NASHVILLE, Tenn. &045; It starts with a trickle.

Like a spring feeding a river, the Natchez Trace Parkway bubbles up from the hills of Tennessee, meandering its way southward toward Mississippi.

About 10 miles from the center of Nashville, the north end of the Natchez Trace begins.

The hustle and bustle of U.S. 100 early morning traffic traveling into the city strikes an extreme contrast to the bridge that leads visitors down what Lynne Bachelda in her book &uot;Guide to the Natchez Trace Parkway&uot; calls &uot;the ribbon of time.&uot;

Sitting at the foot of the bridge is the Loveless Motel and Caf, a Nashville tradition since 1951. Nashville businessmen sit in their coats and ties drinking coffee and catch up on the daily news.

At the end of the Trace, the Loveless Caf is a most welcome sight for the weary travelers coming off the parkway.

For those headed southward, the caf is that last cup of coffee before tackling the slow pace of the parkway.

Turning off onto the Trace from U.S. 100, travelers almost immediately sense a change in tempo as the road winds away from the city.

With the rhythm of the curves switching back and forth and the 50 mile-per-hour speed limit, drivers are quickly pulled into a heightened sense of awareness.

No longer is there the distraction of neon signs and car exhaust. Here the trees seem greener and the air crisper.

For Marianne and Larry Metzlar of Bradenton, Fla., there was no other choice of route.

&uot;The last time we took the Trace we were hooked,&uot; Larry said last week near the beginning of the parkway. &uot;We are so glad we don’t take the interstate. This is too beautiful.&uot;

As soon as drivers are hypnotized by the landscape, they are treated to one of the parkway’s most amazing features, a double arch concrete bridge. According to the National Park Service this bridge spans over 1,600 feet, some 155 feet above a Tennessee valley.

Afterwards, the Trace zips through the landscape past fields of wildflowers and stands of hardwood trees.

Exits to small towns beckon travelers off the Trace. Towns like Leipers Fork, with its white picket fences, aging barns and antique stores, give visitors a welcome break from the road.

At the top of the Trace, from Nashville to the Tennessee River, the parkway is a delight for recreation enthusiasts of all types.

Bicyclists whiz along the smooth curves of the road. Hikers walk in the footsteps of the Kaintuck boatmen who risked their lives on the Old Trace. Fishermen cast lines on the rivers and lakes along the parkway.

Sights of wild turkey crossing the road, white-tailed deer feeding in the tall grass and other more unexpected wildlife are not uncommon sights along the Trace.

Waterfalls, babbling brooks and expansive overlooks add to what many consider to be one of America’s great outdoors museums.