"The Illustrated Directory of Uniforms, Weapons, and Equipment of the Civil War" Edited by David Miller

I was at a Half Price Books in Indianapolis recently, and I found this great treasure.  David Miller put out the book, "The Illustrated Directory of Uniforms, Weapons, and Equipment of the Civil War" back in 2001- so this one is coming up on 2 decades old!  AND, Miller is BRITISH!

Anyway, David Miller REALLY did an amazing job with this small book (Its over 450 pages long, but is made pocket sized- if you had a baggy pocket).  There are TONS of great, color photos of actual weapons and uniforms.  PLUS, there are a lot of VERY WELL DONE drawings.  As a figure painter, this is going to be a great resource.

This is the kind of book I will be keeping handy....  This is now one of my favorite reference books and I can easily say that it gets my highest possible recommendation!  I wish I had come across it sooner!

Sweetwater Bookshop- Campbellsville, KY

I wanted to give a quick endorsement to a GREAT little independent book store in Campbellsville....  Sweetwater Bookshop!

We've been in a couple of times and have had some great finds.  On this day, we found some Amish mystery books for my mother in law!  They have a nice local author section, and some other related items!

We talked to a very friendly lady running the shop about books, the local community, travelling, and Mammoth Cave!

This is just a nice shop to visit when you are in the area.....  As always, when visiting an independent bookstore, treat yourself to something special and support a place that isn't a chain!

"Making Their Mark: The Signature of Slavery at Mammoth Cave" by Joy Medley Lyons

Jerry Bransford mentioned that there was a great book about his family's history in the gift shop at Mammoth Cave.

I picked up "Making Their Mark:  The Signature of Slavery at Mammoth Cave" by Joy Medley Lyons for $7!  At that price, this would be a nice souvenir to pick up for a young reader.

PLUS, its a great, easy read.  There are lots of good photos.  It also gives an easy to follow and understand history of the early slave guides at the cave.

AND, the book literally tracks back the 5 generations of Bransfords that have been tightly linked to Mammoth Cave.

There is a disconnect that occurs around 1939 when the National Park takes over...  and all the guides are white.

MUCH is lost to history concerning the early guides- where they came from and sometimes even what happened to them after their guide careers.  Luckily, there are journals and letters that mention and describe the guides so we do get to know them.  There are a few photos, and a couple of sketches of the very early guides too.

Jerry Bransford at the Self Guided Mammoth Cave Discovery Tour Mammoth Cave National Park

We stopped by Mammoth Cave AGAIN the other day...  We love the place.

We ended up doing the Self Guided Discovery Tour as we had heard that Jerry Bransford would be helping out on this tour!  I had actually talked to Jerry before, and even traded emails with him, but I really wanted to see him in the cave, guiding, as members of his family have been doing since probably the late 1830s!  His family members were original guides to the cave.

So, we bought tickets for the self guided tour, and walked the slope down to the cave entrance.

The tour started at 10 (though this tour was a bit informal and self guided....  you could start the tour really any time you wanted to).  We got there right when they opened up and a couple of friendly young guides went over basic cave rules before letting us in.

We walked down into the cave and through the doors to get in.  We made our way to the saltpeter mining area at the front of the cave.

Jerry Bransford was there offering interpretation.

Jerry told the cave visitors about saltpeter production and how the cave was used for that during the War of 1812.  He gave a brief history on people visiting and exploring the cave.  He did briefly mention his own legacy, being a 5th generation guide, but he kept his talk about the cave.

We chatted with Jerry briefly but he had more visitors coming by.  We went further into the cave to see what else was on display.

We found an area where shoes, torches, and other man made/used items were preserved and displayed.

We walked around, at our own pace, and enjoyed casually exploring the cave.  We had actually been through this area many times before on other tours, but this was a fun way to see it again.

We were actually in the cave for well over an hour,
but we could have stayed longer.  The guides told us that people can do the self guided tour in as little as half an hour if they are quick, of they may read everything and take their time, which would probably take an hour and a half.

