Do you know more about the Alamo than I did ?? My guide on the San Antonio city tour seemed to think visitors uniformly thought certain things were facts because they had the John Wayne image in mind. Unfortunately, I think he was right as far as my mind went. This city is on the edge of the Hill Country of Texas. There is no desert here!! My image had the Alamo in the desert. The Alamo was founded as a mission church not a fort. Hmm. Not in my image. The Alamo is located in the center of the current city and in the center of a 100 year old town at the time of the famous battle. Hmm. Not in my image. You see, I had a lot to learn about San Antonio!
I took a full day tour of the city to see things Peggy and Mike had already seen. Saw the historic cathedral of San Francisco (St Francis) where the ashes of the heroes of the Alamo are buried. Beautiful church but ornate. I noticed that the icons in the apses off the main altar fit my idea of Mexican looking. Mary with a brown complexion, for instance. Perhaps closer to reality than our lily white images but a surprise for me. Anyway, a cathedral.
Then a visit to the famous Riverwalk. We took a boat ride along the two and a half mile section of the river which is like a series of canals. I thought it would have been totally appropriate if the boats had been gondolas from Venice. It was beautiful gliding along the river with a guide telling us of the wonderful restaurants along the sides. Sidewalk dining seems to be a must in season. We are returning to the Riverwalk tomorrow night to see the Christmas lights. Should be beautiful. We watched the parade of barges which followed the lighting ceremony the other night on TV. I was surprised to learn the river results from the overflow of an aquifer just a few miles north of the city. Flooding is a threat here so they have solved the problem by a series of watergates which prevent too much water from getting into then downtown area. They seem to block it and push it away from the city. The gates reminded me of overhead garage doors set in archways. They have also paved the riverbed and close sections each year to clean out the mud and debris. A fully tamed Nature! But beautiful to see.
My visit to the Alamo was very different than anticipated. It was Friday after Thanksgiving and the crowds were all around. I had to wait in line to enter the “Shrine” and never got away from the crowds there. However, it is a mission church on the same design as any other I’ve seen. It is run by the Daughters of the
Republic of Texas. Somehow, they have elevated this to shrine status and got the city and state to back them up. Never approved of the DAR or of this. By law, no building can be built here in such a way that the SHADOW of the building can touch the Shrine! Oh well, certainly more important than health care for children!!
Visited two of the five missions originally established in this town. San Jose mission is the largest and most historic of all those I have visited. The friars converted a number of local Indian tribes to Christianity. They employed them to build the missions. In this case, the Apaches began to attach the local Indians so the mission built a large enclosed area like a fort and let the Indians live inside this stone walled stockade. I took some pics of the Indian rooms along the wall, outdoor ovens and of the church. Most interesting.
I then visited Concepcion mission which was smaller and had not stockade. In both cases, the nave of the mission church was narrow and long with a choir loft reached by an outside staircase. Just like those in California I visited. These are older than CA but same design. These were built of stone, probably limestone, and mortared together. Walls were as thick as the adobe walls further West. The ceilings were made the same was with small branches laid over timbers and mud thatched.
Other than the unseasonable cold which we have experienced here, I enjoyed this visit. Temps:
Wed 90
Thursday 55
Friday 50s
Sat 40s
Sun 40s
Mon and Tuesday 60s predicted!!
Friday, November 30, 2007
Sedona
I took a few days vacation and went to Sedona AZ. I had heard so much about it that I was very interested in seeing it. I arrived on route 179, coming around a corner to see the first beautiful cliff of red sandstone right in front of me. A bit further and I saw a pinker red cliff. These were the first pics I took. I drove into Sedona’s main street and saw the sign for Tourist info. Stopped and got shanghaied into one of those Time Share Pressure Sales promotions. They very cleverly have their hook shop in the same parking lot as the regular info center. You start out asking for maps and end up with all this free stuff if you will listen to a presentation. You know what I mean. Well, the tightwad in me raised its ugly head and I went for the presentation. I earned all the free stuff, believe me!!
Anyway, the main thing I earned was a combo tour with Pink Jeeps. A $115 value for $15. As my son pointed out, when was the last time I earned $50 an hour??? The tour was great off-roading fun. We went thru the part of the Coconino National Forest called Broken Arrow because that is where the movie of that name with Jeff Chandler as Cochise (I think) was made. Anyway, rode the jeep up and down rocks I would be afraid to walk on! Very beautiful views. The guide kept talking about the manzanita bushes which are dying because of the severe drought. These bushes have mahogany collored stems which show through the greenery like beautiful sculptures. Loved it. Then we went to the rim of the valley along Oak Creek Canyon. Breathtaking. We went up to 7000 feet from a base of 4000. Learned that the valley walls are basically sandstone and limestone but on the very top of all this is basalt from volcano activity. The hardest rock on the top means that the sandstone erodes first under the basalt and huge boulders of basalt break off and come rolling down into the valley. I took some pics of basalt boulders in Oak Creek.
I visited the airport twice for sunset pics. Mostly I liked the way the dimming light cast beautiful shadows on the cliffs. But the sunset wasn’t too shabby. The view from there is over the whole town so you realize what a small town it really is.
I climbed up through Oak Creek Canyon first in the dark so didn’t really realize what it was like until the next day when I came down thru it. Tried to get a pic of the switchback road that drops over 2000 feet in seconds! Loved that canyon and took some pics at the Slide Rock state park. At that point the canyon widens a little and the park enables you to walk along the streambed where the rushing water in some seasons still is carving the rocks. Channels have been scooped out by the water and people are allowed to sit down and slide along the rock channels being propelled by the water. This section ends in a deeper pool so seems safe enough but 50 degree water did not invite me. (Temps in Sedona average 50’s this month but it was well in the 70’s each day I was there). It was beautiful just to walk along the rock ledges in the streambed.
