Wednesday, December 2, 2009
August 14, 2009, Friday MESA VERDE
Wow, how to explain Mesa Verde National Park .. .lt's at about 7000 feet with a lot of cedar trees. It's pretty with wonderful vistas where you can pull over and look down and see for miles and miles. But the really fabulous part is the ruins. These American Indians (Lamanites to all you Mormon folks) had this fabulous society where they built homes right into the cliffs. We toured one of them called the Cliff Palace. It was some kind of central gathering place for the people with some small (emphasis on small) housing areas on the outside. We had to climb down over 80 stairs (some places very narrow passages between rocks) to get underneath the rock overhang to climb all over the ruins. We also had to climb three or four wooden ladders off the edges of rocks. OK, it was difficult, but the hard part was that I didn't realize it would be at 7000 feet and I didn't think to bring my inhaler and I was having a lot of trouble breathing. But, I'm so glad I went. It was a wonderful and fabulous experience. Took me a long time to get back up the mountain, but it was so worth it. Went back to the campground for a rest. The weather here is so much cooler than I thought it would
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be, but we braved it and went for a dip in the pool, and then went in the hot tub. Tough life huh? We watched a movie, and went to bed early 'cause we want to take off early tomorrow and drive straight through to home. It's a little less than 400 miles.
Wow, how to explain Mesa Verde National Park .. .lt's at about 7000 feet with a lot of cedar trees. It's pretty with wonderful vistas where you can pull over and look down and see for miles and miles. But the really fabulous part is the ruins. These American Indians (Lamanites to all you Mormon folks) had this fabulous society where they built homes right into the cliffs. We toured one of them called the Cliff Palace. It was some kind of central gathering place for the people with some small (emphasis on small) housing areas on the outside. We had to climb down over 80 stairs (some places very narrow passages between rocks) to get underneath the rock overhang to climb all over the ruins. We also had to climb three or four wooden ladders off the edges of rocks. OK, it was difficult, but the hard part was that I didn't realize it would be at 7000 feet and I didn't think to bring my inhaler and I was having a lot of trouble breathing. But, I'm so glad I went. It was a wonderful and fabulous experience. Took me a long time to get back up the mountain, but it was so worth it. Went back to the campground for a rest. The weather here is so much cooler than I thought it would
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be, but we braved it and went for a dip in the pool, and then went in the hot tub. Tough life huh? We watched a movie, and went to bed early 'cause we want to take off early tomorrow and drive straight through to home. It's a little less than 400 miles.
August 13, 2009, Thursday TO MANCOS, COLORADO
Not much to report today. Drove to Mancos, set up camp and then went to town to the Wal-Mart to get some supplies. We had some trouble with the truck on the way over, so Mike changed the fuel filter and it's good now. Yeah! To get here we had to drive through the Durango pass and it's really pretty there, but Durango is an oddly laid out town. It's very long and narrow with the freeway raised above and going right through the center. Kind of hard to explain, but it just looks weird. We're over here in Mancos 'cause we want to go see Mesa Verde, the old ruins that are built right into the cliffs on the sides of the canyons. We really like the park here even tho' they have some flies, but that's because the people with ranches on each side of us have horses. It was so fun to be out in the country like this. There is a black, mare, mule next door that is beautiful. I've never seen a mule that had such beautiful confirmation. Wow, she's really pretty. She came over to the fence and we had a good visit. Mike took Daisy for a walk on the other side of the park by some horses. Daisy wanted to get nose to nose and just then the horse, who was eating, snorted. Mike said she jumped straight up in the air and it was really funny.
Not much to report today. Drove to Mancos, set up camp and then went to town to the Wal-Mart to get some supplies. We had some trouble with the truck on the way over, so Mike changed the fuel filter and it's good now. Yeah! To get here we had to drive through the Durango pass and it's really pretty there, but Durango is an oddly laid out town. It's very long and narrow with the freeway raised above and going right through the center. Kind of hard to explain, but it just looks weird. We're over here in Mancos 'cause we want to go see Mesa Verde, the old ruins that are built right into the cliffs on the sides of the canyons. We really like the park here even tho' they have some flies, but that's because the people with ranches on each side of us have horses. It was so fun to be out in the country like this. There is a black, mare, mule next door that is beautiful. I've never seen a mule that had such beautiful confirmation. Wow, she's really pretty. She came over to the fence and we had a good visit. Mike took Daisy for a walk on the other side of the park by some horses. Daisy wanted to get nose to nose and just then the horse, who was eating, snorted. Mike said she jumped straight up in the air and it was really funny.
