Pine Torch Church on December 31, 2010

While I haven’t blogged for some time, it doesn’t mean that there hasn’t been anything happening here in Alabama. On December 31, 2010, my family and I took a trip to Bankhead National Forest to see an old church which was built around 1840 that was called Pine Torch Church. I thought that they might still be holding services in the old church, but it seems that they have built another church behind the graveyard on the same property that is probably where services are being held. Even with the new church being built, they still have outhouses instead of indoor restrooms. My family had a good time visiting these churches, but it is easy to kind of get lost such a large National Forest. We saw some beautiful land during this trip. It would have been nice if we’d had time to go hiking too.

Places We Visited During My Vacation

October certainly flew past. It is almost halfway through November, and I am just now getting around to posting again. We visited the Fort Payne, Alabama area twice recently and saw some truly beautiful country and sites that God has blessed us with in this state.

Our first visit to Fort Payne took place on October 29, 2010. I’d seen a picture of a very different sort of church a year or two back, and I’d been telling my family about it. So we finally had an opportunity to go see it for ourselves. The name of the church is Sallie Howard Memorial Chapel which is part of the Dekalb Baptist Association. It is located just outside Desoto State Park, and it is built around a rock. It is truly a spectacular sight. I couldn’t help singing “I’m standing on the Rock of Ages….” when I was walking around looking at this little chapel. This chapel was built in 1937. Sallie Howard’s husband Col. Milford Howard built this chapel in her memory. Inside the church is an inscription from one of her letters which says “God has all ways been as good to me as I would let him be.”

http://www.discoverlookoutmountain.com/history-Col-Howards-chapel.shtml
http://www.alapark.com/DeSotoResort/Attractions/

We also took a hike through the woods in Desoto State Park. The Azalea Cascade Trail is part of the North Alabama Birding Trail. This is actually a boardwalk trail through the woods that has a gazebo along the way, then an octagon deck when you reach the end of the trail at the Azalea Cascade. As little rain as we’d had in North Alabama at that point, there really wasn’t much of a cascade, but it was a nice hike through the woods. When we stopped long enough to just listen, we heard a multitude of birds and others animals and even spotted some of the little creatures.
http://www.alapark.com/DeSotoResort/Waterfalls%20&%20Trails/

On November 5, 2010, we decided to go explore the Desoto State Park area once again. This time we made it to Desoto Falls although we didn’t get to see all of the falls. It was sprinkling and my husband thought the rocks leading to the bottom of the falls were too slick for us to attempt walking the trail so we were just able to see the upper falls area. It was beautiful, and we enjoyed the visit. Maybe we’ll be able to go back and see Desoto Falls again when it is not raining and making the trail dangerous.
During our second trip to the Fort Payne area, we stopped in at the Depot Museum there in town. The building that houses the museum was very beautiful, and we were able to take some pictures of it. When we went inside, there were three rooms which held the museum’s historical collection. One room housed the Native American artifacts, and one room housed soldiers’ uniforms and military memorabilia from the Civil War until what looked like World War II. There might have been more, but we were kind of rushed along by the ladies who were there to oversee this little museum. I am unsure what artifacts or memorabilia might have been in the third room, because we did not have time to see. Still, it was nice to see the outside of the building.

http://fortpaynedepotmuseum.com/

The Pinta and The Nina on Columbus Day 10-11-2010

On Monday, October 11, 2010, we took a trip to Guntersville, Alabama, to see the replicas of two of the ships that Christopher Columbus used on his voyage when he discovered the New World. Our family had seen the Nina a few years back when it had been in the harbor at Guntersville Lake. The Nina is an actual size replica of the ship Columbus used in 1492, but the Pinta was larger than actual size. We didn’t get to tour the Nina because the coast guard limit’s the amount of people who are on board that ship. So we just explored the Pinta. The young man who attempted to tell us the history of these ships seemed to have gotten some of the actual history about Columbus incorrect so we had to research to check the accuracy of what we knew compared to the accuracy of what he said. Luckily, we found information to back us up, but it was disturbing to realize that the young man is going from town to town telling people inaccurate history. We will definitely go on a field trip to these ships again if they come back to Alabama. Hopefully, we’ll have a better guide who actually knows some history the next time.

http://www.thenina.com/

Visit to the Oakville Indian Mounds Park and Cherokee Council House Museum on 10-2-2010

On Saturday, October 2, 2010, we visited Oakville Indian Mounds Park and Cherokee Council House Museum. It had been a couple of years since we visited, and we were glad to be able to explore the museum and park again. The museum has a bunch of arrowheads from different eras in history and other artifacts such as pottery and clothing. When you walk inside the museum, one of the first things anyone will see is a life size statue of Sequoyah. They also have animals that have been stuffed in the center of this circular museum. The park has fishing ponds and two Indian Mounds. This tends to be one of our favorite field trips. If you ever have the time to visit, it is worth every minute you spend there.

