President Zachary Taylor Home and Grave, Windy Hills KY
This monument honors the memory of President Zachary Taylor, our 12th president. He was president from 1849-1850, when he died in office. His grave is in the building to the right. His original grave was the small mound to the right in the back near the trees.Crypt of President Zachary and First Lady Margaret TaylorSpringfield, the home of Zachary Taylor. Born in Orange County VA while his parents were visiting relatives, Taylor grew to adulthood in this house in Louisville KY.
Kentucky State Capitol, Frankfort KY
The Capitol as seen from an overlook from the westApproaching the Capitol from the north The Capitol is closed due to the Wuhan Flu, so I could not go inside.Kentucky Governor’s Mansion, just east of the Capitol
Historic Buffalo Trace Distillery, Frankfort KY
This historic distillery dates back to 1792. It was closed when I came by for a look, so I couldn’t get any souvenirs. It still had a sweet “angels share” aroma in the air.These warehouses hold thousands of barrels for years!
Lincoln Museum, Hodgenville KY
Lincoln Museum is in the town square of Hodgenville. It is a pretty neat little museum. It is really everything Lincoln – hundreds of images of Lincoln throughout. This is the real Lincoln’s top hat!This is a very rare photo of the log cabin in which Lincoln was bornNewspaper announcing Lincoln’s deathSeveral scenes from Lincoln’s life are displayed in the museum. This is growing up in the log cabin.Lincoln the railsplitter.Lincoln calling on Mary Todd, his future wife, at her Lexington homeLincoln-Douglas debateLincoln writing the Emancipation ProclamationLincoln with son Tad sitting in Matthew Brady’s studio. Brady was the most famous and prolific photographer during the Civil War.Gettysburg Address stageLincoln’s second inaugurationLee surrenders to GrantThe Lincolns at Ford’s Theater
Mammoth Cave National Park
Mammoth Cave National Park in central Kentucky contains the longest system of caves in the world, with over 412 miles of surveyed passageways! This is the Historic Entrance to the cave for the tour.Looking back up the stairs we just descended.Approaching the cave tour from the entrance. The temperature inside the cave is 54 degrees year-round. Same as Luray Caverns in Virginia.Artifacts from saltpeter mining, which was done by slaves prior to the Civil War.The Rotunda. This is a large flat circle ceiling near the entrance of the cave. These pictures do not do justice to the size and scale of this 1.5 mile passage. It is really: you have to see it to believe it.This is called the Methodist Church, because in the 1800s a small Methodist Church met for worship here. The preacher preached from atop a large rock ledge on the upper left.This is a close up at the Methodist Church. Notice the rock just left of center. It looks like the face of a man!This formation looks like a reptileThe “Giant’s Coffin” – this large rock formation looks like a casket!One of several stone houses near the end of one trail. These houses were part of a tuberculosis sanitarium. They had to walk in the cave over a mile to get here!The rotunda from a different angleAudobon Avenue
Mary Jean at the National Corvette Museum!The museum has some cool displays with older Corvettes in vintage scenes. The white Corvette on the right is from the very first year, 1953.Service station scene1958 Covertte, serial number 00002!Showroom sceneGarage sceneReal #3 driven by Dale EarnhardtHer dream car! 2020 Stingray!This is a cool picture of a Corvette, composed of small Corvette pictures…This dark circle is the headlight on the driver’s side.There are 7 generations of Corvette design. This is the first generation, represented by a 1962 model.1967 model from the second generation1977 model, 3rd generation1986 model, 4th generation2004 model, 5th generation2007 model, 6th generation2019 model, 7th generationIn 2014, the museum suffered a sink hole collapse that swallowed over $1 million worth of valuable Corvettes!These are some of the valuable Corvettes ruined by the sink hole collapse.Looking down 30 feet to the bottom of the sink holeThe red tape is the outline of the sinkhole.The Skydome today.This was the 1 millionth Corvette ever produced, and it hung on during the collapse and suffered very little damage. Miraculously, several Corvettes survived or were able to be restored.The museum conducts a raffle for a new Corvette every month. Each winner comes to the museum for the “Presentation”. Here, the winner of this blue Corvette is being taught about his new car.We watched as the winner of this Corvette drove away!The Bowling Green plant is the only plant in the world that assembles Corvettes.
