Dubois, WY to Fishing Bridge, Yellowstone National Park, WY

Chris sees the Grand Tetons!

We reached the Grand Teton National Park at about 9:30 am, Wednesday, I think. The lakes and land are already at 6,000 elevation. The granite Tetons rise another 5,000 to 6,000 feet almost straight up. The day we were there a layer of clouds drifted at about 7,500 feet in front of the Tetons. Another layer floated just above the peaks. It was a very majestic site. A few recesses had glaciers from the top many thousand feet down the face. It was truly a grand and majestic sight. Lakes and swampy land are at the base of the mountains. I read that wildlife is abundant, but we saw none on our drive north into Yellowstone.

At the visitors center we saw a short film about the 1988 fires which destroyed 36% of Yellowstone's forests.

In Yellowstone we drove straight to the campsite near Fishing Bridge because it is the only camp with electrical hook-ups we need for our c-paps. After getting our campsite, we drove one of the loops to Old Faithful.

While we waited a soft drizzle began, then it began to actually rain. We took shelter under a pine tree where we could still keep an eye on Old Faithful. We were told the geyser would erupt at 6 pm. Old Faithful went off right on schedule with a 5-minute gusher. One thing I noticed is that as Old Faithful was gushing, steam was also rising from the cone's surface, not just from the hole.

C. J. Box is honored to meet the Rippels.

After the eruption, Kathy and I walked to the historic Old Faithful Inn. It is very impressive with a cathedral ceiling and numerous atriums overlooking the central area. Wyoming mystery author C. J. Box was doing a book signing of his July 2013 book, The Highway, which takes place near Yellowstone.We discussed his books and ebooks, libraries, and publishers.

 On the way to and from Old Faithful we stopped at some hot springs. I had originally thought the colors are created by minerals in the hot water. Educational signs, however, the colors are are “mats” of thermophilic microorganisms, archaea and bacteria, that use the colors to absorb the specific colors of lighted needed for their photosynthesis. They are pretty and awesome. (http://www.nps.gov/ns/yell/planyourvisit/upload/r&i10_4.pdf)

After sleeping at the campsite, we drove to Mammoth Hot Springs in the northern part of Yellowstone, Thursday morning.

Elk asks for a ride, but we were going the other way.

Along the way, we saw forests of 12-foot trees, the regrowth from the 1988 Yellowstone fire. And
during our drives through the park, we saw herds of bison, a family of elk, a momma bear and her cub, geese and chipmunks. Kathy was disappointed that we did not see any moose.

One amazing feature of Mammoth Hot Springs is the formation of flat travertine terraces. In many places travertine terraces look like steps. At Mammoth, the travertine terrace reminded Kathy and I of pueblos. When fresh the terraces are beautiful, bright white. Weathering turns them gray. Travertine is a popular building stone in places such as Italy. Travertine terraces occur all over the world. (http://www.atlasofwonders.com/2012/11/travertine-terraces.html)

At around noon, we headed out of Yellowstone for Idaho. Our goal is Craters of the Moon National Monument.

On the way to our destination we learned about Spuds Drive In Movie Theater in Driggs, Idaho. We are going to try to visit it on the way back through Idaho to Kansas.

At dinner, Kathy relaxes reading.

We are now camping at the KOA in Arco, Idaho. We ate at a place called "Pickle's Place: home of the Atomic Burger", neither of us had an Atomic Burger. After dinner, Kathy read for awhile in their green rocking chair. Across the street was the "sail" of a retired nuclear submarine USS Hawkbill (666), known fondly as the "Devil Boat." (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/USS_Hawkbill_%28SSN-666%29)

Arco is surrounded by small knobs. One knob is called "Number Hill" because each high school class, beginning in 1920, writes its year on a spot on the hill. Tomorrow we will visit "Craters on the Moon."

