Shiloh National Military Park

Posted on July 7, 2022 by admin

June, 2022

In the Western half of Tennessee we stayed at a Thousand Trails campground near the small town of Saulsbury. Nearly 40 miles away is the national historical battlefield of Shiloh, a civil war battleground. Having never visited a national battleground before, I wasn’t sure what to expect.

Shiloh National Military Park

We started out at the Visitor’s Center where we watched an award winning documentary about the battle of Shiloh that took place on April 6-7,1862. The battle was named after a small church in the vicinity. Ironically, the name Shiloh means “place of peace” or “heavenly peace”. It is much more fitting today as the beautiful grounds are quiet and solemn.

The Union Troops came south on steamboats to Pittsburg Landing on the Tennessee River. The goal was to take the Confederate’s stronghold at Corinth, Mississippi, (a few miles to the south) in order to cut the South’s supply lines. Corinth, Mississippi, was a crossroads where railway lines from the east and west met ones from the north and south. We visited Corinth and saw where these railroads crossed.

General Grant of the Union Army was waiting for Buell’s Army of the Ohio to join him. Little did Grant realize that the Confederates who he thought were in Corinth, had moved near Shiloh to launch a surprise attack.

The Confederate Army under General Johnston originally had planned to attack two days earlier. Due to a heavy rain storm that turned the roads to mud, it took Johnston three days to move his army just 23 miles. They were also short of rations due to the delay.

In the meantime, General Grant was trying to avoid a battle until his reinforcements arrived, but early on April 6th, a Union reconnaissance patrol came face to face with the Confederates and the battle began.

The battle raged for two days with thousands of casualties. At first, the battle went in favor of the Confederates, but after the second day, the Confederates were outnumbered and out of supplies. They retreated to Corinth, where the war continued.

The pathway where the battle began when Union soldiers stumbled into Confederate pickets.

Many beautiful monuments have been erected to honor the armies of both sides. We took a twelve mile self-guided tour on the roads throughout the park. There were many monuments and memorial sites as well as signs with explanations of the battle sites.

Monument to Indiana Infantry, 17th Regiment

The roads through the battlefield were lined with beautiful trees and park-like vistas.

The Confederates amassed more than 50 cannons, the largest concentration of field guns yet witnessed along a half mile frontage, to pound a dense oak thicket in the middle of the battlefield that the Union Army still held.This kept them pinned down while the Confederates surrounded them forcing the Union soldiers to surrender.

This map shows the troop placements and time of day when the Confederates surrounded part of the Union Army. Some were able to escape, but many were captured.

Much of the battle of Shiloh took place on farmland of Joseph Duncan.

The Sixth Mississippi lost over 300 men in less than an hour.

No part of this battlefield was left untouched by the horror of this battle. Mass burial graves were necessary to inter the 3,482 dead. More than 16,000 were wounded and 3,844 were captured or missing. This was the bloodiest battle of the Civil War thus far, and the war was only a year along.

The Civil War was a costly war in terms of humankind. National Military Parks like this help us to appreciate the history of our country and the freedoms we have because of those who went before and paid the price.

It is sobering to think of the cost of freedom. Young men in the prime of their lives were cut off from living so that we can enjoy freedom to live as we do today. We can honor them by supporting parks like this.

Five Museums

Posted on June 10, 2022 by admin

One way to get to know the history of an area is to visit local museums. Some museums are carefully curated and others seem to be a hodge-podge collection. Each museum, however, reveals something of our past or has something for us to learn.

This is a small taste of what we experienced at five museums we visited from Texas to Ohio.

1. Dr. Pepper Museum, Waco, Texas

Dr. Pepper has always been my favorite soft drink. I hardly ever drink soft drinks anymore because of the caffeine and sugar, but a chance to see where Dr. Pepper was founded sounded fun.

We learned that Waco was the perfect place for a bottling company. That’s because of the Trinity Aquifer and artesian water from which Waco earned the nickname, “Geyser City”. We learned the first bottled soft drink was made by Jacob Schweppe and bottled in ceramic bottles.

There are several stories as to how Dr. Pepper got it’s name, so I won’t try to explain all of them. A Waco pharmacist named Charles Alderton, experimented with soft drink recipes until he came up with the popular drink then known as the “Waco”. Not being interested in starting a business, Alderton never became rich from his recipe. Instead he allowed the drug store owner where he worked and the owner of a ginger ale company to take over the business of producing it.

It seems the real genius was in marketing the new drink. We saw many examples of ad campaigns and Dr. Pepper paraphernalia. Remember the 10, 2 and 4 ads? If I drank Dr. Pepper at 10 a.m., 2 p.m. and 4 p.m., I would be awake for a week!

My favorite part of the Dr. Pepper Museum was looking down the well. The well had been covered over for many decades. When it was discovered, it was found to be filled with all kinds of debris, including many vintage bottles. Archeology students from Baylor University spent many hours excavating and preserving the items found in the well. Many of them are now displayed inside the museum. As you can see, the bricks lining the walls are very well preserved.

I remember riding my bike to a Circle K store and getting a soda out of a cooler like the one below . I inserted my money and slid the bottle to the opening where I could lift it out. (See instructions on lid) Sometimes these coolers kept drinks so cold, the soda would turn to ice when you popped off the bottle cap.