August 12, 2009, Wednesday SANTA FE
Today we went into Santa Fe again to see some of the sites. Neither of us felt very well but we managed to find two remarkable galleries in which we spent a good deal of time. Looked at some jewelry and clothing and then went home to relax. Santa Fe is a really old town and the streets are very narrow and there are a lot of tourists, but it is a really cute town. They probably have some sort of ordinance about signage and architecture because the whole town looks southwest; all the buildings are that Mexican type with flat roofs and even the malls look like that. Again, it's really cute.
Today we went into Santa Fe again to see some of the sites. Neither of us felt very well but we managed to find two remarkable galleries in which we spent a good deal of time. Looked at some jewelry and clothing and then went home to relax. Santa Fe is a really old town and the streets are very narrow and there are a lot of tourists, but it is a really cute town. They probably have some sort of ordinance about signage and architecture because the whole town looks southwest; all the buildings are that Mexican type with flat roofs and even the malls look like that. Again, it's really cute.
August 11, 2009, Tuesday TO SANTA FE, NEW MEXICOToday started off very sad because our good 'ole travel buddies Ralph and Betty took off for home. It's nice to have such good friends that are relatives too! They are heading home and it's a different direction from the way we're going. We had our final prayer meeting and there were tears. We wish them well and hope they travel safe. We drove on to Santa Fe. Always wanted to go there 'cause it's an artsy town. We got there safe and sound. We set up camp and it was still early so we drove into town to see the church with the mysterious staircase. There is this Catholic Church, it's called the Chapel of Lorreto, and they had a ladder that the priests would climb to get to the choir loft. When the sisters came to this area they were afraid to climb the ladder (rightly so), so they wanted to put in stairs, but it would take up a lot of space and they would have to remove pews, which of course they didn't want to do. So the sisters prayed that they could somehow find an answer to this problem. Low and behold, a man showed up who offered to build a spiral staircase. It's beautiful! He built it and then disappeared, so they call it the mysterious staircase. When the man finished the staircase it didn't have a railing, so that was added years later. It's a very pretty chapel and staircase.
August 10, 2009, Monday TO ALBUQUERQUE, New Mexico
We drove over to Albuquerque without out a hitch in our get along and we are thankful to arrive safely. We have been so blessed during this trip. Of all the things that could go wrong we have been blessed to be safe with very little difficulty and for that we are grateful. We have a prayer meeting every morning before we take off, and that's been great. On our way over here to Albuquerque we got off the freeway to drive through the main street of Tucumcari just 'cause the name is so neat. It sounds like something out of the Book of Mormon. It's a pretty poor town and it has lots of businesses along the main drag which have gone out of business, empty buildings and closed gas stations. Another reason I wanted to drive through it is 'cause it's part of the old Route 66 road. There aren't many sections of Ole Route 66 left. We drove on one section of it in Needles, California one winter when we were staying in Bullhead City, AZ. That's for you Dale, we did travel on Route 66!
We drove over to Albuquerque without out a hitch in our get along and we are thankful to arrive safely. We have been so blessed during this trip. Of all the things that could go wrong we have been blessed to be safe with very little difficulty and for that we are grateful. We have a prayer meeting every morning before we take off, and that's been great. On our way over here to Albuquerque we got off the freeway to drive through the main street of Tucumcari just 'cause the name is so neat. It sounds like something out of the Book of Mormon. It's a pretty poor town and it has lots of businesses along the main drag which have gone out of business, empty buildings and closed gas stations. Another reason I wanted to drive through it is 'cause it's part of the old Route 66 road. There aren't many sections of Ole Route 66 left. We drove on one section of it in Needles, California one winter when we were staying in Bullhead City, AZ. That's for you Dale, we did travel on Route 66!
August 9,2009, Sunday TO AMARILLO, TEXAS OK ... another excit'n day. That's the way they say it here in Texas, excit'n. We drove all of about 250 miles because the wind was blowing and Ralph's truck has trouble bucking the wind ... bucking, hey, that's another Texas word. I'm picking this up real fast! We stayed in an RV park in Amarillo
August 8, 2009, Saturday TO OKLAHOMA CITY, OKLOAHOMA
Only in Arkansas can you find a community park called "Toad Suck Park ... " Makes you want to have a picnic there huh? Well this was an exciting day ... just kidding! Drove over here and stayed in a Wal-Mart parking lot just like all the poor white trailer trash. No insult intended, just making a joke.
