Benton County Quilt Block Trail...

 When we stopped at the Golden Pond Visitor Center in Land Between

the Lakes yesterday, I grabbed this brochure for the Benton County

Quilt Block Trail. Are you surprised that it might have caught my eye?

Camden, TN is the county seat of Benton County and it's located near

the shores of Kentucky Lake (an impoundment of the Tennessee River).

The Quilt Block Trail runs all through Benton County, Tennessee.

The idea came about when one of the people who would begin the effort, 

read an article published by the Tennessee Farm Bureau about barn quilts.

 A public meeting was held at the Benton County Library to see if there 

was any interest in a quilt trail within the county, hoping to get twenty 

participants. With a grant from the Tennessee River Resort District for 

materials, the project began in the spring of 2010. This brochure was 

printed in 2012, and at press time, there were over 122 quilt blocks listed 

from one end of the county to the other! I suspect there are even more now.

 The quilt blocks were painted on 4 x 4 wood boards by volunteers and location

owners after their favorite quilt blocks were chosen. There are no duplicates.

 I'm just pointing out a few of my favorite blocks. I had seen some

along our trip route, but that was before I saw the brochure and learned

about this large-scale effort. Although I didn't see the actual block, I 

like this 4-in-1 block for the Underground Railroad Codes.

 I also have an affinity for barns, so the "cow" blocks appealed to me.

 I'd love one with the oak leaves and acorns on it!

 Of course, "Fall Flight" with the goose, reminds me of autumn in

Wisconsin. I can just picture flights of geese over the Horicon Marsh.

 When we got to the south end of the Trace, at Dover, I managed

to get a photograph of one such block on the side of the Regions

Bank Building. This is outside the "range" for the trail, but I suspect

that others have caught the Quilt Block fever and joined in the fun.

 Right across the street from the bank was this block hanging  from the local antique shop building. I really like the colors.
As I looked at all the blocks in the brochure, it occurred to me that it might be a fun project to make a quilt using the same blocks on the trail...all 122 of them. I'll put that on my "To Do List". That will be for another day.
We stayed at Clanton, Alabama last night and will be in Perry, Florida tonight. We'll be home tomorrow. I'm looking forward to it.

The Land Between The Lakes...

Yesterday, we made our way from Champaign, Illinois to Buffalo, Tennessee.

We decided that we'd take in a little scenery off the Interstates and drive the

Woodlands Trace National Scenic Byway, also known as

"The Land Between The Lakes" between Kentucky Lake and Lake Barkley.

This route spans approximately 50 miles and runs through both Kentucky and

Tennessee. While we stayed mainly on the highway, there are many things to

explore along the way. They are over 300 miles of natural shoreline, 200 miles

of paved roads, 500 miles of trails and 170,000 acres of forest and open lands.

There are also public camping facilities, horseback riding and environmental

education programs throughout this National Recreation Area. The only homes

 you'll find within the park are located on the very south end of the trace. The

rest were bought (or acquired through "eminent domain") by the Federal 

government during the Kennedy administration in the 1960s.

Handsome and I stopped at the Golden Pond Visitor Center (located about half

way through our route) to go through their educational exhibits and planetarium. 

We also toured the grounds to see their wildlife exhibits and wildflower gardens.

We saw many cemetery signs, so when we were at the Visitor Center, I asked 

the gentleman working behind the counter about them. He told me that there

are over two hundred cemeteries on the route. Prior to the 1960s, there were

many people who lived in the area, but they were either bought or forced out 

by the government. While people were no longer allowed to live in the area, 

their dead were permitted to stay. He told me that later on, contemporary 

family members were allowed to be buried in their family plots. Therefore, 

one visiting any of the local cemeteries might find headstones with

current dates intermingled with those from as far back as the 1700s. 

One of the storyboards that particularly caught my attention was about the

"Trail of Tears". You can click on this image to read the story for yourself, but

it is sad, indeed. I think of the harsh and cruel way our government treated the

Native Americans (particularly, in this story, the Cherokee Nation) and I wish

they had treated all Indian nations in the way they deserved to be treated: as

the owners of their ancestral lands and homes. They deserved more respect.

As we neared the 3/4 mark on our route, we saw this structure near the road.

We pulled into the parking area to learn more about its purpose and history.

In this instance, photographs can better tell the story than I.

I was surprised to learn that there had once been a structure at the top of the

furnace. (By the way, we did see another furnace structure within twenty miles

of leaving the Trace. It wasn't nearly as well-kept as this one, and looked unstable.)

  This is a better view of the entire structure as we viewed it. At the base,

the interior stonework stops, leaving an opening for the insertion and 

removal of the sand castings that would catch the molten ore.

Of course, Handsome took a picture of me so you'd know we were actually there! (I insisted that it was mostly so you'd see the scale of the furnace.)     While we drove, we saw many (shy and quick) deer and turkeys. After  taking lots of blurry photographs, I finally gave up and just enjoyed the view.  If you ever find yourself in this part of the country, I strongly suggest allowing  a few days from your travels to camp, swim, and stop at all the sights along  the way. There's a lot to be learned on this short drive through history.
We stopped for the night at a KOA in Buffalo, Tennessee (located west and a little south of Nashville). Today, we'll have an easy drive to Clanton, AL. More on our adventures tomorrow!

Turning For Home...

This is the view from our camper at our overnight stop.

We pulled into D & W Lake RV Park in Champaign, IL our first night moving

south. Although it's not far off Interstate 57, it's very quiet and peaceful. We stayed

here previously, and it's such a nice place that we looked forward to returning.

When we make single-night stops, we keep the truck and Flying Cloud hooked up.

Because most of Illinois (at least around the Interstate) is flat, this plan works well.

As Handsome made camp for us, I took Tag for a little walk along the lake.

The wind rustled through the cattails and the sun shone like a warm welcome.

We walked in clover and thanked God (and Handsome) for another safe day of driving.

Tag is the greatest "traveling dog", but I think he was happy to

be out of the truck, snuffling in the grass...and getting his dinner!

Hump Day, and we should make it more than half way home today.

It's so much fun traveling in our comfy home-away-from-home, but

Handsome, Tag and I will be happy to sleep in our "big" bed soon.

There's no rush, so we may yet take a little side trip. We'll decide 

along the way, and I'll be sure to let you know how it goes.

Thanks, as always, for traveling with us. We enjoy having the company!