2. Roadside America Museum

Every small town in Texas is proud of their history. Hillsboro, Texas, is no exception. We visited the Roadside America Museum. This museum is a collection of Americana memorabilia. Tours are by appointment, but we arrived just when another couple was being ushered into the museum by the tour guide.

I have to say, this museum was overwhelming. There were so many items crammed into such a small space, that my eyes hurt. This museum owner is a collector bordering on hoarding. But I think he is very clever to turn his collector’s habit into a museum.

Lots of vintage stuff at Roadside America Museum

I remember going out to eat at Bob’s Big Boy in Scottsdale, Arizona. My sister’s first job was working there as a waitress. A Big Boy icon like the one below was outside every Bob’s Big Boy restaurant.

There were also a lot of old vehicles in this museum that had been restored. My favorite was this peach car with the peach interior.

3. Texas Through Time Fossil Museum

In the same little town of Hillsboro, Texas, was the Texas Through Time Museum. I was interested in the fossil collection that is housed there. Though the museum has fossils from around the world, their main goal is to educate and stimulate appreciation for Texas’ unique fossil record. We got there near closing time, so I only had time to snap a few pictures.

Fossilized skelton of Seymouria, an extinct reptile

4. National Museum of the United States Air Force

While we were in Ohio close to Dayton, Ray, being an Air Force vet, wanted to visit this impressive museum.

The National Museum of the United States Air Force is the official museum of the United States Air Force. It is located at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, 6 miles northeast of Dayton, Ohio. This is the world’s largest military aviation museum and also the oldest. It houses and displays more than 360 aircraft and missiles. It is housed in five massive airplane hangers. We only had enough time to see one during our visit.

The museum is more than airplanes. We saw tastefully done dioramas with realistic looking figures in authentic uniforms. There are so many displays that it would take days to read all of them.

I enjoyed the movie about the WW II Memphis Belle. It was one of the first B-17 bombers to complete 25 combat missions, after which the aircrew returned with the bomber to the United States to sell war bonds. Restoration of it began in 2005. As of 2018, it now resides in this museum.

5. Corvette Museum, Bowling Green, Kentucky

One of my all-time favorite cars is the Corvette. I think they are some of the most aesthetically beautiful cars that have been made. We were only a short drive to Bowling Green, Kentucky, where the Corvette Museum is located, so we packed a lunch and went to see it.

When World War 2 soldiers came back from the war, they wanted sports cars like this European roadster. They felt the American made cars were boxy and dull. The first Corvette was produced in 1953 to fill that demand. Since then there have been eight generations of Corvettes produced.

1953 Corvette, first year of Corvette production

Because Corvettes had such high performance engines, they were desirable for racing. Here is one used by Paul Reinhart painted in his special colors.

There was just something about seeing so many Corvettes in one place at one time!

In 2014, a 40 foot sinkhole opened up in the skydome of the Corvette Museum in the early morning hours. Eight Corvettes were swallowed. You can watch the security camera footage at this link: https://www.corvettemuseum.org/explore/exhibits/corvette-cave-in-exhibit/. (Click on link and scroll down.) Two cars were able to be restored back to original condition while the others remain displayed as found.

Display showing sinkhole and where the cars were located

Corvette damaged in the sink hole collapse

We enjoyed our time in each of these museums. We learned much more than I am able to share here. We’re never to old to learn something new! I hope you enjoyed our short mini-tours.

Mammoth Cave National Park

Posted on June 1, 2022 by admin

May 2022

Kentucky has a lot of caves–5,000 as of 2018. It ranks fourth in the USA in number of documented caves. The reason for this is that about a quarter of the state is has limestone under the surface which has the right conditions for cave formation.

Our Thousand Trails Campground named Diamond Caverns lies within the Mammoth Cave National Park boundaries so we made a reservation to go on a tour of the cave. There are many tours available, but we opted for the easiest one with only 12 required stair steps, and lasting only an hour and 15 minutes. Some of the tours lasted for 2 or more hours, were 2 or more miles in length and had 400+ stair steps.

While we waited for our bus ride to the cave tour, we wandered around the Visitor Center. I saw this 3-D map of a portion of the cave. It illustrates the complexity of Mammoth Cave. Mammoth Cave is the world’s longest known cave system.

Thirty minutes before our tour, we made our way to the bus stop. Our group members sat on concrete benches under a covered waiting area. They were mostly older people and families with young children.

Our bus was a converted school bus painted green. It took me back to elementary school days when we rode buses on our field trips. Now I am a grandma going on my own field trip! The day was cool and cloudy, so none of the windows were open. I was glad for that.

We boarded the bus after showing our tickets. The bus ride took us through bright green woods and forests of deciduous trees until we arrived 10 to 15 minutes later at the door to the cave which looked like a utility building in the side of a hill.

I was disappointed that our cave tour started as a small narrow passageway. When I think of “mammoth”, I think of a huge cavernous opening with high ceilings. Apparently, there are such places in Mammoth Cave, but that would have been a more strenuous tour.

