Category: National Park Tour
Our 2021 Travels

Our 2021 Travels

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Hey Guys! It’s December 31…the last day of 2021…and I thought it would be fun to do a review of our travels for this year!

With everything that was going on this year, not only in our country, but worldwide…we weren’t sure how much traveling we would be able to get in. But, you know I had a plan and had us reserved just incase we could travel. Well, not only did things workout…we ended up spending time in sixteen states this year! We added twenty-nine new National Park Units to our overall NP count and managed to visit a new-to-us unit of the Manhattan Project National Historical Park in Oak Ridge…so 30 NPs all together for us this year. That puts our total National Park count at 189 of the official 423 National Park Units. So…we still have plenty to get to!!

While we spent most of the year traveling, we still got in several weeks of mooch-docking with family in Missouri so we could spend time with some of our favorite humans and get some projects done on our home-on-wheels. It’s always good to go home and see family. It’s always hard to say goodbye when we leave. Some goodbyes are harder than others…

We also had some celebrations during 2021! The boys are now 21, 18 and 17…and we had two high school graduations this year! Two! That means that we are officially done with homeschooling. I’m not sure how I feel about it…it is bittersweet.

We went through all of our 2021 travels and picked out our top ten favorite places we explored this year…so let’s get into it.

The first place we’re going to revisit on our top ten is Wall Drugs in South Dakota. Wall Drugs is in our number 10 spot. I know what you’re thinking…Jennie, Wall Drugs? Really?

Guys…Really. This place was unreal. We’ve explored quite a few places and have been to many many stores during our almost seven years of this crazy #nomadlife and we’ve never seen a store like Wall Drugs. We stayed about a block from it while we were in the area…so we got to see the crowds that came every…single…day. All Day. People would start lining up before they even opened, just to get their famous maple donuts or pecan sticky buns. Because we were staying so close for two weeks, we spent quite a lot of time in Wall Drugs perusing all it has to offer. If you ever need or want a souvenir for South Dakota…this is definitely your place. If you need a break from driving and some foodies…this is definitely your place. If you’re into quirky roadside attractions that have interesting history…this is definitely your place. If you’re anywhere near Wall, SD at all…Wall Drugs is SO worth a stop.

In the number 9 spot is Pipestone National Monument in Minnesota.

When we started this nomad life way back in 2015, we wanted to show our boys the Country they live in. We didn’t want to show them just the shiny pretty places, we also wanted to teach/show them our Nation’s history. Places like Pipestone National Monument, which preserves over 3,000 years of history, is a prime example of why we chose to live a nomad life in order to travel. We’ve learned so much history that we would have never even known about over the last almost seven years. There’s so much out there they don’t teach us in public schools. The historical National Parks like Pipestone NM are some of our absolute favorite National Park Units.

Keeping with our love of history lessons…it won’t surprise you that Scotts Bluff National Monument in Nebraska made it to the number 8 spot on our top ten for 2021.

Scotts Bluff NM has both amazing views and a rich history. We thoroughly enjoyed our visit to Scotts Bluff NM. It was late Spring/early Summer when we went so the flowers were still in full bloom and the heat was ramping up. The day we went, we saw temps in the 90s so we didn’t spend as much time hiking as we’d’ve liked, but we hiked some and spent time in the visitor center museum learning. I never thought of this kind of landscape when I thought of Nebraska…we were pleasantly surprised not only with this park, but with this area.

Allegheny Portage Railroad National Historic Site in Pennsylvania sits in the number 7 spot on our 2021 list.

When I asked the boys to name their favorite places we explored this year…it surprised me when more than one of them mentioned Allegheny Portage Railroad National Historic Site. This is one of the smaller parks we visited but it’s absolutely crammed with not only history…but also engineering. So, it probably shouldn’t have surprised me that my little nerds liked this NP unit so much. We learned about railroad engineering and the way railroads changed life along their routes.

Sitting in the number 6 spot is Devils Tower National Monument in Wyoming.

Devils Tower NM is steeped in local Native American history and lore. We loved learning not only about the science of it, but also the lore woven around it. We visited this park on two separate days and it was insanely busy both days. If you go, make sure to pack your patience and since there’s not a lot of educational info available (no museum), which really surprised us, make sure to grab a Ranger and ask about the science and lore of the “tower”.

With our love of battlefields and history…it won’t surprise you to see Stones River National Battlefield in Tennessee sitting at the number 5 spot of our 2021 list.

If you’ve been following along at all, you’ll know battlefields are our jam. So much so, that earlier this year we did a battlefield tour of Tennessee. And while all battlefields have certain things in common…the cannons…the war…the death… there are also the stories of life and perseverance and love…and those are what draw us in. You can learn so much from the stories that surround the battlefields. Stones River was one of the bloodiest battles of the Civil War. The stories we read…especially one about two brothers…really touched the boys and made a lasting impact on their views of life. This is what National Parks will do…they’ll change you for the better.

There are only three places that made it to our top ten that aren’t National Park units. The number 4 spot is one of those with James Island County Park in South Carolina.

Guys…this park is awesome! It’s not only on our top ten of 2021 list…it’s on our top places to stay list. I would go back to this area just to stay at this park. When I booked this place…it was a last resort. There aren’t a ton of places to stay in the Charleston area and when the place we usually stay wasn’t taking reservations because of the whole CV thing…and then the other places I tried were either closed or refusing to take reservations that far out…I ended up taking a chance on James Island County Park. It was the best decision. We love everything about this park. From the walking trails to the fishing pier (sunset pics) to the paddle boats (watch out for the gators) this park is the best one we’ve found in a long time.

Great Smoky Mountains National Park in Tennessee has the number 3 spot on our 2021 list.

There are 423 National Park Units. Great Smoky Mountains is the most visited National Park unit in the United States. While the park was crowded every single time we went, we were still able to find a few quiet places. There is an underrated beauty to this park that is refreshing. We’ve found that while the “old man mountains” of the Smokies aren’t big and flashy…you won’t find the dramatic views like you’ll find in the Rocky Mountains or the Sierra Nevadas…there is a quiet calm and a beauty to the Smokies. Tranquil is the word that comes to mind…even with the crowds.

Custer State Park in South Dakota is firmly in the number 2 spot of our 2021 list.

Custer SP should definitely be a National Park. We stayed just outside it for two weeks and good grief…the whole area is amazingly gorgeous. This park has it all! Views, hikes, wildlife… We look forward to going back someday. Hopefully, without the tornado that went through while we were there.

As soon as we started making a list of our favorite places of 2021, Badlands National Park was the first place we thought of. And, while we might have disagreed about which numbers the other places on the list fell…we all agreed that the number 1 slot definitely belongs to Badlands National Park in South Dakota.

Guys, this park blew us away! Badlands NP isn’t just on our favorites list for this year, it’s made its way onto our overall favorite list as well. We saw so much wildlife at this park…and the colors were just…amazing. We went in the Spring while everything was still green and the bison were starting to shed their winter coats and all of the baby animals were bouncing around. Badlands NP has got to be one of the most underrated NPs in the NPS system. We spent two weeks going in and out of Badlands and completely loved it.

And….with a year of travel comes a year of foodies. We started listing the places that were fabulous…the places we wanted to include…and well, you can imagine that the list kept growing. So, I’ll leave this collection of foodie pictures here and tell you that we had a very very good foodie year. So good, we all gained a few extra pounds. Ha!!

We’ve been living this crazy nomad life while we’ve been on our #grandadventure for almost seven years now. In those seven years we’ve seen so so many amazing places and made countless memories. We’ve learned more than I ever thought we would, traveled farther than I ever thought we would and did things I never thought we would have the chance to do together as a family. We’ve grown… in more than one way…some of us are quite a bit taller now than when we started this amazing journey all those years ago…and with that growth, comes a need for a change. We’ve decided that 2021 will be the last year we live the nomad life. It’s time we get a more permanent basecamp where the boys can learn how to adult “normally” and go to college and get jobs and start planning adventures of their own.

