Snow Day #2

Hi All,

The blizzard is still hammering western Kansas. Driving in 8" of snow with 25-30 mph winds did not sound like fun so we stayed put for another day. We will have to visit the Black Canyon of the Gunnison some other time.

We spent the day doing chores and relaxing. 

Remember the photo of Dave and Ida Eisenhower with their six boys? After the war a reporter asked Ida if she was proud of her son. She reportedly replied, "Which one?"

Back in Florida, the home schoolers had a prom. Here are Wyatt, Garrett and their dates.

Tomorrow the forecast is 60 degrees and sunny. We will start a two day drive to western Colorado.

Love,

Sandy & Carl 

Living & Traveling in our Motorhome

Volunteering across America

greenbaum2@gmail.com

www.livingourdream2011.blogspot.com

617-435-8502

Eisenhower Center

Hi All,

We spent our "Snow Day" exploring the Eisenhower Center in nearby Abilene, KS. The site includes the museum, library and family home.

Ike was born in Denison, TX but lived in this house from age 4 until he left to attend West Point.

The birth page of the family bible records Dwight's birth in TX at the bottom.

This 1902 family portrait shows 12 year old Dwight on left.

The house is small, especially for a family of eight. This is the formal "front parlor". The boys needed permission to enter.

A family reunion in the 20's showed Major Eisenhower seated on the steps.

This statue on the grounds honors Eisenhower's military roles as Commander of US then Combined Allied Forces.

The museum had extensive exhibits describing his early years, a section about Mamie, WW2 and his presidency including early civil rights challenges and the creation of NASA. A remarkable record for a humble, principled and dedicated man.

The weather forecast is not much better. Western Kansas is expecting snow and high winds (25-35 mph). If it is not too bad here we will head west in the morning, prepared to get off the road if (when) it gets bad. We don't drive in snow or high cross winds and there are lots of campgrounds along I-70.

Good news from Gros Ventre Campground in Grand Teton. The manager, Roger Hooey reported that it is mostly bare ground.

Love,

Sandy & Carl 

Living & Traveling in our Motorhome

Volunteering across America

greenbaum2@gmail.com

www.livingourdream2011.blogspot.com

617-435-8502

Snow Day

Hi All,
The plan was to drive three days to Black Canyon. That was yesterday.

As we drove into Kansas today we got a message from the KOA campground in Colorado where we planned to stay tomorrow. 

Winter storm warnings and high winds are forecast. She offered us free cancellation or reschedule . Very thoughtful.

After reviewing our itinerary and area weather forecasts (3-4" of snow) we decided to stay out here in Salina, KS for an extra day. 

We are about a half hour from Abilene so we will visit the Eisenhower Library, Museum & Boyhood residence.

Our visits in Arkansas and Kansas reminded us that we need to update our "Places we have Visited" map.

Here's the updated version.

We are soooooo lucky to have visited these places. We'll have to work on visiting the north central states soon.

Love,

Sandy & Carl 

Living & Traveling in our Motorhome

Volunteering across America

greenbaum2@gmail.com

www.livingourdream2011.blogspot.com

617-435-8502

Fort Smith National Historic Park

Hi All,

On Christmas Day 1817, 64 soldiers came ashore here along the Arkansas River. Their mission was to build a fort and control the fighting between the local resident Osage tribe and the Cherokee that had been forced to relocate into the area from Georgia. By 1824 the fort was abandoned in favor of forts further into "Indian Territory" (Oklahoma).

In 1838 a second fort was built near the earlier fort to protect citizens from the lawlessness in adjacent Indian territory. 

The left hand end of this building was the barracks.

The fort served as a major supply depot for military facilities further west. This commissary building sent supplies and provisions westward.

Canned goods, sacks of flour, barrels of lard and cases of Castile soap were supplied to other forts.

