Nashville, Tennessee
Season IV - Chapter 5
Mardi Gras to Maine
“The GST and Music City in Perfect Harmony”
There is something special when you are able to blend all of our interests together, an accord that doesn’t happen often enough on the road. Certainly, the mountains will provide enjoyable hikes and twisty roads, but try and find a nice restaurant. The cities abound with fine dining and entertainment, but a dark sky and its light show will be miles away. The area of Nashville, Tennessee and Southwest Kentucky have found the balance.
Our stay is centered in Franklin, Kentucky just a few miles from the border with Tennessee and its capitol, Nashville. Franklin is Amish Country and is populated with the simple farms and memorable people of that faith. Our smiles are notable as we wave to the children just departing their school wagon, more than likely on their way home to help with chores around the farm. We loved the rolling hills nearly as much as our lunch at the Amish Market. Sandwiches made fresh to order from bread baked that morning... delicious. One of the few remaining Shaker Villages and historic downtown Franklin was also on the agenda that day.
Bowling Green, Kentucky is home to WKY (Western Kentucky University) and the National Corvette Museum. The former did not mind that the majority of our time would be spent at the latter. This place is unique as a museum, unique in that it has a collection of significant sports cars, but that you can pick up the latest version and drive it out today and begin making your own memories.
The National Park Service Mammoth Cave is also located near here. With over 400 miles of unclogged passages we drop down ⬇️ to see what is up ⬆️. No free exploring, only a guided tours are an option.
Music City she is called and aptly named! The Grand Ole Opry is a wonderland for country music fans, yet it is downtown on Broadway where the real exploits are to be had. 😳 Honky Tonks, a concept new to us thrive here. The back of every band faces the street so you will be drawn inside to see the show. When the crowds spill into the streets, no worries... a party bus awaits. There is no shortage of good times to be had here!
The Athens of the South, named for its many Academic Institutes, highlighted by Vanderbilt has one more connection to the Aegean Peninsula, it’s own Parthenon. A stunning replica of the temple sits in Centennial Park. Considering the construction in 1897 it is 2335 years newer and in much better condition. 😂
We complete our brief stay here with the other end of the Natchez Trace Parkway. We “hop” on at Leiper’s Fork and ride the serene parkway unto its terminus in the north. We celebrate with a meal at the Loveless Cafe that we highly recommend. 500,000 (and 2 😋) patrons served this year cannot be wrong.
The sunset over the pastoral fields of Southern Kentucky concludes our week here keeping “The GST and Music City in Perfect Harmony.”
Travel safe.
We will see you out on the other trail... Kentucky’s Bourbon Trail. 🥃
John and Caroline 🍀
Our Points of Interest in the Nashville area:
1. Visit: The Dave Ramsey Show in Franklin, Tennessee. This is not for everyone, but for John and I, we would not be on this travel journey if it were not for following Dave’s “Baby Steps” and being debt free. We enjoyed three of the popular podcasts that day along with some very kind people that served fresh coffee and fantastic chocolate chip cookies.
2. Walk around The Parthenon at Centennial Park in Nashville: It is so interesting to see this beautiful replica that was built in 1897 with an optional museum and visitors center at an additional fee. There is open greenway and fresh air to be had here which makes for a nice break from the busy Nashville scene.
3. Hike: Mammoth Cave National Park in Kentucky. We had time to hike roughly 4 miles despite the heavy rains finding Green River Bluffs, The Sinkhole Trail, and Echo River Spring Trail for our day’s challenge. There are many hikes to choose from with most of the trails groomed rock and not mud.
4. Tour Mammoth Caves: There are over 400 miles of discovered caves at Mammoth Caves, but you can only enter the caves if you have a reservation for a Ranger led tour so be sure and book in advance. Our disappointment came in the added cost for tours in addition to the National Park pass fee.
5. Nashville is home to The Grand Ole Opry, Honky Tonks, and so much more. Be sure and plan your visit in order to take part in the endless list of things to do!
Scenic Motorcycle Routes in Nashville and Southern Kentucky:
1. Ride: We did have time to take a few rides in this area. Our goal was to travel to Nashville and see Broadway and the Honky Tonk area. It is one unique and happening place. Every location has music pouring out into the streets and happy people listening. A very positive energy here and we recommend a visit that includes enough time to wander in and out of the Broadway area. Taking the backroads home to Franklin gave us a delightful view of the smaller areas of Tennessee while we avoided the Nashville city traffic.
2. Leiper’s Fork is a small town located out past some amazing home and horse properties. We so enjoyed the ride out to Leiper’s Fork and would recommend taking time to stop at the small shops or visit one of the small restaurants. We chose to continue our travel on to the Natchez Trace Parkway that ended at the Loveless Cafe for a tasty late lunch.
3. Starting in Franklin, Kentucky we enjoy the country roads with the old barns and many horse properties and long fence lines as we stop at the Shaker Colony museum. Continue on to Bowling Green to visit the Corvette Museum and all things Corvette. Our final travels were out to Smithville for a fresh, homemade Amish Market sandwich. As always, be sure and yield to the Amish and the horse and carriages.
The above video was made during our time in Indiana. Riding motorcycles in Amish Country is a true honor.
RV Location for visiting Nashville:
Dad’s Bluegrass RV Park
2889 Scottsville Road
Franklin, Kentucky 42134
*We were in a pull through site with plenty of space for the patio, motorbikes, and truck. This is an older park with several full-timers. The staff were friendly and helpful. We appreciated that this location leant itself to the activities that we had looked forward to.