So…this is the end of our Grand Adventure as a #digitalnomadfamily and as fulltime RVers. When we started planning this whole crazy thing way back in 2014, we never thought it would become our life for almost seven years, take us to 49 states and shape us in the way that only traveling can. And, as with every end, there is the magic and promise of a new beginning. As 2021 ends and 2022 begins we look forward to the promise of adventures…of a new kind.

We hope y’all have a wonderful New Year filled with all of the amazing adventures your heart desires.

Thank you for coming along on this crazy nomadic ride with us…we’ve loved having you be apart of the journey!

Much Love,

Jerl, Jennie, Charles, Alex and Nicholas

#theend
Back To Tennessee

Back To Tennessee

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Hey Guys!! Merry Christmas!!! We hope everyone has an amazing day filled with everything you love!

When we left Louisiana we took the long way around to get back to Tennessee.

We spent a couple of weeks back in Houston. I’d planned on getting the boys back to see their pediatrician for their yearly wellness checkups while we were there. The Dr.’s office even texted me a couple of weeks before we got there to remind me it was time…but when I called to make the appointments…the Doc wasn’t going to be in town while we were. Soooo….that didn’t happen. We did get to spend time with a few of our friends and hit a few of our favorite H-Town foodie spots, so definitely time well spent!

From Texas we headed back up to Missouri where we spent about a month visiting with family and friends. We were there over Thanksgiving and loved getting to spend it with my parents. We also got to help Grammy put up the Christmas tree and celebrate her December birthday!

Like every time we’re back in Missouri, we had projects we wanted to work on for our home-on-wheels. I dabbled in some craftiness and made a reusable advent calendar. Well, I bought the little cabinet built but unfinished and I stained it and decorated it…now I just have to find a spot for it in our tiny home. Ha!!

We replaced our states map because some mold or something had worked its way under the stickers and was damaging the paint on the RV. We got all the stick off, but there wasn’t anything we could do to fix the discoloration left by the mold. We got a new states map and instead of putting up a new Canada map, we decided to put up National Park stickers representing all of the National Parks we’ve been to…that would be forty-four…if you’re curious! I’m kind of loving have the NP stickers up. Everyone has a map, but I haven’t seen anyone else with these stickers up.

We also took the opportunity to hit some of our favorite foodie spots. If you have a Logan’s Roadhouse near you…go get their cookie dough cake. Make sure you eat that before you eat your meal…you’ll thank me. *wink* We had ours after lunch and struggled to get it all down, but we got it all down!! Ha!! It was too good to leave any behind!

Nicholas…our Littlest…graduated from High School while we were staying with my parents so they were able to help us celebrate his accomplishment! He worked hard to graduate a semester early. We’re so very proud of Nicholas and can’t wait to see where his journey takes him.

The route we took to get back to Tennessee from Missouri had us going right by Ozark National Scenic Riverways and well…if you know us…it shouldn’t come as any surprise that I planned an overnight stop right by the Visitor Center. We didn’t have time to do everything we would have liked to have done, but we did get to see Big Spring. This place was gorgeous! The water color was so brilliantly blue. Big Spring is one of the world’s largest springs with an average water flow of around 470 cubic feet of water per second. You can walk around it to see where the water comes out of the rock. It’s all of the minerals that the water picks up while going through that rock that gives it that turquoise color.

We found the best Mexican restaurant in Missouri. It’s called Las Margaritas and it’s in Van Buren and Guys…it’s a must stop. Everything we got was amazing. Ah-mazing!

We also spent a night in Nashville…just to eat at Hattie Bs Hot Chicken. Hattie Bs!! We stood outside in line on a cold drizzly December afternoon and didn’t mind at all because…Hattie Bs!!! If you know, you know.

We got to Knoxville December fifth and will be here at least through the winter…maybe longer…we’ll see.

See y’all down the road!

#NationalParkTour

NOLA Area

NOLA Area

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Hey Guys!! We survived our fun in Florida and we basically started making our way back to Tennessee for the winter. We took the long way back and headed to Louisiana for the week of Jerl’s bday…to eat…

Since we were in the NOLA area, I thought we should really try to squeeze in at least one National Park Unit in the area. Thanks to hurricane Ida that went through the area early that year, all of the NP Visitor Centers in the area were closed. We could still go walk around the Chalmette Battlefield and learn about the Battle of New Orleans though. So, we spent a couple of hours on a beautiful October day and did one of our favorite things…learned some history.

The Battle of New Orleans was the final military engagement between the United States and United Kingdom during the War of 1812 and is considered by many to be one of the greatest American land victories of the war. The Battle of New Orleans took place on January 8, 1815 between the US led by future President, Andrew Jackson, and the UK led by Edward Pakenham on what was at that time plantation lands. The US put together an army made of many different peoples that included frontiersmen, Louisiana militia, Free Men of Color, businessmen, warriors form local Native Tribes, smuggler Jean Lafitte and his privateers, sailors as well as US troops. The Americans were extremely outnumbered, but at the end of what was a long bloody day, the Americans stopped the UK from gaining control over a vital coastlines and ports.

The Battle of New Orleans destroyed a good chunk of Chalmette Plantation leaving the Chalmette family in financial ruins. To help with that, the family decided to break up the plantation into smaller tracts of land and sell it off. In 1817, the St. Amand brothers, who already owned several other plantations in the area bought the property you see in the photos above. The St. Amand brothers who were Free Men of Color that owned several other plantations and slaves repaired the damage caused by the war, built a house, and returned the land to sugar production.

Let’s talk about the real reason we spent a week in the NOLA area…foodies. And Guys, we found so many amazing foodies that weren’t even in NOLA. We mainly stayed in the Slidell and I have to admit, it was much more relaxing and less crowded which made it more enjoyable for us. The food in Slidell is stellar! We found all of our faves and even discovered a few new faves. If you ever have the chance, go to LeBlanc’s Creole Kitchen, Jazzy Pete’s Poboys, and Beignet Au Lait!! We also stopped by Peto’s I-10 for some of the best stuffed boudin balls you’ll ever have…anywhere.

We stocked up on some of our favorite snacks before we headed down the road…gotta have road trip snacks, right?!

And…even though it was late October and heading into the Fall season…I managed to find some pretties.

The week flew by as we stuffed ourselves with the foodies and our minds with some more American history…both are important things.

See y’all down the road!

#NationalParkTour
Family Fun in Florida

Family Fun in Florida

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Hey Guys! Somehow…I’m not sure how…I talked Jerl into another round of Universal Studios and Disney before we wrap up this year’s travels. On our way from South Carolina to Florida, we made an overnight stop in St. Mary Georgia.

I couldn’t resist taking a pic of our home-on-wheels with the beautiful hanging Spanish moss at our spot in Georgia. We don’t usually get to an overnight spot and then do anything, but we spotted something we couldn’t pass up on our way to the RV park…

Tabby Sugar Works or McIntosh Sugar Mill…depending on where you look for info… was built by John Houston McIntosh sometime around 1825…again, this is fuzzy and depends on where you look for info. McIntosh installed the first horizonal cane mill worked by cattle power.

Honestly, I just wanted to have a look at some cool looking ruins. And they were pretty cool! Unfortunately, all of the mosquitoes in the state of Georgia were there to greet us and try to get a free meal. We didn’t stay long. We were all super itchy after that.

