We awoke to this view today. As my sweet daughter Casey once said, “Daddy its froggy out there”. Lucky we are not traveling today by water.
It was a visit to hallowed ground. Shiloh, bloody Shiloh, where 23,000 men died in two days of fighting. This was a turning point of the war in the west. Grant lost nearly 2,000 more men than the Confederates under Johnson but Johnson was slain and the South’s line in the western theater was broken. One wonders if all these fine young men had not fallen how different this country might be today. But this can be said of any war I suppose. Such feats of bravery and sacrifice will not be seen again.
It was a moving experience and humbling to visit there. A re-enactment team was on site to show life in a winter camp. We could have spent days there and not see it all but we got a nice flavor.
You can get a glimpse of our courtesy van in one picture. It was a small Ford utility vehicle. Gets 30mpg and they have several here. All you have to do is fill them back up.
A few interesting sights as we left Shiloh. A tree with huge burls in it. These would be a woodworkers dream but they are in a National Park. An ancient corncrib which is for sale. Some enterprizing artist will make something from it. An old BBQ joint named 3 Way Hogg Shop sits abandoned though we ate some of the best BBQ I ever tasted just down the road at R&B’s BBQ. They had some pickled tomatoes from a company called Bay Valley that were spectacular on a salad and on a BBQ sandwich.
Back at the docks I washed the boat in a bathing suit! People on the dock gathered in coats to watch and chat. It did not seem that cold to me and needed to be done. Tonight our friends Ken and Pat from $20 Bucks are coming over to look at a CD Video of the journey we face down the Tenn-Tom.
Oh by the way, for those who have emailed me about the Chicken Boat; I hate to plug a competing website but you can read their entire story at
wewillnotdrown@blogspot.com . They disappeared sometime in the night and if I did not have the pictures I would think I dreamed it all.
