The Adventures of Glenn & Clara

On Leaving "Wrinkle City"

2010-01-11T15:40:00.000-08:00

Too soon after Christmas it was time to leave our Tucson abode. When Lesley was here and she and her Mom went to the Stitch 'n' Chatter group, the topic of "local names" for the community came up. The first name mentioned referred to the style of construction of the homes – Tin Can City! The second name referred to the age of the residents – we were told that the average age was 72, so the community was called "Wrinkle City!" The third name also related to the age of the residents, but it was slightly more morbid – "God's Waiting Room!"

Christmas in Tucson

2010-01-11T15:36:00.000-08:00

Christmas at the temporary Pfeifer home in Tucson was celebrated pretty much as usual – the little guy was excited about everything and the adults enjoyed little pleasures here and there. Here's Leo with the mandatory Xmas tree which he decorated; then here's Leo with one of his presents – goggles for snowboarding which he'll take up when he gets back to Seattle; and finally here's Grandma with one of her presents – a necklace of Heishi beads with Tiger eye chips featuring a horse fetish of what's called "white turquoise."

The Saguaro Cactus

2010-01-11T15:28:00.001-08:00

The Saguaro cactus is truly the grand symbol of the Sonoran Desert, standing tall and majestic, living hundreds of years. The "standard model" of the Saguaro is the single stem with exactly two arms, yet few of them look like that – 99% either have fewer than two or more than two.

Yet in all of the Saguaros that I've seen, this one with nine arms stands out as a truly rare one – seldom is there a Saguaro with that many arms.

On the other hand, the truly rare Saguaro is the crested Saguaro, of which we saw two at the Museum.

A similar, but somewhat larger cactus, is the Cardon Cactus, found in Northern Mexico, both in Sonora and in Baja. It is said to be the largest cactus species in the world.

Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum -- Part 2

2010-01-11T15:22:00.000-08:00

Here's two more shots of the Harris hawk and its trainer – it's truly remarkable what they can do.

In the auditorium, they had several animals who had been trained to run across the stage, then go to pick up their treats, eat them and then run off. Here's a ring-tail fox and a porcupine performing for the audience – no restraints other than their training.

Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum -- Part 1

2010-01-11T15:17:00.000-08:00

The Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum is devoted to the flora and fauna of the Atizona-Sonora Desert, and their standard program/exhibit is a static display of one or the other. But they are starting some new programs which involve training some of the "wild" creatures of the desert to do audience-attracting "stunts," such as hawks flying around the area and "buzzing" the audience, etc.

On this trip, we saw some of these new programs, as well as some of the old. This first picture is a golden oldie, a picture of one of the citizens of the Hummingbird Cage – a fenced "room" where you enter and the birds are flying free, usually so quickly that you cannot get a picture. But Clara was determined and here's what she got.

The second is of a screech owl, who has been trained to screech, then fly around, then return to his trainer.

Later, Clara and Leo went to a Raptor program in which a Harris hawk is on display, flying off and around and returning to his trainer. These latter two are new programs at the museum, and are highly entertaining to the visitors at the museum.

Lesley and Leo Join Us In Tucson

2010-01-06T17:02:00.000-08:00

Lesley and Leo came to spend a week with us, arriving late afternoon on the 17th. For Lesley, this was a return to the area where she lived from age 8 to age 17; for Leo, it was a first look at the Sonoran Desert – he, of course, had seen the Mojave Desert around Las Vegas, but that is dramatically different from the Sonoran.

We did pretty much the predictable things with them – breakfast at Coyote Pause, dinner at Los Nopales and also at The House of Cheng (both right in the Tucson Estates community and very good), a day at the Arizona Sonora Desert Museum (more on that later), half a day visit to Old Tucson (the John Wayne era movie set, now a tourist trap), a day trip to Tubac and Tumacacori with a stop in Green Valley, swimming in the community pool for Leo, observing the hummingbirds at our patio feeder, an afternoon at Stitch 'n' Chatter for Lesley and Clara, time spent examining the many and varied cacti in the adjoining desert areas or in the landscaping of homes in the community.

A good time was had by all – well, almost
all . . . Clara was hung up with a nasty cold part of the time . . .

Lighting the Luminarias in Tubac

2009-12-13T19:52:00.000-08:00

Tubac, AZ is an artist colony 40 or so miles south of Tucson, and on Friday evening they had a shindig -- the traditional lighting of the luminarias. [For the uninitiated, a luminaria nowadays is a small lantern, usually created from a paper sack, some sand and a candle. In olden days, a luminaria was a bonfire used to light up the common area for a Christmas season
celebration, and a farolito was a small lantern -- but the terminology has been abused and misused for so many years that it has now become institutionalized.]

There were two things to see at Friday's celebration -- some of the art works of the residents of Tubac, and some of the decorative lighting of the area. The pictures below show some of each.
The one unusual find of the evening is the work done on the table and the bowls -- the natural cracks in the wood were lightly routed, then filled with a paste of ground turquoise and glue, then sanded off to a smooth surface and sealed.

Our Tucson Abode

2009-12-05T17:45:00.000-08:00

We had made an agreement to rent this place sight unseen, simply relying on some info from Leah (our landlady) and our perception of her good heartedness. I knew we had found the right place when I saw the little sign on the front corner of the unit . . .

There are just shy of 1700 places such as ours in Tucson Estates filled with folks from all over the U.S. There are clubs of almost all types here -- Clara has already been to one session of "Stitch-and-Chatter" and will add to that next week by going to the Piece Makers Quilt club.

Note the Southwestern flora showing in the third picture -- the saguaro cactus to the right, the prickly pear cactus a little back from there, the palo verde tree on the back left.

Viewing Sandhill Cranes

2009-12-05T14:57:00.001-08:00

On Friday (after Thanksgiving) we went over to Whitewater Draw to see the thousands of Sandhill Cranes that congregate there in the wintertime – a really spectacular show. As we stood there watching and listening, some idiot back behind us fired off a gunshot – what a scene, as the thousands took flight.

I'm having a little fun with this first picture – first there's the picture as it came from the camera, then I've cropped out a small section from the middle in order to get a better look at the cranes, then a still smaller section for an even better look.

Thanksgiving in Sierra Vista, AZ

2009-12-05T14:41:00.000-08:00

We came to Sierra Vista, AZ at the invitation of our Las Vegas friends (Jerry and Linda) to spend Thanksgiving with them at Linda's Aunt Isabel's home (although the big T-day dinner was at another home.) And it was all very nice, although perhaps the best part was the show that late afternoon from the back patio. The really spectacular part of dinner was the artfully crafted pies – note the individual leaves on the crust on the rim; the show from the back patio was all natural. 'Nuff said . . . look at the pictures.

The New (Un-)bespectacled Me

2009-12-05T14:35:00.000-08:00

After 67 years of reaching for my glasses first thing in the morning,
and wearing them non-stop all day long, I am struggling to adapt to
NOT wearing glasses, except to read.

When I recently went to my opthalmologist, I complained of having
increasing difficulty seeing clearly, especially at short to mid
range. His tech carefully checked for a possible new prescription
for glasses, and reported that the numbers that came up were EXACTLY
the same as my current prescription.

The opthalmologist opined that the only possible improvement MIGHT
come from getting so-called "RGP's," i.e., rigid gas permeable
contact lenses because my problem, so he said, was the surface
irregularities caused from my corneal transplant.

So I got them (well, only one -- for my good right eye) and a miracle
occurred! With that one lens in place, I now see better than I have
for fifteen years. But it's very difficult to walk out of the house,
get in the car and drive away -- without my glasses!

Leaving Seattle In The Rain

2009-12-05T14:32:00.000-08:00

The official title of this chapter of the travels of Glenn and Clara is
"Leaving Seattle In The Rain, Passing Through Oregon (I think . . . )
In The Fog, Arriving In The Southwest In The Sunshine."
Beyond the title, we'll let the pictures speak for themselves! I am
including the last picture especially for the Seattleites who may by
now have forgotten what blue sky looks like . . .

We left on Sunday, the 22nd, and arrived at our Thanksgiving
rendezvous in Arizona yesterday late afternoon.

The Murals of Toppenish

2009-10-28T20:04:00.000-07:00

Clara and I made our first visit to Toppenish, WA on Aug. 6, 1999 while on a trip from Las Vegas to Seattle (to visit Lesley and then one-year-old baby Leo) with major stops along the way in Montana to visit Clara's nephews and to spend time at Glacier Nat'l Park.

The small town of Toppenish, WA is well known to us for three reasons:
1) It is home to the Cultural Heritage Center of the Yakama Nation (yes, I've spelled it correctly according to the Native Americans), which includes among other things a nice RV park -- also a museum, restaurant, theater, and, a few blocks walk away, a casino.
2) It provides a nice home base for touring the Yakima Valley -- its wineries and fruit stands.
3) It has a marvelous group of murals, some 80 in all, created to depict the history and stories of the region between 1850 and 1950.

This first picture is Toppenish's first Mural-in-a-Day, painted on June 3, 1989, to launch the ambitious mural program. Designed by Phil Kooser of Yakima, the mural was painted under his direction by 15 noted western artists who collaborated on the 40-foot painting on the side of the Western Auto building at Washington Ave. and Toppenish Ave. It depicts the tremendous effort put forth by settlers in the area.

Each year, during the first week in June, another "Mural-in-a-Day" is added to the collection -- you're welcome to come and watch it being done. In addition, you can take a motorized, guided tour of the 80 murals all over town. Here are a few of them (the pictures don't really show the size of the murals -- they're painted on the sides of buildings, many feet high, even more feet long -- truly a sight to see.)

"Cushy" vs "Homey" or "What's an RV park supposed to be?"

2009-10-28T20:00:00.000-07:00

Bend, Oregon had little to offer in the way of RV parks -- there was
"cushy" and "cushier." Noting that the off-season rate was only $34
a night, we settled for "cushy" at Crown Villa RV Park. Notice the
size of the paver covered pad, then look at the building housing the
registration desk . . .

At Peach Beach, just across the Columbia River in Washington, our
accomodations were a little more humble (in line with the $20 price)
but notice the setting. Which was the better value for the money?

A Mermaid and mermaids

2009-10-28T19:57:00.000-07:00

On Sunday after brunch at the Paiute Reservation, we went over to the
Silverton Casino where Ed and Sheral's daughter Erin was working as a
mermaid entertainer in the "fish tank." Kids lined up to watch as
she swam around in the tank, stopping occasionally to play "patty-
cake" with one of them on the glass wall of the tank. After dinner
that evening, Clara and Sheral played mermaid in the outdoor hot-tub
in the back yard.

Brunch at Paiute and some new species of trees

2009-10-28T19:51:00.000-07:00

One of our non-negotiable rituals when we visit Las Vegas is Sunday brunch (see picture #1) at the Paiute Indian Reservation (and Golf Courses) north of town. The food is good though not outstanding, but the setting is well beyond outstanding. If you've heard of us going there before, then you know that my favorite observation is the (opposing) views in the entry hall – to the East (see the second picture) there is Snow Mountain as a backdrop to the golf course, to the West (see the third picture) there are the Spring Mountains as a backdrop to the desert.

On the way back into town we observed some new species of trees being developed by the plant scientists at the local university – the first one is "Palmis Fakis Cellis Toweris" while the second is "Pinus Fakis Cellis Toweris." The university is certain that they will be widely accepted and regards these new species as a tremendous advance in plant science.

An Unexpected Detour

2009-10-28T19:45:00.000-07:00

On Wednesday, we headed west from Sky City Casino, just on the edge of the Acoma Pueblo on I-40, where we had spent the previous night in their functional but unexceptional RV facility. Our plan was to get past Flagstaff, AZ to the point where the elevation was somewhat back down from the 7's, at least to the 5's, so that it would not be quite so cold at night. Also so that Clara's physical reaction to "extreme" altitude would subside somewhat.

Our goal – Seligman, AZ – elevation 5460 ft., approximately 1500 ft lower and 10 degrees warmer than Flagstaff, AZ. As we approached the town, I could feel in the steering wheel that there was something amiss in the left front wheel, although I was totally unprepared for what ultimately was found there. We stopped at KOA, the first RV park in town, to make inquiry, but as sadly expected, moved on to our second possibility – KOA is, for some reason, seriously overpriced, both in terms of what they have to offer and in light of other facilities. [KOA was $36 for the night, compared to the $20 we ultimately paid at Route 66 Campground.]

However, the KOA campground host was congenial enough to point us to the town tire shop, where the problem shown in the picture above was soon discovered. To me, the frustrating factor is that there were only some 32 or 33 thousand miles on this tire. Ah, well . . .

That is why we now find ourselves in Las Vegas, NV where we have gracious friends with a spare room, and where there are many resources for getting one or more new tires.

There are two complicating factors in getting a replacement tire or tires, and if you're not interested in the technicalities, you may stop reading here. Others may continue.

The engineers at Winnebago, in their awesome wisdom, decided to put larger tires on the rear of our MoHo than on the front. Besides that, the sizes of the tires on either are the same as on many passenger cars, BUT the load carrying requirement is radically different (passenger car, perhaps 1100 lbs per tire, our vehicle, approximately twice that). The conclusion is that there is essentially only one brand of tire that fits the bill, and it's made (surprise, surprise . . . ) in Germany. And those folks, bless their hearts, crank up the production line for these two sizes about once a year . . . and this year, the shipment is scheduled for two weeks from now!!

The process began late Thursday afternoon at Discount Tire, and on-line at TireRack.com, but didn't conclude until slightly more than 24 hours later (at Nevada Tire City), after visits to Nevada Pick-a-Part (imagine six football fields of junk vehicles waiting for you and your tools to help yourself), Nevada Truck Salvage, and a couple of tire repair facilities (verdict – negative). The word from Nevada Tire City is that they'll have a new tire, found in somebody's backroom, here in town next Wednesday!!! I hope it's not the same type of pipe dream that many folks in Las Vegas have when standing in front of one of those machines you can find everywhere here . . .

Ah, the adventures one can find while traveling . . .

