From Our House to Yours

Whether you live in the City ...

or the country ....

as you deck the halls and prepare for Christmas ...

remember He is the reason for the season.

And please don't forget to take a few minutes from your busy schedule to remember our men and women in uniform everywhere, without whom we would not have the freedom to celebrate as we do.

God Speed

For the past week or so we have noticed large yellow ribbons on lamp posts, mailboxes, doors to businesses and pretty much anyplace you can hang anything. I took a guess that it had to be for the local National Guard Unit since I had heard they were being activated again. A search of the local Crossville Chronicle newspaper found this: " The Cumberland County Chapter of the American Red Cross will have yellow support ribbons for sale in support of the 278th National Guard Unit and local 131 of Crossville, being deployed Dec. 5, 2009."

So this morning we braved the low 20s weather and had an early breakfast at Ryan's and then joined a few hundred other citizens to see the local soldiers off. As luck would have it we still had two small flags in the car from Veterans Day (no comments about how often we clean out the car please). We fit right in as most of the crowd had flags, although many were as large as 3x5' and ours were more like 3 x 5 inches. A few of those standing near us asked if we had family in the unit, of course we don't, and neither did they but several had other loved ones who had been to either Iraq or Afghanistan and Arlene's nephew is just retiring from active duty after just completing his third tour in Iraq. One lady said her relative also had just completed his third tour. The three buses of soldiers were escorted by Police and Fire Units and just down the street from where we stood the Fire Dept Ladder truck had suspended a huge American flag above the roadway. The procession of buses and emergency vehicles were followed by many vehicles also flying the colors, most of whom I suspect were friends and family of the departing soldiers. In a few short moments we were left staring at the rear of the vehicles and the crowd began to walk back to their own cars or back into the restaurant for something hot to drink.

I had to think briefly about how different this was than some forty-two years ago when I and many others departed for another far off land. I just said a brief prayer for these guys and gals and started our drive home. I promised myself that this blog would not get political so I'll leave it here, just reporting on what's going on here today.

First Snow This Winter

It's been a long time since my last post. Being away for several weeks for some reason makes it very difficult for me to get back in the swing of things. Don't know whether it's the overload of catching up on all the other things you get behind on while away or the daunting task of trying to post all those things I thought I would while I was gone. Whatever the case I finally decided to chuck it all and just start from today (which turns out now to actually be yesterday!).

Between midnight Friday and the early hours of Saturday we accumulated about two inches of snow which is about equal to our biggest snowfall here all last winter. This is the first snowfall of this winter but the long-time residents promise this will be only the beginning. As usual we were watching the bird feeders about breakfast time when we saw a very strange looking bird. At least I don't think we've seen one like it at our feeders before. It had a bright red breast covering the entire underbelly as far as I could tell, about the color of a cardinal but the wings and back appeared to be a dark blue, possibly grey. I went for the camera but as is often the case I missed the shot. Another bird spooked it just as I arrived with the camera so this shot is of one of the cardinals and another bird that stuck around long enough to be photographed.

Look, Up In The Sky ...

... it's a bird, it's a plane ... in this case it was several planes. What seems like an eon ago we went to the Crossville Memorial Airport celebration of the 75th Anniversary of this small but important airport. Since that day we've been out on a three week trip in the Airstream trailer so I'm way behind on posting anything here. On the day of our visit to the airport, we decided too late to take advantage of the $10.00 flight around the area. By the time we got around to doing that the line was long enough for over an hour wait and even the line to buy the ticket was about 20-25 people deep. I did get some photos of a couple of neat aircraft. One of my favorites is the old warbird P-51, as fast and sleek an aircraft as ever graced the sky. There was also what I believe to be a YAK, an old Russian trainer was my guess. I didn't get a chance to talk to the pilot of the Russian plane but it bears the big red star of it's earlier life.

