Red Rocks and Lowell

October 30, 2010

We drove through Oak Creek Canyon this morning to Sedona and Jerome. When they say "Red Rock Country" they aren't kidding!! These rocks in the photos to the left are just a few miles south of Flagstaff, but as you get south of Sedona, some of them are almost a rich mahogany color.

Oak Creek Canyon is a state park, with a lot of campgrounds, picnic areas, lodges and resorts, plus Indian artisans at every parking area. There aren't many pull-off areas to take photos. One good place was at Midgley Bridgely just north of Sedona.

We drove up to Jerome, but, again, nice sunny Saturday, limited parking, big truck. We had gone because the owner of Purl in the Pines said she thought the yarn store there was worth a look (it has the yarn arranged by color, rather than weight or fiber content). But we just couldn't find any parking, so we enjoyed our view and went back north.

Same thing for Sedona...we just aren't into high-end shopping, so we dropped into the library (gorgeous library) and cruised main a couple of times and then headed back because we had plans for the late afternoon and evening.

Lowell Observatory in Flagstaff is where Pluto was discovered. This dome  holds the historic  telescope that was taking visual images helping to look for what was then called Planet X, but the actual discovery was made in an office nearby, using the blink comparator. There was a contest to name the new planet and an 11-year-old girl from England had the winning entry.

Meet Clark...no, not the guy, he's Glen. The telescope!! Alvan Clark but for those of us on intimate terms, we just call him Clark. He's a refractor.

We had great tours, both given by Glen, who is an amateur astronomer/educator for Lowell.

It was a bright sunny day, but observatories are not heated (something to do with equalizing the temp when the shutters are opened) so it was a bit chilly. Between the first and second tours Bob went out and got our sweatshirts. The wind also was kicking up a bit.

I did mention that Clark and I are on intimate terms, didn't I? Well, here's what I got to do----I got to move it, and got to move the dome as well!!! Pretty cool, huh?

And Bob? Yes, he was there. And, yes, he got to move it too. In fact he was the first person to volunteer and almost knocked Glen over jumping down the three steps, so he forgot to give me the camera to take a photo. So, he may have a story to tell, but I have photographic proof!!

We went back after dinner for the night viewing and had a great time. The winds were too strong to open Clark's shutters, but we did get to see the Andromeda galaxy and Jupiter (with one moon). Very, very fun.

We leave tomorrow, heading further north. But to recap Flagstaff....I could live here. GREAT yarn store, lots of really interesting and neat things to see in and around the town (Grand Canyon is 70 miles, Sedona is 28, Meteor Crater is 35), a really terrific library, and, of course, Clark.

Grand Canyon

October 29, 2010
Grand Canyon, Arizona

We left early this morning and entered the park through the East Rim entrance. Our first views of "The Grand" came from the Watchtower, the building designed by Mary Colter in the 1930s. It's under renovation now, but still in use. It offers some spectacular panoramas of Desert View.
If you have time, read the link about Mary Colter (it's Wikipedia, but the most comprehensive bio I could find).  She worked for the Fred Harvey Co and designed several buildings still in use.  And Fred Harvey?  He's the "Harvey House" Harvey.  And don't forget the "Harvey girls".   Also an interesting person.

We wandered the entire south rim, stopping at just about every lookout--we missed two, including the last one, Bright Angel, due to increased traffic and no parking. While it was great to go in by way of a lesser-used entrance, it did make the most popular viewing sites more crowded.

It was sunny and a bit cloudy, so I'm not sure the colors "popped" as much as if the sky had been totally blue, but beautiful just the same.

We saw a mountain chickadee, first for both of us, and a flock of western bluebirds, not firsts, but neat to see anyway. The Steller's jays here have white streaks, sort of like eyebrows, here. And the ravens here seem a bit glossier and with more green irridescence than those at Mt. Rainier.

The funniest animals we saw were Albert squirrels. They have tassels on their ears and white edging on their tails. They eat truffles found on the Ponderosa pine.

Hard to find images to include.  I still can't seem to fit more than 4 on a page, if I'm lucky---sometimes it eats a picture and I often don't have time to go back and re-do it.

So, Colleen, I know you were interested in the restroom pictures and Bob took one, but it didn't make the cut---sorry.  He also says to tell you there is a wonderful bathroom here at the campground, one of the best he's seen.  No pictures, though.