A Trip to Acoma Pueblo (Sky City)

2009-10-28T19:41:00.000-07:00

On Tuesday Clara and I took a tour of the Acoma Pueblo, located some
70 or so miles west of Albuquerque, high atop a mesa rising some 375
feet above the surrounding lands. The Puebloans, as they prefer to
be called, settled here around 1650 A.D., a date established by
Western archaeologists and anthropologists since the Puebloans had no
calendar or year system of their own, hence no way of saying how many
years ago they settled here.

Our tour guide was an earnest young man from the Pueblo (see first picture) who told us some about his people's religion. Their "migration stories" taught them that all living creatures emerged from the deep at an unknown
place variously known as "shepapu" or "shepau."

Their sacred home on the mesa was known as "Haaku' " and was "a place
prepared for them." Their ancestors had been told to search for
"Haaku'," and that they would know when they had found it when their
shouts of "Haaku' " were answered with an echo. (Looking around this
area and seeing the other mesas and hills in the area, it is apparent
that there would be echoes of shouts from the top of their mesa. (See second picture))

The pueblo was almost completely uninhabited today, since there were no utilities nor other amenities of today, but it is quite picturesque (see third picture.) I could not resist this fourth picture which, to me, shows the irony of a sleek modern auto in front of an ancient dwelling.

My question, which you can readily anticipate, is how it could be
that these people could have a similar creation story and a similar
"chosen people" myth as the Israelites and perhaps other Eastern
peoples. After all, they were quite separate in time and location
and could not conceivably had any communication . . .

While on that tour, I also ventured to ask a question of our tour
guide regarding his people's reaction to the priests (and soldiers)
bringing to them the Catholic religion. I said, approximately,
"Several years ago, I had a conversation with a young woman from
another pueblo who told me that her people did what the priests told
them, performed the rituals as instructed, etc., but in their hearts
they kept only their traditional beliefs. Was that also true of your
people?"

The young man's answer was quite interesting, but also puzzling to
me. He said that his people perceived that their religion and the
religion of the priests were really the same religion, differing only
in being expressed within the framework of two different cultures.
He went on to say that this was basically true of all religions.

Were these Puebloans truly the first Universalists? Could they
really have believed/perceived that the two religions were, in basic
terms, the same religion with only a different cultural realization?
Or is this just the first manifestation of "spirituality without
religion"?

Lunch Out

2009-10-28T19:35:00.001-07:00

After our very early session at the launch field Saturday, we decided we deserved a lunch out and headed for a spot we remembered from years ago. But we turned the wrong way on 4th and had to ask directions. The woman we asked recommended a place she claimed was better – and she was right! As you can see from the second picture – their Carne Adovada was heavenly. What is "Carne Adovada" I hear being asked from Seattle? [Marinated overnight and then slow cooked until falling apart tender, Carne Adovada melds the flavors of New Mexico Red Chiles, cumin, oregano and garlic in this traditional New Mexican pork dish.]

The place (Casa de Benavidez) was a typically Mexican setting – open courtyard with adobe wall – and the margaritas were good, according to Clara (see the third picture.) We enjoyed it so much we came back the next day with five more friends . . .

The last picture has to have as its headline "You know you're in New Mexico when . . . "

Greetings from the Balloon Fiesta in Albuquerque – Part 4

2009-10-28T19:28:00.000-07:00

It was in this latter event (Texas Hold'em) this past Monday morning in which a rather serious accident occurred – a passenger in the balloon's gondola was catapulted out, into the air, and down onto the ground when the gondola clipped the top of a tent near the edge of the field. At last word, he's doing OK, but with a cracked pelvis. Again by the sheerest of coincidences, he was a volunteer crew member residing in the RV right next to ours – while we barely knew him, we had spoken with both him and his wife, and it still struck close to home.

This first picture is from the local newspaper, showing the victim literally flying through the air with the tent the balloon clipped clearly visible in the background. Ironically, this tent was the VIP tent, where those who wished to pay extra could have cushy seats from which to view the morning's activities.

Allegedly this link (also from the local newspaper) will get you to a raw video of the accident – good luck . . . I haven't been able to get it to work.

http://video.ap.org/?
f=NAMLJ&PID=H0nxv
W8wUGd3wzzjktF
qJvbi1O5_HrsT

The next five pictures are actual pictures that Clara took of the balloon involved in the incident, after the victim was catapulted out. They show the balloon first shooting up high, due to the change in weight in the gondola, then crashing hard into the ground because the envelope was collapsing. The pilot was injured in the landing, but not as seriously as her passenger.

Greetings from the Balloon Fiesta in Albuquerque – Part 3

2009-10-28T19:14:00.000-07:00

One of the daily features of the Fiesta is the "Dawn Patrol" when a group of about ten balloons ascend at 5:45 a.m. to check out the atmospheric conditions, and determine whether it is feasible to have flying that day. At that time of day (night?), it's rather difficult to get any pictures, but here's a couple attempts.

Another feature is the inclusion of various skill events; one is the key grab in which a set of keys to a vehicle (perhaps for a year's use, perhaps to own) is hung on a post some forty feet off the ground – pilots attempt to fly by and grab the ring with the keys. Another is Texas Hold'em in which they fly over the field and drop weighted objects attempting to hit targets which count as cards in a poker hand.

The first two pictures are of the Dawn Patrol taking off, the next two of large groups of balloons taking off from the launch field in order to go a specified distance away then return for the contest of the morning, and the last two are of balloons moving very low across the field attempting to hit targets on the field.

Greetings from the Balloon Fiesta in Albuquerque – Part 2

2009-10-28T19:10:00.000-07:00

The Fiesta began in the early '70's, and Clara and I were there a couple times in the mid '80's when we were living here. It was, of course, a lot smaller in those days – there were a few RV's around then, perhaps a couple hundred, whereas at this Fiesta there were approximately a couple thousand. At this Fiesta, there were around 550 balloons registered, with some 600 pilots on the official rolls, whereas there were at most a couple hundred in the beginning. Picture #1 shows our little RV lost between two behemoths, #2 shows the row of RV's across from our site, #3 shows another row along the border of the landing field right behind our spot.

When I went over to the launch field on Saturday, I took along my lawn chair and sat down near the field. There was another couple nearby and we struck up a conversation. There are many thousands of people in attendance here, undoubtedly representing all of the 50 states, yet the couple that I by chance sat next to came from Kenmore, WA – no more than about 15 miles from my home!! Go figure!

Greetings from the Balloon Fiesta in Albuquerque

2009-10-28T19:05:00.000-07:00

One of the centerpieces of a Balloon Fiesta is a mass ascension, when virtually all of the 550 balloons registered at the Fiesta lift off (obviously not all at the same time, but in several groups cluttering up the sky). This usually takes place fairly early in the morning, so that the weather conditions are optimum for flying.

The unique feature of the Fiesta in Albuquerque is the so-called "Albuquerque Box" – a term which describes the peculiar atmospheric conditions in which there is a wind current moving, say, southerly at, say, 300 feet above ground, while there is another wind current in the exact opposite direction at,say, 800 feet above ground. Thus a pilot can take off, rise a short ways and float off to the south, then rise still further and return to his point of origin. [Why is it called a "box?" Because if you look at it from the side, its path is rectangular.]

This first picture is of a part of the mass ascension, while pictures 2,3,4,5 are so-called "custom-shape" balloons.

Some themes from our trek to Albuquerque – Part Two:

2009-10-28T19:03:00.000-07:00

Theme #2: Life has changed dramatically over the last X years.

Recall that we spent an evening at Three Island State Park in Idaho, a spot on the Oregon Trail noted for a potential river crossing for the travelers. Put yourself on the trail in a covered wagon and consider the following:

A Risky River Crossing
Upon reaching the Three Island ford, the emigrants had a difficult decision to make. Should they risk the dangerous crossing of the Snake, or endure the dry, rocky route along the south bank of the river? About half of the emigrants chose to attempt the crossing by using the gravel bars that extended across the river. Not all were successful; many casualties are recounted in pioneer diaries. The rewards of a successful crossing were a shorter route, more potable water and better feed for the stock.
The Three Island ford was used by pioneer travelers until 1869, when Gus Glenn constructed a ferry about two miles upstream.

Now put yourself on a jetliner from your hometown to Oregon, or in a modern automobile (or even a small RV) on the Interstate Highway system and consider the question – what comparable changes will the next 140 years bring to travel?

Go back again to the pictures of the cliff dwellings and recognize the extreme difficulty – each young child must learn to master cliff side climbing using hand and toe holds, must learn hunting or farming for bare subsistence, must live or die without medical attention, etc. You can easily conceive of many more difficulties of life in cliff dwelling times. Now ask yourself the question "What changes in lifestyle, comparable to the changes over the past 1400 years, from cliff dwelling times to the television and Internet of today, will take place over the next 1400 years?"

Some themes from our trek to Albuquerque – Part OneB:

2009-10-28T18:59:00.000-07:00

Theme #1: Many good things can be created only by government action.

On our sixth day out, while camping just outside the entrance to Mesa Verde National Park, we visited the Park, where Clara took a guided tour of Cliff Palace, one of the four cliff dwellings open to tours. A surprising new piece of information was the statement that the cliff dwellers were now believed to be the ancestors of some of the modern day Pueblo dwellers of New Mexico.

We also learned that there are some 56 total National Parks in the U.S. (including several in Alaska, American Samoa, Hawaii). By going through the list, I counted 32 that we have visited, and noted several that we will never see . . .

Picture #1 is a mural found in the auditorium at the Visitor Center, numbers 2 and 3 are different views of Cliff Palace, and #4 shows the virtual inaccessibility of these cliff dwellings.

Is the preservation of some of the history and culture of our country a constitutionally mandated endeavor? Whether or not it is, it is certainly a worthwhile one that should be continued.

Some themes from our trek to Albuquerque – Part OneA:

2009-10-26T22:07:00.000-07:00

Theme #1: Many good things can be created only by government action.

For example, on our first night out, we stopped at Plymouth Park in Eastern Washington, a lovely campground built by the Army Corps of Engineers. Plymouth Park sits on the bank of the Snake River which begins to form the Oregon-Washington boundary. (See picture 1)
On days 1,2 and 3 we drove on the Interstate Highway System, built in the Eisenhower era, ostensibly as a matter of national defense, but obviously a great boon to both civilian traffic and commercial (truck) traffic.
On our second night out, we stopped at Three Island Crossing State Park near Glenn's Ferry, ID. This Idaho State Park was a quiet, comfortable, well-equipped place to spend the evening – you can bet that it was constructed before the famous pronouncement "Government isn't the solution to the problem – government IS the problem!" (See picture 2)
Mark Oct. 29, 2009 on your calendar in red! Why?
"it's worth noting that we're about to celebrate the 40th anniversary of one of the most important federal initiatives of our time.  The event was the launch of the Internet, which we date from Oct. 29, 1969, when a refrigerator-sized special-purpose computer in Leonard Kleinrock's engineering lab at UCLA transmitted its first message to a twin machine in Menlo Park, Calif." (Note that this date falls before the famous pronouncement.) Back then it was called ARPANet, where ARPA is "Advanced Projects Research Agency," of the Pentagon. A Pentagon report on this stated:
" Communicating online will be as natural an extension of individual work as face-to-face communication is now." Sound familiar?   Taylor tried to interest private industry in his project, but the companies he approached dismissed the idea. IBM told him its computers already talked to one another, completely missing his point that their computers should talk to everyone else's.   AT&T, then the monopoly proprietor of the phone system over which the network would operate, fought Taylor's project tooth and nail, contending that the network's "packet switching" technology (a method of transmitting data in discrete blocks) wouldn't work on its phone lines and might even damage them. Packet switching remains the Internet's governing technology to this day."
Let's see, this message has reached you . . . how?

On our third night out we stayed at the Golden Spike RV Park (private) in Brigham City, UT and spent the night parked about fifteen feet off of I-15, where cars and trucks passed by all night long. Yes, it had the amenities, same as the previous nights had, but lacked the quiet, peaceful location. More about the name "Golden Spike" under one of the other themes.
Our fourth night out was not much better, as we spent the night at Slickrock RV Park in Moab, UT – by far our most expensive evening so far. But the next day more than made up for it as we made a quick run into and around Arches National Park – "On April 12, 1929 President Herbert Hoover signed the legislation creating Arches National Monument, to protect the arches, spires, balanced rocks, and other sandstone formations. On November 12, 1971 congress changed the status of Arches to a National Park, recognizing over 10,000 years of cultural history that flourished in this now famous landscape of sandstone arches and canyons."
(See pictures 3,4 and 5 -- #3 shows a formation nicknamed "The Three Gossips – recognize anyone?)
More on this theme in the next e-mail . . . followed by other themes . . .

The Vancouver Excursion

2009-10-26T21:11:00.001-07:00

"Da Gang" made a trip to Vancouver to see the Renaissance Masters exhibition at the Vancouver Art Gallery on Sept 8th. The trip began on Amtrak from Edmonds, heading north along the Sound.

Our first move, once settled in our hotel, was to head out for a late lunch at "The Sandbar" on Granville Island, a pleasant little seafood establishment with a great view back toward the city. A young woman at a nearby table, upon seeing that we wanted a group picture, grabbed a chair, jumped up on it and proceeded to get a couple shots for us.

We were not permitted to take any photographs at the exhibition, and it was almost unbearably crowded. It was however quite an experience to see and learn about some of the old masterworks, especially from reading the interpretive notes given for each of the paintings.

Wednesday started with breakfast in the hotel's little restaurant, followed by some sight-seeing leading up to lunch at the Water Street Café, just across the street from Vancouver's famous Steam Clock. My lunch, as you can see, was seared, but nearly raw, tuna -- one of my favorites, and very nicely done.

Part of our group then caught the train back to Edmonds while the rest of us explored Robson Street. Dinner that evening was a real treat at La Bodega, a Spanish tapas place.

On Thursday morning, the four of us went out to Stanley Park for a look around, then headed to Chinatown for lunch. After that, it was our turn to head for the station and the train back south.