My French Grandmother Would be Appalled : Strasburg, CO to Dubois, WY

Vedauwoo

As many of our readers know, the last few years we have pretty much made up our travel destinations on the fly. After eating breakfast in suburban Denver (Cracker Barrel), we knew we needed to decide on a route by the time we reached Cheyenne, Wyoming. Our options were to go north through Casper to Montana, or west toward Laramie, Rawlins, etc. for Utah, etc. But after looking at the map we decided to stray from the original “Pacific Northwest” and detoured toward the Grand Tetons and Yellowstone National Park. Chris had never been to northwest Wyoming! With his interest in geologic “stuff” and love of travel it seemed like a place he would have visited before. Well, it was time to rectify the situation... We lunched at Undine Park in Laramie, Wyoming, on our brisket sandwiches (home-made brisket sandwiches for vacation lunches is a long-standing Reid-Mitchum-Rippel tradition). It was then back to I-80. We turned north at Rawlins, passed through Lander, and stopped for the night in Dubois, Wyoming. After checking in at the KOA, we toured the downtown area of Dubois and visited the local grocery store for some staples we needed: bread, paper towels, etc. (“How fascinating”, you think). Then back to our temporary home for the night. Why would my French grandmother be appalled? Grandma Smith was an immigrant from southern France when she was twelve. She always cringed when we would tell her about friends with French names that had been Americanized (Bourgeois pronounced something like “bur-goyce”, rather than the much prettier-sounding French pronunciation that I can only phonetically spell as something like “boor-zhwa”). Well, my great uncle and aunt (other side of the family!) lived in Dubois for awhile and I've been taught to pronounce it “du-boyce” rather than the French “du-bwa”. Grandma would NOT be amused... Tomorrow? Yellowstone and vicinity. Note to our loyal followers: Most of the time we've been in Wyoming we have not had internet or even phone service, period. That's why this blog is already past due. As soon as we get in to an area with some service we will be loading all the days we've prepared.

Westward Ho! : Great Bend to Strasburg, CO

We got away around 2:45 PM because Chris had an appointment earlier. Dilly is “sleeping over” with the Sanders's and Bungee was anxiously awaiting the time Ben would come visit her. Of course, it didn't feel much like vacation yet, since we were traversing areas we drive through regularly while consulting. We finally stopped for the night at the KOA at Strasburg, Colorado, outside Denver.

Friday, October 5, 2012, Drive to Silver Lake

Today. We drove to Silver Lake to watch the grandsons play football on Saturday.

Thursday, October 4, 2012 Helen Keller and Shiloh

One of our first stops was touring Eugene V. Debs house in Terra Haute, Indiana. It is an interesting coincidence that one of your last tours is Helen Keller's house Ivy Green in Tuscumbia, Alabama. Both were well known socialists in the 1920s and 1930s.

Helen Keller, born 1880, turned blind and deaf by an early childhood fever, proved that blind and deaf people could live productive lives if given the opportunity. Keller is the first person to receive a BA degree.  Helen's opportunity came by being born in a blue-blooded, wealthy family. According to the house guide, Helen Keller is a descendent of John Quincy Adams.

Keller's family could afford to hire Anne Sullivan to tutor Helen from age 7 through college. Sullivan remained Helen's lifelong associate until Sullivan died in 1936 with Keller holding her hand.

When we arrived at the house, I was decorated with lots of flowers because the director's daughter had been married the weekend before and left the flowers there. A guide showed us through the house with lots of furniture in the house during Keller's childhood. Outside is the pump where Helen learned her first word, water. Notice the wedding flowers.

Also outside is the little house Anne asked to be built to create a better situation for teaching Helen.

Many know through The Miracle Worker, Helen Keller's amazing education. Lion's Clubs often speak of Keller's 1925 challenge to become knights for the blind. Few know  Keller was a socialist. She campaign for Eugene V. Debs to become president.The house tour guide did not know Keller was a socialist and couldn't imagine how this is possible because Keller had been active in so many charitable causes. Such ignorance of Americans about the left.

The drive from Tuscumbia, Alabama to Shiloh battleground in Tennessee is about an hour. Some distance from Tuscumbia, we passed a sign for the Key Underwood Coon Dog Memorial Graveyard.  (YouTube video)

Kathy's great-great grandfather, Samuel Woods Reid, served in Napolean Gray's, Company D in the 15th Arkansas Regiment. (History as the 1st Arkansas Volunteers) This regiment was commanded by Brigadier General Patrick R. Cleburne. Cleburne earned the title, "Stonewall of the West". Ironically, lists of the greatest generals of the Civil War often list Cleburne above "Stonewall" Jackson, e.g., 1, 2, 3. Biographies of Cleburne often say hee is the most forgotten or underrated general of the war.

(Confederate Order of Battle at Shiloh)

Shiloh battlefield is covered with signs identifying the locations of regiments through the battle. Kathy and I photographed the five signs mentioning the 15th Arkansas. Descriptions below identify the locations of these signs on this map.

This sign identifies the location of the camp the night before battle, April 5, 1862. On the lower left side of the map, this sign is between highway 22 and Trabue's line.

Scott Manning explains  a demonstration a Confederate skirmish line. Skirmishers formed "rows of checkered board patterned troops on one knee. A row would move forward, kneel, and shoot. Then another row would move forward and do the same while the previous row reloaded. They explained that skirmishers would move like this toward a possible enemy position to probe their exact position."

