October 12, 2021

October 12, 2021

We had a nice leisurely morning today. This is not our normal modus operandi. From our Riverview Hotel in St Marys, GA, we walked across the street to board the 10:45 ferry to Cumberland Island National Seashore. Our first stop is the Dungeness Estate ruins. Dungeness has a long illustrious history. The first Dungeness was a hunting lodge of Georgia founder, James Oglethorpe. The second was the home of the Revolutionary hero, Nathaniel Greene, who planned to harvest the island for Live Oak to use building an American navy. His friend, Light Horse Harry Lee (father of Robert E Lee) died and was buried here on a visit. Thomas Carnegie, brother and partner of steel baron Andrew Carnegie owned the last Dungeness. His widow expanded it to its present mega-size. Unfortunately it burned down in 1959. We eat our sack lunch on the estate grounds in the shade of a tree.

We then hiked east across extensive sand dunes to the beach. We had to step carefully as wild horses have left their droppings everywhere. On the shore we beach comb again for shark teeth but come up empty. We must be doing something wrong. Our Amelia Island friend from last night had many dozens from her daily beach walks.

After a mile and a half we cut back across the island through a unique jungle of moss-covered Live Oaks sitting in a sea of Saw Palmettos. Aimee spies a couple armadillos on the trail. Back at our starting point we sit on rocking chairs enjoying the cool breeze while we wait for the return ferry to arrive.

In St Marys we have a delicious dinner at our 105 year-old hotel. We OD-ed on seafood with a scallop appetizer, crab bisque soup, and flounder entree. We bought extra drinks and drank them on the hotel veranda while writing this entry.

October 11, 2021

October 11, 2021

From Savannah, GA we continued our tour of the Low Country travelling south for ninety minutes to the Brunswick area. We crossed to St Simons Island to visit Fort Frederica National Monument. The fort and enclosed walled town was a short-lived effort by the British in 1736 to push the disputed border with Spanish Florida farther south. The swampy island location was not really sustainable. Fortunately it survived long enough to convince the Spanish that resistance was futile.

Little of the town of Fort Frederica exists, but enough archeology digs have occurred to rediscover many of the house foundations and their ownership. This early colonial town on the frontier was surprisingly large. It may have had a population of 1500. We walked the beautiful grounds reading storyboards about the resident’s varied occupations.

Afterwards we continued south to St Marys, GA where we found our next accommodations. After a quick lunch, we visited the museum for Cumberland Island National Seashore. This offshore island once had two forts also involved in the border war between Britain and Spain. Later the island became a favorite winter home of rich Northerners.

We then drove south into Florida to Amelia Island to visit Fort Clinch State Historic Site on the northern tip. This fort was one of the many Phase III brick forts, like Fort Pulaski, the US built before the Civil War for coastal defense. This one was also seized by the Rebel South. After Pulaski was taken, the South decided to redeploy their limited resources elsewhere and abandoned it.

We walked around the interior of the fort and then strolled the beach. We were told that shark teeth can sometimes be found in the sand. The only thing Aimee found was some giant cockleburs that reached out and grabbed her foot. I never realized walking a beach could be this dangerous.

Afterwards we met up with some friends who moved here from Tucson. It is always fun to catch up with everyone’s activities.

October 10, 2021

October 10, 2021

From Savannah, we drove south along the Savannah River to its mouth to visit Fort Pulaski National Monument. Fort Pulaski was one of many built after the British burned Washington DC in the War of 1812, to defend our coastline and major ports. At the onset of the Civil War the Rebels seized it. Fort Pulaski is a large state-of-the-art brick structure that was considered impregnable. The Civil War brought loads of new technology including new Rifled Cannon. Rifling allowed straighter and more powerful projectiles. After one day of bombardment, one corner was breached and the South surrendered.

