A Little Winter Sunshine
Last winter, it snowed in Nashville for all of 45 minutes. This winter, we’re still short on snow, but not for lack of cold weather. It’s been rough here, although not as rough as elsewhere in the country. Still, I was thankful for a relatively warm (mid 50s) and sunny weekend here in Middle Tennessee, and I made sure the girls and I made the best of it.
I picked them up from their mother’s Saturday late afternoon, and we decided to spend the last hour of sunlight riding bicycles, deferring a much-needed trip to the grocery story for the twilight hour. Back when I moved into my condo, I was told of the “secret park” just down the street, so-called because no one ever seemed to be there. The girls and I have spent many, many hours at this playground since then, but it wasn’t until this weekend that we discovered a shortcut to the park from the back side of the condo parking lot. The shortcut is even (mostly) bike friendly. Thanks, Young Woman Walking Her Dog, for showing us the shortcut!
After seeing a tip from Ms. Cheap, we headed out Sunday afternoon to Montgomery Bell State Park, about an hour away near Dickson, Tennessee, to see a few model trains and do some hiking. I was a little worried that we wouldn’t have enough time there, between church letting out at 12:30 and sundown at 5:00, but it all worked out. This is twice now we’ve saved time (and money) by having a picnic lunch on the church grounds. Rolling Hills Community Church, we appreciate your conveniently located picnic tables!
The trip out to MBSP was a pleasant one, heading northwest on Highways 96 (under the Natchez Trace Parkway bridge!) and 100. It’s a beautiful drive, even in the bare winter months, and Hannah and I spotted several vistas we want to come back and photograph when we have more time. (Also to be photographed: The giant catfish sign outside a bait-and-tackle shop near Dickson.) At close to an hour, it was a bit of a drive, but I made what turned out to be a smart move early in the trip by telling the girls to turn off their electronic devices and take in the scenery. Nice to know my girls can appreciate the Middle Tennessee landscape.
We spent almost three hours at the state park, and saw maybe five percent of it. We’ll definitely go back when we have more time and the weather is warmer, but the park made a great outing for the three of us. I hadn’t done much research on the trails, but we happened to find a nice one, the Wildcat Trail, leading from the inn and conference center to a small playground. We marched through the woods, with the girls making a big deal over each blue trail marker they found, and Lily making up a song about the land of Happy Corn. (“It’s the corn that dances!”)
All three of us had our cameras, so we took photos of each other and generally had a silly time covering, oh, maybe a third of a mile. (Long distance hikers, we are not.) We got to the playground just as the trail was getting a little dull, and the girls welcomed the chance to take to the slides and swings and check out the nearby stream. I kept an eye on the setting sun and got us headed back to the car in time to avoid the colder temperatures after sunset. All in all, a great little adventure for the three of us.
Thanks, Montgomery Bell State Park, for being awesome! We’ll be back some day!