Shiloh is the 15th Arkansas' first battle. The 15th Arkansas formed the skirmish line in the opening attack on Sherman's troops, pushing them in the direction of Shiloh Church. Brigidier General Patrick Cleburne's battle report says, "[t]he Fifteenth Arkansas engaged the enemy's skirmishers and drove them in on their first line of battle. My skirmishers then fell back on their reserve [on their left]. On the map, look for Cleburne's line south of Shiloh Church. Notice the sign puts the 15th Arkansas Skirmishers are in front of the rest of the troops.

By noon, Cleburne's troops had moved forward to this location. On the map, this location is just to the right of Sherman's name or half-a-mile north of the name Marsh. In one of these places, Cleburne's battle report says, "Here the Fifteenth Arkansas inflicted heavy loss upon the enemy, and lost many good men, and its major, J. T. Harris. He scorned to pay any regard to his personal safety; he moved up within pistol range of the enemy, and was shot dead while firing on them with his revolver." Then later the report says, " Here Captain Cowley, acting major of the Fifteenth Arkansas, a true and tried officer, was shot in the head...." 

At 2:30 pm, the troops moved one-quarter mile, northeast of previous sign. Tilghman Creek is the little vertical blue squiggly line near the top of the map just to the right of the Brewer and Wharton lines and further south near Russell and Wood. I don't know where the 15th Arkansas actually was on Tilghman Creek. East of Tilghman Creek is as far forward as the Confederates would get on April 6, 1862. Union army held this position through the night. 

The next morning Union supported by Buell's reinforcements the Federals attacked. See this map of the second day's battle. 

This is Cleburne's final position the next day, April 7, 1862. On this map, the 15th Arkansas is not shown, but this sign is located in front of Gibson, about where the 1st Arkansas and 13th Louisiana are shown. Cleburne's battle report says, "As far as I know the Fifteenth Arkansas was the only regiment rallied anywhere near the scene of disaster. In the face of a deadly fire and an exultant foe the regiment reformed near two abandoned cannons and fell back in order behind a ridge. From this point, seeing some re-enforcements coming up, I led them in a charge on the advancing foe. The enemy fled back faster than they came." "In this charge Lieutenant-Colonel Patton, the sole remaining field officer of the Fifteenth Arkansas, was shot dead. He did his duty nobly in this battle and secured the love and confidence of every man in his regiment. The Fifteenth Arkansas continued to pursue the enemy until out of ammunition, when 58 men, all that were still together, fell back to replenish."

Cleburne's battle report summarized his brigade's performance during Shiloh, "This was the first battle my men were ever engaged in. They led the advance of our army on Shiloh and engaged and repulsed the enemy's cavalry the Friday before the battle. They fought in the foremost line both days and were never rested or relieved for a moment. They captured many stands of colors and assisted in the capture of General Prentiss' Federal brigade on the left."

After Shiloh, the Confederate Army was reorganized. The 13th and 15th Arkansas depleted regiments were combined. As regiments were depleted the Confederate army combined units together rather than adding fresh recruits to rebuild the strength of old regiments.

The 13th/15th Arkansas next participated in the campaign to encourage Kentucky to join the Confederacy. They fought in Battle of Richmond, August 29-30, 1862, (See map.) and Battle of Perryville, October 8, 1862.

When I was a Boy Scout in Kentucky, we commemorated Perryville with a 20 mile hike. Since both sides were trying to get water, I believe we couldn't drink during the hike. Or maybe I am making that up. I also remember memorizing Gettysburg Address during the hike. I believe  we repeated it as a group at the end of the hike.

Animated story of the Battle of Perryville.

To see the movements of the 13th/15th Arkansas during the battle, look for Cleburne the far right side of the map. The 13th/15th is shown in front line of Cleburne's. This is the position from noon to 2 pm.

At 2pm, Cleburne moved forward to the dark red line. The 13th/15th Arkansas moved across "Doctors Fork".

By 4 pm, the "13th/15th AR" was able to move forward again to the brown line.

Though the Confederates won the Battles of Richmond and Perryville, the Confederates lost the strategic situation and withdrew from Kentucky. Saving Kentucky for the Union.

Lookout! Wednesday, October 3, 2012

We decided to go to the Lookout Mountain Battlefield Visitor Center of the Chickamauga & Chattanooga Military Park only. The trip up the mountain switches back and forth. There are houses nearly all the way... I sure don't think commuting up and down the mountain during the winter sounds very fun!

