October 17, 2014

3 Parks: Burgess Falls, Dunbar Cave, & Port Royal

We are so close to finishing our list! We only have 5 more parks to visit. 
It has been so refreshing and renewing to get outside for a few hours on the weekend. Genevieve thrives when she is in nature. And she craves that closeness that she gets when we wear her. I am not looking forward to the super cold weather because that will limit our ability to go hiking, but this year has been so great with our State Park Adventures. Michael wants to tackle national parks next!

1. Burgess Falls - Cookeville, TN
After a long wedding weekend in Chattanooga, we decided to take the long way home to stop by this park in order to break up our day. We weren't really dressed for the hike nor did we have time to take the steep trail to the bottom of the falls, but it was still a beautiful 30 minute stroll with breathtaking views of the falls.

2. Dunbar Cave - Clarksville, TN
This is a little park up north in Clarksville. The hike starts at the entrance of the cave. Unfortunately, because of white nose disease found in bats, you can't go into the cave, but it was still interesting seeing the cave and reading the history behind it. The trail was gorgeous! I felt like I was in enchanted woods. It was a mix of evergreen and deciduous. 

3. Port Royal - Clarksville, TN
Because we were already in Clarksville and Dunbar and Port Royal are two small parks, we decided to visit both on the same day. Port Royal is split in half with a river in the middle, so we had to park twice to visit the whole park. There is virtually no hiking but it was still a great visit. On one side of the river was a stretch of trail that is protected as part of the Trail of Tears. It was sobering reading the history of the trail and walking where thousands of Native Americans walked. On the other side of the river are the remains of an old trading post from the early 1800's, including a bridge built in 1887. All the history made this park really fascinating, plus we picnicked by the river which was beautiful. 

Burgess Falls

Dunbar Cave

Port Royal 
Tennessee is gorgeous. 
 

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