When we head to the Orlando area, we always stay at Lake Louise State Park in Clermont. It takes planning because the park books up about a year in advance…especially if you’re wanting to snag one of the few full-hookup spots…but it’s so worth the effort. This time we saw some new things at the the SP! They’ve got these really cute “glamping” tents set up. It looks like they’re equipped with AC and they’re really close to the bathrooms. We also found that they’re offering guided horse rides! We’re usually in the area in the off season…so I’m not sure if these things are actually new or if we’ve just never been there while they were available. Either way, it makes Lake Louise SP an even better option when staying in the Orlando area.

One of our favorite things to do in the evenings while staying at Lake Louise SP is walk around and look at the different ponds/lakes. There are four that you have access to…three that you can easily walk to from the campgrounds. You can rent kayaks, canoes, and SUPs to get out on the water.

Just watch out for the residents. I’m pretty sure people feed them…which is a big no no…because they’ll follow you around on the docks as if they’re waiting for you to drop some food over into the water. Guys, don’t do that. Don’t feed wildlife. Gators aren’t smart enough to differentiate between the hand giving them food and the food itself. Once wild animals associate food with humans, they get dangerous and often times have to be killed. Let wildlife stay wild. They can get their own food.

I know I’m always talking about sunsets…but check out these sunrises! We caught a few while we were heading to the various theme parks and decided to get up early a couple of other days and head out to the docks to catch the sunrise there. It didn’t disappoint. It’s not something I’m going to get in the habit of doing…I’m not a morning person…but I might try to get up early once in a great while just to catch a sunrise.

Maybe.

We’ll see…don’t hold your breath.

The real reason we went to the Orlando area was…Harry Potterverse…aka…Universal Studios. We are, and will forever be, Potterheads. Always. I didn’t get very many pics during our two days at Universal, but we had an amazing time hitting all of our favorite rides and finding a couple of new favorites! Someone was kind enough to take our picture in front of Hogwarts…this is tradition for us, but sometimes it has to be a selfie.

This probably won’t surprise you, but we spend 95% of our time in the two Harry Potter sections of Universal. One of our favorite rides is Escape from Gringotts. I’m pretty sure we rode this one the most this time. The wait times were kind of ridiculous at times. We usually visit Universal during the off season…either in between Thanksgiving and Christmas or in mid January/early February. The temps are fantastic and the crowds are pretty much nonexistent. We went in October this time and Guys, it was a totally different experience.

We were super excited to ride the newest Harry Potterverse ride…Hagrid’s Motorbike Adventure! Universal does such an amazing job at designing ride cues. When you’re waiting in line for a ride, there are so many things to look at, listen to or watch that go along with the ride. It’s all part of the ride. You actually start the journey before you actually get on the moving coaster and Hagrid’s is no different. This is such a great ride. It’s an actual coaster but just tame enough that our kiddo who refuses to ride coasters (Nicholas) will ride it…in fact, this is his new favorite ride…which shocked us all since it goes really fast, has some super dark spots where you can’t really see anything, and goes backwards. All things he isn’t too keen on, but he loves this ride.

Butterbeer is a required treat while visiting Harry Potterverse.

Required. Non-negotiable.

It has to happen.

End of story. Thank you very much.

But, butterbeer isn’t the only yummy drink offered. We took some time at the Leaky Cauldron and each got a different drink so we could have some of them all. Plus, we got to sit down in the AC…and when it’s 90+ degrees outside…that cold drink and AC was totally worth the moola!

I will never get tired of visiting Harry Potterverse. In fact, we were discussing how the park should expand the Potterverse sections and how they should go about doing it while we were there. If anyone from Universal Studios is reading this…reach out…we’ve got it all planned for you!

I would be perfectly content to find a shady spot to sit with a butterbeer in hand and just people watch all day in the Potterverse sections. Now, that said…I do have one complaint from this visit to Universal Studios…well, actually two…the rides broke down way more than usual and the selection of souvenirs was slim pickings. I know both of these things are due to current situations found in our Country right now, but I feel like these particular issues could have been foreseen and fixed by using American made products by American brands found here in America. So…Universal Studios…step it up and support your Country while making your brand even better.

We spent two very full days at Universal Studios…so, of course, we took the opportunity to enjoy some foodies!! We always hit up VooDoo Donuts. We found Hotdog Hall of Fame during our last visit to Universal and enjoyed it enough that we went back this time. The dogs didn’t disappoint! We’ve had more than our fare share of hotdogs…some we wish we’d never had…but all of the hotdogs we’ve gotten at the Hotdog Hall of Fame have all been really good. We also hit up Bubba Gump’s for the first time during this visit. And Y’all…I wish we’d gone sooner. It was such a fun place and the food was top-notch!

We are reluctant Disney fans. Reluctant because Disney as a company has made some very shady…very questionable…absolutely avoidable choices lately. If I’d known about some of these choices before I’d purchased our non-refundable, non-transferable tickets…we would have skipped Disney this visit because like I said before…We are Potterheads. And Universal is our home Park. That being said…we had the tickets, we had the reservations…so we went. Grudgingly, but determined to have a good time despite our misgivings about Disney as a company.

We only went to Disney for two days this time. One day at Hollywood Studios and one at Epcot…the two Disney parks we like the best. It was October and 90* and there were a gazillion people there. It’s a real number…gazillion. We’d never experienced Disney in these conditions and I have to say…we never will again. The lines were insane. The fact that we had to wear a mask on the rides was ridiculous. And the rides kept breaking down.

Now, I know you’re going to point out that I said the rides at Universal kept breaking down this time too, but at least at Universal we didn’t have to wear a mask…at all…not once. Disney not only required masks any time we were inside, the mask had to be a specific type of mask and the mask had to cover your mouth and nose the entire time. Some of us have trouble with masks…especially in heat and humidity.

The main reason we went to Hollywood Studios was for the Star Wars stuff and that’s really where we spent the majority of our day. We did ride a couple of other rides in other areas…but we kept finding ourselves back in the Star Wars sections. There were two new Star Wars rides for us this time…Smugglers Run and Rise of the Resistance. Both are great rides. Both broke down so many times during the day. I was surprised by the lack of story telling in the Rise lineup. It was pretty basic. I also didn’t like being required to be a part of the ride…I don’t want to be a part of the show, I just want to be entertained. Other than that…Rise is a totally different kind of ride and I see it as the beginning of a new era for the 3D/4D rides. Disney has always been on the cutting edge for this kind of tech and they’ve, once again, really delivered. Smugglers is unique in the way you’re each given something to do with the ride…if you want to.

Let’s talk about the blue milk. I’d seen someone mention this stuff on the Socials before we went and I’ll admit I was both repulsed and curious at the same time. When we were standing in the Smugglers line, the family in front of us had some so I asked them about it and based on their reaction to it I figured we should probably try it. It was an unexpected treat that the blue milk is actually dairy free. Since we have a kiddo with a dairy allergy, that was huge for us. So often, he’s left out. So, kudos to you Disney for making a popular treat that everyone can have! The blue milk came in two variations…blue and green. Only Alex got the green one…green is his favorite color. They taste pretty much the same…which is kind of like a fruity smoothie. And for those of you interested…there is an adult version of this treat and yes one or two of us got it and thoroughly enjoyed it.

One of the things I really love about Disney is the foodies. Each season there are new foodies thought up by top chefs to try in each park…there’s also all of the usual amusement park fare but even that is leveled up. It’s not just a hot dog…it’s huge and covered in some really good chili and cheese on a freshly baked bun. Did you know all of the rice crispy treats are made freshly in a Disney kitchen?

We ended up having a better time than we thought we would. Even with the heat and the gazillion people. Disney has a way of sucking you in…I think it’s their superpower. Its a little annoying.

Alex decided to get a little souvenir. It’s a cool Mandalorian helmet. I have no idea where we’ll put it in our home-on-wheels. But, he couldn’t pass it up.

