to sit on a rock in the forest and to ask himself
"Who am I, and where have I been and where am I going?"
Carl Sandburg
Today was the finish of my Revolutionary War
Trifecta. We had Guilford Courthouse yesterday and today was King's
Mountain and Cowpens, all three tolling the bell of defeat for the
British.
King's Mountain National Military Park, North
Carolina – The Loyalist militias under Ferguson took the top of the
hill, the Colonial militias surrounded the hill and crunched out a
victory. Miko and I walked the mountain. According to the
storyboards on the trail, the trees covering the mountain were huge
and there was no underbrush. Then the giant trees were logged so now
it doesn't look like it did during the battle.
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| Miko sitting in one of the old trees that the Colonials hid behind |
Cowpens National Battlefield, South Carolina
– Cowpens, named because this is where the frontier folk kept their
cows before sending them to market. Colonial Daniel Morgan vs.
British badboy Tarleton. Tarleton was the guy who several months
previously had beat a bunch of Colonial militia and when the
Colonials waved the white flag and tried to surrender, Tarleton
slaughtered them all. Nice guy.
I think I'm done with the Revolutionary War
for this trip.....finally. Interesting, but I think I need to space
out this battle stuff a little bit more.
Headed north up toward the Asheville area.
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| South Carolina likes to make sure you stop when you should |
I
had picked out a couple of campgrounds to stay at in the area. The
first campground was sort of a mom/pop operation called Red Gates RV
Park. In fact, as I checked in, I had quite a lengthy conversation
about ham hocks and collard greens, neither of which I know anything
about. Got myself a pull through site but when I tried to hook up
the electricity, my surge protector went nuts and I couldn't get any
power. Mr. Camp Host said “well gee, it works fine for everybody
else”. Moved to a second back in site. Super narrow and very
unlevel. When I put my leveling jacks down, three of the four tires
were off of the ground. This would not do. So, I had to hook up my
car again and try to find another RV park. It was getting late in
the day and I was worried about finding a place and then having to
get set up possibly in the dark. Ended up in Park Place RV Park in
Flat Rock which although it had no charm, was very close to my next
destination.
Carl Sandburg National Historic Site – this
is where Carl Sandburg ( poet, Lincoln biographer, Pulitzer award
winner and married to one of the premier goat breeders in the country)
lived. Tied Miko up outside the visitor center, watched the movie
and then we walked around the property. I could not tour the house
because it was being renovated but we got to go into the goat barn and meet the goats and feel the space as Carl Sandburg must have felt.
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| Carl Sandburg's House |
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| Carl Sandburg's Pond |
After getting a little culture with Carl, we
headed up into Tennessee and I mean up. We had to cross a mountain
range. I have a book called Eastern Mountain driving. It tells me
what type of hills I am going to encounter on a certain road. Well,
in my giant RV, I seem to have lost it. How is it that in this small
space I lose things? I don't get it. Anyway, there are nine miles
of up, up, up followed by forever miles of down, down, down. I need
to find that damn book.
I ended up in Davy Crockett Birthplace State
Park in Tennessee. Yes, it is that Davy Crockett – the Alamo Davy
Crockett. The campground is laid out like an RV park – we are all
lined up, row after row. But, we are right on the Nolichucky River
and the sound of the rapids really made me want to keep my windows
open. Unfortunately, it got down into the thirties at night – I
get the feeling that there will be no more open window sleeping. I'm thinking I am going to need electric hookups for the rest of the trip just so I can run my space heater and not use up my propane.
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| Nolichucky River cascades right outside my door |
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| Morning |
We got a couple of good little hikes in before we headed over to my friends in Knoxville.
Anytime I am in the Knoxville area, I have to stop in and see two of my most favorite peeps ever – Bill and Kathy. We checked out some real estate in the mountains, I rode my first Paso Fino and my old favorite Icelandic Logi, went out for our traditional Mexican dinner and ate a whole lot of junk food. I really enjoyed my weekend in Knoxville.
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| Kathy and Tux |
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| Bill |
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