Plains, Georgia and Andersonville Prisoner of War Memorial

October 2nd and 3rd-  When we first moved to South Carolina, I remember reading an article about Plains, GA, and how you could often still see President and Rosalyn Carter around town.  Even after his bout with brain cancer, President Carter still teaches Sunday school in his church twice per month.  If you are there at the right time, visitors are welcome to attend.  I thought that it would be really interesting to see the town.

We arrived in Plains in mid-afternoon on Tuesday, staying in Americus- a lovely nearby town that is somewhat larger than Plains.  Since it was still early, we took a drive into Plains, traveling by large cotton fields and fields of green leafy plants that we rightly assumed to be peanuts.  There is a peanut processing plant just on the edge of town.  Dale was fascinated with the idea of how they were processed- coming out of the ground so dirty, but very clean when you buy them in the shell...  The downtown (just one street with buildings on one side of the street) has a large banner, announcing the town as the home of Jimmy Carter, the 39th President of the United States.  In spite of that distinction, Plains appears to have maintained the atmosphere of a small agricultural town.

In 1987, Congress designated a portion of the town as Jimmy Carter National Historic Site.  The site is comprised of his boyhood farm and home, his high school (where he met Rosalyn), his current residence which is not open to the public,  and the railroad depot that served as his presidential campaign headquarters.  In addition to the national park sites, the preserved area includes a historic district and agricultural lands in and around the town.

We arrived too late in the day to tour any of the park sites, so made plans to return the next morning.  Our hotel registration person should have been a tour director.  When we told her our plans, she enthusiastically expanded on what we should see in Plains.  She then informed us about Andersonville National Historic Site, which was the site of a Confederate prisoner of war prison, and the National Prisoner of War Museum and Memorial.  We had not been aware of its existence in this area.  It sounded like a second night stay would be needed to see everything.  In addition to sightseeing advice, she sent us to a great little restaurant in historic downtown Americus, The Station, for dinner.

Our tour of Plains the next morning started at the high school, where quotes from Jimmy's most influential teacher have been painted on the walls.  Both Jimmy and Rosalyn attended grammar and high school in this building.  There is still a classroom set up the way it was when he was a student there (brought back memories...), an informative film on his life leading up to and including his presidency, and a display of projects and other information on the Carter Foundation.  The Foundation does humanitarian works in many third world countries.  The Foundation, as well as the Carter Presidential Library, are located just outside Atlanta.

Our next tour stop was the boyhood home and farm, about 2 miles outside of the downtown area.  The National Park Service now owns 15 acres of the original 360 acre farm.  The farm grew cotton, peanuts, and corn to sell as well as vegetables and livestock for use by the family.  In addition to the house, there are several other buildings on the site- farm buildings, a windmill, a commissary where his father sold seed and other necessities to neighboring farms.  There are still some animals on the farm, including an acrobatic goat (aren't they all?) and a fat cat lazing in the sun.

We toured the house and walked the grounds of the small farm area.  The interior of the house reveals how simply the Carter's lived, and he notes in his writings what a significant change came to the farm with the introduction of electricity.  They were considered prosperous by the local standards. He grew up working the farm alongside African-American employees, some of whom were his childhood friends.  This may have influenced his views on Civil Rights.  This quote by him was posted in the high school:  "I say to you quite frankly that the time for racial discrimination is over...The test of a government is not how popular it is with the powerful and privileged few, but how honestly and fairly it deals with the many who most depend upon it."  Wise words that still apply today!

Our last tour stop was the train depot in downtown Plains.  The depot is the oldest building in Plains, and was used as the headquarters for the 1976 campaign.   The building was chosen because it was the only empty building in town that had a restroom!  Jimmy's campaign was managed by local people, and supported with local people stuffing envelopes, making phone calls, and doing fundraisers.  Many speeches were given with this little building as a backdrop.  When the election was successful, townspeople went to the inauguration - along with Jimmy and Rosalyn- on a train dubbed "The Peanut Express", leaving from that depot!  By the way, the infamous Billy Carter's gas station also still stands...
It was an interesting tour and definitely worth doing if you are in the area- or even as a weekend get away!