The Big Cell Phone Evening

2009-06-12T20:53:00.000-07:00

What a hilarious evening! Leo got home from a school trip just in time to get a call on his new cell phone! The phone is a "Graduating-from-elementary-to-middle-school" gift which he has been panting after for several months now, and it comes equipped with unlimited text messaging which all the kids have now. Well, you can see from the pictures how things went after that . . . first Leo is engrossed with figuring out the phone, then he has his Mom working on it also (Note how Leo's dinner is essentially untouched), then here comes Grandma . . . will wonders never cease . . . even the old folks have to learn about texting . . . messages are flying back and forth between Leo, his Mom, his Grandma, his friend Graham . . .

Yosemite National Park

2009-05-09T16:31:00.001-07:00

Yosemite National Park – it is so stunning, what else is there to say about it? Well, for one thing, it was arguably the inspiration for the whole National Park system; for another, it was the first piece of America set aside for preservation for posterity . . . in 1864, by Congress and President Lincoln . . . right in the midst of the Civil War!

For another, it was unfortunately named . . . Yosemite is the English transliteration of a Miwok Indian word meaning "They are killers!" referring to the Ahwahneechee Indians who lived in Yosemite Valley. The other suggested name was Ahwahnee, which is what the Miwok called it, no violent meaning attached.

All that aside, the view as you enter the valley is breath-taking (see the first picture) – a panorama of granite and waterfalls. The waterfalls were running strongly when we arrived, due to a heavy snowpack over the winter. The second picture shows Ribbon Falls in the valley, just to the left of El Capitan.

El Capitan stands some 3300 feet above the floor of the valley (thus about 7500 feet above sea level) and is the Mecca for rock climbers. There is a sometime contest to set the record for the fastest climb up those 3300 feet – it's less than 8 hours, I believe, although many climbers spend four or five days (and nights) on its face getting to the top.

Then, of course, there is Half Dome, named because it appears to have been split in two, although the other half is nowhere to be found. The last picture shows the Upper and Lower Yosemite Falls, at another location in the valley.

The geologic history of the valley, of molten lava, tectonic plate shifts, millions of years in the formation of granite cliffs, is so much more interesting than any possible "Creation" scenario that one could never settle for anything other than that story. Non-believers (in evolution and "natural" history) apparently do not come to Yosemite . . .

Allensworth State Park

2009-05-09T16:26:00.000-07:00

One of the more interesting stops on our trip was at Col. Allensworth State Historic Park, a few miles above Wasco, CA, originally intended as just an overnight stop for us as we traveled between Bakersfield and Yosemite (4/26/09).

It's really quite an interesting story, most of which you can read on the second and third pictures. This park commemorates the town of Allensworth, CA, built in 1908 to provide African-Americans an opportunity to achieve self-reliance and success in their own community. Unfortunately, it survived and thrived for only about ten years because its water supply suddenly disappeared, taken largely by nearby farming enterprises, and a series of failed promises to protect it.

The first place we were in in the town was the town library, originally the town school (number two, it first met in someone's home) but converted to the library when a shiny new school was built in 1912 (see picture #4). Obviously education was a very high priority in the community, second to none.

The California State Park system has done a very good job restoring many of the original buildings, making a nice campground for visitors and providing a full-time ranger for tours and so forth. Here she is with Clara for our personal tour – on a Sunday morning at 9 a.m. no less.

Perhaps the most intriguing facet of the park is its anonymity among California residents – we haven't yet spoken to one who has ever heard of this historic place, even some who have lived in that area for more than 40 years!

Happy Anniversary To Us!!

2009-05-09T16:21:00.001-07:00

Before we left Seattle last February, Clara had said that one place she wanted to go for sure was San Clemente State Beach in California. We have been there perhaps three times over the last dozen years and always enjoyed our time there.

So it was that on Tuesday, April 21st, we were there to celebrate our 52nd wedding anniversary. The campground sits on a high bluff overlooking the Pacific Ocean, and we had managed to get a spot right on the edge (see first picture.) In mid-afternoon we walked up the beach to the pier for drinks, appetizers and munchies at Fisherman's Bar and Grill. Although it doesn't look that far in the picture, the pier is about a mile and a half away – a healthy walk on a very warm day.

I was pleased to enjoy my favorite San Clemente drink, called a "Boneyard," while Clara started out with a split of champagne, all accompanied by a platter of calamari strips.

Later, we had their Happy Hour special – BBQ ribs, baked beans, coleslaw – as well as a "Cottons" (supposedly named in honor of Richard Nixon whose Summer White House was in San Clemente, but we haven't figured out the reference in the name.)

We spent a couple hours eating, drinking and asking each other questions starting off with "Did you ever imagine 52 years ago that you would be . . . "

We took a bus back to the campground (let's not overdo the healthy walking) and enjoyed a most beautiful sunset.

Going to San Clemente

2009-05-09T16:16:00.000-07:00

On our way from Hole-in-the-Wall to San Clemente, we went through El Cajon Pass in the San Bernardino Mountains – it was amazing to see all of the snow there, on April 19th, with temperatures in Victorville and LA in the 70's.

Our first outing in the San Clemente area took us down to Oceanside Pier, where we visited the neighborhood pelican and had breakfast at Ruby's, a favorite haunt of Clara's, located out at the end of the pier. On the recommendation of a friend, Clara had the "French Toast Special" – special because the "French Toast" was actually slices of Cinnamon roll!

Whenever I see a pelican (which ain't often in Seattle . . . ) I always remember the lines from Ogden Nash . . . A marvelous bird is the pelican . . His beak can hold more than his belly can!

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Leaving Las Vegas

2009-05-09T16:06:00.000-07:00

On Wednesday morning, as we prepared to leave for a visit to Death Valley, Linda, out in the back yard, exclaimed in delight "Come see this!"

Overnight, one of her plain-Jane cactuses in the backyard had suddenly sprouted a bunch of gorgeous blooms – another example of how those ugly and threatening plants exhibit their own special beauty.

Later, as we drove southwest out of town, in our caravan (Linda & Jerry's camper and Jerry's Jeep and us) we remarked again on the paradox of Las Vegas – snow up on Mt. Charleston with above 70's temps in town. We also noted why Red Rock Canyon got its name . . .

As we got up just a little higher on our way out to Pahrump, the snow actually came right down to the edge of the road.

Some Fun in Las Vegas

2009-04-24T20:42:00.000-07:00

On Saturday evening, Clara, Linda and Jerry went to a show at the Aliante Casino just not very far north of their home. The featured performer was Robert Cray, a blues singer whom they all liked.

On Sunday, Linda had arranged a "Garden Party" for some of our old friends from UUCLV as well as some of her new friends that she wanted us to meet. It was a delightful afternoon, and, just coincidentally, it also included a blind wine tasting for those who were interested (guess whose idea that was . . . )

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Around Las Vegas

2009-04-24T17:56:00.000-07:00

Just the other morning as I headed down the street on my way for some shopping, I was struck by the incredible view of the Spring Mountains just 15 or so miles west of Las Vegas. It was 70 degrees here in town, but Mt. Charleston still had lots of snow – after all, it's over 11,000 ft in elevation (compared to about 2200 here in town) and Mt. Charleston looked so close as if it were just around the corner in the next block.

Clara, Sheral and Linda are all taking an embroidery class at one of the local quilt shops. Clara needed to learn so she could do up an Oregon light-house quilt that calls for "red work" to outline the light-houses; so Sheral and Linda decided to join her. Here they are all hard at work – the instructor had the audacity to give them "homework" to be done for the next class.

Las Vegas got its name from the Spanish for "the meadows" because right near the center of town there is a spring that waters the area, hence creates "the meadows." Originally, the town was founded as a railroad watering stop because of this spring and the availability of water for the trains. Finally the city is getting around to memorializing its heritage by creating the "Springs Preserve," a combination natural area and meeting place complete with a small (but Wolfgang Puck operated) restaurant.

Clara and her friends were there for lunch one day, and just the other evening, we all went there for a light supper and the evening "Café Concert," featuring an
excellent lounge singer who
was also expert on the harp.

The view of the downtown skyline gave me pause – viewing "New Vegas" from the site of "Old Vegas," where "New Vegas" is even decorated with the Nevada State Bird atop the largest, but as yet unfinished, building on the skyline. [For the uninitiated, the Nevada State Bird is the (construction) crane!]

The Stratosphere Hotel and Casino, shown here after dark, is somewhat reminiscent of Seattle's Space Needle, although it's nearly twice as tall. That building at the bottom is itself 24 stories high. Here's a note from Wikipedia:
the 1,149 ft (350 m) Stratosphere Tower, the tallest free-standing observation tower in the United States[1] and the second tallest in the Western Hemisphere,

The Lettermen

2009-04-24T17:48:00.001-07:00

Last weekend, we went to see "The Lettermen," (surely you recall them from the '60's and '70's) who were appearing at a new casino out on the far south side of town. We all enjoyed hearing those old tunes, some of them their exclusives ("Hurt So Bad", "Traces/Memories", "Goin' Out Of My Head/Can't Take My Eyes Off You", "Shangri-La", "Put Your Head On My Shoulder", and many more.... ), others just old stand-bys of the era . They briefly showed, on the showroom TV, some tape from the beginning of the group, including this shot of the original three with Jack Benny. Only one of the original three (Tony Butala on guitar) is still with the group, but he's been there for 48 years now. And what's absolutely amazing is that he, together with various others, has been putting on at least a hundred shows like this every year since 1961!

The lighting in the showroom was great for the show but absolutely awful for any photography (so bright it washed everything out, or so colorful it distorted everything) but I did manage one shot when they had a member of the audience on stage briefly. The old coot with the gray hair is Tony, the original.

Two other things of note – the drummer in their accompanying group was sitting in an acrylic-walled room, apparently so that he could hear only the "pure" sound from the microphones through his headphones. The second thing is, I believe, related to this . . . this "background" accompaniment, especially the drums, was so loud that it seemed as if the singers were almost screaming into their mikes to be heard. We had some discussion about this – you can pick what you think is the correct explanation for it:
1) Today's "young" people are almost deaf from listening to so much loud music, so they insist on very loud presentations. They don't think the music is any good unless it's very loud.
2) The back-up group has it written in their contract that they must be heard, even above the singers.
3) The musical arranger for the group is a young guy, hence number 1) applies to him specifically.
4) The showroom manager is (probably) a young guy, hence . . .
5) Beats hell out of me, but it sure was loud . . .

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Fountain Hills

2009-04-03T16:30:00.000-07:00

At this very moment I'm sitting in front of a quilt shop in Fountain
Hills, AZ, which is about 30 miles E/NE of Phoenix. We are camped
just north of here at McDowell Mountain Regional Park, a very nice
high-desert park run by Maricopa County.

Here's a picture of Clara by our very own Saguaro, right at the top end of our camp-site. It was interesting to me, as we drove from Tucson up to Phoenix the other day to observe the gradual disappearance of saguaros, going down from at least 1,000 per square mile near Tucson to about 1 per square mile as we neared Phoenix.
They tell me, at the Desert Botanical Garden, that it's a matter of rainfall -- 14 inches per year in Tucson but only half that in
Phoenix -- but that rainfall is directly affected by the drop in elevation -- 2200 ft above sea level in Tucson to slightly less than half that in Phoenix. That seems reasonable in that we go up again as we go out of Phoenix to Fountain Hills and the Saguaros become more numerous.

The second picture shows why it's called Fountain Hills -- the fountain comes up every hour on the hour for fifteen minutes. The big question is why -- a) to entertain the snow birds, b) to aerate the water in the lake, c) secretly it's the Fountain Hills Sewage Treatment Plant -- you may only pick one answer . . .

On Cactus

2009-04-03T16:20:00.001-07:00

On our guided tour of part of the Desert Botanical Garden, the docent explained to us that a cactus has three essential things – a cuticle to hold in the water and sugar that it stores, an extensive root system to gather what little moisture is available in the desert, and an attractive flower to bring in pollinators.

In this first picture, of a cluster of barrel-type cactus, you can see the cuticle and the means of storage – barrels. In all of the others, the blooms are the outstanding feature. The first blooming cactus is actually not from the Desert Botanical Garden in Phoenix but from our friend Margot's front yard in Tucson. It's a Mammillaria cactus with an attractive wreath-shaped bloom. Then comes a Cholla cactus with bright pinkish blooms, followed by a prickly pear, and yes, those are real orange blooms, not some pieces of Chihuly glass dropped in there.

This last one is the most amazing of all . . . remember, as you can see, that cacti are inherently ugly and threatening with their bristles/spines/stickers, but this last one looks just like that piece of exposed root in the upper middle of the picture every day of the year, and for 364 nights of the year. But on one night, for just a few hours, it puts out these
lovely white blooms which wither and die before morning. It's called the "Queen of the Night" and it's Arizona's species of the "Night-Blooming Cereus." No, we did not actually see one in bloom, only the ugly root-like stem – this is a picture of a picture . . . but, as with all cactus, it does store water and sugar – if you were to attempt to pull that " ugly root-like stem" out of the ground, you would find yourself tugging on a large bag/sack of water and sugar, perhaps as much as fifty pounds of it stored just under ground! Cacti are truly amazing!

Chihuly at the Desert Botanical Garden

2009-04-03T14:34:00.000-07:00

While camped outside of Phoenix, we went down to the Desert Botanical Garden in Scottsdale, where they had an exhibition of Chihuly glass sculptures – probably close to a hundred groupings – placed amongst the flora in the garden.

For the unitiated, here's a few things about Chihuly:
1) Dale Chihuly (b. September 20, 1941 in Tacoma, Washington, United States) is an American glass sculptor and entrepreneur.
2) In 1976, while Chihuly was in England, he was involved in a head-on automobile accident during which he flew through the windshield.[1][3] His face was severely cut by glass and he was blinded in his left eye. After recovering, he continued to blow glass until he dislocated his shoulder in a 1979 bodysurfing accident.[3] No longer able to hold the glass blowing pipe, he hired others to do the work; Chihuly explained the change in a 2006 interview, saying "Once I stepped back, I liked the view" and pointing out that it allowed him to see the work from more perspectives and enabled him to anticipate problems faster.[1] Chihuly describes his role as "more chore-
ographer than dancer, more supervisor than participant, more director than actor."[1]
Around Las Vegas (where we are now) Chihuly is known for having created the ceiling display in the Bellagio Casino, shown in the first picture. The rest of the pictures pretty much speak for themselves in presenting shapes and colors that fit in with, but also stand out from, the displays of plants at the Desert Botanical Garden.

