Old Stone Fort State Park. Tennessee

 

We are sitting by our campfire, which is not throwing out enough heat to offset the low temperature and breeze. We are at Old Stone Fort park, one of the Tennessee State Parks, trying to keep warm, even though we are at the “hot” point of the day (3:00 p.m.). In a short while, I am afraid, we will retreat to our camper where it really is toasty warm, thanks to the electric heater, and not cold like it is out here. Admitting defeat.

But no matter, colder temperatures are just part of the landscape when you are camping in October. Some days warm, none hot, some days cold. Some days chilly, like today. Most chilly. We are here only because our neighbor at Natchez Trace State park told us about this park. He said the hike here was terrific, although the campground wasn’t as nice as the one we were staying at currently. We might disagree a bit about the campground (it’s awfully nice here), but not about his description of the hike. It was one that every Tennessee citizen should experience. More about that later.

One other thing he told us was quite incredible. For some reason, he mentioned a family that had traveled through a year ago in a “straight” truck that had Switzerland plates. It was unlike anything he had seen before. The family was taking a year to travel through the U.S. They were very friendly, and notable—how many people from Switzerland take their young children on such an adventure? He said they spent a couple of evenings with them, talking,

Anazing but true: We are sure we ran into the same family, later in the season, at Organ Pipe National Monument. Same type of camper/van/truck, same make-up of the family, same country of origin. How coincidental could that be?

Our hike today was around the old “stone fort,” so named by early settlers because they were limited in their understanding of the structure by their own experiences. What it actually consists of is a stone wall surrounding over 50 acres. Built by the Woodlands people some 2000 years ago for purposes lost to history. The brochures hint at religious meanings, but frankly I think it was for their version of the Super Bowl. Why is it that we don’t believe that ancient peoples had teams and competitions? Are they really so different from us? They likely had their own Peyton Mannings, John Elways, Terrell Davises, and, unfortunately, even Dennis Rodmans.

Part of the hike in this area goes by some beautiful small waterfalls.

 

One of the trails we took goes along the “Backbone,” a gealogical feature created when a river changed its course and tore out first one and then, thousands of years later, a second small canyon, leaving a high area between the two canyons. You can walk along the top of this “backbone,” seeing steep drop offs on either side. Really spectacular.

Two photos on the backbone. Looking closely you can see that the trail falls away sharply on both sides here.

Coming down off of the backbone.

Here is a photo of the fort. Basically it is the small mound on the right. This mound now covers the stones that were placed there and encloses 50 acres.

Here is the flat field that the stone wall surrounds.

 

The only disappointment with the park is that one can’t see the actual stone wall that surrounds the 50 acres. The wall is obvious, but covered now with dirt and trees. Even a small part that was excavated would be fascinating.

 

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