Julia A. Keirns – Author, Blogger, Writer – Page 7

Old Stone Fort State Archaeological Park in Tennessee

October 30, 2023 – Traveling with Rich & Julie

Established in 1966

We arrived in Tennessee and found our campground in Manchester. The rolling hills of Tennessee are gorgeous. The Old Stone Fort State Archaeological Park was only ten minutes down the road and it was the first place on my list to visit.

State Parks are some of the prettiest places to see. The Old Stone Fort State Archaeological Park is a hidden gem that offers a glimpse into the past. This historical site was built during the Middle Woodland Period, about 2,000 years ago.

Native Americans built several mounds of dirt and rock and probably used it as ceremonial grounds. The massive earthen mounds form an enclosure measuring 1.25 miles around approximately 50 acres.

It was abandoned by the Middle Woodland culture around 500 BC, but it was later used by other Native American groups, including the Mississippian culture. By the time European settlers arrived in the area in the 18th century, the Old Stone Fort was in ruins.

Two pedestal mounds are located inside the enclosure and were used for ceremonial purposes. The walls are up to 20 feet high and 30 feet wide. History buffs and nature lovers like us love visiting places like this. There were very few artifacts found in the area, leading archaeologists to conclude that it was a religious ceremonial site as opposed to a village site.

We walked through the museum which houses a variety of exhibits and watched a short film explaining the history of the area. I love learning about the history of the places we visit by exploring the museums and artifacts. All Tennessee State Parks are free to visit. This is wonderful for us as we travel.

There are some sidewalk paths and easy hiking paths leading to waterfalls. I walked as far as the dam and couldn’t go any further into the woods.

The enclosure trail is a 1.4-mile loop trail that follows the perimeter of the Old Stone Fort and offers stunning views of the surrounding countryside. Along the way, you’ll pass several interpretive signs that provide information about the site’s history and significance.

The park has several other hiking trails that range in difficulty from easy to moderate. These trails offer opportunities to see waterfalls, explore the Duck River, and enjoy the park’s diverse wildlife. The only wildlife we saw were squirrels.

There is a campground with 50 campsites on the other side of the Duck River that can accommodate tents, trailers, and RVs. The campsites have water and electric hookups, as well as picnic tables and fire rings.

Old Stone Fort State Archaeological Park is a unique and fascinating place to visit. With its rich history, stunning scenery, and abundance of activities, the park has something to offer everyone. So, if you’re looking for a fun and educational experience, be sure to add Old Stone Fort to your list of must-see destinations in Tennessee.

Thanks for traveling with us.

The Graves of Johnny & June Cash

October 30, 2023 – Traveling with Rich & Julie

Hendersonville, Tennessee

Hendersonville, Tennessee is a fairly large city on Old Hickory Lake near Nashville. It is listed as one of the best places to live in the state of Tennessee.

It is known as the “city by the lake” and has been home to many famous people.

Many country music stars own homes on the lake, including the late Johnny Cash, who had a 14,000-square-foot home on the water.

Speaking of Johnny Cash, we visited his grave inside the Hendersonville Memory Gardens. There is nothing special about the site. Anyone can visit by just pulling into the driveway, parking along the path, and walking to the graves. We were the only ones there.

There are no signs or markers showing the way. I found it by following the GPS on my phone.

In the same general area are the graves of several Cash family members and Carter family members.

One in particular is Mother Maybelle Carter, known as the First Lady of country music.

Also close by is the grave of Merle Kilgore, an American singer, songwriter, and manager. At the time of his death, he was the manager of Hank Williams, Jr.

Finally, we found the grave of Luther Perkins, who was an American country music guitarist and a member of the Tennessee Three, the backup band for Johnny Cash.

When we are in an area, I like to find several places to see. I hope you enjoy coming along for the ride. Have you ever been to Hendersonville, Tennessee?

If You Want to Make a Man Happy, Take Him to a Car Museum

October 29, 2023 – Traveling with Rich & Julie

Swope’s Cars of Yesteryear

I knew if I put this place on the list it would make Rich happy. Plus the fact that this museum in Elizabethtown, Kentucky is completely free.

All are free to enter except unattended children, which cost $100 to get in. Ha ha.

Don’t ask me to tell you what they all are. I just enjoy looking at them.