When I left Sedona, I traveled further on 89A toward Prescott AZ. I had stopped at Montezuma’s Castle on the way to Sedona and now I stopped at Tuzigoot (TWO-zee-goot). Both of these ruins are believed to have belonged to the Sinagua (seen-AH-wah) people. The name is Spanish meaning Without Water. Those at Montezuma’s Castle built homes under cliff overhangs high above the Verde Valley floor (similar to Mesa Verde). There is some evidence that they practiced irrigation which was similar to that of native civilizations in Mexico. The people at Tuzigoot practiced dry land farming and lived in pueblos on a high hill in the Verde Valley. These pueblos were made of two parallel walls of sandstone and limestone with fill in between the walls. A mud-like mortar was used to hold the stones. Interesting to me.
Tuzigoot is located near the town of Cottonwood. Aptly named as the cottonwood trees are turning golden in this season and you can see the route of the river since they are the only trees in the area. I enjoyed Cottonwood for another reason. I was stopped by a parade as I was looking for Tuzigoot. Suddenly, coming to an intersection, a cop stepped out and stopped all traffic. Then there appeared out of nowhere, Santa riding in the high back seat of a tri-motorcycle. He was followed by about 300 motorcycles in parade! Harley Davidson is really doing things up well!
Two things keep recurring as I tour the Southwest. Of course, I’m always in the desert and I’m always aware of the dry washes which drain the land after drenching rains. Here in Texas, I’ve discovered they are called draws. Now that fits better with the cowboy image of Texas. I always remember Westerns with cowboys driving the cattle out of draws. Don’t you?
Anyway, the main thing I earned was a combo tour with Pink Jeeps. A $115 value for $15. As my son pointed out, when was the last time I earned $50 an hour??? The tour was great off-roading fun. We went thru the part of the Coconino National Forest called Broken Arrow because that is where the movie of that name with Jeff Chandler as Cochise (I think) was made. Anyway, rode the jeep up and down rocks I would be afraid to walk on! Very beautiful views. The guide kept talking about the manzanita bushes which are dying because of the severe drought. These bushes have mahogany collored stems which show through the greenery like beautiful sculptures. Loved it. Then we went to the rim of the valley along Oak Creek Canyon. Breathtaking. We went up to 7000 feet from a base of 4000. Learned that the valley walls are basically sandstone and limestone but on the very top of all this is basalt from volcano activity. The hardest rock on the top means that the sandstone erodes first under the basalt and huge boulders of basalt break off and come rolling down into the valley. I took some pics of basalt boulders in Oak Creek.
I visited the airport twice for sunset pics. Mostly I liked the way the dimming light cast beautiful shadows on the cliffs. But the sunset wasn’t too shabby. The view from there is over the whole town so you realize what a small town it really is.
I climbed up through Oak Creek Canyon first in the dark so didn’t really realize what it was like until the next day when I came down thru it. Tried to get a pic of the switchback road that drops over 2000 feet in seconds! Loved that canyon and took some pics at the Slide Rock state park. At that point the canyon widens a little and the park enables you to walk along the streambed where the rushing water in some seasons still is carving the rocks. Channels have been scooped out by the water and people are allowed to sit down and slide along the rock channels being propelled by the water. This section ends in a deeper pool so seems safe enough but 50 degree water did not invite me. (Temps in Sedona average 50’s this month but it was well in the 70’s each day I was there). It was beautiful just to walk along the rock ledges in the streambed.
When I left Sedona, I traveled further on 89A toward Prescott AZ. I had stopped at Montezuma’s Castle on the way to Sedona and now I stopped at Tuzigoot (TWO-zee-goot). Both of these ruins are believed to have belonged to the Sinagua (seen-AH-wah) people. The name is Spanish meaning Without Water. Those at Montezuma’s Castle built homes under cliff overhangs high above the Verde Valley floor (similar to Mesa Verde). There is some evidence that they practiced irrigation which was similar to that of native civilizations in Mexico. The people at Tuzigoot practiced dry land farming and lived in pueblos on a high hill in the Verde Valley. These pueblos were made of two parallel walls of sandstone and limestone with fill in between the walls. A mud-like mortar was used to hold the stones. Interesting to me.
Tuzigoot is located near the town of Cottonwood. Aptly named as the cottonwood trees are turning golden in this season and you can see the route of the river since they are the only trees in the area. I enjoyed Cottonwood for another reason. I was stopped by a parade as I was looking for Tuzigoot. Suddenly, coming to an intersection, a cop stepped out and stopped all traffic. Then there appeared out of nowhere, Santa riding in the high back seat of a tri-motorcycle. He was followed by about 300 motorcycles in parade! Harley Davidson is really doing things up well!
Two things keep recurring as I tour the Southwest. Of course, I’m always in the desert and I’m always aware of the dry washes which drain the land after drenching rains. Here in Texas, I’ve discovered they are called draws. Now that fits better with the cowboy image of Texas. I always remember Westerns with cowboys driving the cattle out of draws. Don’t you?
Thursday, November 15, 2007
Valley of the Sun
This was posted out of order. It should have been posted about 11/15/07.
We went to Phoenix today and climbed (drove) up South Mountain City Park. It is reputed to be the largest city park in the nation. It is located right on the edge of Phoenix and we climbed rapidly up about 2000 feet on a beautiful road. The overlooks were stupendous! We were above the landing and takeoff paths for the busy, busy airport. I think they were using parallel runways because there was a landing and a takeoff about every 30 seconds. Beautiful to watch from above!
You could see the whole Valley of the Sun laid out before you. (If you have the ability to get your hands on a copy of the out of print book called The Weans , even try to borrow one, it would tell you what I am thinking as I write “Valley of the Sun”.) One of the lookout buildings had a wonderful sundial like brass plate with labels and directions to various cities and points of interest. I can tell you there is no dividing line between Phoenix and its surrounding cities. One blends right into another. The only clear demarcations were the desert landscapes and the imported trees landscapes.
We then drove to Scottsdale and toured on the free city trolley. Wow! Now I know how the other half lives. Pricey and then pricier!! No trailer parks or RV parks in that city!! Lots of art galleries but these were the real thing. Not tourist traps. One gallery was advertising that it had Andy Wyeths for sale!! Anyway, all parking in Scottsdale is free – no meters and even parking garages are free. The mall stores were like Nieman Marcus etc!
