Oh what a Wonderful morning

Do you ever have times when you want to be alone? If the answer is yes, then try one of the state parks. One that is not on the list of must see parks.
Pa, Den, Nise and I spent the weekend at Pickett State Park. It's a small park with trails, water, a few cabins and NO TV or cellphone capabilities. You can call the ranger if there is an emergency, very old fashion.
If you are really hearty you can camp primitive, I'm not, so can't tell you about it.

We had a cabin that had a large living/dining area, 3 bedrooms, a small kitchen and 1 bathroom. Another bath would have been nice, however back when this park was built 1 bathroom was a luxury, especially in the backwoods of Tn. It is all stone, wood and concrete, with a delightful smell of wood burning sunk into the wood. These cabins are pushing 70 some years. They were built by the CCC during the depression and as the saying goes "built to last". I hope our great grands will have the chance to enjoy them.
During our weekend of nothing we checked out a coal mining camp just up the road in Kentucky. We were headed for Stearn's, got lost and ended up at Barthell Coal Mining Camp just down the road from Stearn's. It turned out to be the better of the two. Barthell is being rebuilt just as it was and Stearn's is a interpretive site.
You can go down into the mine if your brave enough or just see the town. We toured the town and looked into the opening of a shaft, that was enough for me.
It is off season right now and we had one of the owners as our guide. He had lots of stories and answered lots of questions. Did you know that snakes don't live in coal mines it's to cold for them. With that knowledge I may just work up enough nerve to go down one someday.
Our second day out we went to Pall Mall, Tn. one of the most beautiful places in the state. That's saying a lot as Tn. is overrun with beautiful places.
We didn't go for the view. We didn't know about it until later. We went to see the home of Alvin C. York. You might have read about him in your history book Sargent York, one of the most decorated soldiers of WWI.
If you don't know anything about him you could rent the movie "Sargent York". It's a old black and white movie. Gary Cooper plays Alvin and the movie stays very close to his real life. This man lead a remarkable life beyond the battlefield, a hero in more then one way.
We walked trails, I am no Daniel Boone I was lost most of the time, played Clue, lounged around and talked. Saturday night came with sadness and anticipation.

After all our next adventure is "Dinosaur World". Now, who wouldn't want to hurry home to get ready for that one.