The photo is a little blurry, but you can see two prominent stalagmites growing up from the floor. They are stalagmites because they “might” reach the ceiling. Stalagmites are formed when water drips on the floor and the minerals in the water build up into a formation like this.

These stalactites look like a bunch of carrots hanging down. They are stalactites because they have to hold on “tight” to the ceiling. Stalactites are formed when water-dissolved minerals drip from the roof of a cave. When exposed to air, the minerals solidify and form stalactites.

These sheet-like formations are called flowstones.

We finally came to the Frozen Niagra formation for which the tour was named. I think it looked more like a melting ice cream cone.

There were 98 optional stair steps that went down to where we could get a better view of the Frozen Niagra formation. The 98 optional stairs then became 98 mandatory stairs in order to get back out, as our tour guide informed us. We were game to venture down them, as were most of the others in our tour.

On our way back to the door, our tour guide told us about the creatures that live in the cave. There was a pack rat that had made a stash of litter he found and brought into the cave. There was a spider in a web that was far enough away that I didn’t freak out. (I dislike spiders.)

And there were cave crickets. The cave crickets weren’t visible until she shined her flashlight on the cave ceiling. Then we could see them creeping around. They are very light colored, almost translucent with long antennae. I would have been creeped out if the tour guide had shown us these before we went on the cave tour. How many of them were lurking above our heads as we brushed the cave ceiling, is something I don’t want to know about!

This formation looks like a dinosaur with teeth, don’t you think?

I have seen three large caves: Carlsbad, Wind Cave and Mammoth Cave. Of the three, I liked Carlsbad the best. I have to say, I would not make a good cave woman nor a cave explorer. I’m not claustrophobic, but I like sunshine. I can’t imagine spending time exploring caves with a headlight crawling through tight spaces and enjoying it. But it’s nice there are people willing to do that and people who want to preserve these caves for others to see.

While in the visitor center gift shop, I bought a National Parks Passport book and got my first National Park stamped with the date of our visit. The passport lists all the national parks and their locations by region. When you visit a national park, you can get your passport stamped at the visitor center showing when you visited the park. There’s a way to get stamps for parks already visited, but since we’ve seen 25 or more, I’m not going to try to do that.

The Ark Encounter

Posted on May 4, 2022 by admin

On our way out of Texas we stayed at Lake Tawakoni (Tuh-WA-kuh-nee) which is 50 miles east of Dallas. The lake is pretty with the trees surrounding it and the campsites are situated near the edge of the lake. We took a walk one evening and watched the sunset.

As we traveled in the month of April, we saw more and more wildflowers. Here is a field of wildflowers outside our park in Lake Tawakoni. I believe they were Indian paintbrush which is a common flower in Texas.

Our next stop was an Army Corps of Engineers Campground located a few miles south of Texarkana, Texas. The eastern side of Texas is called the “piney woods”, and in this campground we camped right in among the pines and had a wonderful view of the lake. It was a really windy day, so there weren’t any boats out on the choppy water.

Piney Point Campground ACOE, Queen City, Texas

I thought the sunset was unusually beautiful when viewed from among the trees. We were only there one night, but we plan to stay several days on our way back during mid-June. It should be a nice cool place to camp when temperatures start to warm up.

We stayed in a campground near Corinth, Kentucky, so we could visit the Ark Encounter. The Ark Encounter is a full-size replica of Noah’s Ark. I’d read a little about it online and it was something I had always wanted to see. Since our path to Ohio was taking us right by it, we planned a visit.

The day we chose to visit it was raining for 40 days and 40 nights. (Just kidding!) I really didn’t know what to expect when we booked tickets to the Ark Encounter–they are rather pricey. I was hoping it would be worth it.

When we first arrived, we had to pay an additional $15 for parking. The huge parking lot is situated with a building in the middle. There we showed our tickets that we bought online and were given wrist bands to wear. After that, we were ushered into a waiting line for the next available bus to take us to the Ark. We didn’t have to wait long. The buses come and go all day long.

The bus dropped us off in front of the Answers Center where we walked through the gift shop to the large auditorium and listened in on the last few minutes of a talk about desert animals. A little armadillo was running back and forth across the stage. So cute!

From there, we went outside and walked through a rainbow archway along a sidewalk that led to the ark. It was probably a quarter mile to the Ark. There was a pond in front of the Ark, and what looked like topiary animals walking on their way to the ark entrance.

We didn’t walk up the huge outside ramp to enter the ark. We entered under the huge keel in the stern of the ark. According to the designers, this huge keel was needed for stabilizing the ark through the turbulent seas.

As we entered the Ark, it was dimly lit. Sounds of boards creaking, animals screeching and trumpeting, along with background music immediately made me feel like we were in the Ark and the storms had begun.

We saw rows and rows of cages stacked to the ceiling on the first level. The lighting was made to look like oil lamps which were hung from the ceilings and along the end of the rows. Notice the containers for food and water hanging outside the cages. There were slanting boards underneath the cages to carry animal waste to the bottom where it could be cleaned out.

Small Animal Cages with water and feed containers hung on the outside.

Along the side walls were numerous shelves with large clay jars for fresh water storage.

Also along the outer walls were bags of grain stored for feed.

