Cedars As Far As The Eye Can See

There are still a few more state parks within an hour's drive, and today it was the day for Cedars of Lebanon State Park.



Apparently it's named for all the Eastern Red Cedars there -- which aren't really cedars, perhaps in the same way that peanuts aren't really nuts; or perhaps not.  All I know is I couldn't say if the trees I saw were Eastern Red Cedars or something else.  I know there are many different kinds of trees, but who can tell them apart.  I feel the same way about all the different kinds of birds.

This is a huge park, with some nice amenities.  And the swimming pool looks like it'll be pretty amazing if you're into that kind of thing -- once the renovation is finished. Now it's just a big, empty hole.  Plus there's horse riding.  Maybe I should have picked up a remembrance at the gift shop, which is also a thing at this park, in the main office.  Well, I have my memories.

Even though there were people there in the camping area, I didn't come across anyone on the trails.

There seemed to be a lot of these big stones along the two mile Cedar Forest Trail. (This is off to the side of the actual "trail", by the way.)

Despite my leisurely pace, I made it back in less than an hour, so I figured I had time to try the half-mile Cedar Glades Trail. Besides the shorter distance, it was a much easier stroll due to being a wider trail with a lot less roots and stones in the path.

A Smaller Park

The other day I visited my second Tennessee State Park, one of the smallest: Port Royal State Park, near Adams, Tenn. Technically it seems to be Port Royal State Historic Park, perhaps because, unlike most others, this one has no camping options. I suppose you could put a canoe in the water, but it doesn't really look like a spot for vigorous boating activities.  There are two sections separated by the Red River. The northern section contains a short segment, a few hundred yards, of the Trail of Tears. And, unlike the much larger Bledsoe Creek State Park, while at Port Royal, I didn't see any other people; unless you count the guys in a van who appeared to be park employees doing whatever they do -- and I never saw them get out of the van.

In the southern section, there's a pedestrian bridge from 1890 over Sulphur Fork Creek.

In the northern section, due to a recent storm, it was kind of hard to navigate the whole River Bottom Trail.

And here's a shot of the Trail of Tears, where the Cherokee were camped before leaving Tennessee on the "Northern Route".

Parks across the state

I'm not a lover of the outdoors, but I kind of like the idea of visiting all the state parks -- because, let's face it, that at least seems remotely possible, unlike the people who try to visit all the national parks.  Tennessee has 56 state parks. I don't know how long I'll still live here, but as long as I do, a lot of them can probably be hit as day trips. Most of them have some kind of tent camping and camper/RV sites, but even if I wanted to -- and I don't much care for being outside -- I don't really know how all that is done; even if I just tipped my toe in and became a van-life guy. That sounds better than trying to drive a fifth wheel, but still not cheap. And, again, I don't know how any of that life works.

Back to the state park tour.  I went to my first one, Bledsoe Creek State Park, on Memorial Day. It's got the campsites and the places to load your favorite watercraft into Old Hickory Lake.  And a few different trails. I don't have the proper hiking gear, or even know what proper hiking gear is, but I think most of the trails in the state parks would be considered easy by serious hikers. I circled most of the park in an hour and a half to two hours on the High Ridge Trail and the Shoreline Trail.

It would have been tough to get over this little ditch without a little bridge.

This would be the steepest part of the High Ridge Trail.

And here's a view from the Shoreline Trail of Old Hickory Lake, which is probably also Bledsoe Creek at this point.