Only in Arkansas can you find a community park called "Toad Suck Park ... " Makes you want to have a picnic there huh? Well this was an exciting day ... just kidding! Drove over here and stayed in a Wal-Mart parking lot just like all the poor white trailer trash. No insult intended, just making a joke.
August 7, 2009, Friday MEMPHIS
Ralph, Betty and Mike went to Tupelo, MS today to see where Elvis was born. I was too tired and wanted to get my blog caught up and do laundry and clean a little house. I worked really hard, got the work part done and then laid on the couch to watch some old movies I've seen a bunch of time, but it was restful. The gang said the house Vernon built himself and it was just a two room. AS you come in the front door you come into a room which was the living/bedroom. Had a rocking chair, lamp, bed. Through that room was the eat in kitchen and then you went out the back door. Very simple. They saw the Chapel where Elvis used to spend time and the bronze statue they have in the town of Elvis when he was a 13 year old kid. Mike brought me postcards so I could see it too.
Ralph, Betty and Mike went to Tupelo, MS today to see where Elvis was born. I was too tired and wanted to get my blog caught up and do laundry and clean a little house. I worked really hard, got the work part done and then laid on the couch to watch some old movies I've seen a bunch of time, but it was restful. The gang said the house Vernon built himself and it was just a two room. AS you come in the front door you come into a room which was the living/bedroom. Had a rocking chair, lamp, bed. Through that room was the eat in kitchen and then you went out the back door. Very simple. They saw the Chapel where Elvis used to spend time and the bronze statue they have in the town of Elvis when he was a 13 year old kid. Mike brought me postcards so I could see it too.
garden. When Elvis' Mom died she was buried in a local cemetery, then when Elvis died his Dad had him laid to rest by his Mom. Later Vernon petitioned the city and got permission to have them moved and buried at Graceland. Then
when Vernon died he was buried there too. It's interesting that Vernon's Mom outlived all three of them and is buried next to Elvis at Graceland. After Graceland we went to his Car Museum. Wow! Stutz Bearcat, Rolls Royce, multiple Cadillac, motorcycles, Ferrari, MG and lots of stuff he drove around the yard. We ventured on to the airplanes. The
large jet was named the Lisa Marie. In the plane the seats were like couches, and the wash room had a gold sink and faucets. There was a conference room complete with a bar full of soda pop (Elvis didn't like alcohol) and a huge glass conference table. At the back was his bedroom with a queen size bed and a big bathroom, complete with gold sinks, etc. Guess what ... we're tired and our feet hurt! We had lunch and rested. Then Mike and Ralph had more tire duty, as we bought two more tires since ours were looking uneven and worn.
when Vernon died he was buried there too. It's interesting that Vernon's Mom outlived all three of them and is buried next to Elvis at Graceland. After Graceland we went to his Car Museum. Wow! Stutz Bearcat, Rolls Royce, multiple Cadillac, motorcycles, Ferrari, MG and lots of stuff he drove around the yard. We ventured on to the airplanes. The
large jet was named the Lisa Marie. In the plane the seats were like couches, and the wash room had a gold sink and faucets. There was a conference room complete with a bar full of soda pop (Elvis didn't like alcohol) and a huge glass conference table. At the back was his bedroom with a queen size bed and a big bathroom, complete with gold sinks, etc. Guess what ... we're tired and our feet hurt! We had lunch and rested. Then Mike and Ralph had more tire duty, as we bought two more tires since ours were looking uneven and worn.
August 6,2009, Thursday GRACELAND!!!
