Over the centuries the American West has been pushed, well, west. Prior to the American Revolution, the Appalachian Mountains marked the spot where the West began.
Dr. Thomas Walker was the first European-American to travel through the Cumberland Gap; the mountain pass had been traveled by Native Americans for centuries.
To 18th century Americans, the Appalachians seemed to be an impassable barrier, Walker's discovery of the Cumberland Gap changed that, especially after Daniel Boone guided his first batch of pioneers through it.
Cumberland Gap is still an important transportation corridor today. Mrs. Marathon Pundit took the photo last Saturday morning on our way home back to the Chicago area. As I remarked in my Treo-blog that day, Cumberland Gap National Historical Park is not burdened by the crowds of better known parks, if peace and quiet is what your looking for, then look up Cumberland Gap National Historical Park, which is located where Kentucky, Tennessee, and Virginia meet.
This is the first of another Marathon Pundit photo series; I'm posting the pics in reverse order of our trip.
Technorati tags: Kentucky Virginia Tennessee Cumberland Gap History Americana
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