Friday, August 15, 2014. Camping at Point Beach State Forest (Wisconsin)

Day 2 of camping with Kyle started off oddly. While Chris was out walking, Kyle came in the camper and reminded me that we needed to get down to the office since we were on the "transfer" list for another site and the new sites were assigned beginning at 9 AM. It was already after that!

I hurriedly got ready and we headed for the office. When we arrived the campground staff person told us we were a little early, since it was still about twenty minutes until 9 AM! It seems that sometimes cell phones (the clocks/watches of today) in this area read a tower from Michigan and that State is actually on Eastern Daylight Time! It was a good thing that we were early though, because we were told that the people on the transfer list got first dibs if they were there, then others were able to request any leftover campsites. If someone on the transfer list is not there when others come, they lose their spot and have to become a first come/first served customer.

Since we still had time, we were given the available site numbers and Kyle and I went to check them out before the time arrived. At 9 we were the second camp on the transfer list, so we got to pick our new site. Check out time was at 3 PM and then we would move from Site 115 to Site 113.

Kyle and I checked out the beach on the way back to the site. Then Kyle, Chris, and I went down to see the lighthouse in the park and the beach near it. Chris and Kyle then began hiking the section of the Ice Age Trail that runs from the park towards the town of Two Rivers, Wisconsin. I waved them off, returned to the campsite to do the first entry on this blog, then drove to Two Rivers to pick them up.

Kyle has been hiking a number of trails in the U.S. the last few years and figured they'd finish in about an hour and a half. I couldn't find the end of the trail in Two Rivers, so parked in the shade at the City Park where I figured they may come by. And then I waited and waited... I texted them both and received some updates that it might be longer than they expected. As time went on I realized that 3 PM was nearing and we needed to vacate our first campsite by then so that the next campers could move in. After texting them about my plans, I headed back to the campsite right before 3.


I parked Kyle's car at the new site, walked down the road (two sites away), packed up the chairs, wood, etc., unhooked the camper, and drove it to the new site. I walked back and took off the weather cover (whatever the official name is unknow to me!) and walked it to the new site. Once more, trekked back, took out the stakes, and walked the still-up tent back to the site. I just staked it in the first available spot, likewise the camper was parked temporarily, and then returned Two Rivers (about 4 miles) to find the two hikers at the convenience store have some refreshments.

Chris and Kyle seemed to enjoy their hike through both woods and beach areas, even though it ended up being longer than they had planned.

We spent some time reading and resting, then Kyle and I went down to the beach to sit and read. It was cooler than we thought, so we didn't stay long. Some kids had made a really cool trench from the lake (Lake Michigan, by the way) inland about 12 feet to a VERY large hole in the sand. Of course it was filled with water. It reminded me of things my kids would enjoy doing when we were on family vacations.

 Another night of a campfire, reading, and conversing...

Thursday, August 14, 2014. Heading north in Wisconsin

We all took it easy in the morning. We stayed in Kyle's apartment; it was the first time Chris had seen the new one!

After eating some breakfast and getting everything packed, the three of us took a trip over to Savers thrift store. We were looking for a medium weight blanket for the weather we have been encountering. We have one for very cold weather, but not a good one in the camper for chilly weather. Found one. Plus we both forgot to pack jackets for colder weather. We each found some at the store, plus some other goodies. We find lots of really good stuff at thrift stores and this one seems well-managed.

And then it was off on our camping trip! Chris drove the camper and listened to his lectures, while I rode with Kyle so that we could catch up on things and have some mother/daughter bonding. The trip was fun. Our destination was Point Beach State Forest a little south of Green Bay Wisconsin. Since we use electricity for our C-PAPs, but Kyle's used to roughing it while camping, our campsite fit the bill. It was wooded with pretty good separation from other campers. Misquitoes were irritating, but not impossible.

The one problem we encountered was that electric sites were at a premium and our site was only available for one night. We will have to move tomorrow!

Kyle built us a nice fire and we cooked hot dogs that Chris had picked up for supper. And sat around the fire as it turned dark. Yes, Kyle and I had some beer... we did NOT cook marshmallows, sing, or tell ghost stories. But a good time was had by all and we laughed alot.