In and around Gilbert Ray Campground

2009-04-02T21:22:00.000-07:00

Clara dearly loved this campground (on the far western edge of Tucson) because it had the best of the Sonoran desert all around you. From there we could see the "march" of the Saguaros up a nearby ridge, and on one walk around the campground she learned of a cholla cactus which was harboring a nest with a tiny bird in it.

I was enchanted with "Moonrise Over the Desert" as you can see from these two pictures.

The Birthday Boy

2009-04-02T21:04:00.000-07:00

On Sunday it was time to celebrate (?) my birthday – well, let's see . . . celebrate because you're alive, celebrate because you made it to that day, celebrate because you have some friends with you to share the day with . . . uhhh . . . celebrate because it beats the alternative . . .

I made my favorite crab cakes with scallops and smoked trout while Clara and Margot made a Queen of Sheba cake, a Julia Child concoction made mostly with ground almonds rather than flour so that a diabetic can eat and enjoy it, with plenty of chocolate in and on the cake. You'll note that the candles on the cake must each represent about a dozen years . . .

Note also the box of chocolate bars on the table in front of the cake . . . a special gift from my daughter ordered from Theobroma Chocolate in Sitka, Alaska . . . my longtime favorite indulgence . . .

The evening was just a little eerie . . . our friends Jim and Judy Bateman [whom we met at the same time as we met Margot and J.D. (Garcia) back in 1967] came over for the evening . . . the course of the conversation took us all back 42 years to when we met . . . it was as if time had not passed . . . we spoke with each other just as we had back then . . .

A great evening . . .

Civano

2009-04-02T15:01:00.000-07:00

On the far southeast side of Tucson there is a planned community called "Civano," which is described by its originators as "an antidote to urban sprawl's five banes: loss of community, loss of open space, traffic congestion, air pollution, and poor use of resources."

"Civano" was the golden era of the Classical Phase of native Hohokam civilization, an era that balanced natural resources with human needs. Hohokam is the name given to one of the four prehistoric civilizations that archaeologists have uncovered in the SouthWest.

This first picture shows the ultimate Civano home

– desert landscaping, thick adobe walls, solar panels in the back, rainwater collection tank and cooling tower (air is drawn into the house thru floor level vents and exhausted by convection up thru the tower). Admittedly, it was the only one we saw with all of these features, but several other homes had some of the features.

The second picture shows the "walk to anywhere" design

of the community,

while the third and fourth show some of the other interesting homes there.

At the moment there are about six hundred homes in the community. Two different friends of ours live there, and one of them gave the tour to the four of us (Clara and I and our Laramie friends.)

Of "Topopo" and "Mistletoe"

2009-04-02T14:49:00.000-07:00

Words are interesting, both in where they came from and in what they presently represent.

Here we are, fixin' to eat yet again, this time on the patio of the El Charro near downtown Tucson, the (self-proclaimed) oldest

continuously operating Mexican restaurant, owned by the same family to boot, in the United States (since 1922) and the home of the chimichanga (a deep fried burro, for the uninitiated; or a deep fried, tortilla wrapped concoction of beans, meat and cheese for the totally uninitiated).

And here is another concoction, allegedly big in Mexican cuisine

but found (by me at least) nowhere else but in Tucson – a topopo salad. I first had one in a little place on 22nd St. just west of Swan many years ago, and had one here, but have never seen it offered anywhere else. With just a little research I found this interesting tidbit: "Topopo" means volcano in Spanish and, appropriately, the salad is a conical monument of shredded lettuce, tomatoes, cheese, shredded chicken and olives.

And as you can see by the picture that is an apt description.

On our way into town one day we saw mistletoe in a mesquite tree. Most folks are unaware that mistletoe is a parasite, living in New Mexico in juniper trees and here in Arizona in mesquites. What is mistletoe, other than a bouquet under which we kiss at holiday time?

The word "mistletoe" is derived from the Anglo-Saxon words, "mistel" (dung) and "tan" (twig) -- misteltan is the Old English version of mistletoe. It's thought that the plant is named after bird droppings on a branch [source: mwrop.org].

One of the beliefs in the early centuries was that mistletoe grew from birds. People used to believe that, rather than just passing through birds in the form of seeds, the mistletoe plant was an inherent result of birds landing in the branches of trees.

So how did this plant become entwined with Christmas? The holiday has assimilated a wide range of customs and traditions from many cultures, and mistletoe is one of them. For example, one French tradition holds that the reason mistletoe is poisonous is because it was growing on a tree that was used to make the cross on which Jesus Christ was crucified. Because of this, it was cursed and denied a place to live and grow on Earth, forever to be a parasite [source: Saupe].

Mistletoe is also said to be a sexual symbol, because of the consistency and color of the berry juice as well as the belief that it is an aphrodisiac, the “soul” of the oak from which it grows. The origin of the tradition of kissing under the mistletoe is vague. However, the tradition may have stemmed from either the Viking association of the plant with Frigga (the goddess of love) or from the ancient belief that mistletoe was related to fertility. Another explanation for the tradition is that it is derived from the festival of Saturnalia, a popular mid-December celebration in ancient Rome [source: BBC.com].

Mistletoe is a symbol of love and fertility.

The correct mistletoe etiquette is for the man to remove one berry when he kisses a woman. When all the berries are gone, there's no more kissing permitted underneath that plant.

One legend states that a couple who kisses underneath mistletoe will have good luck, but a couple neglecting to perform the ritual will have bad luck. Specifically, it is believed that a couple kissing under the mistletoe ensure themselves of marriage and a long, happy life, while an unmarried woman not kissed under the mistletoe will remain single for another year.

Some Interesting Out-of-the-way Spots in Tucson

2009-03-21T18:56:00.000-07:00

We started the morning by going over to a combination RV Park and Mfd Home Park just a short ways Southeast of Tucson Estates where Terry and Sharon are spending this month. Unbeknownst to any of us there is a delightful train operation set up there, operated by some of the residents of the Parks. We were fortunate to arrive at a time when it was running – never mind the other information we came to get . . . enjoy the trains.

After that we went out to the North-slightly-west side of town to Tohono Chul Tea Room for lunch and a look at their desert preserve. We had assumed, as most folks probably do, that this was somehow an enterprise of the Tohono o'Odham tribe (formerly known as Papagos) who live west of Tucson. However, as near as I can find out, it has nothing to do with them other than its name. Here is what one source had to say:

Tohono Chul -- meaning "desert corner" in the Tohono O'odham language -- is a 49-acre, non-profit desert preserve within the city of Tucson. The park was established in 1985 to enrich people's lives by providing them the opportunity to find peace and inspiration in a place of beauty, to experience the wonders of the Sonoran Desert and to gain knowledge of the natural and cultural heritage of this region.

The story, as near as I could determine, is that a couple named Richard and Jean Wilson, decided around 1968 to assemble some acreage and put it aside as a desert preserve, to be owned and operated by a non-profit foundation with both a preservationist and educational mission. Tohono Chul Park opened in 1985 as a park with the Johnson's elegant old Spanish Colonial residence remodeled as a Tea Room. Based on our experience in seeing the crowd of people there on a mid-week day and the fact that we waited half an hour to get a table, things are going quite well.

The Tourists Go To Tubac and Tumacacori

2009-03-21T17:17:00.000-07:00

On Tuesday we set off to the south to visit Tubac, the oldest settlement in Arizona; and Tumacacori, site of the oldest mission in Arizona.

Here we are about to have lunch at the Old Tubac Inn, an occasion marked by a remarkable feat by our waitress who opened Terry's bottle of beer by holding it tightly under her left bicep while twisting . . . and presto . . . just try it yourself if you think it's easy!!

Tubac is a combination of historical site (now closed to the public due to lack of funds), tourist shops (open to the public for all sorts from junk to fine art), and artist colony (supplying some of the tourist shops), but not a particularly photogenic place.

This sign in the wall of one of the buildings is probably neither original nor profound, but you might smile slightly as you pass by . . .

In Tumacacori, we visited the partially restored old mission dating to around 1800. The pueblo of Tubac was established to provide a living space for those using and staffing the mission.

Touring Tucson with Friends

2009-03-21T11:34:00.000-07:00

On our first day with our friends from Laramie, we set off to the number one tourist destination in Tucson – the Arizona Sonora Desert Museum, jam packed with all the flora and fauna of the area in its own natural setting.

This first picture is, to me, the appropriate beginning point in that it shows "the march" of the Saguaro cactus up the hill in the background while showing the variety of the rest of the landscape. [For the uninitiated, it's pronounced "Sah – wah - ro"]

Also for the uninitiated that strange looking tree is a Palo Verde, which when literally translated is "green stick," an apt description in that what leaves there are are so miniscule as to be unnoticeable.

This second picture is one of Clara with our friends (you'll perhaps see their faces later) looking at one of those Saguaros which basically only grow in the Tucson area.

Then we go to the walk-in aviary where the birds flit around inside a totally enclosed cage that you can walk through. Here's a quick sample of them.

A few more
observations and interesting photos from the Arizona Sonora Desert Museum. This first one shows some big horn sheep who stood immovable as if posing for a drawing class. Next is an unknown species of fish taken from an underground viewing post into a tank that also contained beaver and otter, neither of which photograph nicely.

Then we have the "flower" of a (mis-named) Century Plant – so called because it lives for several years (but not a century) before flowering; then it sends up this humongous "flower" which stands approximately eight to ten feet tall. The "flower" is prized as a decorative accessory in many Arizona homes, while the plant, as expected, dies immediately upon "flowering."

Lastly, we have a picture which I like just for the geometry of the shapes – it features a saguaro and an Arizona Yucca (Cactus.)

River Island – Vegas to Tucson

2009-03-21T11:06:00.000-07:00

On the way, we spent the evening at a little State Park called River Island just above Parker, AZ. It's little more than a glorified parking lot, but it does have a view of the river, and looking across at the California side, you see how little the river is at this point – much less than the magnificent river that creates Lake Mead near Las Vegas, requiring the huge Boulder Dam to hold it in. Note the dead tree stump in this second picture – you'll see it again in a minute.

We still have not figured out why it's called River Island unless that's the name of the little piece of land in the second picture.

In the morning Clara sat near the river's edge with her breakfast, while some species of bird welcomed the day high above on the nearby tree stump.

Breakfast at the Paiute Golf Resort

2009-03-14T15:22:00.000-07:00

One of my favorite places in Las Vegas, especially for a Sunday morning breakfast, was the Paiute Golf Resort out northwest of town. The Paiutes have a sense of location that is exceptional, at least to my taste.

If you stand at or near the front entrance to the clubhouse you have a great view of the Spring Mountains with Mt. Charleston as the highest at 11,918 ft. But if you turn around (without moving far at all) you then have a view of the Sheep Mountains – not so high but still picturesque.

We went there on Saturday morning, just before leaving LV and heading toward Tucson, with our Las Vegas friends for a quiet Saturday morning, broken only by the raucous singing (into the cell phone) for our grandson Leo on his 11th birthday.

Japanese Food – Tasty and Artistic

2009-03-14T13:52:00.001-07:00

On Friday evening we went to Sen of Japan, a little, almost "hole-in-the-wall" place in the neighborhood shopping center nearby and had the most wonderful meal we've experienced in quite a long time – both the presentation and the food itself were exquisite.

Japanese are noted for great attention to the presentation of food, both as to arrangement and to color, to say nothing of the cooking (or not) of the food itself, and our experience truly showed that.

This first dish is a sashimi spinach salad and you can see the little bits of raw fish here and there – that's shredded radish on top.

Next is a seafood cucumber salad with octopus, crab and shrimp on a bed of cucumbers.

Then comes a squid salad,

followed by some tempura – very lightly breaded onion and sweet potato – accompanied by skewers of shrimp, chicken and beef.

A Sad Story of our Times

2009-03-14T13:08:00.000-07:00

On Friday (2/27/09) Clara and I went out to Pahrump, NV with our friends Linda and Jerry, and, among other things, we went to the stables where Linda is learning horse care and taking riding lessons. I just couldn't resist writing up this little "story of our times." Glenn

**************************

It's difficult, I know, to believe how hard these times have come to
be. Here is photographic evidence of one truly sad story -- a good
friend of ours, Linda by name, formerly a psychiatric nurse and a
college teacher, now reduced to eking out a meager living by cleaning
horse stables . . . who would have believed it would come to this? I
overheard someone to say that she curls up next to the horse whose
enclosure she's cleaning in order to stay warm during Las Vegas'
bitterly cold winter nights. Glenn

Chinese New Year at the Bellagio -- A Garden in a Casino

2009-03-14T11:52:00.000-07:00

On Wednesday, Clara and Sheral went to the Bellagio Casino/Hotel, long known for its gardens – an attraction for tourists. They were honoring the Chinese New Year, and here are some pictures – first, the "God of Wealth and Fortune," and second, the Ox. Clara noted that this is especially our year, in that both this year and the year in which we were born are "The Year of the Ox."
I couldn't begin to show all of the pictures Clara took, of all of the various flowers in the garden, but she was especially impressed with the thousands of orchids of many varieties -- in Las Vegas the "Botanical Garden" is in a casino, in order to draw you in.

Contrast – Wonders of Nature vs Flashes from the Strip

2009-03-01T20:56:00.000-08:00

Clara has always had a special attachment to the desert, so the first excursion she and Sheral embarked upon was a trip out to Red Rock Conservation Area, out Southwest of Las Vegas. When it was first opened in the '70's as a combination scenic/hiking natural area, there were perhaps 20 thousand visitors in a year. Now that number is nearing a million . . .

This first picture shows why it's called "Red Rock" – it's just off the south end of the Spring Mountains and features a 13 mile driving tour through desert, across creeks coming from waterfalls, up to ridges where climbers practice -- while the next shows Clara and her friend Sheral in front of another display of "red rocks." The third is the waterfall at the end of the Lost Creek trail.