The enormity of the Ark can be envisioned somewhat when you look down the hallways. There was a hallway like this on either side. In the middle was a large ramp that led to the next level. There were three levels. Also along the outer walls were exhibits. These displays focused on explaining how the animals were cared for throughout the Ark journey with enough food and water to last for most of a year. In the actual Ark, all this space could be used to house the animals and food.

Peeking inside the cages, we saw artistically crafted representations of animals that may have been on the ark. Some of them were strange-looking to me.

Some people have questioned if Noah could fit dinosaurs on the ark. The exhibits postulated that Noah would likely have taken young dinosaurs or smaller species of animals. But we were reminded that God brought the animals to Noah.

It seems like a lot of thinking went into the displays on the Ark Encounter. One of the displays showed these clay jars with burlap coverings that housed moths for lizard and other small reptiles. The moth eggs would hatch and the moths would make their way into the place where the reptiles were waiting to eat them for food. Water could be poured on the burlap for moisture.

Reptile houses with a food supply of moths.

The Ark had to have a way to get fresh air and light. In this reproduction, the three decks were not entirely sealed off from each other. The artists who designed this Ark replica showed how shutters on the windows above could allow light and air into the lower decks of the Ark.

Air and light from the top could reach the bottom deck.

The second deck primarily showed how Noah’s family might have lived. Here, one of Noah’s sons is playing a musical instrument while his wife paints pottery.

The Ark had to provide enough food not only for the animals, but also for Noah and his wife, his sons and their wives for nearly a year. Since the Bible tells us that the animals and people were all vegetarians until after the flood, you see many vegetables and herbs being stored.

Below you can see how vegetables might have been grown for food using light from the windows above. The vegetables are grown in the wooden bins or from hanging pots.

This scene shows one of the men trying to catch a bird that got loose from a cage.

The second and third decks housed exhibits that explained alternate views to the standard evolutionary viewpoint. The “Warped Rocks” display explained something I’ve often thought about when I see rocks like this. The rocks had to be soft and flexible in order for the layers to bend like this without cracking.

Something I’ve known about for some time is that nearly every civilization has a flood story. The details may vary, but they often have similar details of a flood in their oral histories. The Ark Encounter had several stories from different people groups on display.

Ray was particularly interested in this story. A group of planes were forced to land in Greenland in 1942 due to bad weather and had to be abandoned. Fifty years later, an expedition found the planes and bored through 250 feet of ice and snow to recover them. The hole was bored through 250 feet of ice that was deposited over 50 years. Science has been saying that each line in ice bores is a layer representing one year and 250 feet of ice would have represented millions of years. In reality, each layer is a layer of snow of ice deposited in a single storm, not an entire year.

Other exhibits showed the history of the English Bible and why it is a reliable translation of the originals. Below is the Tyndale Bible. It was the first Bible translation in the English language.

Other exhibits were about missionaries and their work around the world. This chair belonged to Hudson Taylor. He was a missionary to China who founded China Inland Mission. He was responsible for bringing over 800 missionaries to China who founded 125 schools and resulted in thousands of conversions to Christ.

Outside the Ark were other attractions like a zoo, camel rides, petting zoo, a zip line and aerial challenge plus many places to eat. Most of these were closed since the season had just opened. The Answers Center where lectures took place throughout the day also housed a very large gift shop and book store.They also host conferences and seminars in the large auditorium. Everything was well organized and very well maintained.

We spent hours walking through the three decks and exhibits. We also attended a very interesting lecture by Dr. Andrew Snelling, a geologist who studies the evidence of the flood around the world.

He revealed the six main geological evidences for the Flood. Genesis chapters 7 and 8 describe the flood in which the water covered all the high mountains. These floodwaters carried along marine creatures, and all air-breathing and land-dwelling life was killed. He posed the question: “Wouldn’t we expect to find billions of dead plants and animals buried and fossilized in sand, mud, and limestone that were deposited rapidly by water in rock layers all over the earth?” In his lecture, Dr. Snelling demonstrated that is exactly what we find in the fossil record.

The Gospel message was also clearly explained in the lecture and in some of the exhibits. The slogan of the Ark Adventure is, “Get Ready to Believe!” I can’t think of a better phrase to summarize what we saw on our day spent at the Ark Adventure. I think both of us came away with greater understanding and belief in the Biblical record of the Genesis flood.

I highly recommend it!

“If [God] did not spare the ancient world when he brought the flood on its ungodly people, but protected Noah, a preacher of righteousness, and seven others, …then the Lord knows how to rescue the godly from trials and to hold the unrighteous for punishment on the day of judgment.” 2 Peter 2:5,9

The Silos

Posted on April 22, 2022 by admin

One of the reasons “Fixer Upper” has been so popular, I think, is that Chip and Joanna Gaines like to preserve the old character and history of the homes and structures they renovate. That’s what attracted me to their shows. Plus, they are both very talented at what they do. They’re funny and playful, and they have good old fashioned values.

I heard their restaurant, Magnolia Table, was a popular and busy tourist attraction, but I had no idea that on a Wednesday in March that we would be fighting for a parking spot. I heard that reservations were recommended, but I decided to take a chance. When we arrived, we were told it would be an hour plus wait for a table. Well, we were too hungry. In the same parking lot was Rudy’s BBQ, so we opted to go there to eat instead. It was delicious!