Having watched the park film last night, we toured the small Visitor Center and then circled the fort exterior. The breached corner has been repaired but cannon holes still scar that entire side of the fort. It is surrounded by a moat like Fort Jefferson in Dry Tortugas. We then toured the large well-preserved interior spaces. We finished with a walk out to the historic North Pier just as a large Container Ship passes down the river channel.

We drove back towards Savannah stopping at Wormsloe State Historic Site. Wormsloe was a plantation owned by Noble Jones, one of the original colonists that settled here with the Georgia Colony founder James Oglethorpe. After passing the entry gate we drive down a beautiful mile-long Live Oak canopy.

Our first stop is the Visitor Center to learn about the early founding of the Georgia Colony. Oglethorpe envisioned it as a fresh start for the 'deserving poor' of Britain. We then walk out to see the ruins of Noble Jones' fortified house. Every house had to be fortified because of conflicts with the nearby Spanish colony of Florida. It was constructed of Tabby, a concrete made from seashells. We passed by an early colonial exhibit intending to head for the car. Instead we ended up on a three-mile wilderness trail. Aimee said we could use the extra exercise.

We then drove into the historic section of Savannah. I had to let Aimee do some window-shopping to compensate for our several fort visits. We had a late lunch at Paula Dean’s restaurant, The Lady and Sons. Because of Covid, the buffet meal is delivered to our table. It was fun, but the food was just okay. We then walked off the huge meal portions strolling along the old Savannah riverfront. It is still lined with old warehouses repurposed as bars and stores.

October 9, 2021

October 9, 2021

We crossed over to the western edge of Charleston, SC to visit Angel Oak Park. This small green space is almost filled by an ancient Southern Live Oak over 400 years old. Its trunk is enormous but its many huge tentacled arms make it look like a forest monster. Good thing it is not Halloween yet. After taking a few photos we get back on the road and head southwest down the coastline.

Ninety minutes later we reach the Sea Islands area. After driving around in circles we manage to stumble upon the new Visitor Center for Reconstruction Era National Historical Park in Beaufort, SC. This park attempts to memorialize the history of the effort to convert slaves to productive free peoples. Unfortunately it has precious few assets to draw upon. The park today consists of a tiny Visitor Center with uninteresting exhibits and a couple other widely scattered sites.

We drive south to Port Royal for a noon ranger talk. This new Ranger has a little contact station in a reconstructed Freedman’s Chapel sitting adjacent to the local farmer’s market. With her we walk the half-mile to Fort Frederick Cultural Heritage Preserve, containing the ruins of an early 18th century British colonial fort. Early in the Civil War, the Union invaded Port Royal Island and setup Camp Saxton here to support the naval blockade of Charleston and Savannah. The local black slaves became some of the first emancipated and first volunteer colored troops. With help from the government, schools were setup and a few Freedmen were allowed to purchase land. With few skills most Freedmen became Sharecroppers working their same plantations. All the early Freedman success came to a screeching halt with the end of Reconstruction.

We drive back to the cute town of Beaufort and have a pizza lunch along the shoreline. We are surprised how touristy the barrier islands are along the Carolina Lowcountry. Aimee also makes the observation that every section of our country has some interesting history to discover.

We think about exploring the Marine base at nearby Parris Island but it is getting late. So we punt and head to our next destination of Savannah, GA.

October 8, 2021

October 8, 2021

This morning we drove fifteen minutes east of Charleston, SC to the Snee Plantation and home of Charles Pinckney National Historic Site. The Pinckney family was a prominent plantation family in the Charleston area. Charles was a leading contributor to our Constitution's design. We watched the park film and browsed the interesting exhibits in the Visitor Center. The Pinckneys probably spent little time here, preferring to spend it in more cosmopolitan Charleston. The Charleston area was mostly populated by transplants from the Caribbean, bringing plantation technology with them. Rice was the money-making crop. Black slaves outnumbered whites by 4 to 1 creating a local mixed White/African Creole culture. Words like Bubba (brother) and Gumbo (okra) were a result. This site also manages the Gullah Geechee Cultural Heritage Corridor that celebrates this Lowcountry Creole culture.