Later that day, they went to the Las Vegas Strip. At the brand new Palazzo, the feature was a trio of young women made up and dressed to look like statues, moving into various poses.

Of course, the Venetian has canals with boats and boatmen – all inside - naturally (or should it be "un-naturally."

The Venetian also has a lobby with a spectacular painting on the ceiling.

Back to the U.S.A.

2009-02-26T16:31:00.000-08:00

The return trip up to the border was uneventful, marred only by the seemingly interminable wait at the border. Did the border folk care whether we were terrorists? . . . or whether we were drug smugglers? . . . or whether we were contraband liquor importers? . . . What they asked us about was whether we were bringing in eggs or lunchmeat . . . oh, my . . . how dangerous . . .

We were too late to camp at Buckskin Mountain State Park on the Colorado River, as we had planned, so we went down the road a bit to Sandbar Resort . . . can you spell "P-a-r-k-i-n-g L-o-t?" Too tough? Well, how about "D-u-m-p?"

Anyway the scenery was great, but watch out that you don't hit your head on the nearby neighbor's slideout as you leave your camper . . .

By the way, the "flowers" on that agave are plastic . . . someone has a nice sense of humor . . .

On to Las Vegas the next day, and to . . . guess what? . . . a big dinner on Sunday . . . is it that all the folks we visit are extremely social? . . . or is it . . . US?

Impressions of San Felipe

2009-02-26T14:59:00.000-08:00

I came away with two strong impressions from this visit to San Felipe – number one was the high level of social activity at the Flinn household.

In this first picture, you see the table set for dinner on Valentine's Day (our first day there) . . . or, is it for Sunday (our second day there) . . . or, maybe it's for Monday (our third day there) . . . hmmmm . . . besides the six house guests, there were usually four or five other friends in to dinner – and a good time was had by all!

On Wednesday, at lunch, it's traditional for a large group to meet at a local establishment – outside! (eat your hearts out, you folks in the NorthWest!) – for tacos or similar lunch and general camaraderie.

Impression number two is the work obsession of the male householder – he has to be busy every (daylight) minute, doing something on their place . . . bricking in walkways and patios, putting clamshells on the driveway, building little alcoves here and there – I'm worried about his health in the future . . . there's no room left on the lot for any more projects, so what will he do? . . . and will his health suffer for lack of activity? Here's a picture of their home from the front, a picture of the south sideyard, and a picture of an interesting "establishment" in the backyard. [Given that all water has to be trucked in at no trivial expense, this, of course, makes a lot of sense . . . as well as being quite a conversation piece . . . ]

Getting to Mexico

2009-02-26T14:51:00.000-08:00

I know, this is quite late, but while in Mexico our on-line
activities were severely limited (no downloading or uploading beyond
basic e-mails and newspaper articles due to a 200 MB/day limit shared
by four laptops).

So, in this first picture we're arriving at the border, having driven
from Mojave, CA that morning. Then you can see somewhat typical
countryside as we go on down the road, finally arriving just at dark
at Bud and Dotty's place, where we were greeted with a campfire and a
glass of wine, and weather warm enough to sit outside. After wine
and appetizers, we went on over to the neighborhood cantina (which
was really jumping due to $5 spaghetti Friday night as well as just a
general desire to get together with friends.) While there, a young
(?) gentleman came over and introduced himself as a schoolmate of
both Clara's and Dotty's in Imperial, NE way back when. Actually, he
was just behind Dotty (by a year) so they hardly knew him, but they
did know his older sister, who was in Clara's graduating class. He
has also established permanent residence in the San Felipe area,
which, although there are no exact census figures, is reputedly home
to some forty or fifty THOUSAND ex-pats from the U.S. It is possible
for a couple to live down there on nothing more than their monthly
Social Security . . . so that would suggest somewhere upwards of
seventy or so MILLION dollars per MONTH going into the local
economy . . . too bad the little people hardly see it . . .

"Nuff said!"

2009-02-12T21:01:00.000-08:00

"Nuff said!"

Today was gorgeous and uneventful . . . we traveled from Orland, CA to Mojave, CA with nary a hint of snow and lots of blue sky and sunshine . . . tomorrow we hope/plan to arrive right close to the border and traipse on down to San Felipe on Saturday morning for the Valentine's Day festivities . . .

Lessons to learn . . .

2009-02-11T21:55:00.000-08:00

Today we learned two important lessons, so we'll share them with you. We got on the road early today, around 8, and buzzed along smoothly . . . up to a point where we were about 80 miles from the California border. At that point the large overhead electronic board flashed at us
"I-5 closed 70 miles ahead due to
blizzard conditions in California."

Completely taken aback, we puzzled over how to proceed – stop at the closure point and wait it out, or find an alternate route, or . . .

When we got a few more miles on down the road, at Grants Pass, OR, we stopped and made inquiries of a) the tourist information folks, b) the attendant at the gas station, c) the on-line traffic advisories from ODOT which carried dire warnings of the requirements of chains on all four wheels, d) the 511 reports on highways.

We finally decided to try the apparent alternate route, down Hwy 199 to the coast at Crescent City, CA thence on down the coast. After just a short distance (13 miles) down this route we came to another sign – WRECK AHEAD – after which we came upon a long line of stopped vehicles. Two boys walking up the road told us that a semi had hit a van, leaving the van in the ditch and the semi stretched across the road. After about an hour, a deputy sheriff came by and said that it would be at least an hour before things were cleared.

We decided to head back and go on down the original route, which to our great surprise and frustration (but not disappointment) was open, clear and totally unmarked by further signs of closure or chains or anything else. Look at the first picture below to see the awful conditions we faced.

Lesson #1: Your life gets messed up when you get bad information, and it's darn near impossible to tell whether the information you get is good or bad.

We're now in Orland, CA at the Old Orchard RV Park, quietly enjoying a wine (Clara) and a Scotch (me). The trip was uneventful, actually over the whole day, except for the misdirection of the bad information.

We did get to pass by Mt. Shasta and got a beautiful view of it, together with a couple nice pictures.

Lesson #2: The output from Photoshop is heavily influenced by the character of the surroundings left after you've cropped off a part of a picture. Armchair philosophers can rephrase this and really go to town, starting from "What you see is heavily influenced by the circumstances in which you confront it . . . "

Here you can see three photos, the second one cropped from the first -- but note that its coloration and its character have changed without any action other than cropping -- and the third cropped from the second.

On The Road Again . . .

2009-02-11T02:07:00.000-08:00

Monday morning we woke up to . . . SNOW . . . yet again . . . it's b-a-a-a-c-k . . . so we got ready to leave . . .

Actually we were already planning to leave on Tuesday, but we hadn't planned to be so eager to leave! On Tuesday as we were heading south from Seattle, it was even worse -- snow and fog! But traffic moved along carefully and steadily (for the most part, with only an occasional spot of congestion.)

At the moment we are ensconced in the Salem Campground, just behind Home Depot in Salem, OR on the shore of Lake Detroit, which we cannot even see from our campsite . . .

Our plan is to head straight to Baja for a short while, then up to Vegas; later back down to Tucson -- all the while visiting friends along the way. We'll work in a visit to Death Valley while it's relatively cool there, and later get to some of the Parks in Utah -- Bryce, Zion, etc., with a due date back home of May 20ish.

January 20, 2009

2009-01-31T22:21:00.000-08:00

The Three Faces of Snow

2009-01-31T21:44:00.001-08:00

This year
has brought
us the most
snow we've
ever seen in
Seattle –
even the
old-timers
cannot
recall
this much.

First, there's the "Fun" face of snow – making snowmen, sledding, throwing snowballs . . .

Then there's the "Artistic" face of snow – the trees look splendid with their snow jackets on . . .

But then there's the "God, I Hate This" face of snow – scraping snow off of your windshield, trying to navigate the streets . . .

Holiday in Victoria

2009-01-30T16:53:00.000-08:00

On the Saturday after Christmas, we decided to brave the snow and head for a holiday in Victoria with our friends Diane and Mary. The weather cooperated (by not getting worse) and we arrived after our ferry ride to find three times as much snow in Victoria as we had left behind in Seattle.

We took along some wine for a special wine tasting, looking forward to other wine tastings as well as some superb food.
In this first photo you can see the glasses arranged for the tasting, each with a colored sticker matching one of the four bottles in the tasting. The point of the tasting was to rate quality vs price, so there was a wide range in price – from $3.50 to $25 in one case, from $8 to $40 in another.
The testing hypothesis was that non-experts would pick exactly backwards – our results were mixed – I probably did the poorest, Clara slightly better, Diane and Mary better still (but they've had a wine tasting class – right!) In three nights we had tastings of Malbec, Zinfandel and Petit Sirah, with the Petit Sirah being everyone's choice as best varietal that we tasted!

One afternoon we went over to a cidery – a place that only makes cider, hard of course, but in an amazing variety of flavors and textures, ranging all the way from an ultra-dry aperitif to a
lush dessert.

Another fun aspect of our visit was the wildlife viewing, watching the birds come to their feeding stations. But the pictures I got were of the squirrels pirating the bird's feed – at both of the stations.

Of course, the ultimate highlight of our visit was Diane's "Baltimore Dinner" – an elegant presentation featuring lobster salad and crab-stuffed shrimp. We were so busy enjoying this luscious feast that we forgot to get any pictures!!

How Time Flies!

2008-05-25T22:00:00.001-07:00

We now have a budding Little Leaguer, who's learned quite a lot about baseball, likes to play catcher, and is often in center field because he has a strong arm and accurate throw. He is so lucky in that he wound up with a coach who wants to TEACH the kids about the game and to ENJOY the experience regardless of the score. Anyway, from this series of pictures you'll see how time flies!

Mother's Day 2008

2008-05-12T12:53:00.000-07:00

We had a great time yesterday and thought we would share some of it with you – we hope that you had a very good day, too!

After church (for Clara and me) and a late breakfast followed by some baseball practice (for Lesley and Leo) we moved on to an early afternoon brunch – Glenn put together and fried some of his "crab-and-smoked-trout-cakes," Clara fixed some asparagus, Lesley made some cous cous, and Leo took the pictures (and also made cards for his Mom and Grandma.)

And, of course, there was champagne – what would Mother's Day be without it?

We finished up with a chocolate tasting – some single-source cacao chocolate that we picked up over in Issaquah a couple weeks ago, after going to a quilt show over there.

More on Da Big 51

2008-04-26T10:13:00.000-07:00

Olympic National Park has three lodges, each situated on a beautiful lake, so here's a series of lake shots – Lake Quinault, Lake Kalaloch, and Lake Crescent. We've done the tour, going to all three, with lunch Monday at Quinault, dinner Monday at Kalaloch, and a closed, locked door at Crescent on Wednesday – they close for the winter (?) until mid-May.

This fourth picture is somewhat quirky, taken off the balcony of our room, and just because I liked the looks of it. To me it shows what happens to you when you're subjected to the vicissitudes of life, especially if you happen to be a tree.

The weather was problematic, and somewhat curiously interesting, during our trip, with rain one minute, sunshine a few minutes later, and then snow – all within an hour! This fifth picture shows frozen snow on the treetops at Lake Quinault.

What makes this area a rain-forest is the blocking effect of the Olympic Mountains on the wind currents coming in off the ocean, causing them to drop all of their moisture here. A ranger told us that they measure their rainfall in feet, not inches, and that last year's was twelve feet! You can sorta see mountains along the side of Lake Crescent and in the clouds behind Lake Quinault, back in those lake pictures.

Finishing up with the theme of "what we drank" rather than "what we ate," here's our anniversary evening dessert – Washington state Port together with dark chocolate covered toffeed pistachios – a great end to a great day!

P.S. Clara wanted to share with you this picture of a Pacific Coast Trilium seen along the trail up to the big cedar on Monday, prized as a harbinger of spring here in the Northwest.

P.P.S. For the sharp-eyed or observant, "Lake Kalaloch" is also known as "Pacific Ocean."

Da Big 51

2008-04-22T16:00:00.001-07:00

Greetings from Kalaloch Lodge on the Pacific Ocean and somehow a part of Olympic National Park even though many miles from the main body of the Park and the Mountains.

When we arrived Sunday afternoon and went to our room, we found a card wishing us "Happy Anniversary" together with a bottle of champagne and two glasses! So we sat out on our balcony, gazed at the ocean and sipped our champagne – what a nice way to start an anniversary retreat!

Monday morning we drove over to (relatively) nearby Lake Quinault to look at this and that – a somewhat strenuous hike up to "The Largest Cedar Tree" – and further around to where some Roosevelt Elk were quietly grazing.

After a pleasant lunch at the Lake Quinault Lodge, with an unexpected but pleasant guest, followed by a brief visit to "The Largest Fir Tree" and a quick trip to an Internet Café in nearby Amanda Park, we headed "home" for a short nap before our anniversary dinner at Kalaloch Lodge.

Note that, due to the many protests over our emphasis on what we have eaten while traveling, we have changed the emphasis in this communication to what we are drinking! Our loving daughter had gifted us with a special bottle from the environs of our recent Columbia River trip and glasses to go with it, and the Lodge graciously allowed us to bring in our own. Dinner was excellent – Clara having a wild mushroom strudel with goat cheese fondue and I the crab cakes and strawberry spinach salad.

Tomorrow we'll explore to the north of Kalaloch, hoping (without much optimism) for a little less of the rain and clouds which normally grace the Olympic Rain Forest.

Martin Remembered

2008-04-07T14:52:00.000-07:00

Yesterday Clara and I went to a concert where our own (Coffee 'n' Politics friend) Steve Ernst was a participant in the Seattle Peace Chorus' presentation of "Martin Remembered" in two ways -- he sings in the chorus and he was one of the group who recited a particularly moving poem.

This first picture shows (barely) Steve with the chorus in the first part of the program which was a compilation of musical pieces based on King's statements. The work "Martin Remembered" was commissioned by the Seattle Peace Chorus, and it was the principal accompanist to the group who selected the statements and transformed them into choral pieces.

Here the piece is "All It Takes Is One Candle," and Steve is hiding behind one of his fellow singers.

"All it takes is one candle, a single solitary candle
To light up the sky, just lift it high. Let it be yours."

