Thursday, November 3, 2011
Day 11-- Heading back across Arizona, Thursday, November 3, 2011
We drove the whole day and camped in Tucumcari, New Mexico.
Day 10-- We leave Las Vegas and spend the "dam" afternoon, Wednesday, November 2, 2011
In the morning, we played one more game on roulette to test Kathy's new strategy. This new strategy was more risky than Kathy's earlier strategy. Kathy ran out of $20 in chips after two or three spins. Chris cashed in after one of two more spins andhttp://www.blogger.com/img/blank.gif walked away with $2 more. We left Vegas immediately heading for the Hoover Dam.
We took the dam tour. The tour guides made lots of "dam" jokes. We went into the
bowels of the dam. Inside the dam are two miles of tunnels. We walked only about 300 yards of them. They showed us the generators (shown here). Their explanation of how the dam was built and worked was clear, but very brief. Not a lot of detail.
Before 2010, the Hoover Dam was part of 93 highway from Nevada toward Kingman, Arizona. On October 19, 2010, the Hoover Dam Bridge, officially called the Mike O'Callaghan – Pat Tillman Memorial Bridge took over this role. Now the drive over the bridge merely leads to parking lots on the other side of the dam. The road past the parking lots is closed. So to drive to Kingman, Arizona, we had to drive back over the Hoover Dam and back several miles to catch 93 highway south, which took us over the new bridge toward to Kingman. (Pictures of the bridge.)
We took the dam tour. The tour guides made lots of "dam" jokes. We went into the
bowels of the dam. Inside the dam are two miles of tunnels. We walked only about 300 yards of them. They showed us the generators (shown here). Their explanation of how the dam was built and worked was clear, but very brief. Not a lot of detail.Before 2010, the Hoover Dam was part of 93 highway from Nevada toward Kingman, Arizona. On October 19, 2010, the Hoover Dam Bridge, officially called the Mike O'Callaghan – Pat Tillman Memorial Bridge took over this role. Now the drive over the bridge merely leads to parking lots on the other side of the dam. The road past the parking lots is closed. So to drive to Kingman, Arizona, we had to drive back over the Hoover Dam and back several miles to catch 93 highway south, which took us over the new bridge toward to Kingman. (Pictures of the bridge.)
Day 9-- Las Vegas!! Tuesday, November 1, 2011
Las Vegas! The very name conjures up images of various types for folks all over the world. I say this because Las Vegas is full of visitors from other countries, not just American tourists! We finished our night playing roulette with a whole table of Chinese players; some were not English-speakers either. Their enthusiasm was catching and we had fun trying to communicate small things with our neighbors who did not speak English. But I get ahead of the story...
What does "Las Vegas" mean to you? Gambling, wedding chapels, strip clubs, extravagant hotels/casinos, the Fremont Street light show, the shows, Pawn Stars? Well, we did NOT have much to do with ALL of the above. But we did do some sightseeing and at least viewed some of them from the outside!
We started our day walking through Circus Circus (we camped behind it in the KOA
campground!) and ended up stopping to take part in a short lesson from one of the dealers on playing Blackjack. The casino offers these free sessions every morning for some of the most popular games. Our instructor was helpful and freely answered questions from all the "students". We even were able to play a mock game to reinforce what we had been taught. (Of course we didn't get to keep our winnings!)
We enjoyed that class so much that we decided to return for the next class on roulette. We had a little free time first, so we went upstairs to watch some of the circus acts (it IS Circus Circus, after all!). We saw two acts at that time; both were very good. The first was a clown doing tricks with a Diablo, a Westernized Chinese yo-yo. He made it look so easy, but the things he could do with it and how easily he could catch it was awe-inspiring. Here is a YouTube video of his act.
The second act was a male/female acrobatic act. Wow, was she limber! They both were also very strong and muscled, but definitely not like weight-lifters! (You could not DO those moves with a weight-lifters body!)
We then returned to the casino and took the roulette class. There were just three of us (the other student had been in the earlier class, too), so we got to ask lots of questions.