Tennessee Treasures

Recently we visited two of this areas storied sites. We had heard about the Minister's Treehouse here in Crossville for years but until recently we had not actually tried to locate it. The story goes that a local minister, Horace Burgess was moved by the spirit to build the structure. Actually we found it well documented on the Internet at sites like Roadside.com where we located the directions. It is just a short distance off I-40 at Exit 320, then north onto Hwy 298 followed by a quick right onto Cook Rd. About 1/2 mile where the road takes a sharp right, instead make a sharp left onto an almost hidden smaller road Beehive Lane. About 1/4 mile down this lane you will see the treehouse ahead. A small parking area is to the right of Beehive Lane. The structure has at times been closed to the public due to vandalism, but usually it is open on an at your own risk basis as it was in August 2009 when we visited. It seemed to us to be worth any risk as long as one proceeds carefully. Inside there are stairways, and there are several, dead ends and doors leading to lofty balconies and ultimately a crows nest affair at the very pinnacle. Along the way you will find a two or three story high chapel complete with stained glass window and bell tower. Views from the various windows and doors are great. If you go be sure to look at the fields below for a surprise. Although there is still evidence of beer parties and apparent overnight guests (some people will ruin anything), it is a sight to be seen. This butterfly was a plus.

Later we drove along SR 70 to a point near Sparta, TN where we located the Rockhouse, originally built to collect tolls on what was then a private road. I caught a picture of Arlene and Gene exploring the grounds of the Rockhouse before we went in. This structure was built between 1835 and 1839 by Barlow Fiske, who operated a stage coach inn and stables nearby. A very informative volunteer inside has a wealth of information about the rockhouse and it's role in the area during it's historical existence. Among the notables who have stayed at the Rockhouse were Andrew Jackson, James K. Polk, and Sam Houston. The Rockhouse is open Wednesday through Saturday from 10 AM to 3 PM. It is also well worth the time to visit if you are there when the volunteer can speak for the old house. Just to view it does not do justice to it's significance.

Aunt Nora's 90th Birthday

On a Thursday morning three campers and six intrepid travelers departed TN for the mountains of WV. Aunt Nora would be celebrating her 90th birthday the coming weekend and a family reunion celebration was planned around that occasion. It really should have been a relatively brief trip of about six hours; however we managed to stretch it to more like ten. The morning of our departure I discovered that the refrigerator, purchased about 18 months ago, was not cooling properly once I disconnected it from electric and temps were nearing 50 degrees, not conducive to keeping milk, bacon, sausage and such. My suspicion was that we were out of propane. Our previous Airstream travel trailer propane bottles had been equipped with built in gauges, but not this latest, older model. So at the first Flying J we made a stop to fill the propane bottles; however together the attendant was only able to add 4.2 lbs so neither tank was empty. We trucked on up the road after removing the milk and frozen items and having our traveling companions divide them up to keep them in their refrigerators. After a pit stop in northeast TN we entered VA and soon learned that traffic was being detoured around the I-77 tunnel into WV, the route our GPS had selected. A few miles up the road we learned that the detour was due to a truck accident blocking both North and South bound lanes. This dictated another stop at a K-Mart, seems with two GPS equipped vehicles none of us thought to bring along a real honest to goodness map in order to determine which alternate route we might want to take. Of course the GPS will find you an alternate route; however we have sometimes been steered down a literal cow path as our GPS will not account for the fact that towing a trailer sometimes requires a different path than bicycles and ox-carts. I'm used to using a large print map these days and K-Mart's offerings did not include that so we bought what they had and struck out again for the Mountaineer state. Ultimately we did try the GPS alternate route and were disappointed, but not surprised to find ourselves on a road closed due to bridge construction, and then on a narrow county road paralleling and in sight of, the Interstate highway we had been traveling on. Eventually we determined how to get on a road which we had used on a previous trip and after the GPS directed us on a street running through a parking lot we found ourselves on a beautiful drive along the crest of a ridge with scenic views down both sides through farmlands and forests that were at time breathtaking. This was one of the reasons our friends accompanied us on this trip, a chance to see "Wild and Wonderful" WV. I think that's the way the Chamber of Commerce describes it. We recalled that on a previous trip along this route we had stopped at a monument dedicated to John Henry. The monument sits atop the mountain through which the tunnel runs which the legendary John Henry helped build. The tunnel is still in use today and trains always blow their whistle as they pass through. When we were about 25 miles from Aunt Nora's I was almost convinced that we had missed the monument when we rounded a sharp curve going downhill and suddenly the huge statue appeared. There is just room for a very few vehicles and after a near panic stop, followed closely by the motorhome and the other trailer we just managed to fit into the small parking lot. At least now we all know that the song has some basis in reality. On we proceeded to the Greenbrier River Campground, located oddly enough beside aptly named river. We arrived about 30 minutes too late for check-in but knew our site numbers so proceeded to park and hook up to water and electric. Everyone decided we were too tired to cook so it was off to nearby Alderson for a quick bite to eat and a brief stop at Aunt Nora's to confirm the schedule for Friday and Saturday. While in town we discovered the fairgrounds was packed with motorcycles of every size and description, the streets were full and most motels had more motorcycles than cars. For those of us who enjoy looking at bikes with fond memories of younger days this was a treat although it did create a lot of congestion. On the bright side, if several thousand cars had been gathered there that week it would have been a lot worse for driving and parking.

