October 24 -25, 2019 Cumberland Falls, Natural Arch, Devils Jump, KY then home

October 24 Thursday

This morning it was a chilly 38 degrees at 6:15 as we headed to Cumberland Falls State Resort Park.
A nice park that we've heard a lot about.  We headed first to the Falls area.

Formed 300 million years ago!  The first humans in the vicinity were paleoindians, nomadic wanderers who spent time here about 14,000 years ago.  Shawnee, Chickasaw, Cherokee and Creek Nation visited often in the 1600's. The Falls were "discovered" by pioneers in the late 1700's and the first hotel was built in 1875.

The Falls, referred to by some as "the Niagra of the South", are 68 feet high and 125 feet across. Quite wide.  There is a nice trail along the river with various vantage points.

Very busy in the Summer,  there were still quite a few folks here today.  Some were searching for gemstones at the artificial "mining company".

From the Falls we traveled across the Park to Natural Arch Scenic Area.  There are miles of sandstone cliffs in this area which were eroded by water and ice over the years leaving some interesting formations.  This natural arch is one example.

A short distance south, we stopped at Devils Jump Overlook at Blue Heron Gorge.  This is part of the National River and Recreation Area (NRRA).  There are trails and picnic areas but the area looks like wilderness for the most part.

We continue south and decide to head back towards Texas from here, rather than going farther east to the Smokies - particularly since the forecast for the next few days is rain for most of the southeast.
Some nice scenery along the way!

Greg wants to make it home in 2 days, so we push on and reach Jackson, Tennessee about 7:30PM.  Soup and a sandwich and a good night's sleep!

October 25

Greg wakes early and we hit the highway in the dark -  through Memphis and to Little Rock.  It begins to rain near Little Rock and continues all the way home.  We arrive in Spring about 3:30 in the afternoon.  5,506 miles this trip.  And, as always, it is nice to be home.

Oct 23 Coopers Rock WV and south

Wednesday, October 23

After a quick breakfast with Cindy and Ted, we take a short ride up to their club house.  A very nice facility with meeting and dining areas, pool, exercise room and more.  What a nice community!

We leave them about 9:00AM and take Highway 81 south, then 70W and 79 S towards Charleston, West Virginia. The foliage has a little more color as we get farther south.  We've heard that West Virginia has been in a bit of a drought lately, so the colors might not be as vibrant as usual.

 First stop is Coopers Rock State Park which has a scenic overlook that we've been to a few times.  It overlooks the Cheat River Gorge, where we canoed ages ago.

 Most of the park buildings, walls and trails were built by the CCC back in the 1930's and still look good.

We continue south, with a quick stop in Morgantown where we visit a Kroger, a gas station and an Arby's.  Restocking the fridge a bit!

Nice countryside! Lots of rolling mountains.

 The fog has rolled in in the "hollers" among the mountains as the sun gets lower. Hello Kentucky.



 We've decided to stay at a Walmart tonight in Huntington, which will put us close to tomorrow's destination - Cumberland Falls State Resort Park, just southwest of Corbin, Kentucky.  But tonight we are still in....what state?

 441 miles today...but its a long way still to Texas.

Tues. Oct 22 Delaware Water Gap, College Friends

Tuesday,  October 22

 Nice quiet evening at Resort World Casino.  It is 47 degrees this morning, as we turn south towards Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area.

We stop at the Bagel Station in Port Jervis, New York, for a quick breakfast.  Lots of interesting bagel choices!  I had a French Toast bagel, while Greg had a blueberry one.  Very tasty with cream cheese!

We cross into Pennsylvania at 9:00 and soon are at the Delaware Water Gap Rec Area.  We follow a sign to Raymondskill Falls.  Beautiful wooded area with nice falls.  There are some wooden stairs and viewing platforms as well.

The road through the area (209S I believe) is roughly paralleling the Delaware River, and we stop at White Pines Trailhead and walk a bit to see if we can get a view of the river.   Not a very clear one....

Finally we come to the turn for the Visitor's Center, which is a few miles.  We stop at a few smaller falls areas along the way.

 And, when we arrive we find the Visitor's Center  closed for the season.  As is the campground.   Turns out their "season" ends October 15.  But the Visitor's Center is also the start of a trail to Dingman's Falls, so we go for a nice walk through the forest.  This area has many eastern hemlock trees which unfortunately are being attacked by an asian invader which is decimating the Hemlocks.

