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DAY 6: Saturday Oct 25th
We actually woke up in Brownsville TN very early, feeling fresh and rested. Which was a great thing, considering the drive that lay before us! We headed out at around 9am towards Ripley. It was a quiet country road between the two towns, and there were TONS of cotton fields stretching out on either side of the road! Our very first in-season cotton fields. They looked like fields of snow, with white fluff everywhere. We were trying to figure out which were harvested and which weren't. Some were obviously in full cotton-ness, some had only whisps of cotton on them as if they'd sort of been picked - but why would those wisps be left behind and wasted? Some were completely mowed to the ground with only white fluff on the ground to show cotton had been there. There were also cotton fluffs along the road and everywhere :) Very neat! I was of course busy singing "Summertime ... and the living is easy ... the cotton is high ..." There were giant rectangles of pressed cotton sitting around too, with tarps on top to keep it from blowing around. There were the traditional rolls of hay that we'd seen on the whole trip down. There were also brown bushy fields which we figured must be soybeans. |
We got into Ripley at 10, but were only expected at 11 and thought this was a might early. Kate's cellphone just rang, so we headed over to the Ripley Winery to visit and chat. We were surprised to find everything in their shop was 50% off - but it turns out they were selling off the shop stuff because the winery business was doing so well and they needed the space. Neat! The vines were all harvested already, and we found our entry in their guestbook from last July.
The woman at the counter was a college student who grew up in the area - her family owns a big tomato farm. So we talked a lot about the area - she said that the rains were awful this spring and that most tomato farmers in the area lost their crops to bacteria. Her family's farm was one of the only ones that made some healthy tomatoes this year, and they were in HUGE demand. Ripley is normally famous for its tomatoes, so this was a big deal for the town. Many cotton farmers had to plant their fields 3 different times because the rains kept washing away or moulding the young plants. Even at the winery, where last year had been their best harvest ever, the yield was FAR lower this year.
We asked her about slavery in the area and she said that she was in fact a history major, hoping to be a history teacher when she graduated. Tennessee was indeed a slave state and she knew her own farm had slave shacks on it from those days. She imagined that other farmers in the area had slaves as well, but she hadn't gone into Ripley's history enough to know more about it.
We asked her about her farm, and she said it was out where things were rural. We looked around at the quiet town area we were in and said "MORE rural??" She laughed and said "You have NO idea ..."
We tried a few of the wines - the wildeberry, Cynthia and Tomato, and were impressed again at just how much the winemaker here was able to do with some strange ingredients. Apparently the winemaker loves dry wines but the vast majority of locals love sweet wines. He's trying to convert them slowly but surely!
OK, it was quarter of 11 and time to head out. We did indeed see that all the signs along the road that normally said "eat Ripley tomatoes!!" now had the word "Ripley" blocked out and either just said "fresh" or "Texas".
We recognized the house right away from the road and pulled in. Kate, Nancy and Lynnwood were there waiting for us! We hung out and talked quite a bit about the family, history, how things were going, having a grand time. Lisa's Notes on the Family Discussions.
Soon Warren Lee and Becky showed up and we settled down to lunch. We had pork brisket, potato salad, buns, greens, dry rub, and a pecan and chess pie. Nancy said grace and we dove in. It was all delicious!! "Mimi" (as Kate called Nancy) had wanted her favorite lemon chess pie but unfortunately those were all out. Both Nancy and Lynnwood were very keen for their desserts after lunch! Lynnwood entertained us all lunchtime with great, amusing stories and jokes.
After lunch we headed outside to play in the cotton. Lynnwood showed us how the cotton sacks were used, and Becky gave her best try at doing some authentic cotton picking, and wandered in the fields taking photos. Lynnwood explained how the cotton ripened from "bottom to top" so when the "cotton was high" was when it was ready for picking. Warren Lee was lucky enough to not have to pick cotton, and found this all quite amusing. We looked in one of the nearby traps and found some real live Boll Weevils to examine. They were of course nasty looking!
Lynnwood and the Cotton Sack - Video and Transcript
Becky Picking Cotton - Video and Transcript
Lynnwood and Kate Chatting - Video and Transcript
Bob and Lynnwood - Video and Transcript
3mb Video of Nancy saying "Hello" :)
This was in response to all of the grandkids sending a Hello from New England :)
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The fields behind Nancy and Lynnwood's house
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The fields on the right side of the garage
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Cotton Plant
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Cotton Plant
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The yellow flowers that form the cotton buds
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Cotton Plant
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Boll Weevil Catcher
The thunder began to roll in so it was time to head out around 2:30pm. Many hugs and kisses were exchanged and we rolled on out. We saw 2 spots of wet road on our way back to Brownsville, but no actual rain. Then it was sunny skies as we did the LONG, long ride across Tennessee. Lots of giant fields with cotton or cows or other growing things. It became very cold near the end and as we crossed into Virginia, but we were very lucky to outrun the rain the whole way. We finally ended up south of Roanoke Virginia when we were too cold to continue, around midnight, and tucked ourselves in.
Ripley 2003 Trip Page
Lisa's Travelogue Pages