It was very nice but still desert with an average of 100 days in triple digits!!
This whole area is known as the Sonora Desert. It extends from Northern Mexico into Arizona. We drove to the Desert Museum and to the Saguaro (sah-WAH-row) National Park in Tucson. On the way we saw a large group of airliners parked in a field. It turns out this is called the Pinal (this county) Air Park. Apparently a place to drop off excess or not currently used airliners. Every color of the rainbow was represented but all seemed to be of the same make or model, the ones with the high dorsal fin tail.
Anyway, the Desert Museum. If you ever get to Tucson, you MUST go here. It is unlike any museum I’ve ever been to. A couple of buildings but basically a huge Southwestern garden. Native plants, bushes and cacti!! Now for a little flora lesson ( you’ve had the geology lessons right along). Cacti were always just THEM. A group of undifferentiated stuff but now…
First, everyone knows Kristi’s favorite, the saguaro but do you know the rest?? We saw spiny ocotillo which looks dead but as soon as it gets some rain, will burst into little green leaves which it drops as soon as it gets dry again so it usually looks like dead spines. Peggy liked the fluffy Teddy Bear Cholla (Choya) which you would never want to hug! I liked the Buckhorn Cholla which reminded me of stiffly braided rope. Similar to it is the Chain Rope Cholla which is like braided cable. We can identify Organ Pipe and Senita which is like organ pipe but is six sided rather than round. I almost left out the Chain Fruit Cholla (also called Hanging Fruit Cholla) which is like the Teddy Bear, fluffy, but has fruit hanging from under its top. Now be sure to look at the pics and see what they each look like.
In addition to cacti, the museum had loots of bushes. The palo verde is seen thoughout the desert. It has green bark so the entire bush is green. The turpentine bush is also prevalent. It has white or yellow fluffy flowers on the top. The tree or bush with fern-like leaves and thorns is acacia of one variety or another. The jojoba (hohoba) is used in shampoo. Last but not least is the creosote bush which gives off a pungent odor when wet. People say this is the smell of rain in the desert!!
Then we visited the National park and enjoyed the views of thousands of saguaros marching up and down the hills. No two are alike but the “normal” is not the two armed picture seen everywhere. Normal is multiple arms pointing in multiple directions! Loved it.
Today Mike and Peggy took me to a surprise! We went out to Florence AZ (30 miles) to see a Greek Orthodox Monastery which was founded 11 years ago. Wow!! I’ve never seen anything like it. There is a main church building (see pics) and about 5 other chapels so far. Three or four guest buildings, a dining hall and a building for the 45 brothers. You have to report to the bookshop on the way in where a strict dress code is explained. We were inappropriately dressed so… They provided long pants and shirts with long sleeves for Mike and I and a long skirt, long sleeved blouse and a kerchief for Peg. We got a guided tour of the main church and a self guided tour of the rest. It is a marvel to see the beautiful gardens surrounding every building and walkway. Fountains everywhere. An interesting marriage of Spanish Southwestern architecture with traditional Greek. Beautiful, beautiful everywhere you looked.
We were driving East on I-8 in AZ when suddenly I noticed cars coming toward us on a road to our right!! It seems that at one point to put the road through some mountains, I-8 split and Westbound crosses over Eastbound and continues up the mountains on the right of the Eastbound. Wild feeling!!
We went to Phoenix today and climbed (drove) up South Mountain City Park. It is reputed to be the largest city park in the nation. It is located right on the edge of Phoenix and we climbed rapidly up about 2000 feet on a beautiful road. The overlooks were stupendous! We were above the landing and takeoff paths for the busy, busy airport. I think they were using parallel runways because there was a landing and a takeoff about every 30 seconds. Beautiful to watch from above!
You could see the whole Valley of the Sun laid out before you. (If you have the ability to get your hands on a copy of the out of print book called The Weans , even try to borrow one, it would tell you what I am thinking as I write “Valley of the Sun”.) One of the lookout buildings had a wonderful sundial like brass plate with labels and directions to various cities and points of interest. I can tell you there is no dividing line between Phoenix and its surrounding cities. One blends right into another. The only clear demarcations were the desert landscapes and the imported trees landscapes.
We then drove to Scottsdale and toured on the free city trolley. Wow! Now I know how the other half lives. Pricey and then pricier!! No trailer parks or RV parks in that city!! Lots of art galleries but these were the real thing. Not tourist traps. One gallery was advertising that it had Andy Wyeths for sale!! Anyway, all parking in Scottsdale is free – no meters and even parking garages are free. The mall stores were like Nieman Marcus etc!
It was very nice but still desert with an average of 100 days in triple digits!!
This whole area is known as the Sonora Desert. It extends from Northern Mexico into Arizona. We drove to the Desert Museum and to the Saguaro (sah-WAH-row) National Park in Tucson. On the way we saw a large group of airliners parked in a field. It turns out this is called the Pinal (this county) Air Park. Apparently a place to drop off excess or not currently used airliners. Every color of the rainbow was represented but all seemed to be of the same make or model, the ones with the high dorsal fin tail.
Anyway, the Desert Museum. If you ever get to Tucson, you MUST go here. It is unlike any museum I’ve ever been to. A couple of buildings but basically a huge Southwestern garden. Native plants, bushes and cacti!! Now for a little flora lesson ( you’ve had the geology lessons right along). Cacti were always just THEM. A group of undifferentiated stuff but now…
First, everyone knows Kristi’s favorite, the saguaro but do you know the rest?? We saw spiny ocotillo which looks dead but as soon as it gets some rain, will burst into little green leaves which it drops as soon as it gets dry again so it usually looks like dead spines. Peggy liked the fluffy Teddy Bear Cholla (Choya) which you would never want to hug! I liked the Buckhorn Cholla which reminded me of stiffly braided rope. Similar to it is the Chain Rope Cholla which is like braided cable. We can identify Organ Pipe and Senita which is like organ pipe but is six sided rather than round. I almost left out the Chain Fruit Cholla (also called Hanging Fruit Cholla) which is like the Teddy Bear, fluffy, but has fruit hanging from under its top. Now be sure to look at the pics and see what they each look like.