By the way, it was interesting to note that Rosalyn has established a Butterfly Trail, with the focus on native plantings that attract pollinators.  Information on how to establish a butterfly garden and join the trail is at www.jimmycarter.info.

We wandered into a few of the shops on the main street- a couple of gift shops, one with presidential memorabilia from many different eras, and an antique shop.  We had lunch in the local coffee shop- busy!- which was great.  We were able to talk to a few locals while enjoying lunch.  We followed it up next door by trying a local favorite- peanut butter ice cream!  Dale asked some questions about peanut processing, and made the suggestion that they have an area in town set up to demonstrate the process.  We were now fortified for our afternoon visit to Andersonville.

Andersonville is the most infamous of Civil War prisons, but was certainly not the only one.  There were approximately 150 others located around the country.  In spite of laws adopted by both the Confederacy and the Union in 1863 to protect prisoners, 56,000 prisoners of war died.  None of these prisons were designed to hold the 1000's of prisoners that lived and died in them.  There were some informal prisoner exchanges, some prisons paroled prisoners to decrease the need to feed and house them, and in 1862, a formal system was developed to exchange prisoners.  However, this fell apart when the Confederacy refused to exchange black U.S. soldiers.  As a result, all of these prisons became terribly overcrowded.  Later in the war, there was not enough to feed and care for fighting soldiers, let alone prisoners of war.  Disease, starvation, and exposure resulted in the deaths of thousands.

The museum is a modern building with extensive displays about the prisoner of war experience, beginning during the Revolutionary War and continuing on to present day.  They show two 1/2 hour films- one on Andersonville specifically, with actors reciting from writings of some of these prisoners, vividly describing their horrible experience.  The second film is on the prisoner of war experience.  John McCain was one of those interviewed for this film.  His, and the heroism of all the others, is unmistakable.  Because of his father's position in the military, he was offered an early release by his captors.  However, he refused to go "out of order", and remained a prisoner for years awaiting his turn.  By the end of that film, I was in tears...

The grounds of the prison itself consist of rolling, grassy hills with a partial corner wall reconstructed to resemble the stockade fencing of the compound, and three brick columns noting the other three corners.  Interspersed are white stakes marking the line of the fencing and an interior line of stakes marking the "dead zone", warning that prisoners would be shot immediately if they passed this line.  There are a number of memorials on the property from different states, representing those state citizens who died here.  The open, quiet expanse feels appropriate for a place were so many died.  There are still earthworks surrounding the location where cannon were housed- some pointing out, some pointing in at the prison...

Also on the grounds is Andersonville National Cemetery, which was established in 1865 to honor deceased veterans.  The first interments were of prisoners who died in the prison.  Many of these men were placed in unmarked graves, listed simply as a number.  One of the Union soldiers assigned to work in the hospital recorded the names and locations of the deceased, then secretly copied it and smuggled it out when he was released.  After the war, he returned to the site with Clara Barton, the founder of the Red Cross, who was looking for missing soldiers.  They were able to arrange an expedition to the prison to mark the graves of the dead, allowing families to locate their graves.  When you walk through the cemetery, it is evident how close together the old gravestones are placed- marked with just numbers, marking the mass graves.

This was certainly not an uplifting experience as the last stop on our trip.  However, I feel it is something that is important to see and understand.  As I mentioned, a great weekend excursion from the Lowcountry..

Tomorrow, we are headed home.  I will put in one more entry once I figure all of our "trip statistics".

I think it is appropriate to end this entry with another quote from Jimmy-

"War may sometimes be a necessary evil.  But no matter how necessary, it is always an evil, never a good.  We will not learn how to live together by killing each other's children."

Heading East- Robert Trent Jones Golf Trail

September 30th & October 1st- We spent an overnight on the 29th in Russellville, AR.  On the 30th, as we crossed the border into Tennessee, we crossed over the Mississippi River.  In all of our trips west, the crossing of the Mississippi in either direction is a big deal for us.  It signifies either "now we are Out West" or "now we are nearing home".  We have always tried to find a place to stop and spend a few minutes admiring this huge river that has played such a big part in our countries' history.  On this trip, that has not worked in either direction- just crossing in very busy, industrial areas that don't lend themselves to sight-seeing.  It is a little sad for me, as we have decided this will be our last driving trip west.  If and when we return to the West, it will be by plane and rental car... 

