Hinck Blog

Great Smoky Mountains National Park Trip

Satuday January 19, 2019

In August, Judy and I made a trip to the Great Smoky Mountains National Park, another treasure of our National Park system.  We sound like spokespeople for the parks, but each one we have seen is such a treasure.  The Great Smoky Mountains National Park is amazingly green,  and the diversity of the vegetation is astounding.

On our way back home we stopped in Perryville, MO and were able to see the church where Judy’s great grandfather had been pastor.  We went to the museum there and got some additional information about some of the other family descendants on her side of the family.  We then also stopped in Augusta, MO.  I had wanted to at least get a chance to meet Ellen Knoernschild at the Centennial Farms Winery.  Her husband Robert had died in January 2018.   Their farm is 4th generation in the Knoernschild family.  Robert was a 3rd cousin once removed to me.  We got to meet Ellen briefly, but she directed us to the Knoernschild family reunion that was happening that evening.  We were invited to crash the reunion.  We got to then meet with several other distant cousins.  What a great time.