Enjoy the photos. Rich found his favorite car. See if you can guess which one it is.

This contemporary museum features old automobiles built from the 1900s to the 1960s, and new ones like a 2023 Dodge Charger.

It was an impressive collection of cars and Rich thoroughly enjoyed spending time looking at them all.

This free car museum is open Monday through Saturday from 10 am to 5 pm.

The host inside said they have 37 cars currently on display. There is a horseless carriage room also.

Each car has a sign on it to not touch. They are not roped off like most car museums. You can walk all the way around and look inside.

This 69 Camaro 350 SS Hardtop was gorgeous.

We spent most of our time right here.

I didn’t take photos of all the cars. But most of them I did. I do take a lot of pictures wherever we go.

Rich liked this Thunderbird, all except the color. I love seeing the cars painted bright colors. I owned an orange Dodge Dart.

I do like the color of this Camaro.

I like the color of any Camaro.

We owned a Jaguar once, but this 1953 one was much nicer.

Thank you Swope’s dealership for providing this museum free of charge.

Do you like cars? I hope you enjoyed seeing these. Thanks for coming along with us on our journeys. I love showing you all the places we see.

Welcome to Tennessee

October 29, 2023 – Traveling with Rich & Julie

We headed a little further south today.

After just two days in Elizabethtown, Kentucky, and visiting the Abraham Lincoln Birthplace National Historic Site, we left Longview RV Park this morning and headed further south on I-65.

I made Rich pull into Mammoth Cave National Park so I could get my stamp and sticker in my National Park Pass Book. We explored the cave a few years ago, and I took a lot of photos then. Any of you who regularly follow me know that I tore a meniscus in my right knee while crawling through a cave in Ohio a few months ago, so cave spelunking is out for me. I wasn’t writing about every place we visited back then. I will write about it soon. Stay tuned.

Today was just about the fact that I have this new national park book, and I wanted to stamp it. The park is only a mile off the interstate, and the visitor center is only 8 miles away. We enjoyed the eight-mile drive through the park and explored the visitor center, checked out the gift shop, and then headed back to I-65.

We drove I-65 into Tennessee, and around Nashville and got on I-24. The Nashville skyline is cool to see.

(Rich wants me to tell everyone that the interstates in Kentucky were a lot better than Ohio or Tennessee.) As soon as we got to Tennessee, we hit construction. Do you see the orange roadwork sign in the top photo above?

I also did not realize that we would enter Central Time Zone.

We made it to our new home in Tennessee and will be here for three nights. Isn’t our campsite beautiful? We are on our way to Alabama for the months of November and December. We can’t afford to winter in Florida. Too many people are going to Florida and the prices to park the RV for a month are too expensive. We don’t need luxuries, just the basics are enough for us.

Stay tuned for the adventures. I am excited to show you all the places we visit.

Thank you for stopping by and reading about our journey.

The Knob Creek Place

October 28, 2023 – Traveling with Rich & Julie

Abraham Lincoln’s Boyhood Home

Abraham Lincoln lived on this farm as a boy from 1811 to 1816. He once said that his earliest memories were of the Knob Creek place. A younger brother was born here.

This is another one of the many national parks on the list of many. The boyhood home unit is actually part of the birthplace national park even though it is ten miles away from the Sinking Spring Farm where he was born in 1809. It doesn’t have its own sticker, but it does have a stamp for the National Park Pass Book.

One of the signs says that there was a title dispute over the Sinking Spring property and Abraham’s parents had to move when he was only two years old.

The building on the left is a tavern built in 1928 to serve tourists visiting the park and wanting to see the cabin.

The farm at Knob Creek contained a mere 30 acres when the Lincolns lived here. They grew crops like corn, tobacco, and pumpkins.

There is an overlook trail through the property that is approximately 3 miles long with strenuous difficulty. The sign said to beware of snakes and ticks. Just the word strenuous was enough to deter me.

If you are ever in the area of Hodgenville, Kentucky, be sure to stop and explore the land that Abraham Lincoln, America’s 16th President, knew as a child.

This part of Kentucky is gorgeous. I can see why his family settled here.

Thanks for reading and following us on our travels.

Abraham Lincoln Birthplace National Historic Park

October 27, 2023 – Traveling with Rich & Julie

Hodgenville, Kentucky

Did you know: If you visited only one National Park per year, it would take you 63 years to see them all — and that daunting number does not even include the plethora of national monuments, seashores, battlefields, and other properties managed by the National Park Service.