In 1871 the Army abandoned the fort and it was used as the Federal Courthouse for the Indian Territory. In March 1875, Judge Issac Parker was assigned here. He was replaced in 2017 by Judge Sandy😉.

Prisoners awaiting trial or awaiting transport to federal prisons were kept here in the basement of the courthouse in squalid conditions.

Finally a proper prison was built (the right hand end of the building in the top photo). 

This locking mechanism latched all the doors along the hallway.

Prisoners convicted of murder or rape were hung at these gallows.

Judge Parker heard over 13,000 cases in his 21 years on the bench. Of these, 160 were sentenced to hang and 97 were ultimately hanged here. 

Ironically, during this same period, over 100 deputy marshals were killed trying to apprehend criminals in Indian Territory.

A further irony was that Judge Parker opposed the death penalty, favored women voting and ethical treatment of Native Americans. He died in office at age 58. It was said that he worked himself to death.

Numerous interpretive exhibits talk about the forced Indian relocation from the southeastern US to Oklahoma. Known as the "Trail of Tears", this brutal relocation resulted in the death of tens of thousands of Native Americans . This hauntingly beautiful painting commemorates the Trail of Tears.

Tomorrow we begin an unusual three day drive across OK, KS and CO to visit the Black Canyon of the Gunnisson National Park.

Love,

Sandy & Carl 

Living & Traveling in our Motorhome

Volunteering across America

greenbaum2@gmail.com

www.livingourdream2011.blogspot.com

617-435-8502

Eureka Springs

Hi All,

Our next stop was Eureka Springs, AR. It is a quirky little tourist town with its own hot spring.

The plan was to arrive around 2 PM on Tuesday, tour the town in the afternoon then visit the Turpentine Creek Wildlife Refuge Wednesday morning before continuing to Fort Smith. Well, you know what they say about plans!

We were advised against driving the direct route across the mountains. The longer, flatter route meant we didn't arrive until almost 4 PM. We rushed into town since most shops close at 5.

This beautiful mural captures the first 100 years of the town history from 1829 to 1929.

Narrow streets, narrow sidewalks and shops with cute names.

The Cliff Cottage was perched on the hillside, living up to its name.

How could we not shop in a store with a sign like this?

This sign was posted in the window of a bar.

After dinner in town we went back to the campground looking forward to our visit to the big cat refuge on Wednesday.

The thunder, lightening and rain started about 1:30 AM. Bright flashes we could see through closed eyelids and peels of thunder lasting 5-10 seconds kept us awake. Things settled down about 6 AM, we fell sound asleep to be awakened at 7:30 by the blaring flash flood alerts on our phones. This was the weather map!

Fortunately we were far above the river so we just had to contend with large puddles.

The rain resumed and since the big cat refuge is all outdoors we agreed it would have to wait until next time.

Love,

Sandy & Carl 

Living & Traveling in our Motorhome

Volunteering across America

greenbaum2@gmail.com

www.livingourdream2011.blogspot.com

617-435-8502

Hot Springs National Park

Hi All, 

A rare geological formation in this area causes groundwater, heated as it percolates into the earth, to rise through cracks in the rocks as mineral rich hot (143 degrees) water.

The area became very popular for people seeking cures for numerous ailments. In 1832 Congress named it a federal reserve. In 1921, Woodrow Wilson created Hot Springs National Park. 

The early wooden Victorian bath houses succumbed to rot and fire. They were replaced, between 1911-1939, by a group of brick structures along "Bathhouse Row". This one, the Forsythe, now serves as the NPS Visitor Center.

Here's one of the soaking tubs.

Steam cabinets helped folks really work up a sweat!

How about a needle shower to excite your skin?

The different bath houses competed for clients by being more luxurious. How about a stained glass ceiling in the men's changing room

or a swanky sitting room to relax in after " Taking the Waters".

The popularity of the baths peaked in 1946 when over 67,000 people came here. By 1974 that number had plummeted to 6,500. 

The Buckstaff is the only bath house still operating .