Our second day at Disney was at Epcot. The magic is in the little details. There are eleven lands to explore and an outpost that looks like they should just officially call it Kenya and make it land number twelve. You’ll find foodies and shops in each land. Some lands have a show…like Norway with the Frozen show or France with the new Remy ride. You can spend all day just moseying around the world without actually leaving Orlando.

Up at the front of the park it’s all about space and tech. There’s a new space ride that takes you through a “training” run to become an astronaut. You have two levels of intensity to chose from…Green takes you around the world while Orange takes you to Mars. This was another new kind of ride…you actually feel like you’re pulling Gs as you blastoff. It’s crazy. We went right at the beginning of the day and basically walked right on the ride with no waiting. I noticed later in the day there was a hefty wait to get on.

Did you know Epcot has four different festivals throughout the year? Festival of the Arts (this is the one that’s usually happening when we’re at Epcot), Flower and Garden Festival, Food and Wine Festival and the Festival of the Holidays. In October you’ll find the Food and Wine Festival. We ate ourselves silly. I mean, that’s the point of going, right? To eat all day? I think we got something from almost every land…and quite a few of the little kiosks that represent different countries.

When we first got to Epcot that morning, I found these little trays that hold your food and a drink. It was a lifesaver! We could walk and eat at the same time. As cool as Epcot is…Disney could really invest in some more seating and some shade. There were so many people there that day that we spent most of it on our feet and in the sun. These little trays let us keep moving or stand in a little spot of shade.

So, the new hot ride at Epcot is Remy’s Ratatouille Adventure. The first thing you need to know about it, is that to ride it…you have to do the Virtual Line through the Disney app. You’ll want to have it before you go and have it linked to your tickets and reservations so you’re able to try and get into the virtual line. You have two tries to make it in line. 7am before the park opens and then once more at 1pm. If you miss it…too bad, so sad…no ride for you. Once you’re confirmed in the virtual line, you get a group number and then you wait for your group number to get called before you go get in the actual line. It’s a clever system, but I feel bad for those that don’t know about and miss out. The actual line moved pretty quickly…I think we stood in it for maybe forty-five minutes. That’s not bad at all since we stood in the Rise of Resistance line for three hours while we were at Hollywood Studios. The ride itself uses the same new high tech system that Rise uses and takes you right into Remy’s world as a mouse. You skitter your way through the world and get a mouse’s view of everything.

Disney World is celebrating it’s 50th anniversary starting Oct 1, 2021 and running through March 2023. That’s a full eighteen months of party! Each park has it’s own celebratory thing, but all parks have these cute golden statues. We had a good time looking at all the 50th celebration stuff.

Epcot at night is the best Epcot. The lights are beautiful. The big globe has new lighting that Disney has coordinated with music. Out of all of the Disney parks, Epcot is our favorite.

We managed to slip in a date night. We found a burger place called D-Luxe Burger at Disney Springs. These burgers were huge! The fries were a little weird, but the burgers were spot on. There’s no shortage of foodie spots in the Orlando area.

That’s pretty much it for our two weeks in Florida. We rode all the rides, ate all of the foodies…and saw some epic sunsets…and sunrises!

Until next time, Florida!

See y’all down the road!

#NationalParkTour
Founders, Fun, and Foodies in South Carolina

Founders, Fun, and Foodies in South Carolina

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Hey Guys!! We spent a week on the coast of South Carolina, near Charleston, as we made our way down to Florida. The last time we were in South Carolina was way back in 2016 and we’d forgotten how much we enjoy the states coastal areas…and the foodies. We didn’t do too much…we mainly stayed at the campground, but we did manage to squeeze in one National Park unit!

Charles Pinckney National Historic Site sits on what remains of the Pinckney coastal plantation called Snee Farm. This was Charles Pinckney’s country retreat and was used as a working rice and indigo plantation in the 1700s until 1816 when the property was planed in trust to settle debts. Now owned by the National Park Service, Snee Farm preserves the story of one of America’s founding fathers and gives visitors a look at what life was like on a Lowcountry plantation.

Charles Pinckney was 29 when he was chosen to represent Carolina at the 1787 Constitutional Convention in Philadelphia. He was the second youngest delegate in the 55 member group and out of those 55 delegates, Charles was the only one to introduce a complete plan for what would become the new federal government of the United States. While not all of his recommendations were used in the final document, many of them were which earned him the nickname “Constitution Charlie”. Charles Pinckney was one of the principal authors and a signer of the United States Constitution.

When I planned this stop, I had a hard time finding a place to stay. There aren’t too many RV parks in the Charleston area and the ones I checked all refused to make reservations. I stumbled on the James Island County Park and Guys, I’m so glad I did! We absolutely loved this park! This park has it all, including climbing walls, paddle boats, slacklines, disc golf course and an obstacle course…and some of the best walking trails. We walked every day we were staying here and enjoyed it so much.

My favorite walking trail took me down by the fishing dock where the sunsets were always spectacular. There were people fishing in several of the little ponds and off the dock every day. There are also gators to watch in the park.

When you reserve online, you can go through and pick what site you want from the ones available for the dates you’re going to be there. We loved our site! It backed up to this little pond where an extra picnic table and swing were set up. We had our own firepit and tons of shade. Now…this park cost a little more than what we usually like to pay, but you get so much while you’re there that we didn’t mind and will definitely stay there again.

I’m not gonna lie to y’all…when I planned this one week pit-stop…it was with the foodies in mind. I’ve been pining for the PBT sandwich from Page’s Okra Grill since we left the area the first time back in 2016. I almost chickened out going back once we got to the Charleston area because I was afraid it wouldn’t live up to the memory I had. It did. It totally lived up to the hyped up memory living in my brain. This sandwich is still my favorite sandwich of all time. Page’s PBT is made of pimento cheese, bacon, and fried green tomatoes on buttery Texas toast and it is so freaking good. I’ve tried to recreate it, but it’s never the same.

We also hit up a few BBQ joints. South Carolina BBQ is amazingly good. And, if you ever find yourself in Lowcountry…make sure you try the hash over rice and have a bowl of the Brunswick stew! We recommend Swig & Swine for a top-notch BBQ experience that offers all of the essential Lowcountry BBQ options. And, of course, you need to go to Page’s Okra Grill for the PBT and the rest of their southern food options. You can’t go wrong at either one of these places.

Even with the warmer temps of southern South Carolina in early October, we still saw a few little signs of the coming fall colors. There were some summer flowers still in bloom too.

Well Guys, that’s all of the adventure we had during this stop!

See Y’all down the road!

#NationalParkTour
Ancient Mountains

Ancient Mountains

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Hey Guys! We spent two weeks in Pigeon Forge so we could explore Great Smoky Mountain National Park. It was a very busy two weeks…we did as much as we could…and we didn’t even begin to scratch the surface of what’s available to do in the area.

I’ve put off visiting this area of the country for awhile now…for various reasons. The main reason is how incredibly busy it is. Great Smoky Mountain NP is America’s most visited National Park. It’s crowded. The towns of Pigeon Forge and Gatlinburg are the two main towns people stay in when visiting and Guys, it was insanely busy. Crowds aren’t our thing. And…if I’m being completely honest…I was comparing the Smoky Mountains to the Rocky Mountains…the Smokies didn’t seem that impressive to me.

The Appalachian mountains that you find within Great Smoky Mountain NP were formed 480 million years ago while the Rockies are much younger and were formed somewhere around 285 million years ago. When the Appalachians were younger and still growing, it’s thought that they were actually bigger than the Rockies are today. We’ve come to affectionately refer to the Smoky Mountains as old man mountains. Today, the highest peak in Smokies is close to 6,600 feet and while it’s not as high as what you can find in the Rockies…the views are still impressive. The park get’s it’s name from the constant presence of fog that seems to cling to the mountains. While the fog is thinker in the mornings, it’s pretty much there all day and can make for some very interesting views.