In addition to cacti, the museum had loots of bushes. The palo verde is seen thoughout the desert. It has green bark so the entire bush is green. The turpentine bush is also prevalent. It has white or yellow fluffy flowers on the top. The tree or bush with fern-like leaves and thorns is acacia of one variety or another. The jojoba (hohoba) is used in shampoo. Last but not least is the creosote bush which gives off a pungent odor when wet. People say this is the smell of rain in the desert!!
Then we visited the National park and enjoyed the views of thousands of saguaros marching up and down the hills. No two are alike but the “normal” is not the two armed picture seen everywhere. Normal is multiple arms pointing in multiple directions! Loved it.
Today Mike and Peggy took me to a surprise! We went out to Florence AZ (30 miles) to see a Greek Orthodox Monastery which was founded 11 years ago. Wow!! I’ve never seen anything like it. There is a main church building (see pics) and about 5 other chapels so far. Three or four guest buildings, a dining hall and a building for the 45 brothers. You have to report to the bookshop on the way in where a strict dress code is explained. We were inappropriately dressed so… They provided long pants and shirts with long sleeves for Mike and I and a long skirt, long sleeved blouse and a kerchief for Peg. We got a guided tour of the main church and a self guided tour of the rest. It is a marvel to see the beautiful gardens surrounding every building and walkway. Fountains everywhere. An interesting marriage of Spanish Southwestern architecture with traditional Greek. Beautiful, beautiful everywhere you looked.
We were driving East on I-8 in AZ when suddenly I noticed cars coming toward us on a road to our right!! It seems that at one point to put the road through some mountains, I-8 split and Westbound crosses over Eastbound and continues up the mountains on the right of the Eastbound. Wild feeling!!
Monday, November 12, 2007
Casa Grande
We moved from Yuma today about 180 miles East to Casa Grande. This town was named for the ruins found about 20 miles North of here. When the Spanish arrived in 1600, they found a ruin of a village centered around a huge house (Casa Grande). the building was at least 3 stories tall with rooms of unknown use. Over the centuries, the building has deteriorated but you can still tell it was huge for the era when it was built.
Archaeologists have worked the site for most of the 20th century and have pieced together that a civilization known as Hohokam. They settled this area around 300 AD and built the Big House around 1100. They seemed to have knowledge like the Mexican civilizations: irrigation canals, large building engineering, and calendar knowledge with view ports in the Big House for sun solstice and moon events. They ma be related to the Pueblos. Anyway, they built the Casa Grande from Caliche (KA Lee Che) which is calcium carbonate and is found as hard pan here in the Sonora desert. They in effect made concrete and poured the mixture into 2 foot sections right on the walls they were building. They did not use blocks or bricks as is done with adobe. I was amazed to see their efforts. I had never heard of them.
Archaeologists have worked the site for most of the 20th century and have pieced together that a civilization known as Hohokam. They settled this area around 300 AD and built the Big House around 1100. They seemed to have knowledge like the Mexican civilizations: irrigation canals, large building engineering, and calendar knowledge with view ports in the Big House for sun solstice and moon events. They ma be related to the Pueblos. Anyway, they built the Casa Grande from Caliche (KA Lee Che) which is calcium carbonate and is found as hard pan here in the Sonora desert. They in effect made concrete and poured the mixture into 2 foot sections right on the walls they were building. They did not use blocks or bricks as is done with adobe. I was amazed to see their efforts. I had never heard of them.
Sunday, November 11, 2007
Yuma Crossing/Landing
From the time I arrived in Yuma, I have been hearing about Yuma Landing and Yuma Crossing. The phrases seemed to be interchangeable. Then one evening, Peggy and Mike and some friends took me to Yuma Landing. It is a restaurant. It is built on the site of the first airplane landing in Yuma. It was one of those early biplanes and had to be pushed up the hill so it could take a lot of using the speed of the downhill run. The restaurant is decorated with lots of photos of the era. The next day Peggy and Mike took me to Yuma Crossing. It's in the same neighborhood as the Landing.
However, those two are not related in any way. Yuma Crossing is the historic Park which has been established at this site off the Colorado River Crossing. The mighty Colorado, before it was dammed to death, was an obstacle to transportation East and West. Long before the arrival of the Spanish, the Indians had discovered this ford. The river at this point is divided into three channels flowing around two islands. The river was shallow and men could walk across from island to island. This became critical when the Army established a Fort at Yuma. Supplies could be brought up the Colorado from the Gulf of California and offloaded at Yuma. When the transcontinental railroad was built, a railroad bridge was built over the Colorado at the same site. Later, the last link in an ocean to ocean road was the highway bridge built over the Colorado right next to the railroad bridge. Thus, Yuma Crossing is really a Crossing of the Colorado at Yuma.
The other very interesting thing at that state Park is the Yuma Main Canal Inverted Siphon. Around 1905, the federal government became interested in making the desert bloom. They decided to build a dam on the Colorado called the Laguna dam. It was a good place to build the dam (and steal 90% of the Colorado water) but difficult to deliver the water to the Yuma area. The Gila River flows across Arizona and into the Colorado between the Laguna dam and Yuma. The erratic flooding of the Gila made it impossible to carry the water to Yuma. So an engineering marvel was devised. The water was sent from the dam down the California side (West side) to a point opposite the Yuma Crossing. Then site was built to carry the water and 90 feet down on the California side across under the Colorado River and back up 90 feet where it dumps into the Yuma Main Canal. So the siphon is U-shaped but goes under the river instead of over it!
They had a 1930 model AA truck (so like Vickie's) on display and in running order! And then there were the railroad trucks exactly like those used in Charlestown when I was a paperboy in the papers were delivered to the railroad station. Some of you might remember those hand trucks!
I really enjoyed this and we only left because Peggy and I were hungry. We had not planned this excursion so we didn't have my camera or the crackers so necessary for a Safari!