Thanks to the protection offered by its National Park status, these buildings have been preserved along with the history of the wealthy patrons, baseball players and gangsters who came here for a soak.

Love,

Sandy & Carl 

Living & Traveling in our Motorhome

Volunteering across America

greenbaum2@gmail.com

www.livingourdream2011.blogspot.com

617-435-8502

Nashville

Hi All,

At the rest area where we had lunch on the way to Nashville we spotted this sign. Guess there's one less way to express your opinion about the government in Tennessee.

Shortly after our lunch stop it started to rain. Four inches of rain later we got to the campground. Then it rained all night with thunder and lightning. Undeterred by the weather we headed into town to check out some of the music venues. The band here was good but we could not even find a place to stand!

This pair was pretty good and we stood at the back wall watching for a while.

At about the sixth bar we found a seat. The bluegrass group was excellent but there's no picture of them since we could not see them from where we were sitting. 

The weather gods were still raging. Of the four TVs in this bar, one showed basketball, one showed hockey and two showed the weather channel posting tornado warnings for a community about 20 miles south.

In the evening we went to the Grand Ole Opry. A great show as usual.

Since we went to the Opry late show (9:30-12:00), we will get a late start tomorrow as we head for Hot Springs National Park in Arkansas.

Love,

Sandy & Carl 

Living & Traveling in our Motorhome

Volunteering across America

greenbaum2@gmail.com

www.livingourdream2011.blogspot.com

617-435-8502

Visiting Walt & Betty

Hi All,

We stopped in Charlotte, NC to visit Walt & Betty.

It was great to see them and spend time together especially since they will not be returning to volunteer at the Elk Refuge in Jackson, WY this summer.

First stop was the National Whitewater Training Center. This fascinating Olympic Training facility has acres of concrete and millions of gallons of water pumped through the system to create rapids of varying difficulty.

You can shoot the rapids on a raft

or bring/rent a kayak.

This guy looks like he might be in trouble but he was actually practicing rolls and recoveries .

After you have kayaked or rafted from the upper pool to the lower pool (there are different channels with differing challenges), no need to haul out and climb back up. Just paddle on to the conveyer belt and ride it back to the top.

Next stop was the Memorial Garden in Concord, NC.

Founded as a Presbyterian cemetery in 1804, it was reclaimed as a memorial garden in 1930.

It's a beautiful, peaceful spot with a few very old tombstones surrounded by well tended flower beds.

After our good-bye hugs with Betty & Walt, we continued west towards Nashville.

Love,

Sandy & Carl 

Living & Traveling in our Motorhome

Volunteering across America

greenbaum2@gmail.com

www.livingourdream2011.blogspot.com

617-435-8502

Woodrow Wilson Birthplace & Museum

Hi All,

Woodrow Wilson's family moved to Staunton, VA where his father was a Presbyterian minister in 1855. Thomas Woodrow Wilson was born in 1856. In his early years he was called Tommy. Later he dropped the Tommy, believing "Woodrow", his mother's maiden name, was more dignified.

This site includes his birthplace, his museum and library.

Wilson earned a PhD from Princeton (the only President to have a PhD) and later serves as President of Princeton. This is his desk from Princeton.

The museum has extensive exhibits covering his time as NJ Governor his two presidential campaigns and highlights of his time as President.

His favorite car was this huge V-12 Pierce-Arrow.

Here's the house where he was born.

In the kitchen we saw this stove with different ranges of heat, leading to the term "range". Carl took this picture just before we spotted the " No Photography" sign!

Before electronic funds transfers, this was how money moved between banks. Wilson was on the biggest note.

In the gift shop we found this T shirt with a quote from Wilson.

Too bad we have no more room in the coach.

Love,

Sandy & Carl 

Living & Traveling in our Motorhome

Volunteering across America

greenbaum2@gmail.com

www.livingourdream2011.blogspot.com

617-435-8502