Wednesday, August 13, 2014. The House on the Rock.... and Kyle!

One of the House on the Rock staff claims Alex Jordan and Frank Lloyd Wright never met. Wikipedia retells stories from two biographies of Alex Jordan Jr. of how Alex Jordan Jr. committed to building House on the Rock near Dodgeville, Wisconsin. Jordan was a devotee of Frank Lloyd Wright. One day Jordan drove to Frank Lloyd Wright's home Talisen, near Green Springs, Wisconsin to show Wright some blueprints. After looking over the blueprints, Wright said he wouldn't hire Jordan to build a cheese crate or a chicken coop. On the way home, Jordan pointed to a tower of rocks and said he would build a pagoda on top of those rocks. And he did. Then he spent the rest of his life collecting stuff and erecting buildings to house them. The end result is the most visited tourist attraction in Wisconsin.

Wright's influence on Jordan's construction is unmistakable. Wright had a building technique called compress and release. Front entrances had low ceilings about 6 feet above the ground. This seem oppressive, but about 15 feet inside the ceiling jumps up to 12 to 20 feet. Compress. Release. Jordan's house contains extreme compression, since my head sometimes bumped the ceiling, with little release. And dark, oh my gosh.

Wright played with windows. In one house Wright built a rock garden with bowling ball size boulders.  The bottom of a glass wall is cut to fit the exact shape of the boulders separating the garden half inside and half outside the house. Cool idea. A more common Wright technique is to have to large panes of glass meet at the corners of a room without a frame between them. The glass is beveled to fit tightly together at the corners. The glass may h,ave fit together tightly when first installed. Decades later, the glass is now separated by at least a quarter of an inch. And, as I recall, there is no cawking filling the cracks. And these are the windows in Talisen in the middle of Wisconsin. Fortunately, Wright was also fond of huge roof overhangs which prevents water from blowing in.

Unfortunately, Jordan did not adopt Wright's use of windows. Several walls have some rows of windows about chest high or facing down toward the ground. They add little light. Most lighting comes from a few recessed bulbs or indirect lighting from somewhere.

Like Wright, Jordan uses wood and stone for some walls and ceiling. Unlike Wright, most of Jordan's walls and ceiling are darkened by a thick, deep red plush carpet, the type I have seen in sleezy, dark discos. This carpeting even covers the kitchen. Reading a recipe would be impossible. And where are the cabinets to store cooking equipment and cans of food? Several rooms have bookshelves reaching to the ceiling some 15 feet overhead. Reading the spines and reaching the overhead shelves are impossible. I have to agree with Wright's assessment of Jordan's architecture.

Then there are the collections which go on and on and on. Several of the collections are interesting for those who like that "stuff". The best collections are the doll houses, the guns, butterflies, ships, and crown jewelry. With the exception of the ships and the crowns, few items are marked and identified, so people have to bring their own knowledge. The mechanical instruments are the most entertaining collection. There are several orchestras and bands with and without mannequins play a variety of tunes. I think I prefer instruments playing by themselves. The music is not played perfectly, but it is amusing.

After leaving the house, we drove to Madison to see daughter Kyle. We ate at a sidewalk cafe. Kyle told us about her Alaskan trip.   

Tuesday, August 12, 2014. Herbert Hoover's day!

Customer who appreciates sarcasm any time of the day.

From the Little Bear Campground, we drove straight to West Branch, Iowa.

We first visited Reid's Beans, a hip coffee shop.


Herbert Hoover's boyhood home until 10 years of after leaving the Presidency, Herbert Hoover returned to West Branch and began planning his Presidential Library. The portion of the town he lived as a boy was purchased and his boyhood 2-room home was remodeled and replicas of his father's blacksmith shop and his mother's schoolroom were rebuilt. The museum library tells the story of his life. And a remarkable life it is. He truly was a great man.

After becoming the highest paid professional man in the world, he retired from work and spent the rest of his life as a "public servant". He used his extraordinary managerial skills mobilizing volunteer relief efforts which literally saved from starvation millions of men, women, and especially children in Belgium and Russia during World War I, the Mississippi Flood of 1927, etc. He became known as "The Great Humanitarian".