While the National Park System comprises 423 national park sites, only 63 of them have the “National Park” designation in their names. The other sites fall into different National Park System categories like Battlefields, Historic Sites, Monuments, Seashores, Recreation Areas, and others.

We are trying to visit all of them, or at least as many as we can as we travel around these wonderful states of ours.

And we hit another one yesterday…

Abraham Lincoln was born on February 12, 1809, in a small cabin in Hodgenville, Kentucky. His early life in Kentucky was a humble start for the 16th President of the United States.

The visitor center contains a small museum and gift shop. The photo above is the Lincoln Family Bible.

We always go inside the visitor center to get my stamp and sticker for my National Park Pass Book. The workers were extremely friendly and helpful.

The trails near the visitor center are paved and make it easy to walk to the buildings on display.

First is the Nancy Lincoln Inn and four cabins.

They were built by James R. Howell in 1928 to accommodate the increasing number of tourists who were coming to visit Lincoln’s Birthplace and Memorial.

The park preserves the Sinking Spring Farm, where Abraham Lincoln was born and includes the Memorial Building, which was built over the original log cabin he was born in. It was designed by John Russell Pope and was completed in 1911.

The building is a Greek Revival-style building with a white marble exterior. It is 100 feet long, 60 feet wide, and 40 feet high. It has a central portico with six Ionic columns. The inscription above the portico reads: “Abraham Lincoln, Born February 12, 1809, Died April 15, 1865, Sixteenth President of the United States.“

What a beautiful place to visit! I didn’t feel up to climbing the steps, so I didn’t go inside.

The interior of the Memorial Building is divided into two main rooms: the Memorial Room and the Lincoln Museum. The Memorial Room contains a marble statue of Lincoln by the sculptor Henry Merwin Shrady. The statue is surrounded by murals depicting scenes from Lincoln’s life. The Lincoln Museum contains exhibits on Lincoln’s life and family.

Off to the side of the memorial are some cement steps leading down to the Sinking Spring, a dependable water source which is probably why his father, Thomas Lincoln, chose this spot to build. This is called the Sinking Spring Farm.

There are additional trails through the woods, which we did not walk. Walking around the paved sidewalk was a good start for me to begin building my knee back up since surgery. I hate missing out on the entire area, but I just can’t do it all yet.

Entrance to this National Historic Park is free. We have our National Park Pass, but we didn’t need it here.

If you’ve ever been curious to see where Abraham Lincoln was born, this is a must-visit.

Longview RV Park in Elizabethtown, Kentucky

October 27, 2023 – Traveling with Rich & Julie

I do a lot of calling around and researching when I’m looking for places to stay as we travel around America. I have always been fortunate enough to find some of the best places at the most reasonable prices.

As soon as we pulled into Longview RV Park we were greeted by a nice man on a golf cart who led us straight to our site. We would much rather stay in a smaller campground than a larger one. The people are so nice and glad to have you.

The lots are decent length, with room enough for the tow dolly to remain hooked up and park the car in front of the RV.

The only complaint Rich had is that the sewer dump is up by the front of the RV so he will have to wait and dump when we pull forward to leave.

There is a nice pond in the rear of the campground. The water level looked low. They must need rain. They said they had seen bald eagles here. Wish we would see one.

With it being the weekend before Halloween, it was nice to see the decorations.

They even had a bowl of free buckeyes! We are from Ohio, the Buckeye state. Of course, I will take a free buckeye!

The laundry facility was extremely nice and clean and just look at the wonderful private bathrooms!

Another important factor for us RVers is the water pressure. Great water pressure here and the water tasted really good to us. That is a big plus for us.

Longview RV Park in Elizabethtown, Kentucky gets 5 stars from us. If you are ever in the area, we highly recommend it.

Thanks for traveling with us.

Driving From Ohio to Kentucky

October 26, 2023 – Traveling with Rich & Julie

RV Life on the road

We pulled out of our familiar spot in Ohio and headed south today. Hwy 30 to Ft. Wayne, Indiana, 469 South to 69 South around Indianapolis to 65 South.

Most of 69 South to Indy is under construction and bumpy as heck. The RV has new tires and shocks and we still jiggle nuts and bolts loose all the time.