Many of the houses are very nice and quite large. The homes on the edge of the mountain seem to consistently have large decks or are otherwise built out over the drop-off. Although the view of Chattanooga in the valley is phenomenal, I'm not sure I would want to live in many of those homes.

We first visited the Battles for Chattanooga Museum. This store has a 3-D map of several battles around the Chattanooga area, including Lookout Mountain and Missionary Ridge. There is an audio presentation while the lights on the map illustrate the troop locations. This gave us a much better understanding of the situation during the fall of 1863 in the area.

The official Visitor Center is next door and has exhibits that give additional insights and information about the various "players" on both sides of the conflicts. We then walked across to the Point Park and walked the trail. The views of Chattanooga were impressive.

This trip meant something to me (Kathy) because I have a photograph of my great great grandfather Francis Bryan with other soldiers on Lookout Mountain. He served in the Union Army with other soldiers from Ohio. I don't have the exact unit with me, but we learned soldiers from Ohio were there at the battles and that many soldiers had their photos taken on the Point shown in the photograph on the right after the Battles of Lookout Mountain and Missionary Ridge (November 24 and 25, 1863).

I also need to check my other great great grandfather's papers (Samuel W. Reid) when I get home. I know he was captured that fall and began to suspect that these battles might be where he was. Today we learned that Major General Patrick R. Cleburne's regiment held right flank of Missionary Ridge for the Confederates against 10 times more troops. This regiment included Sam's company, the Napoleon Grays (Fifteenth Regiment of Arkansas Infantry) under the command of Major E. Warfield. According to Cleburne's official report, the 15th Arkansas engaged in heavy fighting all day long around Tunnel Hill and captured one Union battle flag. See map.  (Confederate Order of Battle)

The date of Sam's captured in nearby Graysville, Georgia, coincide with the Battle of Missionary Ridge.

I must learn some more about both of these grandfathers and their participation in the same battle, different sides. Later in their lives, their children married in Osage County, Kansas!

The history lesson for the day was over, so we headed west with the intention of visiting the battlefield at Shiloh, Tennessee tomorrow. (Yes, we seem to be steeped in Civil War history on this vacation!) Our new Waze navigation took us the quickest route, which meant we spent time in three states today (Georgia, Tennessee, and Alabama). Tomorrow we will drive through a bit of Mississippi on the way back to Tennessee to the battlefield.

We remembered that we have traveled through part of this area a few years ago and were not able to visit Helen Keller's birthplace in Tuscumbia, Alabama, because it was not open the day we were here. Since out path was going by again, we stopped and will visit the home tomorrow morning, before Shiloh.

Last time we were here we stayed in a private campground, but tonight we are at McFarland Park, part of the city of Florence's city park system. There are large pine trees lining the road and we find the park nice for the overnight stop. Water is on both sides of the campground with herons inhabiting Cypress Creek.

October 2, 2012 Through Georgia

We visited the Oliver Hardy Museum in Harlem, Georgia, the birthplace of Hardy, the fat one. Next weekend, October 6, is the Oliver Hardy Festival. 30,000 people are expected.

After his birth in Harlem, Hardy's family moved down the road to Milledgeville to run a hotel. Hardy was fascinated by the entertainers who stayed in the Baldwin Hotel. This sparked his interest in show business. The museum's collection is almost solely hundreds of Laurel and Hardy collectables.

Kathy and I road in the back of Oliver and Laurel's automobile. (See picture.)

Next, we watched a 30-minute 1932 short called The Music Box. This film won the first academy award for live action short.

The rest of the day was driving across Georgia, around Atlanta to just south of Chattanooga, Tennessee. We are staying in a KOA Kampground.

Monday, October 1, 2012 Manning, South Carolina to Georgia

Kathy and Chris spent the morning and early afternoon driving around Manning, South Carolina. Chris spent the summer of 1973 selling Bibles door-to-door in Manning and Summerton, 10 miles south.

In my memory, the Manning 40-years ago was a little  run down. My housemate Jim Wilson and I used to eat breakfast in a cafe where I learned to dislike grits. After breakfast, he would drop me off in the neighborhood I was working at the time. I spent a lot of time in the dilapidated houses of the black ghetto because these people opened their doors to a door-to-door salesman.

So much has changed that for a while I thought I was in the wrong town. Most of the houses I visited have been torn down to be replaced by newer houses, lowcost government apartments for black and white residents, banks, medical facilities, or just empty areas. Between the town and the I-95 exit, is a super-Walmart and many of the chains in other towns across America. In the town, are many new medical facilities, banks, etc.

