On Friday, August 12, Dorcas and I left for a 5-week trip, our primary destination being the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness (BWCAW) in northern Minnesota. Our first stop would be to attend the Franklin Family Reunion, held the 2nd Saturday in August each year in Linville Falls. Due to our typical fall travel schedule, we are not often able to attend this reunion, but this year it worked out for us.
We spent Friday and Saturday nights at Riverside Golf and RV Park on the banks of the Catawba river in Morganton. It's not what you would call destination park, but it is affordable and very convenient when visiting my home town.
On Friday, we had a reservation to attend Grandfather By Night, a special private event, to view the sunset from the summit of Grandfather Mountain and to explore a nature trail by night.
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| The gatehouse at Grandfather Mountain |
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| No, the camera is not tilted (much). The ground is made that way at Grandfather Mountain |
The sunset from the summit of the mountain was stunning.
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| Dorcas on the famous "Mile-High Swinging Bridge" |
After the sunset we were led on a half-mile nighttime walk on the Woods Trail.
Everyone was provided a headlamp that emitted both a white light and a red light, and a blacklight flashlight.
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| We found a number of salamanders |
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| And phosphorescent fungi |
We spent Friday and Saturday night in Morganton at Riverside Golf and RV Park and visited the family plot at Forest Hill cemetery.
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| Ginger: One of the family now |
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| Isn't she cute? |
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| Linville Falls Community Church in the spring |
For many years my brother Ran and I looked nothing alike. However, as the years have passed, and we have aged, we have morphed to near twins.
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| Myron and brother Ran |
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| Uncle John, Myron and Ran |
Each year the Franklin Reunion features an historical presentation related to the family. This year that presentaion was .... wait for it ... "Finding Dorcas". The reunion brings together the descendants of Samual Franklin and Dorcas Burns Parker. Previously, we had talked about all the men in the family, but little was known about most of the women. And there has never been another member of the family named Dorcas until I brought my own favorite Dorcas in. The life and history of Dorcas Burns Parker was not well known, so Cousin Tense did some genealogical research and tried to clear up some mysteries.
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The presentation goes on for 3 pages. Contact me if you want to see the whole story. |
The Franklin Reunion always has live entertainment. Click HERE to hear a rendition of "The Brown Mountain Lights". Click HERE to hear "I'll Fly Away"
Uncle John is 91 years old and is the only living charter member of the Elks lodge in Morganton. After the reunion he treated the cousins to dinner at lodge.
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| Spending Cousin Laura's inheritance |
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| The 0.5x wide angle lens on my iPhone 13 Pro makes everyone look fat! |
On Sunday morning we headed west and north, bound towards Minnesota. Stay tuned for the continuing Adventures of Myron and Dorcas.
