Genealogy research, bus repair, Mammoth Caves, Chattanooga-Chickamauga Battlefield, lots of driving and we’ve arrived!
May 28 June 7 – Straight shot south
A. May 28 & 29 – Ft. Wayne, IN
We stayed at Johnny Appleseed park for a few more days while Marie did more research on family at the Allen County Public Library (with a very large collection of genealogy materials). Success! – Found more information on gr-gr-gr-grandmother Rebecca Boardman, who married Adna Cowles in 1772, and was able to take the Boardman line back 4 more generations to Samuel Boreman, who arrived in America about 1638.
It was Memorial Day weekend, and Johnny Appleseed park was full the next few days, so we headed to Elkhart, Indiana (yes, a little ways north).
B. May 30 & 31 – Elkhart, IN
Sunday and Monday of Memorial Day weekend we stayed in the parking lot of Mastertech, where we were scheduled to get a minor repair done on Tuesday morning. We had extensive work done there in 2017, and stayed in their warehouse/workshop/garage for over a month. In fact, we were there so long that the owner invited us to Thanksgiving dinner at his house!
This time we only needed a minor repair to the tachometer, and we were out of there by 10:00 am on Tuesday morning.
C. June 1 – Jasper, IN
We headed south on the backroads through Indiana. Just driving, driving, 299 miles for the day. Not much to see since we had already “touristed” through the area. Stayed the night in yet another WalMark parking lot.
D. Abraham Lincoln’s Boyhood Home
We’d already seen Lincoln’s Birthplace Memorial, his adult home and the Lincoln Memorial in Washington, DC, so this was the final piece of Lincoln’s life. Very nicely preserved park, with the foundation of the original cabin and portions of the fireplace hearth and chimny preserved.
Bronzed cabin foundation and fireplace
Lincoln’s mother died there, when he was about 9 years old. She died from milk sickness caused by the milk cows eating white snakeroot, a plant prevalent in the Ohio Valley.
Nancy Lincoln – Died Oct 5, 1818, aged 35 years
The Trail of Twelve Stones, a walking path through the park has stones commerating various significant places from Lincoln’s life.
“This rock from where President Lincoln stood when he delivered the Gettysburg Address, November 19, 1863”
E. June 2 & 3 – Bee Spring, KY
Moutardier Campground on Lake Nolin
After three nights in parking lots, we decided to stay a few days at a nice Army Corp of Engineers site (they are always really good) on Nolin Lake. It was quiet, peaceful, rainy, and they had excellent showers!
F. Mammoth Cave National Park
River Styx in Mammoth Cave. Image courtesy of National Park Service
Mammoth Cave is one of the largest mapped caves in the world. Unfortunately for us, this was the first National Park we’d been to that was full of people and all the tours for the day were booked. So we toured the exhibits, watched the very interesting movie, had lunch and continued on our trip. A bit of a disappointment – we were really looking forward to seeing the River Styx (the picture is from the NPS website).
The drive into and out of the park was on very windy and narrow roads – somewhat stressful driving, so we made it a short day.
Winding roads all the way UP, follwed by winding roads all the way DOWN.
G. June 4 – Jamestown, TN
Green, green Tennessee
Beautiful Tennessee countryside… and yet another WalMart parking lot for the night!
H. Chickamauga & Chattanooga National Military Park
Chattanooga was a significant city during the Civil War and the battles at Chickamauga and Chattanooga were key in determining the outcome of the war. It’s said that if it had turned out differently, the South might have won. The information in the Visitor’s Center gives a detailed presentation of what happened on those fateful days in in September, 1863 when more than 35,000 men were wounded or died. The little movie they showed was especially poignant because they followed one soldier from the North and one from the South with excerpts from their letters home. The drive through the battlefield gives a feeling of what it might have been like for the men on the field.
Chickamauga & Chattanooga
National Military Park
I. June 5 – LaGrange, GA
A long drive south, crossing most of Tennessee and getting half-way through Georgia. Our mind was getting set on arriving rather than sight-seeing. Again, one more night at a WalMart.
J. June 6 – Chiefland, Florida
We made it to Florida!
Through the rest of Georgia and into Florida. Still on the backroads, avoiding the freeways, but moving along quickly. Stayed at Strawberry Fields for RV’ers park. No strawberry fields, not even any trees, but they did have great showers! It was hot as hell, which is why we decided to stay in an RV park rather than another WalMart. In a park we can hook up the electric and have unlimited A/C. Not so much when we’re on battery in a parking lot, or boondocking.
June 7 – we arrived!
We arrived at our RV park and got settled in. Now we’ll take care of some repairs on the PT Cruiser, do shopping, get a few things delivered from Amazon and start life in Florida!
Our plan is to return to Seattle in the late fall – so watch for posts starting up when we head out on our trip west. One more state to put on our map … California … we’ll get to that on the way home.
