A truck driver, from Texas, made his first official stop in Natchez last weekend.

Michael Hamilton, of Lufkin, Texas, came to Natchez Saturday to pick up paper pulp from Mississippi River Corporation (MRC) on Majorca Road.

In his five years as a truck driver, Hamilton has driven all through the nearby states.

&uot;I always come through Natchez,&uot; he said.

But this weekend was the first time business required him to stop here, he added

Hamilton, who works for a trucking company called Hot Transport, drove to Natchez from Lufkin early Saturday morning.

He then spent several hours at MRC waiting for his truck to be loaded with paper pulp.

Afterwards, he planned to make the five-hour drive back to Lufkin where another company will convert the pulp into large paper rolls.

Hamilton said he usually transports paper rolls but he has also carried other items. These have included everything from charcoal to food items.

&uot;You never know what your going to pick up or where your going to be going,&uot; he said.

States Hamilton visits often include Ohio, Florida, Oklahoma and Tennessee.

But he says he does not have a favorite.

&uot;I like them all. I love traveling,&uot; he said. &uot;It’s a paid vacation.&uot;

With his trucking company, Hamilton is off every other weekend and is home two to three times a week. So despite what may appear to be a lonely life, Hamilton says he feels he has plenty of time away from work and plenty of variety in the routes he travels.

&uot;I go over the same roads, but not to the point I get bored,&uot; he said. &uot;Maybe six months before (I) come this way again.&uot;

The Dart is a weekly feature in which a reporter throws a dart at a map and finds a story wherever it lands.