Recognition of these managerial skills eventually won him the White House in a landslide. His Presidency was immediately challenged by the Great Depression. His preference for limited government and volunteer mobilization failed him this time. After losing to FDR and 12 years suffering neglect during the recovery from the Great Depression, he devoted his life to public service, writing books, giving speeches, etc.

After leaving Hoover's memorial, Kathy purchased some heritage tomatoes from a local farmer's market. We then moved on toward Kyle's. 

Monday, August 11, 2014. The verdict...

Good news...

Chris got up earlier, as usual, and walked down to the mechanic's shop to find out the diagnosis and prognosis on the car's problem. It started right up for them! The most logical answer seems to be that the van suffered from vapor lock.

So we both had a small breakfast at the motel and we actually were back on the road!

We decided that since we had missed our supper in Omaha, we'd try to make it there for lunch. How exciting, our taste buds were kicking into high gear for the Ethiopian food at Lalibela Ethiopian Restaurant. But when we got to Omaha and pulled up, they are closed on Mondays!

We were still sitting in the parking lot, staring at the sign with the hours, when one of the owners came up and asked us if we needed help. We told him how disappointed we were, but he didn't open just for us! Odd.

We may try it again on the way back.

So, we continued on across Iowa and decided we'd find a campground near the Herbert Hoover Presidential Museum. So we found Little Bear Campground near West Liberty, Iowa.

Sunday, August 10, 2014. Off we go?

Vacation 2014 started with a bang... or maybe it's better described as a whimper.

After packing on Saturday, we lollygagged around and left home around eleven-something. All was going well; two weeks of traveling wherever we wanted in our camper van. Of course it's not "officially"  vacation until we get out of Kansas, because we are so familiar with our Kansas roads.

So, we grabbed some lunch in Abilene and as we were driving along we got this great idea. Instead of heading towards Iowa and Wisconsin through Kansas City for our first leg (as usual), "let's go through Omaha and eat at that great Ethiopian restaurant we like!"

Our route, therefore, changed and we headed for Nebraska through Marysville, etc.

And that's were the bottom fell out; but not literally, thank goodness.

We were just a few miles into Nebraska, coming up on a small town called Wymore. We had already decided we would buy gas there or the next larger town, Beatrice. So, there we were, merrily driving along and suddenly we couldn't go any further. Oh, the van was running, it just wouldn't go anywhere when you pressed on the gas!

We pulled over onto the grass (no real shoulder there). We debated the cause: no gas? The engine was still running. So finally the closest past problem we could come up with was, maybe, the fuel pump. (Yes, all you mechanics may have figured out the validity of that one already...)

After a couple of rather long and frustrating calls to our roadside service number, we decided to handle it ourselves. Chris couldn't get phone service, but I had been able to if I stayed in one spot a number of feet behind the vehicle. Chris, however

The cute couple point to their destination, Michigan.

, could reach 911 while I was wrapping up my other call. The County Sheriff's office quickly provided him with three names of towing companies. We called the first and he said he'd head down the twenty-plus miles to get us (from Beatrice).

When he arrived and loaded up the camper, he had already contacted a mechanic willing to look at the car the next day (yes, this was Sunday). After we unloaded the van, we checked in to a nearby motel for the evening and ate some supper. The motel didn't match up to the motels we encounter around our Central Kansas Library System 17 counties, but it was a bed, etc. for the night. We enjoyed watching two aviation movies, Tuskegee Airmen (1995) and Flyboys (2006); one for each of the World Wars, both based on true stories.

And, tomorrow we will discover how many days it will take to fix the van and decide what to do about vacation. Dum, dum, dum, dummmmmm

Saturday, September 6, 2013. A Date with Kyle

Today is the day we meet our daughter, Kyle, in Portland!

Our morning was spend merely driving towards Portland's airport. We arrived ahead of Kyle's scheduled 2PM arrival, so we spent the time visiting an IKEA store near the airport. This was the first time either of us had been able to actually visit an IKEA, although we were familiar with what we might discover.

We had fun wandering around the showrooms. Of course, we found several great ideas that we would like to use both during our remodeling and even some that might be applicable at work and for our libraries. It was especially interesting to see the complete rooms that were displayed, as well as the entire small apartments/houses. The displays showed how maximum space could be used in a stylish way. Chris was especially impressed that nearly every room display included books. He even noticed that they were Scandinavian language titles, in keeping with IKEA's heritage.