This would be a great tour for an elderly person or even a family with kids, since you can move at your own pace, and take as much time as you want.  This would also be a great tour for a traveler passing through the area on a road trip who had a limited period of time.

We ended up catching up with Jerry after the tour.  He is a very nice and friendly person who was great to talk to in general.  In my books, he is an exciting person with a VERY direct link to the past that really no one else does.  It is amazing that he is continuing his family tradition and it was a treat getting to see him in action as a guide!

Mammoth Cave National Park Visitor Center

You know I make my way to the Mammoth Cave area several times a year.  I'm always looking for an excuse to get to the Cave.

I think that there are so many cool things going on there......  sometimes you overlook some of the great things at the park.

Well, I made a point to swing through the museum at the visitor center as I hadn't done that in some time.  Here are just a few photos!

Abraham Lincoln Library and Museum at LMU in Tennessee

I've been to almost every museum and historic location associated with Abe Lincoln.  I've visited some of them multiple times, but I had yet to make it to the Abraham Lincoln Library and Museum on the campus of Lincoln Memorial University in Harrogate Tennessee.

Well, a friend told me that the museum would be closing soon!  THANKFULLY, not forever but just for a the next year or so.  They are doing BIG renovations!

So, we ended up trucking down to Harrogate so that we could be there before they take a break!  We were there the last day it was open before the renovations!

First off, I have actually passed by here a few times.  The museum is right off the main road....  not hard to find at all.  This is a great stop to add to a trip to the Cumberland Gap.

The museum had a TON of events going on this day.  They had pop and cake right when you walked in!  We got there a little after opening and some of the beautiful cake was already gone!

On this festive day there was no admission to the museum!  AND, there was a 50% off sale in the gift shop!

Right after walking in to the museum, we saw an area with postcards where we were encouraged to write a note to ourselves in 2020.  I thought this was a BRILLIANT idea on the museum's part.  They will mail these postcards to you after the newly renovated museum opens back up!  We LOVED this idea!

We quickly found out that another special bonus to coming on this day was that they were giving timed tours INSIDE of their vault!  we were lucky enough to get in on one of these tours and we were able to get a very close look at some Holy Grail level items.

We were shown hand written letters- written and signed by Robert E. Lee and US Grant!  A document signed by Lincoln was laid out on a table too.  These documents were shown to us on a table without a glass barrier!  It was very exciting to look at documents like this!

Also shown was a small case with a small cut of Honest Abe's hair!

AND, passed around for all to actually hold in their hand (it was in a protective case) was a TICKET from Ford's Theatre from the night our 16th President was shot!

Looking at these items was easily worth our drive to the museum.....  and any one of them would be a great centerpiece for most other museums.  We were also allowed to ask the curator questions about the museum.

We asked about some of the more odd items they have.  He mentioned that the museum owns a lot of "interesting art."  He also told us that the museum does turn down items often.  He mentioned a VERY strange piece of art that an artist offered (the artist didn't offer to donate it, but they wanted $50,000 for the item!).

We walked around the museum for some time after viewing the vault.  There are some epic statues.  I always love seeing anything created by Borglum.  That stuff is here.

There were personal items on display, and paintings.  There was a china set owned by the Lincoln family.

There were impressive weapons and clothes displays from the Civil War.  There were dioramas.  There was a wall of modern art pieces.

You know that on the way out, I dropped some coin at the gift shop.  I picked up some postcards, magnets, and some other small items.

We made a point to thank the staff and let them know how much we enjoyed our visit.

I honestly can't wait to so this museum when it reopens!

Gondolier Italian Restaurant in Harrogate Tennessee

While we were in the Cumberland Gap area...  our buddy from Middlesboro told us we had to eat at a great Italian restaurant he knew about.

We said sure, and we were very surprised and excited when we realized that we were getting to visit ANOTHER Gondolier!  There is one in the Great Smoky Mountains that we love!

Gondolier just makes great, reasonably priced Italian food.  You never leave hungry and they always have friendly people working there.

This is a nice chain making great food!  Check them out when you can!

Gap Cave, Virginia

Our main goal for visiting the Cumberland Gap area on this day was going to "Gap Cave" which was formerly known as Cudjo's Cave.

