April 2 - “Entrapment, annihilation, and an American victory”

Our exciting stumble of the day? We drove through Marshville, North Carolina. And why was that such an accidental marvel? Why, because Marshville has a distinctive claim to fame. It’s the birthplace of none other than Randy Travis. No big attempt to draw in tourists, though. Just a big mural of his face on the  side of a building. 

Around lunchtime we finally reached the first of our two goal sites of the day, King’s Mountain National Battlefield. It was a key victory for the Patriots in the Revolutionary War. Sadly, the visitors center was closed, so no stamp for the book. Chris said she could just make one of her own. The highlighted hike was listed as just a mile and a half, so we decided to tackle it before getting some lunch. 

Perhaps that wasn’t our finest decision of the trip. Oh, the trail was well-marked and even was covered in that rubbery substance.  But we failed to take into account that this was, after all, King’s MOUNTAIN. That trail was the toughest one all journey. A few almost vertical climbs (at least they seemed so to us). And the return down the mountain had some pretty severe slopes. You know, the kind where your toes get all scrunched up against the front of your shoe. Ouch. There were a few stops for Chris to “take pictures.”  (Code for catch your breath and let your heart rate calm down). But we made it the whole way. Yay us!

Next on the list was the Cowpens Battlefield National Monument. The visitors center was closed at this one, too, but we went in to check out the hikes anyway. And to our surprise, they had set out a bunch of stickers with three stamps on them, all for the taking. Check. 

This place was another Revolutionary War battle site. We did the hike there. My favorite comment from the many noted on signs along the trail: 

“The stage was set for entrapment, annihilation, and an American victory.”

Go, Patriots! Go, ‘Murica!

Psalms‬ ‭103‬:‭2‬ says, My soul, praise the Lord, and do not forget   all His benefits.

Father, thank you for our really full day yesterday. Those walks were tough but fun. Amen.