The Rains Came Tumbling Down

 Wow! We have been lucky all through the South, to have rain & thunderstorms at night. Our luck ran out!

I am about ready to start gathering up the squirrels, deer & chipmunks 2 by 2. I don't know when I have seen so much rain!!

After we left Mt. Airy (Mayberry) North Carolina, that was the last dry state. We had rain on & off at Cumberland Gap. Also very curvy & up & down mountains all the way.

It rained all night, thunder & lightning too! The next morning, Friday, we stopped at the Cumberland Gap Historic National Visitor Center.

I was particularly interested in Daniel Boone. I am related to his Aunt Sarah who married my ggggggggrandfather Jacob Stover. More on him when we get to Shenandoah. Daniel helped blaze a trail through the Cumberland Gap to which 200-300,000 settlers followed.  We watched an excellent video on his life trying to colonize & live with his family in Kentucky. He lost 2 boys & a brother to the Indians. More on Daniel:

I think sometimes we lose sight of the fact that these settlers in the 1700's had just as much tragedy & loss as the Mormon pioneers.

The Cumberland Gap area changed several times during the Civil War. It was very important because it was the only way to get supplies through, between Kentucky & Tennessee.

We drove most of the way in the rain to Corbin. Home of Colonel Sanders KFC. Of course we had to see the Museum & eat chicken. This was a Cafe & a motel that he owned. This was where he developed his recipe.

Aah that tasty chicken!!

The kitchen where the magic happened

The pressure cooker that started it all.

A sample of the dining room table setting.

A sample of a room in his motel.

Some displays of collectibles. 

Last but not least, as the sign says, "a piece of history!

When we walked out of the restaurant it was raining. When we got out of the parking lot it was thunder & lightning. By the time we drove a couple of blocks it was a downpour & flash flooding. Steve drove to the gas station & we sat it out.

Just that few blocks frayed both our nerves!!

We started out & saw a KOA sign. We both were ready to call it quits instead of driving 2 more hours in the same storm system to Lexington.

The storms were not done. It began the whole cycle again & for the rest of the night.

Now, do you want to hear the scary part?

THERE WAS A TORNADO WARNING FOR ABOUT 20 CITIES & WE WERE IN ONE OF THEM!!

Before I close, I just wanted you to know we were all right.