Carl Henning

On February 3, 1959 an airplane crashed in a snow-covered Iowa cornfield. The pilot and three singers perished in the crash. Today, a gravel road north of Clear Lake has a place to pull over at an oversized pair of black-rim glasses. A quarter mile path through the cornfield ends at the spot where the plane crashed. A small memorial reminds us the Buddy Holley, Rickie Valens, and the Big Bopper died here with pilot Roger Peterson.

There’s a SPAM Museum in Austin, Minnesota. Who knew? The lady at the Minnesota Welcome Center knew. And said it’s the second most visited site in Minnesota (after The Mall). We were in Minnesota because we took a detour on the way home so Kay could claim her 50th state. I already had mine and had been to Minnesota for work (and Twins’ games) a couple times.

Next time you’re passing through Elkhart, IN, visit the National New York Central Railroad Museum; we did. I’ve never visited a train museum with this much rolling stock and I’ve visited more than a few. Don’t miss the video.

Rutherford B. Hayes was, of course, the 19th president of the US, serving from 1877 to 1881. He had promised to only serve only one term. He had been an officer in the Union army and was wounded five times. He was finally confirmed three days before the inauguration in The Compromise of 1877.

We had time to visit another waterfall before visiting the railroad museum in Saluda, NC at the “top of the grade.”.

Bill and Mary took us on a tour of The North Carolina Arboretum and the nearby Blue Ridge Parkway with a stop at the Folk Art Center where several purchases were made strictly to support the arts.

A guided tour of beautiful downtown Jonesboro, TN was provided by Torsten and Caitlin (who did not want to leave). I took a number of photos but I’m just going with one.

Cumberland Falls is not in or close to Cumberland Gap National Historical Park (which spans KY, TN, and VA). We had trouble getting there because Apple Maps is stupid.

Cumberland Falls – the Niagara of the South, the only falls in the hemisphere with a moonbow (like a rainbow but caused by the moon). We did not visit during a full moon, or even at night, but we were rewarded with a rainbow..

Noah was working in his rec room when a bell rang and God called him, according to the famous Bill Cosby monologue. The source may be out of favor, but the comedy is spot on. We visited on a day when it started to rain. How appropriate.