Today, October 28th, we are on our way from Heiskell, Tennessee to Campbellsville, Kentucky, where we will begin working for Amazon on Monday, November 1st. We are both prepared for being extremely tired and sore for the first two or three weeks as we have heard from several people who have worked there in the past. It is our understanding that we will be in better shape when we finish working there on December 23rd than we have been in years. No complaints about that from us!
Over the past two weeks, we have had the privilege of visiting the Creation Museum in Petersburg, Kentucky, Oak Ridge, Tennessee and the Great Smoky Mountains. It has been an amazing and at times emotional time for me. Let’s start with the Creation Museum.
We first went to the museum on October 18th, just to tour the botanical gardens and see their petting zoo. The garden and grounds are breathtaking, with a variety of trees, flowers, shrubs and man-made waterfalls. However, I was taken with the animals of course, especially the wallabies. One little “guy” in particular was right up next to the fence, and absolutely loved having his neck scratched. He grabbed hold of my hand and almost wouldn’t let go! He nibbled on my fingers a bit, but nothing hard … he was very gentle. They also had a camel, some sheep and goats, a cow, some horses, and then of course a zorse and a zonkey, both with beautiful brown, striped coats!
On Tuesday the 19th, we went back for our official visit to the museum. In addition to the regular tickets, we bought tickets to their two planetarium shows. We both thought they were better than most we have been to. The museum itself was fascinating and well worth the visit. Their main point is that the Bible and science aren’t incompatible at all. It just depends on your starting point as to how you interpret the evidence. However, if you start with the presumption that the Bible is true, the evidence supports what the Bible says. If one begins with the supposition that the Bible is NOT true, then one is forced to come up with an alternate explanation for what one sees in the physical record. We were both very glad we made the museum a priority in our travels south.
Wednesday the 19th was an odd day. About a week prior, I had discovered that I had an infection in a tear duct, went to an optometrist and was given oral antibiotics as well as an antibiotic eye drop. Oral antibiotics have always been difficult for me as they upset my stomach something terrible if I don’t eat. Unfortunately, one isn’t supposed to take them with food as it affects the absorption, so I always try to walk a fine line, taking the pill just a bit before I eat to give it a little time in my system before I introduce food. Well this particular morning I waited a bit too long and ended up getting quite sick. I had to lie down for several hours, which meant we didn’t get out to visit Cincinnati until mid-afternoon. As this was our only opportunity to see the city, we opted to simply drive around the area until we found something interesting. We did just that and ended up walking across the “Purple People Bridge” into Newport, Kentucky! This bridge spans the beautiful Ohio River and afforded us a nice but not strenuous walk.
We left Ohio on the 21st and drove through Kentucky into Tennessee. This entire area is gorgeous with rolling hills and lots of trees. Of course the fact that it is the end of October didn’t hurt any, as we were treated to the most beautiful display of fall colors either of us has ever seen. As has been our practice since we left Indiana, I took my turn at the wheel and drove for about 65 miles or so. Approximately 10 minutes before I turned off the freeway to get fuel for our truck and lunch, I noticed the truck felt weird, as if we were being pushed. I looked outside at the trees to see if there was a lot of wind, and although it was windy to a point, it didn’t look like it was windy enough to cause the sensation I was feeling. I didn’t mention it to Wayne though because since he didn’t say anything and obviously wasn’t feeling anything odd, I thought perhaps it was just the road itself. Lo and behold, when I pulled into the Cracker Barrel parking lot, Wayne discovered we had a flat tire on our trailer! Obviously I had driven over something on the freeway, as there was a hole the size of a penny in the tire … you could even see the metal inside! No wonder it felt weird to me! Oh well, no harm, no foul! Wayne was able to change the tire after we ate lunch and on we went!
Our destination was an Escapees RV park in Heiskell, Tennessee named Raccoon Valley RV Park. We love going to the Escapees parks, as not only are they very inexpensive, but we just feel at home with the people. For the most part, they are all full-time RVers like us, and everyone is generally very friendly.
The overriding reason for spending the week in this area was to be able to visit Oak Ridge, Tennessee. My father, Robert Maxwell, served in the Army as well as a civilian during and after WWII in the secret city of Oak Ridge as part of the Manhattan Project. He worked at the K-25 plant where they were responsible for trying to enrich uranium through gaseous diffusion. Beginning in 1942, the government took over this rural area, forcing some 3,000 residents to pack up and leave in the space of two weeks. They then brought in contractors and proceeded to build an entire city and 3 plants in 1½ years. At the height of production in 1945, the city housed 75,000 people. My father was one of those people. (The K-25 plant was the largest building under one roof in the world at the time.)
Sometime around 1945, my mother’s family moved there as well, where my grandfather worked as a policeman. In God’s provident timing, my mother attended church and my father ushered her to her seat, and there began the romance that would blossom into a lifelong relationship. They were married on August 24, 1946 at the Chapel-on-the-Hill in Oak Ridge, TN.
In addition, my oldest brother was born in Oak Ridge in February 1948.
While visiting Oak Ridge, we were able to view part of the K-25 plant while on an excursion train ride, we found the Chapel-on-the-Hill, and we were also able to find two of the three homes they lived in while in Oak Ridge. It was absolutely thrilling for me to be able to travel back in time, so to speak, and see this area that was the birthplace of my immediate family. As awful as the atomic bomb is/was, it was very interesting to hear the history surrounding its creation. Although I am sure all of us hope that the two atomic bombs dropped on Japan are the only ones that will ever be used, one cannot argue that their use at the time brought a swift conclusion to the war.
While visiting Oak Ridge, we were able to view part of the K-25 plant while on an excursion train ride, we found the Chapel-on-the-Hill, and we were also able to find two of the three homes they lived in while in Oak Ridge. It was absolutely thrilling for me to be able to travel back in time, so to speak, and see this area that was the birthplace of my immediate family. As awful as the atomic bomb is/was, it was very interesting to hear the history surrounding its creation. Although I am sure all of us hope that the two atomic bombs dropped on Japan are the only ones that will ever be used, one cannot argue that their use at the time brought a swift conclusion to the war.The final highlight of the past two weeks was our visit to the Great Smokey Mountains this past Tuesday, the 26th. Words simply cannot describe the beauty of this area. All I can say is, God’s paintbrush on these mountains with the millions of trees turning red, yellow and orange along with the summertime green was a sight to behold.
Toward the middle of the afternoon, a severe storm moved into the area and we got absolutely soaked to the skin while trying to walk to the top of the highest peak (6,600+ feet). We quickly gave up as we realized the clouds had descended on the mountain and we were literally in the middle of the storm with little visibility and no chance for photographs. It was disappointing as the view on a clear day from there must be brilliant. That view will have to wait until our next visit. On the way back to our 5th wheel trailer, we drove straight into a severe thunderstorm complete with thunder, lightening, and wind. The rain came down so hard, it was almost like driving through a waterfall. The windshield wipers couldn’t even come close to keeping up and Wayne could barely see to drive. He, along with the other drivers, slowed way down until the rain let up. We were under a tornado watch, but fortunately we escaped that part of the storm.Well, that brings us up to date. Who knows when I will get to update next. I will try to write something about our experiences in Amazon sometime in November, but working 10-hour days on our feet will definitely take a toll on my energy level and willingness to think! I imagine it will be work, eat, sleep, and repeat for quite some time! Until then, God bless!