We leave Yuma tomorrow for points East!
However, those two are not related in any way. Yuma Crossing is the historic Park which has been established at this site off the Colorado River Crossing. The mighty Colorado, before it was dammed to death, was an obstacle to transportation East and West. Long before the arrival of the Spanish, the Indians had discovered this ford. The river at this point is divided into three channels flowing around two islands. The river was shallow and men could walk across from island to island. This became critical when the Army established a Fort at Yuma. Supplies could be brought up the Colorado from the Gulf of California and offloaded at Yuma. When the transcontinental railroad was built, a railroad bridge was built over the Colorado at the same site. Later, the last link in an ocean to ocean road was the highway bridge built over the Colorado right next to the railroad bridge. Thus, Yuma Crossing is really a Crossing of the Colorado at Yuma.
The other very interesting thing at that state Park is the Yuma Main Canal Inverted Siphon. Around 1905, the federal government became interested in making the desert bloom. They decided to build a dam on the Colorado called the Laguna dam. It was a good place to build the dam (and steal 90% of the Colorado water) but difficult to deliver the water to the Yuma area. The Gila River flows across Arizona and into the Colorado between the Laguna dam and Yuma. The erratic flooding of the Gila made it impossible to carry the water to Yuma. So an engineering marvel was devised. The water was sent from the dam down the California side (West side) to a point opposite the Yuma Crossing. Then site was built to carry the water and 90 feet down on the California side across under the Colorado River and back up 90 feet where it dumps into the Yuma Main Canal. So the siphon is U-shaped but goes under the river instead of over it!
They had a 1930 model AA truck (so like Vickie's) on display and in running order! And then there were the railroad trucks exactly like those used in Charlestown when I was a paperboy in the papers were delivered to the railroad station. Some of you might remember those hand trucks!
I really enjoyed this and we only left because Peggy and I were hungry. We had not planned this excursion so we didn't have my camera or the crackers so necessary for a Safari!
We leave Yuma tomorrow for points East!
Saturday, November 10, 2007
San Diego -- Old Town
My adventures in San Diego included eating at Mexican restaurant. Me! By myself! Those who know me know I run at the first sign of a hot spice. Imagine how brave I felt entering a Mexican restaurant and ordering a chimichanga! I loved it and the refried beans and Spanish rice.
But I really wanted to tell you about Old Town. It's a State historic Park which tries to preserve the original Spanish settlement of San Diego. The mission was moved within a couple of years of its founding to get away from the soldiers and near to where the Indians lived. I visited the mission church took a few pictures. The original priests room is preserved and I took a couple of pictures to show its simplicity. The church and its related buildings were made of adobe with walls about 4 feet thick. I've been pondering the reason for this thickness and I've decided it's because Adobe bricks are quite weak and the thickness is needed to support the roof. The choir loft is reached by an outside staircase. The nave of the Church is long and narrow. The only doors are opposite each other approximately halfway down the nave.
Old Town was very interesting. The most important building in the town was the residence
of the Commandant. It was a U-shaped building with each role opening onto a covered porch or walkway. The outside walls of a U-shaped building were continued to enclose a courtyard. in the courtyard was a southwestern part with desert plants at a couple of fruit trees. The ceilings of Rome's were wooden boards, like a floor. They were supported by thieves which were lashed together with what looked like rawhide as opposed to wooden pins that I'm familiar with. The floors were what I would call raw tile approximately 6" x 12". I was surprised at the quality of the furnishings that had to stop and realize that this was the home of a wealthy man with access to imported furniture. This hacienda sat at the head of the square to merchant buildings and government buildings surrounded the other three sides.
I was fascinated by the barn contents on display are just off the square. the barn was used as a Museum to display an interesting variety of transportation related items. For instance, there was a very crude cart, well warn, with appeals eight out of treetrunk layers so you've got the growth rates going around the wheel and wearing off the wheel. That is a large display about Concord coaches including a poster showing a shipment of a hundred or so coaches out of the city of Concord on the railroad. There was a Wells Fargo Concord coach and a lighter version of the Concord coach also made in Concord New Hampshire. I'd never seen this lighter version. Rounding a corner, I came upon a wagon with the manufacturer's name in large letters: Studebaker. Definitely the oldest one I'd ever see!
I spent the most time in the barn on the tandem wagons. I thought that tandem trailers were a modern invention and one I don't like to meet on the highway. However these freight wagons from the 1800's were on display here in Old Town. the explanation given was that 18 mule teams were used to haul freight. The driver rode the left mule nearest the wagon and steered by a rope hitched to the front left mule. This mule with a strained to turn left in response to a continuous pull on the rope and to turn right in response to a series of pulls. Multiple teams of oxen were also used to pull these tandem wagons. I decided that there had to be a reason for tandem wagons and I've decided it was because of the shortage of manpower. This way one driver could carry a double load. Whether you used oxen or mules depended on speed and feed. Mules moved at 2 and 1/2 mph. Oxen at 2 mph! Mules had to carry their food but oxen could graze. Just keep that in mind the next time you move ! Pics here.
But I really wanted to tell you about Old Town. It's a State historic Park which tries to preserve the original Spanish settlement of San Diego. The mission was moved within a couple of years of its founding to get away from the soldiers and near to where the Indians lived. I visited the mission church took a few pictures. The original priests room is preserved and I took a couple of pictures to show its simplicity. The church and its related buildings were made of adobe with walls about 4 feet thick. I've been pondering the reason for this thickness and I've decided it's because Adobe bricks are quite weak and the thickness is needed to support the roof. The choir loft is reached by an outside staircase. The nave of the Church is long and narrow. The only doors are opposite each other approximately halfway down the nave.
Old Town was very interesting. The most important building in the town was the residence
of the Commandant. It was a U-shaped building with each role opening onto a covered porch or walkway. The outside walls of a U-shaped building were continued to enclose a courtyard. in the courtyard was a southwestern part with desert plants at a couple of fruit trees. The ceilings of Rome's were wooden boards, like a floor. They were supported by thieves which were lashed together with what looked like rawhide as opposed to wooden pins that I'm familiar with. The floors were what I would call raw tile approximately 6" x 12". I was surprised at the quality of the furnishings that had to stop and realize that this was the home of a wealthy man with access to imported furniture. This hacienda sat at the head of the square to merchant buildings and government buildings surrounded the other three sides.
