A Museum Road Trip

     I was recently contacted about the possibility of purchasing a Civil War medical artifact.  I get offers to purchase artifacts on a fairly regular basis, but most times I have to decline.  While many people seem to think that museums have lots of money to purchase artifacts, the truth is that we usually don’t!  In this case though the artifact was pretty unique, so after talking with the artifact’s owner, we were able to come to an agreement which suited both of us.  

     The next order of business was arranging to transport the artifact from North Carolina to Maryland.  Since the owner was not able to bring it to us, I had two options.  I could use the (expensive) services of an art handling company, or I could drive down and get it myself.  It was time for a road trip!

     It’s about a six and a half hour drive from Frederick, Maryland to Marion, North Carolina, so I decided to make a weekend trip of it.  I also talked my husband into accompanying me!  It’s generally a good idea to have someone along to help when transporting artifacts.

We took the Blue Ridge Parkway for part of our trip.  The scenery was gorgeous, and you can see how these mountains got their name!

     One advantage of traveling to a new area is seeing the local sights.  So, one of our little side trips was to the Linville Falls.  Though you do have to hike a short way in to see the falls, it is well worth the walk! 

The top of the falls is only about a half mile walk on an easy trail.  We had originally planned to just hike the first section so that we’d have time to see some other things, but once here we had to keep going!

The trail got a bit steeper, but it was still a pretty hike up the mountain.

And here’s the view from the top of the trail!

     The next morning was very foggy, so instead of hiking we found a local museum.  It turned out that the Museum of North Carolina Minerals was just up the road from our hotel.  I also discovered it has one of the best features you can find in a museum – free admission!

You can see why we had to opt for indoor sight-seeing.

     It is a small museum, but it is packed with interesting displays and information about the mineral and mining history of North Carolina.  They had a good mix of specimens on display and interactive displays. 

These are just a few of the minerals on display.

  

This would be a great place for a school field trip!

     I enjoyed our stops, and all the friendly people we met along the way, but was time to stop being tourists and get to business!  We headed to Marion to pick up my artifact.  You’ll have to check back next week to find out about it!