OK ... It's true ... WE TOURED GRACELAND TODAY!!!! It was so neat to see where Elvis used to hang out. Tourists are only allowed to see the grounds and the downstairs. No one is allowed upstairs to see the bedrooms or the bathroom where he passed away out of respect for him and his family. When you first come in there is an entry way and to the right is
the Living room with a large white couch and a couple of chairs. You can see through the Living room into the Music room where one of several of the pianos which have been in that room stands. We saw one of the pianos that used to be in that room in the Country Music Hall of Fame. It was a gift that Pricilla gave to Elvis and she had it covered in 24k gold. The one we saw today was just a regular, black, grand piano. There are stained glass windows on each side of the door that goes into the Music room which picture peacocks. Really pretty. Next you go down the hall and see Vernon and Gladys's bedroom. She must have liked purple 'cause her bedspread and accents were purple and the carpet was off white. It was a pretty room and their bathroom was also done in lavender and purple. Next we went to the dining room. So much of the house seems to be done in dark colors. It was a large formal dining room and there was the prettiest picture of Pricilla and Lisa on the wall. Then into the kitchen which was quite large (however, dark wood, dark carpeted floor, etc.). Behind the kitchen was the "Jungle" room. It was like a family room with a jungle motif. Had a waterfall at one end and lots of plants and strangely carved wood furniture. They say sometimes they used this as a recording room and that was why there was carpet on the floor, walls and ceiling. Green carpet. We went downstairs to the basement where there was a TV room. This was my favorite room because it had this huge, bright yellow, leather couch, yellow walls and Navy blue accents. His thunderbolt logo was above the couch and the ceiling was mirrored.
This is where he had his record collection, and after hearing that President Johnson watched three news casts at once, Elvis had three TV's installed and was said to watch all three at once also. Downstairs there was also pool room with a
bar and the ceiling and walls were covered with over 300 yards of fabric in a gathered effect. Then there was the racket ball court, which now has carpet and furniture, lots of leather couches, in it. It also has an upright piano in it and this
was the piano he was playing and singing hymns just before he went upstairs and died. Next we went outside and
across the carport to Vernon's large office, and then the target practice room. We walked outside and through some of the backyard (landscaped beautifully) to the Trophy room. Oh my gosh! I had no idea he had so many. It's a huge room with all kinds of trophies, and then a wide and very long hallway with all the gold and platinum albums, Grammys, and other awards, then you turn a corner and go into the "Movies" room which has actual costumes he wore in each of the (who knows how many) movies he was in. They also had Elvis and Pricilla's wedding clothes and pictures of the wedding. I can't believe how simple her wedding dress was. I guess I was thinking something like Princess Diana or something, but this was just a simple white sheath with beaded sleeves. After that we went by the swimming pool to the Meditation
OK ... It's true ... WE TOURED GRACELAND TODAY!!!! It was so neat to see where Elvis used to hang out. Tourists are only allowed to see the grounds and the downstairs. No one is allowed upstairs to see the bedrooms or the bathroom where he passed away out of respect for him and his family. When you first come in there is an entry way and to the right is
the Living room with a large white couch and a couple of chairs. You can see through the Living room into the Music room where one of several of the pianos which have been in that room stands. We saw one of the pianos that used to be in that room in the Country Music Hall of Fame. It was a gift that Pricilla gave to Elvis and she had it covered in 24k gold. The one we saw today was just a regular, black, grand piano. There are stained glass windows on each side of the door that goes into the Music room which picture peacocks. Really pretty. Next you go down the hall and see Vernon and Gladys's bedroom. She must have liked purple 'cause her bedspread and accents were purple and the carpet was off white. It was a pretty room and their bathroom was also done in lavender and purple. Next we went to the dining room. So much of the house seems to be done in dark colors. It was a large formal dining room and there was the prettiest picture of Pricilla and Lisa on the wall. Then into the kitchen which was quite large (however, dark wood, dark carpeted floor, etc.). Behind the kitchen was the "Jungle" room. It was like a family room with a jungle motif. Had a waterfall at one end and lots of plants and strangely carved wood furniture. They say sometimes they used this as a recording room and that was why there was carpet on the floor, walls and ceiling. Green carpet. We went downstairs to the basement where there was a TV room. This was my favorite room because it had this huge, bright yellow, leather couch, yellow walls and Navy blue accents. His thunderbolt logo was above the couch and the ceiling was mirrored.
