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Lindon racing to get an egg
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| Violet all decked out for Easter |
After a Easter egg hunt with Linden and Violet, we prepared
for our trip back to Montana. This was our first trip out to MT without the RV.
It is currently up for consignment sale at an RV dealer in PA. Our first stop
was to visit our good friends Bob and Wendy in Lynchburg, VA. We enjoyed their
hospitality and the meals we shared before heading to Knoxville KY. The purpose
of heading to the SW was to visit a few Civil War sites in TN.
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In Knoxville, we went
to the site of Fort Dickerson. Its position, with cannons high on a hill
overlooking the entrance to Knoxville was critical in stopping the Confederate attack by General Longstreet’s cavalry. |
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TN State Capitol
Nearby we toured Bleak House, a house General Longstreet
used as his command center during his unsuccessful attempt to win Knoxville. After
we walked through the U of TN’s gardens, we toured the State Capitol.
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Didn't recognize him without the coonskin hat
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We drove towards Nashville and stopped at the Stones River
National Battlefield. This battle was significant in Dec 1862, because it gave
the Union secure control over central TN.
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| Ventilation provided by Confederate Sharpshooters during the Battle of Franklin |
From Nashville we took a guided tour of a few houses near
the Battle of Franklin. The Union knew in Nov 1864 that the Confederates wanted
to retake Nashville, so they blocked their path in Franklin, TN. The Confederates
suffered massive casualties there. They still tried to take Nashville, but that
battle was the end of the Confederate Army of TN.
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| Ferne Clyffe SP |
While we were in Nashville a vicious EF4 tornado swept
across KY killing 19 people. The path of that tornado was only about 50 miles
north of us. A total of 60 tornados swept through the mid-west during that
storm event. We left Nashville and drove through the tornado belt up to Ferne
Clyffe SP in IL.
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| Honeycomb weathered rock at Ferne Clyffe SP |
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River Keel Boat - type used by L&C
In Nebraska City we visited the Missouri Valley Lewis and
Clark Center. We did a few hikes in Badlands NP in SD, before booking it back
to Helena, MT.
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| Pat hiking in Badlands |
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Finally Montana!
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| Calypso Orchids in MT |
