COVID-19’s less virulent cousin is cabin fever. No on-site office work and no school taking place concocted a monotony cocktail for the Rising Family™. Self-quarantine broke us fast. I noted in an earlier post that we lasted about one week under lockdown at home and were soon going out for long drives. At first, it was a guilty pleasure. We would get in the SUV and scuttle out for a night cruise. Full disclosure: we never left the car. We’d simply drive around at night on the local two-lane highways, rolling down the windows when it was warm enough. That was our gateway drug. Soon, our driving routine became daylight rides spent gawking at the magnificent houses in some of the pricier areas of town followed by a trip to the Dairy Queen drive-thru. Next thing we knew, we hit the downward slide to craving, needing to get out and walk around. We soon graduated to become hiking renegades.
State Park Slam
As infection rates rose quickly during the onset of the pandemic at peak times state parks closed, but we found a few city parks that, for whatever reason, remained open.
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| Courtesy of Yahoo!News |
By late March we were seeking out trails in nearby parks to get some exercise, fresh air, and eyeball greenery to raise morale. While society was buttoned down and social gatherings were a non-starter for most people we knew, we kept our spirits up by hiking. We weren’t unique. Plenty of families were out there too, enjoying the spring skies and walking the trails.
Most folks used common sense like maintaining six feet of social distance and pausing to let others pass on a trail.
With so many city and state parks available, we took day trips nearly every weekend for the remainder our time in Nashville. This satisfied the desire for movement and cleared the head.
There were some unwritten rules for these excursions:
- Bring your own drinks and snacks. This reduced interactions with other hikers. And the snack shacks weren’t open, only the trails.
- Exercise due diligence. We exchanged intel with likeminded neighbors about fun parks and researched our destination, then printed out maps of the trails we were doing. Many bathrooms were closed so bio breaks had to be thought out in advance.
- Sanitation regimen. We rigorously enforced of hand washing, use of hand sanitizer, and masks at all times, especially at gas stations and drive-thru restaurant food pickups.
- Socialize wisely. Many fellow hikers were friendly; others clearly wanted to keep their distance. Most other spelunkers at least offered a greeting. Some were more skittish. You began to recognize what type people they were fairly quickly and went along with whatever seemed appropriate. Friendly-but-wary were the watchwords. Social rules were being re-written on the fly.
During one trek, out of the blue we crossed paths with Nicole Kidman and Keith Urban, who are among the famous entertainers who reside in the Nashville area. We respected their wanting to do the same thing we were in peace and lost our cool only after they’d passed by.
Here’s a few choice shots:
There were some unwritten rules for these excursions:
- Bring your own drinks and snacks. This reduced interactions with other hikers. And the snack shacks weren’t open, only the trails.
- Exercise due diligence. We exchanged intel with likeminded neighbors about fun parks and researched our destination, then printed out maps of the trails we were doing. Many bathrooms were closed so bio breaks had to be thought out in advance.
- Sanitation regimen. We rigorously enforced of hand washing, use of hand sanitizer, and masks at all times, especially at gas stations and drive-thru restaurant food pickups.
- Socialize wisely. Many fellow hikers were friendly; others clearly wanted to keep their distance. Most other spelunkers at least offered a greeting. Some were more skittish. You began to recognize what type people they were fairly quickly and went along with whatever seemed appropriate. Friendly-but-wary were the watchwords. Social rules were being re-written on the fly.
During one trek, out of the blue we crossed paths with Nicole Kidman and Keith Urban, who are among the famous entertainers who reside in the Nashville area. We respected their wanting to do the same thing we were in peace and lost our cool only after they’d passed by.
Here’s a few choice shots:
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| Rock Island State Park |
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| Bledsoe Creek State Park |
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| Montgomery Bell State Park |
To close, I’d like to emphasize my attitude of gratitude. Getting a bit stir crazy and needing outdoor activity and fresh air is a privilege many people still don’t have.
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| From our neighborhood |
We’re lucky to have been able to weather the beginning of the COVID storm in Tennessee, with its gorgeous natural beauty and space. And great people.
