rock island state park

 

Rock Island State Park was our adventure for October 30, another place we had never visited.  We toured the park in our car because it was a bit chilly today.  If we had not stopped at the office for a bathroom break and grabbed a brochure we might not have found the falls because it was actually across the river from the camping, swimming and picnicking area.  It's a pretty park with some really nice cabins.

This is Great Falls.  It can be seen from the parking lot but a short walk down a steep flight of stairs will get a better view.  There is a power plant and dam near the falls.

The brochure we picked up earlier listed a few spots to eat and we found The Landing at the Shell Station! The Landing sign boasted good  home cooking. We walked into the dining area and were told to just walk up to the buffet and Mama would fill up our plates with whatever we wanted.  There was also a table full of all sorts of desserts.  The landing was a great spot to eat!

And as always we ended our adventure with a stop at Walmart before coming home.

apple butter

Makes the house smell really good when this is bubbling on the stove.  

Apple Butter

I sorta followed the recipe from my canning book, which is an old publication from the extension service.  I am pretty sure it is out of print now but it is the bible of canning.
We cut up a kettle full of apples and add about 1/3 as much apple juice as fruit. I cooked them until they are soft and then puree in the blender.  Measuring as I puree I then add 1 cup of sugar to 2 cups of apple pulp.  I mix brown and white sugar using mostly white.  For every quart of pulp add 1/2 teaspoon of cinnamon and 1/2 teaspoon of allspice.  Return mixture to the stove and cook for about 1 to 1 and 1/2 hours until it reaches the consistency you like.  I make pints cans for my niece Aimee to use in her apple pies and 1/2 pints for enjoying on biscuits!  Process in a water bath for 10 minutes.

colditz cove

Colditz Cove is a state natural area near Allardt, TN.  It was our adventure on Oct 28th and a first time visit.  It's a short walk to the top of the falls with a great view, but I would not take children here as you could easily plunge to your death from the top!  We hiked/ climbed to the bottom and walked underneath the falls and back up the opposite side!  There were lots of large rocks that we had to climb over and some parts of the trail are steep.  Thankfully when I spotted three snakes in a bush it was in an area that allowed me to jump around and squeal without falling!
The drive to the falls was full of beautiful fall color.  Especially the route we took across a mountain called Doubletop.  (Doubletop is the area that Peanut’s Gibson family lived. . once upon a time)
We had a great day with a morning hike, lunch at DQ and a stop at Walmart.

 Bush full of snakes

family weekend

Oct 25
We loaded the car with pumpkins and headed for Mt. Juliet for some soccer and trunk or treating!
It was a perfect and warm fall day for Brooks and his Little Kickers soccer team to have a match.  Brooks had his own fan club there to cheer him on.

Then it was time for some trunk or treating at the Mt. Juliet Church of Christ where they had bouncy houses, pizza and plenty of candy! Oh and cookies, Brynn ate several cookies!

On Sunday, Stephanie and Jay went to the Tennessee Titans football game and we entertained the three B's!

 P-pa told some great stories at lunch that involved big bad wolves and bears and lots of shooting!  The expressions were priceless.

We made some photos with our props, took the trail to the playground and then everyone had a nap.  Parker came by in time to wake them up and finish off an exciting afternoon!

nancy, ky

October 24
Today’s adventure was a trip to Nancy, Ky.  Our first stop was Haney’s Appledale Orchard.  They have all kinds of apples to buy or you may pick your own.  There are all kinds of other goods to purchase such as jellies, jams, dressings, and canned fruits.  There is a bakery filled with fried apple pies, caramel and candy apples, muffins and even lunch.  We bought a bag of  Ozark delicious for making apple butter, a fried pie and a couple of caramel apples and a bottle of peach pecan dressing.  I am looking forward to going back during their peach season. 
About a mile from the orchard is Mill Springs National Cemetery and beside the cemetery is a museum that is the first stop on a driving tour for the Mill Springs Civil War Battlefield.

  Mill Springs National Cemetery

Visitor Center and Museum for Mill Springs Battlefield

An interesting story we learned at the museum:

"The Zollie Tree”
By David Graff

In the years after the Battle of Mill Springs, the white oak tree that General Felix Zollicoffer's body had been placed under became known as the Zollie Tree.
In 1902, a 10-year old local girl named Dorotha Burton noticed that on Memorial Day the Union soldiers buried in the National Cemetery had lavish decorations and grand ceremonies to honor them while the Confederate soldiers buried near the Zollie Tree were all but forgotten. Dorotha thought this was unfair and that year she decorated the Zollie Tree with a flower entwined evergreen wreath and placed flowers on the mass grave to honor General Zollicoffer and his men. Dorotha continued to decorate the Zollie Tree until 1947 when she was disabled by arthritis. Her family continues the tradition, and decorates the new Zollie Tree each Memorial Day.
On June 9, 1995, a severe storm destroyed the Zollie Tree. The tree was 15 feet in circumference, 80 to 90 feet tall and between 200 to 250 years old. The white oak tree growing in front of this sign is a seedling of the original Zollie Tree. This seedling was planted on Memorial Day 1996, so that the future generations can enjoy the tradition and the shade of the Zollie Tree.

