Chickamauga and Chattanooga National Military Park

There is an excellent visitor center at this park. The Fuller Gun Collection is a display of American Military shoulder arms, and I recognized the names of many of the guns from reading history: Brown Bess, blunderbuss, Remingtons, and Spenser Rifles to name just a few of the riles in at least twelve display cases. A fiber optic map explained the progession of the three day battle using red (for Confederate), white (for skirmishes as they happened) and blue (for Union) lights on a vertical map.
I did not take many pictures at the various sites of the tour of the battlefield because I listened to the audio description from my cell phone. Even my inexpensive phone with my card-loaded minutes was sufficient for this audio tour; no smartphone required.
Wilder's Monument has 139-steps inside to be climbed for a 360-degree view.

The next day Don and I stopped at Constitution Square in Danville KY and Perryville Battlefield about 10 miles away.

Cloudland Canyon State Park, Georgia

Cloudland Canyon is on the western edge of Lookout Mountain.
The park straddles a deep gorge cut into the mountain by Sitton Gulch Creek.

Don and I started at the scenic overlooks near the picnic area. We walked along the rim Trail unil the trail went to the bottom of the canyon
by a series of staircases. I did not count to verify there were 1200 steps to the bottom.
The two large waterfalls are Cherokee Falls
and Hemlock Falls.

Providence Canyon State Park, Georgia

The brochure from the tourist information intrigued us: Providence Canyon is known as Georgia's "Little Grand Canyon." Its 150 feet deep gullies were caused by poor farming practices during the 1800s. The canyon soils' pink, orange, red and purple hues make a beautiful natural pictures.



We started walking on the rim trail near the picnic areas,


and then we hiked down into the canyons to its sandy floor with a thin layer of water.
There are five canyons at the bottom and we took the easiest today, Canyon 2.

Lower Suwannee National Wildlife Refuge and Cedar Key

Don and I planned to make a road trip of our return to Ohio. We wanted to follow US 27 through Florida, Georgia, and connect to US 127 in Tennessee and Kentucky. Lesley warned us to avoid roads like Glacier Route 7, an allusion to the family vacation and a road in Montana's Glacier National Park that was more appropriate for a 4-wheel drive vehicle than our Chevy Van. So, here is a pictures of the graded, gravel road within Lower Suwannee National Wildlife Refuge for her.

The nature trail took us through hardwood swamps which were dry when we were there.



255 species of birds have been listed at this refuge by birdwatchers. A cardinal was the one I could spot and name.

Mullet were jumping in the Suwannee river faster than I could photograph.


Cedar Key is just down the road from this Refuge so we went there
for a quick look at the Gulf of Mexico
before returning to North 27.

The Rope by Nevada Barr

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


I eagerly anticipated the newest Anna Pigeon mystery from Nevada Barr, and I was not disappointed in this prequel. Glen Canyon National Park emerges as a well-defined setting that stands up to the abuses similar to those inflicted on Anna. We see the Anna's goals shift as she does the work necessary to restore the health of the lake with Jenny and learns to explore the slot canyons with the sport of canyoneering. She wants to become strong enough to be a law enforcement ranger.

As this book is a prequel, I can recommend it as a starting point for new readers, and I recommend it for fans of the series.



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Who Do You Think You Are?: The Essential Guide to Tracing Your Family History by Megan Smolenyak

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


This is a companion guide to the NBC series, and the middle section retells the stories of the episodes of the first season.

This book is also a 200-page guide to researching your own family tree, suggestions for the software that makes recording the history so much easier than paper filing, and suggestions for websites (fee-based and free) that can get you started from home.

I am a hobbyist, and I still found some websites to search from this book. I can recommend both beginners and hobbyists read it.



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Temptation by Brenda Jackson

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


This was the Free Friday selection from BN.com last Friday, and I read it within hours of downloading. This guilty pleasure was hard to put down because the author skillfully plots the action and uses dialogue to move the story forward.

I liked this romance for there was a mystery to it, and neither the heroine nor the hero caused the problem.

For those readers of the romance genre, primly I give this an R-rating. I'm sure there are those who might tell me this could pass for PG-13 these days.







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Promise Me Eternity by Ian Fox

My rating: 1 of 5 stars


I received a free copy of the book by the author in exchange for a review on my blog.

I started my rating at three stars, and I could not give it the fourth star which would indicate a recommendation to readers of this genre nor could I give the fifth star for skillful writing worth a second read. I took away one star for boring me with too many chapter-long backstories about minor characters. The fictive dream was broken several times when I disagreed with law enforcement jurisdiction and legal procedure terms.

I think Mr. Fox has potential but he self-published this too early. He needs the kind of editor rarely found in the self-publishing world: an editor who encourages the writer to polish a draft rewrite so that the dialogue always moves the story forward and the mystery-solving entertains the reader.



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Fodor's Norway, 8th Edition by Emmanuelle Alspaugh

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


I like this book includes national and regional dishes for I will want to include a taste of Norway on my trip. The cultural differences of meals and their times are explained.

I appreciate the inclusion of recommended movies such as KristinLavransdatter.



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Bananagrams!: The Official Book by Joe Edley

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

2011 Christmas gift from Lesley, Brandon and Liam. I predicted it would take me all year to finish the 575 puzzles inside.

I would have given it 5 stars if only I were a good enough puzzle-solver to complete all 575 puzzles. The book defeated me. I found myself looking up more and more solutions as I got to the 3- and 4-banana rated puzzles. I had some favorite types of puzzles, and when I finished all of them. I went to my next favorite types and worked on them.

This book was fun, until it reached a frustration level which was no longer fun. I recommend it, and I will seek out other editions as they become available.

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Crescent Dawn by Clive Cussler

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


I'm a Clive Cussler fan, and I eagerly anticipate the adventures of Dirk Pitt and Al Giordino. I love the adventures, I love following the research leads, and the suspense of wondering just how those two will save the day.



But it isn't just two anymore; a wonderful cast includes Loren, Rudi Gunn, Summer and Dirk the Younger. This family can be researching totally different projects and still come together to help each other. My one objection was the one time in the story when I was not sure which Dirk was helping an archeological dig as a marine engineer. I figured out which one, and I was quickly back into the story.



I continue to recommend Clive Cussler and Dirk Cussler's novels for their entertainment.





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