I have numerous memories of this summer. I will share one. Near the end of the summer, my mother and grandmother picked me up to spend a vacation together in South Carolina. Before leaving town, we did washing in a local laundromat. This building was divided into three equal areas. The right end was the dry cleaning business run by the business owner. The other two areas contained washers and dryers. My mother and I went to the dry cleaning area for some reason, e.g., getting change. At one point, the business owner asked in which room we were washing our clothes. We said the middle room. He said that was good. We then realized this was a segregated laundry. The room on the left end of the building was for blacks. When we revealed this arrangement to my grandmother, she went over and sat in the other laundry for the rest of the time. Yesterday, I couldn't find this laundry.

Kathy and I ate a late lunch in a cafe near where I used to pass my grits to Jim Wilson. The cafe is now a boutique store selling pasta salads and deli meat sandwiches with avocado spread on focaccia bread.

After leaving Manning, we drove into Georgia and camped at the Petersburg Campground at the J. Strom Thurmond Dam and Lake. This is a wonderful campground because the campsites are large, well-designed and well-separated from each other. Each campsite contains a fire-ring, grill, food preparation table near grill, a lantern hanger, and picnic table.  The restrooms are clean and nice. Finally, few people are here.  

Our campsite is beside the lake. 200 yards from shore is small island with a flock of geese who honk periodically.

Wash and Waze... Sunday, September 30, 2012

Today was more for getting ready for the next week of vacation than anything else.

The KOA served free waffles for breakfast, so I took advantage of that, while Chris finished off some of the leftovers from our sojourn in the Raleigh, North Carolina, area.

We then decided it was a good time to do our laundry there at the campground. These clean clothes will see us through to the end of this year's vacation.

The afternoon was then devoted to heading south into South Carolina. This is another new state for our map on the side of the camper. (We mark the states we have gone to IN THE CAMPER VAN; not in other ways or times). We know only have Georgia, Michigan, Idaho, Washington, Oregon, Alaska, and Hawaii left in the U.S. We'll get Georgia this week; odds are we'll never take the camper van to Hawaii. So we've visited most of the states since we purchased the camper a few years ago! We've also visited Manitoba and Saskatchewan, so we still have some Canadian provinces to go.

We ate lunch at Zachary's Pizza & Restaurant in Saint Pauls, North Carolina. The Veggie was very good.

A visit to the South Carolina Welcome Center on I-95 was the main high point of the late afternoon. We picked up some tourist materials, including some information about campgrounds. We decided to check out Poinsett State Park. That's where we decided to stay; the sites are really nice and roomy.

Tomorrow's plans include visiting Manning, South Carolina, just a few miles away. When Chris was in college, he actually sold Bibles in this area one summer! Manning is where he lived, and I'd like to see a little of his past.

While driving past on the way to the campground, Chris says it looks like it may be quite a bit larger than it was in the late 1970s. I'm not at all surprised; when I attended high school in Wellsville, Kansas, in the late 1960s, nearby Gardner, Kansas, was still a pretty small town nearby. Now Gardner is growing constantly and seems to be almost an extension of the greater Kansas City metro area!

During the day, I added a new app on my Android called Waze. Waze serves as a navigator program, but also has a social aspect. Users report problems like heavy traffic, accidents, cars parked on the shoulder, etc., which Waze can use to suggest alternate, faster routes for commuters, etc.

It's been fun learning to use the functions included today, and tonight we actually used the Waze site on the laptop to edit the South Carolina map!  If you travel on a road that is not marked in Waze, you can mark it as "Paved". Then you can go in on the computer and actually add that road and more information to the Waze maps and database!

There's definitely a learning curve for the editing, but I think I'm getting better. The roads leading to our campsite were not shown correctly; I think they are better now.

I also discovered that Waze's map editor works best with Chrome, so downloaded that browser too!

Conference ends, Vacation resumes! Saturday, September 29, 2012

More to come...

ARSL Conference, Day Two... Friday, September 28, 2012

Yea! It's payday!

More to come...

First full day of ARSL Conference, Thursday, September 27, 2012

More to come...

Wednesday, September 26, 2012 Raleigh, North Carolina

Today, Kathy and I hung around the campground until 1:30 pm. We then drove toward Raleigh, North Carolina to the Sheraton Hotel and Conference Center, downtown on Salisbury Street.

We are here to attend the annual conference for Association of Rural and Small Libraries.