Since it was nearly time to go to the airport we didn't really get to do much more than walk through the Marketplace floor on the way to the exit. I would really like to visit  again to see the organizational ideas, etc. We picked up a catalog on the way out!

I met Kyle at the Frontier baggage claim after a short wait. Her plane was taxiing in while we approach the terminal. We first decided to head for Washington Park and visit the Japanese Garden there. This public urban park covers over 410 acres, including a zoo, walking trails, a rose garden and much more. Although parking was a problem, with vehicles lining all the roads, we considered ourselves lucky to get there before paid parking is initiated later this fall! 

The Japanese Gardens are tranquil and lush. Kyle took many pictures, including many of the statues that are partially covered with moss. We later also went through much of the Rose Garden and enjoyed the variety of roses, all in differing colors and with different odors.

We the headed downtown to introduce Kyle to Powell's City of Books. This is the main store for Powell's, one of the larger online bookstores also. There are at least 68,000 square feet packed with books, both new and used. They have thousands visit the main store each day; probably more than live in most of the towns we visit in our library system! Kyle found some titles to take camping next week and agreed that it would be easy to spend days browsing in the multi-leveled store and reading in the Powell's on-site coffee shop. Of course, some books found there way to our camper, too!

After walking around downtown for a bit, we decided to find the home of Kyle's guides for her trip. She planned to stay at there house that night. After locating the address (they were out for the evening), we looked for a restaurant nearby to eat a late supper.

We discovered The Baowry in St. Johns. It appears this Vietnamese/Korean fusion restaurant began as a food cart and then moved fixed up and moved in to this former crackhouse a year ago!! It appears we ate there one day after the 1st anniversary. Everyone had a great time eating there. We also were able to eat out in the yard under the stars.

We then decided to find a place for Chris and I to camp for the night. By the time we found one within a reasonably short distance (Jantzen Beach RV Park), it was getting late, so Kyle texted her. hosts and told them she would just stay with us for the night and meet them the next day. Walking to the restrooms, etc., with Kyle reminded me of all the years that my kids (Ben, Jason, Kyle, Megan) and I went camping for vacations from the time they were around one-year-old until they were college-age.

We were lucky to get a spot that late at night. The campground had two spots available posted on the door. Luckily, one of those would only take a shorter rig, so our RoadTrek was ideal!

Friday, September 5, 2013. Cheese, Glorious Cheese!

We spent the morning at the Tillamook Cheese Factory and Store. In the late 1800s, pioneer farmers showed up in this coastal county called Tillamook. They discovered that their usual agricultural crops did not thrive and the growing season was shorter than that to which they were accustomed; the best crop here was grass. They had lots of rain, 90” a year on the coast and up to 150” a year in the mountains. And they had milk cows. They had trouble shipping milk over rough roads, so they converted it to cheese. Ten of the farmers gathered together to create a cooperative cheese factory. This cooperative eventually had a boat built called the Morning Star to ship their cheese up to Seattle and to Portland. Tillamook is now the 44th largest cheese producer in North America. They have a large store selling cheese and a huge variety of related products.

We were able to watch some of the assembly line processes that included cutting, weighing, and packaging the cheese blocks both for aging and distribution. We imagined our family quality control authority, Polly, would have done a great job there (well, after she became accustomed to the differences between airplane components and cheese!)

Of course, cheese sampling was a hit with both of us, as usual. And we dropped a sizable amount on purchasing various goodies in the store. The Tillamook folks know a lot about marketing because we then had to stop at the on-site ice cream section to get a couple of scoops each. Chris was especially pleased to find a wide variety of no sugar added varieties, including a black cherry that he enjoyed! Thanks for thinking about the non-sugar crowd, Tillamook!

We continued down the coast and stopped two times. First we stopped at a Walgreens to refill a prescription for Kathy. That took 2 1/2 hours, at least! For part of that time we went to a nearby Goodwill store and browsed. OK, we also bought a few things... We drove a bit further and stopped to do laudry. Those two stops used up enough time that we didn't have time to visit the Oregon Coast Aquarium as planned, so we finished the evening at Lincoln City in the KOA near Devil's Lake.