And here's a little info about General Zollicoffer :

  Brig. Gen. Felix K. Zollicoffer, CSA, died, Jan. 19, 1862, in Battle of Logan's Crossroads (Mill Springs). This Tenn. native was veteran of Seminole War, editor of Nashville Banner, and 3-term U.S. congressman. In heavy rain and smoke of battle, Zollicoffer was killed approaching USA lines, which he mistook for his own troops.

granville

We've been taking advantage of the great weather to go on some adventures.  We are trying to visit some interesting places that are near our home, most of them are first time visits for us.  On Oct. 22 we drove to Granville in Jackson County.  It is was a river town in the 1880’s when the Cumberland River was the main method of transportation.  Part of the town was covered by the Cordell Hull Lake when it was formed.  It has been restored and is operated by 150 different volunteers who work one day a week in the museums and shops.   We saw six school buses when we arrived and worried that we had visited on a bad day with that many students around.   It turns out it was a good day and group 5B invited us to join them on their tour!  We toured all the buildings and museums.  The pioneer village had some civil war re-enactors, a blacksmith and a mill making corn meal that day.  We had lunch at a market /gas station where we were pleased to find a cafe serving lunch.  I had the best French dip roast beef sandwich ever, served on a china plate!

 Every Saturday night they server dinner here and have live music.  Reservations are required.

 During October Granville has "scarecrows"  all over town representing characters who lived there or famous artists.  Many of them were made by the art students in the county.

 Our friends in 5B, every 5th grader in Jackson County was in Granville today.

 Hands of tobacco, back in the day we grew this crop and stripped the leaves from the plant and tied them like this!

 

Also back in the day we drank from glass bottles.  When they were empty we returned them to the grocery store to be refilled and many garages or places with a coke machine had these racks near them to return your drink bottle.

 Peanut checking out the teacher’s desk.  We learned in the museum that Jackson County once had three junior high schools.  These were for grades 4-10, if you wanted to attend more high school you had to go somewhere else, such as Baxter and board at the school.

The Cumberland River/Cordell Hull Lake

loss

It has been exactly a month since my last post.  The last line I wrote was that October was starting out great.  On October 2 that changed. So, I suppose I've been at a loss for words at the loss of my brother.  Here's what I put in my scrapbook:

October 2

We left home early this morning to shop on the annual Roller Coaster yard sale.  We were having a good day and finding many deals when we got a call that changed our plans and lives.  My brother who had been fighting a brave fight against cancer had taken a fall and become unresponsive.  The hospice people and emergency workers did not think he would live long enough for us to drive to Ohio.  Peanut and I were in Tompkinsville, KY and I reached Mom and Dad and Katie and we decided to leave as soon as possible.  We did not make it in time.  He passed away about 6:45.  We were  a little over half way there.  We stayed at his home a while and discussed arrangements then decided to drive back home.  I arrived home about 3:30 A.M.
It was a call we knew would come, we considered it a blessing that he did not have to suffer and was able to stay at home.  Cancer is a terrible thief. He lived for about a year and a half after his diagnosis.

October 12
Memorial services for my brother today at First Christian Church.  The church was full of his family and friends and the members of the the church had prepared a meal for us after the service. 

October 13
At 10:00 today we took Randy’s ashes to the cemetery to bury them next to my grandpa who also died at the age of 56 on Randy’s 12th birthday.  It was my grandmother’s 106th birthday.  The rain had been constant for most of the week, sometimes very heavy, but today the sun broke out while we were at the cemetery.

winner, winner

After a good day out buying apples, shopping for sofas and finding some great bargains.  I open my e-mail to find this:

Hi Delilah,
Congratulations! You won a family four-pack of tickets to the Sierra Hull Bluegrass Festival from Tennessee Home and Farm. Please send me your full name and address and we will send your prize to you as soon as possible. Thanks for reading, and congrats again!
Best,
Rachel

The local orchard sold all their apples so we went to KY to get some.

When we arrived we found that the other customers were friends who live here in Byrdstown and the owner grew up in Byrdstown. Of course, we had hang out and talk for a while.  There's always a connection!
We bought some gala and yellow delicious apples that we will turn into applesauce for the grand kids.
The sofa shopping went better than expected when we found a store that had several great Lazyboys with reclining ends that we really liked.  And we found great bargains at Walmart where red clearance prices were 50% off giving us some great buys on Miracle Grow, garden gloves, grub poison for the yard and various other stuff!

A great way to start October.