One of the most visited places in Great Smoky Mountain NP is Clingmans Dome. I always thought Clingmans Dome was the name of the tower you can hike up for a view, but actually, a dome is what they call a rounded mountain or ridge top. Clingmans Dome stands at 6,643 feet and is the highest point in the park. The trial to get to the observation tower is only half a mile long, but it feels like you’re hiking straight up. It’s a steep trail and has zero shade so if you ever go, be prepared for that. Once you reach the top of the observation tower, you’re rewarded with a 360* view of the Smoky Mountains and if you’re there on a clear day, you can see five different states. We went on a clear day and once I caught my breath from all of the up…the view was fantastic! In the 1800s people called the peak of Clingmans Dome, Smoky Dome due to the seemingly ever present smoky effect of the fog and clouds.

You never know what you’re going to find when you head out on a trail in Great Smoky Mountain NP. We found an old CCC camp one day This particular camp was also used to house and continue some of the CCC projects by Conscientious Objectors of WWII in 1942. Franklin D. Roosevelt established the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) in 1933 to combat two problems in the United States… reforestation of our Nation’s timber resources due to the commercial logging and the unemployment problem during the Great Depression. The average CCC employee was unemployed and unmarried men between 18 and 22 years old. All over the Country, CCC camps were established to house, educate and feed the volunteers (where were paid $30 a month) while they built roads, trails, and buildings that we still use to this day. The National Park System benefited greatly from the CCC and the Great Smoky Mountain NP benefited more than any other park. There were 22 CCC camps that housed up to 3,000 men. The camps were abandoned a long time ago, but you can still find traces of some of them. We’re big fans of the CCC program and what it offered our people in their time of need and all of the amazing things they did for our Nation.

Mingus Mill was built in 1886 and was used to grind corn and wheat for some of the nearby communities. It was in pretty bad disrepair and restored by the CCC in 1937. Today, you can go and see how corn and wheat used to be milled. You can even buy some fresh corn meal or wheat flour from the miller that’s posted there. We enjoyed walking around the mill and chatting with the miller there. We’ve been to other mills before, but it’s always interesting to see the differences in each mill.

Before it was a National Park, it was home to thousands of people. You can see the homes and livelihoods that were left behind when the area was made into a National Park. Land was purchased as it became available and the few that didn’t want to sell their homes or leave their businesses and move were incorporated into the park but with the right to remain on their land until they died. There are cabins all throughout the park that are left over from another life. All of the ones we found were open to exploration.

Alfred Reagan was a farmer of cattle, crops, fruit and even timber. He and his wife made their life and raised their family in one of the small communities on the rocky mountainside of the Appalachian mountains. Life was hard but good. They used all three colors available from Sears Roebuck offered to paint their home. We found that it was interesting that this was the only cabin we found that was painted.

Back in the 1930s and 1940s, Swain County gave up pretty much all of it’s privately owned land to make a portion of the Great Smoky Mountain National Park and to create Fontana Lake. The lake was used to create the electricity to run the aluminum plants for the Oak Ridge Tennessee’s National Laboratory during WWII during the Manhattan Project. Hundreds of families were forced to leave the small mountain communities that had been their home for generations. With the creation of Fontana Lake homes and the old highway 288 that lead to them were all under the waters of the lake. The citizens of these small communities were all promised by the government that a new road would be made so they would continue to have access to the small cemeteries where generations of their family members were buried. For environmental and construction issues that came up during the construction…the new road was put to a stop and never finished. The “Road To Nowhere” was born. Today it’s a neat place to go for a walk. You can walk all the way through the tunnel and take one of the trails at the end. The day we went, it was raining so we didn’t do any hiking, but I’ve read that you can hike by some of the abandoned homesteads.

Water is a constant presence at Great Smoky Mountain National Park. If it’s not the rain (an average of 55 to 85 inches per year depending on where you are in the park) it’s the rivers/creeks/streams or waterfalls. It makes for a very interesting and diverse park. We had the best time chasing waterfalls of all sizes during our time exploring this NP unit! What we didn’t love…all of the up that most of those waterfalls took to see. Whoo!! So. Many. Stairs!! If waterfalls are your jam…Great Smoky Mountain NP has over 2.000 miles of waterways and over 100 waterfalls for you to explore to your heart’s content.

Great Smoky Mountains National Park was park unit 186 for us. The boys got their Junior Ranger badge and chatted with a Ranger about his time at the park. If you ever want to know an insider’s tips to a park…talk to a Ranger. In a park that is as busy as GSNP…tips about the not so popular, but just as good places can be invaluable.

Seven years ago…when we were just starting to plan out this crazy nomad life of ours…I sent off for information about attractions from several states. Tennessee sent me a ton of park brochures from Great Smoky Mountains NP. I filed them away and kept them safe until we were able to finally use them this year! We used them all in our planning and explorations. You can buy them in the park and I would highly recommend it. The little tidbits they offer about the park are great.

Apparently, there’s an event almost every weekend in Pigeon Forge. While we were there, the event was a car show and it was a full week thing. It was basically like a huge tailgating party that stretched over several blocks. Cars were out, people were out, there was food and fun and…scooters. Guys, the scooters were a spectacle all on their own. We saw so many scooters being ridden around by people. It was funny to watch the scooter trains as they wound their way through the cars and streets.

There’s a road called The Tail of the Dragon that is a huge draw for motorcycles and sports cars. It has 318 curves in 11 miles. I expected more views from this stretch of road…It was mainly just views of the road in front of us. We did see tons of motorcycles and expensive sportscars zooming around. There’s one pull off and the view wasn’t that great. I did some research and found that there are close to 100 crashes a year on this 11 mile stretch of twisty road.

Did you know there’s a Tennessee Whiskey Trail? We did the Kentucky Bourbon Trail…if you missed that post, check it out here…So, we thought we should do the TN Whiskey Trail too! In KY you got a t-shirt when you finished the trail. In TN you get a poker chip at each Distillery you visit and then when you’re done, you send off your passport and get the rest of the poker set! We did a few distilleries in the two weeks we were in Pigeon Forge. Ole Smoky was fun and we got a special t-shirt (that is super soft) for doing a tour. It’s still weird to have a kid who’s old enough to do the tastings with us now…

If you’re a foodie, you’ll have plenty to choose from between Pigeon Forge and Gatlinburg. There are tons of options. We enjoyed everything we got. It was super crowded so we didn’t go to too many places, but the spots we hit were all good. Corky’s BBQ and JT Hannah’s were our favorites.

We were in Pigeon Forge the last couple of weeks of summer so the flowers were kind of slim pickings. I did find plenty of mushrooms/fungi though! So many different shapes and colors!

There are something like 1500 bears in the Smoky Mountains. We heard from so many people that they always see bears when they go. We saw signs about bear activity but didn’t see a single bear. Not even a foot print. Due to road work, we didn’t get to go to Cades Cove, which is supposedly where a ton of bears like to stay…maybe we’ll see some next time.

That’s it Guys! We liked Great Smoky Mountains National Park a lot more than we thought we would and we will definitely go back and do some more exploring…soon! When we left the leaves were just starting to hint at changing colors. I’d love to go back during prime fall colors!

See y’all down the road!

#NationalParkTour
Secret Cities and Appalachians

Secret Cities and Appalachians

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Hey Guys!

We made it back to Tennessee!

We didn’t get much done in our two weeks in the Knoxville area. Our first week in the area was spent in the rain as Hurricane Ida went over us on her way north. We didn’t get any bad storms or flooding like so many other places did with this storm…just lots of rain. Days of it. We hung out in our home-on-wheels…played games and watched movies as we tried to stay dry.

