Pictures of the Week 2008-45
Hello All,
Since our last Pictures of the Week more friends of ours (Helene & Ernie) arrived at the campground in their motorhome. It was fun catching up on their travels. About six weeks of their summer was spent on safari in Africa. They shared some great tales with us. Sounds like a place we will have to add to our bucket list.
On many occasions a group of us in the campground spent the warm evening sitting around one of the rigs swapping stories and sipping a “bubbley.” Sometimes we would all grab our lawn chairs and move down along the riverbank. It was fun watching the many boats scurrying here and there. Seems like every evening there was something special to enjoy. One evening there was a beautiful harvest moon at dusk. On another occasion the setting sun illuminated the sky and turned the river a lovely salmon color.
Since our last Pictures of the Week more friends of ours (Helene & Ernie) arrived at the campground in their motorhome. It was fun catching up on their travels. About six weeks of their summer was spent on safari in Africa. They shared some great tales with us. Sounds like a place we will have to add to our bucket list.
On many occasions a group of us in the campground spent the warm evening sitting around one of the rigs swapping stories and sipping a “bubbley.” Sometimes we would all grab our lawn chairs and move down along the riverbank. It was fun watching the many boats scurrying here and there. Seems like every evening there was something special to enjoy. One evening there was a beautiful harvest moon at dusk. On another occasion the setting sun illuminated the sky and turned the river a lovely salmon color.
Recently our friends Mike and Marie called and
asked if we would like to go with them on their last boat ride of the
season. We said sure!! They keep their boat at a marina on Wilson
Lake. It was windy on the lake so we
went up one of the many creeks where the water was nice and flat. There are many waterfront homes to look at
along the way. It was a lovely relaxing day and a lot of fun with good friends.
Our next adventure took us to
a cemetery!! Now this is not an ordinary
cemetery, it was Key Underwood’s Coon Dog Memorial Graveyard.
In 1937, in a small grassy meadow deep in the rich, thick wilderness of Freedom Hills, AL, Key Underwood sadly buried his faithful coon dog--“Troop.” They had been close friends and hunted together for more than 15 years. The burial spot was a popular hunting camp where coon hunters from miles around gathered to plot their hunting strategies, tell tall tales, chew tobacco and compare coon hounds. Those comparisons usually began and ended with Troop, as he was the best around.
Underwood knew there was no place in the world Troop loved more than that camp. It was only fitting, he decided, that troop spend eternity there. On that dreary Labor Day of 1937, Underwood said good-bye to his legendary coon hound. He wrapped Troop in a cotton pick sack, buried him three feet down, and marked the grave with a rock from a nearby old chimney. On the rock, with a hammer and a screwdriver, he had chiseled out Troop’s name and the date.
Troop, who was half redbone coon hound and half birdsong, was known throughout the region as the best. He was “cold nosed,” meaning he could follow cold coon tracks until they grew fresh, and he never left the trail until he had treed the coon. The hunter’s devotion to his faithful hound is how the Key Underwood Coon Dog Memorial Graveyard was born. It has become a popular tourist attraction and is the only cemetery of its kind in the world.
When Underwood buried Troop he had no intention of establishing a coon dog cemetery. He merely wanted to do something special for a special coon dog. Other hunters started doing the same when their favorite coon dogs died. Today more than 185 coon dogs from all across the United States are buried in this spot in Northwest Alabama. Other kinds of dogs are not allowed to be buried there. Some of the burial ground’s headstones are crafted of wood, some of sheet metal. Others are not unlike the stones found in a “normal” cemetery. But, of course, the names of the deceased are different and so are the epitaphs. It was a very special place to visit.
In 1937, in a small grassy meadow deep in the rich, thick wilderness of Freedom Hills, AL, Key Underwood sadly buried his faithful coon dog--“Troop.” They had been close friends and hunted together for more than 15 years. The burial spot was a popular hunting camp where coon hunters from miles around gathered to plot their hunting strategies, tell tall tales, chew tobacco and compare coon hounds. Those comparisons usually began and ended with Troop, as he was the best around.
Underwood knew there was no place in the world Troop loved more than that camp. It was only fitting, he decided, that troop spend eternity there. On that dreary Labor Day of 1937, Underwood said good-bye to his legendary coon hound. He wrapped Troop in a cotton pick sack, buried him three feet down, and marked the grave with a rock from a nearby old chimney. On the rock, with a hammer and a screwdriver, he had chiseled out Troop’s name and the date.
Troop, who was half redbone coon hound and half birdsong, was known throughout the region as the best. He was “cold nosed,” meaning he could follow cold coon tracks until they grew fresh, and he never left the trail until he had treed the coon. The hunter’s devotion to his faithful hound is how the Key Underwood Coon Dog Memorial Graveyard was born. It has become a popular tourist attraction and is the only cemetery of its kind in the world.
When Underwood buried Troop he had no intention of establishing a coon dog cemetery. He merely wanted to do something special for a special coon dog. Other hunters started doing the same when their favorite coon dogs died. Today more than 185 coon dogs from all across the United States are buried in this spot in Northwest Alabama. Other kinds of dogs are not allowed to be buried there. Some of the burial ground’s headstones are crafted of wood, some of sheet metal. Others are not unlike the stones found in a “normal” cemetery. But, of course, the names of the deceased are different and so are the epitaphs. It was a very special place to visit.
Our long ordeal of purchasing
a Fannie Mae foreclosure is finally over.
We closed on the house a couple of days ago. It is nothing fancy. Just a nice three bedroom, two bath, brick
home in a nice neighborhood. It needs a
new roof and some other cosmetic work.
But, the favorable price we paid for the house will allow us to make
these repairs and still be under value—who knows, someday we may decide to flip
it and move on! Since closing we have already had the new roof installed.
Chances are it will take us a year or so to turn the old house into a home, but
that’s part of the adventure.
Our friends, Stacy and Joan,
Ernie and Helene, and Mike and Marie, have packed up and are heading south in
their motorhomes. Think maybe they are
smarter than we are, as the first real cold front of the season will pass
through the area tonight dropping temperatures below freezing!! Brrrrrrrrr!!
Until next time,
Dave & Barb
The Traveling Browns
Until next time,
Dave & Barb
The Traveling Browns