Shiloh National Military Park-14 July 2013

Most people have heard of the battle of Gettysburg, but for many Shiloh is one of those lesser known battles. Some say Gettysburg was the turning point of the Civil War and in many ways this is true, but with the Union victory at Shiloh the major water way of the Tennessee river would not have been secured.  Along with the Mississippi River, the Tennessee was a major cause way providing supplies to the southern cause.
  Over a day period Union and Southern forces battled each other. On the first day Southern forces pushed General Grant back to a point that the Union was in peril of losing it's toe hold to the area. With the coming of night, each army stopped to regroup, collect their wounded and plan for the next days battle. While General Grant sat under a tree smoking his cigar and whittling on a pieces of wood, General Sherman came up and  "Took a whopping today General" Gant respond " Yes, whoop em tomorrow though". During the night the Union army received re-enforcements that turned the battle into a Union victory the next day.
  We attended a Ranger talked in one of the most hotly contended portions of the battle, "The Hornets Nest" so called because the Southern troops marched into a hail of canon and rifle fire that the sound of the bullets in the air sounded like hornets.
 This is a battlefield that takes about three hours or more to get the full view. There are a number of Ranger lectures on the battlefield that give one a better understand of what occurred there.

 

 

                                                                Shiloh Church

 

 

                                                 Many artifacts from the battlefield

 

                                                 Ranger talk at the Hornets Nest

Corinth Civil War Intrepretive Center- 13 July 2013

 We stayed in the town of Corinth, MS and just a few miles from the hotel is the Corinth Civil War Interpretive Center.  The siege of Corinth is part of the Shiloh National Battlefield and a number of smaller battles took place in this town. At the time of the battle there were only 1500 people living there and while the town is in the heart of the Confederacy, many of the local folks were loyal to the Union.  The Southern Army was forced out of the town by the Union and during the occupation by both forces they suffered greatly. Food and water was so scarce that many of the troops became  so sick they died. Soldiers were forced to drink water found in the hoof pints of horses and it was said that the water was so bad that horses refused to drink it.
  During the Union occupation a large community of former slaves built a community were they grew crops and attended schools both for children and adults. For many of these former slaves it was the first time they earned their own money. After the Union left the Corinth, MS they left with them.

Tennessee River Museum-11 July 2013

In the town of Savannah, TN you will find a very interest museum and for the price of $3 you get allot of bang for that $3. The exhibit covers the local region of the area which covers fossils found in the area, woodland Native Americans ( this is by far the largest of the exhibits), Civil War along the Tennessee River, and the local cultured pearl industry (yes TN is the only place in the United States the grows cultured pearls) and the Trail of Tears.  There are two huge petrified tree trunks on the outside of the museum worth seeing. We spent about two hours in the small, but very filled museum.

 

                                                                 Petrified wood log

                                           Part of a collection of over 400 plus Arrow Heads

 

                                             One of only ten known Native stone figures made by                                      Americans

 

 

                                                  Buttons made from cultured pearls

Natchez Trace Parkway-12 July 2013

 Started our day at the Pharr Indian Mounds along the Natchez Trace Parkway. The Ranger gave a very nice lecture on the Native peoples who built the mounds. She presented Native peoples, then and now, in a very respectful way and with honor.  If you are interested in Native culture and mound building the Natchez Trace Parkway is one place you should visit. In addition to Native mounds you will find many other Native sites to visit along the Trace.
  After the mounds we visited the Trace Visitor Center to get our stamps. By this time we were a bit hungry so we ran into town, Tupelo, MS. There are several places one can eat, Blue Canoe or The Neon Pig and a few others I can not recall now. We ate at the Neon Pig. It is one of those places that will give you a heart attack, but the food is great. All locally grown food is severed here, it is also a butcher shop. We had a smash burger, sirloin, smoked bacon and cured ham all ground together and cooked. They add onions and a special sauce they make. Boy it was good.
  Then it was off to a couple Civil War sites, Tupelo and Brices Cross Road. Not much to see at the Tupelo site, one monument and two canons. The local community has spread out so much that this is the only thing one can see at this site. It is so small there is no parking close by so you can read the markers that are there. I took a few pictures of the site while we sat at a red light.
  Brices Cross Roads is a much better site. There is a good visitor center where one should start at, watch the film and then make your way to the battlefield.
 The last stop of the day was the Chickasaw Village along the Natchez Trace. The outline of the village is the only thing you can see here but a few markers tell the tale of life in the village.
 It is very hot in Mississippi in July so by this time we had drained our water supply and it was time to head back to our hotel room in Corinth, MS.