Before leaving we walked around the grounds. Almost all the trees are dripping with moss. Aimee and I think it turns the beautiful scenery very eerie.

We then drove twenty minutes southwest to the eastern shoreline of Charleston Harbor arriving at Fort Moultrie. This and Fort Sumter guard the sea entrance to Charleston. There was some type of fort here for two hundred years through the end of WWII. The first one was a simple dirt structure lined with Palmetto Palm tree trunks. When the British first attacked in 1776, their cannon shells bounced off the spongy logs. Ever since, South Carolina has been nicknamed the Palmetto State.

Since the weatherman is forecasting rain, we started our tour outside walking around and climbing inside gun emplacements and powder magazines. The fort has examples of every type of cannon technology that has been used here. We watch a large container ship leaving Charleston pass right by the shore showing why this location was key to protecting the harbor.

We then returned to the Visitor Center to watch the park film and peruse the exhibits. Fort Moultrie graces the back of the South Carolina quarter and exemplifies the long history of American coastal defense.

For a late lunch we retrace our path east to the Isle of Palms to a restaurant that we had gotten two recommendations for. Aimee had the Gumbo and I had a She Crab chowder. Both were delicious.

The forecasted rain finally started so we spend the late afternoon at the theater watching the latest James Bond flick, 'No Time to Die'. It was very entertaining. I am just surprised at how crowded the theater was. Doesn’t anybody work anymore?

October 7, 2021

October 7, 2021

From Camden, SC we continued our exploration of South Carolina by working our way south to the coast. Thirty miles short of our destination, traffic came to a screeching halt. We took the nearby exit and found a parallel side road. It moved but was very slow. We suddenly now know where all the South Carolinians live. After an hour of crawling, we cross the bridge over the Ashley River into downtown Charleston. Our first stop is the Visitor Center for a map and recommendations.

We move the car to a parking garage in the historic section and begin our walking tour. Charleston was among the richest of colonial cities, and much of this antebellum architecture is retained. Unfortunately Charleston is a popular tourist destination and the area is crowded with tourists and cars. I almost get run over.

We walk south down Meeting Street passing buildings brimming with history sitting amidst gaily painted urban residences with sitting porches. The city is filled with guides relating the history on walking tours and horse drawn carriages.

We end at Battery Park along the shoreline. Here is a defensive wall and promenade. During the Revolution and Civil Wars, it was filled with cannons. There is also a nice tree-lined park where a wedding is commencing.

From the Battery we follow the promenade back north stopping at Rainbow Row (a block of colorful homes) and then past another shoreline park with a Pineapple-shaped fountain. We stop at the nearby Fleet Landing for a lunch of salad and Lowcountry gumbo. Delicious. Since there is a long wait to be seated, we cut the line by eating at the bar.

We then walked through the historic Market Hall. Originally a farmer’s market, it is now for tourists. Aimee wants to continue shopping, so we make our way up King St. to the Fashion District. We finish our whirlwind tour of Charleston checking out some of the sordid history. We passed by the site of the city slave market and an art-deco building that once had a lunch counter where Civil Rights activists targeted sit-ins.

We spent the night across the river east in Mt Pleasant near Patriots Point. As we cross the bridge we can see the USS Yorktown anchored. We toured it on our last trip to Charleston EXACTLY fifteen years ago to the day. This WWII-era carrier looks so tiny from overhead. I can’t imagine how hard it must have been for pilots to land on this tiny speck in the ocean.

October 6, 2021

October 6, 2021

We are up early to make up for lost time yesterday. We leave our Atlanta airport hotel driving east in a gloomy overcast rainy morning rush hour. Depressing! After an hour the sun comes up, the traffic and rain peter out. After two hours we crossed the Savannah River into South Carolina.