I was fascinated by the barn contents on display are just off the square. the barn was used as a Museum to display an interesting variety of transportation related items. For instance, there was a very crude cart, well warn, with appeals eight out of treetrunk layers so you've got the growth rates going around the wheel and wearing off the wheel. That is a large display about Concord coaches including a poster showing a shipment of a hundred or so coaches out of the city of Concord on the railroad. There was a Wells Fargo Concord coach and a lighter version of the Concord coach also made in Concord New Hampshire. I'd never seen this lighter version. Rounding a corner, I came upon a wagon with the manufacturer's name in large letters: Studebaker. Definitely the oldest one I'd ever see!
I spent the most time in the barn on the tandem wagons. I thought that tandem trailers were a modern invention and one I don't like to meet on the highway. However these freight wagons from the 1800's were on display here in Old Town. the explanation given was that 18 mule teams were used to haul freight. The driver rode the left mule nearest the wagon and steered by a rope hitched to the front left mule. This mule with a strained to turn left in response to a continuous pull on the rope and to turn right in response to a series of pulls. Multiple teams of oxen were also used to pull these tandem wagons. I decided that there had to be a reason for tandem wagons and I've decided it was because of the shortage of manpower. This way one driver could carry a double load. Whether you used oxen or mules depended on speed and feed. Mules moved at 2 and 1/2 mph. Oxen at 2 mph! Mules had to carry their food but oxen could graze. Just keep that in mind the next time you move ! Pics here.
Wednesday, November 7, 2007
San Diego -- Balboa Park
This subject is a big one since it took me two days to see everything I wanted to see. The park is unlike anything I have ever seen. It is huge, like Central Park but with canyons and ravines running through it. In the early 1900s, the city set aside this large piece of land. It was used for the Pan American exposition which celebrated the opening of the Panama Canal. Many of the buildings in the park were built at that time. They now house 13 museums. One of the activities highly recommended was a visit to the extensive Rose Garden. I crossed over the bridge to do this and was sidetracked by what I would call a Southwestern Garden. I had heard that my niece, Kristi, loved cacti and I started out taking a few pictures for her. Then I got to thinking as I walked through this garden that it probably was the unique garden. Certainly nowhere in New England would one find a cacti garden! Furthermore, I've been preaching and really feeling, and very strongly about the waste of water that I see here in the Southwest. So, a desert garden fit with my prejudices. Anyway, look at the pics!
Another little sidetrack. As I was waiting for the tour bus to take me back downtown, I came upon the longest limo I've ever seen. As I walked by it, I asked the driver if it was for the bridal party I could see having pictures taken in the amphitheater. And he said that it was for a different bridal party than the one I could see. He told me that car was 30 feet long and asked if I'd like to look in it. Look at the pics! There were at least five bridal parties having pictures taken at the same time. At least it wasn't completely like a Moon Church wedding.
At the far end of the park, a local merchant had built an Arts and Crafts style mansion which has been given to the city. I toured the mansion and tried to take pictures outside. I really only caught a door and window that I thought were worth saving. My impression of the house, beyond the fact that I would have loved to live there, was Frank Lloyd Wright! I didn't know that much of his style fit in The Arts and Crafts school of architecture. I thought he had invented his own called to Prairie Style. I have seen a number of right houses including those he called Usonian. This house, the Marston mansion, had a great deal of woodwork. In some ways it made me think about post-and beam house where the beams were covered with finished wood. Every room had wainscoting. Both the doors and windows had a lot of glass but had vertical strips of wood dividing the glass. The floors in the public spaces were oak and each room had a border of oak flooring and then the regular oak boards in the center of the frame. The nonpublic rooms were floored in hemlock. Most every room had built in cabinets with wooden doors. The furniture in the living room was Stickley. The sitting room upstairs was furnished in Wicker and we were told that the Wicker which used to make the room feel lighter. The outside of the house was brick. It really was very attractive but I like Frank Lloyd Wright buildings. He did not design this but it felt like he could have.
I went to the San Diego zoo which is also in Balboa Park. I took some pics, mostly of animals I was unfamiliar with. While on the tour bus, we went by a section of the park labeled Kopje. Each time we passed it, I asked myself what kind of animal that could be. When I left the bus back and entered that section. Dummy!! Kopje is a South African Boer word pronounced copy and means little head. It's a little pile of rocks in which animals live. In this rock pile, there were the cutest little klipspringers (cliffspringer's). They can jump from a standing start 10 feet. They use this ability to escape from predators by jumping from rock to rock. I have to admit that the zoo didn't thrill me. Okay but not unique like I expected.
Something that did really thrill me was a Japanese garden in Balboa Park. I called my daughter-in-law, Krista, to talk about the loggia. It was unique. Over a post-and beam frame, a crosshatch of bamboo pieces were lashed together. Vines had been trained to climb over the bamboo. Beautiful. Simple. Eco friendly! the rate stone in the rock garden was just as simple and beautiful. The theme throughout the garden seemed to be water running slowly through bamboo. It was a bamboo piece that dripped of water into a piece of bamboo wage Winfield tipped over and dumped out the water. Unphotographable! of their bamboo fountains dripped water into the stone pots or simply to rein in a slight stream of water continuously. Somehow not one photograph came out. But I loved every bit of it.
Another little sidetrack. As I was waiting for the tour bus to take me back downtown, I came upon the longest limo I've ever seen. As I walked by it, I asked the driver if it was for the bridal party I could see having pictures taken in the amphitheater. And he said that it was for a different bridal party than the one I could see. He told me that car was 30 feet long and asked if I'd like to look in it. Look at the pics! There were at least five bridal parties having pictures taken at the same time. At least it wasn't completely like a Moon Church wedding.
