My sister from St. Louis was visiting me, and we wanted to do things instead of sitting at home in front of the TV. She travels a lot and it so happened that she had a free night coming at a Hyatt Hotel that was going to expire if it wasn’t used.
So, she decided that she and I could have a sister’s sleepover and spend the night at a fancy hotel. The closest one she could find was about 25 miles away. It was in a small town called Franklin that grew by leaps and bounds after one of the largest and most popular malls around was built there.
We both like history so we decided to tour a historic place since we would be in the area anyhow. There are several old historic homes in the immediate area, the most famous being the Carter house, which is a National Historic Landmark from the Civil War. It was probably not the best time to relive Civil War history with Civil War symbols under much criticism. However, we reasoned that you cannot forget history. You can learn from it without glorifying what happened in a dark period of the past.
The house, of course, was very old, a Federalist style brick farmhouse. It also had several out buildings, including a smokehouse and a log slave cabin which represented several that were there in the past. The kitchen was also a separate building. This was common in the 1800’s. If it caught fire while cooking in an open fireplace, the entire house would not burn down.
During the war, the house had been taken as headquarters for the Union Army, which made it the target of an attack during the Battle of Franklin. The Carter family with seven children and a neighboring family survived in the basement of the Carter’s home while bullets flew. Over a thousand bullet holes remain in the sides of the house and buildings. One of the Carter sons was wounded in the battle and brought home to die. A bedroom still has a blood stain.
A few pieces of the Carter’s furniture were in the home now, but it was largely furnished with period antiques that were typical of the time. The item that I like most was a sampler embroidered by Mrs. Carter.
We learned about all the generals who fought in the battle (six killed, seven wounded, and one captured.) After the battle, the Union Army left to attend to the injured and dead. The Confederate Army returned and since no one was there, they claimed victory in the battle, even though they suffered one of the greatest defeats and losses of life in the war.
In the center of town there is a traffic circle with a statue of Robert E. Lee. With current sentimen, I expect it to be taken down sometime in the near future. Several major battles were fought in the area and many old homes from that era are still around. As I told my sister, if anyone is interested in Civil War history, there is plenty of it here to see.
We had figured on driving about 4,000 miles. We ended up driving 5600 miles. You don’t just drive to a place and stay put until you leave. You make side trips, driving around, and sightseeing after reaching a point-of-interest destination.
In spite of being short of time due to the distance we had to drive, we wanted to see one last thing, the Petrified Forest. The Park covers about 230 square miles and includes areas of petrified wood, as well as highly eroded and colorful badlands. It was on a loop that left the interstate and returned further down the road. I had been here before and as I recalled it, the petrified logs were right along the roadside. Well, either they moved or my memory was not as good as I thought. Considering how long ago it was, I suspect the later.
After we entered the park, we saw a Visitors’ Center.”Do you want to stop?” asked Morris.
Later, we went on and found other areas with logs. Then we came to an area with brightly colored rock formations in red and blue. It was a gorgeous section of the Painted Desert. I’ve see red rock before and knew it was due to iron, but the blue? It was as blue as the sky. It really did look painted. I found out later that the red is oxidized iron and magnesium. The blue occurs when there is water that interferes with the oxidization process. Okay… but it still looks like someone painted it to me.
We saved the best for last and spent a day at the nation’s second most popular National Park, The Grand Canyon. Everyone has seen pictures of the magnificent canyon carved by the Colorado River. It is truly one of Mother Nature’s works of art and there are not enough superlatives to adequately describe it. Geological processes formed the rugged landscape over billions of years through shifting of teutonic plates, uplifting of layers of sedimentary rock, and erosion of softer rock layers to form cliffs, buttes, and pinnacles.
The first view of the canyon was where the historic rock watchtower is located, great for picture-taking. After that we stopped at other well-known viewpoints. Unfortunately, the sky clouded up making the canyon dark and difficult to photograph. The areas in the sun were lit up and better for viewing and photos.
Most people were casual sightseeing tourists. There is a ‘rim trail’ that can be hiked and bicycles can be rented. Tours, helicopters, and all manner of tourist services are available. The views at Mohave Point and Hermits Rest were especially spectacular. The clouds had cleared away and the pink and purple hues of the canyon were evident.
Bryce Canyon is one of my favorite National Parks due to its distinctive beauty. We were staying at a hotel near Zion National Park and decided to take a day and drive to Bryce since they are fairly close together. Bryce is more remote than Zion and, hence, less visited. This means you are able to drive your own vehicle to the different scenic outlooks instead of parking and taking a shuttle bus.
The roads are at the top of the canyon and you look down over the vast scenic vista. Different outlooks provide views from different vantage points and provide a different perspective of the canyon in each place. I wanted to see them all, so we drove to the very end of the canyon views road making all the stops.
Our next stop on the agenda was Zion National Park in southwest Utah. It is the fifth most visited National Park, the tour guide told us. We arrived to find the streets of Springdale, the town closest to the park, lined with parked cars in every nook and cranny and the place was crawling with young people in hiking boots and back packs.
On the first day we drove through a part of the park where vehicles were allowed. Even though it was not considered the most scenic part of the park, it was still quiet beautiful and had humongous red rock formations around every curve and mile long tunnel dug through solid rock. Cars were also crammed into every possible parking space in that area.
If you are young enough to hike and enjoy outdoor recreation, you will love the area. Go visit it now while you are able. Trail difficulty varies from easy to almost impossible. If you are my age, you will still enjoy the scenery, but you will hate the inconvenience, unbearable desert heat, and crowds. Zion is a primary example of a National Park being overwhelmed by its own popularity. It is worth seeing once, but if you want to vacation in a place not ruined by tourism and price gouging, I suggest you plan on keeping your visit as brief as possible.
Cedar Breaks National Monument is a located in the state of Utah near Cedar City. Cedar Breaks is a natural amphitheater, stretching across 3 miles, with a depth of over 2,000 feet.
The Great Salt Lake is the largest salt water lake in the western hemisphere and a well known geologic feature in Utah. It is best seen from a State Park called Antelope Island. In brochures it said not to call it a “Dead Sea” as it plays an important part in the ecosystem. I will take their word for it. It is not an attractive or a pretty lake. It is surrounded by ugly salt marshes.
Today we drove from Yellowstone to Salt Lake City. On the way, we saw the Grand Tetons, some of the most beautiful mountains in the U.S. Grand Teton National Park is only 10 miles from Yellowstone National Park. The ancient rocky mountains rise straight from the ground without foothills. The road is through a valley that runs along the side of the mountain range. The views are truly spectacular.
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