While LC was running errands in Tullahoma this morning I loaded Jamie into the truck and headed for Tims Ford State Park.
Over the past few months I have taken many pictures of Tims Ford Lake, as well as the paved trails and dirt trails and cabins and boat ramps and wildlife and golf courses that are all located throughout the park, but I have not walked on the single track trails even once since we arrived back in Tennessee.
On a day that began very sunny and warm and ended completely overcast (but still warm) James and I excitedly headed for the trails.
We parked the truck in the empty parking lot at Marble Plains Baptist Church and headed out.
After taking a couple of pictures of the very beautiful and always quiet church I looked around me briefly, trying to get my bearings and remember exactly where the single track trail entrance was located.
It had been a long time.
The single track mountain bike trail is a 12 mile out-and-back filled with lots of tree roots, multiple short and steep climbs and beautiful views of the lake which it parallels.
I have ridden the trail a handful of times over the years and have also run it infrequently.
I have not been on the trail often for two reasons.
1. It is an out and back with no bail-out points along the way.
In real terms that means that there are no places to pull off the trail if you have a major bike mechanical issue or an injury or are just simply time crunched.
In theory, the way the trail is set up, the only way you can get off the trails is to retrace your steps and go back the way you came.
Which is not a big issue if you have only been on trail for 15 minutes, but is a real pain if you are a few miles in.
A few years ago LC and I were mountain biking on single track at Tims.
About four miles in, LC took a very hard fall on his bike and hurt his shoulder badly enough that he could no longer ride.
We hated to do it, but given the situation had little choice and ended up bike whacking off trail, up a hill, and through somebody's back field private property until we found the road leading back to the park.
It was painful for him but he could road ride well enough to get back to the truck.
2. It is a straight forward out and back with no other trails to explore.
For a lot of riders that is not an issue.
They love Tims Ford trail because it is beautiful and lengthy and challenging.
I have always preferred the base trails because there are so many options.
So many single track and double track and horse trails and jeep trails and paved roads that I can change up workouts whenever I want to.
And I have control over the length of the workout both in terms of time and distance, which means lots of options and lots of freedom.
But on this first sunny day is a long while James and I walked through the parking lot of this very sweet church, down a short paved trail and headed onto single track at Tims................
The mountain bike trail is a winding, up and down, root filled, tree lined, quiet place and Jamie walked point as she always does.
She waits patiently while I take pictures.
Stops frequently to mark and inspect things that are interesting for curious pups, and when I walk beyond her she quickly runs in front of me to regain her rightful place.
I spent my time today enjoying brief views of the calm lake seen through the trees, and watching my dog with her pigeon toed front legs and bow legged back legs and her happy-to-be-walking wagging curly tail.
I like my dog very much and much more than most people that I know...............
We walked in one direction for about 45 minutes before sitting together on the side of the trail.
I had brought one bottle of water to share, poured part of that water into a bowl I was carrying in the back of my pack for James, and we happily drank together before turning back and heading for the trail head again.
On the spur of the moment I headed right towards the water instead of left towards the parking lot and my truck.
This wide open double track was deeply rutted out, and as we slowly headed down the trail I thought back to times I have ridden this trail in the past.
When I was mountain biking I would typically park my truck at the park Visitors Center.
From there I would hit a one mile paved trail that eventually transitions from black top to single track.
Half a mile later I would find myself on this rutted out double track that connects with the long single track Jamie and I had just left.
The double track was deeply rutted out - far more so than the last time I had ridden on it.
It would be a challenging PIA to ride now but was easy enough to walk..............
And it ended at this quiet and beautiful cove.
The lake was very calm and very quiet in mid-Winter, and as usual I was acutely aware of how much I miss the high water levels of summer, how glad I was that there were no people around me and how much I was missing the color green...............
As James and I wandered along the very rocky shoreline I looked down and saw these shells.
There were shells everywhere, all like these ones, small and pearl white.................
By the time we climbed the hill back up to the parking lot and the truck both woman and dog were very warm, and we sat in the shade for a few brief moments to drink more water before leaving the park.
A quiet and uneventful walk................
As I drove back towards the main entrance of the park I had full intentions of turning left and taking the back roads home.
As I pulled to a stop though I made the instant decision to turn right and drive to Tims Ford Dam.
It was most definitely not on the way home.
In fact it was in the complete opposite direction.
But I have memories of the dam and suddenly and unexpectedly felt compelled to head that way.
A very low Elk River taken from one of the overlooks and parking lots at the dam.............
I was looking for a specific place at the dam.
Blowing by the first overlook I pulled into the second parking lot and realized that this was not the place that I was looking for.
I left Jamie in the truck and walked down a grassy hill taking pictures of pieces of the dam and portions of the river as I went................
Climbing back into the truck I smiled at my sweet dog, talked to her briefly, kissed her on the top of the head, and drove further up the road.
I had only been up to the dam once and it was late at night so did not know exactly where I was going or what I would find.
Following a sign and arrow pointing to a boat ramp I turned left.
Pulling into the parking lot the multiple circular tire marks on the pavement confirmed that I had found the right place and as I looked at them I went back in time............
When I was married I lived about five miles from the dam.
My youngest son was a senior in high school at the time and only a short while before, had moved up from his old Dodge Ram truck to a Ford Ranger.
He still had the Ram and he drove it sometimes because he loved it so much, but it was used mainly around the farm.
One late night he walked into the house and I immediately knew that something was wrong.
He told me and my husband that he had been doing donuts at the dam and rolled his truck.
Are you alright? Yes.
Where's the truck now? Still at the dam.
Were you alone? Yes
How did you get home? I walked.
Why didn't you call us? My cell phone's dead.
We grabbed some chains and ropes and headed back to the dam.
The truck was laying completely upside down and sitting on its roof in the middle of the parking lot.
One whole side was completely smashed in.
The roof was completely smashed in.
The windshield was completely smashed in.
It was an older model Ranger but it had been shiny and dent free and paid for and it had run well, and now it was totalled.
Standing in the darkness and silence and starkness of the night and a crashed vehicle, I was suddenly furious at my son for doing something so stupid.
So completely angry that he could have badly injured or killed himself.
I turned away from the vehicle and wordlessly looked at my very tall son who was my youngest child.
I had never struck my son before in his entire life. Not once. It just was not the way I raised the boys.
I looked at him and too-calmly said "You could have killed yourself".
And then I slapped him furiously across the face sending him reeling backwards from the force.
He was stunned and wordless.
We got the truck upright and pulled it home.
Chris drove the Ram again but within six months he had begged and borrowed and bartered to get the roof pounded out and the windshield replaced and the truck running again.
It never ever looked the same again but he kept it running until he joined the military a few years later.
He gave it to a friend of his before he left for basic training..........
We never spoke about my reaction to the truck accident.
But Chris spent two wonderful weeks with me and LC and Jamie up in Alaska.
When my son left Juneau LC told me that he and Chris had talked about that night.
LC told Chris that I had reacted that way because I loved him very much.
According to LC Chris touched his cheek, laughed and said "she loves hard"................
More pictures from the dam.................
As adults, we must ask more of our children than they know how to ask of themselves................Dawna Markova