At the far end of the park, a local merchant had built an Arts and Crafts style mansion which has been given to the city. I toured the mansion and tried to take pictures outside. I really only caught a door and window that I thought were worth saving. My impression of the house, beyond the fact that I would have loved to live there, was Frank Lloyd Wright! I didn't know that much of his style fit in The Arts and Crafts school of architecture. I thought he had invented his own called to Prairie Style. I have seen a number of right houses including those he called Usonian. This house, the Marston mansion, had a great deal of woodwork. In some ways it made me think about post-and beam house where the beams were covered with finished wood. Every room had wainscoting. Both the doors and windows had a lot of glass but had vertical strips of wood dividing the glass. The floors in the public spaces were oak and each room had a border of oak flooring and then the regular oak boards in the center of the frame. The nonpublic rooms were floored in hemlock. Most every room had built in cabinets with wooden doors. The furniture in the living room was Stickley. The sitting room upstairs was furnished in Wicker and we were told that the Wicker which used to make the room feel lighter. The outside of the house was brick. It really was very attractive but I like Frank Lloyd Wright buildings. He did not design this but it felt like he could have.
I went to the San Diego zoo which is also in Balboa Park. I took some pics, mostly of animals I was unfamiliar with. While on the tour bus, we went by a section of the park labeled Kopje. Each time we passed it, I asked myself what kind of animal that could be. When I left the bus back and entered that section. Dummy!! Kopje is a South African Boer word pronounced copy and means little head. It's a little pile of rocks in which animals live. In this rock pile, there were the cutest little klipspringers (cliffspringer's). They can jump from a standing start 10 feet. They use this ability to escape from predators by jumping from rock to rock. I have to admit that the zoo didn't thrill me. Okay but not unique like I expected.
Something that did really thrill me was a Japanese garden in Balboa Park. I called my daughter-in-law, Krista, to talk about the loggia. It was unique. Over a post-and beam frame, a crosshatch of bamboo pieces were lashed together. Vines had been trained to climb over the bamboo. Beautiful. Simple. Eco friendly! the rate stone in the rock garden was just as simple and beautiful. The theme throughout the garden seemed to be water running slowly through bamboo. It was a bamboo piece that dripped of water into a piece of bamboo wage Winfield tipped over and dumped out the water. Unphotographable! of their bamboo fountains dripped water into the stone pots or simply to rein in a slight stream of water continuously. Somehow not one photograph came out. But I loved every bit of it.
Tuesday, November 6, 2007
San Diego -- Harbor
I began my visit to San Diego at the harbor. Not only is the visitors center located there, but there are so many ships along the Embarcadero that they demand attention. The largest were the cruise ships including a couple of Princess line. I cannot imagine getting on one of those with thousands of other people. I went south along the Embarcadero to see the USS Midway, an aircraft carrier now docked permanently as a Museum in San Diego. There were 60 stations where you pressed the number on the telephone like piece to listen to an explanation of what you are seeing. In addition there seemed to be hundreds of Navy veterans volunteering as docents to answer any question you could think of. They also demonstrated certain aspects of the ship and took small groups through the island (I think that's what the tower is called). In that tower, after walking at least three flights of stairs, we toured the air boss control room which looks out over the flight deck and the bridge which controls the sailing of the ship. We were a group of about 20 and packed in these places. However, it was below deck where sardine packing was normal. I cannot imagine how the enlisted men existed for months at a time in the spaces. I guess I was lucky to go in the Army!
I hadn't realized that the off-center flight deck (which was invented by the British) was just for landing and the on center deck with its catapults was for takeoffs. Our guide stressed how separating these two functions made life so much safer for the pilots. On the deck, they had examples of the various types of aircraft which had flown from the Midway during her service. I also toured the hangar deck and the huge elevator which carried the planes from the hangar deck to the flight deck and back. All in all, a most instructive and interesting afternoon. I highly recommend it. Some pics here.
Also in the harbor is the San Diego Maritime Museum. They have a variety of craft you can tour with experienced seamen to answer questions. I was particularly taken with the Star of India and the HMS Surprise. The Star of India was one of the last sailing ships built in England. She sailed around the world 22 times mostly carrying immigrants to New Zealand. I found it interesting for a number of reasons including the fact that she is an iron hulled vessel. Built just before the age of steel, her hall is entirely of iron and is a perfect copy of a wooden hull sailing ship. She has iron beams exactly where there would be wooden beams. The thickness of her siding is exactly the thickness of a wooden siding. She is technically a barque. This means that the foremast and the mainmast are really with square sails wound which run perpendicular to the keel. The mizzenmast (one nearest the rear) is rigged with sails which run parallel with the keel. (See how much you can learn from a docent). Anyway, Museum volunteers were having a dress rehearsal in preparation for sailing up and down the coast this coming weekend. The ship is crewed by all volunteers except the captain who is a professional. Crew members are required to train twice a month for a year before they are allowed to join the crew. I found the practice shifting of the sails unbelievably instructive. When I taught my eighth graders about whaling (way back when), I could've used what I learned about rigging. Finally, standing rigging (those ropes which hold up the mast) and running rigging (those ropes which move the sails) are clear in my mind.
Below decks, I found the accommodations terrible. First-class passengers were required to furnish their own cabins. These cabins were about 6' x 8' and an entire family was expected to fit in there. Their meals were taken in a large common room with the officers. I think the room would seat eight to 10 people. The captain's cabin was about the same size as the first-class cabins. In the hold, where the sleeping spaces of the rest of the immigrants. There were six bunks in each space, some of the bunks were doubles. It appeared that they lived in their bunks.
The other ship I liked was the HMS Surprise, the one used in the movie Captains and Commanders (or some such title). My son Erik has read all 22 books in which the Surprise played an important part. I think I've read most of them. Anyway, I just had to call him while I was aboard! The Surprise is technically rigged as a ship, all three masts with square sails perpendicular to the keel. She is a small fighting ship (frigate) with cannon as her armament. It takes a crew of about 30 to sail her but another 170 to fight her. She is about 135 feet long and 32 feet wide on the deck. Erik asked about the space between the top deck and the fighting deck which turned out to be approximately 5 feet. Anyway, I feel like I have seen what I only imagined as I read the books. pics here.
