Betty in the National Parks II: Part Three

the further adventures of Betty AnoninTX:

After we left Mammoth Cave NP, we had a really interesting day!  I am a history buff and geek to the max.  My minor in college was American history, and I am particularly interested in the Battle of Little Bighorn, westward expansion, and one room schools.  I also enjoy reading about the Hatfield & McCoy feud and loved the miniseries.  So we toured many of the feud sites!!  We saw the graves of Randall, Sally, and Roseanna McCoy, and we toured the feud sites around Pikeville.  While we were at their cabin site, National Geographic was excavating where the cabin stood and filming a special.  The well Randall dug is still there.  The special will be on tv in late January or February.  We crossed into West Virginia and went to Sarah Ann.  Devil Anse Hatfield and most of his family are buried in a cemetery up on a hillside.  After we tromped around there, we went to find Cap Hatfield’s grave.  An incredible man at the McCoy cabin site told us how to find Cap’s homesite and his grave.  For some family reason (an argument with a brother, I believe), Cap did not want to be buried with Devil Anse and the rest of his relatives.  We had to cross a bridge then park at the end of a trailer park.  A teenager told us where the path to the very small cemetery was.  We tromped up the hillside and through the woods.  There was Cap’s headstone, surrounded by trees and all kinds of plants, apparently including POISON IVY!  I bet you were wondering why I included this in my national park report.  This is where I managed to walk through poison ivy while wearing capris.  After we left there, we headed to Morgantown, WV.  As we drove through the dark night, I noticed my legs itched just a bit.  We stopped to get gas somewhere, and I looked at them in the light.  I had all these whitish circles with red dots in them, and I figured I had some minor allergic reaction to grass or a plant.  We stopped at a Kmart to get the first of many tubes of cortisone cream.  Within several days, I had lovely legs covered with the rash, along with mosquito bites.  But it was worth it!

More tomorrow…