It was time to go do some sightseeing, but, as happens in Vegas, we were enticed by a nearby casino, the Riviera. Chris had been reading about roulette and the edge, the odds, the probabilities, etc. He had reported that a single zero roulette table was a little better deal for the players, so when Kathy noticed that the Riviera advertised single zero roulette, we had to go in and try our system on those tables.
And we did have good luck, though we can't attribute it to the zero-situation. We cashed out with seventy-some dollars. We only gamble for fun, not to make money, necessarily (although it's more fun that way!). So we always start with $20 only and leave the table if we lose everything. Big spenders, huh?
We then bought our bus pass and headed for Fremont Street. We decided to use public transportation because driving in Vegas and finding parking was not that appealing. But part way to Fremont Street the bus driver announced that if we wanted to go to the Gold and Silver Pawn Shop we needed to get off at the next stop.
For those who don't recognize the shop's name, this is the pawn shop highlighted on the History Channel's Pawn Stars program. So, of course, we hopped off the bus and went down the several blocks to see what it was like in reality.
Guess what? It looks like a pawn shop; albeit they have LOTS of high-ticket things there. They also have lots of souvenirs about the shop and the show. And lots of tourists... But it was fun to visit the shop and look and the merchandise; we helped some other tourists by taking their photos. Our only regret was that we didn't see ANY of the "stars" of Pawn Stars!
While walking down the street later, we passed many wedding chapels. We've often heard of people getting married in wedding chapels in Las Vegas (we even have family who have!), but had not really seen them. Some of them actually look quite charming with a nice garden area for outdoor weddings. A few others look a little more seedy and/or less romantic.
OK, it's quite obvious that we are easily distracted when on vacation. I think that's three times so far that morning. Nevertheless, we started walking down the street towards Fremont Street. Part of Fremont Street is now covered, over several blocks, by a canopy. It's essentially an outdoor mall now. This area is now called the Fremont Street Experience and has a light and sound show every night using the canopy. We didn't stay for the show, so that we could go see some more of The Strip. (Pictures of Fremont Street.)
But we did stop long enough to have a beer at one of the bars with outdoor seating. Across the street was a new restaurant/bar called Heart Attack Grill. This place actually flaunts the fact that they serve up huge portions, high calories, etc. They let anyone 350 pounds or heavier eat for free.
We didn't go in, but stood outside. One of the young female employees, dressed as a
nurse, sat at one of the window tables looking out and waving or smiling at potential customers walking by.
We could see other employees inside dressed as doctors and nurses. An ambulance sits outside the building.
The burger in the picture is the Triple Bypass Burger. It contains 4 1/2 hamburger patties, 8 slices of American cheese, one tomato, one onion. AND the bun is supposedly coated with lard. Livestrong.com claims this burger is 8,000 calories.
Because Chris, Ben, and Kathy have been on a new eating plan, since Labor Day, focused on eating correctly with correct portions (and we are losing weight!), we found the whole idea behind the Heart Attack Grill disturbing. In a time when the medical profession actually states that obesity is actually at epidemic proportions in the U.S., it almost seems irresponsible to actually promote it. It's bad enough that portions in most restaurants are still way too big and have way too many calories... this goes beyond that! OK, I'll get off my soapbox [kdr].
Admittedly, it was cute in a gimmicky-type way, but...
Video news report discussing Blair River's, Heart Attack Grill spokesman, death at 29. [car]
Another interesting attraction that is part of the Fremont Street Experience was a zipline running down much of the canopied area. The rates seemed to be pretty reasonable, but when compared to Chris and Blake's zipline experience in Wisconsin it was rather tame. They got to ride 5-6 different ziplines over trees and lakes, etc. But I'm sure the Las Vegas version is still fun.
