berea Church always makes us think of little things that we  did with my dad and how we enjoyed the family time as we took those many trips every Sunday to go to church. It’s hard not to love the Trace with the special memories that I have to keep in my life forever.”

We wish Becky and all of our visitors happy holidays this season! For a chance to win next time, follow us on Facebook and Twitter for upcoming contests.