Breakfast on Friday morning was outdoors, thankfully under the awning of a trailer to ward off the light rain that still persisted. The coffee, bacon and sausage smell floated through the morning air and we feasted on pancakes and eggs. That morning's check in at the campground was taken care of quickly, but in the process we learned that the owner was a bluegrass picker and that across from our campsites was a small stage complete with sound and light equipment. The owner said that lots of groups come there for musical gatherings. We also learned that all the motorcycles were in town for a week long annual Christian Motorcycle Association festival. The festival rotates east coast to west coast alternating years. We had a family in a tent next to our trailer for two nights. Nice people who filled us in on some of the club activities as well as the bikes they were riding, the most interesting to me was the Suzuki with a trike kit. I declined the offer to ride it around the campground, mostly for fear the old desire to ride would return to strong to turn off. Back in 1986, while stationed in Japan, I had been about 4 or 5 years without a bike but as we walked the neighborhood in the evenings I kept pausing at a Yamaha that another service member had for sale. One evening I made the comment to Arlene not to let me talk myself into buying that bike. About a week later I was taking the motorcycle safety course required to ride on base. That began three years of touring all over Japan by motorcycle, being members of the local club (eventually club President) and four bikes later we shipped my 1100 Virago and Arlene's Suzuki Savage 650 back to the states, but I regress, ah-h-h memories of younger days.

That evening we played a little music at aunt Nora's house. Saturday morning found us under the awning again, although the rain had subsided overnight. We cooked up eggs, toast, and more bacon and sausage. Food sure does taste good when it's prepared and eaten outdoors. Saturday afternoon aunt Nora got to blow out the candles on two birthday cakes and a huge auction tent barely covered all the food that was set out. I'm not very good at estimating crowds, but cousin Pudge had said she was cooking for 140. I'm sure there were more than that present, but there was plenty of food with two grills going full time and we had our fill. It was really great to see a lot of family that I had not seen in years as well as meeting some, especially younger members whom I had never had the pleasure of meeting. It sure was a great idea to bring that much family together. Cousin Joey Morgan, along with his father-in-law Joe Howard are the founding members of New Horizon, a great bluegrass gospel band and Benny, Gene and I along with a couple of others had the opportunity to sit in on some music where they had set up on the front lawn. New Horizon's two CD's have all been original songs they composed and I heard they are working on their third. We had taken a break from the music as a light rain had started to fall and I decided I should get around and say my goodbyes as we were scheduled to leave the campground the next morning. We had discussed staying one more day, but either way the out of towners would be going back home and local relatives were scattered too far apart to get to see many of them the next day. As I was making the rounds the rest of our group had decided to return to the campground as the sky was really turning dark and threatening. Minutes later a storm hit with such force that metal folding chairs were sailing across the lawn. We helped to drop some of the tents and awnings before jumping in the truck and hurrying back to the campground to see what awaited us. As we drove we passed downed limbs of all sizes, but thankfully we found no real damage at the campground, but we did have more rain. The rain leak that I had worked on so hard before we left held so our bed stayed dry, not even a puddle on the floor.

