Wind Songs: War Memorial Cross Sewanee

LC and I have been very busy the last couple of weeks going to yard sales and accumulating larger household items that we needed for our home.

Items that we sold before leaving Tennessee and heading for Juneau.

Items that were either provided in the Unabomber Cabin in Juneau or that I purchased when I moved up there as I tried to set up a home for LC and Jamie. And then sold or donated again when we left.

Items that were already in the small lunch-box sized cabin we rented in Cody Wyoming or that we bought again while we were there.

And more items that we need now that we have moved back into our own bigger home.

When I write about it, and when I think about it, it all just makes me feel very tired.

But we have made amazing progress in only two weeks and that feels very good.

As we were driving around picking up a rug and a beautiful dresser and a small desk and chair we found ourselves driving up onto the Cumberland Plateau.

Yard sailing our way through Estill Springs and Decherd and Winchester and Cowan and up progressively more winding road climbing towards the beautiful Sewanee.

Sewanee is home to trails and Franklin State Forest and St Andrews School and the extraordinarily beautiful University of the South.

By the time we found ourselves up on the mountain we had been wandering and stopping and browsing and visiting and buying for a number of hours so we did not visit this place for a long time.

But truthfully I had forgotten just how incredibly beautiful this area was and I want to spend so much more time up there before the weather cools too much..............

There are two crops (in addition to the typical Fall gourds and pumpkins) now in abundance in the area - soy beans and cotton.

I took these pictures outside of the very small community of Cowan as we were rummaging through people's castoffs in search of something we needed for our home.

Soy beans as far as the eye could see..............

And one very large and lonesome bull who sat chewing until I moved closer to him.

At this point I had his undivided attention............

At the top of the mountain we turned left towards the university campus and then soon turned left again, heading for "The Memorial Cross".

My Mountain Boy and I, whenever we come this way, are always drawn to the cross.

It is perhaps 60 feet tall and was erected in 1922.

Originally dedicated in memory of university students who died in WWI, there are now plaques on each side of the base in remembrance of students who died fighting in WWI, WWII, Korea and Vietnam.

There is also one additional stone at the base of the cross dedicated to those who fought and died in Desert Storm.

It is surrounded by beautiful woodlands and overlooks the valley far below.

It is a very beautiful cross in a very beautiful and quiet and peaceful place and we love it here.................

As we stood looking at the valley far below us we could count six different towns in the distance.

Fall in Tennessee is an amazing time of year.

By luck rather than by design, we found ourselves back here now...............

There is no shortage of stone in this area, as evidenced by both the sheer number of rock benches in the area of the cross, as well as the construction of buildings that make up the university.

More on those in a different blog entry................

There is a trail - aptly named the Perimeter Trail - that circumnavigates the entire university campus.

We walked only a short way today in both directions on the trail.

An epic journey for another day that I will probably do alone before Winter comes..............

I have learned over the past year that my dog LOVES to walk on trails.

Nose down, tail wagging, walking with intent and enthusiasm.

While walking point she is completely motivated to follow the trail and totally focused on where she is headed...........

There are trails all over the university campus and throughout Franklin State Forest.

I have walked and biked some of them over the years but do not know them well.

It was always just easier and faster to go to the base to train.

But now that we are back in Tennessee I feel a real desire to explore this area and find out exactly what it is all about.

Some information about the Perimeter Trail.

A goal for me over the next while. I like goals. I miss goals. I need goals.

A modest goal.

The Perimeter Trail.............

The tree filled grounds behind the cross............

After walking only a short way in one direction we headed back to the cross and then walked a short way along the trail in the opposite direction

As LC and I were looking out over the valley a handful of elderly visitors to the cross arrived.

They climbed on the steps of the base of the cross, joked about climbing to the top of the cross, ate and laughed and then climbed some more while trying to get everyone into their pictures.

Did they remember that this was a war memorial?...............