After cleaning up, Kathy and I walked 5 blocks north to the old capitol building for a little party.  Among the delicacies were homemade potato chips which Gail told us is a common local food. Kathy is intrigued with an upcoming event called "Shuckin' & Shaggin' at the Capitol". Searching Google shows lots of shuckin' and shaggin' on the east coast. I believe the phrase refers to shucking oysters and dancing the Carolina shag. The link goes to a Wikipedia article. Below the article is a link to a two-minute video of a couple shag dancing. Shag Dancing is a type of swing. The Carolina Shag is the state dance of South Carolina.

Gail Santy eventually showed up at the party. We walked back with her talking about library work, food and travel. On the way back we passed a Lebanese restaurant called the Mecca. After this conference, Gail and her family are going to Chincoteague Island as well. We told her about Wallops Flight Facility visitor center.

When we walked into the hotel we met Sharon Sturgis and Harry Willems just finishing dinner in a hotel restaurant.

Tuesday September 25, Kitty Hawk

Today Kathy and I visited the Wright Brothers National Memorial at Kitty Hawk. It is full of great exhibits and some fun sculptures to play around with. The monument on the hill, pictured in the Wikipedia article, is the least interesting thing at the memorial.

There is a museum and a centennial pavilion. Both are worth visiting. The displays do a good job explaining the scientific tasks the brothers had to accomplish to fly. We point they make is that the brothers had to act as scientists, not just inventors. They conducted a series of experiments to discover the shape of wing with the greatest lift and least drag. They invented the wind tunnel for these experiments. We should also recognize that they had to invent not only the wings and the propeller, they also had to invent the engine light enough and with enough horsepower because no engine manufacturers would supply an engine that would meet their specifications for lightness and horsepower.

Chris holds on for dear life during the first flight.

Outside the museum, the hangers and living quarters are reconstructed. Beside these is the reconstructed track used for take off. Stones mark the distances of their first four flights:

1. 120 feet in 12 seconds (6.8 mph).
2. 175 feet in 12 seconds. (9.8 mph)
3. 200 feet in 15 seconds. (9 mph)
4. 852 feet in 59 seconds. (9.8 mph)

If these speeds seem to slow to lift a plane, remember that the Wright Flyer was flying in a strong headwind.

In the pavilion is video showing 2003 attempts at flying reconstructed Wright Flyers. These pilots did less well. One flight was only 97 feet.

On the other side of the Kill Devil Hills monument is a life-sized sculpture of the first flight. People can get up on the sculpture to have their picture taken. Fun.

Monday, September 24, 2012 - From Space to Kitty Hawk

Today, we drove from Chincoteague Island on Virginia's Eastern Shore to Bodie Island on the Outer Banks in North Carolina.

Very soon after leaving camp on Chincoteague Island stopped at the NASA Wallops Flight Facility, a part of the Goddard Space Flight Center based in Maryland.

Wallops specializes in suborbital flights with high-flying balloons (20 annually), rockets (25 annually), and high flying airplanes. The balloons are composed of 0.8 mil polyethylene film, i.e., thickness of a sandwich bag, and taller that the Washington monument. They can carry 8,000 lbs. loads to 120,000 feet, i.e., 22.7 miles, and even higher with lighter payloads. They can rise above 99.5% of the atmosphere to even study space. Rockets carry equipment weighing up to 1,200 lbs. from 30 to 800 miles up. Their research includes measuring changes in the ice sheets over the north and south poles, changes in the land and sea temperatures, plant life, the sun and other planets, and testing instruments for use on such flights.

The coolest thing in the visitor center is a large globe that is a screen for projecting movies, called Science on a Sphere. Kathy and I saw a short film about Jupiter. Jupiter's surface on the sphere while a voice describes its features. (YouTube version slightly different) Actually, four projectors project the same film on four sides of the globe. Since you are sitting on one of the four sides watching only one of the projections, this gives the impression that the whole planet is being projected onto the sphere. It was very neat.

As we drove south down highway 13, etc. to the North Carolina Outer Banks, our hearts were warmed by all the "Eastern Shore for Obama" signs.

The Outer Banks are so built up and overcrowded I can't see why anyone would stay here any more. Tomorrow, I want to see the Wright Brothers National Memorial at Kitty Hawk and leave.

Addition by Kathy: Wallops also has the distinction of being the facility that sent the first female into space. This was a rhesus monkey name Miss Sam in the early days of the space program! You can also read more about the future of the Wallops Facility in this Washington Post article.

Kathy's childhood memory comes to life... Sunday, September 23, 2012

We really liked the campground at Trap Pond State Park and recommend it to anyone heading that way. According to one of the employees at another Delaware state park, Trap Pond isn't as heavily used, but we thought it seemed liked a great place for a family to go camping. It is not near the Ocean, which is probably why it is not as popular for this area.

