We spent Thanksgiving with Dennis' brother's family in Memphis, TN. After leaving Memphis we visited the Natchez Trace National Parkway (a 440 mile pastoral roadway from Natchez, MS to Nashville, TN) and then drove across Louisiana and east Texas to home.




Great Blue Heron above Wright-Patman Lake near Texarkana, TX

A European Starling in Memphis

Late season bloom in Memphis

Leaves, at dawn, in Meeman-Shelby Forest State Park. On the Mississippi River north of Memphis.

Mike at our campsite in Meeman-Shelby Forest

The forest in early morning light

Squirrel in a bird feeder in Carol and David's backyard.

Autumn leaves in Memphis

All of us at lunch, at The Beauty Shop, the day after Thanksgiving:  David, Dennis, Mike, Carol, and Becca. 

Our campsite at Tishomingo State Park, along the Natchez Trace in Mississippi.

Other campers at Tishomingo SP

Christmas canoe decorations at Tishomingo SP

Bears are real. But this one is not. Tishomingo SP.

Swinging Bridge, Tishomingo SP.

Another bear at Tishomingo SP. All dressed up for the holidays.

Us on a cold morning in Mississippi.

Country along the Natchez Trace Parkway.

The largest mushroom we have ever seen.

Confederate soldiers' graves in the woods along the Natchez Trace. All unknown. All fallen in an unknown battle in 1862.

A creek side mill house in Tishomingo SP.

Holiday decorations.

Cypress and Tupelo trees in a swamp beside the Parkway.

Great Blue Heron on the Pearl River, Mississippi.

A Great Egret in the woods, also at the Pearl River.

Unknown Object for sale - Kaffie-Frederickson General Mercantile in Natchitoches, LA, Louisiana's oldest general store.

Dennis at the front window of the Mercantile.

Skylight, with umbrellas, between the first and second story of the Mercantile.

Sunset at Sam Reservoir, Hanks Creek Campground, near Lufkin, TX

Sunrise at Sam Reservoir, Hanks Creek Campground.

Te-la-nay's Wall - Florence, Alabama 

 

In 1830 a thirteen year old Yuchi girl was removed along with her tribe from their ancestral home in the Northwest corner of Alabama alongside the Tennessee River, the Singing River. Her name was Te-la-nay. The forced relocation of Native Americans to Oklahoma was known as the Trail of Tears. When Te-la-nay arrived in Oklahoma she was not happy there because the rivers and streams did not sing. So all alone over of the course of five years she walked back to her home in Alabama. Because of her skills as a healer which she had learned from her grandmother, she was protected and valued by the white settlers and lived out the remainder of her life there.

Tom Hendrix was told the story of his great-great-grandmother’s journey by his own grandmother when he was a little boy. As an adult he wanted to create a memorial to his revered ancestor. An elder of the Yuchi tribe told him that “All things pass. Only the stones will remain.” He decided to build a memorial stone wall. He spent over 30 years building the wall. It is a mile long and contains over 8 million pounds of stone. It is the largest un-mortared rock wall in the United State. It is the only large memorial to a Native American woman.

We visited the wall on a cold November day. Tom Hendrix passed away a few years ago, but his son Trace was there to tell us the story. We three were the only ones there that afternoon. The wall is a work of art, hard work, dedication and love. It is hard not to be moved by its presence. We walked the grounds for several hours in a sense of awe and reverence.

Here is a short video which tells the story of the wall.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gayMckSlq4g

 



Enjoy the photos. And next time you find yourself in the Northwest corner of Alabama, spend some time at Te-la-nay’s wall.

A couple of weeks ago a group of friends went to Big Bend National Park and returned with beautiful descriptions of how lush and green it was from recent rains. So last week we went out to have a look for ourselves.

It was green like we have never seen the desert before. And we had a great time. It was neither too cold now too warm. The Chisos Basin Campground was nearly full, but the park was not at all crowded. On two different days we drove down old dirt roads for hours without seeing another human being.

Hope you enjoy the pictures.


The Chisos Mountains from Glenn Springs Road

The Chisos Basin Campground

Vesper Sparrow

A Loggerhead Shrike - Its back is really grey, but the sky was so blue that it was reflecting on the Shrike's back

A Mountain Bluebird - not a common visitor to Big Bend - must have been blown in on the recent storms

Mexican Jay

Nugent Moutain and the Chisos Mountains

More views of the Chisos Mountains from Glenn Springs Road

Easter Island formations along Glenn Springs Road.

Do you see the petrified Bobcat howling at the sky?

The intersection of Glenn Springs Road and Black Gap Road

Ocotillo Blooms

Red Needled Prickly Pear Cactus

 Mike and the Butte

Dennis in a shelter along Old Ore Road

Rainbow Cactus growing among dead reeds

Superhero Clown Grasshopper

Old Ore Road

Morning view of the Christmas Mountains from Green Gulch.

Some of the painted desert

Looking out over Ft Davis on our way home

Sunset through The Window in Chisos Basin.