The Silos complex is a few miles away from Magnolia Table restaurant. We drove around for some time before we found a parking spot a few blocks away from the entrance.

The Silos are a prominent landmark feature of the Magnolia complex. The Gaines’ businesses fill an entire city block.

We approached from corner of the block where the bakery sits. I wanted to see the checkerboard patio area. We didn’t buy anything from the bakery as there was already a line out the door. It was an excuse for me not to to eat something sugary.

Magnolia Market was our first stop. It houses displays of home decor, wall decor, seasonal decorations, clothing and more. Their stated purpose is “a place where you find inspiration and a renewed vision for your home”.

I know how much Joanna Gaines likes old doors, so it wasn’t surprising to find some in her store.

Katy Park is a wiffle ball park that provides some fun for families while they are visiting the Silos. It was nice to see a family out there enjoying it.

In one corner of the block is Magnolia Seed and Supply, a gardening supply center and garden. This was one of my favorite spots. This garden not only supplies fresh ingredients for Magnolia Table (the restaurant), but also for the Salvation Army.

I liked the cozy benches made from branches that were tucked away in corners.

My all time favorite flower is the tulip, so I was delighted to see all the beautiful tulips in bloom.

Magnolia Home is a showcase for fully-designed room scenes to help the shopper visualize possibilities for their own home.

This is a large woven wall hanging in Magnolia Home.

Another building nearby housed Magnolia Press, a coffee shop. We just walked inside to take a look.

In another part of the complex there are six little cottage shops. Each of the shops has a specific style and theme such as bath and body, men’s items, leather bags and jewelry, women’s clothing, and books and paper. A new shop that will house children’s items was not open yet.

The books and paper shop had art supplies.

I really wanted to see the old 1894 church that was moved to the Silos site and renovated. It was beautiful on the inside and outside. There was something missing though. See if you notice.

I love the scallops and other detail of the church entrance.

Large wooden doors to old church at the Silos.

The Silos as seen from inside the old church.

Below is Chip and Joanna Gaines’ statement of belief for their business. It seems really nice. But there seems to be something missing. See if you notice what it might be.

Ray was the one who pointed out to me that their statement of belief never mentions God. There is no mention of why the old church is important other than as a renovation project saving an historic building. There is no cross on top of nor inside of the church. There is no pulpit. It’s just a pretty building.

I know they have received attacks from leftists. It’s possible that they are just trying not to offend anyone. They clearly believe in family, friendship and home, but what is glaringly missing is any mention of Christian values or God. I know I may be bursting someone’s bubble by mentioning this. I could be wrong, but after researching their religious beliefs, I came away wondering. Just what do they believe?

I’m really glad we took the time to visit the Silos. It is a very unique and popular place. If you don’t mind fighting through the crowds of people or standing in line, it’s a fun place to see. Though the products are very pricey and I didn’t notice many people with shopping bags, I imagine most people were just there to look–like me. Smile. And I still admire Chip and Joanna’s sense of business and entrepreneurship–it’s amazing!

Big Bend National Park

Posted on April 15, 2022 by admin

From the tip of southern Texas, we traveled northwest along the Texas/Mexico border to the “bulge” of southern Texas. It is appropriately called “Big Bend” because that is where the Rio Grande River makes a huge bend toward the southeast and then bends back to the northeast. In the crook of this huge bend is Big Bend National Park.

Spring was a perfect time of year to visit before the heat set in. It was still chilly at night, and not many cacti or wildflowers were blooming yet except for a few bluebonnets (the Texas state flower) that were starting to bloom by the roadside.

We stayed in an RV park in the town of Terlingua (Ter-ling-gwa), a little town that got its start in the 1880’s when “quicksilver” (mercury) was found in the area.

The first thing I noticed was how vast this area is that Big Bend encompasses. You can see the purple mountains in the far distance, and somewhere beyond those mountains is the Rio Grande, and beyond them is Mexico. Though it is only #15 on the list of the largest national parks, Big Bend National Park is over 800,000 acres, and is larger than Yosemite National Park.

There are plenty of things to do in Big Bend NP including scenic drives, day hikes, river trips, bird watching, fishing, horseback riding and stargazing. Speaking of stargazing, Big Bend has the darkest night skies of any national park in the lower 48 states and is designated an International Dark Sky Park.

The Big Bend NP website has suggestions for scenic drives. We drove on all the paved roads in the park. The Ross Maxwell Scenic drive took us to Sotol Vista where we had a view over the entire valley. The notch in the distant ridge is where the road would end. That is where the Rio Grande cuts through steep cliffs at Santa Elena Canyon.

Santa Elena Canyon at the end of the road.

This is the “notch” in the faraway ridge you were looking at in the last photo. But first, some sites along the way.

We stopped at the Mule Ears Overlook. You don’t have to have much of an imagination to see the “mule ears”.

Tuff Canyon and Castalon Peak were other stops.

Near the end of the road, there is a massive mountain of rock wall that makes a natural barrier at the border of USA and Mexico.This is where the Rio Grande cuts through the rock and becomes Santa Elena Canyon.

