Month: July 2019

Posted on

Another Hike, Or Three, On The Appalachian Trail.

The white blaze is beckoning the hiker to move forward into the mountains of Southwestern Virginia.
We were impressed with the white variety of rhododendron seen all over the trail in this area.
We love the rock formations along the trail. Each state has its own character with this being in North Carolina.
I thought I was retired? I can still solve an equation though!
Time for a bit of education on the AT! A one room school house used in the 1800s and early 1900s.

We wonder if these prints will end up being fossilized? We have never seen such clear prints as these.

  • Bear
  • Raccoon

Trail maintainers often throw the long distance hiker a bone with signage such as this. We were walking in the direction of 1/4 GA–>ME. We discussed whether this would encourage or discourage future progress?

Stiles help a hiker cross farm fences while keeping the animals in their place. This one was particularly steep but not rickety. Check out the view from above the stile on the right.

We found this quite interesting. We thought gypsy moths were only in the northeast? Guess they have invaded the south..
Posted on

The Appalachian Trail Through The Mount Rogers, Virginia Area.

Not too many posts recently as we have been hiking along the Appalachian Trail toward our eventual completion when we reach the Skyline Drive in Northern Virginia.

The entire length of the southern AT is lined with purple and white rhododendron trees. Sometimes they create mile long tunnels to walk through. It is really pretty when the flower petals fall to the ground. They create a “lovers lane” of sorts.
This area boasts herds of wild ponies. Check out the vast view of the mountains they get while munching away

Very friendly ponies at that. They are not afraid to eat from your hand, and, occasionally nip at your hand if there is no food left!
The younger ponies are the most curious.
The ponies found that the shelter where hikers spend the night is a great food source.
There are many spots on the AT where the ATC (Appalachian Trail Conference) leases the land for grazing. This poor little guy had a bum leg and was left behind by the herd. I hope someone finds a vet for him.
We did not take our truck up this road but the scooter came to the rescue. This road, to the summit area near Mount Rogers was deemed the least passable road of the entire trip. Our trusty scooter bounced all the 6 miles up and then down without incident. We had absolutely NO idea how the pickup trucks at the parking area made it unscathed?
Posted on

The American Revolution Meets The Appalachian Trail.

As we were walking the Appalachian Trail from North Carolina in and out of Tennessee we came across a placard on the trail signifying that the Overmountain Trail crossed the AT. We looked into the historical significance of this trail and found it to also be a National Scenic Trail like the AT. This trail was walked almost 240 years ago as the Virginia Militia came together and amassed almost 1000 men to head to King’s Mountain, SC to defeat the British troops in the battle that many historians call the turning point of the American Revolution. After walking the AT over these mountains for the past 3 months we could not imagine the fortitude it took to leave your home, travel by foot for a month and then fight a battle against the Redcoats…..and win!

We found this amazingly interesting!
This proclamation angered many of the local Scotch and Irish settlers so much that they came together to fight for their independence.
Abingdon, VA was the first muster ground for the troops. The militia picked up many more men along the 330 mile journey to King’s Mountain.
Very interesting!
This brochure map is not perfect but Abingdon, VA is upper left and King’s Mountain, SC is lower right. The Appalachian Trail crosses the Overmountain Trail near Elk Park.
Not bad for an army that came together during the long walk on the Overmountain Trail.
Posted on

A Day, Or Two, At The Chicago History Museum

Upon arriving in Chicago too early to check into our gorgeous hotel right across from Wrigley Field we decided to check out the local history museum. We have generally found these to be nicely done and in a way that prompts more interest in the area the local museum is located. The Chicago History Museum was no different. We enjoyed it so much, we actually went back again the next day! It had displays (rooms) dedicated to the music scene, the innovation relative to Chicago, the great Chicago fire, the gangland scene along with moonshine during prohibition.

An oil painting depicting the great Chicago fire.
Norman Rockwell’s famous painting of Mrs. O’Leary and her cow. Rumor has it that her cow tipped the gas lantern near its foot over and that started the fire. Her house was not damaged in the fire adding to the suspicion. Time has not ruled this out but most historians figure she was blamed as she was a poor Irish immigrant.
It was a hot fire indeed. Above note the cue ball to a billiard set, slate pencils and iron carriage bolts all melted in the fire.
We wonder if this would go over well in today’s society??

Instead of trying to outline the music scene in Chicago myself I figured the following 5 placards did it justice. See what you think.

Seriously????
Our tour guide made sure we understood that many of the local breweries did not have a national following because all of the beer produced was consumed locally!!
What an awesome scene. That’s a lot of beer!
Chicago was also an early hub for rail and canal activity. Just as in NY the canal era was very short-lived due to the advent of rail. Gotta love what the industry called “the cow catcher” on the front of all locomotives.
The nation’s second El Train system (elevated above street level) was used to transport folks to the World’s Fair of 1933. This exhibit was very nicely done. Not sure how they got it into the museum in the first place?
Many of the local Chicago based companies showed off their wares at this fair..
Did not know that Schwinn had its humble beginnings in Chicago.
I remember calling a blender an “Osterizer”. All three of these common household appliances were made by Oster in Chicago.
Not so modern but useful in more rural America….A creme separating machine.
McCormick Farmall tractor gave John Deere and International Harvester a run for their money back in the day.
The Victor adding machine. Ah…the simple days of long ago. Not sure why folks simply did not do the math in their head?

Many of the gadgets shown off at the World’s Fair were focussing on a sleek looking design. It supposedly made things look more modern. You decide…

Interesting looking luxurious baby pram eh?
My little red wagon did not look this sleek and modern.
Even the Wrigley company used a streamlined design to promote its products.

Chicago was also the leading city in early catalog sales with Sears & Roebuck and Montgomery Ward leading the way.

Early e-commerce you could say?
Doesn’t everyone look that happy after ordering stuff online these days?