After another hour we reach Ninety Six National Historic Site, deep in the forested heart of the rural South. In Colonial times, much of the terrain had been cleared for agriculture and Ninety Six was a vital frontier commercial center and crossroad. Surprisingly this oddly named town was the site of three battles. One during the Cherokee Wars, another in the opening days of the Revolution, and the biggest just months before war's end. The last was the longest siege of the Revolution.

Ninety Six is famous for having the best preserved Star Fort of the Revolution. Since the rain has stopped temporarily, we start outdoors with the mile loop trail. We pass the still visible colonial roads before reaching the siege tunnels and star fort. All that remains of the fort are the earthen walls. During the siege, the walls would have bristled with wooden spikes, surrounded with a tangle of abattis (tree branches) and topped with sandbags. It was quite impregnable without significant siege cannon. Connected to the star fort by a tunnel was the fortified town of Ninety Six. In the end the siege had to be abandoned by the Patriots when a British relief army approached.

Back at the Visitor Center, we watched the excellent park film narrated by Trace Adkins and ran through the museum exhibits. Interestingly, the Revolution in the Carolinas was closer to a Civil War. The number of locals loyal to the Crown balanced those of the Patriots fighting for independence. The participants in the Ninety Six battles were almost entirely American.

At lunchtime we got back on the road travelling two hours past the current capital, Columbia, to Historic Camden Revolutionary War Site. It is an affiliate of the National Park System. In colonial times, Camden was the largest inland city of South Carolina. During the British Southern Campaign, the Redcoats took the port of Charleston, then marched inland capturing Camden. Patriots suffered a major defeat trying to retake the city.

After arriving we took a ninety-minute guided tour of the site and three restored buildings. The docent was very good and each structure contained interesting stories about the Revolutionary War in the South. Aimee was particularly fascinated by the very crude medical practices of the era. At the conclusion of the tour we had to dash back to the car in pouring rain.

To dry off we drove next door to the newly opened Revolutionary War Visitor Center. This impressive facility has storyboards on the Revolution focusing on the many battles that occurred in this area. It has some very realistic looking wax mannequins dressed in the uniforms of the combatants.

After checking into our local hotel accommodations, we had an early dinner at a sports bar in the cute modern town of Camden. Here modern means Antebellum instead of Colonial!

October 5, 2021

October 5, 2021

We are up way before dawn, heading to the airport for our first flight since the pandemic. We are off on a domestic trip to stretch our travel legs and get back into the groove. Hopefully it will be like riding a bike. Our first segment to Houston goes off without a hitch. Not so for our second. It was delayed for mechanical reasons. I read that is very common now. We arrived in Atlanta over four hours late. We picked up a rental car intending to drive east. But since it is dark and rainy, we punt and find an airport hotel to crash for the night.

September 22, 2021

September 23, 2021

This is the time of the year when Aimee complains of having to refill the Hummingbird feeders daily. After several years of photography we know these night raiders are Lesser Long-Nosed Bats. I remind Aimee that they will be gone in two weeks.

Last night I watched a PBS show, the "Bat Man of Mexico" that featured my little friends. These long-tongued nectar-loving creatures are major league travelers. They breed in southern Mexico and then migrate north along the west coast following the Nectar Trail of blooming cacti. They home in on the brilliant white flowers of the tall Saguaros that are a beacon for them in the twilight. More importantly for me, I learned they are also important pollinators of the Blue Agave. As a result they have been nicknamed, the Tequila Bat. Margarita lovers in Mexico and Arizona banded together to save this bat from the edge of extinction. I tell Aimee we must do our part!

September 7, 2021

September 7, 2021

I had another swimming companion this evening. This is not a trend I am happy about. Our overly wet monsoon this summer is causing everything to flourish. This time I had to coax a Desert Toad back onto dry land. He is the first live specimen I have seen. The only other ones were roadkill. Apparently they hibernate most of the year and only come out after a summer rainstorm. When they emerge, life is on a fast track. Eat and reproduce before our ephemeral streams dry up.