Rock walls on the border make a natural barrier.

The Rio Grande is a favorite place for those who like to kayak and canoe down the river. It’s also a favorite spot to watch the sunset, as it sets between the two walls.

We brought a picnic supper with us so we could wait for the sunset. But instead of staying at Santa Elena Canyon, we started making our way back along the same road, stopping to photograph the “golden hour” effect on various mountains and hills.

The sunset did not disappoint.

The next day we packed a lunch and drove to the high country of Big Bend on the Chisos Basin road. In less than 6 miles, this road climbs over 2,000 feet above the desert floor to an elevation of around 4,500 feet. As the road gained elevation, the desert flora soon gave way to drooping junipers, gray oaks and the tall Douglas firs and Arizona pines. The air was notably cooler.

The road ended at the Chisos Mountains Lodge and the Chisos Basin Visitor Center. The parking lot was full, so we turned around and went back home.

Our third day of exploration took us to Panther Junction where we turned onto the road to Rio Grande Village. This 20 mile drive descends nearly 2,000 feet in elevation on its way to the Rio Grande. Along the way we drove through a tunnel, and stopped for a view of the Rio Grande from above.

Looking out across to the Rio Grande, we could see the mountains on the Mexican side of the Rio Grande. Nearby, we saw a spineless prickly pear cactus and other native plants.

Down by the river is a campground, but the sites had no hookups. Even in early March the weather was quite warm. A generator would be a must.

We drove to the Rio Grande river overlook at Boquillas Canyon. Curiously enough, a sketchy-looking man was there selling trinkets and souvenirs to tourists for a high price. I’m not sure if he was from Mexico or the USA. There were three vehicles parked on the other side of the river and a canoe pulled up on the opposite bank. It’s hard to tell why the vehicles were there, and if they had anything to do with the peddler.

Rio Grande River at Boquillas Canyon Overlook

Another day we visited the nearby “ghost town” of Terlingua. The town is now a tourist trap more than a ghost town. A few old buildings and ruins could be seen. We visited a general store next door to the Holiday Hotel and the Starlight Theatre. We strolled through the old cemetery and then bought supper-to-go at the Rustic Iron BBQ.

On the way home, I took a peek in the Quilt store in the town of Terlingua. Two little ladies were sewing away. The owner said she has 14 quilters working for her. When I asked how she ended up in the middle of nowhere, she said, “The warm weather!” “Yep,” I said, “That’s why we’re here.”

Big Bend National Park was better than I anticipated. I found myself wanting to visit again someday because there’s so much more to see.

South Texas

Posted on April 9, 2022 by admin

During January and February of 2022, we stayed for several weeks in Harlingen, Texas, which is located in the Rio Grande Valley or RGV at the very southern tip of Texas. The Rio Grande Valley is not really a valley, but a river delta. It is a popular place for “winter Texans”, people who want to escape the harsh winters of the northern United States.

Having stayed in this area previously, we already explored many of the museums and sites to see. This time we added another place to our list of places we have been: The Sabal Palm Sanctuary.

The drive to Sabal Palm Sanctuary took us right down along the border. We saw miles and miles of the border wall. To get to the Sanctuary, we had to drive through an opening in the wall. There was a Humvee with National Guardsmen at the gate. They allowed us through both ways without a problem.

The plantation house is like stepping back in time. Ray took this photo, but I changed it to black and white to get a feel of the place in 1892.

The Rabb Plantation House of Sabol Palm Sanctuary

When Frank and Lillian Rabb built the house, it had a commanding view of the Rio Grande River and the steamboats that docked there. Today, the river has since changed course and the view is quite different. We walked some of the trails of the more than 20,000 acres and saw the old river bed.

The veranda of the Rabb Plantation House

Inside, the rooms had been restored to their former beauty. The polished mahogany wood staircase in the entrance and the antique mirror showed the grandeur of previous days.

Two fireplaces with mirrors and detailed engravings were decorated with more antiques. I doubt that they were used much since the winter weather is so mild in south Texas. However, while we were there, the sunny, warm days were few and far between. We had more rain than sunshine.

The antique lamp on the living room table caught my eye. Electricity didn’t come to the RGV until 1929 and oil lamps were beautiful as well as useful.

Although the lamp shown below has a cord, it was much later before electricity arrived and lamps like this were used in the plantation house.

In addition to the antique furnishings were these beautiful stained glass windows and doors.

Other items that interested me were an old telephone and calculator. The first telephone exchange didn’t develop until the early 1900’s and in 1913 the city complained that “the telephone service rendered for several weeks has been totally inadequate and demoralized for several weeks, and no improvement in sight.”

After touring the plantation house, we made our way through the garden. It was winter, so the flowers and many other plants were dormant. I could imagine what it looked like in spring and summer with butterflies fluttering around the fragrant flowers.

Past the garden were the walking paths lined with palms. The Sabal Palm Sanctuary protects one of the rarest ecosystems in the United States. The Sabal Palm Forest once covered 60,000 acres along the banks of the Rio Grande River. When the Spaniards first explored the river, they found miles upon miles of dense palm forest. Today, less than 30 acres of the Sabal forest are left, some of which are protected by the Sanctuary. Today, much of the Rio Grande Valley is mostly agricultural.