We once again caught the bus and headed out to The Strip. We wanted to see what some of the other hotels/casinos that we have heard about looked like inside. It was getting dark, with a brisk, cool wind outside, so we just walked through a few: Venetian, Caesar's Palace, Mirage, and part of the Bellagio. We had been in Treasure Island the night before. Chris' favorite was the architecture of the plaza area of the Venetian (it reminded him of St. Mark's Square in Venice); Kathy liked the Roman street in Caesar's Palace because of the high vaulted ceilings painted like the sky.
At The Mirage there is a really great fish tank with all types of brightly colored fish. We also made a point of going to the fountain show outside the Bellagio. The fountains spray in elaborately designed patterns to the music of Frank Sinatra singing "Luck be a Lady." (YouTube video) This fountain was designed by WET Designs that designs fantastic fountains all over the world.
It was back on the bus to return to Circus Circus. After eating supper, we once more tried the roulette table. We spent quite a few fun hours, but can't brag about any big winnings. The fun came from the group of people around our table (mentioned in the first paragraph). On this occasion the bidding was fast and furious with most of the table covered with a variety of numbers of chips each spin.
We returned to our camper late and pretty much called it a night. Kathy hopes her doctor appreciates how much walking she did during the vacation!
What does "Las Vegas" mean to you? Gambling, wedding chapels, strip clubs, extravagant hotels/casinos, the Fremont Street light show, the shows, Pawn Stars? Well, we did NOT have much to do with ALL of the above. But we did do some sightseeing and at least viewed some of them from the outside!
We started our day walking through Circus Circus (we camped behind it in the KOA
campground!) and ended up stopping to take part in a short lesson from one of the dealers on playing Blackjack. The casino offers these free sessions every morning for some of the most popular games. Our instructor was helpful and freely answered questions from all the "students". We even were able to play a mock game to reinforce what we had been taught. (Of course we didn't get to keep our winnings!)We enjoyed that class so much that we decided to return for the next class on roulette. We had a little free time first, so we went upstairs to watch some of the circus acts (it IS Circus Circus, after all!). We saw two acts at that time; both were very good. The first was a clown doing tricks with a Diablo, a Westernized Chinese yo-yo. He made it look so easy, but the things he could do with it and how easily he could catch it was awe-inspiring. Here is a YouTube video of his act.
The second act was a male/female acrobatic act. Wow, was she limber! They both were also very strong and muscled, but definitely not like weight-lifters! (You could not DO those moves with a weight-lifters body!)
We then returned to the casino and took the roulette class. There were just three of us (the other student had been in the earlier class, too), so we got to ask lots of questions.
It was time to go do some sightseeing, but, as happens in Vegas, we were enticed by a nearby casino, the Riviera. Chris had been reading about roulette and the edge, the odds, the probabilities, etc. He had reported that a single zero roulette table was a little better deal for the players, so when Kathy noticed that the Riviera advertised single zero roulette, we had to go in and try our system on those tables.
And we did have good luck, though we can't attribute it to the zero-situation. We cashed out with seventy-some dollars. We only gamble for fun, not to make money, necessarily (although it's more fun that way!). So we always start with $20 only and leave the table if we lose everything. Big spenders, huh?
We then bought our bus pass and headed for Fremont Street. We decided to use public transportation because driving in Vegas and finding parking was not that appealing. But part way to Fremont Street the bus driver announced that if we wanted to go to the Gold and Silver Pawn Shop we needed to get off at the next stop.
For those who don't recognize the shop's name, this is the pawn shop highlighted on the History Channel's Pawn Stars program. So, of course, we hopped off the bus and went down the several blocks to see what it was like in reality.
Guess what? It looks like a pawn shop; albeit they have LOTS of high-ticket things there. They also have lots of souvenirs about the shop and the show. And lots of tourists... But it was fun to visit the shop and look and the merchandise; we helped some other tourists by taking their photos. Our only regret was that we didn't see ANY of the "stars" of Pawn Stars!
While walking down the street later, we passed many wedding chapels. We've often heard of people getting married in wedding chapels in Las Vegas (we even have family who have!), but had not really seen them. Some of them actually look quite charming with a nice garden area for outdoor weddings. A few others look a little more seedy and/or less romantic.
