David Crockett and Radnor Lake State Parks Hiking + More Nashville Exploration

David Crockett State Park is the closest hiking are to Pulaski. I discovered my favorite trail there, Trail of Tears, Lake Road Loop, and Crawfish Valley Trail Loop. Even in the late fall when all the foliage is down, the trail offers a variety of landscapes from flat riverside hiking to a waterfall. There is a little bit of elevation gain/loss and around 4 miles round trip distance making it a nice morning hike. 

Radnor Lake State Park is another discovery I made back in early April of this year. I decided to visit it again and hike Otter Creek Road to Garnier Ridge. I really needed to be back in the nature today as I found out that Iohan Gueorguiev, a bikepacker and world traveler who I have been following for several years now has passed away by suicide. I could never imagine that someone who seemed to be so in touch with his internal world could do that. His videos will hopefully live on...

I also attended a few meetups. Thompson's Station Holiday Market was reasonably crowded with traffic extending a mile in each direction, but the food trucks were terrific there. Well, maybe one food truck in particular.

Napa valley chef, as someone told me

Unusually delicious beet and goat cheese cream salad

The vendors were alright, but I didn't end up buying anything there. I managed to even bypass a baked goods stand!

After the event I went to another gathering which turned out to be in a bowling alley. I hate bowling, so after an hour and a half I was on my way back to fabulous Pulaski.

I also started my volunteer shift at the public library. I pull books that patrons place on hold. For 2 hours (the duration of my shift) I am surrounded by books. I was surprised to see how many homeless people hang out at the library. In fact, most patrons there were homeless. This was the same scene I saw in Knoxville. I don't think I have ever been at libraries that were so crowded with them. I guess there are not many resources available for them to go elsewhere, and it's getting cold...

The benefit of volunteering at the library is free parking downtown in their garage. I am certainly taking advantage of that!

I also managed to venture out to a Yelp-hosted event where we had a sit-down dinner at El Paseo Cantina. The food was pretty good, although the level of spiciness was a bit too high for my liking.

Finally, it was time to depart Pulaski. A day of celebration. I took a video of what I am not going to miss: