2021-03-24: Turning a 1400 Mile Drive into a 3404 Mile Road Trip! Day 2 in Virginia, DC, Maryland, and Pennsylvania

On this Day 2 of our 3400 mile road trip from NC to TX, taking the long route, we geocached our way from Virginia through Maryland, DC, West Virginia, and into Pennsylvania history. Picking up new geocaching counties along the way, we were sightseeing places of Revolutionary and Civil War prominence that included churches, houses, cemeteries and more. So come join us as we travel back in time...

Our first two geocaches were quick urban hides to get credit for the county. In Virginia, there are not only the counties but also some of the larger cities have their own "boundaries" separate from the county. So the first of the geocaches was for Spotsylvania County (GC1FYJ1) and the other just a few blocks away was located within Fredericksburg (GC82XNE).

Our next geocache and county was up the road into Stafford County. It was a old virtual geocache at a piece of Civil War history (GCB1C). This huge stone block base is all that remains of a train bridge which spanned the Potomac Creek. The Richmond, Fredericksburg, and Potomac Railroad crossing this bridge was a major supply route for Confederate troops along the river. Early 1862, the troops were ordered to abandoned their positions here. The advancing Union troops found the bridge destroyed in an effort to slow them down. In May 1862, engineer Herman Haupt supervised the unskilled Union army soldiers in harvesting two million feet of lumber and reconstructing the bridge in just nine days (see photo at top of page). Over the next three years and continued destruction by the Confederates, the bridge was rebuilt four times using this same foundation. You can see the modern roadway through the trees on the right side.

Our next "county" geocache, one of Virginia's separate townships, was in Falls Church. Just a quick parking lot LPC (light post cache) (GC3XCZE), but it fills in a blank on the county map and keeps us moving forward.

Our next two geocaches are practically in the same spot at the intersecting corners of Arlington County, Fairfax County and Falls Church. Located in a small park in a residential neighborhood is the original 1791 survey stone marking the proposed western corner of the diamond shaped District of Columbia for the newly formed United States Capital. Maryland was donating land NE of the Potomac River, while Virginia was to donate land SW of the river forming the diamond shape. However, Virginia rescinded and we have the current half-diamond configuration of Washington D.C. today. The two geocaches located here are a virtual for the survey marker (GC6781) and a Challenge for finding 300 Virtual caches (GC572WE).

Just a short distance away, and in Fairfax County, is another Virtual geocache at this 9-11 Memorial (GCA072). There are a LOT of virtual caches in and around Washington DC, but we don't have the time at this point to get to them all. So we just try and grab a couple every time we pass through the area.

In an effort to not get too bogged down and spend the entire day in Virginia, I make another quick park & grab parking lot LPC find in Loudoun County (GC3V6QF).

We add Clarke County to our map by picking up a geocache in the County Seat of Berryville (GCXGQF). From the historical marker: "The year after Clarke County was formed in 1836, construction began on a brick courthouse based on county justice David Meade's design. The courthouse was remodeled in the Neoclassical style about 1850 when the portico and copula were added. Portraits of locally prominent judges and lawyers from the 1840's to the present are displayed in the courtroom. The last public hanging in Clarke County occurred here in 1905."

There was much to see around the courthouse square. One of which is this statue erected as a memorial to those Clarke County residents who fought and died during the Civil War defending states rights and the Confederacy.

The other was the Grace Episcopal Church and Graveyard erected in 1832. Do you know what the difference between a cemetery and a graveyard? Originally graveyards were burial grounds on church property, whereas cemeteries were land specifically designated for burials. Some very old churches actually have clergy or other very prominent members buried WITHIN the church under the floor. Their flat headstones would be down the isles between the pews.

My next two geocaches are in the Winchester Township. On previous roadtrips through Virginia I had just skipped the small townships, instead just focusing on the larger and rural counties. But I'm gonna have to fill these in on the map sooner or later. Might as well get to working on them.

During the Civil War, the Union and Confederate armies each used the Frederick County Courthouse (GC4XT0K) as a hospital and a prison. The Greek revival style courthouse was completed in 1840. It was the third courthouse constructed on this location. In 1758, the first courthouse was the site of George Washington's first election to office, when voters here elected him a member of the Virginia House of Burgesses.

Though these buildings have not been around that long, Colonel James Wood, a native of Winchester, England, laid out and founded the new Winchester in Virginia prior to 1743. It received a charter of incorporation from the colonial legislature in February 1752. Colonel Wood was the first surveyor of Orange County from which the county of Frederick was carved by an act of the House of Burgesses passed in 1738.

The Taylor Hotel, also our next virtual geocache (GC890KN), was a major stopping point for travelers because of its location on the Valley Turnpike and also was the center of town life. During the Civil War it was the headquarters for several commanders, most notably Confederate General Thomas J. "Stonewall" Jackson. This is the Taylor Hotel below as it looks today.

Arriving in November 1861, his stay at the hotel was short. Continuing crowds of people eager to meet the famous Stonewall Jackson, he moved a few days later to a private residence of the Lewis T. Moore house, which is now the Stonewall Jackson Headquarters Museum (GC4XT6Y) pictured below. He used this as his headquarters until March 1862 when he left Winchester to begin his Valley Campaign.

Finally exiting Virginia and making our way into West Virginia, our next stop was in the town of Middleway to grab a geocache for Jefferson County (GCM0TN). From the historical marker: Middleway, founded in the late 1700's, flourished as a trading center for most of the 1800's. About 1820, the Lutherans and German Reformed congregations joined together to build this church. Some years elapsed and the building was erected and finally the Presbyterians agreed to bear one third of the cost. Services were alternated, thus the name Union Church.

As the village declined, the Union Church and its cemetery deteriorated. In a more recent act of destruction, vandals smashed tombstones with bats and knocked others askew. The nearby Grace Episcopal Church, built in 1851, (pictured below), having acquired the forsaken property, stepped in and has restored the site to its former dignity.

For Berkeley County, I stop for one of the famous WVTim gadget caches. Since 2012, it has had over 1400 finders and awarded nearly 700 favorite points. Located on the grounds of a fire station, it's made to look like an old fire house. I'm not gonna give you the GC code to this one cause I'm gonna tell you how it works. In order to open the compartment that contains the log sheet, you must first open the compartment which contains a package of balloons. Insert the balloon into tube on the side leaving enough around the tube for you to blow on and inflate the balloon. As the balloon expands on the inside, it opens the door containing the swag and log sheet. A fairly simple gadget cache but fun none the less. Oh and please take your balloon with you as you don't want another cacher to using the same one as you.

Up next in Morgan County, I stopped for a quick guard rail cache (GC4AX47) but still a significant point of history. From this point along the banks of the Upper Potomac River, Stonewall Jackson began shelling Hancock, Maryland from Orrick's Hill, January 5, 1862 after it refused to surrender Jackson's men were able to plunder a large cache of rifles, ammo, and blankets from a supply train that came into Alpine Station. After destroying remaining supplies, the B&O Railway track and the bridge over the Great Cacapon, Jackson marched his army of 8,500 men to Romney and captured it.

Crossing the bridge over into Maryland, we followed the river westbound until we got to that narrow piece of Maryland that separates West Virginia from Pennsylvania. Turning north a few hundred feet into Pennsylvania for our next geocache in PA's Fulton County and a significant piece of survey history. Here is located a stone survey marker for the Mason-Dixon Line (GC2BCKX).

The Mason–Dixon Line was surveyed between 1763 and 1767 by Charles Mason and Jeremiah Dixon in the resolution of a border dispute between British colonies in Colonial America. The disputants engaged an expert British team, astronomer Charles Mason and surveyor Jeremiah Dixon, to survey what became known as the Mason–Dixon Line. It cost the Calverts of Maryland and the Penns of Pennsylvania £3,512/9 to have 244 miles surveyed with such accuracy. To them the money was well spent, for in a new country there was no other way of establishing ownership.

Mason and Dixon's actual survey line began to the south of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and extended from a benchmark east to the Delaware River and west to what was then the boundary with western Virginia. The surveyors also fixed the boundary between Delaware and Pennsylvania and the approximately north–south portion of the boundary between Delaware and Maryland. Most of the Delaware–Pennsylvania boundary is an arc, and the Delaware–Maryland boundary does not run truly north-south because it was intended to bisect the Delmarva Peninsula rather than follow a meridian.

And finally our last geocache of the day was a virtual (GCED74) at the Sideling Hill Welcome Center on I-68. The Interstate 68 highway through Maryland is also known as the National Freeway. It runs parallel to US-40 and the original National Road which was built in the 1800's. I'll talk more about the National Road more next week when we visit some of the remnants along the way including the first toll booth in the United States.

That's it for today. To follow along on our travels and keep up with my latest blogs, you may do so here of course by clicking the "Follow" button to the right. But also by using one or more of your favorite of these social media platforms: Facebook, MeWe, Gab, Reddit, Parlor, Twitter, RVillage, GETTR, Instagram, and TruthSocial. These all link directly to my profiles. Again, please feel free to comment and / or share.

2021-03-23: Turning a 1400 Mile Drive into a 3404 Mile Road Trip! Day 1 in North Carolina and Virginia

WOW! What a roadtrip! So after two weeks, we finished up in Maiden, NC and now have to drive back to McCamey, TX to start the next project. Google maps says that it should only take 21 hours and 1400 miles. But where's the fun in that? BORING!! This wouldn't be the AwayWeGo Geocaching Adventures blog if we did that. NOPE, we took the LONG way back to Texas. It ended up taking us 12 days and 3404 miles later to reach our destination! So I hope you'll join us over these next few weeks as I bring you the stories and photos of the places we've discovered geocaching and sightseeing along the rural backroads and byways of the upper mid-west. So let's get started with Day 1 in North Carolina and Virginia...

Our first stop after checking out of the Lake Norman RV Resort on this cool spring morning, was for a virtual geocache (GC7B67D) in the historic town of Hillsborough, NC. On the grounds of the 1768 St. Mathews Church, later to become the Presbyterian Church, is the Old Town Cemetery. Not a traditional churchyard burial ground, it is one of North Carolina's oldest municipal cemeteries, established in 1757 by the Colonial Assembly and is the final resting place of several people who are significant to North Carolina history.

Among those buried here are William Hooper (1742-1790), who studied law in his native Massachusetts before moving to North Carolina where he established a law firm first in Wilmington and then Hillsborough. His gravestone lists several of his accomplishments, his greatest one was the signing of the Declaration of Independence. In 1894, Hooper's gravestone, and perhaps some of his remains, were moved to the Guilford Court House Revolutionary War battlefield. After a statue of Hooper was erected a few years later, the gravestone was returned to Hillsborough.

The tallest headstone is an obelisk honoring William Alexander Graham (1804-1875), who was governor, a United States Senator, and vice-presidential candidate.

The oldest part of the cemetery is just north of the church buildings in what now appears to be an empty field. In 2016, a ground-penetrating radar revealed that at least 100 graves are located there. The original grave markers, probably rough fieldstones or carved and painted wood have long vanished.

The only other stop in North Carolina on this trip was to make up for a previous DNF, see previous blog. Located in Chapel Hill was a geocache for the North Carolina County Challenge. I first attempted the geocache back in 2019 while working on another project and taking a roadtrip to pickup new counties. At that time of my visit the cache was missing so I wasn't able to sign the logsheet. Last year I completed the last couple of missing counties I needed to complete the state, but wasn't able to make it back to avenge my DNF. Upon this return trip, I noticed a new earthcache was placed at the outdoor amphitheater. So we gathered the needed answers to submit for the find.

Then we made the short hike through the park into the woods to find the ammo can replacement to claim a find for finding a cache in ALL 100 North Carolina Counties (GC19YRC)!

Crossing over into Virginia, it's back to focusing on county caching, virtuals, and other places of interest. First up were a pair of geocaches in Brunswick County and the town of Alberta. Usually not something I want to do when I don't want to spend a lot of time and that is hunt for a train hide geocache (GC80MYC). However this one was found pretty quickly and I moved a few blocks down the road.

We drove to another cache (GC8WD4N) just down the road at the sight of the original school house. I was hoping to find the remains of the school or something. But it was demolished in the 1980's and nothing remains except the short entry road to an empty field. I did find the geocache though.

Every now and then you get the unexpected surprise of finding something interesting when geocaching and sightseeing along the backroads during a road trip. The old bank building, now abandoned, is still standing on Main Street and 1st. I did a quick search to try and find some history on the building but didn't have any luck. It looks like a similar building I saw down in a small town along the Rio Grande in South Texas.

Driving north on US-1 into Dinwiddie County, we passed by this old motel and I just had to stop and get a photo of it. Located in McKenney, VA, the Wilmurt's Motel first opened in the 1930's as Wilmurt's Lunch Room, Cabins, and an Esso Gas station. As automobile travel grew in popularity after WWII, it expanded into a motor court / motel style business and did away with the cabins. It finally closed in the early 2000's and sits empty.

For this counties cache, we drove up to the town of Dewitt at the old fire tower (GC84NWP). The fire tower is no longer in service but at one time there were more than 150 fire towers scattered all across Virginia and were used to detect forest fires. Tower operators would sit up in the small room at the top mostly during the spring and look for smoke columns. When they saw one they would check with a neighboring tower for a cross reference and then call or radio a forestry person who would respond. Virginia on average has about 1,000 wildfires each year.

When we got to the city of Richmond, we had originally intended to find the virtual geocache at one of the large cemeteries that contain some significant interments of Virginia history. However by the time we got there they were just closing the gates so we couldn't get in.

So we drove over to the Virginia War Memorial for the virtual geocache there (GC7B656). In 1950, five years after the end of World War II, the Virginia General Assembly authorized the building of a memorial to honor and remember the nearly 10,000 Virginians who made the ultimate sacrifice serving in the U.S Armed Forces. A design was chosen, as was the location – nearly five acres overlooking the James River and downtown Richmond along U.S. Routes 1 and 301, the primary route from Maine to Florida before the construction of Interstate 95. As construction began, America entered the Korean War and plans were changed to include the heroes of this conflict. Construction was completed in 1955 and the Memorial was officially dedicated on February 29, 1956. The Memorial celebrated its 60th anniversary in 2016. The photo of the statue at the top of this page is looking through the center of this building below.

Our final geocaching stop for the day was in Hanover County at the I-95 Travel Bug Hotel (GC8132F). By now it was around 7:30 PM and we were hungry and tired ourselves and still needed to figure out where we were gonna stay for the night. So stop by next week when I'll show you Day 2 traveling through Virginia, Maryland, and West Virginia's colonial history, Revolutionary and Civil War sites and more.

To follow along on our travels and keep up with my latest blogs, you may do so here of course by clicking the "Follow" button to the right. But also by using one or more of your favorite of these social media platforms: Facebook, MeWe, Gab, Reddit, Parlor, Twitter, RVillage, GETTR, Instagram, and TruthSocial. These all link directly to my profiles. Again, please feel free to comment and / or share.

2021-03-05: Touring the Mississippi Gulf Coast for History and Lighthouses

Finishing up the eastbound segment of our huge looping roadtrip around the east half of the United States, we followed the Mississippi Gulf Coast to check out some lighthouses and other historical sites. Obviously picking up some geocaches along the way too. So join us as we exit the Interstate, drop down to the backroads highway of US-90, and let's see what (and who) we found...

Our first geocaching stop was for a virtual geocache (GCED4C) at the statue of French explorer Jean Baptiste Le Moyne. Born in Montreal, New France (now Canada) in 1680, he landed and explored this area of Bay St Louis, MS in 1699. He was appointed governor of French Louisiana several times  in the early 1700's. Also known as Sieur de Bienville, he died while in Paris, France in 1767.

Moving along to Gulfport, MS, we come to our first lighthouse. Ship Island is located out in the Gulf of Mexico, about 12 miles south of Gulfport. The island got its name because it was often used by early explorers and larger ships to anchor, sending smaller boats navigating the shallower waters to the mainland. With the efforts of Congressman, and later as Senator, Jefferson Davis in the 1840's, Ship Island finally got its first lighthouse built in 1853. It was a 45-foot round tower made of brick.

In 1861, Confederate soldiers abandoned the fort and lighthouse on the island and returned to the mainland. They set the structures on fire to make it more difficult for Union troops to use the lighthouse to aid in navigating the waters. However, Union forces occupied the island before long and had the lighthouse operational once again by late 1862. In 1886, the brick lighthouse was considered unsafe and a square wooden lighthouse was constructed later that year. The lighthouse continued operating by the U.S. Coast Guard until 1957.

In 1959, a private use permit was granted to Philip Duvic who renovated the bottom floor to a kitchen and bathroom, second floor into women's quarters, third floor into a men's dorm, and the top floor a honeymoon suite. He eventually purchased the lighthouse in 1965 when the Coast Guard put lighthouses up for sale.

In 1969, Hurricane Camille severely damaged the wooden structure. And in June 1972, two campers lit a campfire too close for the windy conditions and caught the lighthouse on fire, completely destroying it. In 1999, a replica lighthouse was built on the island but destroyed in 2005 by Hurricane Katrina. And finally, another replica (pictured) was built in 2011, but not on Ship Island. This time right on US-90 in Gulfport making it more accessible to tourists.

I also grabbed the geocache near the lighthouse (GC6ZKCN) before driving off to the next location.

Further east down the beach and a block off of US-90, you'll find this red-brick building and our next virtual geocache (GCD69F). The Mississippi City Courthouse building was originally constructed in 1893 as part of the Harrison County Clerks office, the "Old Courthouse." It was the last remaining structure associated with a complex of courthouse buildings in Mississippi City, which served as the county seat from 1841 until 1902. After that the county seat was moved to Gulfport. The original building was destroyed during Hurricane Katrina in 2005. This replica you now see was constructed in 2009.

Moving on over to Biloxi, we come to one of the lessor known lighthouses on the Gulf Coast. Constructed in 1965 as part of the Broadwater Beach Resort, the resort was destroyed by Hurricane Camille in 1969. Rebuilt as the President Casino in 1992, it too was destroyed in 2005 by Hurricane Katrina. This is all that remains. Even the geocache hidden near the base tends to disappear often and I had to DNF that one (GC6DTPB).

The Biloxi Lighthouse (GC7B8V6) was one of three Mississippi Sound lighthouses authorized in 1847 by legislation sponsored by Mississippi Representative Jefferson Davis. The Biloxi Lighthouse was erected in 1848 and was one of the first cast-iron lighthouses in the South. It has survived two of the deadliest hurricanes in Gulf Coast history, Camille in 1969 and Katrina in 2005. Katrina’s record-breaking storm surge crested at 27.8 feet above mean sea level. It destroyed nearly the entire city, but the lighthouse remained standing.

One of the features of this lighthouse is that it contains a webcam. You can login to the live feed from your smartphone to take that unique selfie as if you were both on the ground and up inside the lighthouse. Yep, that's me down in the lower left corner by the light post.

Our final stop was in Ocean Springs, MS for another virtual geocache (GCEC3D) at the Mississippi Vietnam Veteran's Memorial.

Making our way back to Interstate 10, yeah I know it sounds boring, but we have to get to Central Florida. We spent the following day with family and the next morning saying my last goodbye at my father's funeral. After the funeral we had to get back on the road up to North Carolina where we return to the Maiden Creek solar project for a couple weeks of touch up work. Then we head back to Texas for the next project. But we'll be taking the LOOOONG WAY back via the northern route! So be sure to check back in soon. Until next time...

To follow along on our travels and keep up with my latest blogs, you may do so here of course by clicking the "Follow" button to the right. But also by using one or more of your favorite of these social media platforms: Facebook, MeWe, Gab, Reddit, Parlor, Twitter, RVillage, GETTR, Instagram, and TruthSocial. These all link directly to my profiles. Again, please feel free to comment and / or share.

2020-10-19: Westbound Roadtrip Through Tennessee Civil War History and a Walking Tall Sheriff

Here we are on Day #2 of our westbound roadtrip. Today's trip took us from the Civil War history in Chattanooga through the backroads along the southern route of Tennessee towards Memphis. There's a lot of sightseeing to do, a lot of new geocaches to find, and new counties to add to my map. So climb aboard and let's go for a drive...

With its railroads and riverboats, the city of Chattanooga was a vital transportation center during the Civil War. Both armies recognized its importance. In the late summer and fall of 1863, several key military actions decided the fate of Chattanooga, and helped determine the fate of the Confederacy.

September 18-20: About 10 miles south of Chattanooga near West Chickamauga Creek, Confederate forces defeated the Union Army in a bloody two-day battle. The Federals withdrew to Chattanooga and fortified the city.

September 22 - November 23: Confederates laid siege to the city of Chattanooga to force the Federals to surrender. Confederates occupied positions along the Tennessee River, Missionary Ridge, and Lookout Mountain. In late October, the besieged and hungry Federals managed to open a supply line through Lookout Valley into the city. With fresh troops and supplies, they were ready to fight by late November. On November 23rd, Union troops stormed and captured Orchard Knob, a hill to the east of their defense line in the city.

November 24: Union forces drove the Confederates from their position on Lookout Mountain. Because the mountain was partially shrouded by fog, the action was also called the "Battle Above the Clouds." The following day, Union forces stormed and shattered Confederate unites occupying Missionary Ridge. The siege was broken and Chattanooga became the Federal base from which Maj General William T Sherman would launch his Atlanta campaign in the spring of 1864.

Point Park preserves strategic high ground captured by Union soldiers during the Battle of Lookout Mountain in 1863. Today it is part of Chickamauga and Chattanooga National Military Park and the location of our first virtual geocache (GC41C9). The New York Peace Monument, the centerpiece of the park, symbolizes the reconciliation of the North and South.

Driving down off Lookout Mountain, I made a stop near the base of the Incline Railway for our next virtual geocache (GCMFYC). The Incline Railway up historic Lookout Mountain is the world's steepest passenger railway. The first Incline up Lookout Mountain opened in 1887. It ran from the 38th Street area in St. Elmo to just below the Point. The second Incline, engineered by John Crass, opened November 16, 1895, and is the Incline that is still in operation today. The success of the second Incline was the primary reason that the first Incline closed in 1899.

The incline, 1,972 feet long and rising 1,450 feet, is superbly designed to suit its location. It makes use of a variable grade, ranging up to 72.7 percent near the top, to compensate for the changing weight of the cables as its cars move. One of the cars has flanges on the inside of its wheels, the other on the outside, allowing the cars to pass midway with no moving parts in the track turnouts. Both cars have self-contained emergency brakes. Originally powered by steam, the incline now is driven by two 100-horsepower motors. The latest evolution of the incline cars were just recently installed in March 2020.

Robert Craven built the first house on the hillside of Lookout Mountain in 1856. Seven years later, the Confederate Army occupied Lookout Mountain and Craven's house became the headquarters of Brig. Gen. Edward C. Walthall. On November 24, 1863, Union troops stormed the mountain and pushed the Confederates around to the north end.

When Robert Craven returned to his home after the battle, he found little of his home standing except the basement, the chimney, and the stone dairy. In addition to artillery damage, soldiers had stripped the house looking for souvenirs and firewood. The Cravens rebuilt the house as it currently stands.

Many of the Civil War Battlegrounds have monuments scattered throughout placed by the various states as a memorial to those soldiers who fought and died while representing their states. This particular memorial statue was honoring those soldiers from the state of New York. There is another monument nearby from Illinois which also happens to be a virtual geocache (GC621C).

Finally leaving Chattanooga and Lookout Mountain to continue our roadtrip westbound, we enter the town of Winchester in Franklin County. The town was named after James Winchester (1752 - 1826), who was a soldier in the American Revolution, Speaker of the First Tennessee Legislature, and Brigadier General in the War of 1812. The town of Winchester was created as the Franklin County seat on November 22, 1809.

One of the many monuments and historical markers located within the town square was this one dedicated to the memory of Colonel James Lewis (1756 - 1849). It is also another virtual geocache (GC9366). Col. Lewis served with distinction in the Revolutionary War. He participated in the battles of White Plains, Trenton, Princeton, Brandywine, Germantown, and Yorktown. He erected the first brick house in town and was one of the appointed commissioners for the erection of the first courthouse and jail in Franklin County. There are two other historical accomplishments, but that would give away the answer to the virtual geocache.

The one building that caught my eye the most was the Oldham Theater. Apothecary and druggist shops were originally on this corner from the 1820's thru 1900 with doctors offices upstairs during the 1880's. Later the street level housed the Franklin Grocery and Bakery until the 1930's. The spacious upstairs was hosted large civic gatherings and parties while leased by the Business and Professional Women's Club. The old building was razed in 1949 for construction of a theater.

George E. Oldham, who owned the Rivoli Theatre on the south side of the square, bought this theater from his brother-in-law in 1949 while it was still under construction on the north side of the square as a replacement for his older theater. Unfortunately, George Oldham passed away in September 1949 before the theater officially opened a year later on September 14, 1950 and named in his honor.

Though virtually unchanged in appearance, ownership changed several times and a major renovation began in 2009 and took three years to complete. The upgrade to the two-screen theater included incorporating digital projection equipment, installing surround sound, new curtains and new seats. I think it's pretty cool to see these old theaters still in use.

Continuing our drive west on US-64, the next Tennessee county needed for our geocaching map was Giles County. We stopped in the town of Pulaski at this unique and historical cemetery and memorial park (GC5BQW0). The first cemetery in Pulaski was on the outskirts (at that time) of town in 1817, in a field where interments continued until 1883 when all of the lots were full. Over the years abandoned and nearly forgotten, the cemetery fell into disrepair.

Until in 1969, Pulaski began an urban beautification project here to transform the old cemetery into a city park. The overgrowth was cleared out and headstones were located, identified and cleaned. The headstones were then mounted; the smaller ones in curved structures on the ground and the larger ones into a stone wall along the back of the park. A few monument markers that were still standing after the years were left where they were. Finally, landscaping, paved paths and lighting were added. The interred remains were left in their original locations as it could not be determined who was where except for the few monuments that were still standing.

Moving on into Lawrence County and the town of Lawrenceburg, we find our next two geocaches and a look back into Tennessee history. First was the Garner Mill Earthcache (GC1PPNT). The Garner Mill was used extensively from 1825 to 1849. It was built in 1820, and functioned as a grist mill initially, and then was converted to a water powered sawmill in 1851. Both the dam and the mill were destroyed in the flood of July 13, 1998. The ruins of the foundation still survived the flood, as well as the footings for the dam on the far side of the river. It is listed on the National Registry of Historic Places.

Closer to the center of town was our next geocache at the home of Davy Crockett (GC6K21P). David Crockett lived in this cabin from 1816 to 1822. He was one of the commissioners who laid out the county and selected the site of Lawrenceburg, a colonel in the militia, Justice of the Peace, member of the legislature, and operator of several industries on Shoal Creek during his residence here.

In the Lawrenceburg town square is a statue of Col. Davy Crockett. Born in East Tennessee on August 17, 1786, he gave his life for Texas Liberty and Independence at the Alamo that fateful Sunday morning on March 8, 1836.

Still heading westbound on US-64 picking up new geocaching counties, I make a quick roadside stop for a geocache in Wayne County (GC6B2WF). It was a good thing I stopped for the easy geocache because my target cache was a DNF (GC69K7B). But the good thing is that you never know what you're gonna see while geocaching. Like this homemade rocket ship trike!

Next up was Hardin County in the town of Savanna along the banks of the Tennessee River. There once was a house here built by James Rudd, a pioneer ferry operator, long before the US-64 highway was crossing the river. That house was replaced by another built by David Robinson, whose son-in-law William H. Cherry, improved and enlarged it. During the Civil War, "Cherry Mansion" became the headquarters for Federal Army commander Major General C. F. Smith. When he died he was succeeded by Major General Ulysses S. Grant. Maj. Gen. Wallace died here after being mortally wounded at Shilo.

Unfortunately the geocache had gone missing and I had to DNF it (GC2TVN9). Still needing the county, I stopped a couple blocks away at this small park memorializing the Battle of Shiloh where I found the geocache hidden here (GC1F8PZ).

Just a short drive over to McNair County, and we stop for our next geocache (GC5T5DM) highlighting a local hero and nationally known figure. The movie "Walking Tall" made Sheriff Buford Hayes Pusser a household name. He was born near Finger, Tennessee on December 12, 1937, raised here and graduated from Adamsville High School in 1956. About a year later, Buford moved to Chicago where he worked as a die cutter, attended Worsham College, and wrestled professionally on weekends. While in college he met and married Pauline Mullens.

The saga of Bufford Pusser and the illegal activities on the Tennessee-Mississippi state line began early in 1957, when he was beaten severely at a club in that area. In January 1960, he was arrested for assaulting the owner of a club on the Mississippi side of the3 state line. Bufford received a verdict of innocent at a trial held in Corinth, MS.

Buford's career in law enforcement began when he was appointed Chief-of-Police of Adamsville in 1962. He was later elected Constable and then Sheriff of McNairy County, serving three terms. During his first year as Sheriff, Buford was stabbed on several occasions and along with his deputies raided over forty-two moonshine operations. In 1966 he was forced to shoot in self-defense the operator of a motel on the state line where he had gone to investigate a robbery. In January of 1967, Buford was shot at point blank range four times by two men he had stopped in the state line area. The most deplorable episode in his career began one early morning on August 12, 1967 when he, accompanied by his wife, was enroute to answer a call. They were ambushed on New Hope Road, killing Pauline with Buford barely surviving the ordeal being severely wounded himself. In December 1968, Buford answered a call for help and a known murderer opened fire on him, leaving him no choice but to shoot and kill him in self-defense.

Sheriff Buford was selected in 1970, by the Jaycees, as one of Tennessee's "Outstanding Young Men of the Year." He had signed a movie contract to depict himself in a sequel to the movie "Walking Tall" when he was suddenly killed in an automobile accident on Highway 64, west of Adamsville, on August 24, 1974.

Bufford Pusser's experiences have inspired seven movies, five books, a television series, several magazine articles, and a Colt Commemorative Limited Edition handgun, all depicting the life of a man who "Walked Tall."

Our last geocaching county of the day is for Hardeman County and the town of Bolivar, Tennessee. It was a quick park and grab geocache to claim a find in the county (GC4WGKP).

From there it was just a couple of blocks south to the Polk Cemetery. Even though there's wasn't a geocache there, it was historical and worthy of a stop. The land was acquired by James K. Polk Jr. and others on October 23, 1845 as a family cemetery for the descendants of Ezekial Polk. Colonel Polk, the patriarch of the Polk family in Tennessee, was the grandfather of President James Knox Polk. The elder Polk was instrumental in framing the Mecklenburg Declaration of Independence and served in the Revolutionary War. He lived in Maury County before settling in Hardeman County.

 

That's all for today. We continue heading west on US-64 and find a place to stay for the night just outside of Memphis. I'm thinking a trip to Elvis's Graceland in the morning might be a plan. I hope you return to see the outcome. Until then...

To follow along on our travels and keep up with my latest blogs, you may do so here of course. But also by using you favorite of these social media platforms: Facebook, MeWe, Gab, Reddit, Parlor, Twitter, RVillage, GETTR and Instagram. These all link directly to my profile. Again, please feel free to comment and / or share.