Our Labor Day Weekend 2010

Daniel Murphree Log Cabin

This weekend has been a busy one. With the children growing older, I guess we should expect that, but we live a simple life here in Alabama. Friday, September 3, 2010, we went to Palisades Park in Blount County, Alabama. It is a beautiful park which has a lot of nature to explore with the added bonus of some history. They have several buildings within the park from the early 1800s. We took some pictures mainly and just enjoyed the scenery. Maybe next time we can hike on some hiking trails or something.


Blackwood Log Cabin

Saturday, September 4, 2010, we took another trip to a historic site located in Ohatchee, Alabama. I’ve been hearing about Janney’s Furnace for several years and wanted to take our family on another historic Alabama outing.


Janney's Furnace

During the Civil War, it was discovered that there was an abundance of iron ore in the Ohatchee area, and a businessman named Alfred A. Janney bought a tract of land with the intention to build iron furnaces. Though the furnace was built the Confederate soldiers were overpowered by the Union soldiers who sent men to destroy the two furnaces in the area; Cane Creek Iron Works and Janney Furnace. It is believed that the Janney Furnace was left intact because it had never been in operation. They also have a Confederate and Native American Museum. One side of the museum has artifacts from the Civil War Era. The other side of the room has local Native American artifacts. Admission to the Museum is free. There is the world’s largest black granite Confederate Memorial at the site as well.


Confederate Memorial

Website: http://www.janneyfurnace.org/
Website: http://www.blountcountypark.com/

August 9, 2010 Homestead Harvest Field Trip

Have you ever been to Alabama in August when we have 100 degree temperatures outside? Well, that was the climate in which we went on our first field trip for what is the first week of school for those who attend public school around here. We were supposed to be at Jerry Marsh Farms at 8 a.m., but we were running behind when we had trouble finding the farm. Jerry Marsh Farms is what is called a u-pick farm where the owners plant the vegetables or fruit, and you go pick what you want and pay for it. We had fun picking Tommy Toe Tomatoes, Chili peppers, Green and Red Bell peppers, and Jalapeno peppers. We also exchanged recipes with the other home educators who came to this field trip. It’s always good to know creative ways to cook what you’ve harvested from a garden.

After we’d paid for our farm fresh veggies at Jerry Marsh Farms, we decided to go a little way down the road to another farm where they had u-pick blueberries farm. I thought that blueberries were actually out of season, but we were pleasantly surprised that the blueberries were actually in full bloom and tasting wonderful. We had a fun time picking the little blue fruits. Then, at home, we had a home economic lesson on how to make homemade blueberry muffins. That was some good eating even though it was my sixteen year old son who mixed them up and baked them. I’ll have to get my daughter to mix and bake the blueberry muffins the next time we want a sweet treat since we froze the blueberries we didn‘t eat.

Our Visit To Harvest Farm

On Friday, May 7, 2010, we visited a 27 acre farm in Fairview, Alabama called Harvest Farm. It is owned and operated by nice young family whose family ties to this land goes back at least 100 years. For the last few years, they have planted and harvested about 7 acres with strawberries, corn, green beans, cabbage, turnips, tomatoes, peppers, cantaloupe, and I am sure there are other crops that I may have missed. They also have newly planted fruit trees and some blackberries. This family even raises a few sheep, rabbits, and a good many chickens.

Our visit began with us being introduced to the owners, and they began telling us about their beginnings. Then we toured the farm where it was explained to us how to grow mushrooms, corn, potatoes, kale, cabbage, lettuce, turnips, green beans, purple hull peas, tomatoes, peppers, and cantaloupes. Next, we were able to buy and pick a gallon of strawberries. After that, we were able to take a mile hike through the woods to the fenced in areas where there were pasture grown chickens and sheep. One of the chickens laid a double yoked egg while we were there. There were some guineas in the pasture with the chickens as well. In the end, we were privileged to see a young lamb while the owner told us about the sheep. This was another awesome outing for our family. We all enjoyed our visit to this farm.