A Family Reunion in Linville Falls

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. 

The gatehouse at Grandfather Mountain

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.

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.  

We found a number of salamanders

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.

Ginger: One of the family now

Isn't she cute?

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.

Myron and brother Ran

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.

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.  

Spending Cousin Laura's inheritance

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.

A New Addition to the Family - Meet Ginger

The passing of Matilda left a terrible hole in our hearts.  It seemed like there was nothing to get up for in the morning, without Matilda to take for a walk. We had been debating if or when to get another dog, but we kept going around in circles, unable to make a decision.  If we did get a dog our preference was another Aussie and maybe one a few months to a year old. We did submit an application to a regional shepherd rescue organization, Save Our Herders Outreach (SOHO).  Most of the dogs at SOHO were at least a year old, often older than that.  When we talked to them they said the competition was very stiff, that there were typically up to 50 applications for any particular dog.  Our initial application was for "Willow" and we got a call from a SOHO staffer asking some followup questions.  We were told that we were 1 of the 2 top applicants being considered for Willow, and that the foster family would make the final decision on homing willow. Unfortunately Willow eventually went to another home.  We transferred our application to "Cooper" who also, ultimately, went to another home.  Most every dog listed on SOHO had either a requirement, or a strong preference for, a home with a fenced yard. The Whitleys have no fenced yard; heck about nine months out of the year we have no yard at all, per se, as we travel about the country.  This clearly worked against us.

Ginger likes to sit on the air conditioning duct

The disappointment we felt by not getting Willow or Cooper seemed to affirm that we might really be ready to actively find a new dog.  A puppy may be the easiest to adopt.  We talked to a few breeders and researched some other sources on the web.  Finally we found a guy on Craig's List that had 7 puppies in Mocksville. They were 9 weeks old and were ready for a home.  The pictures showed all were as cute as they could be, so we made the call and drove over there.  It turned out that 3 males and 3 females were still available: 2 tri-colored, 3 bi-colored and a single red merle. After playing with all the pups for about an hour, we picked out the only merle, which happened to be a female.  The red merle was the cutest and most distinctive, and according to the owner, who has taken them to his lake house a few times, the one least prone to jump in the water.  This is an important characteristic for a canoe dog, and one that Matilda shared.

On the drive home. Our first picture of Ginger

Greeting wildlife in the yard

So, we introduce Ginger, born June 3 and adopted August 7.  We are already using some nicknames, such as "Ginger Bread Baby" and "Ginger Cake".  If she is agile and likes to dance, she may also become known as "Ginger Rogers", as Matilda was sometimes called "Waltzing Matilda"

See Ginger arguing with her squeaky bone.

Ginger currently has two blue eyes, but it looks like one may be turning hazel.  We expect she might eventually have one blue and one brown eye.

After attempting to weigh Ginger using a few different methods, we determined she currently weighs 6.30 pounds.

How humiliating!

Based upon her parents weight we expect Ginger will weigh about 35 to 40 pounds at maturity. 

So here we are, 14 years after finding Matilda, we have a new puppy in the house, preparing to depart on a long motor home trip.  On Friday, we will leave for a 7-week trip, heading north towards Minnesota and the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness. When we put into the Boundary Waters Ginger will be just shy of 12 weeks old, and we will have had only about 2 1/2 weeks to work with her.   Talk about an adventure!

Stay tuned. 

On the Road Again. A Jaunt Through the Mid-Atlantic States. Part 3: Brunswick MD and Washington DC

We departed New Holland PA for a short 123 mile dash southward to Brunswick MD. Brunswick is a train town on the banks of the Potomac River, and a stop along the C&O Canal. We have been to Brunswick several times, but we've never been able to stay more than a night or two.  The first time was when we were biking the length of the C&O Canal and camped at Brunswick Family Campground in a tent.  On that trip, when we pounded the tent stakes in, we hit a rock every time.  Move the stake; hit another rock.  Later we learned that the campground was built over a concrete ai strip and the concrete still exists just a few inches under the soil. 

On this trip we hoped to explore the local area, do some biking, enjoy some down time and visit DC.  We were reserved for 7 nights at Brunswick Family Campground. 