ABRAHAM LINCOLN BIRTHPLACE NATIONAL HISTORIC PARK, HODGENVILLE KY
President Abraham Lincoln was born here on February 12, 1809. This was the first Lincoln Memorial! There are 56 steps up to the memorial building, representing one step for each year of Lincoln’s life. He was only 56 years old when he was assassinated in 1865.A replica of Lincoln’s birthplace house is inside the memorial.President Theodore Roosevelt (in top hat) laid the cornerstone on February 12, 1909, the 100th anniversary of Lincoln’s birth.This is Sinking Spring, which was the spring that provided water for the Lincoln farm.Sculpture of the Lincoln family in the Visitor Center. Abraham is the baby in his mother’s arms. The girl is his sister Sarah holding their father’s hand.Abraham Lincoln’s parents, Thomas and Nancy LincolnAbe certainly looked like his mother!Lincoln family BibleReplica of Knob Creek house, where young Abe lived as a boy. This is about 10 miles from the Sinking Spring farm.This field would have been farmland tended by the Lincolns.Statue of President Lincoln in the town center of Hodgenville KYYoung Lincoln reading, facing the Lincoln statue.Bucolic scene near Hodgenville
So we left Virginia for a short trip around Kentucky, with a few stops in West Virginia on the way home.
Our 7 hour drive south took us by this scenic overlook – Veterans’ Overlook in Bean Station TN, which overlooks the Cherokee Reservoir.We drove through the Cumberland Gap Tunnel, which brought us from Tennessee to Middlesboro KY.
CUMBERLAND GAP NATIONAL HISTORIC PARK – KY/TN/VA
Colonists discovered Cumberland Gap as an easier path for westward travel and exploration in the mid-1700s. Daniel Boone made this pass legendary, blazing the trail west into Kentucky, where he encountered the Shawnee and Cherokee, sometimes as enemies and many times as friends. Boone’s encounters with the Indians is depicted in one of the four relief sculptures on the US Capitol doors. This is Daniel Boone Country! This area has seen a lot of action over the years!We were surprised to see so much color – we thought we would be a couple weeks early, but this was really colorful and beautiful!Mary Jean at the top of Pinnacle Overlook. She is standing in Virginia. Kentucky is to the right on the picture, Tennessee to the left.Cumberland Gap TNKentuckyWalking up to the Tri-State Peak. The trail is 1.2 miles long, uphill all the way, and gets pretty steep at the end.We started around 9 AM in light fog.“Indian Rock” marks one of the documented trails that Daniel Boone used in 1775 from North Carolina to Kentucky.The sun peeking through the fog.This is the Cumberland Gap “Saddle”Daniel Boone monument.This is a steep path. The picture doesn’t really capture its steepness.At the top of Tri-State Peak, where Virginia, Kentucky and Tennessee meet at a point. This is the Kentucky sign.The view of Kentucky from the Kentucky signTennessee signThe view of Tennessee from the Tennessee signVirginia signView of Virginia from the Virginia sign. This is the trail we hiked.This is the far southwest point of the state of Virginia. The round marker is the point. Mary Jean is sitting in Virginia, Tennessee is on the right, and Kentucky is on the left.Survey marker at the pointStanding in three states at once!Colorful view on the hike back downWarrior!
THE ORIGINAL KENTUCKY FRIED CHICKEN, CORBIN KY
This the location of the very first Kentucky Fried Chicken! The original restaurant was named Sanders Cafe, and was attached to a motel. Of course, it is under renovation so we could not visit the museum. We did get our lunch at the drive-thru. This will be a pretty neat site when it is finished.Colonel Sanders statue in town.
CUMBERLAND FALLS, NEAR WILLIAMSBURG KY
Cumberland Falls is nicknamed the Niagara Falls of the SouthSo here we are at Cumberland Falls! Beautiful waterfalls – 125 ft. wide, 68 ft. tall, 3,600 cubic feet of water over the ledge per second!Unfortunately, the most recent full moon was October 3, so we did not experience the moonbow, but if we did, it would look like this:(nighttime picture from the internet, not me!)
We took a day trip to see Natural Bridge VA. We had never been here before.After you walk down 137 steps, go through the gate, and there it is! It is much larger than you can tell in a picture. It is really quite a sight!Looking up at the bottom of the bridge. Route 11 runs right over the top of the vridge.Looking up at the bottom again.George Washington climbed 28 feet up the rock and etched GW in the rock.
So we took advantage of a beautiful Presidents’ Day holiday this year, and went to Orange County, home of one US President and birthplace of another.
