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Cookeville Tennessee

Time with Family

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Earlier this month, my brother and his wife came to visit us in Nashville. (Remember the photos I posted of their Oregon Cost wedding last fall?)Neither of them had ever been here, so we had fun showing them the area. On the first night, we walked around downtown and treated ourselves to malts at Mike’s Ice Cream. My brother-in-law was able to get us access to one of the skyscrapers, so we gave them a birds-eye view of the city from a balcony.

My brother and his wife are more outdoorsy folks, as are we, so the rest of the weekend was spent hiking and exploring various state parks. Our first stop was Burgess Falls State Park in Sparta, Tennessee, which we visited a couple years ago. We hiked about half a mile and then came to this lookout point.

A short while later, we found the main waterfall. If you look closely, you’ll see a few people standing on the rocks at the base. It’s a long way down!

We were able to hike down a short trail to the top of the falls. (I almost passed out when Mr. Handsome approached the edge and got down on his belly to look over, but it made for a good photo-op.)

There were a number of other people there, all trying to figure out how the few individuals had made it down to the base. There are stairs, but they have been closed since the last time we were here, due to damage by extreme flooding. We never did figure it out…

Our last stop was Cummins Falls State Park in Cookeville, one of my favorite places in Middle Tennessee. We have visited several times since we moved to the area. (Remember my Waterfalls and Exterminators post from last summer?)

The first time we came, there were very few people at the falls, but word has gotten out, and now it’s always crowded. (It’s a very unique attraction, so I’m not surprised why it has become so popular.) The best way to describe it is a free, natural water park, and although the hike down to the falls is steep, folks of all ages make the trek because it’s such a neat place. Someday soon, I would love for Mr. Handsome to make a painting of the falls!

Waterfalls and Exterminators

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It’s been an eventful week for us! Over the weekend, we took a day trip to Cummins Falls State Park in Cookeville, Tennessee. It’s a small state park in the hills of Middle Tennessee, and it’s definitely a gem.You walk about a mile (both on land and through shallow water) and then arrive at a beautiful waterfall that allows swimming. The park is staffed by rangers who enforce a set of rules (no alcohol, etc) in order to ensure a family-friendly atmosphere.

It was 95 degrees on the day of our visit, so the trail and waterfall were both very crowded, but we had a blast.

Here’s the view from the lookout point. Before it reaches the water, the trail becomes pretty steep in spots, as you have to walk down the side of a cliff. But we passed guests of all ages, so it is certainly doable for families with young children.

A few days after our waterfall excursion, Mr. Handsome and I were sitting in the living room, relaxing after a delicious dinner of deep dish pizza. He was talking to his dad on the phone, and I was folding laundry.

I looked up and noticed a creepy looking spider by the front door. It wasn’t huge, but it looked odd to me. I grabbed a piece of paper towel and ran over to squish it, quickly realizing that it was not your average house spider. “I think I just killed a brown recluse spider!” I shrieked.

Mr. Handsome, still on the phone, told me that it was probably nothing to worry about, but he quickly finished up his conversation and came over. After conducting some research online, he turned to me and said, “You know what? You’re right. It’s a brown recluse.”

I just about had a panic attack. A poisonous spider? In our house? This had to be a bad dream. We contacted our landlord, and she made an appointment with an exterminator. Have you ever found poisonous spiders in your house?