I remember clearly our first crossing, on our very first trip in 2009.  We were driving the northern route and crossed the river on the border of Wisconsin and Minnesota.  It was so narrow that far north we almost did not realize what we were seeing.  We found a place to pull in- there were actually picnic tables there, a very rural area- and spent some time admiring the river and becoming even more excited about our adventure!  The river has many good memories for us.

On arriving in Decatur, we did some research on which course we wanted to play- the nearby Hampton Cove in Huntsville has three courses to choose from, the Highlands, the River, and the Short Course.  This club is considered the northern gateway to the Robert Trent Jones Trail.  We automatically threw out the Short Course then, after realizing the River course has 16 out of 18 holes with water, we decided on the Highlands.  We were a little concerned about weather and possible rain.  As it turned out, it was overcast all day, with a few sprinkles here and there, but not bad. 

For all of you non-golfers, the RTJ Golf Trail is a group of 26 golf courses in 11 different sites in Alabama, a total of 468 golf holes, all designed by Robert Trent Jones, Sr.  The project was started in the 1980's to bring in tourism and encourage retirees to come to Alabama.  The courses have enough variety in length to allow all players to enjoy the courses. 

The course we chose to play is considered one of the gems of the trail, with several scenic holes near the end.  It also has an old mule barn on one of the holes- a recognizable landmark for anyone who has played the trail.  The course itself was very playable but, surprisingly, not in the pristine shape we had expected from all we have heard.  However, a very enjoyable course to play- and I played much better than previous games on this trip, so I was happy!

You can certainly see in the photos that it was an overcast day.  We had lunch at the course before heading back to our motel.   Where to next?  Dale and I had often discussed how we would like to go to Plains, GA.  Not that we were big fans of President Carter when he was in office, but feel he is a great, kind man, and wanted to see his hometown.  So, that will be the next stop!

Heading East- Woolaroc Museum and Wildlife Preserve, OK

September 27th thru 29th- We left Pagosa Springs, heading east through the mountains.  I had hoped to see some fall color on this trip, having heard the aspen are really beautiful in the fall.  To this point, we had been disappointed, but crossing the mountains at high elevation- over 9000 feet, the highest elevation of this trip- we did see some of those beautiful trees.  The road followed a river, with some good areas to stop and enjoy the views.

You can notice, however, in the top photo, all the dead trees on the mountainside.  These are not trees that have "gone by", these are evergreens that have been killed by a beetle, a persistent problem in the West.

We made our way into the Texas panhandle the first day, staying over in the town of Dalhart.  We asked the front desk person for a restaurant recommendation, preferably one where we could get a glass of wine and a beer, and she directed us to a nice place just outside of town.  When we ordered our drinks, the bartender informed us that we were in a dry county, and the only place you could purchase alcohol was in a private club, where you needed to be a member.  However, for the small price of $3, both of us could become members for three days!  One way for the county to make a little extra money, while still getting tax money for the alcohol.  She also told us that the town of Dalhart was in two separate counties- one was dry and one was not- and we happened to be on the dry side.

We were not in a great hurry to get home, so started looking for some interesting sites to see on route.  I found a place called Woolaroc, a museum and wildlife preserve, that was just about one day's drive east near Bartlesville, Oklahoma.  We have driven through Texas and Oklahoma before, so we were prepared for the FLAT land, the ranches, and the opportunity to see more antelope.  The town of Bartlesville, located in the northeast corner of Oklahoma, was quite a bit larger than we anticipated- over 37,000 people- so it was pretty easy to find good places to eat.  As I was reviewing the map, trying to figure out where we stayed the last time we were in this area, turned out we had been in this town before! 