MONTEBELLO
Zachary Taylor, our 12th President, was born at this site in 1784. The house where he was born no longer stands, and the current Montebello farm is private and not open to the public. Taylor’s family lived in Kentucky, and they visited family in Virginia, and on their return trip, several people became ill, so they stopped here to recover before continuing on to Kentucky. It was during this time that the future president was born. President Taylor was a cousin of President James Madison, whose house is…
MONTPELIER
Just a few miles from President Zachary Taylor’s birthplace is Montpelier, the home of James Madison, the 4th President of the United States, and author of the US Constitution.Approaching the front of Montpelier.This is a beautiful house! Maybe even more impressive than Monticello!This is the view from the front porch at Montpelier.Gazebo with brick columns.Entrance foyerParlorDining roomJames Madison’s desk in his officePresident Madison’s bed in his later years, when he was too weak to walk upstairs. This is also the room that he died, June 28, 1836, six days short of July 4, the day that Presidents John Adams, Thomas Jefferson and James Monroe all died on. He was last signer of the Constitution to die. One of his nieces asked him “What is the matter?” His last words were “Nothing more than a change of mind, my dear.”James and Dolley Madison’s bedroomThis is the room where James Madison wrote the United States Constitution. Actually, he carefully drafted a proposal to replace the failing Articles of Confederation. He took his proposal to the Constitutional Convention in Philadelphia in 1787, and as discussions progressed, became know as the Virginia Plan, which was mostly adopted with a few changes based on ideas from other states. Virginia was the tenth state to ratify the new constitution in 1788, and the current United States form of government was launched!Outbuildings, such as smoke houses and slave quartersA pitcher honoring President Madison, misspelled “Maddison”.President Madison was our shortest president. When I first started studying about the presidents, I read that he was 5’1″ tall, and when I reached that height in fourth grade I was very proud to be as tall as a president! Now, depending on whose research you read, President Madison’s height was anywhere from 5’1″ to 5’6″.Graves of President James Madison and First Lady Dolley Madison.Shortly up the road from Montpelier is this house, which was the home of freed slave George Gilmore, who built it in the 1860s.Inside of George Gilmore’s house..
MONTPELIER STATION
Train depot at Montpelier.Interesting scene here. Notice the signs above the doors. This is what life in the south was like during Jim Crow. This is the room for the “colored” people.This is the much larger room for Whites.
JAMES MADISON MUSEUM
In the town of Orange, there is this neat museum called James Madison Museum. It is basically a museum about the history of Orange County. This house, completed rebuilt inside the museum, is a typical Virginia house in the 1800s for Virginians who didn’t live in mansions like Mount Vernon, Monticello and Montpelier.A horse-drawn Rockaway carriage from the 1880s.1912 Ford Model TPresident James Madison’s favorite chairBust of President James MadisonEverything in the picture belonged to President Zachary Taylor: Bed, grandfather clock, general’s chest and chair. Although born in Virginia, President Taylor grew up near Louisville, Kentucky. He enlisted int he US Army in 1806 and eventually rose in the ranks to brigadier general. He fought in the War of 1812, Black Hawk War, second Seminole War, and finally the Mexican-American War, during which he emerged as a national hero for winning the Battle of Buena Vista even though outnumbered 4 to 1. As a national hero, he won the 1848 presidential nomination from the Whig Party, and then the presidency. He died in office in 1849, elevating Millard Fillmore to the presidency.Slave’s clothing and other items.The museum holds a pretty large collection of arrowheads, and Indian tools, as well as ancient rock drawings.The town of Orange once had a very busy silk mill, and there are artifacts from that mill in the museum. This ball of silk would be spun into silk thread one mile long!
RAPIDAN VA
Driving through the countryside of Orange County, we passed through the little village of Rapidan, which spans the Rapidan River, and rests in both Orange and Culpeper Counties. This is the Waddell Memorial Presbyterian Church, built in 1874 in the Carpenter Gothic style with board and batten siding.This is the Rapidan Schoolhouse, built in 1887 for the rector’s eight children. It was later used as the town library.The inside of the schoolhouse.
MITCHELLS VA
This is Mitchells Presbyterian Church in Mitchells, Virginia. This is the village where my father was born in 1925.
These are the graves of my grandparents.
These are the graves of my great-grandparents.
CULPEPER VA
This memorial park is located in the town of Culpeper.
Dedicated to Culpeper County natives who have served in the US military.
These stones honor my father’s five brothers who served in World War II.
Civil War battlefield at Brandy Station. This battle on June 9, 1863, the largest cavalry battle of the entire Civil War, lasted for one day, as the Union forces slowed down (but did not stop) General Robert E. Lee’s progress toward Gettysburg, and the battle that would occur there on July 1-3. We finished our day here at the Frost Cafe in the town of Culpeper. They have the best fried chicken!