The second and third pictures show Steve as part of the group reciting "Let America Be America Again," by Langston Hughes, a poem from the early part of last century extolling America's founding values and their virtues, while making the statement that (for Hughes, a black man) "It never was America to me!" The recitation was followed by a musical rendition of the text.

If you wish to read the full text of "Let America Be America Again," you might recall that, by lucky happenstance, I had previously printed that in this blog under that very title back in September '07. Just go back and look for that title in the index.

Da Big 71!

2008-03-31T16:30:00.000-07:00

Last weekend, our friends Diane and Mary came down from Victoria to help me celebrate "Da Big Number 71" and what a fine time we had, with good food and wine to go around.

On Friday we went to what has become my traditional birthday spot in Seattle – the Ipanema Grill – a Brazilian churrascaria where they bring around skewers of various meats that have been on the grill and slice you off a portion.

Then we went over to Anthony's to sit, looking out over Puget Sound and enjoying a margarita (Mary) or a Melontini (me), etc.

The gifts that D & M brought along fit me to a "T" – wine and chocolate and exotic spices, and birthday dinner consisted, of course, of my favorites (since I cooked them myself) crab-and-smoked-trout-cakes and a scallop creation.

The HIGH-light ;0) of the evening was the video which my grandson created for me, using his Pinnacle software and scouring his mother's old videotapes and photos to create some remembrances for me.

The LOW-light ;0( of the evening was the birthday card my loving daughter got for me – enough to scare hell out of anybody -- the caption inside said "Every birthday party needs a clown!"

Our Columbia Gorge Adventure

2008-03-15T17:50:00.000-07:00

I know, "Da Big Trip" is over, but we can still have adventures . . .

Last weekend, our grandson had his friends over for a sleep-over (as part of his 10th birthday party) and we thought it the better part of wisdom to get out of town.

Heading east along the Columbia River on the Washington side, just above Portland, you cannot help but gaze in awe at the Gorge, then look back at Mt. Hood, here seen through a river-side vineyard. We spent the night at the Lyle Hotel, owned and operated by a former chef at the Mandalay Bay in Las Vegas and his wife.

On the way back, we stopped by the Big River Grill in Stevenson, WA where we found two interesting things -- a line-up of local brews to delight any beer drinker around and perhaps the best picture of the trip -- in, of all places, the Men's Room!

A Seattle Adventure

2008-02-26T12:45:00.000-08:00

Well, you see, I've got this blog (and this long list of e-mail addresses) to post things about "Da Big Trip," but that's over with – so what am I to do with it now?

Anyway, this friend invited me to bring Leo and join him on the observation deck of Columbia Towers, the tallest building in Seattle at 937 feet, and . . . you know, one thing led to another . . . so now I've got a bunch of interesting pictures . . . and, nothing really to do with 'em . . . so why not?

As we approached the building, we could see that it was so tall that it took both of us to look at it, although once on top, things looked a whole lot smaller.

Here's the Space Needle (6th tallest at 605 ft.), and, as you can see, we're ever so slightly above the top of it – it must be built on a higher plot of ground.

Just over there, above where I-5 and I-90 meet, just right of center, is the headquarters of Amazon.com; also, doesn't it look intriguing the way those freeways swirl around?

Of course, that's Lake Washington in the background, and here's the scoop on the bridges (courtesy of Wikipedia):
The Lacey V. Murrow Memorial Bridge is a floating bridge that carries the eastbound lanes of Interstate 90 across Lake Washington from Seattle to Mercer Island, Washington. It is the second longest floating bridge in the world, at 6,620 feet (2,019 meters); the
longest, incidentally, is the Evergreen Point Floating Bridge [7,578 feet (2,310 meters)] just a few miles to the north on the same lake, built 23 years later.

Here's the area of Seattle known as "Pill Hill" because of all its medical facilities, and behind that is a part of the hip residential area known as Capitol Hill.

Right next to Columbia Tower is the Seattle Municipal Tower (722 ft), the 4th tallest building in Seattle. It looks imposing from the ground up, but rather diminutive when viewed from above.

You can form your own opinion on the siting of the new Sculpture Garden – here it is in the quarter just below the middle of this picture -- if you look closely, you can make out the "typewriter eraser," and, well above that, the red thingie is the eagle.

This is what I came home for??

2008-01-28T10:10:00.000-08:00

This is what I came home for??

Or, perhaps it's this . . .

The Map of our Travels

2008-01-24T15:47:00.001-08:00

We made up this little map to show our intinerary and were, ourselves, somewhat surprised by how closely we had stuck to the boundaries of our country -- to Canada, to the Atlantic, to the Gulf, to Mexico, to the Pacific -- and how far we had actually travelled. So where do we go next year??

How many kitchens was that skillet in?

2008-01-16T16:39:00.000-08:00

How many kitchens was that skillet in? Or, what are the trip statistics? [For those of you not into statistics, please remember that I'm a mathematician . . . ]

We're now back home, as of 01/11/08 about 6:30 p.m., having been out on the road since 09/01/07 – a total of 133 days, 132 nights.

During those 133 days, we traveled 12,921 miles passing through 33 states, the District of Columbia, the province of Ontario in Canada and the state of Baja California del Norte in Mexico. That gave us a trip essentially around the perimeter of our country – for the most part we were within 50-75 miles of either the border or an ocean or gulf.

For those 12,921 miles we used just over 784 gallons of gasoline at a weighted average price of $2.956 per gallon and just under 16.5 miles per gallon, for an average price of just under 18¢ per mile driven for gasoline.

Of those 132 nights, we spent 68 of them in 48 different campgrounds at an average nightly cost of $19.17; we spent 58 of them at 14 different friends' homes; we spent 6 nights in motels at an average of $51.24/night. [Motel nights were generally due to bad weather – rain, cold, wind, etc., although the first one was due to a mouse in the house!]

The only problems we had with the camper were with "peripherals" – the refrigerator quit working on propane until I blew the soot out of the burner box/thermocouple area, three drawers came unglued and had to be reglued, and one drawer latch broke and had to be replaced.

Along the way we managed to leave at least eight items in various places – a pair of sheets and a pair of pajamas in a campground laundry, a rolling barking dog toy, two kitchen knives, two jackets, a pair of shoes – but as a partial consolation we picked up an extra Tupperware dish/tray.

As for the number of kitchens that "the skillet" was in, the answer is obvious – fourteen! Due to dietary restrictions and just general fussiness, I cook my own breakfast (see photos) and carry the skillet and makins' in whenever we're at someone's home! Don't worry – that green in the one picture is a Habanero hot sauce, not mold . . .

The Exotic Brunches

2008-01-13T20:56:00.001-08:00

We also spent some time with Clara's younger sister Dotty and her husband Bud. It is their habit, on Saturday and Sunday mornings, to take the morning paper and a cup of coffee or tea back to bed. This first picture, which I choose to call "Reflections on Domestic Tranquility" shows that scenario --

the "reflections" part comes from the fact that, due to the dimensions of their room, I had to shoot into the mirror on the closet door in order to get them into the picture . . .
The second picture shows part of the offerings at the second most elaborate brunch I have ever encountered. On Saturday morning, after the newspaper reading, etc., we all went out to the Pechanga Indian Casino on the south side of Temecula for their Saturday brunch. I was contentedly enjoying my made-to-order omelet with a slab of rare prime rib when Clara came along with this plate --

shrimp nopales salad, crawfish salad and raw Ahi tuna (no doubt marinated in lime juice for a ceviche effect) -- way beyond anything I have ever encountered in a casino before (with the exception of the $50 a head Sunday brunch at Bally's in Vegas where they serve name-brand French champagne . . . )
The third picture shows a delight of a slightly different sort -- perhaps the area's largest omelet

(I suspect they whip the egg whites in order to get a very puffy omelet . . . ) -- this on Sunday morning . . . of course, after the usual coffee/tea/morning paper routine . . .

On Crossing the Border

2008-01-13T20:33:00.001-08:00

To get from San Felipe, Baja back into the States, one has to cross the border at Mexicali, Baja/Calexico, CA. Knowing it would be a bit of a problem we scheduled ourselves to arrive at what we thought would be a slow time -- about 2:30 p.m. on a mid-week day.

Boy, were we wrong! You can see in this first picture that the lines were long, and in the second you can see that it was just about dark, right around 5 p.m. when we got to the border crossing itself.

What you see in the third picture is what the "border security" patrol was most interested in -- not one single question were we asked about guns or bombs or whatever -- not even any about liquor -- but these apples, clearly labeled as from the state of Washington, and some eggs in our refrigerator -- you'd have thought we were Al Capone and wife!! The guard confiscated those apples and eggs, smiled and waved us on . . .

For this we're spending two and a half hours in line, paying billions for "border security" and walking around scared silly . . .

Christmas in San Felipe, Baja California del Norte, MX

2008-01-13T18:48:00.000-08:00

Clara's twin sister has a ton of friends in the San Felipe area and we saw nearly all of them in our few days in Baja -- some at a Christmas Eve dinner, some more at a Christmas morning brunch, still more at Christmas dinner at Ruthe's house, yet again (but more of the same) at a taco stand in San Felipe the day after Christmas, and, yes, yet again at a quaint little market that doubled as a restaurant (actually "tripled" since it was also the proprietor's residence) with excellent chiles rellenos. Do you get the idea that we focused quite heavily on eating?

Our time at San Felipe began quietly with a view of moon rise over the Sea of Cortez (picture #1). That's Mars as an evening star that you see in the picture.

Then Clara got out her birthday present to her twin -- a framed photo of the two of them as babies surrounded by seventy gold dollar coins (John Adams) in an antiquish frame. (picture #2)

Picture #3 shows the twins in front of the Christmas tree showing their Christmas colors and looking more like twins than I have ever seen, while #4 shows them looking at Clara's home-made Christmas present to Ruthe.

On Visiting Friends

2008-01-13T18:10:00.000-08:00

We set off on this trip for the announced purposes of seeing the fall colors in New England and the memorials in D. C., and, in that sense, it has been a rousing success -- seeing sights we had never seen before has been both interesting and exciting.

But sights of physical phenomena pale alongside the other opportunities we have had on this trip [it had occurred to us in our trip planning that we would, of course, try to drop in on friends if we passed in their direction, but the list below of stops along the way is lengthy, to say the least]:

1) Visiting a good Unitarian friend now in New Jersey but originally from Texarkana, TX, where Unitarians are a variant of "Yankee," than which nothing is more despised in that area . . .
2) Visiting a college room-mate that we haven't seen for almost fifty years and renewing old acquaintances, taking up politics, science versus religion (AKA ID vs evolution) and other such topics virtually non-stop for two days and evenings, most of the time sipping wine or scotch or some such, almost like in college days (except for the wine and scotch) . . .
3) Visiting three cousins (and in-laws) in the old original family stomping grounds, and learning some new (old) family secrets . . .
4) Getting to the SouthWest (where we have spent most of our adult lives) so that we can continue the visiting-old-friends phase of our journey
a) Carlsbad, NM – Jim and Sally – met in McIntosh, NM in 1979 and knocked around with until 1989, including a hike down into the Grand Canyon in 1986, and an unforgettable hike across the Sandias, also in 1986
b) Sierra Vista, AZ – Jim and Linda – met in Albuquerque, NM in 1979 and socialized, camped, hung out until 1989, have traded visits since – in Arizona along the Colorado River and in the Phoenix area
c) Corona de Tucson, AZ – Jim and Judy – met in Tucson, AZ in 1967 (my God, can it be that long ago?) and socialized, hung out, discussed how to raise kids, until 1976, have traded visits since – in the picture, that's Judy profiled in front of one of her paintings
d) Tucson, AZ – J.D. and Margot – also met in Tucson, AZ in 1967 (my God, can it be that long ago?) and socialized, hung out, discussed how to raise kids, until 1976, traded visits often since then, had Margot up in Las Vegas (in 1996) to help the UU group focus on getting a building, saw J.D. in Seattle just last winter for a conference, and all three (including Athena) in April for the Big O's party
e) Las Vegas, NV -- Jerry and Linda – the relative newbies of the old friends category, only since 1994, were in Seattle in April for the Big O's, camped up and down Vancouver Island together this past July, house-sat, drank good wine together, argued politics and investments . . .
f) Las Vegas, NV – Ed and Sheral – more relative newbies met at the UU group in Las Vegas back in '94, Clara's "crafty friend," telephone-chatting buddy and assistant chef for Big O's
g) Lancaster, CA – Kim Monette – a Las Vegas friend who has (twice) moved on since then, but still a dear friend, together with her new partner Cathy, and Kim's son Randy, wife Michelle, and sons Zack and Nicholas
h) Bakersfield, CA – Opal Ratzlaff, Clara's 95-yr old aunt, the only surviving member of her mother's immediate family (of seven sisters and a brother), surprisingly spry and energetic despite a recent stroke
i) Walnut Creek, CA – Ron Ellis, recently deposed as our most long-time friend [see 2) above] – we met Ron and his wife Darcy (sadly no longer with us) when the erstwhile tax assessor came to our apartment (fancy name for the middle section of an old Army barracks) in Lincoln, NE in 1962, or thereabouts. He has since then fallen on hard times, having had to turn to work as a psychologist . . .
j) Rossmoor, CA – Arnie and Ellie Gilbert, our second visit with old friends from Texarkana days [see 1) above], met them in the context of the Texarkana "rebels" group – those who didn't fit in with the local Church of Christ/Southern Baptist culture – they took us to a "discussion group" where we were by far the youngest in attendance but the discussion of the Democratic Presidential candidates was lively and loud, to say the least . . .

This trip then has constituted a mixture of sights never before seen, educational experiences on our history and heritage, and social interactions with new friends met along the way and, as noted at length above, much time spent with old and treasured friends, also note from the pictures that Clara slipped in some extra time for some new four-legged friends. You could say, if you were wont to think in those terms, that our trip has constituted both a metaphor for, and a microcosm of, life itself. As that great philosopher of the Far North has said "Lutherans have as their anthem the hymn "A Mighty Fortress Is Our God!" while Unitarians, who speak reverently of life as a journey, have as their anthem "A Mighty RV Is Our God!"