Desert Toads have a poison gland behind their eyes. Apparently it is toxic to pets but is hallucinogenic to humans. I just hope my new friend is a he so I don’t swim with tadpoles tomorrow.

September 4, 2021

September 4, 2021

One of the things Aimee and I love about our Tucson home, is the proximity to nature. We both enjoy watching the owls, roadrunners and lizards, even when they are stalking prey. We are well aware that just below the surface are more menacing creatures, like rattlesnakes, centipedes, and bats. Normally these nocturnal beasts give us a wide berth. Last month I saw my first Gila Monster, and only because a friend called to let me know it was sleeping on their patio.

So imagine my surprise, during my afternoon swim, finding the largest bug I have ever seen, in our pool! Aimee thought it was a frog. I used the skimmer net to pull it out, but it kept jumping off, swimming rapidly across the pool and taking position again just below the surface. After taking a couple photos, I got him out of the pool and tossed him over the fence.

An Internet search, identified it as a Giant Water Bug, one of the largest of all insects. It can fly from pond to pond. A great swimmer, it carries its own air supply underwater. This ferocious hunter waits to ambush passing prey, from shrimp to fish, to even small turtles, snakes, and ducklings. The Internet has some astounding videos! It is also nicknamed the Toe-Biter, for its propensity to attack humans who wade in ponds and lakes.

I can’t wait for our record breaking monsoon season to end and dry weather returns, and all I have to deal with are tarantulas and scorpions. There are no sissies in the desert.

August 30, 2021

August 30, 2021 

Aimee and I are usually enthusiastic golfers; although that feeling wanes considerably with our level of play. For several years we have been meaning to play Tubac Golf Resort. Many scenes from the Kevin Costner/Renee Russo romantic comedy "Tin Cup” were filmed there. Since this is the 25^th anniversary of the August 1996 release of the movie, we had special impetus. So with some Chicago friends we made the hour pilgrimage south.

The Tubac golf course winds through a forest that straddles the Santa Cruz River. It looks nothing like our typical Arizona desert. No wonder it could play the part of a Texas golf course. With the record-breaking monsoon summer we are having this year, it is even more lush than normal. And strangely the rain has also brought us swarms of small butterflies! The many forced carries, frequent water, and unusual layout made the course very tricky. My generally poor play was redeemed on the final hole, a par-3 hole to an island green. I made my three-foot putt for birdie!

We had a late lunch at the nearby Longhorn Grill and Saloon. The restaurant entrance sports a giant Longhorn skull. Before digging into our burger lunch, we toasted my birdie finale and our wedding anniversary (albeit a day late).

July 11, 2021

July 11, 2021

Aimee and I took this extended 6000+ mile driving tour of the East for lots of reasons. We attended a wedding, visited with both sides of our family and ticked off almost two dozen more National Park sites. We are now up to 364; only fifty-nine to go! Besides the dearth of rental cars today, one big reason we drove instead of flying, is to retrieve a set of dishes from my mother, that have been languishing in St Louis storage for several years. They are in surprisingly good shape. My mother cherished them and used them sparingly. We are going to make use of them often.

July 10, 2021

July 10, 2021

We left Amarillo, TX early for the last push home to Tucson. We headed west on I-40 into New Mexico. Interestingly we passed a marker noting the spot where the Goodnight-Loving Trail crossed. Goodnight made his first money after the Civil War rounding up stray cattle in the Texas wilds and then driving them into New Mexico for sale to the US Army. He had to take a wide route south and west before turning north, all to avoid Comanche Indian raiders. Goodnight invented the chuck-wagon to feed his hired cowboys.

In Santa Rosa, NM we left the highway southwest. This alternative route turned out to be slow. We ran into construction. Not the normal road variety. We encountered two large wind turbine fields in expansion. Despite none of the turbines spinning today, the tax breaks are lucrative enough to keep investment dollars flowing.