I hadn't realized that the off-center flight deck (which was invented by the British) was just for landing and the on center deck with its catapults was for takeoffs. Our guide stressed how separating these two functions made life so much safer for the pilots. On the deck, they had examples of the various types of aircraft which had flown from the Midway during her service. I also toured the hangar deck and the huge elevator which carried the planes from the hangar deck to the flight deck and back. All in all, a most instructive and interesting afternoon. I highly recommend it. Some pics here.
Also in the harbor is the San Diego Maritime Museum. They have a variety of craft you can tour with experienced seamen to answer questions. I was particularly taken with the Star of India and the HMS Surprise. The Star of India was one of the last sailing ships built in England. She sailed around the world 22 times mostly carrying immigrants to New Zealand. I found it interesting for a number of reasons including the fact that she is an iron hulled vessel. Built just before the age of steel, her hall is entirely of iron and is a perfect copy of a wooden hull sailing ship. She has iron beams exactly where there would be wooden beams. The thickness of her siding is exactly the thickness of a wooden siding. She is technically a barque. This means that the foremast and the mainmast are really with square sails wound which run perpendicular to the keel. The mizzenmast (one nearest the rear) is rigged with sails which run parallel with the keel. (See how much you can learn from a docent). Anyway, Museum volunteers were having a dress rehearsal in preparation for sailing up and down the coast this coming weekend. The ship is crewed by all volunteers except the captain who is a professional. Crew members are required to train twice a month for a year before they are allowed to join the crew. I found the practice shifting of the sails unbelievably instructive. When I taught my eighth graders about whaling (way back when), I could've used what I learned about rigging. Finally, standing rigging (those ropes which hold up the mast) and running rigging (those ropes which move the sails) are clear in my mind.
Below decks, I found the accommodations terrible. First-class passengers were required to furnish their own cabins. These cabins were about 6' x 8' and an entire family was expected to fit in there. Their meals were taken in a large common room with the officers. I think the room would seat eight to 10 people. The captain's cabin was about the same size as the first-class cabins. In the hold, where the sleeping spaces of the rest of the immigrants. There were six bunks in each space, some of the bunks were doubles. It appeared that they lived in their bunks.
The other ship I liked was the HMS Surprise, the one used in the movie Captains and Commanders (or some such title). My son Erik has read all 22 books in which the Surprise played an important part. I think I've read most of them. Anyway, I just had to call him while I was aboard! The Surprise is technically rigged as a ship, all three masts with square sails perpendicular to the keel. She is a small fighting ship (frigate) with cannon as her armament. It takes a crew of about 30 to sail her but another 170 to fight her. She is about 135 feet long and 32 feet wide on the deck. Erik asked about the space between the top deck and the fighting deck which turned out to be approximately 5 feet. Anyway, I feel like I have seen what I only imagined as I read the books. pics here.
Thursday, November 1, 2007
Yuma Prison/Colorado River
Peggy and Mike took me sightseeing to the Yuma Prison. They had visited it earlier and thought I would enjoy it. Were they ever right.
The prison was built when Arizona was a territory, before it became a state. The prisoners mined the granite on the hill and built their own prison. Granite mining remained a primary occupation for the prisoners throughout the life of the prison. The pictures of the Dark Cell I think are unique. Prisoners hollowed out three cells from the living rock with only a small air hole to admit light. These were used as punishment cells! I was uncomfortable being in one with the door open and the sun streaming in!! The first picture is of what the prison looked like in its heyday. Note the wide Colorado River flowing along at the base of the hill then look at the same river today. It has shrunk to a minuscule flow. Most of the materials to build the prison (except for the granite) were brought here on the Colorado River which was navigable from the Gulf of California (by Baja California). Today the stream is small enough to wade, I think. A little research reveals that the federal government built the Imperial Diversion Dam upstream of Yuma and diverts 90% of the Colorado's water to irrigation and city water systems. Mexico gets what is left. So much for downstream water rights.
We have explored the area from here to the Mexican border and I find my old US history coming to life. Remember the Gadsden purchase?? It was a strip of land purchased from Mexico so a trans-continental railroad could be built. If you look at a map, the part of Arizona which extends further south than California is that purchase. We drove into it the other day and drove through the town of Gadsden. We also crossed the Gila River which is ringing memory bells but I can't place it yet. Anyway, living in my history book!
Off to San Diego tomorrow. I'll let you know what I find but don't expect expert pictures as my photographer is not coming along!
The prison was built when Arizona was a territory, before it became a state. The prisoners mined the granite on the hill and built their own prison. Granite mining remained a primary occupation for the prisoners throughout the life of the prison. The pictures of the Dark Cell I think are unique. Prisoners hollowed out three cells from the living rock with only a small air hole to admit light. These were used as punishment cells! I was uncomfortable being in one with the door open and the sun streaming in!! The first picture is of what the prison looked like in its heyday. Note the wide Colorado River flowing along at the base of the hill then look at the same river today. It has shrunk to a minuscule flow. Most of the materials to build the prison (except for the granite) were brought here on the Colorado River which was navigable from the Gulf of California (by Baja California). Today the stream is small enough to wade, I think. A little research reveals that the federal government built the Imperial Diversion Dam upstream of Yuma and diverts 90% of the Colorado's water to irrigation and city water systems. Mexico gets what is left. So much for downstream water rights.
We have explored the area from here to the Mexican border and I find my old US history coming to life. Remember the Gadsden purchase?? It was a strip of land purchased from Mexico so a trans-continental railroad could be built. If you look at a map, the part of Arizona which extends further south than California is that purchase. We drove into it the other day and drove through the town of Gadsden. We also crossed the Gila River which is ringing memory bells but I can't place it yet. Anyway, living in my history book!
Off to San Diego tomorrow. I'll let you know what I find but don't expect expert pictures as my photographer is not coming along!
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