Last days in McCreary County

Autumn colour is becoming increasingly brilliant. Yesterday, while Mary Ann was at work tutoring, Nita and I took a drive to Blue Heron, or Mine 18. Out about 8 miles into the hills is this restored mining community illustrating life among the coal miners and their families in the last century. The community itself was quite interesting, although much of it is semi-closed as the tourist season is basically over. More interesting than history, however, was the stunning display of autumn colours and rocky outcrops. I've added some pictures that Nita took, so perhaps you'll get some idea of the experience. Pictures -- even good ones taken by Nita -- are never as good as the real thing, but they do serve to aid in making memories.

This morning, after a leisurely breakfast of oven pancakes (Gail's recipe), we drove the 12 miles down to Oneida, Tennessee to Tom Chitwood's photography studio. He took pictures of Mary Ann and Nita and me -- separately and together. He brought them to the house this evening and we did a scan of which ones has possibilities and which should be tossed. We've had great fun joking about how well Tom can do cosmetic surgery without a knife! He apparently can even trim some of the back fat from bride's photos, so we're hoping he can do miracles with the shots he took today!

Christopher dropped by between home visits this afternoon (he's a social worker who works for a company that provides therapeutic foster care for needy kids). It was fun to just sit and chat with him for a while. He's a fine young man and it's such a joy to be with him. He's already thinking of arranging things to be able to get to Derrick's wedding next summer.

Mary Ann made chicken and dumplings tonight -- one of my favourites and certainly one of Amy's favourites. Dee took us on a quick tour of one of the plants that Outdoor Ventures has right in this county. She is the HR person for the company which is the largest employer in the county (other than the school district). They make specialized tents, mostly for the military. It's pretty interesting-- they make tents that have some amazing characteristics. For example, there is some kind of fabric that blocks out some sounds (like gunfire and tank noise), but allows voice communications through. Another tent is erected solely with air pressure. I had no idea that there was so many kinds of miraculous fabrics.

Tonight's Dessert - Yum, as usual.

Tomorrow is our last day here. It hardly seems possible that I've been here for two weeks. I hate leaving. I love to be with this part of the family, but I also miss my family at home. It will be fun to visit some new areas along the route home. Maybe we'll see a show in Branson, and hopefully, Yellowstone will be accessible. I have tried twice in the last 10 or 15 years to visit, and both times, we have been prevented from making a full visit by bad weather. We'll try to keep you posted on our experiences.



We'll pack tomorrow, have breakfast at Dee's on Friday morning, and be heading west before too late in the morning. We'll plan to visit the national quilt museum in Paducah, KY and then go on as far as we can or want to.