                                                               Chickasaw Village

Minuteman Missile NHS- Aug. 2010

 After our visit to Devils Tower we made our way to South Dakota. Stops along the way included, Mount Rushmore, which more of a tourist trap to my way of thinking, Jewel Cave NM and Wind Cave NP. Both of these sites are kind of cool if you like caves but for us not too much to write about. Maybe a second visit will bring more to light for us. Then it was off to Badlands NP which I have already blog about.
 After entering Badlands NP though the southern via the White River Visitor Center and stopping over at the Pine Ridge Reservation we made out exit through the northeastern entrance located just off I-90. Near the off/on ramp (Exit 131) of I-90 you will find a trailer near the gas station that is the temporary visitor center for Minuteman Missile NHS. This is part of a three part section of this historic site.
  This site is part of the cold war history of the United States. At the visitor center you can watch a movie about the cold war and the Minuteman Missile system that protected the United States during the cold war.  It is also here that you must obtain a timed ticket to the underground complex (part 2 of 3 parts) you can tour. If you want to visit the complex you need to call ahead to ensure that this complex will be open for tours, reservations are highly recommended by calling 605-433-5552.
  We did not make reservations, but we were in luck as it was open house day and all the volunteers were in place to give the tour. And as luck would have it, the one volunteer who gave us the tour of the underground facility that house the actual men and women who armed and launched the missiles was on hand to give that tour. He was retired from the United States Air Force and gives his time to interpret the site as it was back in his day.
  I have to say having someone give a tour that literally hand his hand on the launch key was something that I ( a former Navy man who worked on and maintained these type of weapons for 16 years) was a thrill for me.
 That being said, our first stop was the D-1 Quinn Cottonwood complex, the actual complex that housed the men and women as they spent their tour of watch. I fail to recall how long each these folks stood the watch, but all their needs were met by a living quarters, a dinning hall, kitchen and recreation room to fill those times they were not on actual watch in the missile room where the missile were launched from.
  After taking a tour of the said above areas, one takes an elevator down to the site where the two persons are on watch who receive the launch orders, verify those orders, retrieve the keys to launch and launch if required said missiles. The complex was built to withstand a direct hit from a nuclear attack those in the know, know that even if they did survive would it be worth it.
 Having said that, the former Minuteman proceeded to give us the dollar tour. Those on watch in this area stayed on watch for 24 hours, the routine would be eat, sleep and perform routine electronic maintenance  of the missile systems and drills.  All in all a very thrilling tour.
  After this portion of the tour has been completed you can take a ride to the D-9 section of the complex, the actual site where the missile is. Here you get the chance to see and replica missile in the silo, the blast doors to the silo are open and you can look down into the silo. All pretty cool stuff. Sandee and my mother in law were very impressed with the site as well.
 So if you are making your way to that famous tourist town of Wall, SD do make a stop here, it is well worth the time and effort.

                                      D-1 Quinn Cottonwood Complex above ground

 

                                  Dinning hall and recreation area above the missile room

The blast door that guards the missile room where those on watch launch the missiles. The wording on the door states "World Wide Delivery in 30 minutes or less or the next one is free" A play on Domino's Pizza old slogan.

                                                          
                                                           More art work

                                           The walk way to the launch room

One of two stations where those on watch launch the missile. Both stations are far enough apart that no one person can turn both keys at the same time and if the keys are not turned at the same time the launch will NOT happen. Part of the two person concept ( it will always take two to launch one)

                                             Our volunteer Minuteman, now retired.

                                 D-1 missile site, where the missile launched from

                             Part of a two part blast door that opened to launch the missile.