This is where he had his record collection, and after hearing that President Johnson watched three news casts at once, Elvis had three TV's installed and was said to watch all three at once also. Downstairs there was also pool room with a
bar and the ceiling and walls were covered with over 300 yards of fabric in a gathered effect. Then there was the racket ball court, which now has carpet and furniture, lots of leather couches, in it. It also has an upright piano in it and this
was the piano he was playing and singing hymns just before he went upstairs and died. Next we went outside and
across the carport to Vernon's large office, and then the target practice room. We walked outside and through some of the backyard (landscaped beautifully) to the Trophy room. Oh my gosh! I had no idea he had so many. It's a huge room with all kinds of trophies, and then a wide and very long hallway with all the gold and platinum albums, Grammys, and other awards, then you turn a corner and go into the "Movies" room which has actual costumes he wore in each of the (who knows how many) movies he was in. They also had Elvis and Pricilla's wedding clothes and pictures of the wedding. I can't believe how simple her wedding dress was. I guess I was thinking something like Princess Diana or something, but this was just a simple white sheath with beaded sleeves. After that we went by the swimming pool to the Meditation
Sunday, August 9, 2009
August 9, 2009, Sunday TO AMARILLO, TEXAS
OK…another excit’n day. That’s the way they say it here in Texas, excit’n. We drove all of about 250 miles because the wind was blowing and Ralph’s truck has trouble buck'n the wind…buck'n, hey, that’s another Texas word. I’m picking this up real fast! We stayed in an RV park in Amarillo.
August 8, 2009, Saturday TO OKLAHOMA CITY, OKLAHOMA
Only in Arkansas can you find a community park called “Toad Suck Park...” Makes you want to have a picnic there huh? Well this was an exciting day…just kidding! Drove over here just outside Oklahoma City in Yucon (home of Garth Brooks don't ya know) and stayed in a Wal-Mart parking lot.
Friday, August 7, 2009
August 4, 2009, Tuesday NASHVILLE
Went to the Country Music Hall of Fame. They have a lot of memorabilia there! They have some films playing that are from clear back in 1928 showing country music when it was just pick’n and dancing with fiddles and such. Mike’s favorite part was the gold Cadillac that was Elivs’ and he liked how they had a lot of the clothes and costumes that the stars had actually worn. They even had a pair of Elvis’ shoes! I liked the dresses the most. They had a dress that Trish Yearwood wore at one of the country Hall of Fame shows. The skirt and train were really puffy and covered an area of about 10 ft in circumference. We were really lucky to be there on the day we were ‘cause they were taping a TV show and we got to go to it. It’s a country music show (no duh, were in Nashville!) called The Crook and Chase Show. They talk about the latest country music and what’s happening in that scene. Today they had guests. They had Jimmy Fortune formally of the Stattler Brothers and a young country star named Joe Nichols. They both sang two songs for the taping and they were really good. I liked Joe more than Jimmy. Joe has one of those really low voices like Jim Reeves. It was neat ‘cause the second song he sang is not released yet but it’s coming out on his next album. It was about giving up alcohol and loving his wife who stuck with him through the bad times. They talked about how hard it was for him to give up drugs and alcohol. I hope he stays sober because he’s a real talent. Jimmy Fortune joined the Stattler Brothers after they had an opening in the band and they were looking for just the right person. One of the Stattler Bros. walked into a club where Jimmy was singing and knew immediately when he heard him that he was the one they wanted and hired him right away. After leaving the Hall of Fame we went over to the Grand Ole Opry and then parked and walk around some, and took some pics. It’s quite expensive to go to a show there and we all opted not to. On the drive home we stopped at Camping World to get Betty a US map so she can fill in all the states they have been to. Tonight we had a wild thunder storm and our trailer leaked, but not from the roof???
Went to the Country Music Hall of Fame. They have a lot of memorabilia there! They have some films playing that are from clear back in 1928 showing country music when it was just pick’n and dancing with fiddles and such. Mike’s favorite part was the gold Cadillac that was Elivs’ and he liked how they had a lot of the clothes and costumes that the stars had actually worn. They even had a pair of Elvis’ shoes! I liked the dresses the most. They had a dress that Trish Yearwood wore at one of the country Hall of Fame shows. The skirt and train were really puffy and covered an area of about 10 ft in circumference. We were really lucky to be there on the day we were ‘cause they were taping a TV show and we got to go to it. It’s a country music show (no duh, were in Nashville!) called The Crook and Chase Show. They talk about the latest country music and what’s happening in that scene. Today they had guests. They had Jimmy Fortune formally of the Stattler Brothers and a young country star named Joe Nichols. They both sang two songs for the taping and they were really good. I liked Joe more than Jimmy. Joe has one of those really low voices like Jim Reeves. It was neat ‘cause the second song he sang is not released yet but it’s coming out on his next album. It was about giving up alcohol and loving his wife who stuck with him through the bad times. They talked about how hard it was for him to give up drugs and alcohol. I hope he stays sober because he’s a real talent. Jimmy Fortune joined the Stattler Brothers after they had an opening in the band and they were looking for just the right person. One of the Stattler Bros. walked into a club where Jimmy was singing and knew immediately when he heard him that he was the one they wanted and hired him right away. After leaving the Hall of Fame we went over to the Grand Ole Opry and then parked and walk around some, and took some pics. It’s quite expensive to go to a show there and we all opted not to. On the drive home we stopped at Camping World to get Betty a US map so she can fill in all the states they have been to. Tonight we had a wild thunder storm and our trailer leaked, but not from the roof???