The trees displayed a gorgeous array of colors including red, gold, rust, brown, dark green, light green, yellow, and orange.

I hope to take more photos of the leaves, but we saw a lot of them blowing off the branches.

I’m so glad Rich enjoys the sights as much as I do. Once in Kentucky, we saw some beautiful hills covered with fall trees and he said, “Wow, look how pretty that is.”

The Louisville skyline is shown in the photo above.

We drove as far south as Elizabethtown and stopped at an RV park for a couple of days. From where we were in Ohio we drove over five hours. We have no set schedule. Five hours was long enough.

Stay tuned for the adventures! I can’t wait to show you a tiny piece of Kentucky.

(all photos were taken by me unless otherwise noted)

Living Our “Dash” To the Fullest

October 25, 2023 – Traveling with Rich & Julie

In an old RV

Richard Keirns born 1960 — ?

Julia Keirns born 1964 — ?

We are both still living the dash.

Life is short. It might be a cheesy cliché, but it is so very true. And it’s something that Rich and I have come to realize more and more over the years. People our age are dying including friends from high school and other acquaintances.

That’s part of the reason why we decided to sell our house and buy an RV to travel around the country full-time. It is something we always talked about doing and didn’t want to have any regrets. We are living our dash to the fullest, and we are loving every minute of it. If either one of us dies tomorrow, we will be so glad we spent this time together traveling around the country.

Of course, full-time RVing isn’t for everyone. It takes a lot of planning, hard work, and flexibility. It takes a lot of patience to put up with each other 24 hours a day in a small space. But for us, it works and it is the best way to live our lives right now.

The road is long before us and infinite. We love seeing new places, meeting new people, and experiencing new things all the time. And we love doing it together, as a couple.

We are definitely seeing the country. We’ve been to all but 8 states since we started full-time RVing, and we’ve seen some of the most amazing places in the country.

From the lush forests of the Pacific Northwest to the Rio Grande in southern Texas, and into Maine, we’ve been blown away by the unbelievable beauty of this country.

We love meeting new people. One of the best things about full-time RVing is that we meet people from all walks of life. We’ve met other RVing couples, families with children, and solo travelers from all over the country. We’ve made some great friends along the way, and we’ve learned a lot from these people.

Of course, full-time RVing isn’t without its challenges. It seems like there is always something that needs fixing. There are times when we miss our family back home but Skype is a wonderful tool. And if we get tired of being on the road we can just go home to Ohio and park in our daughter’s yard for a while. But overall, we wouldn’t trade this lifestyle for anything.

We have had to learn to be flexible. Things don’t always go according to plan when you’re full-time RVing. We are prepared to change our plans at the last minute if we have to and we have learned to not be upset about it. Everything always seems to work out for the best.

We are enjoying the journey and living our dash to the fullest. Full-time RVing is a great way to see the country, experience new things, and meet new people.

If you’re looking for a way to live your dash to the fullest, I highly recommend full-time RVing. It’s not for everyone, but it’s the best way we have found to live our lives.

Thanks for reading and coming along on our journey. Comment to let us know you stopped by.

(all photos are taken by me unless otherwise noted)

The Geese Are Heading South and So Are We

October 24, 2023 – Traveling with Rich & Julie

Off to warmer weather

My knee is healed. I am walking decently with little discomfort, and we are biting at the bullet to head south.

The days are cooling off and the nights are too chilly here in Ohio. When the outside air begins to cool our bones on the inside and the inside heat begins to dry our skin on the outside, it is time to move to warmer temperatures.

Rich works a lot harder than I do preparing to move.

I basically take care of closing up the inside and he takes care of closing up the outside.

Closing up the inside consists of picking everything up and putting it away so it doesn’t fall over, break, or rattle while we drive down the road.

And making sure the television is strapped, drawers are locked, counters are cleaned off, and nothing is going to go flying around if we hit a bump.

Together we dismantle the outside displays such as lights around the awning, picnic table, bug spray, lawn flags, and chairs. But Rich puts it all away in the outside compartments.

He takes out the leveling blocks, dumps the tanks, puts away the cords and hoses, brings in the jacks, hooks up the tow dolly, gets the car loaded up, checks all the lights and turn signals, and locks all the cabinets.

Yes, I help when I can.