BACK TO PINEWILD 5

So, from "Pell to Pine"

But first, a bit about Pell City. Had never heard of it, but then, the country is so vast, how could one know every place by name?

Pell City was founded in 1890 by railroad investors and named after George Pell of the Pell City Iron and Land Company, one of its financial backers. The city was incorporated on May 6, 1891.

 Kids are well-provided for in this town!

There's even a "kastle" for them. Fun town.

And for those who prefer sea-air... I know at least ONE person who would love to have access to all this.

But never mind... Pinewild awaits. Via Georgia

Georgia's terrain spans coastal beaches, farmland and mountains. Capital city Atlanta is home of the Georgia Aquarium and the Martin Luther King Jr. National Historic Site.

Georgia is known as the Peach State, but it's also the country's top producer of pecans, peanuts, and vidalia onions. The state's onions are considered some of the sweetest in the world. (Onions can be “sweet”?)

Speaking of peanuts, Ashburn, Georgia, is home to the world largest (fake) one. 

Some commerce on the freeway:

Follow those cars!

 

Altanta
Just skirting Atlanta, avoiding the mayhem of its traffic! 

But if I were really into commenting something about Atlanta, it would be a couple of things. First, in Finland in my childhood there was a coffee creamer called 'Atlanta.' But most importantly—I guess—Atlanta is the host town for Masters golf tournaments. This month, as it happens, the PGA Championship is currently underway on Bethpage Black Course. (My dear hubby has played the East Lake Golf Course, the oldest course in Atlanta.)

It seems we encountered all possible road- and bridgework everywhere!

Stone Mountain

Funny how plans can change quite suddenly. Stone Mountain was about the only place I really wanted to see on this trip... But when we missed the road there and we were getting tired and anxious to get home, we decided not to go back and retrace the miles. BTW, this is how our road map would have look like had we actually visited the site:

Well, anyway, this is what I found out. 

Stone Mountain is well known for not only its geology, but also the enormous rock relief on its north face, the largest bas-relief in the world. The carving depicts three Confederate figures, Jefferson Davis, Robert E. Lee and Stonewall Jackson, and has been the subject of widespread controversy.

These pictures show the bas-relief depth and size in detail:

Stone Mountain is also a popular sight-seeing and picnicking destination—in fact, it is the most visited destination in the state of Georgia.

At its summit, the elevation is 1,686 feet (514 m) above sea level and 825 feet (251 m) above the surrounding area. 

Stone Mountain is more than 5 miles (8 km) in circumference at its base. The summit of the mountain can be reached by a walk-up trail on the west side of the mountain or by the Skyride aerial tram. 

Penultimate State... South Carolina

Oh sweetness, we are almost there... but first this oddity that ought to belong to Georgia, but here it is, in Gaffney, South Carolina.

And so, forget all the commentaty and look for this, our 9th State on this road trip.

And our home here for a little while...

BACK TO PINEWILD 4

Louisiana

Our overnight stop was in Monroe (nothing to do with Marilyn...). Not knowing the place at all, I did some research.

The settlement formerly known as Fort Miro adopted the name Monroe, during the first half of the 19th century, in recognition of the steam-powered paddle-wheeler James Monroe.

Perhaps the best known attraction in Monroe is Biedenharn Museum and Gardens where the history of Coca-Cola, first bottled by the Biedenharn Candy Company, is on display.

Louisiana Purchase Gardens and Zoo has exotic animals and a splash pad. Restored aircraft are on display at Chennault Aviation and Military Museum. North of the city, the cypress swamps of Black Bayou Lake National Wildlife Refuge are home to alligators and birds.

So we didn't actually see any of that... had not planned many stops anyway. Looks like we missed a lot of interesting things, but we had to carry on.

Mississippi

It's kind of like Massachusetts... most all double letters. Is it Finnish?

The name Mississippi comes from the French "Messipi"—the French rendering of the Anishinaabe (Ojibwe or Algonquin) name for the river, "Misi-ziibi," meaning "Great River." Mississippi is taken from an Indian word meaning "Father of Waters." Mississippi means "Large River" to the Chippewa Indians. (Take your pick!)

