Posted by Karen on 31-Jan-2009
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I joined Grant, Albert, Lori, Terr, Sylvia, Ann, Art and Kati from the Northern California Photography Group (NCPG) for a trip to Fort Point National Historic Site and the Presidio of San Francisco. Fort Point is a Civil War era military fort that rests at the base of the Golden Gate Bridge. It’s a very cool structure on it’s own, with lots of shadows and arches and great views; but it was extra special today because re-enactors from the The American Civil War Association of Northern and Central California were at the fort today. While we waited for everyone to gather so we could go to lunch, we started seeing the Zeppelin from Airship Ventures flying overhead, which was my first spotting of it. After lunch at a Mexican diner, we walked over to the Palace of Fine Arts to photograph it. Unfortunately, the interior was closed off for renovation, but we were able to walk around the outside of it. Construction began on the Palace in 1913 for the Panama Pacific Exposition, so the building is almost 100 years old. Walking back, we cut across the grounds of the Letterman Digital Arts Center, the complex that houses Lucas Films (yes, that Lucas of Star Wars fame) and enjoyed a break at their pond and fountain. We headed back into the Presidio and went to the San Francisco National Cemetery to take a few photos. Finally, as the afternoon was winding down, we headed across the Golden Gate Bridge and enjoyed the sunset from the otherside and we got see the cityscape after dark.
Posted by Karen on 01-Aug-2008
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Today I toured The Hermitage – Home of President Andrew Jackson. “Old Hickory” was our seventh President from 1829-1837 and Nashville is where he made his home with wife Rachelle. As you walk around the grounds and buildings, you have a audio player that gives you a narrative for each of the numbered spots you encounter. The mansion is well preserved, and even though they don’t want you to take pictures inside the mansion, I snuck in a few… shhh! In back of the mansion is a large manicured field with a path circling it. Along the path you see the slave quarters, an old farm building, the springhouse and several cabins. The formal gardens are cared for once again and are lovely to walk through. In the back corner of the garden is Jackson’s Tomb and the family cemetery. Lastly I toured the museum and browsed the gift shop before heading back to the hotel. It’s wonderful to see that we have our country’s history preserved so well.
Posted by Karen on 30-Jul-2008
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I spent the morning sleeping late and just relaxing–I’ve done a lot of driving over the last week and was just tired. But after lunch it was time to go and see what was around Nashville. After looking at the map, I headed off in the direction of the national park, but got sidetracked by a sign for the Sam Davis Home in Smyrna Tennessee, a suburb of Nashville. Sam was a Civil War legend who was hung as the young age of 21 (1842–1863) for being a spy. The home, built in 1820, was his childhood home and is typical upper middle class home. While the buildings, including slave quarters, are a museum now, there is still a working cotton farm on the 160 acre site.
Posted by Karen on 22-Jul-2008
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After spending the night in Clinton, Mississippi, a suburb of Jackson, I got back on the Natchez Trace Parkway and resumed at mile marker 93.
- Mile 93 – Cowles Mead Cemetery – A small family plot of the Mead family, whose home was burned down during the Civil War. As acting governor of Mississippi, Cowles Mead ordered the arrest of former Vice President Aaron Burr on treason charges that he was acquitted of.
- Mile 95 – Osburn Stand – The site of an inn operated by Noble Osburn in the early 1800s.
- Mile 100 – Choctaw Agency – The site where Silas Dinsmore’s performed the difficult duties of being the Choctaw Indian agent.
- Mile 102.4 – Mississippi Crafts Center – Last year the Crafts Center moved off the Trace and into a new building in town. I found it and spend some time marveling at all the wonderful craftsmanship of the artisans. The old building where the Crafts Center was still stands on the Trace, but it is closed.
- Mile 104.5 – Old Trace – Sections of the old Trace, walked by the pioneers, can still be accessed and walked along.
- Mile 105.6 – Ross Barnett Reservoir Overlook – The reservoir is named for Ross Barnett, the 52nd Governor of Mississippi.
- Mile 106.9 – Boyd Site – Six small Indian burial mounds, circa 800-1100.
- Mile 107.9 – West Florida Boundary – The new boundary as determined by the Treaty of Paris at the end of the French and Indian War in 1764.
- Mile 122 – Cypress Swamp (Trace Top 20 Site) – Absolutely gorgeous! A wooden bridge leads you over the swamp waters into an emerald green environment of water and trees. No one else was around, so I enjoyed a quiet walk around the swamp. I kept waiting for some animal to pop it’s head from the water and surprise me, but none did. As pretty as it is, I just can’t even begin to imagine having to walk through that water… ewww.
- Mile 135.5 – Robinson Road – A marker to commemorate the “Old Robinson Road”, named for the man who built it.
- Mile 140 – Red Dog Road – A marker to commemorate the road named to honor the Choctaw leader “Minko” Ofahoma (Red Dog).
- Mile 164.3 – Hurricane Creek – A trail (that I didn’t take) will lead you down to the creek banks.
- Mile 176.3 – Bethel Mission – A marker for the old Bethal “House of God” Mission, one of 13, that was founded to bring Christianity to the Choctaw Indians.
- Mile 180.7 – French Camp – The afternoon thundershower pours down on me as I pull over to look at the memorial marker for French Camp, a still active boarding school for children from broken homes. It stared as a stand (inn) in 1912, and became a school in 1822.
- Mile 193.1 – Jeff Busby Park – Jeff Busby was instrumental in passing legislation to make the Natchez Trace part of the National Park System. This used to be the only place where you could get gas, but they closed it this year.
- Mile 198.6 – Old Trace – Another section of the old Trace that can be accessed and walked along.
- Mile 203.5 – Pigeon Roost – Millions of passenger pigeons used to roost here before they became virtually extinct.
- Mile 213.3 – Line Creek – The boundary between the Choctaw and Chickasaw Indian Nations.
- Mile 221.4 – Old Trace – More old Trace that can be accessed and walked along.
- Mile 232.4 – Bynum Mounds – Six burial mounds about 2000 years old. In the late 1940s, the Park Service excavated the mounds and found that the remains of people buried with valued possessions.
- Mile 233.2 – Witch Dance – Legend has it that the witches dance here and the grass doesn’t grow where their feet touch the ground.
- Mile 243.3 – Hernando de Soto – The Spanish explorer spent the winter of 1540-41 near here and story has it (depicted on a Pontotoc post office mural) that it was in this camp that the first Christian marriage in America was held here between a Spaniard and a Seminole princess that was being held captive.
- Mile 245.6 – Monroe Mission – The first religious building in northern Mississippi, established in 1827.
- Mile 251.1 – Chickasaw Council House – This was the capital of the Chickasaw Indian Nation in 1820. Chiefs met here to make laws and policies.
- Mile 251.9 – Black Belt Overlook – “Black Belt” refers, not to karate, but to the excellent fertile black soil that is in the area and extends east all the way through most of Alabama; it’s this soil that allowed the area to become a cotton-rich region.
And off the Trace I go, into Tupelo to find dinner and a motel room.
