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This past Thursday a high temp record was set in our neck of the woods, reaching 80 degrees Fahrenheit and not yet March. Before it got quite to that temp, Bob, Cooper, and I headed to the northern start of the Thermal Belt Rail Trail, the incredible 13.5 mile trail that has been such a gift for my long runs in preparation for my marathon in Australia at the end of May. I have completed a 16 mile run and an 18 mile run on this lovely trail. Next weekend, I’ll do a 20 miler.

Since I do an out and back when I run, I haven’t reached the northern end/start point on my runs, so it was great to see what it looks like in daylight. We were also pleased to see a number of cyclists and walkers out as well.

Today, Bob and I headed to the amazing and free(!) Kings Mountain National Military Park to learn more about this battle that apparently helped turn the tide of the Revolutionary War. The battle was part of the Southern campaign and occurred on Kings Mountain (more of a hill really) in October 7, 1780.

One thing that I needed to be reminded of, as this war is often presented as colonists/Americans vs the British, but really this battle in particular and many others I’m sure we’re fought between colonists who wanted to be a free country (Patriots) and colonists who were loyal to the king (Loyalists). So a fight among neighbors sadly. In fact, the battle has been described as the largest all-American fight.

The overview of the battle is presented through a 25-minute film in the Visitor’s Center and then on placards and memorials along the 1.5 mile battlefield trail in the park. In a nutshell, the Patriots defeated the Loyalists by driving them back up the mountain and then encircling them there. As a British Commander had opted to kill all of the captured Patriots in a couple of prior battles, even as they waved a white flag, it didn’t go well for the remaining Loyalist troops on the top of the hill at the end of the battle.

After watching the film, we walked the Battlefield Trail Loop. The trail was filled with memorials to many of the men who were wounded or killed in the battle, including a surprising tribute to the leader of the opposition.

Major Patrick Ferguson was the only Briton to fight at Kings Mountain. He was born in Scotland in 1744 and began his military career at 14. He redesigned the flintlock rifle to increase firing speed. His rifle received the Crown’s patent in 1776. He was an excellent marksman and was very successful in recruiting Loyalists to fight with him, neither of which saved him during the battle.

There are quite a few trails near Boiling Springs, North Carolina, where we are currently house sitting, so today we ventured out and drove to the town of Kings Mountain to explore a new area with our four-legged sidekick.

We drove through Shelby to Kings Mountain, North Carolina, to check out some of the Gateway Trails. It was about a 30 minute drive to the trailhead/parking lot. The trailhead area had great parking, very nice facilities, and seemed new. It was, in fact, started as a National Park Service led effort in 2001 to connect the city of Kings Mountain with area parks. The land for these trails was provided by Martin Marietta Mining Company among others. We got to see a bit of the mining company in action.

The Gateway Trail map showed four different trails. The longer trail, Foote Trail, was nine miles round trip, which we thought we’d come back to do in the future, likely without Cooper. We opted to do the three shorter trails.

We did the Rail Trail Loop that had two out and back offshoots, one called the Plateau Loop and the other the Cardio Hill. It was a total of about three miles. The trails were very wide and well-marked, and the Rail Trail was asphalt.

Bob and I made the short drive into Shelby to check out the recent exhibit at the Cleveland County Arts Council and to ride the carousel in the City Park.

The Cleveland County Arts Council is on the square in Shelby across from the Earl Scruggs Center. It provides exhibit and performance space for the community and also offers art classes. Their current exhibit, Treasures of the Earth, is a pottery show that opened on February 9th. It is free to the public.

Samples of the pottery exhibits are below.

After the lovely perusal of the pottery, Bob and I headed to City Park behind the Shelby Library to ride the carousel at $0.50 each. The park carousel is a rare 1919 Herschell Spillman Carousel that has been restored. We haven’t learned the history of how Shelby came to acquire it or restore it.

Today, Bob and I visited an obscure international museum. For anyone, who appreciates having the lights on, staying warm (or cool), or answering a land line, you may also appreciate this small, free museum in Shelby, North Carolina. It is the International Lineman Museum.

Bob and I both have a bit of work history in the utilities. I spent about 3 years doing administrative planning work for the municipal utility in Austin, Texas, and Bob worked for about 20 years for 3 different utilities, also doing white collar work. We were both safely removed from doing the important work (as Austin has once again learned the hard way) of keeping the lights and heat on. It was pretty eye-opening to learn more about the lineman role and how it has evolved.

The museum provided a fun overview of various parts of the lineman’s role, electricity in general, and (who knew?) the cultural celebration of linemen. I guess I’m sticking with the male terminology in accordance with the museum, although I’m sure there must be a few women doing this important work by now.

We were surprised to find the following cultural celebrations of lineman.

A surprisingly fun find of a free museum.

On Tuesday, Bob and I went back to the Thermal Rail Trail with Cooper to walk a different section of it. The prior Friday, I had driven to the trail to take advantage of the lengthy trail to do a 16 mile run. Tuesday, we walked a little over a 1.5 mile section (and then back) of the trail that parallels Main Street in Forest City. It was a great day for a walk, and we saw others, mostly bikers, also using the trail.