Two Spot

October 28, 2010
Flagstaff, AZ

Bob's working on a model railroad layout of a 1940s logging town and camp, so when we saw that this was on display in Flagstaff, we decided to stop and check it out.

This is a Baldwin 2-8-0 locomotive, purchased in 1917 for logging and spent its entire career in the Flagstaff area. It is now restored and kept in very good display condition between the rail yard and Route 66 in downtown Flagstaff.

The canvas water bags hanging out the windows rubbed off the numeral 5 and so it became known as "Two Spot".

Oh, yes, in case you didn't know, Flagstaff is in the pines. Ponderosa pines to be exact and there are lots of them. It's hilly, just under 7000 feet elevation with the San Francisco Peaks on the horizon.

We actually knew this train was here because there is a geocache at this location and since Bob likes looking at vintage logging train-stuff, it was logical to attempt to find it.

This was geocache find number 52 for us and it's been fun and challenging looking for caches in unfamiliar towns.  We tend to look for ones that are small to regular size, so we can leave something, and in areas where we can find parking for the RV, or near campgrounds so we can unhook it and go look.

We have picked up a geocoin and moved it a bit further east (it is heading to North Carolina from California and we could move it one state further) and picked up another in Texas that wants to go to a border state, so we will drop it off when we get home. 

Geocoins are about the size of a silver dollar and are tagged with a note telling where it is going, and where it's from.  Many are commercially made and some are hand-crafted.  They are similar to travel bugs, which are not coins, but something else that is tagged to be moved, usually in a specific direction or for a specific reason. 

Gallup, NM

October 27, 2010

We haven't updated in a few days, but we have some time and a good connection so we will upload a few pictures and catch you up on where we've been (or not been) and why we are a bit later in posting.

We decided as we left Tulsa (BTW, Bob says ixnay on ulsa-Tay) that we would not stop in Albuquerque (ABQ to locals), so we left planning to go to Texas, perhaps staying a night in or around Amarillo.

We grabbed a quick geocache, mailed some postcards, and got a few fresh groceries just a few miles into Texas and found that as we approached Amarillo, we wanted to be further west and do some other things, so we bypassed Amarillo as well.

We did take a long gander at the Cadillac Ranch, the Western Hemisphere's 2nd largest  cross and stopped at two wonderful Texas rest areas/Welcome Centers. One of them had a room you could go into that had tables and chairs for wireless use, plus a lounging area with cushy leather chairs and tables you could use, but, not knowing it would be a few days before we saw Internet light, we passed on that and instead took several brochures, signed the logbook and went on our way.

Bob was able to transmit each county through the Panhandle and got a few counties himself, so it was a great day.

Neither of us has ever been to New Mexico, and I have enjoyed all of Tony Hillerman's books, so we anticipated some wonderful scenery. We haven't been disappointed, but we didn't anticipate some severe weather which kept us battened down for a couple of days.

The weather was near 80, sunny and clear skies as we came into Tucumcari, but within a few miles, the wind began picking up, the skies darkened, we had a bit of rain, and the temps plunged into the 50s.

Soon Bob was battling a headwind that brought our milage down to 5 mpg and we began to experience some side gusts that were downright scary, so we hunkered down near Santa Rosa and waited out the storm.  I did actually finish a book or two (print) and a couple audible ones, finished a knitting project, started another, and Bob has been reading up a storm.  Good thing we stocked up on some books in Tulsa. 

We are very happy to be in beautiful, warm, sunny Gallup!!

The plan is to move on tomorrow to Flagstaff, where we hope to have internet again, though that isn't certain right now. We'll go to the Grand Canyon a couple of days and then make the final move toward home.

Art in the (RV) Park

October 22, 2010

We've spent three days in Tulsa, driving around and seeing lots of beautiful architecture, gorgeous neighborhoods, wonderful libraries, fantastic parks....and my "local" needlework shop, but some of the neatest things we've seen are in our own Mingo RV Park!

We watched this man chainsaw-carving an eagle on its nest. The second shot gives a close-up view. We're not sure if he's finished or not, but he worked on it at least two days.

The carving of the two Indians is right behind our spot. Not sure if the same man carved both, but they are both very good.

