Good morning! Our final day of the Shenandoah Valley tour brought us to Staunton, to first explore the Frontier Culture Museum. Even though our family had visited this site in the past it had been quite a number of years. It was a beautiful day for enjoying the outdoors. After our group was given some historical background on the various European settlers who came to America and established homes in the Shenandoah Valley, we were free to walk around for a self-guided look at each of the represented settlements.
Above is the Irish farm, with its stone walls and picturesque buildings. Sheep grazed in an adjacent field.
A variety of animals were living throughout the museum as examples of what the settlers raised. The kids loved this hands-on part!
We took some photo opportunities and even played a game of checkers on the American farm.
A gobbling turkey was the subject of lots of attention...and imitation. ;)
Some of us tried our hand at cutting freshly-made noodles, as the interpreter explained the process.
Dad was interested in taking a closer look at some of the pieces of furniture, as he considers starting a wood-working business in the near future...
Soon we headed out to our next destination: Polyface Farm for a hotdog roast and farm tour with Joel Salatin.
Mr. Turley grilled up the lunch, and Mr. Salatin chatted with attendees as we anticipated beginning our tour.
Our group piled onto 2 tractor-pulled wagons for a hayride out into the fields.
A storm was brewing, but we managed to finish the tour without a drop of rain. Below is the woodland area where the Polyface pigs are raised:
We stopped at various significant spots around the farm as we listened to Joel speak of his farming methods, and in keeping with our tour's theme, of some aspects of farming from a historical angle.
He demonstrated how the chicken pens are moved daily and expounded on the lush forage the animals have available.
After the tour, everyone browsed the Polyface farm store for some souvenirs to take home.
That evening we were all invited to visit the home of Bill Potter and his wife for a closing evening of food and fellowship, including a trivia contest from the week's talks.
We were even welcome to wander inside the house to browse the thousands of books in every room. The evening was a fitting close to our historical week.
Hope you've enjoyed this overview of our time on the tour. We enjoyed discovering some new facts about the beautiful area where we live and meeting other people eager to learn. Have any of you traveled through the Shenandoah Valley of Virginia?
Be sure to check out Landmark Events' other tours around the country!
~Hannah
It was very interesting! Loved the pictures & explanations of what you saw & did. Thanks for sharing!
Posted by: Dorothy | Tuesday, June 06, 2017 at 11:19 AM
Hannah, You did an excellent job of documenting your tour! I thoroughly enjoyed it and seeing all the pictures was *almost* like being there. :)
I receive the Landmark Events email updates and half way thought of surprising Fred and taking him to the one in October...but my niece is getting married that same time frame and I am her mistress of ceremonies so I guess we better go to the wedding! :)
Hello to all the family! (((hugs)))
Posted by: Chris | Tuesday, June 06, 2017 at 08:05 PM