Carl Sandburg and Cowpens

Last week's day trip to 96 was so much fun we thought we would go on another day trip this Saturday.    Cowpens. A revolutionary war battlefield.
When I looked at the map, I saw that Carl Sandburg's home was not far away, only about 20 or so miles.   Why not do both today?  We went to Carl Sandburg National Historic Site first, so we would not be back tracking.

It was just over the state line in North Carolina. Near Hendersonville.

On our way up, I noticed this pick up on the other side of the highway. No other cars were around it, and suddenly it just did a 90 degree turn right into the bushes!   We agreed it was texting while driving.   They seemed to be okay, it was just so strange to see that.

We think these are the blue ridge mountains

We stopped at the welcome station. This was for the blue star highway program

The entrance to the Carl Sandburg National Historic Site. Parking was painful. We were allowed to park semi illegally.  There were group hikes going on, and they are very popular.

Amazingly beautiful place

Lon had never heard of Carl Sandburg before. Good thing we were there to learn.

I can see why Mr. Sandburg loved it here. They lived here 22 years

History bit:

Carl August Sandburg (January 6, 1878 – July 22, 1967) was an American poet, writer, and editor who won three Pulitzer Prizes, two for his poetry and one for his biography of Abraham Lincoln. During his lifetime, Sandburg was widely regarded as "a major figure in contemporary literature", especially for volumes of his collected verse, including Chicago Poems (1916), Cornhuskers (1918), and Smoke and Steel (1920.] He enjoyed "unrivaled appeal as a poet in his day, perhaps because the breadth of his experiences connected him with so many strands of American life and at his death in 1967, President Lyndon B. Johnson observed that "Carl Sandburg was more than the voice of America, more than the poet of its strength and genius. He was America

We made it to the house.  It was a long way up that hill!
We watched the movie. Edward R. Murrow interviews Carl Sandburg.   It was wonderful.  Lon liked the songs Carl Sandburg sang. Goober peas!

Lon got most of his booklet done at the house, to complete to booklet we had to go in search of goats. Yes, GOATS!  and even better, baby goats!!
Seems Carl Sandburg liked goats too

This tiny baby was born premature, three weeks ago.  She is still so very tiny.  They are doing their best to make sure she makes it. We have chosen to believe that Cinnamon will live a long and happy goat life.

These two twins were born on Wednesday.  They are brother and sister. The only boy born in this batch.

This girl was very curious about people, well everything !  She butted Lon's socks. He was wearing them, but she was very interested in his socks.  She tried to eat his note book, and his shoe.  She untied shoes of an unsuspecting man.
We stayed and played with the babies for a while. It was so much fun playing with them.

I love Nubian's ears!!

Going back to the house

A better view of the house

Getting his 51st Jr. Ranger Badge. With the stuffed goat that is going to come home with us.

Lon is having a great time!

See the little bit of white, that is the house.  For me, it was a big deal to go that far.

reading some of Carl Sandburg's quotes.

Lon learned a lot. One of the big things he learned was poetry does not need to rhyme to be poetic.   This made him very happy.

Back in South Carolina. This is Chesnee.   They still take pride in this town. It looked great.

Almost to Cowpens.  The road is a little two lane road, twisty with changing speed limits. I was very good about keeping to the speed limit.

The gates are impressive!  The work on them is amazing

At the entrance to the visitor's center

The ranger was very nice, he gave Lon his booklet, after complimenting him on his great number of badges. Then he told Lon that if he did the walk, he would get a medal. A real medal. A patriot medal.  Since Lon would walk in the same footsteps as the patriot.  How could I say no? It was 2. 4 miles.

We stopped and read every sign.

A brief history bit of what Cowpens is:

Brigadier General Daniel Morgan won the Battle of Cowpens, a decisive Revolutionary War victory over British Lieutenant Colonel Banastre Tarleton on January 17, 1781. It is considered one of the most memorable victories of Morgan and one of the most memorable defeats of Tarleton.

Established as Cowpens National Battlefield Site March 4, 1929; transferred from the War Department August 10, 1933; redesignated April 11, 1972. Listed on the National Register of Historic Places on October 15, 1966

The visitor center features a museum with exhibits about the American Revolution and the battle, including a fiber-optic map that illustrates the Southern Campaign of the American Revolution and the battle, a walking tour of the battlefield itself, and the reconstructed log cabin of one Robert Scruggs, who had farmed the land before the establishment of the park.

We made it to the house!! Now we can go back to the Visitor's Center. Lon has earned his medal.  At this point we have no idea if it was going to be worth it or not.

The monument from 1856.

For part of his booklet we had to find the answers to questions while we walked

Getting his badge. He did more than the required number of items.  The Ranger was impressed.
The Ranger asked him a few more questions gave him another booklet to do and then gave him a patch for the environment.  I have to sew that on his vest.

The medal. The hike was worth it. We are going to attach the medal to his lanyard

The medal! Looks good on him

We were starving.  We stopped by someplace on the road back to 26, and they were closed for anything other than ice cream and the line was long. There were some people holding spots for families, so we left.
We stopped by a fruit stand called the Peach Bucket.  We got a watermelon and strawberries. The berries looked good.  They taste amazing. Best strawberries I have ever ate. We ate so many of them! They were firm and juicy, and red all the way though. If I had known they were going to be that fantastic, I would have gotten two gallons instead of just one.
Our fingers are stained red.

Our way home. The weather was wonderful for us on our adventure, until we hit Columbia.  It did not last long, and only added a little bit of extra time to the car ride.  We made it home safe and sound.

The only way today could have been better is if Dad was able to come with us, but he had to stay close to work.