As to the "local" needlework shop: back when I was still doing a lot of counted cross-stitch, I found a shop online that had everything---and more. Plus, they really went all-out in customer service, maintained a great website, had a lot of activities and a newsletter with specials and updates on all of the new things coming in. I started ordering from them and in those days, that meant a phone call.

I grew to really rely on that shop for odd-colored linen, or overdyed threads, or the next-in-a-series chart, and began referring to them as "my local needlework shop". So, a stop at The Silver Needle was a must if we were going to be in Tulsa any length of time.

And the in-person shop is just as great, or better than, I had expected. Even after I confessed I had gone over to the "dark side" (knitting), I was informed that not only do most of the employees also knit, but was given directions to Loops, a great yarn store (which I just happened to visit as well  Maybe a purchase there, too.). Oh, and a recommendation for lunch at a Tulsa institution, the Savoy!  And they ship nationwide.  Just sayin'.

Yep, I could live in Tulsa.

WiFi isn't better today, but we made a visit to a local library, which is one of the best we've visited. Just an outstanding floorplan, lots of programs for every age, book groups, interesting displays, friendly staff, and tons of computer workstations, both for ones you can borrow from the library, and for laptops from home, complete with electrical outlets so you don't wear down your battery.

Yep, I could live in Tulsa!  Let me see what Bob says.

Get Your Kicks on Route 66

 October 21, 2010

Welcome to a Welcome Center/rest area on I-44 near Lebanon, Missouri which parallels and/or is the old Route 66 road. Inside the Welcome Center it's all decked out with Route 66 memorabilia, including an old gas pump, lots of chrome, signs, and the floor is painted with a huge map that shows the route from Chicago to San Diego.

The rest room area is also all chrome and shiny tiles and lots of slick red and white walls and counters.

The grounds around the building were made to look like a section of the road, with the main sidewalk down the center that has a yellow center line, arching street lights, and each picnic table area is made to look like a typical building during Route 66's heyday.

Route 66 brought about motels and here's Larry's.

No town was without a gas station to encourage more people to travel--remember these?

What a fun way to commemorate this time and place! 

By the way, this is a HUGE rest area.  Bob counted 50 truck parking slots.  There were also quite a few short-term truck spaces as well as a huge car parking area.

This is a manned Welcome Center with maps and brochures, and staff that can answer questions and give advice.  They seemed surprised when we said we were going to go on to Oklahoma without first going to Branson.

I know there are some grammatical errors in a couple of the earlier posts.  I will fix them as soon as I can.  We have "Instant-WiFi At The Site" which tends to be "instant" in the connection, but S-L-O-W in the usage.  I hope this will post tonight since we will be a bit busy  in the morning.

All in all, we have had fun, seen lots of neat things, done some stuff we hadn't anticipated in the planning stages, and also figured out some things we would do differently another time.  Bob has driven every day and  while I don't think he regrets the driving as far as the results of the driving,  I do think he feels it would be nice to just sit and relax for a full day.  The biggest problem with that is that we are always in a new place, and it's just so tempting to go out and about and see the local sights.  So even if we only drive 100 miles forward that day, we might spend another 2-3 hours roaming around the place we've stopped---which isn't actually stopping, is it?

Other changes?  Well, we would have left with a bit more actual coin of the realm.  Oklahoma has tollways/turnpikes which we hadn't anticipated, nor did we notice them on the maps.  The OK Welcome Centers don't have ATMs, nor do they have any literature about how much a toll might cost.  We gathered all our loose  cash and finally found an ATM about 2 miles before we entered the first turnpike. Turns out we were $9.75, but a mile later when we exited to get gas, we got $4.25 refund, and when we went back on, we had to pay $4.75.  I think someone has a good racket going!!  So, an extra stash of cash would have been stress-reducing.

Same for quarters for laundry.  We knew we didn't have enough when we left home, but didn't anticipate having to seek out change.  I think we've been in one laundry facility that had a change machine.  So, after doing laundry we try to immediately get enough for the next load. 

