What made us think that Saturday morning would be a nice, quiet time to visit Centennial Park in Nashville? This park, near downtown, had adult intramural soccer games, bikers, joggers, tailgaters (for the nearby Tennessee/LSU football game), and tourists all milling around. We found a spot to safely park where we could easily get back out of to leave and walked around to get some pictures.

Parthenon

Centennial Park is home to a full-scale reproduction of the Parthenon and it’s very impressive. It was built in 1897 for the Tennessee Centennial Exposition and is currently a museum.

Taylor Swift Was Here

Taylor Swift mentions reading in this park as part of her lyrics in her song “Invisible String”. The city dedicated the bench and willow tree to her right before her Eras Tour came to Nashville in 2023. I learned later that the plaque from the Taylor Swift bench Park was stolen in early May 2025, but recently replaced by the city.

Natchez Trace State Park

After a two days in a busy city, it was time for the peace and quiet of nature again. Natchez Trace State Park is on the way to Memphis from Nashville, so we made it our home for tonight. The Red Leaves Trail was a perfect four-mile hike after lunch. It was a warmer day than we’ve had recently.

There is more humidity in the air here, and I found lots of mushrooms and ferns on our hike. Common Greenbrier is prevalent in the forest. I thought it might be invasive, but it is not. It is a thorny vine that spreads easily. It had lost most of its leaves at this point in the year, but it would be hard to see through areas of the forest in summer.