We have passed by Stones River National Battlefield many times over the years, but we have never had a chance to actually explore the area. This time, Elisha, Beast and I had a day to explore! We started at the visitor center and headed out for the 3+ mile trail around the boundary of the park. It was VERY humid, but it was a beautiful day! Most of the hike was through very heavily wooded area and it tracked the troop movements of both sides during the Civil War. Beast enjoyed it, but he really missed the water to play in. We didn’t get near any water so we did wet him down every now and then to keep him cool! It was a very flat hike, so that wasn’t bad at all!
After hiking the boundary trail, we walked the open battlefield areas and checked out the cemeteries. We put in a total of about 7 miles here and another mile at side locations that we checked out on the way out of the park. I also went to see the film in the visitor’s center while Elisha and Beast relaxed and had a snack in the car, with the air on of course!!
We grabbed some lunch and then visited several places in and around Murfreesboro, including the really beautiful courthouse and downtown area! I love a good courthouse and this one was very pretty! After that, we headed back to the Old Stone Fort for a well-deserved rest! Eight miles in a day, especially hot, is about my limit at this point until I get back in better shape, and I think it was about Beast’s limit too! He slept well all the way back to camp and Elisha was dragging too! It was a great day with a lot of hiking, a lot of history, and a lot of fun!