Ummmm...can't really think of any major changes.  We downloaded a lot of podcasts, old radio shows, and audible books and have listened to three....I've listened to a few more at night so I don't have to turn on a light to read (I have not read any books in October!!!) but we have done a lot of talking and watching out the windows, driving with the windows open most of the time, which makes it hard to hear the radio.  I think we actually listened to the radio for a bit one day.  We are so out of it for news, other than quick little blips we get online if the connection is good enough.   Bob is also running counties on the ham radio when he can, so we pay attention to that.
We had originally said we'd be home by the end of October, then extended it to the first weekend in November.  We don't feel as if we've squandered our days, but suddenly it's coming to an end and we're not quite close enough to coast.  We are selectively choosing what and where and still holding out for a day or two at the Grand Canyon.  We can certainly see why some people choose to do this full-time!!  There's just too much to see and do.  We have really enjoyed just about every minute of this trip.

We will probably be offline for a day or two, but we have some more things to say about Oklahoma (Oklahoma is OK!!---we're actually in Tulsa right now) and will get another post up as soon as we can.

Begin At the Very Beginning

October 18, 2010
Camp DuBois, Illinois

This is where the Corps of Discovery began their journey to the Pacific Ocean. William Clark spent his time training the men how to be soldiers and Meriwether Lewis spent much of his time recruiting men and gathering supplies.

This is just east of St. Louis (about 5 miles) at the confluence of the Missouri and Mississippi Rivers.

The Corps left here on Monday, May 14, 1804 in pouring rain.  They marched 4 hours and then stopped for the night on an island in the Mississippi, since the weather was so miserable.  Little did they know!

The Visitor Center has a full-size keelboat inside, with one side cut away so that you can see how they would have packed provisions and some sleeping quarters. It's pretty impressive.

Clark made a sketch of the fort, but no one is sure exactly where it was. This is thought to be very close to the original location and was built using hand tools nine years ago.

Inside the fort is a room for the three sergeants, one for Lewis and Clark (more spacious and has two desks), a storeroom, three barracks for the men, and a hut for the laundress.

October 19, 2010

Well, we've finally decided NOT to go to Triplett and look for more Willey evidence.  We will head southwest today, aiming for more Route 66 kicks and heading toward Oklahoma.

The weather is still warm and sunny.  Yesterday clouded over a bit and it seemed a bit muggy, but this morning is bright and sunny.  We are defintely enjoying this weather!

Bird count...we saw an Eastern bluebird a couple of days ago, and more Little Blue Herons, but nothing else that is new.  No more cardinals, but we keep hearing something that we think resembles a cardinal song. 

We will cross the Mississipi River a total of 8 times.

Land of Lincoln, Part Two

October 16, 2010

When we first heard about the new Abraham Lincoln Presidential Museum and Library in Springfield, we thought it sounded like the perfect museum. That was five years ago and we put it on the list as soon as we decided to go as far as Illinois.

This is a huge complex in downtown Springfield, with many other historic sites within walking distance, or a short drive away.

Brochures tell you to plan 2-3 hours and we easily spent three hours and didn't even get to the library.

The plaza is what the large main area of the museum is called and all exhibit areas are off that main area.  It's a large, domed area. You can only take photos in the plaza and the children's area (Mrs. Lincoln's Attic) so we couldn't take any inside the exhibits themselves, but the attention to detail and the things you might only notice after being there many times makes these just surperb exhibits. From the crackling fireplace and dog at his feet while Lincoln the boy read at night (notice the dangling arm of a sibling in the loft above) to the heat you feel walking through the White House kitchen, the chill in the alcove where Mary Lincoln sat and grieved for her son, and exhibits made  of a combination of live actors, memorabilia and life-like figures--- we were just impressed over and over.

The exhibits are designed to take you through Lincoln's life and death, beginning with his log cabin childhood (photo above) and ending with his funeral. You can enter any exhibit you choose, not only in chronological order, and there are also two theaters, plus a gift shop and a new temporary exhibit based on Doris Kearns Goodwin's book,  Team of Rivals, which depicts Lincoln's struggle with impending war and with his cabinet.

Oh, and the items in the Treasure Gallery, a combination of donations and purchases from the Barry and Louise Taper Collection....WOW!!

As you can see, Bob stopped for a brief photo op with the Lincolns.

