Wednesday, June 25, 2008

We Are In Kentucky!

Chisholm hope you are having a HAPPY 9TH BIRTHDAY!!! Melody here…It has been a fun couple of days…we sure do miss our tech guy! Hope he is having a great time. If you would like the blog link to his summer adventure, email me at Abernathy_08@yahoo.com ---please remember to say a prayer for him. I keep thinking of Joshua 1:9…..
Donna and I finally took off on Monday morning…after several stops we finally made it out of Oklahoma in the afternoon—We are going a little out of the way because of the flooding in Missouri…we are going to go down I-40 and then up to Cincinnati and back on track…We camped at Village Creek State Park on the east side of Arkansas…it was a really beautiful place…Steve H. we found the trees that are missing in western Oklahoma…LOL one thing of note, we did see a really nice ford f-150 pickup driving down I-40—friendly people….
We woke up early and headed east on I-40….we took a little time to view the Mississippi River when we crossed at Memphis…..unless you are standing beside it, it is really hard to imagine how fast it moves or how large it is…. Donna says when you get closer you start thinking about the people of the past and their experiences on it…the coast guard was zipping around quickly, but what a different experience going down the river on a barge or raft like in times past must have been…..We drove and drove through Tennessee (more trees!) –we stopped at the Casey Jones train museum in Jackson,Tennessee..if you are interested in folklore and trains, it is a super place to stop… the curator, Ben, was a great man to talk to..he enjoyed hearing about our trip…and late Tuesday afternoon, we arrived in Kentucky!! This is a new state for me! Yeah! I have been to all the states around it, but never here. We stopped near Mammoth National Park and are staying at Jellystone Campgrounds…this is a great place to camp! We saw another friendly policeman a few miles before the campgrounds! More soon….thanks for reading….
Hope VBS is going well… and hope the assistant harbor master is having fun!

Hey, everybody! It’s Donna now. We’ve headed out for the second part of the journey. We got a little late start and decided to take an alternate route because of the floods. We will be able to hook up with our original route in Cincinnati, which is most likely going to be tomorrow night.
One of the first places, obviously unplanned, was a stop at Toad Suck Ferry, Lock and Dam. No vocabulary liberties allowed here. It’s exactly what it says! It was built in 1820. Local legend has that it was named after a saloon on the other side of the river. At the same site was a tree. Sound exciting? It really was interesting. An oak and pecan tree had grown together as one. Believe it! We’ve got pictures.
The first night we stayed at the Village Creek State Park. Yes, we started in a tent and are still pursuing that course for another night or two. As odd as it may sound, we had a horsefly that kept running along and bumping into the car while we were trying to find a site. I thought I lost him in the showers, but he eventually caught up with me again. At least it never bit. Now, the mosquitoes were another story. They were big, juicy and plentiful! I was really happy they didn’t try to share the loaded baked potatoes we had for dinner! We left our cooler of beverages on the picnic table, not thinking that it would attract guests. Wrong! Drivers of Ford F150 and police officers are not the only friendly people we’ve run into. When the cooler hit the ground, I thought somebody was shooting a gun. Of course, I’ve never heard one shot in real life, so what was I thinking? It was obvious by the glowing eyes in the dark it was a raccoon. Wasn’t it?
By the way, Melody and I can get the tent set up now at record speed.
Today, Tuesday, we stopped at the Casey Jones Museum and Home. According to the short video we watched, it seems Casey received a few citations in his time at the railroad. Isn’t this something like a speeding ticket? Ben at the museum said his wife’s great grandfather rode with Chisholm on what became known as the Chisholm Trail. We got a good surprise when we visited a visitor’s center in Tennessee. They had quite a few artifacts/memorabilia about the area. Tonight we camp out at Jellystone Park in Kentucky.
Don’t forget to let us hear from you!

3 comments:

Tracy said...

Never thought about the FLOODS! Glad to hear that you're safe. Makinze & I can start tracking your progress once again. Finished up Literacy First--OH MY! Such an awesome reading program--a must have for EVERY elementary teacher. Tried to buy another copy of Bud & Me in Tulsa at Barnes & Noble & they didn't have it...what is wrong with this picture--haven't they heard what a FABULOUS Story it is?! Can't wait to hear more of your adventure. Proud of you for staying in a tent to save some $$!

Anonymous said...

hey, its me brittany m i love the slideshows and stuff . have fun eating kentucky fried chicken in kentucky be careful


Brittany M

Anonymous said...

Hey Melody, Just checking in on you. I just heard your phone message today and didn't know how you were set for minutes. Sounds like you are getting lots of good newspaper stuff. Sounds so fun. Nothing much here. Be safe. joyce