Today it is a cold rainy Sunday. Yesterday it was the complete opposite. That's one thing about Tennessee if you don't like the weather wait 5 minutes it'll change. It was good to get out for a ride with Terri. It was Terri’s first long ride of the season; she won’t ride unless the temperature is above 65 degrees. This last Saturday it was 67, so I talked her into it. 
I wanted to ride down to Franklin have lunch and then check out Fort Granger. It’s an old Civil War breastworks fort on a bluff above the Harpeth River. Franklin sits just south of Nashville and was an important strategic position during the Civil War and by accident, we end up in Leipers Fork.
We got a late start and left at 10 AM. From Clarksville, we took TN-48 towards Charlotte. Once there we turned onto TN-47 towards Whites Bluff, then TN-1847 down to TN-96, which took us all the way to Franklin. These country roads skirt the west and south of Nashville and run through the hill country of the Harpeth and Cumberland River basin. They are great roads for slow cruising the countryside.
It is very early spring in Tennessee. The hardwood trees have what I call a purple haze. The tree buds give the stands of hardwoods a purple haze, most prominent during dusk and sunrise. You can smell the spring in the air a few daffodils have already bloomed the farther south we ride.
We get to Franklin to see that their St Patty’s parade has already finished. There is a crowd downtown because of the parade; there is a festival atmosphere in the air. It was a marvels spring day. We find a sandwich shop, The Franklin Mercantile Deli to have lunch. The Tomato Soup and grilled cheese were awesome. We then walk around the town center which contained many fine restaurants and shops. 
The Court House is one of 7 antebellum courthouses still in use in Tennessee. During the Civil War, it was the Federal Headquarters and hospital after the Battle of Franklin. Although the Confederates took Franklin during the battle, it devastated the Confederate Army of the Tennessee which eventually retreated to Mississippi. It was never again an effective fighting force during the rest of the war. We visited Fort Granger a Union stronghold during the attack. This is a great example of a Civil War Breastwork Fort.
After visiting Fort Granger, we took TN-246 South we then came across Leipers Fork accident. It is a famous watering hole for travelers on the Natchez Trace. We stopped at Puckett’s Grocery to listen to some Irish Music and get some iced tea. It had quite a lively crowd, and the music was awesome. This is in the American Music Triangle that runs from Nashville to Memphis down to New Orleans. When traveling stop at any roadside stand, you don't know what you might hear.
Well the day is growing short we jump on the Natchez Trace Parkway ride south to Highway 7 we ride North through Dickson, and we are back home within an hour. We talk about more rides this coming summer to Leipers Fork for music and food.
You couldn't ask for a better start to the 2014 riding season.
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