On Being Sick in Las Vegas

2008-01-13T10:30:00.000-08:00

Those of you following this long and curious series of e-mails have probably been wondering what has happened . . . well, the truth is relatively simple and uninteresting, but I'll tell you anyway . . .
1) On arriving in Las Vegas, I came down with the nastiest and most debilitating cold/virus infection that I've had in a long time. You can see in the picture what I spent my time doing – all of my creative faculties went down the drain . . .
2) Visiting friends, while greatly satisfying and exciting, is neither particularly photogenic nor conducive to time alone writing e-mails and sorting through pictures . . .

You know you're in the SouthWest when . . .

2007-12-04T21:52:00.000-08:00

You know you're in the SouthWest when . . .
1) A javelina meanders through your campground

2) You can get a saguaro and a snow-capped mountain in the same frame without Photo-Shopping

3) You can get a prickly pear and a snow-capped mountain in the same frame without Photo-Shopping

4) You see a "forest" of saguaros along the highway

5) You see a "forest" of Joshua trees along the highway

Thanksgiving in Carlsbad

2007-11-24T14:17:00.000-08:00

We awoke Thursday morning to light snow coming down – it got heavier as morning progressed, but it was melting so that by early afternoon when the snow stopped, there was only a little still on the ground.

Thursday early evening found us toasting the day with some Sparkling Burgundy from Pleasant Valley Winery in the Finger Lakes region of New York state, where we had visited – in what seems like forever ago – on this trip. Then it was on to dinner with Jim, Sally and Sally's mother – a great time!

After dinner, Sally made arrangements for Clara and me to ride the great Carlsbad riverboat for "Christmas on the Pecos!" All the folks who live on the banks of the river decorate their back yards with all manner of light displays, ranging from videos showing on very large screens to the more traditional lights reading "Happy Holidays," and for some strange reason that I cannot get my head around, a large number of crosses . . . for Christmas . . . the birth of "the Christ-child" . . . crosses . . .

Davis Mountains State Park

2007-11-22T12:07:00.000-08:00

As we were pulling into our camping space, the fellow in the trailer on the other side of the road from us called across, "What part of Washington are you from?" Amazingly, for the fourth time on this journey, we had run across a fellow Seattle-ite! If I knew much of anything about mathematics, I could probably figure out the probability of such a repeated occurrence – let's see, out of 81 nights of camping, with 50 states to come from, to have four from, not only the same state, but the same metropolitan area – hmmm . . .

So happy hour was another pleasant evening – warm enough to sit outside, no mosquitoes, congenial company to visit and share a glass with – perhaps I'm prejudiced but there must be something special about Seattle-ites since we haven't met one yet that we didn't like . . . of course it's easy to say that when you're in Texas . . .

Partway from Davis Mountains to Carlsbad, it was time to stop for lunch in Pecos, TX – the first really good Mexican food we've had on this trip. I had never before heard of a "Chile con queso steak," but it was superb. And of course Clara had to have the Sopaipillas for dessert – in case you didn't know, "sopaipilla" means "little pillow" in Spanish, it's a light, puffy pastry served with honey, rather similar to the beignets found in New Orleans. The restaurant was Alfredo's and the mural out front was a pleasure.

From Terlingua to Presidio

2007-11-22T12:01:00.000-08:00

In this first picture, I was simply impressed by the layers of color I could see in the hills on the Mexican side. In the second you can see the mighty Rio Grande with the U.S. on one side and Mexico on the other – and you could walk across if it were legal . . .

The scenery along the road was spectacular, even enhanced by the trio of tepees installed many years ago as a part of LadyBird's highway beautification program.

The caption for this last picture reads "Now we're going to put that fence right over . . . there . . . "

Big Bend National Park

2007-11-22T11:49:00.000-08:00

We arrived in Big Bend and went straight to Rio Grande Village RV Park, thinking we would need the hook-ups and the showers, etc. Well, that was a mistake as the "Park" was more like a "Parking Lot," and the showers were "Pay-as-you-wash!" So the next day we set off for Chisos Basin Campground – set in the little inset basin that you can see to the right of the middle of this first picture, part way, but not all the way, up the mountains. [The inveterately curious can look at Notes #1 and #2 for the origin of the name "Chisos."]

On Sunday morning we hiked the half-mile trail up to the Chisos Mountain Lodge for their buffet breakfast, and, coincidentally, the gorgeous scenery on the way up. Here's a picture of the Lodge's dining building with picture window out on the scenery.

After breakfast, on the way down, we hiked over to where you could look out through "The Window," a formation that appears to open up to the valley floor below. Later we got a view of the campground from above.

While at the campground, we were "forced" to wake up each morning and look out at the
surrounding countryside, as you can see in pictures six and seven – it was really tough to stay there.

Monday, after another breakfast at their buffet (during which the kitchen actually ran out of sausage and bacon) we set off for our last chat with Marguerite and on down the road to Presidio, but that's in the next installment.

Note #1 "Several explanations of the origin of the name of the range have been offered over the years. One held that chisos means "ghost," and that the mountains were named for the ghost of the Apache chief Alsate, who hid in the mountains for a time. Another version was that chisos was the plural of chis, meaning "clash of arms" (chischás in Castilian), since some reported hearing battle sounds at night in the mountains as the ghosts of Spanish soldiers returned to fight again. A third story was that chisos was a corruption of the Spanish hechizos, "bewitchments" or "enchantments." The mountains were almost certainly named, however, for the Chizos Indians."

Note #2 "Beautiful they are but the Chisos are also mountains of mystery and remain a little aloof from the first time visitor. The mystery even extends to their name. I had been taught as a child that the name Chisos was Spanish for “ghost”. Not so I find. My Spanish dictionary doesn’t even have a “ch” section. But the experts are generally agreed that the mountains were named for the Chizos Indians and that “Chizos” meant ghost in their language. Since the Chizos did not have a written language and there are no more Chizos Indians around to speak their language I suppose we shall have to take that on faith---unscientific as that may be. There definitely is a ghostlike quality to the Chisos in the early morning fog."

Unintended consequences of our fear

2007-11-20T12:37:00.001-08:00

On Saturday, our first full day at Big Bend National Park, all 800 thousand plus acres of it, we did the logical thing – left the park to visit a quilt shop in the town of Terlingua! There Clara met Marguerite, and heard the tale that is the topic of this "Special Edition." [Parenthetically, the jist of this tale has been confirmed in separate conversations with two different volunteer Rangers here at the Park.]

For many years (Big Bend was opened in 1944) one of the charms of BBNP was the opportunity to be rowed across the Rio Grande for lunch in a Mexican home in the river-side community of Boquillas, or perhaps the further up-stream community of Santa Elena. In addition to this informal "transit-and-lunch" feature – which incidentally was mentioned in our "Welcome to Big Bend National Park" film presentation at the Visitor Center day before yesterday – many Mexicans came across to work (and shop) in the villages of Terlingua and Study Butte, TX. This was regarded as a normal way of life – after all, the Rio Grande is comparatively small and slow along here – where villages (and villagers) on opposite sides of a river work and live together.

No more! Since 9/11 the Mexicans have been told they'll be arrested (and some have been) if they row across the river as they have done for the past, nearly 60, years. To come across they must travel either to Del Rio, TX (more than 200 miles east) or Presidio, TX (more than 200 miles west) where there are official border crossings.

However, these villages are essentially cut off within their own country – roads from the villages to either of these border crossings (or to anywhere else in Mexico for that matter) are either very primitive or completely non-existent.

The result – according to Marguerite, villagers in Terlingua, and Rangers in BBNP, have observed former employees and acquaintances across the river nearly destitute and hungry. Little local efforts to provide relief have been mounted, but they're small and regulations make them quite complicated, requiring more than two hundred miles of travel to deliver something to someone less than a hundred feet away!

Where Marguerite fits into this picture is, of course, quilts. Women in the village of Boquillas have been making quilts, and for the past two years, a woman named Katie Tetreault, from Alpine, TX, has put together a show and sale, in Alpine, "The Ladies of Boquillas, Mexico present their Annual Boquillas Quilt Show and Sale." Unfortunately, none of the "Ladies of Boquillas" can attend since they would have to travel either to Del Rio or to Presidio to get a Visa to come across . . .

How did the "Ladies of Boquillas" get their start? Someone donated a treadle machine and some patterns – which the "Ladies" cannot read, so they look at the pictures and pattern pieces and improvise, and the result is more "folk art" than professional stitchery. Someone else donated an electric machine which was of no use since there was no electricity – until someone else put together a system with solar panels and brought that down.

Another woman, Cynta de Narvaez, makes the journey to Boquillas, taking fabric and sales proceeds over and bringing quilts back. Cynta, the child of Cuban parents in New York City, came to this area many years ago to work as a guide for excursions across the river to areas of interest in Mexico. (But, no more, as such excursions are not possible under post 9/11 regulations.) Marguerite, for her part, sells their quilts at her shop, with 100% of the proceeds going to the "Ladies of Boquillas."

Marguerite asks, "Is this really necessary in order to "secure our borders"? Are we not being a bit too rigid in the effort? Could we not devise some local system that would allow the continuation of the traditions of the past while still protecting our borders?" [The cynic in me says that GWB governs ONLY because he has played the "fear card" to the hilt!]

Would you like to have a part in helping these "Ladies of Boquillas" who are trying to help themselves? Fabric of all types will be put to good use, cash is always welcome when you have none. You can contact Cynta de Narvaez at (432) 371-2226 (or at P.O. Box 166, Terlingua, TX) or Katie Tetreault at (432) 837-3587 or Marguerite Chanslor at (432) 371-2292 (or at P.O. Box 142, Terlingua, TX 79852.) Additionally, Cynta is co-founder of an organization called Fronteras Unlimited which has a web-site at www.fronterasunlimited.org with her e-mail at cynta@fronterasunlimited.org

Here's a couple pictures of Marguerite with Clara and a picture of a child's quilt done by Silvia Gonzales, described as one of Boquillas better quilters.

Seminole Canyon

2007-11-19T07:47:00.000-08:00

Seminole Canyon

When we pulled into Seminole Canyon State Park, Clara knew she was home. Evidently it's the "in utero" vibrations of being born in Hardin, Montana, in the "Big Sky" country, but she has always felt most at home in the widest of wide open spaces, preferably with Sonoran desert vegetation surrounding her – and that's Seminole Canyon.

The outstanding attraction of SCSP, other than its general environs, is the array of pictographs found there; so Clara took a guided hike down into the canyon to view some of them. The pictographs are found in a "gallery" underneath that rock outcropping in the picture, so it's down into the canyon then up to the "gallery." These particular pictographs are thought to be about 8,000 years old, and evidently the shelter provided by the rock outcropping is what has kept them sheltered from the weather and still visible today.

The sculpture is done in the style of the pictographs and is called "The Peace Bringer."

Along the way they passed what is thought to be the oldest mesquite tree in existence, about 200 years. (Would you want to live to be 200 if you knew you'd wind up looking like that??)

In case you're one of the inveterately curious who is wondering about the name "Seminole Canyon" since the Seminoles are from Florida, here's the straight skinny. From 1872 until 1914 there was a mixed troop of Seminoles and black Americans who were garrisoned at Fort Clark, TX, whose job was to guard the western frontiers of Texas against marauding Apaches and Comanches
from Arizona and New Mexico. The troop was recognized as having done an excellent job, and the canyon was named in their honor.

Across Louisiana and into Texas

2007-11-19T07:45:00.000-08:00

When we stopped at the Texas Welcome Station, the mile marker read "880," and I thought "This is one of God's cruelest jokes – you must choose between eternal hell-fire and damnation or 880 miles across Texas!" We haven't made it yet, nearly a week later . . . but I'm getting ahead of myself.

First it was Louisiana. Already being depressed enough by the Mississippi coastline, we opted for the freeway route across Louisiana, save for one very enjoyable stop in Baton Rouge. By asking the right question at the gas station, we were directed to Ralph 'n' Kacoo's – one of the finest Cajun seafood establishments in all of Louisiana. As you can see, Clara is enjoying fried catfish covered with crawfish etoufee´ (which in French means "smothered"), together with corn fritters and fried okra. As Justin Wilson (remember to pronounce it Cajun style as "Hoostan") used to say "Ooooh, dot's good -- yaaaah!" I was forced to settle for shrimp stuffed with crab, salad and fried okra. All too soon, it was over and we had to get back on the road to Texas.

You can see from the Houston skyline that it's much more polluted than Atlanta was. We were as much surprised at the clear skies in Atlanta as we were depressed by the dirty air hanging over Houston.

Under those circumstances we settled for the "Texas Freeway Lunch" shown in the pictures here (by setting the camera on the picnic table, aiming, setting the remote, and running like hell, we got the picture.) The rest area was between the travel lanes so we had traffic roaring by perhaps thirty yards away on both sides.

This "TFL" was sandwiched in between nights at RV parks in Orange and San Antonio, and the days were just "Let's cover some miles today!"

The delights of Texas came at Seminole Canyon State Park and Big Bend National Park – but those are the next installments!

Through the good, the bad, and the ridiculous . . .

2007-11-15T11:06:00.000-08:00

Our trip from Gulf Shores, AL to Lakeshore, MS was alternately enchanting and depressing, with lovely scenery interspersed with still-not-cleaned-up devastation from Katrina.

This first photo is of the park where we stopped for a picnic lunch on the west shore of Mobile Bay. The second is of the sycamore trees that form a canopy over some of the streets in Mobile itself, streets on which you'll find homes such as the one in the third photo.

Then there's the empty lots with only foundations of houses remaining, and other scenes of on-going reconstruction – after all, it's only been two years and some months since Katrina struck. Apparently the major problem for "the little people" is the insurance industry which has delayed and denied payment in many cases. According to a couple we talked with along the road in Mississippi, many former residents have given up on rebuilding their homes and moved somewhere else. Those that have not either live in FEMA trailers or in trailer-size factory-built modular homes on their lots.