August 1, 2009, Saturday FREDERICKSBURG, VA
Rest and recuperate. We have a really pretty campsite here. We look out our living room windows and see a beautiful lake. There are trees everywhere and it’s shady. There are 5 geese that live here and they are beautiful to watch. You've probably seen the pics from a couple of days ago. There are all these cute little boys and girls, mostly boys, fishing in the lake. They’ll do this for hours and never catch a thing. This one little boy comes down by himself every day for a few hours. He has his little tackle box and rod and he just fishes. It’s so cute!
Rest and recuperate. We have a really pretty campsite here. We look out our living room windows and see a beautiful lake. There are trees everywhere and it’s shady. There are 5 geese that live here and they are beautiful to watch. You've probably seen the pics from a couple of days ago. There are all these cute little boys and girls, mostly boys, fishing in the lake. They’ll do this for hours and never catch a thing. This one little boy comes down by himself every day for a few hours. He has his little tackle box and rod and he just fishes. It’s so cute!
July 31, 2009, Friday FREDERICKSBURG, VA. Today we drove 45 min to the Metro and then took the Metro into the city. This was Ralph and Betty’s first experience on a Metro and it can be a little nerve wracking, but they learned fast and we were off and running (Ha! Like us old people could run!) We were very tired and it was very hot, and we don’t have a lot of time here in Virginia. So we skipped Arlington and Mt. Vernon and just went to DC. While on the Metro, we met a family from Richmond who were going to the Smithsonian. We got to talking and found out they were LDS and we had a really nice visit all the way into town. First we went to see the White house. We took pics and saw the place where they do the press conferences on the lawn. They had photographic light equipment and mic stands, etc. They had part of the sidewalk around the Whitehouse blocked off ‘cause something was going to take place, but we didn’t know what. Then we walked for blocks to get to the National Mall. It is truly a beautiful place. Lots of ponds, a reflection pool (which I wanted to get in, but it is not all that clean with ducks and what not) and of course the Washington Monument. The 2nd World War Monument was beautiful with its pillars and fountains shooting into the air. The most impressive memorial and the one I wanted to see the most was the Lincoln Memorial. When we got there Betty and I had to stand in the shade for quite a while, eat an icy, and rest before we could climb the stairs up to where Lincoln is sitting. It’s so hot! Then we started the long walk to the Metro Station and rode on it 15-20 min and then got in our car and headed out of town on a Friday night in DC traffic and it took us about 3 hrs to get back to the CG which was about 40 miles!
July 28, 2009, Tuesday TO BOSTON
Today we took a train into Boston. It was a very hot and very humid today. We took a boat ride around the harbor and it is really beautiful for a working harbor. The water is clean and clear and the views are spectacular. We got off and walked on the USS (something, I can’t remember the guy’s first name) Young. Ralph, having been in the Navy, explained some of the things on the ship. I think it would be so hard to live in such close quarters. The room where the regular guys slept had bunk beds that were three high and very narrow. We got to see the sick bay, the communications room, the captain’s quarters (he had a little bunk all his own), the galley and the guns. It was interesting. We rode a trolley around to some of the sights and stopped off at Faneuil Hall which is called the” cradle of liberty” because many a meeting was had there when the decision was being made to fight the British for our freedom. We watched a street performer who was great! He did juggling with knives and several other things including a toilet plunger while standing on a board that was balanced on a ball! The architecture in Boston, like all of New England, is really beautiful. The USS Constitution (Old Ironsides) had a fire a few years back so it was closed for repair. Did you know that Old Ironsides was actually not made of iron but just had really thick wood sides and the cannon balls would just bounce off. We rode the train back “home”.
