So we left Virginia for a short trip around Kentucky, with a few stops in West Virginia on the way home.
Our 7 hour drive south took us by this scenic overlook – Veterans’ Overlook in Bean Station TN, which overlooks the Cherokee Reservoir.We drove through the Cumberland Gap Tunnel, which brought us from Tennessee to Middlesboro KY.
CUMBERLAND GAP NATIONAL HISTORIC PARK – KY/TN/VA
Colonists discovered Cumberland Gap as an easier path for westward travel and exploration in the mid-1700s. Daniel Boone made this pass legendary, blazing the trail west into Kentucky, where he encountered the Shawnee and Cherokee, sometimes as enemies and many times as friends. Boone’s encounters with the Indians is depicted in one of the four relief sculptures on the US Capitol doors. This is Daniel Boone Country! This area has seen a lot of action over the years!We were surprised to see so much color – we thought we would be a couple weeks early, but this was really colorful and beautiful!Mary Jean at the top of Pinnacle Overlook. She is standing in Virginia. Kentucky is to the right on the picture, Tennessee to the left.Cumberland Gap TNKentuckyWalking up to the Tri-State Peak. The trail is 1.2 miles long, uphill all the way, and gets pretty steep at the end.We started around 9 AM in light fog.“Indian Rock” marks one of the documented trails that Daniel Boone used in 1775 from North Carolina to Kentucky.The sun peeking through the fog.This is the Cumberland Gap “Saddle”Daniel Boone monument.This is a steep path. The picture doesn’t really capture its steepness.At the top of Tri-State Peak, where Virginia, Kentucky and Tennessee meet at a point. This is the Kentucky sign.The view of Kentucky from the Kentucky signTennessee signThe view of Tennessee from the Tennessee signVirginia signView of Virginia from the Virginia sign. This is the trail we hiked.This is the far southwest point of the state of Virginia. The round marker is the point. Mary Jean is sitting in Virginia, Tennessee is on the right, and Kentucky is on the left.Survey marker at the pointStanding in three states at once!Colorful view on the hike back downWarrior!
THE ORIGINAL KENTUCKY FRIED CHICKEN, CORBIN KY
This the location of the very first Kentucky Fried Chicken! The original restaurant was named Sanders Cafe, and was attached to a motel. Of course, it is under renovation so we could not visit the museum. We did get our lunch at the drive-thru. This will be a pretty neat site when it is finished.Colonel Sanders statue in town.
CUMBERLAND FALLS, NEAR WILLIAMSBURG KY
Cumberland Falls is nicknamed the Niagara Falls of the SouthSo here we are at Cumberland Falls! Beautiful waterfalls – 125 ft. wide, 68 ft. tall, 3,600 cubic feet of water over the ledge per second!Unfortunately, the most recent full moon was October 3, so we did not experience the moonbow, but if we did, it would look like this:(nighttime picture from the internet, not me!)
We took a day trip to see Natural Bridge VA. We had never been here before.After you walk down 137 steps, go through the gate, and there it is! It is much larger than you can tell in a picture. It is really quite a sight!Looking up at the bottom of the bridge. Route 11 runs right over the top of the vridge.Looking up at the bottom again.George Washington climbed 28 feet up the rock and etched GW in the rock.
So we took advantage of a beautiful Presidents’ Day holiday this year, and went to Orange County, home of one US President and birthplace of another.
MONTEBELLO
Zachary Taylor, our 12th President, was born at this site in 1784. The house where he was born no longer stands, and the current Montebello farm is private and not open to the public. Taylor’s family lived in Kentucky, and they visited family in Virginia, and on their return trip, several people became ill, so they stopped here to recover before continuing on to Kentucky. It was during this time that the future president was born. President Taylor was a cousin of President James Madison, whose house is…
MONTPELIER
Just a few miles from President Zachary Taylor’s birthplace is Montpelier, the home of James Madison, the 4th President of the United States, and author of the US Constitution.Approaching the front of Montpelier.This is a beautiful house! Maybe even more impressive than Monticello!This is the view from the front porch at Montpelier.Gazebo with brick columns.Entrance foyerParlorDining roomJames Madison’s desk in his officePresident Madison’s bed in his later years, when he was too weak to walk upstairs. This is also the room that he died, June 28, 1836, six days short of July 4, the day that Presidents John Adams, Thomas Jefferson and James Monroe all died on. He was last signer of the Constitution to die. One of his nieces asked him “What is the matter?” His last words were “Nothing more than a change of mind, my dear.”James and Dolley Madison’s bedroomThis is the room where James Madison wrote the United States Constitution. Actually, he carefully drafted a proposal to replace the failing Articles of Confederation. He took his proposal to the Constitutional Convention in Philadelphia in 1787, and as discussions progressed, became know as the Virginia Plan, which was mostly adopted with a few changes based on ideas from other states. Virginia was the tenth state to ratify the new constitution in 1788, and the current United States form of government was launched!Outbuildings, such as smoke houses and slave quartersA pitcher honoring President Madison, misspelled “Maddison”.President Madison was our shortest president. When I first started studying about the presidents, I read that he was 5’1″ tall, and when I reached that height in fourth grade I was very proud to be as tall as a president! Now, depending on whose research you read, President Madison’s height was anywhere from 5’1″ to 5’6″.Graves of President James Madison and First Lady Dolley Madison.Shortly up the road from Montpelier is this house, which was the home of freed slave George Gilmore, who built it in the 1860s.Inside of George Gilmore’s house..