Thursday, September 5, 2013. Ike Kinswa State Park, WA, to Nehalem Bay State Park, OR

Thursday, we visited Fort Clatsop National Memorial, near Astoria, Oregon. The Lewis and Clark Corps of Discovery spent three months in this fort preparing for their return journey, during the winter of 1805/06. During their three-month stay, it rained all but twelve days. The clothing rotted. Clark spent a lot of time making the maps of the journey west. Kathy and I took a short walk to the reconstructed fort. Lewis and Clark forts are small, maybe 200 feet by 200 feet, large enough for about six rooms, total, on either side of an open area in the middle. The walls are 10 feet high. Three rooms on the left side of the open area were for the men. The rooms on the right are for officers, Lewis and Clark, and another room for Sacagawea, her less useful husband, Toussaint Charbonneau, and their baby son, Jean Baptiste, and York, Clark's slave. According to what I have read, York participated as a full member of the group, doing regular work of hunting and exploring and voting on the location of winter quarters. However, unlike other members of the group, he was never paid for his services, though he may have won his freedom. Sacagawea's official job is listed as a guide. However, she was more useful as a translator of the Shoshoni language. And, I have read that being a woman signified the Corps' peaceful intent to the Indians met along the way. Indian war parties didn't carry women. After the journey, Sacagawea's son received a white man's education. When he was 18, he lived in Kansas City; a German prince befriended him and took him to Germany for awhile. Jean Baptiste eventually returned and lived a restless, but respectable, life out West. He died of pneumonia on his way to the Montana gold rush and is buried in Danner, Oregon, an unincorporated community in Malheur County.

As we worked our way down the Oregon coast, we stopped at Cannon Beach. We walked out on the beach to view Haystack Rock. This 235-foot tall rock rising from the ocean is very distinctive. The rock and surrounding area has also been granted Marine Garden status by the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife in 1990. Collecting plants or animals is strictly prohibited. Climbing above the mean high tide level (barnacle line) disturbs nesting birds and is not allowed. 

The rain storm that had been threatening moved in while we were on the beach, so we returned to the camper in a rather bedraggled  state. The temperature also was falling. Ben tells us that is has been "hot" back home, but it's been hard to imagine that on this vacation. Most days have been very pleasant, Kathy's even work jeans a few times rather than shorts. Nights have been mostly in the 50-60s degree range, so it will be odd to return to a Kansas summer.

We found another nice state park campground at Nehalem Bay State Park. The park is right on the beach, although separated by some sand dunes. We hiked through to the ocean in the waning daylight and in the sprinkling rain.

Wednesday, September 4, Glaciers!

In the morning we drove to Mt. Rainier, which is covered with 26 glaciers. We drove two sides of Mt. Rainier National Park. Typical winding, mountainous roads with forest on each side. We eventually reached Paradise visitor center and village. Inside the visitor center is a shop and displays about the tectonic origin of the northwest volcanoes and the wildlife surviving the harsh winters. The glaciers are easy to see from there with the eye and binoculars mounted on stands. From here numerous trails leading up to the glaciers, 200 or more feet above. Since it was afternoon, many people were returning to cars, removing packs and putting them into car trunks. Serious hikers are most easily identified because they carry walking sticks that look like ski-poles.

We knew Kyle would be at Mt. Rainier in a few days on a volunteer trip to help with re-vegetating (is that a word?) some of the area. So we, playfully, created a list of all the things she could do when she arrived with the volunteer team. I'm sure they will do other, more appropriate projects and we're proud of her service to our environmentl!

From Mt. Rainier we headed further south toward Oregon. We have made "a date" to meet Kyle there, but we still have some time to enjoy other scenery and places.

Tonight we stayed at Ike Kinswa State Park in Washington. It's on a lake. We really liked the park; spacing of the sites is very generous and there weren't many others there anyway. It is so nice when we find state parks or forest service parks, etc. that have electricity for our C-PAPs. We both really enjoy the more rustic settings, even when it's only for a night.

Seattle, Once More.