We pass several other visitors on the way back, including two rangers who give us a few recommendations of other places to stop.

Tom's Creek is a nice picnic area, once the home of the area's 1st grist mill.  We walk the trail to the creek, which is an exceptional trout stream, we read, but it is beginning to sprinkle a bit and we turn back to the Trek.  

Eshback is a boat launch area on the river but rather unexceptional in the misty rain.  We make some pb&j sandwiches for a quick lunch, then decide to go ahead and head towards Camp Hill, PA and the LA Fitness there.  Greg lived in Camp Hill for a few years during high school, and my Grandparents lived in Camp Hill as well, but it has been a while...   It rains all the way there - about a 3-4 hour drive.

We have called some old college friends, Cindy & Ted, who live nearby in Mechanicsburg, so after the gym, we head to their house for a visit. (They live about 5 minutes from Greg's old Highschool!) They live in a very nice 55-and-up community.    Lots of fun catching up and sharing college memories.  We've only kept up via Facebook so we have lots to discuss, from travels to Grandkids and everything in between!

They've made dinner reservations at a place called Black & Bleu, where we have a terrific dinner.
What a fun evening!  And comfy bed too!

Oct 21, 2019 FDR Museum, Hudson Valley

Monday, October 21

48 degrees at 6:45AM this morning, as we get an early start.  We've decided to aim for the Franklin Delano Roosevelt Presdential Library and Museum near Poughkipsee NY, in the Hudson River valley.  Heavy traffic and slow going through Boston. Then we catch the Mass Pike

  with occasional nice colors, but most is past peak. We travel west to the Taconic Highway, a nice truck-free freeway that goes south.   Some areas have heavy fog - looks like we are in the Smokies!

We arrive at the FDR site about 9:30 and watch a short film "Rendezvous with History" while we wait for a 10:15 tour of the FDR home.

The floor of the lobby of the Welcome Center is a mosaic that shows the Roosevelt properties around Hyde Park, nearly 1600 acres.

We walk to the home where FDR was born in 1882.

 He was tutored here for his first 14 years and then went to Groton Prep school and on to Harvard.   He married Eleanor, a distant cousin, in 1905 and fathered 6 children with her, one of whom died as an infant.  When they returned to live here, two wings were added to the original house.

We tour most of the home which contains many of the original furnishings, including Eleanor's bedroom,  Franklin's bedroom, and Franklin's mother's bedroom (between the two)!

They had separate rooms after FDR contracted polio in 1921 at the age of 39.  There is an elevator that was pulled up with a rope - like a dumb waiter.

The guide tells us that the Roosevelts went to great lengths to hide FDR's lower body.  He had great upper body strength and was able to walk short distances, basically carrying his useless lower limbs, in order to appear more healthy and able.  At that time, disability of body was often associated with mental disability, so they avoided that appearance whenever possible.  This is the car specially designed for him so that he could be seen driving.

The coach house and stables, built in 1886 are nearby, as are the lovely gardens where both Franklin and Eleanor are buried.

The FDR Museum is the first presidential museum in the US and the only one that an active President helped to establish.

 It primarily it traces world events during his unprecedented four terms, beginning with the Great Depression.

This is FDR's study which he used often when working on the library.

There is also some information about Eleanor and her influence and involvement in the world events. She was an early proponent of racial equality and actually had threats to her life because of it, as well as a hefty FBI file.

The Four Freedoms - Freedom from Want,  Freedom of Speech, Freedom of Worship, and Freedom from Fear were the cornerstone of his initial successful campaign.   His New Deal provided aid and employment to many with public works programs like  the CCC.  Thousands of trees were planted to combat the dust bowl conditions. Social Security was another touch stone.

His friendship with Winston Churchill  is highlighted in this garden which also shows a part of the Berlin Wall.

  Japan's attack at Pearl Harbor made US involvement in WWII unquestionable.  WWII really boosted the sagging US economy and there are some who wonder if FDR's programs would have succeeded without the war.

After the museum, we drove a few miles to Val-Kill Cottage and Stone Cottage.

Val-Kill was started by Eleanor and a few of her friends to help the local economy.  Local people were employed to build furniture, metalwork and weaving.   After the war, the business closed, but Eleanor converted the cottage to a home - an escape for her and family, and after FDR's death it became her permanent home where she died in 1962.

The day is mostly gone, so we decide to spend the night at Resort World Casino in Monticello, New York - the southern edge of the Catskills.

We have a nice dinner and Beth makes her usual donation.