Did you know…there are some National Park Units that are split up into different locations? The Manhattan Project National Historic Park is broken up into three places…that happen to be in three different states. Oak Ridge, Tennessee is one of the three “secret cities” that was formed and used to build the United States atomic bomb. It was so secret that most of the scientists there didn’t know what the other scientists there were actually working on.

Starting in 1942, Oak Ridge was the home to several huge facilities that employed thousands of people both during and after World War II. Oak Ridge was the part of the Manhattan Project tasked with enriching uranium to use in the world’s first atomic bomb. There’s still some exciting stuff happening in Oak Ridge…I get the feeling some of it might still be secret.

The Manhattan Project National Historical Park is different in another way too…not only is it split up between three states… each park within the state isn’t found in one building. The two units we’ve been to are more of a walking history tour of the city with a few drives to get to a building or an old guard gate thrown in. We, of course, went to the Science Museum…we’re nerds at heart…we can’t resist a good science museum. We were glad to see that the interactive exhibits were still interactive even with the whole Rona thing going on. Each NPS unit has what’s called a cancellation stamp that people collect. The Manhattan Project NHP has a unique set of stamps that when you stamp them beside each other they make one big stamp. We’ve collected two of them from New Mexico and Tennessee…we just need the one from Washington. Unfortunately, the Washington unit has been closed since last year (2020) and there isn’t any information on when they’ll open back up. We’ll get there eventually.

We found the Museum of Appalachia by accident. We were out driving around the last time we were in the area and stumbled across a sign for the museum. We went late in the afternoon not really expecting there to be too much…Guys, we were so wrong. There are two big indoor museums and an entire village to explore. Several of the cabins are open to explore and have information about who lived there or what kind of business was conducted there.

We spent so much time exploring The Museum of Appalachia that they were closing up when we finally left. This pioneer mountain farming village is definitely an all day thing. There’s a restaurant where you can order southern comfort food if you get hungry. We didn’t eat there…we didn’t know it was there before we went or we would have…but it smelled heavenly.

We loved seeing all of the cabins and the farm animals, but my favorite part of this museum was learning about the actual people who lived in the area. There are so many mementos and pictures and stories of the people and families that you’ll feel like you know them after you’ve gone through the museum. The life they led was hard and they didn’t have much, but they had what mattered most…

If you’re ever near Norris, Tennessee you definitely need to spend a day at The Museum of Appalachia.

The food in Tennessee never disappoints. We found a couple of new favorites and visited a few old favorites. We were thrilled to find a Duck Donuts. Guys…Duck Donuts has the best donuts you’ll ever have. They make them after you order them so when you get them they’re still warm and fresh and sooo good! We also found a place called Archers BBQ where you’ll get spot on smoked meat and you’ll have the option of all the sauces! So. Many. Sauces! And all of them were good.

Well, I think that’s pretty much it for this stop! We’re heading to Pigeon Forge next to explore the Great Smoky Mountains before heading south to Florida… stay tuned for more adventures!

See Y’all down the road!

#NationalParkTour
Passing Through Kentucky

Passing Through Kentucky

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Hey Guys!! We spent about a week (six nights) in Georgetown, Kentucky on our way back down to Tennessee. We had just enough time to visit a National Park unit that was close and to squeeze in a distillery tour…and, of course, we found some foodies.

Camp Nelson Heritage National Monument started out as a supply depot and hospital during the Civil War in 1863.

Camp Nelson grew to be one of the largest recruitment and training centers for African American soldiers and eventually a refugee camp for the soldier’s wives and children. There is a great little museum at the Visitor Center that takes you through the history of Camp Nelson and a very informative film you can watch.

The original Camp Nelson covered around 4,000 acres and had over 300 buildings on the grounds. There’s only one building that was standing during the time of Camp Nelson…the big white house with the canon in front of it. Now, you’ll find a few hiking trails that take you around the property to see where the different forts and some of the buildings once stood. The National Park Service has rebuilt a few buildings…they were all locked up when we went so we didn’t get to go in them. The day we went was the hottest day Kentucky had seen so far in 2021. It was definitely close to triple digits and as you can see from the pics…there’s not a lot of shade. We walked around a little, but with the buildings all locked up…we didn’t spend a whole lot of time exploring this NP unit.

A few years ago we visited Kentucky to do the Bourbon Trail…if you missed that post, you can find it here. While we were doing the Bourbon Trail, Charles decided he wanted to come back to Kentucky with us when he turned 21 so he could do the tasting that goes along with a distillery tour. So…here we are…back in Kentucky so we can take our now 21 year old on his first official distillery tour and tasting. We took him to Woodford Reserve which is one of our favorites from last time. It was just as picturesque as I remembered it to be and the tour was the right amount of history, science and comedy to make it interesting.

It was weird to be there with our adult kid. It was definitely fun to see it all through his eyes. I don’t do the tastings…it’s not my thing…but I do make sure to grab some candy. Woodford has one of the best mixed candy boxes we’ve found so far!

We were only in Kentucky for six nights…but Guys…there’s always time for good foodies! We ate at two places and both were fantastic. The burgers were from Bru Burgers and we can’t recommend it enough. The bbq was from Red State BBQ and it was awesome too. When you go to a bbq place, the sides…in my opinion…are just as important as the smoked meat. and this place has a great selection of really good southern sides. Highly recommend Red State BBQ!

We were in Kentucky at the end of August and it was miserably hot the entire time we were there. We didn’t have a whole lot of time in KY, but we enjoyed the time we had…even with the heat.

See Y’all down the road!

#NationalParkTour
Basecamp Uniontown

Basecamp Uniontown

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Hey Guys! We made it to Pennsylvania! This was a hard place to get to for a few different reasons. There aren’t too many RV parks in this area…they’re all pretty darn expensive…and even the KOA we ended up staying at was mostly seasonal. But, I found us a spot and even with some changing plans and pandemic stuff, we made it.

You’re probably wondering why we made such an effort to get to Uniontown, Pennsylvania. There are five National Park Units that are reachable from Uniontown. All of them are within an hour or so drive which made Uniontown a good basecamp to see all five parks. We gave ourselves two weeks and Guys…it rained almost every day. *palm slap* We made it work and got them all in though…so lets get this post started.

Allegheny Portage Railroad National Historic Site preserves a few important locations along the Allegheny Railroad. With the completion of the Erie Canal in 1825, the merchants in Pennsylvania found themselves being left behind as everyone started to take advantage of the easier route through the canal with new markets and new cities. The Allegheny Railroad was Pennsylvania’s answer to keeping commerce coming through their state.

Before the Allegheny Portage Railroad, Pennsylvania merchants and travelers wanting to reach Pittsburgh utilized a railroad then a series of canals to get to Hollidaysburg where they then had to slog their way through the Allegheny Mountains until they got to the next set of canals. The terrain was hard, often muddy, very steep and not very cost effective for merchants. When the Erie Canal offered merchants a faster, easier…and more cost effective route, Pennsylvania had to come up with a better solution to get goods and travelers over the Allegheny Mountains.

What they came up with was a daring engineering marvel when railroads were still considered experimental in the United States. The inclined plane railroad carried entire boats along a series of ten incline planes (five on one side and five on the other) up , over and through the Allegheny Mountains. In each of the engine houses along the incline, there were two steam powered stationary engines that utilized ropes to pull the railcars along the railroad. With the completion of the Allegheny Portage Railroad, a trip across Pennsylvania that used to take three weeks, only took a few days.

Railroads, steam engines and incline planes were all groundbreakingly new when Pennsylvania was figuring out how to make the Allegheny Portage Railroad…in fact, this would be the first time they were all used together. And…if that’s not impressive…how about the first railroad tunnel in the US? Staple Bend Tunnel took workers eighteen months to cut through 901 feet of sandstone. Keep in mind…dynamite sticks didn’t exist yet.