We did decide to stay another night at the campground which gave Arlene and I a chance to give the others a quick tour of Grandview State Park, a beautiful area with tremendous overlooks to the New River, although the view was a bit limited that day due to the fog. I had them drop me off for an all too brief visit with uncle Buford and his wife Louise. The rest of the group intended to do a little shopping and use the GPS to return to pick me up in about an hour. About two hours later they called, lost and asking directions. I am not that familiar with Beckley, but eventually we managed to get back together. I think they finally believed the GPS, anyway we had spent enough of the day that we had to forego the trip to the New River suspension bridge, an engineering marvel with another unbelievable overlook. We'll have to save that one for another trip. Monday morning found us parting ways in Beckley with Gene and Mary going south to North Carolina to visit the best man in their wedding, while the rest of us headed west into Ohio to visit Rocky who is on what has turned into a long term visit in his old home place. Road repairs were evident on much of the entire trip, but along the route between Charleston, WV and Portsmouth, OH the concrete patches stretching the width of the road were mostly 2 to 3 inches above the level of the road producing jarring impacts seemingly every 10 or 20 feet apart. We slowed to a crawl for miles. Eventually though we did get to Portsmouth and our two Airstream caravan turned north to Rocky's hideaway near Rardin. Rocky had plenty of room for us to park the trailers and we plugged in to 20 amp electric and county water from the house. I took a picture of what I thought was a strange looking flower in the yard that Rocky called a "surprise" lilly. Just a pretty flower atop a single stalk with not one leaf. There were several in a row alongside the walkway to the house. I don't recall ever seeing one before, but since we returned I have seen them several places around home here in Tennessee. That evening we mostly caught up on old times although we did find an hour or so when we could jam. The next day we piled into Rocky's Subaru and drove back to Portsmouth where we took in the murals on the flood wall. We had seen similar ones in MS, but this artist painted the history of Portsmouth in such realism that there is a real danger some motorist will turn "down the 1930s era street" scene and crash into the concrete wall. On another many visitors have their pictures taken beside one of the cyclist and almost become part of the mural. On the panel pictured here all the US armed forces are pictured so realistically you want to start a conversation with them. Across the street from the flood wall we found a visitor's center with displays from Portsmouth's early days. Show manufacturing was a big part of the economy then and much of the displays reflected this. Down the street we talked with a lady who lived in a log cabin from the 1800s which had been moved to it's current location across from the flood wall in the early 1900s. We were invited inside the courtyard and discovered a swimming pool, flower gardens and beside the house a nice vegetable garden. This kind lady explained all about the origins of the cabin which is now her home and how she came to be the owner. Before we left she insisted we take some seeds of her natural flower garden with us. That afternoon we loaded up on a small trailer to be towed behind a four wheeler for a tour around the "farm" and later we played music under the shade of a huge tree in Rocky's front yard and tried his recipe for chuck wagon beans, good eatin'. All too soon it was time to hitch up and return to TN. I usually opt for the back roads in lieu of the interstates, since I think there is much more to see on what we call the "red roads," referring to the map colors of state roads that used to tie all our cities together for commerce as well as personal travel. This time, though we stuck to the Interstate highway system and even drove through Knoxville, which I usually try to avoid with the travel trailer. Arriving home without incident other than one last downpour just west of Knoxville.

BarBQ and Bluegrass

The First Annual Plateau Bluegrass and Bar-B-Q Festival in Crossville, TN was not as well attended as everyone had hoped (IMHO), but those who were there had a great time. There were several Arts and Crafts type vendors and even a booth to try your marksmanship with wooden "rifles" that appeared to shoot large rubber bands. That one reminded me of the county fair carnival midways I attended too many years ago. There was some terrific barbeque. Although we had a large, even for me, lunch we couldn't avoid being drawn by that aroma from the smokers near the grandstands. Our intention was to go for the music and we did not expect to eat again, but we shared a delicious pulled pork sandwich. Sorry guys, I forgot the name of that particular stand.

The Battle of the Bands had been in progress for a few hours before we arrived so we only heard the two finalist bands. Whitewater from east Tennessee won the competition, although both the bands we saw were good enough to have won the $1,000 first prize. One band had a great fiddler who I have heard many times at the Pikin Barn and elsewhere in the area, the other band had the better vocalist whose guitar picking style I especially enjoyed. I'm glad I wasn't a judge, it would have been a hard decision.

The featured event of the evening was Carrie Hassler and Hard Rain. This has to be the best group of young musicians I've seen. As a group they are terrific and the whole band's style is just a natural fit with Carrie's vocals. Each of the band members is an act in their own right and Carrie announced that evening that they had been informed they are candidates for Nomination for Bluegrass Musician of the Year, each one in their own area of expertise as well as the band as a whole. Only a month or so previous they had achieved what many bands never do, a song that reached number one on Bluegrass Unlimited chart. They deserve the honor and hopefully they will do well in the voting for best in their field. Meanwhile they are on tour in Europe for a few weeks.

Their entire performance keeps the audience entertained, but this rendition of Orange Blossom Special wowed the crowd. Bluegrass just doesn't get much more exciting than this. Crossville is fortunate to have most of this group making their home here and offering lessons at Misty Mountain Music on North 127. If my fingers were young (limber) enough I'd probably hock something for the money to learn from these guys.