Exercise for All

I can’t seem to get myself back on my regular schedule since getting home from my little trip to South Carolina.  Too many things to catch up on and too little time.

Warner Learning Center

We are pretty committed to the exercise plan--trying to get back in reasonable hiking shape after several months in the travel mode.  Up until I went to SC we had found a few hours almost every day to go for a walk or a hike.  We’re not doing so well this week.

However, what we do is good and we had a good hike Monday at Warner Parks.  The Warner Parks are actually two parks--Edwin Warner and Percy Warner.  The parks are adjacent to each other and are more often just referred to as “Warner Parks”.  Together, the 2684 acre parks have about 12 miles of hiking trails with an additional 18 miles of horse trails.  The road system is extensive as it weaves its way over and around the hills which make up the parks.  The roads in Edwin Warner Park are closed to motorized traffic making them a popular place for joggers and bicyclists.  The parks also have two golf courses, an equestrian center, a Learning Center, an athletic field and many picnic shelters.

All that's left of an old boy scout cabin.

These city parks are a true gem for the community of Nashville and, for Gene and I, offer the best hiking around.  We most often hike at Percy Warner and our trail of choice is the Mossy Ridge 4.5 mile loop.  This is what we did on Monday.  The treadway is hard-packed dirt and winds it way over several hills through hardwood forest.  We always go in the clockwise direction.  Personally, I think it is easier than going counter-clockwise.  There is one wet spot on this trail at Dripping Spring.  Even in dry weather the spring is dripping enough to make a wet crossing.

Back in the 1980s after I started hiking, Mossy Ridge was the first trail I hiked in Nashville.  My mother brought me over here along with her other brother, Edd.  He nor I had any idea what we were getting into and had hiked way farther than we intended to when we came upon this log.  My mother sat us down for a short break and explained that we didn't have much farther to go.  Actually, we were only about halfway.  I guess she was afraid to tell us that part.

Down here in the central basin of Tennessee, our leaves are just starting to turn.  Along the trail we saw mostly green with the yellows coming right along.  Not many reds, however.

Crossing Dripping Spring

Today, it was the motor home that needed exercise.  I don’t know the whys or wherefores, but Gene tells me the motor home shouldn’t just sit for month after month while we’re doing our hometown thing, but should be “exercised”.  So this morning, we put everything away, pulled the slides in, unhooked our life support and away we went.  For our hundred mile trip we drove west (which is really northwest) on I-24 to the Kentucky border.  At the first exit after the Kentucky welcome center we turned around and drove back to Nashville.

This afternoon we’ll be exercising the wallet at Wal-mart.  After that we have a babysitting gig with the granddaughter.

That’s all for today, unless I get one of the old entries posted from Trip Journal. Thanks for tagging along.