One of the most important innovations created during this whole endeavor is the wire rope, created by John Roebling to fix the problem with the hemp ropes previously used that were notorious for breaking within one season of use. Roebling would later go on to design the Brooklyn Bridge.

The Lemon House was owned and operated by Samuel & Jean Lemon and served as a tavern during the time the Allegheny Portage Railroad was used. As you can see from the photo above, it was located right off the tracks of engine house number 6 where passengers had to wait until the train started its decent. You can go in and explore a few of the rooms of Lemon House and get a feel for what life was like for people at that time.

As high tech as it was, the Allegheny Portage Railroad didn’t last that long…opening in 1834 and closing in 1854…for a variety of reasons, but mainly due to further advancements in the locomotive. In the early 1850s, Pennsylvania started work on the new and improved Portage Railroad effectively ending the usefulness of the old system. While short lived, no one can dispute the critical role it had in continuing the westward expansion and opening up the interior of the US.

Johnstown Flood National Memorial preserves the story of one of the worst disasters in American history which resulted in over 2,000 people dying.

Johnstown, Pennsylvania was a steel and railroad town. Most of the 30,000 people who called it home were German or Welsh…a hard working, family oriented community. For whatever reason, the people who founded Johnstown did it in the middle of a floodplain so the town was used to some seasonal flooding.

Picture found in the visitor center and is not mine.

Lake Conemaugh was originally built as part of a canal system from 1838 to 1853. It was abandoned and sold to the Pennsylvania Railroad and then sold again to the South Fork Fishing and Hunting Club sometime after 1881. The Club was an exclusive and a very secretive retreat for fifty Pittsburg steel and coal magnates and their families. The Cub built cottages and a club house along the shore and stocked the lake for fishing. Unfortunately, they didn’t put much time or effort into the lake or dam maintenance. On May 31, 1889, after several hours of hard rain the South Fork Dam failed and somewhere around 20 million tons of water tore through several towns and destroyed Johnstown.

The Johnstown flood is the worst natural disaster of the 19th century and brought not only our nation but the world together to help the survivors of the Johnstown flood. This was also the first disaster relief effort led by Clara Barton through the American Red Cross.

Flight 93 National Memorial was the whole reason we came to this area. We often take the opportunity to teach the boys things based on the NP unit we’re visiting and the lesson of Flight 93 is one they’ll never forget. September 11, 2001 is a date we, as Americans, should never forget. Only one of our boys was alive at the time and he was only one so everything they know about what happened that day is from watching documentaries and hearing us (their mom and dad) talk about it. Y’all know it’s different to see something on television or read about it in a book… but to stand in the place where people gave their lives to protect so many others will make it more real. These were regular people…not soldiers…who made the ultimate sacrifice to save others.

I’m not going to go through all the details here of what transpired on that day…y’all should already know. I’m just going to talk about the memorial in this post.

Flight 93 National Memorial preserves and honors the memory of the forty passengers and crew of United Airlines Flight 93. Everything about this memorial was thought out and has meaning starting with the flight path you walk to get to the visitor center and viewing deck. Along the flight path, you’ll see the time stamp of when each of the other three planes crashed.

While you’re in the visitor center, they ask that you not take any photos. Some of what’s being displayed is still under copyright law. I found these photos outside and asked a Ranger if I could photo them. I think they really put some of the pieces of the overall puzzle together.

When you’re done going through the mountain of information in the visitor center, head down to Memorial Plaza where you can see the Wall of Names. The Wall of Names is made of forty individual marble panels. Each panel has the name of a passenger or a crew member engraved into the marble. Out in the field sits a seventeen ton piece of sandstone that indicates the location of impact.

The Tower of Voices is 93 feet tall and holds 40 windchimes. One chime for each voice lost on Flight 93. The chimes are big so it takes a big wind to make them sing. We didn’t get to hear them while we were there, but you can go to the NPS website for Flight 93 National Memorial and hear it there.

We visited Flight 93 National Memorial in August 2021. I honestly expected there to be more people there since 2021 is the twenty year anniversary of 9/11, but there weren’t too many people there. We didn’t mind. We spent quite a bit of time at this little NP unit talking about what happened…remembering.

Once again, the NPS has done an excellent job of commemorating, honoring and preserving a pivotal event in American history that should never be forgotten. On a day when it’s easy to find so many stories of fear, destruction and death…if you listen, you’ll also find just as many stories of hope, unity, courage and heroes.

Friendship Hill National Historic Site is at the country estate of Albert Gallatin. The house is beautiful…but really, the NHS is about Albert’s life and his many accomplishments. We’d never heard of Albert Gallatin before we visited this NP Unit, but Guys…he had a hand in some of the biggest historical events for the US. Albert Gallatin spent thirteen years as Secretary of the Treasury under Presidents Jefferson and Madison…and while he was doing it…he actually reduced our National debt. He also had a part in the purchase of the Louisiana Territory and funded the Lewis & Clark expedition! Later in his life, he helped to negotiate an end to the War of 1812 and then moved his family to France where he served our Country one more time…this time as Minister to France.

We spent a few hours going through the house and learning all about Albert and his family. We also met a great Ranger and spent quite a bit of time chatting with him. We’ve said it before…but I’ll say it again… meeting people that we would never have had the chance to meet has been one of the best parts of living this crazy Nomad life that we live!

Fort Necessity National Battlefield was the last park we explored during our two weeks in the Uniontown area. This is another park that people always ask us if we’ve been to so we were expecting good things from this park.

The museum at this park was a good one. It laid out all of the information and included some great pics/artifacts. For some reason, I didn’t get very many pics at this park. Sometimes it happens…sometimes I’m too busy being a nerd to remember the big camera in my hands. If you can (and we highly recommend it) you should do the Ranger talk/walk here. The Rangers do a fantastic job of presenting the information and highlighting the major points.

So, what’s so important about Fort Necessity?

Fort Necessity is where a young (22yrs old) Colonel George Washington suffered his first military defeat in the summer of 1754 at the hands of the French. It’s this battle that leads to the beginning of the French and Indian War where Great Britain and France spent seven years fighting over who would control North America. I’ll be honest…I was really expecting…you know, a fort. But, Fort Necessity is really a stockade meant to keep the gun powder and the rum safe.

George Washington was in the area to build a road…the road that would come to be National Pike and was the first federally funded highway.

Most believe the battle that took place at Fort Necessity along with the resulting French and Indian War set the stage for the American Revolution. So yeah, the events that took place at this little NP Unit were…world changing.

We found some pretty good foodies! One of the regional foodies we found was the Burger Club where the “buns” were actually grilled cheese sandwiches. And we found some pretty darn good smoked meat at a place called Stone House that’s right down the road from Fort Necessity.

Well Guys, that’s what we got done during our two weeks in Uniontown. We smashed quite a bit even with the shoddy weather. The RV park we stayed at had almost zero cell service. We couldn’t even make a phone call. Fortunately, they had decent wifi and we were able to make it work…it was a struggle…somedays were pretty frustrating as we tried to do work/school stuff. It makes us appreciate those blazing fast speeds when we find them! Ha!

And for those keeping track…we’re now up to 24 National Park Units for the 2021 adventure year…so far!

See y’all down the road!

#NationalParkTour
Valleys and Battlefields

Valleys and Battlefields

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Hey Guys! We spent two weeks in Winchester, VA and I have to admit…I really like this area of Virginia. We haven’t spent much time in Virginia…mainly along the coast…so I wasn’t sure what to expect. There’s so much to do and see in this area! SO much! We tried to see as much as we could, but sometimes…we don’t get nearly as much adventuring done as we’d like.