OK, it's quite obvious that we are easily distracted when on vacation. I think that's three times so far that morning. Nevertheless, we started walking down the street towards Fremont Street. Part of Fremont Street is now covered, over several blocks, by a canopy. It's essentially an outdoor mall now. This area is now called the Fremont Street Experience and has a light and sound show every night using the canopy. We didn't stay for the show, so that we could go see some more of The Strip. (Pictures of Fremont Street.)
But we did stop long enough to have a beer at one of the bars with outdoor seating. Across the street was a new restaurant/bar called Heart Attack Grill. This place actually flaunts the fact that they serve up huge portions, high calories, etc. They let anyone 350 pounds or heavier eat for free.
We didn't go in, but stood outside. One of the young female employees, dressed as a
nurse, sat at one of the window tables looking out and waving or smiling at potential customers walking by.We could see other employees inside dressed as doctors and nurses. An ambulance sits outside the building.
The burger in the picture is the Triple Bypass Burger. It contains 4 1/2 hamburger patties, 8 slices of American cheese, one tomato, one onion. AND the bun is supposedly coated with lard. Livestrong.com claims this burger is 8,000 calories.
Because Chris, Ben, and Kathy have been on a new eating plan, since Labor Day, focused on eating correctly with correct portions (and we are losing weight!), we found the whole idea behind the Heart Attack Grill disturbing. In a time when the medical profession actually states that obesity is actually at epidemic proportions in the U.S., it almost seems irresponsible to actually promote it. It's bad enough that portions in most restaurants are still way too big and have way too many calories... this goes beyond that! OK, I'll get off my soapbox [kdr].
Admittedly, it was cute in a gimmicky-type way, but...
Video news report discussing Blair River's, Heart Attack Grill spokesman, death at 29. [car]
Another interesting attraction that is part of the Fremont Street Experience was a zipline running down much of the canopied area. The rates seemed to be pretty reasonable, but when compared to Chris and Blake's zipline experience in Wisconsin it was rather tame. They got to ride 5-6 different ziplines over trees and lakes, etc. But I'm sure the Las Vegas version is still fun.
We once again caught the bus and headed out to The Strip. We wanted to see what some of the other hotels/casinos that we have heard about looked like inside. It was getting dark, with a brisk, cool wind outside, so we just walked through a few: Venetian, Caesar's Palace, Mirage, and part of the Bellagio. We had been in Treasure Island the night before. Chris' favorite was the architecture of the plaza area of the Venetian (it reminded him of St. Mark's Square in Venice); Kathy liked the Roman street in Caesar's Palace because of the high vaulted ceilings painted like the sky.
At The Mirage there is a really great fish tank with all types of brightly colored fish. We also made a point of going to the fountain show outside the Bellagio. The fountains spray in elaborately designed patterns to the music of Frank Sinatra singing "Luck be a Lady." (YouTube video) This fountain was designed by WET Designs that designs fantastic fountains all over the world.
It was back on the bus to return to Circus Circus. After eating supper, we once more tried the roulette table. We spent quite a few fun hours, but can't brag about any big winnings. The fun came from the group of people around our table (mentioned in the first paragraph). On this occasion the bidding was fast and furious with most of the table covered with a variety of numbers of chips each spin.
We returned to our camper late and pretty much called it a night. Kathy hopes her doctor appreciates how much walking she did during the vacation!
Day 8-- Death Valley to Las Vegas on Halloween, Monday, October 31, 2011
Today, we drove through Death Valley, California to Las Vegas, Nevada. Death Valley is a colorful and varied landscape. My pictures of the mountains don't capture their color. Therefore, I will let more knowledgeable photographers show those mountains.