Today we took a train into Boston. It was a very hot and very humid today. We took a boat ride around the harbor and it is really beautiful for a working harbor. The water is clean and clear and the views are spectacular. We got off and walked on the USS (something, I can’t remember the guy’s first name) Young. Ralph, having been in the Navy, explained some of the things on the ship. I think it would be so hard to live in such close quarters. The room where the regular guys slept had bunk beds that were three high and very narrow. We got to see the sick bay, the communications room, the captain’s quarters (he had a little bunk all his own), the galley and the guns. It was interesting. We rode a trolley around to some of the sights and stopped off at Faneuil Hall which is called the” cradle of liberty” because many a meeting was had there when the decision was being made to fight the British for our freedom. We watched a street performer who was great! He did juggling with knives and several other things including a toilet plunger while standing on a board that was balanced on a ball! The architecture in Boston, like all of New England, is really beautiful. The USS Constitution (Old Ironsides) had a fire a few years back so it was closed for repair. Did you know that Old Ironsides was actually not made of iron but just had really thick wood sides and the cannon balls would just bounce off. We rode the train back “home”.
July 27, 2009, Monday TO CAPE COD
Today Mike and Ralph bought some tires and changed things around a bit. It is very humid today, more than in Maine, but luckily without the mosquitoes! Then we took off for Cape Cod. We were a little disappointed because here we are driving down a narrow peninsula with ocean on both sides and you can’t see it because of all the trees! All you can see is trees, very tall trees, on both sides of the road! We took off on a side road for awhile and parked once and walked down the 6 foot wide beach and stuck our toes in for a minute. They have literally thousands of rental cabins along the beach front. It would be fun to rent some for a month and have a family reunion or something there. We drove clear to the end where there is a beautiful warf and pier with lots of sail boats. This town is called Provencetown. Busy touristy spot.
Today Mike and Ralph bought some tires and changed things around a bit. It is very humid today, more than in Maine, but luckily without the mosquitoes! Then we took off for Cape Cod. We were a little disappointed because here we are driving down a narrow peninsula with ocean on both sides and you can’t see it because of all the trees! All you can see is trees, very tall trees, on both sides of the road! We took off on a side road for awhile and parked once and walked down the 6 foot wide beach and stuck our toes in for a minute. They have literally thousands of rental cabins along the beach front. It would be fun to rent some for a month and have a family reunion or something there. We drove clear to the end where there is a beautiful warf and pier with lots of sail boats. This town is called Provencetown. Busy touristy spot.
July 26, 2009, Sunday TO BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS
Well we woke up this a.m. to a lot of fog, then it started to rain, but we have a long way to go before we get home, you know? So we skipped church and started on our journey and before too long…we had a flat tire. Maybe someone is trying to tell us something.
Well we woke up this a.m. to a lot of fog, then it started to rain, but we have a long way to go before we get home, you know? So we skipped church and started on our journey and before too long…we had a flat tire. Maybe someone is trying to tell us something.
July 25, 2009, Saturday TO BRUNSWICK, AGAIN
Today we start our journey (with a few stops along the way) back home. We did the first 100 miles today, only 2300 to go! We stayed the night in the Wal-Mart parking lot, but we got to have dinner with Mark, Sue, and Aunt and Uncle again. It was very enjoyable. Such nice people. Mark and Sue’s daughter Darcy was there also so we got to met her. She is a Latin teacher at a boarding school. She has lived in Boston before, and since we just happen to be going there next, she gave us some fun ideas of what to do and see and directions on how to get around.
Today we start our journey (with a few stops along the way) back home. We did the first 100 miles today, only 2300 to go! We stayed the night in the Wal-Mart parking lot, but we got to have dinner with Mark, Sue, and Aunt and Uncle again. It was very enjoyable. Such nice people. Mark and Sue’s daughter Darcy was there also so we got to met her. She is a Latin teacher at a boarding school. She has lived in Boston before, and since we just happen to be going there next, she gave us some fun ideas of what to do and see and directions on how to get around.
