Spring Shakedown to Shilo--Pt. 1

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Every spring we unwinterize the RV and after putting in some clothes, load it up with food and take off for a weekend or longer but near home to ensure we haven’t forgotten anything and we will be ready to take off for longer trips. This “shakedown” is always a fun time, a bit fretful lest we forgot something or worse, forget how to do something. That’s why we stay close to home, so we aren’t caught out far away cursing our ignorance.



This year we got the coach ready and had water on board, hot water heater primed (don’t want to burn the tank out by not having water in it!) and checked the tires professionally for air and condition. We loaded the staples, put in a few clothes, and added a new electric heater. After volunteering helping with taxes on Monday and Tuesday, we took off for northwest Alabama and then into Tennessee to see the Shilo battlefield for 3 days.



Our first stop was north of Florence, AL just off the Natchez Trace at Te-lay-nee’s wall. If you have not heard of it, here is a link to a NY Times article.



https://www.nytimes.com/2014/07/23/us/off-alabamas-beaten-path-tribute-to-a-native-americans-journey-home.html?_r=0



We first heard this story when we read a book If the Legends Fade which we picked up at our library about a year ago. The book is written for a junior high audience but held our attention and we found it fascinating. What makes it even more gripping is that it is true. The writing style is not always smooth, but the passion of the writer, the great-great grandson of Te-lay-nee, is overpowering. Three and a half years ago we came back from our western trip covering much of the same ground this young Native American girl covered and we could picture the struggles she had with the settlers, Army, rogues, and terrain. What an adventure!



Tom Hendrix, author, had a vision of his great-great grandmother wanting him to tell her story. He learned from his grandmother the old tales and also wanted to do something to honor this woman, so he built a rock wall almost a half mile long and weighing over nine tons. It took him years to construct and the stones represent both the journey to Indian Territory in Oklahoma and the journey back to Tennessee that this brave girl made. The wall he built is amazing; it was built on his property next to the Natchez Trace and is both haunting and peaceful. Tom passed away this past February, but his son carries on his message, greeting visitors and telling his great-great-great grandmother’s story. While we were there, we met a gentle man (typed deliberately) who was the native flute player on a DVD made of the story of the wall. As the NY Times article says:

Trace Hendrix, the second of Mr. Hendrix’s five children, spends weekends helping his father clear branches and sell rock carvings of crosses, letters and frogs. He listens closely. One day he will inherit the wall and its stories.

“He’s taught me patience and to look at life with your third eye, your heart,” Trace Hendrix said.

We were honored to have met Trace and talk with him on our visit.

The wall is the largest man-made monument to a woman in the US, possibly in the world. It is listed on the Smithsonian list of monuments and holds many distinctions. We strongly recommend this book and urge you to take an hour to visit if you are anywhere near Florence, AL. If you are parents or Grandparents, get the book and read it to your children/grandchildren and help carry on the message of Te-lay-nee.



Leaving the wall, we drove further north and crossed the dam on the Tennessee at Pickwick Lake to get to the Pickwick Lake State Park and Campground. We were camping here for three nights to spend time visiting the Shilo Battlefield and the Corinth, MS Civil War Interpretive Center.



The campground was lovely, but the campsites were older and needed upgrades for modern RVs. All sites had water and electric, but the actual back-ins were narrow, many with steep inclines (hard to level) and the asphalt was crumbled and broken. However, with Trish’s bad knee, we had a handicapped tag for the car and so took one of the 3 handicapped sites which was paved concrete, large, and very level. Some advantage to being old and gimpy.

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Photos

Te-lay-ney's wall--journey home
This section of the wall is longer (it took her 5 years to walk back) and not as straight, since she had to detour around settlements, avoid strangers, and figure out how to cross major rivers.

Ancestor's in the wall
Stones with "faces" fill parts of the wall. These represent the ancestors who were marched out to Oklahoma and never had a chance to return. The spirits accompanied Te-lay-ney and were with Tom as he built the wall.

Fitting the wall to the landscape
Tom built the wall respecting nature and incorporating trees within the wall, but leaving them space. This is the Native way...to respect all of life and honor it.

Obstacles on the way home
Perfect example of how the wall represents the journey.

End of the journey
This is taken near the end of the journey home. There is a rock (not shown) that was placed to represent Tom's grandmother, who told him the tales, and is his commitment to continue to honor his ancestors.