On The Road ’08 – Day 9

Cumberland Gap National Historical Park

In the morning, I am so tired and got up so late. So, I took a shower in an hour and dressed up quickly because everyone waited for me. OOPS! I am cooked some bacon only myself because other people were already ate something else and made my own lunch which is a ham sandwich.
Then we were ready to go to the Cumberland Gap National Historical Park. Sophia and I wanted to see the imagination of Daniel Boone crossing in the National Park during in the late 1700s in the CGNHP because it was our investigation time. Once, we arrived at the CGNHP, and we needed to go to the restrooms before we were beginning to hike to tri states observation. It was pretty hot outside and it was perfect weather for us.

When we got there, in the tri states observation and there were beautiful plants, trees, and flowers, too. I really enjoyed hike for 1 ½ miles with others kid and 3 instructors and seen a lot difference plants, and flowers too. And we enjoyed looking at the view of the Cumberland Gap in the Mountains. Also, we just touched at the same time 3 different states are Tennessee, Kentucky, and Virginia.

In a few minutes later, we hiked back to go to down to the parking lot. I saw the natural beautiful of Appalachian Mountains, lust with vegetation, and animals’ life, too. It has different animals; black bear, rabbit, raccoon, opossum, gray squirrel, fox, and wild turkey. We didn’t see any animals but especially, of course we saw a gray squirrel. Mostly, we noticed plants, and it was different kind of plants. We were imagining that Daniel Boone and his troops have to find a path and cutting the trees, plants, and others, too. Because he needs to have a huge space to carriage their horses, stuffs, and others too. And we walked through Native American (Cherokee) land. I feel bad for Pioneers finding on the Cumberland Gap and it was hard work to cutting the trees.

What a road have we passed! Certainly the worst on the whole continent, even in the best weather; yet, bad as it was, there were four or five hundred crossing the rude hills . . . men, women, and children, almost naked, paddling barefoot and bare-legged along, or labouringly up the rocky hills, whilst those who are best off have only a horse for two or three children to ride at once.
– From journal of Francis Ashby, 1803

The American who was a colonist wanted to move west over the Appalachian Mountains. One man’s name is Daniel Boone, decided to move west over the Appalachian Mountains because the pioneers needed to have a huge space for their farm, house, and others too. In 1769, Boone and five men traveled along the wilderness trails and through the Cumberland Gap in the Appalachian Mountains into Kentucky. They found a “hunter’s paradise” with buffalo, deer, wild turkey and meadows for farming. Boone and his family went to there in one day. In 1775 Boone and 30 other woodsmen were hired to improve the trail between the Carolinas and the West. The resulting route reached into the Kentucky and became know as the “Wilderness Road.” The same year, Boone built a fort and village called Boonesborough in Kentucky, and moved his family over the Wilderness Trail to their new home.

Boone and the native people of Kentucky during the Revolutionary War, in 1776, Shawnee kidnapped his daughter and two other girls. A few days later, Boone caught up with the Indians and through attack rescued the girls. In 1778, he was captured by group of Shawnee and learned that the tribe was planning a attack on Boonesborough. The Indians admired his skills as a hunter and woodsman and invited him into their tribe as son of blackfish. He escaped when he learned the Shawnee; the British were planning to another attack on Boonesborough. When British soldiers and the Indians attacked, Boonesborough. A few days later, Chief Blackfish and the British finally withdrew.

After the Revolutionary War, Boone worked at the Ohio River and settled for a time in Virginia (West Virginia). Boone lost all of his property and he followed his son, Daniel Morgan Boone to Missouri for traveling by canoe. His family and he paddled down the Ohio River to St. Louis.

My favorite part is falling on the rock; I will tell you a short story about Cesar-Gabriel. At first, the instructors asked us that if we wanted to go to the top of the ridge then we really wanted to go to there. We made it walked on the top of the ridge and took a picture. When it was done, we took off to go to down to the path. Somehow; Cesar-Gabriel decided to run down, he started to fall on the rock and kept bumping on the grass. Cesar-Gabriel was so scared and tried to stop and he did stop. And he almost hit on the small tree. Everyone started to laugh so hard and the next is Narelis started to fall, too. And she was safe, too. HEH! I am really learned a lot history about Daniel Boone.