54 Tennessee State Parks Ride Collaborative: Cedars of Lebanon State Park

[aldntn]

Things close you don't think so much about. I go to Cedars of Lebanon State Park often, but I knew little of what it offered. I'll explain that later.

What it does offer, the web site can explain more effectively than I can:

Cedars of Lebanon State Park - TN

So, I was going there anyway so just as well to post something for liberia's TN State Parks Collaborative. I like to be a collaborator every once in a while, or at least be suspected of such.




Just joking...this was on the way to Cedars of Lebanon. More later.

[8trackmind]

[aldntn]

OK, here's the right place. Actually, there's quite a lot you can do here:



And




I really don't do any of those things very much and never here at Cedars of Lebanon. It is an interesting place. Using my primary source of knowledge, Wikipedia ... Cedars of Lebanon was created out of cut over and generally trashed farm land by the WPA. I really like WPA and CCC stuff. If you know what a Cedar Glade is (Juniperus Virginiana) you know the Red Cedar can only dominate on the rockiest and poorest of soils. So if you cut the trees off it, you end up with something like a concrete parking lot. Red Cedar wood has many fine qualities and was widely used for furniture making and pencil making in the early 20th century. My grandfather's brother worked for a pencil company finding cedar stumps (extremely rot resistant) for making the pencil slats at his company. Pretty good gig I guess. Apparently all the trees were gone.

These days Red Cedar wood is in much less demand as times changed. And, fortunately the Red Cedar took over those parking lot like area and created new forest.

Some more pics from the park:









Generally speaking, a nice park. Of course, its not Yellowstone, so there's not a lot of national/international visitors. Mostly local folk and, as near as I could tell, a calm and quiet bunch of people. I didn't go into the camping areas; you can refer to the description in the Park link. The altitude is less than 600', so in the hot part of the summer it is hot.

A nice park with lots of attractive features and available activities...And, although I go to the park often, I don't do or use any of these features and activities.

I'll tell you about that in the next post.

[aldntn]

So why do I go to Cedars of Lebanon State Park? First let me say that I often get there riding on Chicken Road. No relevance there, I just like saying "Chicken Road". The green parts of the map below seem to be all State Park. That is misleading. The Park is embedded in Cedars of Lebanon State Forest and is mostly along Cedar Forest Road east of hwy 231. But there is a lot of green area besides that. That is State Forest.





Another view of the hwy 231 entrance: Cedar Forest continues through the forest.








I'm nostalgic about gravel road since I grew up on them. And this is the closest gravel to the house. There hardly anybody out here, even on weekends, although there is occasional big ol pickup truck that may refuse to acknowledge your existence and nearly run you over. Riding out here is fun and serene for me.



Guaranteed mud holes down this way. Make sure to check with the Rangers on which trails are open. They will write tickets.



More mud holes this way. I stay on the gravel.






The road hasn't received much maintenance lately, so the are some rough washouts. I came up on a deep diagonal one before I noticed it and had to get up on the pegs and lean on the bars. Well, some folks like doing it that way.



You'll notice that there is a lot of hardwood. The lowly Cedar reclaims all the ground quickly and then gives way to the hardwoods.



The road is blocked off on the west side at McCrary Road



Where Cedar Forest crosses W. Richmond Shop Road



The pavement is W. Richmond Shop Road



This is on the east side. The pavement going to the left is Norene Road (Norene is home of the smallest Post Office I have ever seen). Cedar Forest goes to the right and turns into gravel.



Well, that's the most of it. Most of the time I'm in the area I ride the gravel. But every time I'm in the area I go here:









The pictures don't capture it. Here is a grove of hardwood with hardly any undergrowth. Well, I can't really explain it. It is one of my favorite places on the planet. Just pausing here a few minutes makes me feel better. The place seems mystical to me.

Well,

There you have it.

[aldntn]

The Post Office at Norene TN

[Liberia]

Originally Posted by aldntn

The pavement going to the left is Norene Road (Norene is home of the smallest Post Office I have ever seen).

I'll put the Fosterville Post Office in the running for smallest. Of course they shut it down a couple of years ago so I guess that disqualifies us.