On Tuesday, we toured the Seattle Public Library and the EMP Museum at Seattle Center, especially the science fiction, horror and fantasy exhibits. The Seattle Public Library is a newer building. Its construction was controversial because the collection was greatly reduced in size. Book-lovers were outraged. And the collection does seem small for a library in a town the size of Seattle. Computers and computer stations are everywhere. Moving from floor to floor is a mixture of stairs, escalators which skip floors, and elevators which don't. The fourth floor is famous for being all red: walls, floors, ceiling. This whole floor has six meeting rooms and bathrooms. When we were there only the bathrooms were used. No meetings were taking place as far as we could tell. Kathy and I found the layout confusing. The walls, floors and furniture were hard surfaces, a few brightly colored. The overall effect was not warm, cozy or inviting. I was reminded of the George Pompedieu Centre in Paris without the buskers out front entertaining the crowd. The EMP is near the Space Needle. From their website: “EMP is a leading-edge, nonprofit museum, dedicated to the ideas and risk-taking that fuel contemporary popular culture. With its roots in rock 'n' roll, EMP serves as a gateway museum, reaching multigenerational audiences through our collections, exhibitions, and educational programs, using interactive technologies to engage and empower our visitors. At EMP, artists, audiences and ideas converge, bringing understanding, interpretation, and scholarship to the popular culture of our time.” We camped overnight in Kent, Washington. During the evening, we purchased tasty chocolate-vanilla ice cream at a poorly attended ice cream social at the campground. Actually, I went back for seconds (kdr). A great, nourishing supper! Later we the camp had an outdoor showing of Dwayne Johnson's movie, Gridiron Gang. During the credits, the movie showed clips of the real life football coach saying the very phrases Dwayne Johnson's character used in the movie. “On the football field we will do things my way. You are losers. Doing things your way got you here [in prison]. Doing things my way will make you winners.” Stuff like that. Once again, we were pretty much the only ones that watched the whole movie.

Seattle, Day One

Kathy and I spent Monday and Tuesday in Seattle. On Monday, we first parked near the Space Needle, $40 for the day. First, we toured the Chihuly Garden and Glass exhibit recommended by Shannon and Polly. Chihuly is known for fanciful, organic shapes. This exhibit was a lifelong retrospective of his work from the 1960s to the present. Though I have seen his chandeliers before I was not aware of the variety of his work. It is very impressive, fun and amazing. A delightful exhibition. His use of bright colors was especially stunning (kdr). Next we went up the Space Needle and viewed Seattle. We had a very expensive, gourmet lunch in the revolving restaurant at the top of the Needle, but the meal was quite good. In the afternoon, we rode the Emerald City trolley, green line, to Pioneer Square in the oldest part of Seattle. We toured Seattle Underground. Unlike, the underground of Ellinwood, Kansas, the story of the Seattle Underground is about the early history of the building of Seattle. It is an amazing story. Seattle was originally built on the tidal flats at the bottom of a cliff This is late 1800s. City sewage control, e.g., flush toilets were becoming popular. When first installed the city sewage, including the toilets, flushed out to sea, except at high tide when everything flushed backwards. In 1889, Seattle's wooden city center burned to the ground. The city proposed a plan to build hills from the cliffs to the ocean shore. Since this would take several years, the town's people decided to build brick buildings on the tidal flats anyway. And then the city decided to build streets that were hills from the cliffs to the ocean shore. This created, as the guide said, a waffle looking city. The buildings and sidewalks were the indentions. The streets were the high parts surrounding the indentions. Shoppers would walk along the sidewalks along the ground. When they reach the end of the block, they climbed ladders up to the street, crossed the street, then climb back down the ladder to the sidewalk. Later, sidewalks were built on street level. At the street level, the fronts of stores were the second and third stories. So there were stores at the street level and stores below the stores below the streets in the underground. Since, it rains almost every afternoon in the summer, shopping the underground was favored. Eventually, though, the lower level had to be condemned when the rats became so numerous several cases of bubonic plague were reported. The second history we learned about is how the money for licensing prostitution funded the development of Seattle: schools, sidewalks, etc. When the most successful madame of Seattle died, she left $250,000 to Seattle schools. We were shown a picture of this madame, The picture included five of her top earners. Four of them were dressed in white. These were women. The one dressed in black was a guy in drag. His name was Mike. In the picture, the Mike does look like a guy. We were told that dressing in black was “code” all over the West for a cross-dressing guy prostitute.