Previously, the land in the Rio Grande Valley was used for raising cattle. The soil was too dry for crops until 1910 when irrigation and centrifugal pumps came along. By 1910, there were 50 steam-engine pump houses along the Rio Grande River that watered one million acres of farmland.

We walked on this walkway where Rio Grande River used to flow.

The pathway eventually led us back to the Plantation House.

When I visit historical places like this, I imagine what life would be in those times. One thing that I’m thankful for today is that we have air conditioning. Those summers in the RGV would have been stifling in the humidity and the heat!

South Dakota Air and Space Museum & Badlands National Park

Posted on March 28, 2022 by admin

South Dakota Air and Space Museum

The South Dakota Air and Space Museum sits just outside Ellsworth Air Force Base.

When I was in grade school during the Cuban missile crisis, our school practiced air-raid drills. When we heard the alarm go off, we were to duck under our desks. One day the alarm went off and our teacher told us to duck under our desks, but it was a fire alarm–not an air-raid. It was just a practice drill, but the teacher eventually realized her mistake and led us all outside to “safety”.

As a child, I was aware of the cold war after the Cuban missile crisis. I watched episodes of “The Man from U.N.C.L.E” which was a fictional TV series about two spies who somehow always thwarted the bad guys from taking over the world. I read stories about the Iron Curtain and escapes from East Berlin. What I was not aware of, was what our government was doing to defend us.

During the Cold War, Ellsworth Air Force Base was a crucial part of our country’s readiness and defense force. It was the home of the Intercontinental Ballistic Missiles like the Titan I and the Minuteman missiles, and and arsenal of bombers such as the B-29.

Today visitors can tour a missile silo that was used to train maintenance personnel, but you must reserve well ahead of your visit since only 6 people are allowed at one time on a tour and it is booked far in advance. For that reason, we didn’t get to go on that tour. The missile sites are now preserved as the Minuteman Missile National Historic Site.

However, we enjoyed an extensive time visiting inside and outside the South Dakota Air and Space Museum which included a Titan I missile.

The Titan I missiles took 15 minutes to fully deploy because they couldn’t be fueled up until right before launch. This was not speedy enough for countering a nuclear attack. So therefore, they were replaced three years later with Titan II and the more reliable Minuteman missiles. Each silo contained three missiles.

Besides intercontinental ballistic missiles, the United States also had bombers (such as the B-29 Superfortress) ready to deploy in case of attack. Later these huge planes were used for aerial tankers and weather reconnaissance until they were retired.

B-52 Stratotanker and B-52 Stratofortress (in background)

Inside the museum are four large galleries of artifacts of military and civilian aerospace history of the last century. My favorite display was about Nellie Zabel Wilhite, South Dakota’s first female pilot. She was also the first deaf person to earn her pilot’s license. The museum houses the wing and tires from her first airplane along with a photo of her in front of her plane in 1934. Despite some harrowing flights and at one time being a barnstormer, she lived to age 98. I’m always inspired by people who make history despite their handicaps.

Wings and tires from Nellie Zabel Wilhite’s plane

The museum is open year round (although the indoor galleries are closed during January and February) and the tours of Ellsworth AFB and the Missile Silo are offered from mid-May through mid-September. Admission to the museum is free, but there is a small charge for the bus tours to the Missile Silo.

Badlands National Park

Not many miles from the Black Hills, the prairie stretches for miles until unexpectedly you come across Badlands National Park. Recently designated a national park in 1978, the nearly 250,000 acres of geologic formations, fossil beds and wildlife made this a place we had to visit. It reminded me somewhat of the Painted Desert in northern Arizona with its colorful rock layers. My favorite view was this scenic overlook where you can see for miles.

Down in the canyons are trees and grasslands.

In the Badlands many fossils of ancient mammals have been found which are probably related to our present-day bison and bighorn sheep.

We started out looking out over the canyons, but soon we were driving in among the rock formations.

In this photo below, you can see a dry river bed. Two forces made these formations, deposition and erosion. Layers of sediment formed the rock layers which were deposited by a number of natural forces which range from shallow inland seas to rivers to wind. Then the Cheyenne and White rivers carved their way through the landscape. If the rocks erode at the rate of one inch per year as estimated, what we see today may be quite different the next time we visit!

It reminds me of Psalm 24: 1-2.

“The earth is the Lord’s, and the fullness of it,
The world, and those who dwell in it.
For He has founded it upon the seas
And established it upon the streams and the rivers.” Amplified Bible

Our national parks are a treasure of unique and beautiful places. I am thankful for those who had foresight to set aside these places for generations of people to enjoy.

South Dakota Sights

Posted on March 8, 2022 by admin

Whenever I think of South Dakota, I think of a flat wide expanse of endless prairie, a picture I got in my mind from reading the Little House books. But when we arrived in South Dakota we found beautiful forested mountains with pretty green meadows spaced in between the hills. Western South Dakota in the Black Hills region is a region of surprising beauty. Tucked away in these hills is the iconic Mount Rushmore. (See my blog on Mount Rushmore)

In the Black Hills region are other interesting places to explore. One of the places I wanted to see was the Crazy Horse Memorial. This is a privately-owned memorial to Crazy Horse, a leader of the Lakota Sioux Indians. The sculptor, Korczak Ziolkowski, who dedicated his life to carving this memorial, is now deceased and his descendants have taken on the project.

