Tag: nature

Sunday at Whitsett

I went to Nashville for a weekend to celebrate with some very special women in my life and had a great time.  Before beginning our final activities on Sunday, I had the opportunity early that morning to go to one of my favorite places, the park.

After consulting the Googles for a park near the hotel, I spent a beautiful crisp morning at Whitsett Park, which is one of six segments of the Mill Creek Greenway.  The paved trail which is approximately 1.2 miles accesses the creek, includes a playground, pavilion and community garden (which I did not locate).

The trail is flat, fast, mostly tree covered, and absolutely gorgeous.  Though this was a fall excursion with perfect weather, Whitsett Park would still be good cover on a hot summer morning. 

There were few people in the park, likely due to weather which was in the 40s (too cool for some folks), it being 8:00 am, and a Sunday.  Yet, the park felt safe for those who want to be alone with nature.

If you are in Nashville and stay near the airport during your visit, I highly recommend a stop at Whitsett Park.

Until next time, see you on the trail.

In memory of Donna and Joni

Photos: MsThorns

This is the park where the goose was found with an arrow in him.  The goose was alive and was able to fly.  The arrow went through the tail feathers.  WSB-TV showed the story on the 11:00 pm news about the arrowed goose, but it is not yet posted on its site.  Trust I will be calling Parks and Rec in the morning. 

McDaniel Farm Park

Ever on the lookout for a new spot to run and in need of some extra motivation I found myself one particular Saturday at McDaniel Farm Park in Duluth, GA.  This little heaven of a park is nestled amongst the chaos of  Gwinnett Place Mall, a multitude of car dealerships, strip malls, restaurants and ongoing construction on Pleasant Hill Rd.
Upon hitting the trail I met a nice couple who showed me the ropes of the trail and I took off (well not really as I’m more of a tortoise than a hare).  The particular route I was on has short inclines and dips, a nice mixture of shaded and unshaded areas and pedestrian bridges.  Some of the curves are sharp but not sharp enough to hurt yourself. All paved trails combined are approximately 3 miles and it seems as though there are limitless combinations that you can choose from and improvise along the way with the help of posted hard maps.
The main features for the tourists and history buffs are the farm buildings near the front entrance of the park.  This area has been restored to resemble a 1930s subsistence farm (cotton) in Georgia. During the spring through fall these buildings are open for tours and there are special events throughout the year.  There are also covered pavillions for large groups available by reservation.
McDaniel Farm Park has a little something for everyone and is at least for me, a bit of peace in the midst of  this part of Gwinnett’s madness. 
For more information on McDaniel Farm Park and other parks in Gwinnett County please see the county website.

Bethesda Park, Lawrenceville GA

One of my favorite things are parks. Dating back to when I was a child the biggest treat in the world was to go to the park with my father after which we’d head over to pick up ice cream.

I don’t get the ice cream anymore after the park, but I still enjoy going to them immensely. All my long runs during the spring, summer and fall are done at the park. I look for animals and birds, listen to the sounds of all the wildlife, pray for breezes and always find peace there.  Now that Peachtree is over, I am looking for some other parks to run in just to shake it up and decided to head over to Bethesda Park in Lawrenceville, GA. 

I drove around the place first and it is huge. There are softball/baseball, soccer, and football fields, basketball courts, an aquatic center and senior center as well as play areas and pavillions.  I was most interested of course in the walking trail.  There are two a short trail around a man-made lake and a longer 1.5 mile trail. I took a leisurely stroll on the longer trail and it’s fantastic.  I’d say it’s over 80% shaded and fairly flat.  The only hills and they are short are near the end of the 1.5 if you start the trail going to your left.

The short trail is mostly unshaded.  People fish, feed the ducks and geese and basically chill out in this area. All the pics in the post are from the short trail.

Overall for purposes of running/walking/biking, Bethesda has a great trail, with welcome shade from this GA heat in the summer and is a welcome respite from some of the hillier fair in the area.