Category Tennessee

Harpeth River State Park

Harpeth River State Park is composed of an archipelago of public islands in a sea of private land. Hiking to the top of the Harpeth River Narrows reveals miles of emerald green farm land as far as the eye can see.

Harpeth River State Park is composed of an archipelago of public islands in a sea of private land. Hiking to the top of the Harpeth River Narrows reveals miles of farm land as far as the eye can see. We had just gotten a new care package, courtesy of Duluth Trading Company, and decided this would be the time to take it for a spin.

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Meriwether Lewis Monument

The Meriwether Lewis Monument commemorates the life of the celebrated adventurer and marks the location at Grinder's Mill along the Natchez Trace, where he met his untimely end.

Last night, we slept near a grave. The clouds lay thick over the night sky. Even the moon could not penetrate the blanket of mist. Leafless trees stretched skeletal limbs dimly etched against the night. A bitterly cold wind searched for any gap in our truck camper and the campground bathrooms were heated! We were camping at the Meriwether Lewis Monument.

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Jackson Falls

Jackson Falls is one of the iconic waterfalls along the Natchez Trace Parkway.

We are suckers for overlooks. So, when we saw an overlook for the Duck Valley at milepost 404 of the Natchez Trace, we stopped to enjoy the moody, overcast vista. To me, it was like some scene from Wuthering Heights. I could imagine Heathcliff moodily stalking across the valley. We stalked across the hills, too. Well, at least we hiked along a ridge and into a small gorge to enjoy Jackson Falls.

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Double Arch Bridge

Overlooking the Double Arch Bridge along the Natchez Trace Parkway.

At the 438 mile post of the Natchez Trace, in Williamson County, Tennessee, is the Double Arch Bridge. This elegant work of engineering also known as the "Natchez Trace Parkway Arches" spans 1,572 feet and 145 feed over the valley floor. It was opened on March 22, 1994, and cost $11.3 million to build.

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Natchez Trace Parkway

The Sunken Trace is the product of centuries of travel. Traders following the Natchez Trace wore down the trail so that, in places, the untrod ground may be above one's head.

The Natchez Trace connects Natchez, Mississippi to Nashville, Tennessee. The 444 mile route roughly traces the historic dirt path that "Kaintucks" annually traveled.* These were farmers from the Ohio River valley who had loaded rafts with their produce and traveled with it down the Mississippi to sell in Natchez or New Orleans. There, they would also sell the lumber that made up the raft and then return, on foot or by horse, to their home via the Natchez Trace.

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Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum

No trip to Nashville, Tennessee could be complete without visiting the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum. Music city has seen the rise of many a cowboy hat wearing, guitar slinging, vocalist with dreams of bigger things. Those bigger things are now on display, from Elvis's golden piano to Tailor Swift's crystal guitar.

Check out any Tennessean's driver's license and you might notice holographic music notes. Nashville is the Music City, complete with the Grand Ole Opry, a street of honkey tonks, and many a music museum. Yet, towering along side the Nashville Convention Center, shaped like a bass clef with a keyboard inspired facade, is the mecca of country music history: the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum.

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