Brunswick is the site of a major rail yard.  There is Amtrak service, MARC service (commuter rail into DC) and freight operations.  If you can't stand train noises all night long, don't camp at Brunswick Family CG.

Brunswick has a huge rail yard

Brunswick Family Campground offers pump-out service for campers. 

Winnie the "Poo"

Enjoying a brew at Smoketown Brewing Station

One day we biked westward on the C&O to Harpers Ferry.  The C&O Canal Park is a so-called "trash free" park, meaning all visitors should carry away their own trash.  Some folks are clueless clods.

Lock 33 at Harpers Ferry

Another day we biked eastward to Point of Rocks.  E-bikes and E-trikes are not conducive to portaging obstacles in the trail. 

What can you do?

Catoctin Creek Aquaduct

A black vulture patiently awaits fallen bikers

On yet another day we drove to Swain's Lock and then cycled eastward towards DC and Great Falls.  This is an extremely scenic portion of the trail. 

Great Falls Tavern 

Dorcas is a happy triker

The Great Falls of the Potomac

A climax to our trip was a visit to DC.  We had originally intended to take the MARC (Maryland Area Regional Commuter), which has a station in Brunswick.  Ultimately, we decided to drive to Rockland MD and catch the DC Metro at Shady Grove station.  We each bought an unlimited 1-day pass, which were loaded onto our phones and operated the turnstiles.

Riding on the Metro

A Metro station in DC

For our first stop we wanted to go to the Vietnam Veterans Memorial. There wasn't a Metro stop close by, so we chose the station at Foggy Bottoms.  This put us out at The George Washington University and about a 3/4 mile walk to the memorial. I quickly learned that this was going to be a tough trip on my tender new knee. 

From the Vietnam Veterans Memorial it was a short walk to the Lincoln Memorial. 

From there we continued on up the National Mall to the World War II Memorial.

We had hoped to get to the top of the Washington Monument, but there were no more tickets remaining for this day.  DANG!!!!  However, Dorcas talked to a ranger there and plied her feminine wiles, hiked up her shorts, batted her eye lashes, and otherwise dazzled him with her shameless flirting.  He told her to stand by, and the next thing I know we are being escorted to the head of the line. We were in!  You go Dorcas!

The following photos are from the top of the Washington Monument looking in various directions. 

The Smithsonian Institution Building (The Castle) serves as a Visitor Center for all the Smithsonian museums, and is an iconic symbol of the Smithsonian Institution.

Smithsonian Institution Building (The Castle)

Inside "The Castle"

After descending from the Washington Monument, we figured we would try to see a museum or two. There are dozens of museums operated by the Smithsonian on the National Mall, but we only had time to see one or two.  Our first choice was the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum, but it was closed.  DANG!!!  Our second choice was the Smithsonian Arts and Industry Building, but it was closed, too.  DOUBLE DANG!!!  We finally settled on the National Museum of Natural History.  

The Hope Diamond: 45.52 ct

There was not nearly enough time to see everything.  We rushed through as best we could and tried to see the highlights. Finally, after walking the nearly 2-mile length of the National Mall, we hopped back on the Metro and traveled to the National Postal Museum, which is just across the street from Union Station. 

Our first Postmaster and friend

Letter boxes from around the world

The  "Inverted Jenny" (also known as an Upside Down Jenny, Jenny Invert) is a 24 cent United States postage stamp first issued on May 10, 1918, in which the image of the Curtiss JN-4 airplane in the center of the design is printed upside-down.  It is probably the most famous error in American philately. Only one pane of 100 of the inverted stamps was ever found, making this error one of the most prized in philately.  A single Inverted Jenny is estimated to be worth $1,593,000.

The museum had trays of stamps that visitors could shuffle through and take a few home. As hard as I looked I only found 6 Inverted Jennys.

After a long, grueling, knee-killing day, we returned to Union Station to catch the Metro back to Shady Grove station and drove back to camp.

Union Station

I wish we had had more days to spend in Washington; there is just so much to see and do.  Perhaps next time we can come and stay longer. 

On Friday July 29, we returned home to Winston Salem, and our "Jaunt Through the Mid-Atlantic States" tour came to an end.