And the rives is large! The Mississippi River is the second-longest river and chief river of the second-largest drainage system on the North American continent, second only to the Hudson Bay drainage system. It is 2348 miles long and its origin is Lake Itasca in Minnesota and mouth, the Gulf of Mexico.

Crossing the Mighty Mississippi is always breath-taking.

Photo from Google

State No. 8:

Do my eyes deceive me, but is that... like... UTAH???

The city was named in honor of the Battle of Eutaw Springs, the last engagement of the American Revolutionary War in the Carolinas. The Springs in turn is named after the Eutaw Indian tribe—and by the way (I did not know this), “Alabama” is named after the Alabama tribe.

Today, despite some empty storefronts in its quaint downtown and some historic homes in need of restoration, Eutaw is a draw for tourists interested in its antebellum history, which is well and alive. And there is  plenty of history and mansions to see, like this Kirkwood Mansion:

This is the County Court House:

And while we are almost at the end of the day, what better place to stay the night than... Jerry's Motel!

Well, we did decide to carry on... and end the day with a lovely view of the River Park... Besides, we had to keep moving.

RETURN TO PINEWILD 3

RETURN TO PINEWILD 2

But first, this is our darling daughter Kim’s birthday...

Leaving the Pinal Mountains:

So now, TEXAS!

On our last cross-country tour after we had reached Texas, Frosty made the comment “Only 900 miles to go!” I said, “To get home?” His answer: “No, to get out of Texas.” And so it felt... and that was after having driven 500 miles.

At the portal to Texas, the first to welcome us was the U.S. Border Patrol. "Are you U.S. citizens?"—"Yes. Are you?" Hmmmm...

El Paso

We didn't take time to stop to explore El Paso, but I want to include a couple of pictures of the fascinating-looking town:

Photos from Google

(Now I wish we had stopped!)

As far as eye/I can see...

Some road signs that surprised me. Ice in Texas?

Yes, even a deer crossing was a (pleasant) surprise. "...where the deer and the antelope play..." But no buffalo. 

Definitely oil country! Wow, either old or working oil wells and tanks all along the way.

Photo from Google

And, of course refineries everywhere!

Photo from Google

Engineer-husband recognized some gas turbine power plants. 

So many trucks on the road! Our SUV seemed to shrink, mile by mile.

More fun signs, especially the "Unwelcome, Liberals." And loved the new, heretofore unseen speed limit of 80. Eighty!

(I have to confess that the "Liberals" sign is actually on I-40, but it conveys the spirit of Texas too well not to include it here.)

Photo from Google

Pecos

A segway back to my childhood, right here, in the middle of Texas country! One of my brother's favorite cartoons was Pecos Bill (though the Finns pronounced it 'Pesos Bill'—c=s), and I followed some of the adventures, as well. But here is Bill's town!

Before anybody thinks that the road was all industry, let me include a couple of pictures of the beautiful color that lined the freeway:

Here comes Midland!

Midland is known for oil and gas industry. However, most of us may think of it as the hometown of the Bush family. Both George W. Bush and George H. W. Bush, aside from being U.S. presidents, made a living and professional resumes withing Midland's oil and gas business.

Then there's this:

So, of course, when we encountered a long delay soon after Midland that caused the traffic to stop for nearly an hour, we expected some sad traffic accident. We have no information what exactly was going on, but it was a scary sight. Examining the pictures I snapped as we were finally moving by seems to indicate that it was not a traffic accident that caused the dealy (as we first assumed), but the loading of a large liquids container truck on to a long towing platform with the help of three cranes.

Texas is all about power generation, and here's the old turned into new: windmills.

When we live in Spain, I became instantly enamoured with the old windmills. I described  them as “crippled spiders” up on the hills on La Mancha.

On this trip, one could quickly get fill of them, not the historic, romantic molinas of Spain, but these giant white stuctures around the landscape here. One (this one) might say that they destroy the scenery...

Very fittingly, we drove through Sweetwater... Yes, that is a windmill wing, but as far as I can tell, the place has nothing to do with windmills manufacture and such. (The "fittingly" referred to the windmill wing only.)

After a long day of driving, we finally arrived at Abilene.