We had researched state parks in Mississippi and had settled on one called Buccaneer State Park, even consulted its web-site for hours of operation, facilities, etc. When we arrived there we found that it was closed due to damage from Katrina that had not yet (two years, remember?) been cleaned up.

But no problem – only a mile down the road there was a brand spankin' new casino!! Built since Katrina struck, open only a year! With a brand spankin' new RV park, open only two weeks! Actually it wasn't quite finished yet but it provided a safe and powered-up site for the night for ourselves and another couple who actually were spending several nights so they could "enjoy" the casino!

So that is the story as it appeared to us – little or no reconstruction assistance to the "little people," little or no reconstruction on public facilities, plenty of workers and money for new commercial projects . . .

The devastation at Gulf State Park

2007-11-15T10:04:00.000-08:00

We had headed south for a whole variety of reasons including seeing the Gulf of Mexico and getting warm, so we spent a couple days at Gulf State Beach near Gulf Shores, AL. While there we met a couple from Kirkland, WA just a few miles across town from our home – we chatted with them for an hour or so each evening – and therein lies the tale.

We had not been able to sit outside in the evening and enjoy the outdoors setting of our campgrounds in Georgia and South Carolina because it was too cold in the early evening, and we had really looked forward to some nice warm evenings on the Gulf. But we had forgotten – MOSQUITOES! So aggressive and numerous were they – farewell warm evenings outside . . .

The sign in the park also warns of another aggressive creature – not the one by the sign – the one mentioned on the sign!

The park was really a lovely setting just a few hundred yards from the Gulf itself, on an inlet. The storm surge
from Katrina had rolled up that far and severely damaged the park and its facilities, but they had all been rebuilt. Except for the trees which had been killed by the stagnant salt water pond left behind by the surge, with no drainage.

As we left Gulf State we were struck by the other devastation that is ruining the area – high-rise condos! The stretch of pristine white sand has been taken over by huge tall structures and the beach is gone – for a couple miles! Twenty or more of these insulting constructions completely alter the – I can no longer call it beach since there's none left.

The "dam stone"

2007-11-15T08:20:00.000-08:00

Someone else has already said it – sometimes you have to travel a long way from home to learn something important about your home! In our case it involved the "dam stone!"

At the "Little White House" there was a walkway over to where the museum had originally been that was lined with a procession of the flags of the fifty states and a stone from each state. Each state had been asked to send a special stone to represent their state – usually a variety of stone found in that state carved or engraved with an outline of the state or some such. However the stone from the state of Washington was apparently just a stone – neither a distinctive type of stone from the state nor any carved or engraved shape.

The story is that the widow of James Delmage Ross, who had held two positions in the Roosevelt Administration – member of the first Securities and Exchange Commission, created to prevent any future market crashes, and director of the Bonneville Power Authority to oversee the construction and operation of that dam – had heard of the request for a stone and had asked that a stone be removed from the Ross Dam on the Skagit River northeast of Seattle and sent for Washington's stone.

J.D., as he was known, had been the sparkplug and the designer of the whole Skagit River public power operation, a system of three dams supplying nearly half of the electricity to the city of Seattle. The design and construction had occurred during the 1920's in spite of opposition from some in the area who decried this type of "Socialism" involved in the intrusion of a city into the public power arena. So fierce was the fighting that a Mayor of Seattle who opposed the project was thrown out by a specially called "recall" election!

The biographical sketch of Ross that I found called him "The Father of Seattle City Light." The most amazing part is that Ross, an immigrant (from Canada) was completely self-taught in all of electricity generation, dam design and dam construction, but was obviously quite skilled at "getting the job done."

A story in four pictures

2007-11-09T18:48:00.001-08:00

Those who have followed closely do not need any text for this episode – they can write the text just by looking at these four pictures . . . the only facts not obvious from the pictures are that picture #1 was taken in Lanett, AL and #2 in Montgomery, AL.

P.S. If you haven't been following quite closely enough, the first picture shows the Alabama Welcome Center as you enter from Georgia on I-85. While there, we got a recommendation for lunch (in Montgomery) by pinning the greeter down with the question "Where would you be going for lunch if you were in Montgomery today?" after the generic "What do you recommend?" produced a very wishy-washy list . . . The third picture shows Clara's plate of Bar-B-Q Pork with collard greens, candied yams and corn bread muffins -- the most Southern choices on the menu -- while my plate has the same first two and a side salad. Put this together with apple cobbler for dessert, lemonade and iced tea, all for $6.75, and you've got a true Southern treat. The place was touted as the most Southern available -- when in New England, eat lobster . . . when in the South, eat Bar-B-Q.

Lessons at "The Little White House"

2007-11-09T18:12:00.000-08:00

As we have learned from previous stops at other sites, one learns more from talking with Park Rangers and other staffers than from all of the exhibits in the museum.

Consider the situation that FDR confronted when he was elected in 1932 – a two-pronged challenge consisting of
a) thirteen million men without jobs in the U.S.
b) a charismatic but dangerous leader emerging in Germany

First the unemployed – remember that the U.S. had only some 130 million total population and this was ten percent. But take out the women and it's now twenty percent, still further take out the children and the elderly and you're looking at about thirty-five percent unemployment. Add to that the poverty that existed even when some of the men were employed and you've got a monumental problem.

Second, FDR had read Mein Kampf when it came out and recognized what it represented – he made the statement at that time "We'll have to have a war with this fellow within ten years – if he is to be stopped at all!" Put this in the context of one above, meaning a country in tatters facing an inevitable war of sizable proportions, and you've got a huge problem.

If you view the federal government as a powerful force that should be put into positive action to improve the common good of all the people of the country, i.e., a Socialist view as opposed to a view such as that of Grover Norquist ("shrink the federal government until it is so small it can be drowned in the bathtub"), then you can go into action creating programs to put people to work at projects that enhance the country's infra-structure and recreational facilities, etc.

One interesting new insight, not in any of the exhibits but mentioned by two of the staff, came in the person of one Louie Howe, described as the only person who was a close friend of both FDR and Eleanor. He is given the credit for the idea of the fireside chats as a way to communicate with the American people. One biographical sketch of Howe describes him as "the man who created FDR as President." Others, and the staffers, attributed many of the New Deal programs to him, as well as the text of many of FDR's speeches.

Another new insight, in many of the exhibits, was that FDR's contacts with the people of Warm Springs gave him ideas for some of the programs. In fact it's in his own words that the Rural Electrification Administration arose because of the fact that his electric bills at his home in Warm Springs were five times as much as at his home in Hyde Park.

The complexity of FDR's work is best seen in his design and implementation of the REA. He was not sure it would work, but wanted to try it, so did not want it to be cast in stone (as a law.) He had plenty of opposition in Congress to anything that smelled of liberalism, to say nothing of the extremely pro-active programs he was proposing, and did not want that battle. Then there was the Supreme Court which had been giving him grief on the same basis as some of those in Congress. The solution – establish the program by Executive Order – easily withdrawn, not subject to Congressional approval, not subject to review by the Court . . .

Ultimately the success of his program for rehabilitating the country and improving the lot of the poor and powerless can be found in the industrial might of the U.S. in the early 1940's as it produced war materiel for its Allies and built its own military in anticipation of the war soon to follow.

The following quote from "delanoye.org" describes the events of the last day of FDR's life. I've included both of "The Unfinished Portrait" and the complete rendering of the similar portrait done by the artist from her memory of that day.

On Monday, April 9, Lucy Rutherford, accompanied by her painter friend, Elizabeth Shoumatoff arrived to spend the final week of the vacation with the President. Lucy and Roosevelt met when he was assistant secretary of the navy, and FDR became quite smitten with her. Lucy brought Shoumatoff with her to paint a portrait of Roosevelt during their stay.

On April 11, Roosevelt worked on a draft of his upcoming Jefferson Day speech, well-crafted words and sentiments that would mirror his faith in the American spirit: "The only limit to our realization of tomorrow, will be our doubts of today. Let us move forward with strong and active faith."

At noon the following day, Elizabeth Shoumatoff began work on FDR's portrait. The President sat in the living room dressed in a double-breasted gray suit and crimson tie. Surrounded by Lucy and several others, Roosevelt sifted through a stack of papers as Shoumatoff sketched.

At around 1:00 p.m. Eastern Time, the butler brought FDR and his party their lunch. At that moment, Roosevelt seemed agitated and flinched in his chair. An assistant asked the President if he needed help. FDR's head went forward. He gripped his head with his left hand and said, "I have a terrific headache." They would be his final words. The President collapsed and lost consciousness.

End quote . . .

Clara noted on the reading with this "unfinished" portrait the comment "after the death of FDR the artist picked up her paints and supplies, and she and Lucy left" -- the only mention of Lucy either of us saw (or heard) in the entire exhibit.

More than food . . .

2007-11-08T17:43:00.000-08:00

Sometimes when you stop by a restaurant for some food, you get more than food . . .

When you look at these first two pictures, you'll see what I mean. And the food was pretty good, too.

We had done our usual (on our food tourism routine,) stopping at the Georgia Welcome Center as we crossed the border, and asking for a recommendation for lunch. The choice was the "211 Main," a Mennonite owned and operated restaurant in nearby Lavonia, GA.

Lavonia turned out to be a quaint and tiny "wide spot in the road," the "211" was easy to find because "Main" was only a few blocks long, and "Main" was
the only street off the highway. It was busy and noisy, attesting to its popularity with the locals. The waitresses all had their hair in tight buns covered with little black caps, and all wore long country dresses, as you can see.

They also had a very attractive dessert case from which Clara got a chocolate pecan pie for the evening.

For me, I went for a walk . . . while she went to Ola's Quilt Shop . . . she found a piece of fabric while I found an interesting mural set behind the gazebo on the town square for an interesting optical illusion.

Later we drove through Atlanta on our way to FDR State Park – more on that tomorrow.

Catching Up After Fifty Years

2007-11-06T17:50:00.000-08:00

At the end of our trip south on the Blue Ridge lay a real treasure – some old friends we had not seen or kept in touch with for fifty years. Bob and I had been room-mates during our third year as undergraduates, i.e., 1957! It was amazing how easily we picked it up again, as if it had only been the day before yesterday.

It was virtually non-stop conversation from breakfast to bedtime, on everything under the sun – from "Evolution vs Intelligent Design" to "Are we smarter or dumber with GPS and Google" and "Baptists vs Presbyterians vs Unitarians."

Our first evening we had baby-back ribs which Bob prepared according to the recipe of his brother-in-law, with whom he can talk ribs but neither religion nor politics. At least the brother-in-law is right about the ribs . . .

The first picture shows us at breakfast – even without the plate of sausage and eggs you can tell where I'm setting. The caption on that second picture is "Catching Up After Fifty Years!"

On our second evening we went to "Michaels on 4th" where the chef was extraordinary – he made my tuna rare and Bob's medium well -- simultaneously! And, most amazing for someone far from New England or the ocean, he knew what "dry scallops" were and that was what he was serving – Clara loved them in Cajun style.

The topper of the evening, after we got out the old college yearbooks – "Do you remember …. ?" – was the tasting of the Single Malt Scotches [Eat your heart out, Diane!!] – first "The Balveni DoubleWood" a 12 year old aged first in oak, then in sherry wood, followed by a "Dalwhinnie" a 15 year old so mellow and smooth it melted . . .

The Trip South

2007-11-06T16:34:00.001-08:00

In contrast to our earlier travels, where we went on the by-ways to see the local attractions, we now began to simply cover some miles. So our first jaunt from Galion to Marietta, Ohio was a matter of Interstate Highways. Nonetheless, Fred Garmin, our resident GPS guru, managed to make lunch interesting by misplacing our destination by a full city block, telling us we had arrived at the LaFayette Hotel when in fact we were just next to The Old Levee House. [A short footnote: Fred went totally bonkers as we approached my cousin's home last Saturday, because the main highway leading there was only two years old and not in his memory bank – he just sat there spinning round and round and "Re-calculating . . . "]

This first picture shows the Levee House – lunch was, in fact, quite good, and the view of the Ohio River out the front window was spectacular.

We wound up that first night at a rather disheveled campground which was, nonetheless, brightened considerably by this flag . . .

Then it was on to the Blue Ridge Parkway where the typical windshield view looked exactly like this one. The total 450 miles or so of Blue Ridge Pkwy is something to behold, although we only covered about 100 miles of it. It's a real pleasure to meander along through fantastic scenery.

Our campground that night had a spectacular setting, but was largely populated by empty trailers waiting for next summer and the return of their owners. Down the road from there we ran across a commemoration of (what we thought was "Tom Dooley") one Tom Dula, while in the opposite direction from that very site was perhaps the best color we've seen in our whole trip.

The Ancestral Home

2007-11-06T14:57:00.000-08:00

The most striking thing that I learned on this trip concerned my grandparents' commitment to the education of their children. In the home shown in this first picture, located in the community known as Windfall, Ohio, my grandparents lived more than 110 years ago and witnessed the birth of six children, with the premature death of one. I've never been told why my grandparents were so committed to the education of their children, and I must admit that I was quite startled to learn that they sold the farm on which this home is located as soon as the eldest child was ready to enter high school in the (relatively) nearby town of Galion, Ohio. Without any form of transportation for the trek from home to school, and with five kids to go through it, there was apparently no alternative. [They bought a home in Galion, not far from the school, also not far from the house where I was born.] Actually, there was a sixth child since for some reason that no one knows today, my grandparents also raised Bill, son of my grandfather's brother. My grandfather, a farmer before, became custodian at the high school and stayed with that until retirement.

Beyond high school, at least two of the boys (my father and his older brother Arla) and their cousin Bill went on to college at Tri-State College in Angola, Indiana where Bill later became an engineering professor. One of my cousins (Jack, son of Arla) also went to college there.

Four of the children later married and each, coincidentally, had two children. Of the eight of us of my generation, two have already died, and two were not able to be present, but the remaining four of us had a great time together at various times over three days. In the picture the cousins alternate with in-laws, not by design, but purely by happen-stance.

One interesting sidelight was a trip to nearby Bucyrus to see some murals, painted by Eric Grohe of Marysville, WA – how about that? And further, one of the murals was a tribute to American veterans and included representations of veterans from the local area, including my eldest cousin.