Visiting Pinson Mounds / Quality Time

Really Tall

Trees surround Sauls’ Mound at Pinson Mounds State Archaeological Park in Tennessee. We enjoyed a day trip there last week to celebrate Fall Break.

Because we still were not comfortable taking a big trip during the school’s Fall Break, we decided to take a day trip instead. It was actually just an afternoon trip, but it was still nice to get out and go somewhere.

We decided to visit one of our favorite parks, Pinson Mounds, home to mounds built by Native Americans over 1500 years ago. In addition to the cool history, we like walking the trails and just being outdoors. We can get there in just over an hour, so it is the perfect place for a short getaway.

Sauls’ Mound, pictured above, is over 70 feet tall, making it the tallest mound there. If you look closely, you can barely see a person standing on the observation deck on top of the mound. That might give you an idea of the size. It is rather impressive when you are there next to it, especially when you realize that they did not have large earth moving machines to build it way back then.

Hiking Around

For this visit, we decided not to climb the stairs to the top of Sauls’ Mound. We have done that several times before, and the view is nice from up there. But for this day we decided to use our energy just hiking the trails instead. There are several paved pathways, such as the one that you can see behind Laura in this photo. But there are also several unpaved trails through the woods, and we spent lots of time on those.

It was a perfect day for trail hiking, if that is your kind of thing. It was warm out, but the clouds kept it from feeling too warm. A calm breeze helped keep us feeling comfortable, too. We encountered more mosquitoes in the woods than we might have expected in October. After a while, we made a trip back to the car to spray with bug spray, and that helped some.

There were actually more people there than I would have expected for a random October Thursday. But as you can see from the photos, we still had plenty of room for social distancing. I did wait until most people were out of view before taking photos, but I did not have to wait long.

Quality Time

While we enjoyed the hiking and the scenery, the best thing about the day was the quality time that we spent together. It was nice.

Because of COVID-19, we have gotten to spend more time together than in past years. That was especially true during the spring and summer months. But even though school has started back now, we do get to spend a little more time together than during past school years. Maybe Jaylin’s ability to drive himself places factors into that some, too.

But we have spent most of our time together at home or at the grocery store. We still enjoyed being together, but there are always things to do at home. Getting away from home, even for just an afternoon, made our time even better.

Quality time with someone you love is always the best time investment there is. We could have accomplished more by doing some chores at home, but it would not have been as good.

Go somewhere you enjoy and do something fun with someone you love, even if it is only for a few hours here and there. It will be time well spent. Quality time is never wasted.

Bible Verse

Little children, let us not love in word or talk but in deed and in truth. - 1 John 3:18

About the Photos

What you see here are actually my second passes at processing these photos. When I uploaded the first versions, they looked too bland for my taste. I increased the color saturation and contrast a bit, and both photos ended up looking much better. While I appreciated the cloud cover Do not be afraid to go back and redo a photo if you are not happy with it. But also do what makes you happy. Do not try to match a popular “look” just because it is popular. Use your own judgment and taste.

Photo: Each photo is a single Raw exposure, processed in Aurora HDR. Read more about photography tips, photo software, camera gear, and more at Steve’s Photography Tips.
Camera: Sony Alpha A7 II
Lens: Sony FE 28-70mm f/3.5-5.6 OSS lens
Date: October 8, 2020
Location: Pinson Mounds State Park, Tennessee