Death Valley is the lowest spot in North America. Signs along the roads provide elevation above sea level or below sea level. Badwater the lowest point, -282 feet below sea level. In the distance behind us, in the picture, are the salt flats, just a layer of salt about 6 inches thick. Nearby is a pond of salt water. An early surveyor wrote "badwater" on his map when his mule refused to drink from the pond nearby. We saw at least three different tiny animals in the pond. One was a water strider. During our whole vacation, the temperature has been pleasant to slightly cool. It was actually a little hot here, i.e., upper 80s or low 90s.
Another interesting place is the "Devil's Golf Course." From a distance the land looks like overzealous plowing. But when you get up close you can see that these huge clods are a mixture of soil and slat. Huge blobs of salt. In the smoother areas, the dried soil cracked. Salt water in cracks evaporated leaving the salt to fill the cracks..
Death Valley does have some sand. A young French speaker tried to impress his girlfriend by hitting golf balls off the sand. The bushes are creosote bushes which grow well in the sand because it absorbs and holds water.
The one cool place we didn't see is racetrack playa where rocks are blown across the valley floor leaving tracks.
Since this is Monday, we scooted down to Las Vegas to see Cirque de Soleil's Mystere in Las Vegas. We made it to Treasure Island Hotel and Casino with almost an hour to spare. After the show we drove over to the KOA campground at Circus Circus. This became our base for the next day. Before going to bed we played roulette in the casino for about an hour.
Death Valley is the lowest spot in North America. Signs along the roads provide elevation above sea level or below sea level. Badwater the lowest point, -282 feet below sea level. In the distance behind us, in the picture, are the salt flats, just a layer of salt about 6 inches thick. Nearby is a pond of salt water. An early surveyor wrote "badwater" on his map when his mule refused to drink from the pond nearby. We saw at least three different tiny animals in the pond. One was a water strider. During our whole vacation, the temperature has been pleasant to slightly cool. It was actually a little hot here, i.e., upper 80s or low 90s.
Another interesting place is the "Devil's Golf Course." From a distance the land looks like overzealous plowing. But when you get up close you can see that these huge clods are a mixture of soil and slat. Huge blobs of salt. In the smoother areas, the dried soil cracked. Salt water in cracks evaporated leaving the salt to fill the cracks..Death Valley does have some sand. A young French speaker tried to impress his girlfriend by hitting golf balls off the sand. The bushes are creosote bushes which grow well in the sand because it absorbs and holds water.
The one cool place we didn't see is racetrack playa where rocks are blown across the valley floor leaving tracks.
Since this is Monday, we scooted down to Las Vegas to see Cirque de Soleil's Mystere in Las Vegas. We made it to Treasure Island Hotel and Casino with almost an hour to spare. After the show we drove over to the KOA campground at Circus Circus. This became our base for the next day. Before going to bed we played roulette in the casino for about an hour.
Day 7-- A sober ending to wash day: Manzanar, Sunday, October 30, 2011
On awakening in Mammoth Lakes, Kathy announced that the first order of the day HAD to be washing clothes! So we headed in to the business district and found a laundromat. This activity used up much of our morning (yes, we don't always get up and around bright and early; which should not be a surprise to those that know Kathy! ;-) ), so we didn't get to0 far during the day's drive.
Remember the really OLLLLDDDD sequoia trees we saw a few days ago? Well, Chris was very interested in seeing some REALLY old trees, so when we saw the turn-off to go to the Ancient Bristlecone Pine Forest, we simply had to go. A winding road up took us, eventually, to the Visitor's Center administered by the US Forest Service.
Chris decided to to hike up some of the trail toward some other, older trees than
what we had already seen and photographed on the way in to the site. He stopped at a fallen tree that had been 3200 years old when it fell in 1676! The plaque at the site also said the rings are so compact that one inch can contain 100 yearly rings! The oldest known bristlecone pines are over 4,000 years old. The oldest one (exact site undisclosed) is named "Methuselah."
If you compare the photos at of the bristlecone pine on the left to those of the sequoia on the right, you will see that just because you are tall and stately doesn't mean you will win the aging race! Being shorter and rather gnarly seems to work....