MONTPELIER STATION
Train depot at Montpelier.Interesting scene here. Notice the signs above the doors. This is what life in the south was like during Jim Crow. This is the room for the “colored” people.This is the much larger room for Whites.
JAMES MADISON MUSEUM
In the town of Orange, there is this neat museum called James Madison Museum. It is basically a museum about the history of Orange County. This house, completed rebuilt inside the museum, is a typical Virginia house in the 1800s for Virginians who didn’t live in mansions like Mount Vernon, Monticello and Montpelier.A horse-drawn Rockaway carriage from the 1880s.1912 Ford Model TPresident James Madison’s favorite chairBust of President James MadisonEverything in the picture belonged to President Zachary Taylor: Bed, grandfather clock, general’s chest and chair. Although born in Virginia, President Taylor grew up near Louisville, Kentucky. He enlisted int he US Army in 1806 and eventually rose in the ranks to brigadier general. He fought in the War of 1812, Black Hawk War, second Seminole War, and finally the Mexican-American War, during which he emerged as a national hero for winning the Battle of Buena Vista even though outnumbered 4 to 1. As a national hero, he won the 1848 presidential nomination from the Whig Party, and then the presidency. He died in office in 1849, elevating Millard Fillmore to the presidency.Slave’s clothing and other items.The museum holds a pretty large collection of arrowheads, and Indian tools, as well as ancient rock drawings.The town of Orange once had a very busy silk mill, and there are artifacts from that mill in the museum. This ball of silk would be spun into silk thread one mile long!
RAPIDAN VA
Driving through the countryside of Orange County, we passed through the little village of Rapidan, which spans the Rapidan River, and rests in both Orange and Culpeper Counties. This is the Waddell Memorial Presbyterian Church, built in 1874 in the Carpenter Gothic style with board and batten siding.This is the Rapidan Schoolhouse, built in 1887 for the rector’s eight children. It was later used as the town library.The inside of the schoolhouse.
MITCHELLS VA
This is Mitchells Presbyterian Church in Mitchells, Virginia. This is the village where my father was born in 1925.
These are the graves of my grandparents.
These are the graves of my great-grandparents.
CULPEPER VA
This memorial park is located in the town of Culpeper.
Dedicated to Culpeper County natives who have served in the US military.
These stones honor my father’s five brothers who served in World War II.
Civil War battlefield at Brandy Station. This battle on June 9, 1863, the largest cavalry battle of the entire Civil War, lasted for one day, as the Union forces slowed down (but did not stop) General Robert E. Lee’s progress toward Gettysburg, and the battle that would occur there on July 1-3. We finished our day here at the Frost Cafe in the town of Culpeper. They have the best fried chicken!
This is the birthplace of Ulysses S. Grant, the 18th president of the US. He was the first president elected who was born in Ohio. He was also the youngest president up until that time – he was 46 when he was inaugurated. Prior to his presidency, Grant was the victorious Commanding General in the Civil War.Moscow overlooks the Ohio River, about 25 miles east of Cincinnati.
Boyhood Home of Ulysses S. Grant Georgetown OH
Grant lived in Georgetown until he went off to West Point.Georgetown is a cute small town.Boyhood home of Ulysses S. GrantGrant attended this school in Georgetown. As with the birthplace and boyhood home, we were there too early in the morning to go inside – they were all closed.I was able to get this picture of the schoolroom, which is typical of schools in the 1820s and 1830s.Native Son statue.Lee and Grant, together again.We travelled through deep countryside in Ohio.
Ohio Statehouse Columbus OH
This is the rear entrance of the capitol. I totally blew this one. The “dome” such as it is, is not visible from this side. It is, however, perfectly visible on the other side, but I forgot to go around the block. If we would have driven around the block, we would have seen this…Darn it!This is what we saw at a diagonal.Looking up inside the rotunda.This Ohio maps has a different tile for each county.Liberty Bell replica.Abraham Lincoln bust.Abraham Lincoln bust atop a memorial of the Battle of Vicksburg.Senate chamberHouse of Representatives chamber
Columbus OH
Almost heaven, and almost home. Here is a West Virginia countryside farm scene.West Virginia countryside
The End!
We made it home Thursday night. It is hard to believe we were gone two weeks and packed so many things into each day. We saw so much of the beauty of God’s creation, and so much history! America is such a great country! This trip we crossed twelve presidents off the list! And five state capitols!
And all five Great Lakes!
