Starting the School Year in Appalachia

My first trip of the season was with Jeff to Lee County, the farthest west of all the counties in Virginia, nestled between Kentucky and Tennessee. We left on a Sunday to drive the seven or eight hours to Pennington Gap, home of the Convenient Inn (our hotel, the nicest one in the area of our teaching), which had just gotten wireless internet service though still required us to bring our own alarm clocks.

We taught Monday morning and afternoon (including the farthest school in Virginia) and had the afternoon to explore the area around Cumberland Gap before finding dinner at a small (and strangely unmarked though delicious) pub near the state line. We hiked up to the “Saddle of the Gap” (the actual gap part of Cumberland Gap) and the tri-state peak where the three states came together. The next day after teaching, we were back exploring the town of Cumberland Gap and on Wednesday visited Martin’s Station, a living history fort at a state park. Martin’s Station was the last stop before settlers on the Wilderness Road crossed Cumberland Gap and included interpreters that seemed more than delighted to see visitors that also could talk history and interpretation with them (they followed us around like puppies). After a day of exploring and history, we also ended up at a karaoke joint with the karaoke DJ, his wife, another family (obviously regulars), and later their daughter’s friend and mom. While obviously from out of town, they did greet us very warmly, but with the comment “It’s mostly country music, I hope you don’t mind.” We definitely had fun and Jeff especially became buddies with the DJ. Thursday after teaching, we took a day off from exploring so that we could rest before heading to the fire station square dance that we’d visited that spring when we taught in Wise County. Friday after teaching, we were off on our journey home after a long week and both very excited to be home.

(photos: The view from one of the schools in the western end of Lee County of the white cliffs on Cumberland Mountain (the sign to the settlers on the Wilderness Road that the Gap was only about a day away); BBQ sauce and Rebel Roy; Cumberland Gap; view West over Cumberland Gap to the mountains of Kentucky, with the Tri-State Peak in the foreground; and me with mountains.)





(photos: The view from another one of our schools, with mountains on the other side of the valley; building in Cumberland Gap; potentially the second-oldest magnolia tree in Tennessee; a PBR ad from a WWII-era Life magazine; and a house that was used to house workers from the Manhattan Project, moved to Cumberland Gap.)





(photos: Me with a Daniel Boone marker along the Wilderness Road trail, made from iron from the USS Maine; Jeff in an old iron furnace gaining his super powers from a bottle of Cumberland Gap spring water; the sign from in front of one of our schools; a horse at Martin's Station; and a view of part of Martin's Station.)





(photos: The interpreter and Jeff talking shop at Martin's Station; the gunsmith showing us the gun he's making (he makes everything but the lock and the barrel!); a buffalo at Martin's Station, though he was far from the only one in Lee County; one of the many tobacco barns in the county; and Jeff's new favorite karaoke joint.)





The following week, after a weekend that didn’t seem long enough, it was back on the road with Dirk to Scott County, the county right next to Lee County. On the way out, Dirk mentioned the existence of a place called “Foamhenge,” some guy’s reproduction of Stonehenge out near Natural Bridge. Our hotel was equally awesome, being a Comfort Inn completely decked out in a hunting theme. The kids were just as fabulous as the kids in Lee County, though teaching was a bit more challenging this week due to my cold I was fending off. However, it was also spirit week in Scott County, including Sports Teams/Favorite Fictional Character/Nerd Day and Pajama/Camouflage/Superhero Day. After teaching, we explored some parks and trails, found the grave of the last living Confederate soldier, a rather dilapidated and closed farm museum, and the Carter Family Fold (the school we taught at down the street had autographed photos of June Carter and Johnny Cash!). Thursday night we found an awesome bluegrass jam session at the Lay’s Hardware building in Coeburn. After teaching on Friday, it was again a long drive back to Williamsburg, not getting back until after 9.

(photos: A statue of Merlin at Foamhenge (read the sign about his face for something pretty weird...); Dirk at Foamhenge; a view of the mountains in Scott County; a monument near the grave of the last living Confederate soldier, who died in 1956; and the view through a former swedish-built train tunnel.)





(photos: Mountains in the morning from a school; some of the closed farm museum that we explored; a creek in the woods in the mountains; the old Carter family store at the Carter Family Fold; and the bluegrass jam session at the Lays Hardware building.)





The week after, I didn’t travel overnight, though taught some in Richmond and will be starting the portion of the month of me heading to Loudoun County (Northern Virginia) for a couple of weeks in a row…

I should also mention that I lost my little plastic soldier named Rebel Roy that I'd been photographing on my outreach travels a la Flat Stanley. There have been a couple of photos of him, including the one in this post with the BBQ sauce. I think I lost him after one of the hikes we took or at breakfast one morning in the hotel, and I was crushed. Mark made a tribute computer wallpaper that I'll try to post soon on here. I also chose another plastic soldier to replace him, though also decorated him with a black "armband" (Sharpie band on his arm) in memorium. Rebel Roy, I will miss you.