After returning to the main highway, we continued toward Kathy's "must-see" location
on the trip: Manzanar National Historic Site, or the Manzanar War Relocation Center. Many readers of this blog may not be familiar with Manzanar. Manzanar was just one of several "relocation centers" (internment camp!) set up by the federal government beginning in 1942 for Japanese Americans.
Remember that this was shortly after Pearl Harbor had been attacked. American feelings were high and the war with Japan was escalating. In order to "protect" Japanese Americans from anti-Japanese discrimination (and to round-up potential "enemies"?) Japanese-Americans in the western 1/3 of the United States were sent to one of the camps with very little notice. Many either lost their businesses, homes, and belongings (they could take what they could carry only) or had to sell or have someone watch over their property for an undetermined length of time.
These centers were behind barbed wire and had guard towers with armed soldiers looking IN, not OUT, so they actually were little less than "prison camps" in many ways. Families often had to share a barracks (one big room) with strangers. They later split up the area with blankets so they could have more privacy).
The one difference from the usual prison camp it was attempted to have this community at Manzanar continue as "normally" as usual. Since several generations were living at Manzanar, there were schools for the kids, complete with sports teams, cheerleaders, bands, etc. Because they internees could not leave, other teams would come to the camp to play ball games (so Manzanar ALWAYS had the "home court advantage!" Teens from the nearby communities would come out for dances and some of the local high school students even petitioned to allow the Manzanar teens to attend the local high school. This didn't happen...
The community of around 10,000 residents also had factories they worked at, newspapers, and other aspects of American communities. Since residents could not leave, however, recreation was an important part of life. Some citizens made beautiful Japanese gardens for everyone's enjoyment (remember, this area is basically desert surrounded by mountains), but baseball was the big activity. They camp included 100 baseball teams, in twelve leagues! (Ansel Adams picture of a game.) Both men and women's teams were available.
The older generations at Manzanar were often immigrants from Japan since the late 1800s when emigration from Japan was allowed. However, the younger generations were mostly United States citizens!
This is the tragedy and the shame of the internment camps, as far as I am concerned. (and many others) Although our Constitution gives us some many rights and freedoms, all of these U.S. citizens had those rights violated! Big time.
There are no proven cases of espionage or sabotage by Japanese Americans during World War II, I believe. On the contrary, eventually many of the Japanese (both immigrants and next generation citizens) were allowed to join the armed forces and served gallantly in the European theater. A group of Manzanar detainees were deported because they would not, or could not, answer certain questions about loyalty during this time. Some were because of principles, some because the questions confused them or seemed to contradictory.
Before touring the museum and grounds (most of the buildings are gone now), a film is shown, Remembering Manzanar. The film is very informative and Kathy left with tears in her eyes; from sympathy, anger, and shame for the U.S. Chris also found the film moving.
Since it was late in the day, we really didn't get to view the museum completely. Kathy will be adding the book Farewell to Manzanar, by Jeanne Wakatsuki Houston, to her reading list! [readers using Pathfinder Central can place a hold there!-kdr]. We did follow the driving tour of the grounds and got to read the informational signs before it got too dark.
Explore the link for the National Park (several paragraphs above) to learn even more about the history of this important site in American history.
We spent the night in a very nice RV park south of Manzanar near Lone Pine, California. Boulder Creek RV Resort had good facilities, a large store, even a jacuzzi. Chris especially liked the large community room; it had many nice groupings of sofas and comfortable chairs, as well as TV and tables to eat at. A free muffin and coffee breakfast is served. The showers were also very nice (yes, we seem to be somewhat obsessed with shower facilities!!)
Remember the really OLLLLDDDD sequoia trees we saw a few days ago? Well, Chris was very interested in seeing some REALLY old trees, so when we saw the turn-off to go to the Ancient Bristlecone Pine Forest, we simply had to go. A winding road up took us, eventually, to the Visitor's Center administered by the US Forest Service.