Our boys have been interested in the Civil War for a long time now…Charles even took an extra history class about the Civil War during his senior year. We’ve been to quite a few pivotal battlefields and locations for the Civil War over the years so, it was no surprise that they all wanted to spend a day at Antietam National Battlefield before we did anything else for this stop.

Antietam National Battlefield is thought to be one of the most well preserved Civil War battlefields. There’s an 8.5 mile driving/audio tour you can take that covers many of the key locations of the battle. It’s well worth the twenty or so dollars for the audio cd in the visitor center. Dunker Church and a few of the family farms that were used during the battle have been rebuilt or restored. The day we went, there were quite a few volunteers in period dress. It definitely added to the visit and was done in a way that wouldn’t take away from the experience if that kind thing isn’t for you.

The battle of Antietam started at dawn on September 17, 1862 and after twelve hours of savage combat, over 23,000 soldiers were killed, wounded or missing. Thousands of soldiers were killed in those twelve hours with thousands more dying from their wounds or disease in the days following. This one day of the Civil War is considered to be the bloodiest day in American history and ultimately led Abraham Lincoln to issue the Emancipation Proclamation.

The Civil War is the first documented attempt by soldiers to ensure their bodies could be identified if they were killed during battle. The soldiers started pinning tags like the ones in the picture above onto their uniforms before battle. Around forty-two percent of the soldiers killed in the Civil War were never identified.

One of the things we always look for at a battlefield is a tower we can use to get a good overview. This one was built by the War Department in 1896 as part of an open air classroom. You get a good look at what’s referred to as “Bloody Lane”. What once was an old sunken dirt farm road was the site of a four hour fierce standoff that resulted in over 5,000 soldiers being killed or wounded…and neither side gained anything. This sunken road is now known as Bloody Lane.

It’s always interesting to find a witness tree or building. A witness tree or building is one that was there during the event. At Burnside Bridge, you’ll find an old sycamore tree that stood witness to the battle of Antietam and was, in fact, in the middle of a three hour battle on that September day way back in 1862. The park has a fence up to keep people from trampling all over the tree, but I bet if you could get close enough, you’d see some old bullet wounds.

Within Antietam National Battlefield you’ll find the Antietam National Cemetery. We always visit those too. To remember what the cost of our freedom is. We always walk through some of the tombstones and I always read the names…someone remembers you…someone appreciates your sacrifice. I think it’s important to remind our kids that freedom isn’t free. Someone has to pay the price and they should be remembered for it.

In every battlefield you find stories of war and conflict…of terror and death. But, you’ll also find stories of bravery and survival…stories of freedom and new beginnings. It is my opinion that these types of National Park Units are some of the most important units. The history preserved in the many battlefields, forts, and military parks needs to be remembered so that we can remember how far we’ve come as a Nation and how far we still need to go.

While we were so close to it, we took a day to explore Shenandoah National Park. Unlike most of the National Parks in the west that were created to preserve some epic natural feature or wilderness area, Shenandoah was cobbled together from private property. It took Virginia years to quietly buy up property and convince… and in quiet a few instances, bully…people off of their family property. The land that was slated to become Shenandoah NP had long been used by farmers, mill owners, logging companies, trappers and miners. It was not only where they lived, but where they made their money…their livelihood. Entire communities relied on the resources provided by the Blue Ridge Mountains and the Shenandoah Valley.

When Shenandoah National Park was dedicated on July 3, 1936 most of the land was unforested open land. Now, it’s close to 200,000 acres of mostly wilderness area. Skyline Drive is a National Scenic Byway and runs 105 miles down the length of Shenandoah NP and supplies around seventy pullovers for views. If you plan on driving Skyline Drive in your RV…make sure you’ll make it through Marys Rock Tunnel where the max height clearance is 12’8″.

We heard a lot about all of the bears and deers…and the amazing waterfalls. We were told by a Ranger that pretty much all of the waterfalls were dried up. So, we didn’t hike to any of them. The few hikes we were interested in were so crowded that we skipped them. And maybe that’s why this park for us was just…OK. We weren’t impressed with the views and we were even less impressed with the way the park was cobbled together and formed. I guess they can’t all be awesome.

Cedar Creek and Belle Grove National Historical Park preserves a significant Civil War landscape and an antebellum plantation in the Shenandoah Valley. This battlefield is mostly on privately owned land, but the NPS has still put together a great driving tour that gives you the main story of what took place here. Established in 2002, this NPS unit is one of the newer Civil War battlefields brought into the NP and is actually a collaboration of several different partners to manage the park.

The Belle Grove Planation was used as a headquarters for General Sheridan during the battle of Cedar Creek. Built between 1794 to 1797, the manor house has had very few changes and is considered one of the best preserved 18th century homes in the country. It’s currently open to the public for tours for a fee. We opted not to do the tour but walked around the grounds and read all of the National Park info signs. Belle Grove is actually owned by the National Trust for Historic Preservation but is included in the National Park.

We found this great little Civil War museum one afternoon while we were exploring Historic Downtown Winchester. It’s part of the NP system and has a cancelation stamp (if you collect those). It was filled to the brim with information and artifacts. Because Winchester is situated on such a strategic location, it changed hands close to 72 times during the Civil War…so as you can imagine…this area is overflowing with Civil War history.

Winchester is located along the Valley Pike (route 11) which was once known as The Great Wagon Road. People have been using this area since the Native Tribes of the area used it for travel to follow the migrating buffalo herds. People go to the area for the amazing amount of Civil War stuff…but Winchester has played a part in our Nation’s history for longer than the Civil War. George Washington spent his early adult life in Winchester where he worked as a surveyor when he was sixteen years old. He fell into a commanding role during the French and Indian War and used the building you see in the pic above as his headquarters. We were surprised to learn that Washington was actually elected to his very first public office as Frederick County’s (Winchester is in this county) representative to the House of Burgesses. He passed one legislative bill the entire (I think around twenty years) time he was in the House of Burgesses…it was for public health and made it illegal to let your pigs roam around the streets and streams. Basically, Virginia is where Washington learned the skills that would allow him to effectively lead an army during the Revolutionary War and then continue on to become the first President of our new and struggling Country.

This area of Virginia has so many farm markets and orchards! We only made it to one…that’s all we had time for. We were there during peach season and boy-oh-boy…we found peach everything! We had peaches for weeks!

We found a fair amount of apple products too and couldn’t pass up visiting Winchester Ciderworks. Our oldest (Charles) just turned 21 back in July so we took him with us and he had his first flight. The three of us each got a flight where we got to try some hard cider made from apples grown, pressed and fermented right there in Winchester! If craft breweries, distilleries, cideries, or wineries are your thing…there’s an entire Shenandoah Spirits Trail for you to explore!

Lets talk foodies! Guys, every place we tried while in Winchester was top-notch. Seriously good. We were able to get some pizza delivered right to our home-on-wheels for the first time in a looonng time from Pizza 3.14. It was fantastic! We found some amazing bbq at Bonnie Blue Southern Market & Bakery…so good that we’re still talking about it.

It was summer (July) when we were in Winchester and the flowers were in full swing! Fields and fields of wildflowers in full bloom! Also…the chiggers were in action so I got SO many chigger bites while we were exploring the battlefields. I tried to stay on the paths…but…Guys…the pretties were taunting me. Beckoning me! Every single time I got off trial I’d get chiggers. Every. Single. Time. It’s been an itchy summer, but just look at those pretties.

That’s all we had time for while we were in Winchester, Virginia. We crammed as much as we could in, but didn’t scratch the surface of what’s available to do. We really wanted to make it to the Museum of the Shenandoah Valley and visit a few more farm markets or orchards. We’ve decided we will absolutely have to go back to Winchester during the fall to get some fresh apples and see the leaves as they change colors.

See Y’all down the road!

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