Robyn and I enjoyed a week trip to Tennessee, stopping on the way to see Grandma Joyce in Bountiful, UT and an Italy Padova Mission Reunion in Salt Lake City on Conference Sunday.
Robyn and Jeff at the hotel Cookeville, TN, up the road from Sparta,
ready to start our adventure.
Meeting Charles Dodson, Robyn's distant cousin, in Sparta, TN.
Charles has his ATV ready to take us up the old road to the Davis Cemetery, between the area known as "Big Bottom" and Scott's Gulf.
Meeting our friendly and expert guides
from the TN Department of Wildlife Resources, ready to head up the road.
Robyn, Charles Dodson, Paul Stochman, and James Douglas.
After a 2+ mile ride, we arrive at the Davis Cemetery. Its marked by a trail sign.
Viewing the graves.
The "tent graves" with their peculiar inverted "V" slabs
are unique to the Cumberland Plateau area in TN.
E. Davis grave.
Another family grave.
Walking along the Cemetery.
Notice how beautifully the State of Tennessee, under the direction of area manager James Douglas, maintains the remote graves and cemetery,
keeping the grass mowed, and site pristine.
THANK YOU!
Returning to civilization. The river rose to nearly 2 feet, from underground flows.
James guided us to family homesites, other nearly forgotten graves, the old school site, etc.
It was a fantastic trip.
Visiting another family-related church and cemetery site in the area.
James Davis, original pioneer in the area, buried here.
Modern marker honoring James Davis' service.
Charles took us to another area cemetery, dating from 1811 and still used today.
After much hunting, we located the grave site of Asa Frasier.
This is a modern stone on an old grave.
Later in our trip, we visited The Homestead,
President Andrew Jackson's home outside of Nashville TN.
Weird coincidence: a 19th century "Marion Adams"
gravestone in the Andrew Jackson family cemetery at The Homestead.
We didn't know there was another person with Grandma Marion's name, born appx. 100 years earlier in TN, not related as far as we know.
We went to three different country music shows while in Nashville:
Music City Roots, Ryman Auditorium and Grand Ole Opry.
Lots of fun; trip of a lifetime.