The next morning we drove out to Woolaroc, about 12 miles outside of town.  This section of Oklahoma is considered part of the Osage Hills.  We planned to spend the morning there.  Woolaroc covers about 3,700 acres, and was designed and built as a retreat by oilman Frank Phillips (of Phillips 66 fame) back in 1925.  The drive into the museum was nice- they have some animals that are fenced in, but many others that just come to the area, especially in the fall, to graze and spend the winter.  Phillips wanted the area to maintain the feel of the old West, as he remembered it prior to the 20th century.  Guests are cautioned to stay in their vehicles because of the free-roaming animals.  The woman at the ticket booth told us we should see elk, as they were beginning to move down from higher elevations.  We did see elk, as well as a few bison- some fenced and some roaming free, and fallow deer- a small European deer that can be black, brown, or fawn colored with spots.  They also had Highland cattle ("heery cooze" of Scottish fame) fenced in near the museum.

The museum covers the history of the West, dating back to some of the earliest Native American inhabitants up to the time of the "oil rush".  The 50,000 square foot building has some nice sculptures on the property, and contains an incredible number of artifacts and art pieces, including a couple by Frederick Remington.  The gun collection is extensive- though Dale and I spent very little time in that area!  It is really almost overwhelming to take it all in. 

The last section of the museum focuses on the development of the oil industry, including the history of early flight.  Phillips developed the first aviation-specific fuel.  In response to a contest to be the first plane to fly to Hawaii from the mainland, they developed and sponsored a small plane, which won the race.

After a full morning in the museum, we headed out to find lunch, landing at a small lunch cafe not far from Woolaroc.  We had decided our next stop should be golf related.  We had always wanted to play some of the Robert Trent Jones courses in Alabama- and after all, Alabama was right on our way home- so we set a course for Decatur, AL.

Pagosa Springs and Chimney Rock National Monument

September 24th thru 26th-  We arrived late in the day in Pagosa Springs- a pretty area with rugged mountains, the San Juans, as a backdrop.  Staying in a small condo for a few days is always a nice break from a hotel room. 

The next morning, we went downtown to explore.  As may be evident in the name of the town, (Pagosa means "healing waters" in Ute, who vied with other tribes for ownership of the springs) it was built around the hot springs that bubble up at 140 degrees on the edge of downtown, flowing into the San Juan River.  It became a popular spa area in the late 19th century.  Today, there are several spas open to the public.  At dinner our first evening, we ran into a couple from Durango who drive the 50 miles every week to use the springs, which are purported to have medical benefits.  We explored several options to use the springs, but could not overcome the very strong stench of sulfa... we had used the outdoor hot springs in Steamboat Springs, but these seemed overly commercialized, and very crowded! 

We wandered up by the large resort hotel that has the "mother spring" on its property- very pretty. lots of native plantings around the building, and a number of awards for sustainable practices.  Several of the public buildings downtown use the springs for heating.

There was a nice river walk area, with several greenhouse buildings near the end, where they are experimenting with different growing options.  The Audubon had a "native bee" house to attract native bees to the plantings.

After lunch, we headed over the the Chimney Rock National Monument, which I had on my list, but had forgotten was so close to Pagosa Springs.  Chimney Rock is located on top of a high mesa, and is the home to ancestors of the Pueblo Indians.  This location has what I have decided is the cutest little visitor center we have yet seen.  After driving 2 1/2 miles up the mesa, we a self-guided walking tour around the area, where remains of pit houses and a kiva are visible.  They do offer a ranger guided tour to the top, where there are ruins of what they believe was a ceremonial building, but the last one for the day had already left.  There are great views from the top, as well.

Golf was next on our list, so Wednesday morning we headed for the local course.  The course was pretty, well maintained (except for dodging the goose poop from the resident Canada Geese...), and had nice views.  We have truly lucked out with weather this trip- have not had any reason to pull out the rain jackets.  It was not a particularly easy course, made more difficult by elevation- 7105 feet- also the name of their restaurant.  We did OK until half way through the second nine, which seemed to do us in.  Overall, not a bad way to spend a day.   

This was a good break for us before beginning our trek back east.  Tomorrow, we will head to Oklahoma.