Coon Dog Adventures

Our letterboxing adventures have landed us in many places that we would never have discovered or explored otherwise. One such place we visited almost a year ago now was the one of a kind Key Underwood Coon Dog Cemetery located near Tuscumbia, AL. We stopped here on our way to Ivy Green where another letterbox and adventure waited, but that is a post for another day.

Growing up in Toronto, I knew very little, it would even be fair to say nothing of coon dogs. When I saw an inconspicuous sign - you know the standard non-descript green and white marker type signs, on the highway on our way home from a previous trip, my curiosity was piqued. I did a little research and when I found out there was a letterbox there, I knew it was only a matter of time before we would make a visit there.Coon Dog Cemetery grew out of one man's love for his faithful coon dog named Troop. It is truly a unique place with a wonderful story that is rich in area history. While we were there we met a couple with a miniature poodle visiting the area from California (no coon dog cemeteries there either).

Recently we stumbled upon a movie about coon dogs and given our adventure last year were anxious to see it. Where the Red Fern Grows is based on a book by Wilson Rawls. We discovered the movie first and it was fantastic ! You can get it through Netflix. This is one of those great movies that has it all - values, morals and character all tied into a great story line that is tender and inspiring - watch this one with your kids !! Or better yet, read the book aloud then enjoy the movie with a big bowl of hand-cranked popcorn curled up together for family movie night.

You know, for us homeschoolers, this might just be a great summer break unit study - just a suggestion ;-)

Learning as I go,

Leisha