North Fork, Idaho to Lolo, Montana to Kamiah, Idaho

Today was mostly driving. We had two adventures today.

We visited the Darby, Montana bookstore and then library. The bookstore sells books weeded from and donated to the Darby Community Library. We had a great time talking with the ex-board member volunteer clerk running the store. Afterward we visited the library. Since Darby is on the Bitterroot River, fly fishing is big business. The library offers a fly tying station with instructions, tools and materials needed to tie flies.

After Darby, we drove north to Lolo, Montana and turned west along highway 12. Highway 12 is an All American Byway because is offers scenery and history. Highway 12's history is the Lewis and Clark Trail during 1805 and the Nez Perce flight from federal troops in 1877 up the Clearwater River Canyon, i.e., Highway 12.

We camped in Kamiah, Idaho.

Kamaish, Idaho to almost Seattle

We left the campsite and drove across the highway to the Nez Perce site called Heart of the Monster. Heart of the Monster is the Nez Perce creation story. Coyote kills a monster by cutting out its heart. Coyote then cuts off pieces of the monster and flings the pieces around the country. Each piece becomes a different tribe of Indians.  Drops of monster blood are the Nez Perce themselves. Heart of the Monster is one of 38 national park sites scattered across four states dedicated to the Nez Perce. The main site is in Spalding, Idaho. At that site we viewed a film and small museum about the Nez Perce. Nez Perce is French for pierced nose. Their own name for themselves is Nee-Me-Poo.

In 1877, the U.S. Army chased the Nez Perce from their homeland in northeast Oregon, up the Clearwater River valley, i.e., Highway 12 through Idaho, across Yellowstone Park and up to northern Montana. Nez Perce warriors bested U.S. troops in 20 battles and skirmishes, but these were Pyrrhic victories. At about 50 miles from the Canadian border, the Nez Perce had to surrender. Landscape of History video describes this event. Most of the 38 national park sites also preserve this event.

In the traditional/mythic history of this event Chief Joseph is given credit as the military genius behind the Nez Perce's military success. A short history (1964) I just read claims this is a myth. Chief Joseph was a respected chief, but he was not a war chief. Other warriors are responsible for the Indian victories.

Afterward we drove west into Washington state, driving north toward Spokane, but turning west through the rolling wheat and mint fields of central Washington and across the Columbia River basin east of Seattle. Washington is the No. 1 producer of mint oil in the United States. We could smell the mint as we drove past those fields.

Along the way we stopped at a large fruit stand. We bought fresh peaches, cherries and blueberries. Three weird characters were hanging around the fruit stand.

To bee or not to bee a fruit lover.

Smile, when you say you don't like fruit.

There's a fruit fly on your head. Let me shoo it away.

Can you name this actress from the show?

About dusk we stopped at Roslyn, Washington where Northern Exposure was filmed from 1990 to 1995. We only recognized three things from the show: this mural for the Roslyn Cafe, the Brick bar, and the KBHR radio station. In the show, the mural had an apostrophe and "s" added to the end of Roslyn to make the cafe dedicated to one of the fictitious founders of fictitious Cicely, Alaska.

We are now camped at a RV park associated with a golf course about 50 miles west of Seattle.

Hot Stuff: Nuclear Reactors to Volcanoes

EBR-i? No, EBR-One.

Friday morning began with breakfast back at Pickle's Place. Kathy ate an omelet. Chris a buffalo burger.

We then headed back a few miles to visit Experimental Breeder Reactor No. 1 (EBR-I) Atomic Museum. The museum is housed in the original nuclear energy station on the site and it is much smaller than those we are accustomed to, like Wolf Creek Power Station near Burlington, Kansas. It is also listed on the National Historic Register. The guide gave us a tour explaining how nuclear reactors and breeder reactors work and the various areas in the station that dealt with each step in the process. She emphasized the safety features, even in the early 1950s, and I came away with a much better attitude about nuclear energy and it's role in our future (--Kathy). It reminded me of the early Robert Heinlein novels of the '40s and '50s that I have enjoyed where nuclear energy is taken for granted and used in all aspects of life.