Today, we picked another item off of the Things to Do brochure that we picked up at the Visitor’s Center in Shelby and headed towards Hanna Park in Shelby to check out their nature trail with Cooper. It was a lovely 60+ degrees but mostly overcast. The park was super impressive — large with 6 soccer fields, a playground, and pristine.

Today, we made our first foray into South Carolina with a visit to Cowpens National Battlefield. It was recommended to us by our homeowner as not only a good place to visit but also another option for running, as it has a 3.2 loop through the park that has minimal traffic and a shoulder. Bob and I went solo today to check it out and learn about this unusually (to us) named place.

The site is about a 20 minute drive from Boiling Springs, NC, and was the location of the Battle of Cowpens in January 1781 between the British and the Americans during the Revolutionary War. We had hoped to learn more in the Visitor’s Center, but we discovered that is closed on Mondays and Tuesdays. Luckily, they had a helpful brochure out front and some informational signs posted along the Battlefield Trail, which we walked after driving the loop to check it out for a possible run for me or a walk with Cooper.

Our visit reminded me, yet again, about how little I seem to know about US history. While I certainly aware of the Revolutionary War, I couldn’t name many battles and certainly was not aware of this one.

In a nutshell, based on the brochure and the signage posted at the park, the Battle of Cowpens was fought during an effort by the British to regain control of the southern colonies. It was fought after the British had taken Charleston, SC, in May of 1870, but after the Overmountain Men had secured a victory for the Americans at King’s Mountain in October of 1780.

The Battle of Cowpens lasted less than 30 minutes and was led by Daniel Morgan for the Americans and Banastre Tarleton for the British. It was fought in a cow pasture (thus the name) and the Americans secured victory with a double envelopment maneuver that trapped the British. A recreation of the battle is apparently held annually.

A monument erected in 1856 in honor of the Cowpens victory

After almost a full week of rain and mostly short walks in the neighborhood or down to the post office, the three of us took advantage of the sunny day to explore a new (at least for the humans) trail. Bob had found the First Broad River Trail in Shelby, so it was close and also allowed for a quick pop in to the library for a book return and pick up.

We had done a short walk at the Broad River Greenway in Boiling Springs. The First Broad River Trail is a 1.5 mile natural surface trail that follows the First Broad River. As you will see, it runs under a steel railroad trestle and across the First Broad River via a 170-foot long suspension bridge.

Fun Wikipedia Fact: The Broad River originates in the Blue Ridge Mountains and flows generally south-southeasterly through or along Rutherford, Polk, and Cleveland (where we are) counties in North Carolina before going into South Carolina. The First Broad River and the Second Broad River are 2 of the tributaries of the unenumerated Broad River.

We had a great walk and crossed paths with about 8 other humans and 3 other dogs.

Happy February! As Cooper had a doggie play date today with a neighbor’s canine, we took the opportunity to go to the nearby town of Shelby, North Carolina, to try the Shelby Cafe, recommended by our homeowner, and to tour the Don Gibson Theater, a former movie theater and now a small concert venue.

The Shelby Cafe has been operating since 1922 and is a local institution. It had two dining areas and had the feel of a large diner. Bob was really excited to eat here, as he had seen the menu had livermush, which is defined by Wikipedia as a food product prepared using pig liver, parts of pig heads, cornmeal, and spices that is common in Western North Carolina. Who wouldn’t be excited by that description?! It first caught our eye when we saw a package of it in the grocery store and wondered about the marketing decision in using the word mush in the product name, but truth in advertising in this case.

But Bob loves to try unique, regional foods, so he ordered the livermush omelette at the cafe (all-day breakfast) and thought it was good, very similar to a pork sausage, though much more finely minced. I had some good southern veggies.

After lunch, we grabbed some gifts in the town square for our neighbor who was hosting the doggy play date and then went to the Don Gibson Theater. Beth had read that they offered free tours and called last week to learn that the free tours were on Wednesday afternoons. The manager of the theater walked us around and gave us the history of the building, recent renovations, and took us backstage and even on stage.

Don Gibson is nationally-known songwriter and country musician from Shelby. Two of his top hits were, “I Can’t Stop Loving You” and “Oh, Lonesome Me, ” which we learned he wrote on the same day! They were released as the a and b sides of the same 45. The theater was opened as the Don Gibson Theater in 2009 in a space that was originally a movie theater and then an antique shop.

Cooper, Bob, and I headed to another nearby trail today before more rain heads in this week. It’s called the Thermal Belt Rail Trail, and it’s a 13.5 mile paved trail that runs from Forest City, past Rutherfordton (where we walked the other day) to Gilkey. We were checking it out, not just for a good walk, but to see if it might be a good option for my long training runs in preparation for my May marathon.

We were very impressed. The trail itself was well paved, looked new, and there were mile markers along the course.