A few blocks away is the restored neighborhood where the Lincolns resided before going to Washington, DC. The house to the left is that of the Lincoln's but there are two full blocks of restored homes, many of which can be toured, plus the streets and sidewalks, landscaping and other period details--there is a carriage step-stone in front of the Robinson home and a couple of wagons on the street. This is a pedestrian area only, but there is parking nearby and a parking lot about a block away. Notice the wooden ramps? Not mandatory handicapped-access, but they are period details, designed to keep mud off long skirts.

Our final stop in Springfield was Oak Ridge Cemetery where the Lincolns are buried---it's considered good luck to rub Lincoln's nose on the statue outside.
Built into the hill behind the tomb is the receiving vault where Lincoln's body was held until the tomb was finished.

Land of Lincoln, Part 1

October 16, 2010

I remember Mary saying after their trip to Prince Edward Island that it was "All Anne, all the time." Well, Illinois is pretty much the same with Abraham Lincoln. We knew we wanted to see some Lincoln sites and museums, but didn't we've been really impressed with what Illinois has done.

I wanted to put all of the Lincoln things together, so here is part one of two on the Lincoln things we experienced. We were actually here on October 9.

New Salem was the town that Lincoln moved to when he left his parents. New Salem today is a fully restored village, complete with costumed, in-character volunteers and docents. Coming after Labor Day, we saw only a few of the town citizens but it is easy to imagine the town with rails being split, gardens being tended and the everyday visiting and marketing going on.

The blacksmith (view of the inside of the shop to the left) was one of the people on-site the day we were there. While I was off looking at something and Bob was wandering around another area, the blacksmith came out to go for dinner and sat down on a bench beside Bob and they talked for a couple of hours. I joined them about halfway through their conversation and it was very interesting to hear not only about the blacksmithing that went on for real, but what he did while working there and the behind-the-scenes scoop about the village. This guy was very entertaining and we really enjoyed visiting with him.

Lincoln had many jobs here---miller and store clerk, then went into partnership to own a store, then another, went bankrupt, joined the debating society, became a surveyor (he had no training but borrowed books on the subject and learned), and was appointed postmaster, a job that allowed him to read all of the newspapers that came into the village.  He also began to read law here and helped many of his neighbors by drawing up contracts.  The photo to the left is of the first Berry-Lincoln Store.

Interestingly, the town pretty much faded from existance by 1840, as if it had been there when he needed it and then disappeared after he was gone.
Here's a neat thing Illinois has done for the Springfield area Lincoln sites. It's a free phone tour. You dial the number (1-217-213-3003). When the automated line picks up, you can then punch in one of nine numbers (followed by #), each for a different site. You then get a brief description and a bit of the history around that place. If you are interested, here are the
numbers:
1. Union Station Visitors Center
2. Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum
3. Illinois Old State Capitol
4. Lincoln Law Office
5. Lincoln House
6. Lincoln Depot
7. Illinois State House
8. Lincoln Tomb
9. New Salem
Remember that the automated line has to answer before you choose a site number and to enter the # after the site number.

This is marketed as a cell phone tour, but I don't know why it wouldn't work from a landline as well. It's free, but you may incur charges from your phone company depending on your plan. It is a long-distance call.

Welcome to Willinois!

October 15, 2010

Terrible title, I know, but the reason we are here is to do some Willey genealogy. Bob's gr-gr-gr grandparents came to Bond Co IL from Tennessee and Virginia about 1812. Shirt-tail relations still live there, but his grandparents left about 1915.

Above is the library where I got lost in time and Bob did a lot of reading!

We had a few questions we thought might be answered here, so we made an effort to carve out some time to look around. Two rigorous days of cemetery walking, a couple spent reading records, and talking to various local authorities answered a few of the questions, brought up some more, and left a few unanswered.

We stopped at the funeral home in Greenville to see if they had a map of one of the local cemeteries.  Not only did they have a map, but I got the grand tour of an outstanding Victorian home, and we were lead to the graves personally.  When we got there, the director looked at us and said, "I didn't know you meant Fred Boldt's family.  You know, Lindbergh landed in his father's field while he was delivering mail, spent the night with them and told them all about how he wanted to enter the contest to cross the Atlantic."  So, another new story for the family records.

Colors are beginning to change, but over the four days we were here, the temperature dropped a bit at night, we had thunder and rain one night, and the days continued to top out in the mid-80s.