This whole area of Idaho is centered around nuclear energy, it seems. The museum is on land owned by the Idaho National Laboratory, once known as the Atomic Energy Commission’s Argonne National Laboratory.

Chris prevents a nuclear catastrophe by manipulating wooden blocks.

EBR-1 was followed by EBR-2. Museum displays claim the three major nuclear accidents at Three-mile Island, Chernobyl, and Fukushima-Daiichi could not have happened with the EBR-2 design.  During its life, EBR-2 ran tests demonstrating that as the nuclear core heats up the fuel spreads out to slow the reaction without the insertion of "control rods" or additional coolant to prevent  melting the reactor.
  
Idaho should be called the "Smile State" because the Snake River Plain is shaped like a large smile across the bottom half of the state. In the eastern half of the smile, running perpendicular to the smile, is the Great Rift of Idaho. Out of this rift came the 60 lava flows that now make up the Craters of the Moon National Monument and Preserve.

In the early 1900s a geologist estimated the lava to be 150 years old. However, tree ring dating of a large gnarled tree showed the tree to be 1,300 years old. But how long had the lava been there when the tree started growing? Further study showed the lava had flowed from the Great Rift around 2,000 years ago.And this is the most recent of the eight periods of volcanic activity in this area.

So now the story is that lava started flowing up through the rift about 15,000 years ago and has done so about 8 times. The longest flow is 30 miles long. Two kinds of lava can be seen. Lava types have Hawaiian names. "Pahoehoe" looks like smooth, billowy and ropy. "Aa" is rough and jagged. These flows created a number of cool features such as lava caves and 25 cinder and splatter cones. 

Horizontal tree mold

When the lava covered trees and cooled, the wood burned out and decayed leaving tree molds. Vertical tree molds are created when trees remain standing and look like perfect holes drilled in the lava. When trees fall over, horizontal molds show the tree bark burned into squares. In the picture on the right, the flat curved surface is the mold of tree bark. The impression in the lava is easier to see in reality than in this picture.

Another story is how the vegetation is recovering the land, turning lava into soil. More details.

We left the lava flows at about 6:30 pm. Drove back to Arco and then turned north up the Big Lost River valley, passed the Mackay dammed lake, over a pass to the Salmon River. The valley was filled with smoke from Idaho wildfires. The pass was so smokey that the surrounding could be barely seen.

On the Salmon River we stopped in Challis for dinner. It was dark when we drove on. The lights of the van are weak. I drove from Challis to North Fork at about 45 miles an hour, the speed limit in Yellowstone. At one point, a young deer ran out. I swerved. The deer swerved. But there was still a loud bang. The solid front bumper of the camper is unharmed. I did not stop to check the damage to the deer, but I fear the worst.

This night was spent in the highly-rated Wagonhammer KOA park in North Fork, Idaho. We arrived late. Since there is little light pollution, the stars were bright. The Milky Way was easy to see. Our spot was right on the Salmon River.

Experimental Breeder Reactor No. 1 (EBR-I) Atomic Museum - See more at: http://www.inl.gov/ebr/#sthash.KSFiUnGE.dpuf

Experimental Breeder Reactor No. 1 (EBR-I) Atomic Museum - See more at: http://www.inl.gov/ebr/#sthash.KSFiUnGE.dpuf

Experimental Breeder Reactor No. 1 (EBR-I) Atomic Museum - See more at: http://www.inl.gov/ebr/#sthash.KSFiUnGE.dpuf

Experimental Breeder Reactor No. 1 (EBR-I) Atomic Museum - See more at: http://www.inl.gov/ebr/#sthash.KSFiUnGE.dpuf

Experimental Breeder Reactor No. 1 (EBR-I) Atomic Museum - See more at: http://www.inl.gov/ebr/#sthash.KSFiUnGE.dpuf

Experimental Breeder Reactor No. 1 (EBR-I) Atomic Museum - See more at: http://www.inl.gov/ebr/#sthash.KSFiUnGE.dpuf

Experimental Breeder Reactor No. 1 (EBR-I) Atomic Museum - See more at: http://www.inl.gov/ebr/#sthash.KSFiUnGE.dpuf

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.