Chris decided to to hike up some of the trail toward some other, older trees than
what we had already seen and photographed on the way in to the site. He stopped at a fallen tree that had been 3200 years old when it fell in 1676! The plaque at the site also said the rings are so compact that one inch can contain 100 yearly rings! The oldest known bristlecone pines are over 4,000 years old. The oldest one (exact site undisclosed) is named "Methuselah."If you compare the photos at of the bristlecone pine on the left to those of the sequoia on the right, you will see that just because you are tall and stately doesn't mean you will win the aging race! Being shorter and rather gnarly seems to work....
After returning to the main highway, we continued toward Kathy's "must-see" location
on the trip: Manzanar National Historic Site, or the Manzanar War Relocation Center. Many readers of this blog may not be familiar with Manzanar. Manzanar was just one of several "relocation centers" (internment camp!) set up by the federal government beginning in 1942 for Japanese Americans.Remember that this was shortly after Pearl Harbor had been attacked. American feelings were high and the war with Japan was escalating. In order to "protect" Japanese Americans from anti-Japanese discrimination (and to round-up potential "enemies"?) Japanese-Americans in the western 1/3 of the United States were sent to one of the camps with very little notice. Many either lost their businesses, homes, and belongings (they could take what they could carry only) or had to sell or have someone watch over their property for an undetermined length of time.
These centers were behind barbed wire and had guard towers with armed soldiers looking IN, not OUT, so they actually were little less than "prison camps" in many ways. Families often had to share a barracks (one big room) with strangers. They later split up the area with blankets so they could have more privacy).
The one difference from the usual prison camp it was attempted to have this community at Manzanar continue as "normally" as usual. Since several generations were living at Manzanar, there were schools for the kids, complete with sports teams, cheerleaders, bands, etc. Because they internees could not leave, other teams would come to the camp to play ball games (so Manzanar ALWAYS had the "home court advantage!" Teens from the nearby communities would come out for dances and some of the local high school students even petitioned to allow the Manzanar teens to attend the local high school. This didn't happen...
The community of around 10,000 residents also had factories they worked at, newspapers, and other aspects of American communities. Since residents could not leave, however, recreation was an important part of life. Some citizens made beautiful Japanese gardens for everyone's enjoyment (remember, this area is basically desert surrounded by mountains), but baseball was the big activity. They camp included 100 baseball teams, in twelve leagues! (Ansel Adams picture of a game.) Both men and women's teams were available.
The older generations at Manzanar were often immigrants from Japan since the late 1800s when emigration from Japan was allowed. However, the younger generations were mostly United States citizens!
This is the tragedy and the shame of the internment camps, as far as I am concerned. (and many others) Although our Constitution gives us some many rights and freedoms, all of these U.S. citizens had those rights violated! Big time.
There are no proven cases of espionage or sabotage by Japanese Americans during World War II, I believe. On the contrary, eventually many of the Japanese (both immigrants and next generation citizens) were allowed to join the armed forces and served gallantly in the European theater. A group of Manzanar detainees were deported because they would not, or could not, answer certain questions about loyalty during this time. Some were because of principles, some because the questions confused them or seemed to contradictory.
Before touring the museum and grounds (most of the buildings are gone now), a film is shown, Remembering Manzanar. The film is very informative and Kathy left with tears in her eyes; from sympathy, anger, and shame for the U.S. Chris also found the film moving.
Since it was late in the day, we really didn't get to view the museum completely. Kathy will be adding the book Farewell to Manzanar, by Jeanne Wakatsuki Houston, to her reading list! [readers using Pathfinder Central can place a hold there!-kdr]. We did follow the driving tour of the grounds and got to read the informational signs before it got too dark.
Explore the link for the National Park (several paragraphs above) to learn even more about the history of this important site in American history.
We spent the night in a very nice RV park south of Manzanar near Lone Pine, California. Boulder Creek RV Resort had good facilities, a large store, even a jacuzzi. Chris especially liked the large community room; it had many nice groupings of sofas and comfortable chairs, as well as TV and tables to eat at. A free muffin and coffee breakfast is served. The showers were also very nice (yes, we seem to be somewhat obsessed with shower facilities!!)