Today we finished working our way south through Delaware and entered the Eastern Shore of Maryland and Virginia. This peninsula area of Virginia is not physically connected to the main portion of the state, somewhat like Upper Michigan...

We had planned to go to Kitty Hawk, North Carolina, but as we entered Virginia I realized that we were almost to Chincoteague Island.

Those that know me know that I have read voraciously since I was taught to read in first grade (good ole Tip!) During my dog and horse phase as a young girl, one of the series I enjoyed was the one that began with Misty of Chincoteague. This is where I learned of the wild ponies on Assateague Island and the annual Pony Penning when "Salt Water Cowboys" roundup the herd from Assateague Island and drive them across to Chincoteague Island during low tide. Some of the ponies are then auctioned to raise funds for the local fire department. You can read more details about the history of this event here (and read the books!).

Chris and I toured both the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service visitor center and the National Park Service visitor center on Assateague Island. Both discuss various aspects of their responsibilities toward the Island and its inhabitants. The FWS displays discuss the local species that are endangered or threatened and the efforts to increase their populations. These include the Piping Plover and the Delmarva Fox Squirrel.

The NPS displays discuss more about the Chincoteague Wild Ponies, since the NPS manages the southern herd on the Island. After visiting both centers, we took the drive out toward the beaches on the Island. During that drive we spotted a couple of groups of the ponies grazing in the distance.

The beaches on the Island are nice and sandy. This may seem to be a "duh" statement, but we were comparing the beach to those we found in Galveston in July while vacationing with Austin. The Galveston beaches were not at all pretty, with rotting seaweed everywhere. They didn't smell to nice either. Although we had fun playing in the Gulf, the beaches were not really conducive to just hanging around.

By contrast, the beaches on Assateague Island were clear of refuse and were inviting. Although we didn't actually go in to swim, we did wade in the Atlantic Ocean and subsequently became quite wet! The tide was coming in and the waves are larger than those we encountered in Texas. Even though the weather is cooler now, it was still not too uncomfortable for late September! We also simply walked along the beach for a short bit.

After finding a campsite in Chincoteague at the Maddox Family Campground, we went further in to town for supper at Bill's Seafood & Steaks and ended with ice cream at the Island Creamery. This was definitely a splurge night and we can't do that too much more!

On to North Carolina tomorrow!

Delaware, the first state... Saturday, September 22, 2012

Today both Chris and I went to Delaware for the first time. Period. That means ever. Over the last few years we've sometimes gone to states for the first time together, but this time neither one of us had ever been here!

We had both forgotten that Delaware was actually the first state in the U.S. It's even printed on their license tags. Another tidbit of information is that they have no sales taxes!

Have you noticed that when you use a road atlas they give Delaware (and other smaller states) a full page. Kansas gets two. So we think of the distances shown on the map as the same scale we are used to. Not true. We did most of the state north to south, from Middletown to Trap Pond State Park. Tomorrow we will go past the southern border, back in to Maryland for a brief spell.

It was interesting driving down the section that might be called "the beaches." This is a skinny section of Delaware running down the east side. From the highway you can see water on both sides, the Atlantic on one side and a couple of bays on the other! We wanted to camp there, but the campgrounds we were hoping to use were already full. We are here at Trap Pond State Park, which is further inland. It looks like it is a pretty good campground, but it was dark when we got here!

It started raining a little while ago, but appears to be tapering off. Today was the warmest day we have experienced on the vacation; even with the rain it may be warm sleeping tonight. (Quite a change from needing the sleeping bag as a comforter a few nights ago!)

We went grocery shopping both at an outdoor farmer's market and a supermarket (called Acme, no less) today and replenished some of our supplies.

All in all a pretty uneventful day. We watched the end of Season two of Deadwood tonight on DVD.

Tomorrow's plans (if you can call them that) is to keep moving south through Maryland and Virginia. We are aiming for Kitty Hawk in North Carolina, for sure.

Friday, September 21, 2012: It's the vision thing

Today we drove into Baltimore.

Our first and major stop was the American Visionary Art Museum. This art is very similar to the grassroot art in Lucas, Kansas, full of color and whimsy. Outside the museum is a large mirror egg I hugged.

The first major piece we saw inside was The Bra Ball, like Cawker City's twine ball, but made of bras donated to the cause.

In the basement, was The Flatulence Post by Bob Benson (scroll down page). I recommend watching the video. This is an exhibit Austin would love.

