To get to the site, we have to walk on
the Boone Trail. Evidently Daniel Boone was born about five miles
away from here back in the day. This trail is listed as moderate and
it is a pleasant trail except for all the rocks and roots that go
across the trail. It makes it hard to see what the scenery is like
because you always have to be watching where you put your feet.
Besides that, while it is a trail that winds it's way downhill, all I
can think of is that I have to walk back up it to get back to the
campground.
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| Yes, this is the trail |
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| This gave me pause - lucky I'm wearing my bright red windbreaker |
As we are walking along, through the
woods, there is nobody around. All of a sudden, a dog comes crashing
out of the woods. Then another dog and then another one. There are
three of them. I'm looking at them and I'm thinking these are some
sort of English Setters. My family had one when I was a child and
I've always had a fond spot in my heart for them. These guys were a
little shorter and stockier than what you normally see as English
Setters. Soon their person shows up and we chatted. He tells me
that he used to breed English Springer Spaniels and one of his
breedings resulted in a Westminster Best in Show Springer in 2007.
He decided that after that, he was at the top, there was nothing more
to accomplish so he switched to the English Setters. He breeds and
raises Field Setters which explains why they were a little stockier
and shorter.
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| Dennis, Buddy, Rascal and ? |
Miko and I get to Hopewell Furnace.
Hopewell Furnace is an early
American industrial community that operated from 1771 to 1883. The
cold-blast iron furnace and accompanying community has been restored
to the way it looked during the 1830s and 1840s, when the furnace was
at its height of activity From
the NPS site
It
had some really interesting things to see. Miko especially liked the
water fountain which was built with a dog in mind.
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| I had to help Miko push the button, she couldn't quite figure it out |
They
had a huge water wheel that was actually turning. It was amazing how
a very small creek could turn something this big.
I
also learned how they made charcoal. I guess charcoal doesn't just
come in those bags that you buy at Menards. It was a very time
and labor exhaustive process.
In
the visitor center, there were exhibits about everything that was
produced by this furnace. It seems that while they helped arm the
troops from the Revolutionary War through the Civil War, where they
made the most money was in making stoves. Evidently, stoves were
rather revolutionary in themselves. They talked about how the
creation of the stove freed women from having to tend the hearth
fires all day long like they used to. The stoves saved many women's
lives because they said that a big cause of death for women back then
was because their clothes would catch on fire from the open hearth in
the home. Not to mention it was much easier to boil water so it cut
down on “childbed fever” which happened often during the birthing
process.
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| Note to Self: Make sure dog leash is stashed before taking picture. It actually looks like a steel cable though - yup, my dog is one strong dog - need a cable to hang on to her |
After
the visit, we wandered back home up the Boone Trail and I mean up.
Oh well, we keep telling our horses when we make them walk up hills
that they are building their butt muscles. I need say no more.
Tomorrow
I move down to the Philadelphia area. Pope Francis is coming to town
this upcoming weekend. This is huge – most of the way, as I drove
across Pennsylvania, there were huge signs on the freeways telling
people to expect major delays. I have heard that most roads are
closed throughout the whole city. They are expecting several million
people to show up. I looked up some of the sights I was planning to
see and most of them are going to be closed during the visit. I
guess I will have to adjust. I will find out more when I get down in
that area.
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