Day 6-- Yosemite, in all it's glory, Saturday, October 29, 2011
Our campground for last night was right south of Yosemite National Park, so we woke up expecting to begin visiting Yosemite that morning. Kathy was out-of-sorts since last night because the nearest restroom to our campsite (up a hill!)closed at 9 PM ahttp://www.blogger.com/img/blank.gifnd we walked up AFTER that!!She was still grumbling this morning...
However, we were easily distracted when driving through the first town after our
campground, Coarsegold, California. It was the day of the Coarsegold Tarantula Festival. We saw the sign as we went by and proceeded to turn around to check it out. The Festival seems to be a kind of craft show, flea market, Renaissance Festival, and cook-off combination with activities for all ages during the day.
We were just there for a while, but did find some interesting buys at the booths. The booths of the Festival are set up around the Coarsegold Historic Village; there are permanent businesses there also. The thrift shop had a great sale with almost everything 1/2 price off. We picked up some things for the camper, such as measuring cups (we think we left our nice Pampered Chef one at Needles, CA!) and another blanket. The nights have been pretty cool and our feet have been cold; but the new blanket will sure help!)
So, on to Yosemite! The scenery is majestic. Lots of mountain roads that keep Kathy gripping the armrests (but not as bad as all the switch-backs in Sequoia Natl. Park). The valley, where the Visitor's Center is found, has a whole community built up around the tourism business, with resort-type lodgings, in addition to campgrounds, etc. The view from the valley was also great; check out some of the classic Ansel Adams photographs that he did of Yosemite...
One of the stops we made along the way was to walk up near the Bridal Veil Falls
that are often seen in photographs. This time of year finds the water flow much lower than in the spring, when the snowmelt begins. But it was still impressive.
After leaving the valley we drove across the entire northern part of the park on Highway 120. Many of the vistas were awe-inspiring. It was getting late in the day (because we had spent the extra time in Coarsegold), so we stopped for the night outside the eastern side of the park at Mammoth Lakes, CA.
Our campsite at Mammoth Mountain RV Park was completely on asphalt, but was fine for a quick overnight stop. They also had good showers.
However, we were easily distracted when driving through the first town after our
campground, Coarsegold, California. It was the day of the Coarsegold Tarantula Festival. We saw the sign as we went by and proceeded to turn around to check it out. The Festival seems to be a kind of craft show, flea market, Renaissance Festival, and cook-off combination with activities for all ages during the day.
We were just there for a while, but did find some interesting buys at the booths. The booths of the Festival are set up around the Coarsegold Historic Village; there are permanent businesses there also. The thrift shop had a great sale with almost everything 1/2 price off. We picked up some things for the camper, such as measuring cups (we think we left our nice Pampered Chef one at Needles, CA!) and another blanket. The nights have been pretty cool and our feet have been cold; but the new blanket will sure help!)So, on to Yosemite! The scenery is majestic. Lots of mountain roads that keep Kathy gripping the armrests (but not as bad as all the switch-backs in Sequoia Natl. Park). The valley, where the Visitor's Center is found, has a whole community built up around the tourism business, with resort-type lodgings, in addition to campgrounds, etc. The view from the valley was also great; check out some of the classic Ansel Adams photographs that he did of Yosemite...
One of the stops we made along the way was to walk up near the Bridal Veil Falls
that are often seen in photographs. This time of year finds the water flow much lower than in the spring, when the snowmelt begins. But it was still impressive.After leaving the valley we drove across the entire northern part of the park on Highway 120. Many of the vistas were awe-inspiring. It was getting late in the day (because we had spent the extra time in Coarsegold), so we stopped for the night outside the eastern side of the park at Mammoth Lakes, CA.
Our campsite at Mammoth Mountain RV Park was completely on asphalt, but was fine for a quick overnight stop. They also had good showers.
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