Each May the American Visionary Art Museum sponsors an annual Baltimore Kinetic Sculpture Race. One of the museum's out buildings had several entries in this year's race.

After the museum, we followed Google Map instructions through narrow streets to Edger Allen Poe's house and museum. Unfortunately, it was closed.

Then we tried driving out of town east toward Annapolis. We made slow progress through Baltimore's after work traffic.

We are at a KOA camp just outside of town. This camp has a giant jumping pillow that even adults can jump up and down on.

Antietam and Harpers Ferry... Thursday, September 20, 2012

Today we visited Antietam Civil War battlefield and Harper's Ferry. Antietam happened on my birthday, September 17th, 150 years ago. This day is known as the bloodiest day of the Civil War because 23,000 casualties. The federals had 2,108 killed, 9,450 wounded, and 753 missing in action. Other battles had greater casualties, but not in one day.

So the United States had almost 10,000 wounded. Antietam was one of early battles where Clara Barton started traveling to the front lines to care for wounded soldiers. She followed the sound of the cannon to arrive on the northern end of the Antietam battlefield. She brought medical supplies. She and her companions also served gruel to the wounded men still lying on the field.

Historians have always claimed Pickett's Charge at Gettysburg was the high point of the Confederacy. Pickett's Charge may have been the high point of the Army of Northern Virginia, but I think the battle of Antietam was the high point of the Confederacy.

On the military front, Lee had taken command of the Army of Northern Virginia during June 1862. He won the Seven Days Battles June 1862, the Second Battle of Bull Run, August 1962 and was invading Maryland to resupply his army. And rebel forces were planning an invasion of Kentucky which ended at Perryville, October 8, 1862.

On the diplomatic front, England wanted to recognize and support the Confederacy, but were held back because of slavery, a practice England had outlawed 30 years before and the potential of going to war with the United States. However, if the confederates won a major battle on union soil, England would propose negotiating peace between the United States and Confederate States on humanitarian grounds that the war was a stalemate. So if the confederates had won Antietam, they had a chance of winning the war.

When the north won Antietam, Lincoln announced the Emancipation Proclamation. This made the war also about ending slavery, seriously damaging England's and France's ability to officially recognize and support of the Confederacy. Even though Lee invaded Pennsylvania with an even larger army in 1863, it may be the case that the Confederacy's real possibility of victory vanished in 1862, not 1863.

Kathy and I arrived at Harper's Ferry too late to see the movie about John Brown's raid. The firehouse where John Brown made his last stand has been return to within 150 feet of its original spot, but it is empty. So Kathy and I saw streets looking a little like a Civil War town. There are some shops and restaurants, but it is no Williamsburg. So the drama of those events is lost on us. We were disappointed.

Tomorrow we head to Baltimore. I have never been to Baltimore.

Four states in a day... Wednesday, September 19, 2012

Today was another driving day, but we did have the distinction of driving through parts of four different states: Ohio, West Virginia, Pennsylvania, and Maryland. We even were in West Virginia two different times! Our route consisted of following I-70, then south on I-79, then east on I-68 until it runs into (and becomes) I-70 again.

For lunch, we continued our mission of eating at the
restaurants listed as the best, according to recent issues of Consumer Reports. In Wheeling, West Virginia, we ate at Cheddar's Casual Café. Since we we have only eaten there today we can't really decide whether the CR rating seems right or not. The most unusual item we tried was the edamame appetizer (that's soybeans!). The pods are served with a ginger soy sauce and a southwest seasoning. One dips the pod in the sauce, then the seasoning. The beans are eaten by pulling the pod through your teeth and discarding the shell. Although it was interesting eating them this way, I still prefer mine already shelled and in a salad or other dish. The other dishes were tasty.

The photos accompanying this post show that the leaves are already beginning to turn colors along the way. Last night's temperature was in the lower 40s! We had to break out the sleeping bag for a comforter since it was so chilly!

We entertained ourselves today with flights of fancy. One such episode was when we were at the West Virginia welcome center. A display included the motto: "A state born from a nation torn." Since we both don't like the Kansas tourism motto, "Kansas, as big as you think," we decided we should copy the idea from West Virginia and use "A state started as a nation parted."

Our campsite tonight is the Hagerstown/Antietam Battlefield KOA in Maryland. The road to the campground would through the tree-lined back roads, along a sizable creek. The sites are on a well-wooded hillside, although the pads are level. Even though the sites are close together, as is usual at most KOAs, the feel is much more like a Forest Service campground.

Tomorrows plans include visiting Antietam Battlefield and Harper's Ferry, definitely. We'll then move east toward Baltimore.