Posted by Karen on 01-Aug-2008
(Click photo for all 202 photos)
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 02-Oct-2007
(51 photos)
I drove into Overton, Nevada in the dark last night, so I spent a bit of time this morning exploring this little town in the Moapa Valley. Overton is pretty much the last town before you head into the Lake Mead National Recreation Area. Just outside the town is the Lost City Museum, which was built in the early 1900s to house and display artifacts from the Anasazi Indian ruins of the valley; many of which were in danger of being lost with the create of Lake Mead. I also made a stop at the St. Thomas Memorial Cemetery which was moved from the town of St. Thomas before it was flooded for the creation of Lake Mead, which is held back by the Hoover Dam. On to the Valley of Fire now!
Posted by Karen on 30-Sep-2007
(54 photos)
From Bishop, I headed east on Highway 6 and entered the vast emptiness of the Nevada desert. I don’t know why, but I really like the high desert and I’ve decided I need to seriously figure out how to move closer to this area. I reached Tonopah and decided to explore a bit and stay the night there. Tonopah is interesting, as it’s a ghost town in the making. In the early 1900s, it was the “Queen of the Silver Camps”, but as the silver mines went bust, so did the town. There are still people and businesses, but there are just as many abandoned buildings too. My first stop was at the Central Nevada Museum where I checked out the old mining equipment on display. I also picked up a brochure identifying the “historic gems” around the town, so I used the map to check out the various historic building identified. In talking with one of the locals, I asked how this town supported itself, as I didn’t really see many businesses… he told me that the world’s largest gold mine was 45 minutes away and that is where a lot of the people worked at–so it’s only half a ghost town for now.
Posted by Karen on
(192 photos)
Just outside of the town of Bishop, is Laws Museum. Now, I’ve driven by it a few times in the past, but it’s always been closed; this morning I made a point to check it out and I am so glad I did. This museum is huge and has one of the best collections of American historical artifacts I’ve seen. Laws started life as a railroad town in the 1800s and the original depot and agents house still remain. Other buildings from were brought there for preservation and it resembles a little railroad town now. Most of the building were open and have exhibits in them, from general merchandise to photography equipment, to typesetting and newspaper equipment, to medical equipment to a collection of bottles. There’s also Siamese twin lambs that have been stuffed–an unexpected sight for me! There’s a lot to explore on the 11 acres of the museum and the docents are nice and friendly. There were also shooting a television commercial there at the depot the day I visited, that was interesting to watch. I’m glad I spent a few hours checking it out, it’s well worth a visit.