                                                         Replica Missile in the silo

Devil's Tower, WY- AUG 2010

 This is one of those places that you truly can not even imagine until you see it with you own eyes. In 2010 Sandee, Sandee's mother and I took a trip to visit family in Kincaid, Saskatchewan for a family reunion. We had a great time, family came from all over the world for the reunion, Germany, the US and one member who had been working in China came.  Several family members live there so we went all over looking for fossils and rocks. Sandee and I took time to head over to the Royal Tyrrell Museum in Alberta. That is another entire story.
  On our way to Kincaid and on the way home we visited a number of National Parks.  One of these was Devil's Tower National Monument in WY.  I was not sure what to expect, but it was on Sandee's bucket list and I am always up to some place I have never been before. Our first glance of the tower was from miles away. I knew I had seen this rock before but just could not recall, that is when Sandee reminded me it was in the movie "Close Encounters of the Third Kind".  OOOOO yea, now I remember.
  As we entered the park the first thing we see, other than the tower, is a Prairie Dog town. They are all over the place and you have to be carful not to run over the little guys because they might run out onto the road. We made it pass the guardians of the rock with no casualties. As we drove up and around towards the tower it dawned on me how massive it was. By the time we arrived at the visitor center I was silent, I felt as I was entering a very special and sacred place. Seems I was not the only one as all three of us spoke not a word.
  Once we parked the truck and craned our neck skyward we had a sense of reverence of the place. Despite ALL the people who were also visiting it seemed to me to be the most quite place on earth I had ever visited. I can only describe it in terms a sailor might understand. Imagine being in the middle of the Atlantic or Pacific ocean, no one else is around, the sun is slowly setting along the horizon and not a sound anywhere to be had. That is what it felt like to me, not a scary sort of feeling, just one of reverence.
  What I thought would be a half  hour visit turned into almost a three hour visit. My mother in law was also inspired as she and I sat on the park bench just staring at the climbers make the ascent to the top of the tower. Several folks that day were making their attempt to get to the top. We watched them with my binoculars and pondered what those making the climb were thinking and us thinking what it would be like to be on the top. Sandee and I walked the trails around the tower and took a few pictures.
  Native American's hold this site very sacred.  The Plains tribes all have their own story on how this tower came to be. And today's scientist also debate how and when it was formed. But there is no doubt after our visit that the site is scared, it just gives off this energy that one can not explain.
 The one story I like and choose to think happened holds that the tower arose from the ground after seven  sisters were chased by a bear. They climbed to the top of a rock and prayed to the creator save them from the bear. Suddenly the rock began to climb  up out of the earth. As the mountain kept climbing towards the sky the bear kept trying to reach them. One can see the claw marks from the bear on the side of the tower as it attempted to reach the sisters. The bear never made it to them and they were saved.  I know there is more to the story but I do not recall it now.
  I know there is some other explanation as to why this formation occurred, but for me the Native American stories are so much richer and are worthy of preserving and learning from. As for us, this is one of those places that is worth a return trip, over and over. We are hoping to revisit this summer (2013).

                                                  The Tower a few miles away

 

                              The Tower as seen at the bottom of the tower near the visitor center

 

 

                                                Sandee and me at the base of the tower

 

                 To the left & below of the dark shadow are two climbers, one in an orange                   shirt/jacket

Keweenaw NHP-July 2012

 I can not say enough good things about this area. For Sandee, a geologist and rock hound this was one of the best parks we have visited to date. I have to admit, I loved looking for those Lake Superior Agates, copper and various other rocks too. Four eyes are better than two when going rock hunting. While one can not take items from a National Park, there are many other areas open to the public to do such hunting and we explored  many if not most.
  The park is comprised of 24 sites that I recall and we visited all of them. We spent seven days in the area and used Fort Wilkins State Park as our base camp. Once we settled into our camp site we were of and logged a ton of miles on the old Titan. Fort Wilkins is located at almost the very tip of the Keweenaw Peninsular the sites we visited are located all along the this area. So it required a bit of doing but we saw all the sites and then some.
  The area is known for it's copper mining, while many of the mines are now gone, some of them you can still visit. These include: The Adventure Mine (you can do rappelling down mine shafts here and we are going back to try our hand at this soon), Quincy Mine, here you can take a major tour of the mine and the museum on the site, Delaware Copper Mine-make sure you ask to see their pet skunks and the Central Mine- not much at this site, one building with some information. We enjoyed each of these mines, had some bats flying around us at the Adventure Mine and some cool pictures of them. We did some copper hunting in the tailings at the Delaware Mine and found some pretty pieces.
  One of the highlights of the area was the A.E. Seaman's Museum on the Michigan Tech. campus. If you are a rock hound your visit to this area is NOT complete unless you visit this site. I think we spent five hours looking at cool rocks. I got a bit bored after the first hour, but Sandee was in heaven so I was happen just watching her reaction to all the cool stuff.
  We spent some time in the area looking for Lake Superior  Agates as well. Just north of Fort Wilkins is Horseshoe Harbor. It is almost the most northern point if the area. We could have gone further to some very remote areas but we were advised that unless we had additional tires it might not be a good idea. The local rocks in that part of the country does tear the tires to the point they become flat and there is not cell phone service to call for help. Given the cost of the tires on the Titan I choose not to venture to those areas, although Sandee did try her best to convince me otherwise. We were the first to arrive at Horseshoe Harbor, very isolated, remote and god agate hunting. We also saw a bear print in the sand, looked pretty darn fresh to me. We spent a few hours here until a group of school children involved with a summer geology class showed up. By then we had been there for four hours or so, so we decided to leave and find some other places to investigate
  All in all our adventure to this area left us wanting more, but time was getting away from us so we moved on down the road to more adventures knowing that there is still plenty more for us on a return visit.

                                          One of many bats in the Adventure Mine

                                              Sandee and large Float Copper in Calumet, MI

 

                                                           Horseshoe Harbor

 

 Pictogliphs near Horseshoe Harbor. Mostly know by locals only. A local we befriended told us about this and just had too see them.  Little effort has been made to preserve them.

                                                  Bear print at Horseshoe Harbor

                                                 Copper at A.E. Seaman's Museum