On the northern edge of the Tularosa Valley we arrived at Valley of Fires Recreation Area. This BLM park contains a forty mile long swath of solidified lava. The newest in the Continental US at a mere 2000 years old. We hiked the mile-long Malpais loop trail down into the valley. This lava flow is a result of the nearby Rio Grande rift zone that is slowly widening trying to split New Mexico in half. The vast lava field has a rugged beauty and is in the process of being reclaimed by vegetation. Mother nature eventually wins out over time. We get that feeling after only leaving our yard unattended for a month.

We drove a half hour south to another BLM park, Three Rivers Petroglyph Site. We hiked along a ridge seeing hundreds of petroglyphs scratched into the rock outcroppings. They are dated to the Mogollon Indians of a thousand years ago. Normally we don’t get excited about this ancient rock art, but we thought this site seemed better than other more famous ones. There were loads of dotted circles, many masks and faces, and various animals. My favorite was a Bighorn Sheep with two arrows protruding.

In a sign that I did well today, Aimee wondered out loud why we hadn’t stopped and seen these two sites earlier.

Richard Branson is taking his first Virgin Galactic suborbital flight tomorrow from Spaceport America on the other side of the Tularosa Valley. We think very briefly about staying. Instead with just a couple brief stops for lunch and pistachios, we made it home in time for a late dinner.

July 9, 2021

July 9, 2021

Aimee and I both miss our RV. Car travelling is much more stressful. The everyday needs of packing/unpacking, looking for bathrooms, restaurants, and hotels takes away from the joy of wandering the country. RVs can’t be beat for exploring the West, but are problematic in the tight urban areas of the East.

Imagine my surprise when I saw Amarillo, TX has an RV Museum. I had to take Aimee. It took some effort to find as it recently moved into a larger unsigned location and shares the space with a Motorsports Hall of Fame. The facility is less a museum and more a collection of vintage travel vehicles. But it has some impressive collectibles. The items include the oldest Airstream from 1935! It also has the very first Itasca motorhome ever built. It used to be in the Winnebago Welcome Center. I wonder how they got it. Surprisingly, little has changed over the years in RVs. Mostly boxy designs have become a little sleeker and orange and lime are no longer the favorite colors.

One item that brought back memories was an old 1973 Popup camper. My family rented a similar one in 1967. We took it to camp on Lake Michigan. I had a blast exploring the sand dunes with my cousins. My parents not so much; we never did it again.

July 8, 2021

July 8, 2021

After dinner, Aimee and I and her sister drove southeast from Amarillo. After thirty minutes the flat Texas Panhandle country abruptly gave way to a deep gash called Palo Duro Canyon. We were not the first amazed by this Grand Canyon of Texas. In the mid 1870’s another southern Illinois boy, Charles Goodnight, thought this the perfect spot to raise cattle. The canyon provided natural fencing (steep walls) and plentiful water. Goodnight went from cattle driver to baron. He is the fictional protagonist of our favorite Western novel, Lonesome Dove.

We are at Palo Duro Canyon State Park to attend a performance of the Texas Outdoor Musical. Pioneer Amphitheater is a great venue for this story of early Panhandle History. In the latter half of the 20th century, after the Comanches were pushed onto reservation and large ranches predominated, land use and range wars was the main issue. This history was woven through multiple love stories. I loved the line 'here you can look further and see less than anywhere'. That surely describes most of the Panhandle. The story plot finished suddenly with everybody happy (and married). The performance ended with patriotic songs and great fireworks. The finale was the best part of this nice show.

July 6-7, 2021

July 6-7, 2021

For exercise we walked downhill from my sister’s house outside St Charles, MO to hike a section of the Katy Trail. This linear State Park is named after the KT part of the Missouri-Kansas-Texas (MKT) Railroad.

Aimee and I left early on Wednesday to make the long drive back to Amarillo, TX. The persistent Texas wind is harnessed by vast fields of Wind Turbines. I was shocked to see one of the turbines east of town missing its housing. It turns out these tall generators are prime targets of lightning. The resulting fires are almost impossible to extinguish.

