Last April, a challenge was made to the members of our H.O.G. group. The challenge; visit every State Park in Tennessee. We feel very fortunate to have moved to Tennessee and equally privileged to rediscover this fine state by the rumble of our Harley. Thus, the opportunity to acquaint ourselves with this historical state was too good to pass up. This journey seemed tailored made just for us.
On April 5, 2009, we began our expedition. We started with Middle Tennessee State Parks, we then added the West Tennessee State Parks and finally finishing our quest with Parks in East Tennessee. We began our last adventure for this cause on September 29, 2009.
We took off early on Tuesday morning. The temperature was in the 50’s, but, we had a forecast of sun and 70’s to look forward to. Little did we know that the mountains had different plans for the weather. The sun went into hiding, only to peek out at us during the day, taunting and laughing at us as the temperature dropped throughout the day instead of rise.
Tim had our venture planned from the get-go. We headed for the Cumberland Parkway in Kentucky as our gateway to the Smoky Mountains. What a beautiful throughway this is. We had hoped to find the leaves of fall turning on this trip, however, the majority of the trees are still very green and lush.
We made a quick detour from our destination as we passed the Cumberland Falls State Resort Park in Kentucky. This turned out to be a scenic park not to be missed. The waterfall at this park is a roaring rush of water on the Cumberland River. The thrashing fall of rushing water was mesmerizing and fascinating to behold. This is the only waterfall in the Western Hemisphere to have had a Moon Bow witnessed. An arch of white light only appears under very specific circumstances. A full moon and clear sky are two of the scenarios that are necessary in order to witness a Moon Bow.
Back to the task at hand, TN State Parks. We visited 5 parks on Tuesday:
47) Indian Mountain State Park – 9/29/09
48) Cove Lake State Park – 9/29/09
49) Norris Damn State Park – 9/29/09
50) Big Ridge State Park – 9/29/09
51) House Mountain State Park – 9/29/09
It was dark and getting chilly by the time we finished our 5th park for the day. Twelve hours and 345 miles of twisting, turning, uphill, downhill, around and rolling roads, we ended our day in Jefferson City.
Our schedule for the day was another five State Parks.
52) Panther Creek State Park – 9/30/09
53) Davey Crockett Birthplace State Park – 9/30/09
54) Roan Mountain State Park – 9/30/09
55) Sycamore Shoals State Park – 9/30/09
56) Warrior’s Path State Park – 9/30/09
Our last five parks were a delightful ending to our adventure. There were many scenic views filled with rivers, mountains and valleys. All parks seemed to be getting plenty of use from school age field trips, senior’s exercising and fellowship, quilting groups displaying their completed crafts and many other activities.
Knoxville was our ending for another long day, we added another 330 miles to our beloved bike.
Rising for another day of fresh mountain air we made our way toward home. With a temperature of 52 degrees and a riding air temperature of 35 degrees, I had to question our mental stability at the thought of riding in such frigid weather. However, the sun was shining and the sky was clear blue. How could I argue riding with a view such as this? We added another 183 miles to the speedometer and a deep chill to our bones.
We made a lot of good memories, met a lot of nice people and experienced a touch of God’s creative beauty on this adventure. The state of Tennessee is bursting with an abundance of beauty and majesty. We were truly blessed to experience this splendor on the back of our Harley.