OntarioErieHuronSuperiorMichigan
We hope you have enjoyed seeing what we have been up to the last couple weeks!
We looked forward to visiting this museum.This is a reproduction of Noah’s Ark, built to the specifications as God gave Noah in Genesis. Of course, the exact shape and look are artistic representations, since the Bible does not give enough descriptions to understand what the ark actually looked like. But the dimensions are faithful to biblical directions, which are 300 cubits long by 50 cubits wide, or 450 feet long by 75 feet wide. It is massive in person!Looking up at one end.Impressive structure.Again, all the displays are artistic representations of the insides of the ark. Whatever is specifically in the Bible is incorporated into the displays.Noah and his family worshipping God inside the ark.Grain and seed storageThis museum does not shy away from the dinosaurs, in fact in my opinion focuses on them too much. They do propose that dinosaurs were on the ark with Noah. BearsDeerPigsThis is a representation of feeding the animals.There were many good explanations of how biblical perspectives are correct.The sheer size inside the ark is incredible.Looking up at some skylightsThis contraption is used to twist strands into rope.We are at ‘The Door”, which is intended to be both a representation of the door that God shut in Noah’s family behind, but also that Jesus Christ is the door to our salvation. There is a very strong emphasis on Christ and the Gospel throughout the museum.Why the Bible is trueWhy the Bible is trueWhy the Bible is trueWhy the Bible is trueWhy the Bible is trueFamily living quartersVegetation storage and growthThe dove returns…… with the olive branch.The rainbow and God’s covenant with Noah.
William Howard Taft Boyhood Home Cincinnati OH
This was the boyhood home of William Howard Taft, 27th president of the US. President Taft was President Theodore Roosevelt’s hand-picked successor in 1908, and served as president from 1909-1913. Taft lived in this house until he went off to college at age 18. Taft was one of three presidents born within two years of each other. Theodore Roosevelt in 1858, Taft in 1857, and Woodrow Wilson in 1856.Taft’s family was very active in public life. His father Afonso Taft, was Secretary of War, then Attorney General in President Lincoln’s cabinet. President Taft’s son, would become Senate majority leader as well as a serious candidate for the Republican presidential nomination three times.Most of the furnishings in the house are not original to the Taft family, but period pieces. However, the desk in the upper left did belong to Alfonso Taft, President Taft’s father.William Howard Taft at age 3 in 1860. The practice at the time was that children who were not “potty trained” would wear a dress-like gown. Also, boys would have their hair parted on the side, and girls parted in the middle.Taft did not play the piano, but he did enjoy music, and he was quite a fine dancer despite his very large size – he was 300 pounds! And when he moved into the White House a special bathtub had to be installed to accommodate his size!The parlorAs president, Taft was a fierce trust-buster, trying to break through large corporate monopolies.In 1912, former president Theodore Roosevelt decided he was not satisfied with President Taft’s performance, so Roosevelt challenged Taft for the Republican nomination. Taft barely won the nomination, but an angry Roosevelt ran as a third party in the general election, thus splitting the Republican vote and allowing Woodrow Wilson to win the presidency. Roosevelt was the most successful third-party candidate in history, finishing in second place with 88 electoral votes. Combined, Roosevelt and Taft won over 50 percent of the vote.President Taft was the only president to go on later and serve on the US Supreme Court. In fact, Taft became Chief Justice of the Supreme Court.
Creation Museum Petersburg KY
The Creation Museum is related to the Ark Encounter. It focuses more on the six days of creation as described in the Bible.The grounds of the museum are very nice.Like the Ark Encounter, the Creation Museum puts a lot of focus on dinosaurs.The museum tries to stay faithful to the Bible.Explaining how and why the Bible and Human Reason come to different conclusions about creation (and science).God created the heavens and the earth. Like the Ark Encounter, the Creation Museum uses artistic license to produce displays of biblical events.Adam and Eve. As we went by each display, the biblical text for the scene was read over the speakers.The serpentGod clothes Adam and Eve to cover their nakedness.Man toils the field by the sweat of his brow.Cain slays Abel.Methuselah, the oldest man in the Bible, lived 969 years.The ark on the water.As the flood waters rose, the people were desperate for salvation. Notice on the top right of the rock, two men fightingThe rainbow, which signified God’s promise that He would never again destroy the world by flood.Zoom in to read these explanations.Actual fossilized skull of a allosuarus, one of the most complete allosuarus skulls ever found.The museum is full of promoting the Gospel, Jesus is God, Lord of all.God’s sovereignty is Jesus Christ’s sovereignty.
Cincinnati OH
Cincinnati skylinePaul Brown Stadium, home of the Cincinnati Bengals.Great American BallparkWe had dinner at Hofbräuhaus in Newport KY, across the river form Cincinnati. It is a German beer hall, very loud!Live entertainment. They sing German songs in German! Pretty cool!Heidelberger Rahm Spätzle (with pulled chicken)Jäger Spätzle (with beef tips)Schwarzwälder Kirsch Torte (black forest cake). All the food was delicious!
