Last night as I was heading down the road I saw a man on a riding mower. I walked over and asked if I could pitch my tent somewhere on his property. He (Dennis) and his wife Nancy turned out to be the kindest, most generous hosts you could imagine. They fed me dinner and a double-pie dessert, let me use their shower and washing machine, and sent me on my way this morning with breakfast and a little care package of goodies. Dennis even drew me the map you see above to show me a shortcut I could take.
By the way, I think my favorite thing I learned about them was that they met at a toga party in the 80s at a nearby bar. (That's not classified information, is it?)
From the park information plaque:
Hemlock bark provided the tannic acid used to cure as many as 50,000 hides a year, making this the second largest tannery in America during this era. The river and the forest paid an enormous price for the Tannery's good fortune. Wastes dumped into the river turned it black. Logging created a landscape littered with the debris of abandoned trees cut only for their bark. In 1875, an uncontrollable fire ignited and swept across the forest floor, engulfing and forever destroying the tannery.On a lighter note, I just met some college kids out on a photojournalism assignment. They were excited by the encounter, but they did have one regret: "Man, I wish we had some weed to share with this guy."