This is the former office of Dr. Chittum, who served the village of Sorento for over 50 years, beginning in 1895. Inside are dozens of birth registry books, day books where he recorded his patients' visits and the amounts charged, and how they paid. It was interesting to note that many of Bob's family used his services, paying in cash, honey, loads of sand and rock, and meals. We found the record of Bob's dad's birth in here....these records are the doctor's copies (stubs, actually) of the official birth certificate filed in the county seat. We already had that, but it was great to find another entry in this little office. Getting into it is a story unto itself. Everything in the village was closed (it was over the noon hour) so we waited around for the municpal office to open, where we found Cheryl, the long-time clerk, who informed me she had all the cemetery records. She and I went through boxes of file cards, looking for Bob's gr grandfather, who died in the village in 1912, and is said to be buried there. Nothing. We tried every family member who might have owned a plot in the cemetery. Again, nothing. So, she suggested we go "over the way to the Doc's office". It turns out she set this up many years ago as a museum, but the local people haven't been too interested in recent years, so this year she didn't even open it on their Old Timer's Picnic Day.

I was glad for the opportunity to go in and look at the relevant books, but I do wish it was being kept better. I copied only the one page, but there was a lot that was interesting (how much he charged to pull a tooth and how so-and-so paid for it, for example).

Oh, a geocache!! This is near the historic Ripson Bridge, just outside of Sorento, and down the road a bit from where Bob saw his first two cardinals. Thankfully, no spiders.

Iowa Corn

October 5, 2010

Well, what's more Iowa than corn? Well, actually, a lot, but I thought I'd toss in some cornfield photos to round out our Iowa stay. We love how they just farm the contours. This field got harvested while we were here.

Most of the corn is grown for feed, seed, and ethanol, especially what's still in the fields this time of year. And soybeans! There are almost as many fields of soybeans as corn.  Again, grown for ethanol.

Knee-high by the 4th of July doesn't cut it in Iowa...they expect it chest-high! Even though we missed the green sweet corn, the fields of ripened corn is still attractive.

We drove up north to see more countryside and ended up in Dubuque, then crossed the Mississippi into Wisconsin (probably the only state we won't do a geocache) and noticed on the map there was a nearby town called Centralia. However, when we got there, there was nothing there except a tavern/restaurant. No gas station, store, post office, etc., just a couple of signs and a bunch of really beautiful houses. This is about 7 miles or so west of Dubuque and it looks as if it's just a bedroom community.  There are a couple of large fields of corn, but most of the area looks as if it's "gentlemen" farms.

One of the things we think is interesting is that we've only seen one pig farm and up here in the north, there are lots of dairy farms, but we've seen no cows!  Maybe they're all over in Wisconsin for the day.

Iowa City and Environs

October 6, 2010

 This 1876 schoolhouse in Coralville  is open for school and group tours but  for individuals by appointment only.  It is fully restored and activities include trying to write in Spencerian style, ringing the bell, and using various school materials.



We saw a couple of round barns.  This is a few miles north of Iowa City, near North Liberty.



Former home of the Bloom County/Opus creator, Berkeley Breathed. It is not a boarding house now, but almost.  It's a housing coop.  The link is to an old "People" magazine article, the best I could find in a hurry, in case you want to know more about him or his cartoons.  He based many of the people and events on "small town USA", using Iowa City as his physical base (he followed a girlfriend there), as well as using people and places in Iowa City as the inspiration for the cartoon.  

Iowa City was the territorial capital, but when Des Moines was chosen to be the state capital, this building became the first building on what is now the University of Iowa campus.  It's part of the museum/historic downtown district and anchors the pentacrest.  We tried several times to get in here to see this building and MacBride Hall, whicih houses the Natural History museum, but there was absolutely no parking and we kept hoping we could do better later....we didn't, so we missed out on seeing these buildings and their holdings up close.  Guess we'll just have to come back!

One of the neat things about Iowa City and the University is that the entire city is utilized by the university, with dorms, classrooms, labs and medical facilities throughout the city.  As a result the city and university seem to be very integrated and boy! is this town football crazy!  They probably support all of the sports teams, but it's football season now and everywhere you look businesses are advertising specials for game day, or discounts if you wear hawkeye gear, etc.