The hours are limited and seasonal.  We had tried to visit before, but could just never time things out right.

So, we arrived on a Saturday morning and waited for the ranger guide to arrive.  Other groups arrived to the small parking lot to wait.

Our guides came and each group paid their small fee (I think it was $8 each) and received an electric lantern to carry.

We had a great guide named Brittany who would lead as we took a good hike to the entrance of the the cave.  She told us about the old road that went through the area until 1996 when the tunnel was built and went into use.  The trail we were walking on was that former road used for cars...  and before that used by explorers to the area.  The park had also replanted trees in the area and they have tried to get it back to the parks earlier appearance.

We were told that the previous trees there (which were logged long ago) were huge, and it would take 6 men to wrap their arms around them.

The tour had a very primitive feel  with none of the common show cave lights.  Our lanterns were it.

The tour was listed as moderately strenuous and I felt like it was a good workout.  Brittany kept the pace reasonable though, and we stopped to discuss the trail and parts of the cave as we explored.

Our guide said that she wasn't sure if we would see bats, but we did!  In fact, we had a rare moment where one came and flew right past our group as we stood discussing the cave!  We also saw a couple of salamanders!

The cave was dark and winding but our guide said she felt like she could probably make it through without light at all!  I thought that was pretty impressive considering that there was one metal staircase we had to navigate (that rattled a bit) and the longest set of stairs was a bit of a tight squeeze.


My friend Rick was on this trip with us, and he grew up in Middlesboro.  He said that he took the cave tour, he thought in the early 90s when it was Cudjo's Cavern.  He thought that they drove up to the entrance and he did not remember the metal stairs.

Brittany told us that they did clean the cave out when the National Parks took it over.  There is, however, an issue with what is historic vs what is garbage.  Depending on the age of the trash, it might be considered historic, and they would have to leave it alone.  I did not notice any "historic trash" on our tour.

At the end of the cave tour and the hike back, the guides did spray a cleaner on the bottom of everyone's shoes to help prevent the spread of white-nose syndrome in bats.

We would later see Brittany again at the main Cumberland Gab visitor center!  You could tell that she loved her job working for the parks!

Cumberland Gap Visitor Center, Middlesboro KY Postcard

"In 1775 Daniel Boone aided by thirty axemen, blazed the Wilderness Trail through Cumberland to Boonesborough, KY".

Ths unused postcard is probably from the 1970s.

Destination Truth:Memoirs of a Monster Hunter by Josh Gates

We've really enjoyed watching Josh Gates whenever we can...  in whatever show he is on!

I figured it might be fun to read his book, so I picked it up not too long ago.  It was very enjoyable!

The book flows just like one of his shows (its funny, witty, but mostly interesting just hearing him talk about his travels and his thoughts on whatever he is investigating).

He gives a very fun story about how he got his job on his first show by pretty much showing up looking dirty and rugged.

I REALLY enjoyed hearing about Josh's searching for odd cryptids, finding footprints, trying to research their existence, etc.  He also talks openly about his feelings on whether or not the critters are real or not.

Greetings from Reelfoot Lake, Tiptonville, TN

I have visited the Reelfoot Lake area with my dad.  VERY nice section of western Tennessee.

Sugarlands Visitor Center- Gatlinburg TN

I am guessing this undated postcard was sold over half a century ago!  The Sugarlands visitor center is still there, and is usually crowded when I'm there!

Crockett's 1875 Breakfast Camp Gatlinburg, TN

We've driven by Crockett's 1875 Breakfast Camp a lot, but we've never gone in.  Mostly because there is usually a long line out the door!

We got up early though, and got there right when they opened.  We were able to get seated immediately.

The menu is printed like an old newspaper, with articles about the restaurant and its history printed in it.  We kept ours as a souvenir.

There is a Civil War connection here...  and I am always interested in anything "Crockett" related....  though this isn't connected to the legendary Tennessean/Texan.

The food was GREAT!  Check out those photos!

Inside looks like a great old cabin, and it feels very authentic.