I had mixed feelings about Crazy Horse Monument. For one thing, after 71 years, it is far from being completed. In contrast, Mount Rushmore was finished in only 14 years. Some reasons for the delay are said to be the weather, tourists, the size of the project and lack of funds. Critics say it has become a money making project for enriching the sculptor’s family. I can’t say for sure that is true, but I was disappointed. It does seem like the 40,000 square foot Visitor’s Center has taken over the central focus instead of the rock carving.

Below is a prototype carving of what the mountain will look like when finished. It’s sad to think I might never see it completed in my lifetime.

The outline of the horse’s head on the mountain yet to be carved.

We wandered around the huge visitor center for nearly an hour. It seemed like we were rushing through it just to be able to see it all. The buildings also house The Indian Museum of North America which houses a large collection of art and artifacts showing the histories and cultures of over 300 native nations. One impressive exhibit was this Navajo Indian rug.

Other items in the museum showcase the artist’s talent such as this carving of Henry Standing Bear, a cousin of Crazy Horse. He was the one who found the artist Korczak Ziolkowski for the Crazy Horse project.

Many Indian handcrafted items were on display. This beautifully crafted pine quill basket caught my attention.

Having taken a pottery class, I’m always fascinated by handmade pottery. These look like they were from a wood-fired kiln or pit.

Other exhibits were this highly decorated horse outfit and the hand-crafted canoe pictured below.

It was irresistible to get a photo of a buffalo up close like this. It was easy to see why the Indians liked the buffalo hides for keeping them warm in the cold winters.

The artist Korczak Ziolkowski, and his wife had 10 children. They must have been a musical family as there were many musical instruments from their home on display in the museum.

We stopped to eat dinner in the nearby town of Custer where a painted buffalo caught my eye. Since it was late in the year, many places were already closed for the winter. We found a Pizza Hut and I ordered chicken wings. They were really good!

Another day we drove to Wind Cave National Park and took a tour into the cave. The cave is so named because as the air pressure changes on the outside, the air blows in or out of the cave to maintain equal pressure. Two brothers discovered the cave when they heard wind blowing out of a hole in the ground. When one leaned in to get a better look, his hat blew off his head.

Wind Cave is the second longest and most complex cave in the world. Only a small part has been explored. It is home to “boxwork”, a unique formation found only in this cave.

One of the stories our guide told us about was in the early history of the cave tours, there was a guide that led tourists down into the cave with a lantern. If he saw a passage that he wanted to explore, he would leave his guests in the dark and go exploring, sometimes leaving them there in the dark for hours before returning. I can’t imagine being left in pitch dark for hours not knowing for sure if the guide would ever return!

Above ground we saw prairie dogs, bison and park-like prairie grasslands and hillsides with forests. I pondered if this would be a nice place to live someday–but then I thought about the cold winters. Hm. Probably not.

Mount Rushmore

Posted on October 26, 2021 by admin

Rapid City, SD

September, 2021

One of my bucket list items was to see Mount Rushmore in South Dakota. The Mount Rushmore National Park is near Rapid City, South Dakota. There are so many things to see in this area, I wished we had spent two weeks there instead of just one. We did our best to see as many as possible.

The day we chose to go see Mount Rushmore was a beautiful day with clear blue skies.

Entrance to Mount Rushmore is free. However, there is a charge for parking. For seniors, it was $5. We parked in the parking garage and made our way to the entrance and the Avenue of flags which displays the flags from all 50 states. We found our state flag of Texas.

Underneath each flag is a plaque with the date the state entered the union and the rank in order of the states joining the union.

At the amphitheater, I took a few more photos of these huge carvings. It was an amazing feat of architecture, sculpture and engineering that took years to complete. It is an iconic American Monument that needs to be preserved.

It wasn’t just a matter of carving a face in the mountain. The sculptor had to choose the best angle so the images would catch the light and cast shadows to show off the carvings. There were “catch light” rocks that made the eyes look real. The rock had to be the right hardness. It took a lot of skill and knowledge to carve this.

I walked down the path to the artist’s studio where the trees nicely frame the monument.

As we drove away from the park we got one more view of George Washington as we rounded a corner.

We went to the evening program. The Ranger told his story about what happened 20 years prior on September 11, 2001, when our country was under attack. The National Parks were closed and then put under high alert for any suspicious activity.

This Ranger related to us that while he was sitting on top of the head of George Washington at night all alone on September 11, looking for planes or anything that looked suspicious, he wrote a script of what he was going to say in his program the following evening. That was the program we got to hear the night after the 20 year anniversary of 9/11.

He told how each of the four Presidents had faced great adversity in trying circumstances that tested them and made them into the great leaders they became. He shared his own story of adversity. He then related those times to the challenges that faced our nation after the attack. Our leaders and our nation overcame adversity and went on to become the most powerful nation on earth. It was very inspiring to hear.

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