July 5, 2021

 

July 5, 2021

We spent the extended holiday weekend eating well. One benefit of taking Aimee and my weekend hosts to Italy a couple years ago is their heightened interest in Italian cuisine. It didn’t take much prodding for them to make me a pesto dish.

We all contributed to the time-consuming endeavor. My brother in law spent months growing the basil and fresh-picking the mature leaves. He also went to the market and bought olive oil, Parmesan, pine nuts, and pasta. Aimee and my sister washed the basil, toasted the pine nuts and mixed the ingredients. I provided the all important pulsing of the food processor mixer to achieve the perfect consistency. And of course the critical taste test.

Our delicious ethnic meal included salad, a Caprese appetizer and crusty bread. We paired it with a bold red Cabernet wine.

July 4, 2021

July 4, 2021

To celebrate the Independence Holiday, we drove with my sister to the St Charles Historic District. This city is the oldest European settlement on the Missouri River. Frontier Park next to the river is filled with people and carnival rides and good music.

We parked at a trail-head for the Katy Trail, the longest rail to trail system. It parallels the Missouri River and spans the state. We walked along the brick-paved Main Street. All the buildings are brick or wood-framed period structures, mostly in a French Colonial style. Surprisingly this historic street goes on for many blocks. City Fathers have done a great job preserving this heritage.

After a half mile of strolling and shopping we reached the First Missouri State Capitol State Historic Site and signed up for a tour. A wonderful docent gave us a great lesson on early Missouri history. Missouri was granted statehood along with Maine as part of the Missouri Compromise. The future Jefferson City was to be the Capitol; but an interim site was needed for five years. St Charles won the contest because it offered free meeting rooms above a general store.

Our guide then gave us a tour of these upper floor legislative rooms and governor's office. William Clark had been the appointed territorial governor but lost the first state election. We also learned that this French city got its name from the Anglicization of the local Catholic Church, San Carlos Borromeo. Interestingly my sister taught at the neighboring school for many years.

The tour continued in the general store on the first floor below. My hunter brother-in-law easily aced the fur identification quiz. Our informative ex-archaeological student guide was a font of information on the pre-industrial origin of arcane terms, like ‘sleep tight’, ‘don't let the bed bugs bite’ or our favorite, the dollar ‘buck’. That one likely came from the nominal exchange rate of one dollar per buckskin.

After the tour we had a delicious lunch on the third floor deck of the Lewis and Clark restaurant. It was followed by ice cream and more shopping.

I am rereading Undaunted Courage about the Lewis and Clark expedition so we walked over to the Boathouse to see a replica of their keel-boat. This riverfront was the spot where Lewis caught up with Clark and the crew and started their exploration of the Louisiana Purchase. Lewis had recently witnessed the official transfer ceremony in St. Louis. We walked to the center of Frontier Park to see their Monument. We like that Lewis’ big Newfoundland (Seaman) is also honored. We used the Katy Trail to return to our car.

July 3, 2021

July 3, 2021

From the Louisville, KY area, we drove west across Indiana and Illinois past the Gateway Arch in St Louis to suburban St Charles, MO and the home of my sister Jeannie. Aimee and I both need a little vacation from our touring. My brother-in-law greets me with a nice Schlafly Milk Stout and BBQ ribs. We may never leave.

July 2, 2021

July 2, 2021

From Knoxville, TN we drove north across the Appalachian Mountains into Kentucky to visit two newly established Civil War parks. Our first stop is Mill Springs Battlefield National Monument. Just before arriving we cross the Cumberland River which runs through a steep sided canyon. Although Mill Spring claims to be the first big victory for the Union in the West, It hardly rates a mention in most Civil War timelines. Nevertheless Aimee and I both found it interesting, giving us the opportunity to learn a little about the early days of the Civil War, especially as it applied to Kentucky. Interestingly, since it was so early in the War, the adjacent National Cemetery is one of the oldest and helped begin the system of interning soldiers.

