On the road by 8:05! Sunny 80* with little humidity
The morning was quite the driving adventure for Tim. All winding, curvy , up & around the hills through the back country roads … each new direction was for only 2-3 miles at a stretch, then turn again! Beautiful huge country farms and along the way saw wild turkeys & deer.
Passed by a large Coal Powered Electrical Plant. Saw barge boats & train cars filled with coal along the riverside.
Came across Fair Springs Furnace structure. The furnace was built of limestone from surrounding hills. 10ft wide by 40ft high inside. This is what’s left of the Great Western Iron Works for one 34 week period in 1855-56, during this time it produced 1,350 tons of high quality iron.
As we were driving through the town of Dover, I noticed a large quilt painted on the up coming building. As we slowed down thinking it was possibly a handmade quilt shop…..tricksters….it was an EMS building. Then noticed City Hall, funeral home and other buildings had these quilt blocks painted on them….all different designs. After stopping for …yup a Diet Coke 🥤 we learned that we are driving along the National Civil War Trail & Quilt Trail. Patterns are on barns and buildings from that era that women made for the soldiers. All historical buildings have these Quilt markers on the side of them to honor quilters everywhere during the Civil War era (1830’s-1880). Each one tells stories from family secrets, notes, letters, diaries and local folklore on topics of the Underground Railroad, Waterway Connection, Lesser Known Battles, Hero’s and Heroines & On the Home front, local scenes.
Arrived at Fort Donelson National Battlefield. Toured the visitor center & a sweet volunteer shared so much information on battlefield and surrounding areas to visit. She even gave me a Junior Ranger Badge! The 10 year old Sandy was doing back flips & grinning from ear to ear! We listened to an audio tour as we drove around. What a beautiful day to be outside….11:20, 85* with a breeze and mild humidity. A local apologized to us for the heat and she was taken back when we said this was so comfortable compared to home! 🤦🏻♀️🤷🏻♀️🏠
The fall of Ft Donelson was in February 1862. The south was forced to give up southern Kentucky and much of the middle and west Tennessee. A joint army/navy operation against Ft Henry had been agreed by Flag Officer Andrew H Foote & brigadier General Ulysses S Grant. Then to Ft Donelson, where on February 13th some 15,000 Union troops nearly encircled the outer works of Fort Donelson. Clashes broke out and nightfall brought bitter winter weather which caused great suffering. This was the North’s first major victory into the heartland of the Confederacy.
We went to the monument, walked where the fort was, camp of the union, log huts, & river batteries. Large cannons and reconstructed powder magazine room were down along the Cumberland River. There we saw an immature bald eagle watching us up in a tree. That area has nesting bald eagles around.
We then drove to Land between the Lakes National Recreation area located on a forested peninsula between Kentucky & Barkley Lakes in Western Kentucky & Tennessee. (300 miles of undeveloped shoreline) 170,000 acres of outdoor adventures. The South welcome station was small but the most amazing stop. As we walked up we were in amazement for neither of us have ever seen so many hummingbirds in one place like this! 50+ We watched for probably 20 minutes before going inside.
First stop was the Homeplace 1850’s Working Farm – no time machine required! Dressed as the 1850’s farm family which represents a two-generation farm, we watched demonstrations on furniture making, how they mixed beeswax & linseed oil and rubbed it onto the wood to seal & finish it, combing cotton then threading it onto the spinning wheel to make yarn and how to use a loom and many other demonstrators. Horses, chickens and sheep roamed freely around the farm. Walked around the restored historic structures, field crops, vegetable gardens from before the Civil War. They lived off their crops, & livestock. Tobacco and corn were their cash crops.
Drove up into Kentucky to the Golden Pond Visitor Center & Planetarium. We toured the area then headed to the Elk $ Bison Prairie which is 700 acres of scenic prairie on a 3.5 mile paved drive which had 3 interactive stops. Reminds us of driving through Lion Country Safari on a much bigger scale. We saw lots of birds, bison & elk with big racks near the truck and in the distance. 🦬 The Bison is the largest land animal in North America and is the official national mammal of the United Staes. Over 200,000 bison roam North America today. They can gallop as fast as 35 miles/ hour. Weigh up to 2,000lbs!
🦌 The Elk is the second largest member of the deer family behind the moose. Weigh up to 800 lbs. Only bulls have antlers. They shed them every spring to grow a new pair which grow up to an inch a day and weigh up to 40 lbs.
Back on the road now. Crossed into Illinois at 3:15pm…. we’re making good time but getting tired! Stopped off at visitor center which was nothing. Got the picture and left. We are finally on a major highway….straight, no bumps or turns but can you say boring, 🥱 🥱 For miles and miles corn fields as far as the eyes can see! Occasionally a large farm house with large barns and silos! Tobacco fields & soy bean fields too! I see why they all move to Florida! 🏃♀️ We arrived to Carlyle which has a population of 3300 at 5:20pm. Today we traveled 274 miles on country backroads. McNair COE Campground is really pretty. We walked down to the “beach/swim” area…..Passed on that…no turtles, no shells but saw some birds and a DAM. We then took our bikes out for a 5 mile ride around campground and both ends of the dam.
Made dinner then called it a night! Another long day tomorrow! Good night!😴💤 😘 💋
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