My Top 12 Pics from the Trip

It's taken me a couple of days to get my pictures organized.  If it weren't for the modern technology of cell phone cameras, Google, etc., I probably would have given up.  But, here are what I consider the most memorable of some 2500 pictures I took along the way...




12. Footprints on the shore of the Great Salt Lake.  This was a somewhat unpleasant memory, as this salty sand was sticky and gooey and smelled bad because of dead birds nearby.  But the pic gives you an idea of how far the water has receded over the years.







11. The Cross at the Crossroads.  I thought the contrast of this HUGE cross and Interstate 55 behind it near Effingham, Illinois, was remarkable.  And to think, people did this with money out of their own pockets as a ministry!









10. Prairie Dog.  I made a special trip to see these creatures in their natural environment.  While I'm sure the natives see them as I see squirrels in Georgia, I was thrilled to watch them.  They're pretty elusive!







9. Arizona sandstorm.  I didn't take many pics from the car, but I couldn't resist that sandstorm making its way across the desert toward the highway.  I'm glad I didn't get caught in a BIG one!






8. Prayer Tower at Oral Roberts University.  I had always heard what a beautiful campus this was, so I wanted to see.  Whether or not you subscribe to all of Roberts' beliefs or methods, you have to recognize what a special place this is.  As a student, to be able to go up into this tower to pray at any time must be an inspiring experience!

7. Orville and me.  I had read about the Orville Redenbacher statue in Valparaiso, Indiana, but I didn't realize there would be room for ME to sit with him on the park bench!  It's pretty touristy, but I love this pic!




6. Oklahoma City Memorial.  It's not possible, short of an airplane, to get a complete picture of the memorial where the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building once stood in OKC.  I think this picture does the best job of capturing most of the memorial.  The survivors are honored on the left; the dead on the right; and the spot where the bombing took place is now the reflecting pool in the middle.  The wall blocks the street from ever being accessed as it once was.





5. Sunset in Winnemucca.  I'm not a great photographer by any means, but I wanted to try to capture this sunset behind the mountains in Winnemucca, Nevada.  It turned out pretty well!










4. San Francisco from a Cable Car.  This is the downtown end of the cable car line that runs from Fisherman's Wharf to the shopping district.  I wouldn't give anything for this experience!







3. Abe watching over Newark.  The Abraham Lincoln statue in Newark, New Jersey, looks down the main street of the downtown area from the courthouse lawn.  It gives the impression of Lincoln watching over the events of downtown.  Love this view from the rear!  This is my favorite picture out of the dozens of Lincoln statue pictures I took.






2. Veteran at the Korean Memorial.  As it began to rain that day in Washington, I saw this veteran in a wheelchair looking at some of the flowers and other memorials left at the Korean War Monument.  I could only imagine what memories they brought back for him!



1. The Western Terminus of the Lincoln Highway, Lincoln Park in San Francisco.  When I decided to drive the Lincoln Highway, this was the moment I was anticipating.  Finally, here it was!  From Lincoln Park, you can see the Golden Gate Bridge, San Francisco, the Bay, and look out to the Pacific.  In the midst of this is the Legion of Honor Museum with the Terminus Marker beside the bus stop across the street.  It marked a great accomplishment, but it was the JOURNEY that was the thrill!

I'm going to return once more to list my Favorite Memories of my vacation....Talk to you then...

James K. Polk and Home at Last!

On Thursday, I drove from Murfreesboro to Columbia, Tennessee, to see the ancestral home of President James K. Polk.  Polk, one of three Chief Executives from Tennessee (Andrew Jackson and Andrew Johnson were the others), was a Congressman and Governor before he was elected President in the 1840s.  This is the home his father built, and he lived here for about 5 years when he was around 16 to 21 years old.  None of the homes where he and his wife lived are still in existence, except for the White House of course.  So, some of the rooms in this home are kept as his parents would have kept them, and some have been decorated with furnishings from his other homes.  I read a book about Polk last year, and greatly respect him as the President who basically expanded the U.S. from the area of the Louisiana Purchase all the way to the Pacific Ocean.  He worked hard for four years, and died less than a year after leaving office in his early 50s.

After leaving Tennessee, I spent part of a day in Atlanta then headed home.  Here I am at the back door.

I'm going to come back to the blog tomorrow and add some final thoughts.  Thanks for following my trip!!!

Shakers and Country Music

While still in Kentucky yesterday, I made my way to a village called South Union where the religious group known as the Shakers had a community from the early 1800s til about 1920.  They were celibate, strictly religious, hard working, and wanted to keep life simple and free of sin.  They utilized technology to the extent that it allowed them to make a good living in the world of their day, and they tried to leave peacefully with all people.  The Civil War caused their community great economic hardship from which it never really recovered.  The need to constantly recruit members became a problem as the frontier moved farther west and people saw greater adventure and fulfillment there.  They are credited with inventing the modern flat broom, and some of the furniture they built is considered priceless today.  There are six buildings open to the public, beautifully preserved and interpreted.

I drove to Nashville, Tennessee, to visit the Country Music Hall of Fame museum.  On the way, I stopped at a small community called Lutons to visit Grandpa Jones' gravesite.  I saw him on Hee Haw for many years, but I bought an album of his banjo music and mountain harmonies a few years ago and greatly enjoyed it.  It's a small Methodist church cemetery.






At the Hall in Nashville, what a joy to see all the stars I have enjoyed for so many years!  Their instruments, stage clothes, and other memorabilia are all over the place in the three-story modern museum, and the Hall of Fame Rotunda has the plaques with the names and likenesses of all of those who have been elected to the hall.  Whether you like old-time music like the Carter Family or the newest stuff from Taylor Swift and Jason Aldean, there's something for every music lover.

John Hartford's banjo.  The yellow pages
are his original copy of the lyrics of Glen
Campbell's "Gentle on my Mind"

Jim Reeves' red blazer

Bill Monroe's mandolin

Spent the night in Murfreesboro, Tennessee, the home of Middle Tennessee State University.