At the onset of the Civil War, Kentucky remained neutral. The Confederates moved troops in anyway and the Union quickly countered. A rebel force crossed the Cumberland and attacked the Union force here in January 1862. The Confederates lost the battle essentially because they were mostly still using obsolescent flintlock rifles that failed to fire in the damp conditions. Most Union soldiers had the more modern percussion cap rifles that fire reliably in any weather. Forced to retreat, they escaped in the dark, by ferry, back across the Cumberland, but not before abandoning all their arms, cannon, and supplies.

We hiked around the main battlefield site. The grass was dewy just like it probably was during the battle. To make matters worse for the rebels, their general was killed during the opening stages of the battle.

We drove north an hour toward Camp Nelson National Monument. Traffic came to a dead halt for a half hour, a mile short of the park, and just as we were crossing the bridge over the Kentucky River. It is steep sided just like the Cumberland. We learned that is why Camp Nelson is here.

Camp Nelson was a supply depot for the army pushing into Tennessee and Georgia. Because of the criticality of the supplies, this site was chosen because the river cliffs provided a natural defense against a Southern assault.

This site was proclaimed a National Monument in 2018 for its black heritage. During the War, Camp Nelson became one of the main recruiting sites for colored troops, most of whom were slaves fleeing the South. At war's end the North had more colored soldiers than the South had total troops. I found it interesting that a new Federal holiday of Juneteenth was enacted to mark the end of slavery. But it wasn't. Slavery continued in Kentucky until ratification of the 13th amendment six months later in Dec 1865.

After watching the park film and perusing the museum, we hiked around the Depot Trail reading the many storyboards describing what this camp produced and stored. In some ways this park is the Civil War equivalent of the WWII Rosie the Riveter Park. The North won the war partly because it could out-produce the agricultural slavery-hampered South. Successful armies need gobs of supplies. Even Napoleon commented that ‘the army marches on its stomach’. Camp Nelson was the epitome of industry. Today the terrain is mostly rolling Bluegrass surrounded by scenic farms.

From Camp Nelson we drove north to Lexington, then West to Louisville, staying on the Indiana side next to Clarksville. One might think these two towns are named after Lewis and Clark. Clarksville was actually founded by William's brother George Rogers Clark at the site of the Falls of the Ohio. He named the opposite side in 1780 after the French King Louis XVI who was a major ally during the Revolutionary War.

We had a nice dinner outdoors in downtown New Albany, IN. Since we spent the day in Kentucky passing by many distilleries, I ordered a Bourbon cocktail with our meal. 

July 1, 2021

July 1, 2021

From Woodstock, VA we continued southwest one hour through the Shenandoah Valley to Staunton, VA, home of the Statler Brothers. It is also the birthplace and presidential library of Woodrow Wilson. The museum on his life was rather small and disjointed with large gaps. The best part was his presidential car in the attached garage. The son of a Presbyterian minister, it mentions he attended several colleges (did he graduate?), and then suddenly he is president of Princeton.  Wilson is elected governor of New Jersey in 1910, and then runs for President in 1912. The Republican vote is split between Taft and Teddy Roosevelt letting Wilson win with only 42% of the vote.

Wilson runs for a second term on the basis of peace and proceeds to get us into WW1 only a couple months later. I have to chuckle when one of the storyboards about civil rights has been papered over because this section has been reinterpreted. It now acknowledges Wilson was a southern racist who expanded segregation in the government. There is nothing on the stroke and incapacity Wilson had in the final year of his presidency. While the museum is disappointing, in all fairness it would also have had to be double or triple the size to be more comprehensive. There would have to be a lot more interest in this controversial president to justify that investment.

Since we have seen so many old houses in the last two weeks, we chose to forego the house tour. Plus Wilson only lived the first two years of his life in the Manse (a Presbyterian minister's home). From Staunton, we continued southwest spending the night outside Knoxville, TN.