Thursday, July 23, 2009
July 22, 2009, Wednesday DEER ISLE AND STONINGTON
Today we took the scenic drive all the way down to Stonington. I’m so glad that the lady here at the RV Park told us to go to this area as well as Bar Harbor. It is so beautiful and the quaint (and some huge but quaint) houses are beautiful. The port is lovely and the boats seem so tranquil. As we came up from this very south point, we went North to Bucksport. Just outside Bucksport they have a very large bridge that has an observation deck on one of the bridge towers. We went up the elevator and looked all around. You can see up and down the river, and we could also see the big 700 foot mountain off to the North! The observatory is called the “Penobscot Narrows Observatory”. It’s on the bridge that spans the Penobscot River. This is the only bridge with an observatory in North or South America and there are only 3 in the entire world. There is enough concrete in the foundation of the bridge to fill a football field to 19 feet high. The observatory is 42 stories above the river. The observatory elevator is the tallest and fastest in the State of Maine. “That’s the facts!” But what is really cool, is how far you can see and how the people look like ants when you look down. Next door to the bridge is Fort Knox. But it’s not the Fort Knox with all the money in it! It’s just an old fort built to keep the British out during the Revolutionary War. We came home tired, and of course…you guessed it…went to bed early. Old poops!
Today we took the scenic drive all the way down to Stonington. I’m so glad that the lady here at the RV Park told us to go to this area as well as Bar Harbor. It is so beautiful and the quaint (and some huge but quaint) houses are beautiful. The port is lovely and the boats seem so tranquil. As we came up from this very south point, we went North to Bucksport. Just outside Bucksport they have a very large bridge that has an observation deck on one of the bridge towers. We went up the elevator and looked all around. You can see up and down the river, and we could also see the big 700 foot mountain off to the North! The observatory is called the “Penobscot Narrows Observatory”. It’s on the bridge that spans the Penobscot River. This is the only bridge with an observatory in North or South America and there are only 3 in the entire world. There is enough concrete in the foundation of the bridge to fill a football field to 19 feet high. The observatory is 42 stories above the river. The observatory elevator is the tallest and fastest in the State of Maine. “That’s the facts!” But what is really cool, is how far you can see and how the people look like ants when you look down. Next door to the bridge is Fort Knox. But it’s not the Fort Knox with all the money in it! It’s just an old fort built to keep the British out during the Revolutionary War. We came home tired, and of course…you guessed it…went to bed early. Old poops!
July 21, 2009, Tuesday ACADIA NATIONAL PARK
Today we drove into the National Park of Acadia which is near Bar Harbor. We drove up the mountains (it’s kind of a laugh ‘cause they call these mountains and to us they would be hills, and the tallest mountain in this area is barely over 700 ft!). At the top of the mountain is a hill called Cadillac Mt. There are wonderful views from this area. We took pics and saw an artist painting the view. Saw lots of pretty stuff, came home, ate and played cards.
Today we drove into the National Park of Acadia which is near Bar Harbor. We drove up the mountains (it’s kind of a laugh ‘cause they call these mountains and to us they would be hills, and the tallest mountain in this area is barely over 700 ft!). At the top of the mountain is a hill called Cadillac Mt. There are wonderful views from this area. We took pics and saw an artist painting the view. Saw lots of pretty stuff, came home, ate and played cards.
Wednesday, July 22, 2009
July 19, 2009, Sunday PHIPPSBURG, MAINE
We went to Church in the Topsham ward today. The people were so friendly. Everyone spoke to us. The bishop gave a talk right out of the scriptures which was excellent. Today is the first bright and sunny day we have had. (It rains a lot here and that must account for all the green everywhere you look). We thought, why not check out the beach today. It was so crowded the parking lot was full and the cars were parked about a mile up both sides of the road. We went through the ticket booth and asked if we could just come in for 10 minutes to take pics ‘cause it was foggy the last time we came and we are leaving tomorrow. She said we could and we did. Beautiful day at the beach. We took off and went to LL Bean in Freeport just to look around. The home for LL Bean is Freeport and this is totally a shopping town. It has outlets for everything and was extremely busy today. They manage, however, to keep the town looking quaint with Cape Cod style architecture, etc. It’s cute, but busy.
We went to Church in the Topsham ward today. The people were so friendly. Everyone spoke to us. The bishop gave a talk right out of the scriptures which was excellent. Today is the first bright and sunny day we have had. (It rains a lot here and that must account for all the green everywhere you look). We thought, why not check out the beach today. It was so crowded the parking lot was full and the cars were parked about a mile up both sides of the road. We went through the ticket booth and asked if we could just come in for 10 minutes to take pics ‘cause it was foggy the last time we came and we are leaving tomorrow. She said we could and we did. Beautiful day at the beach. We took off and went to LL Bean in Freeport just to look around. The home for LL Bean is Freeport and this is totally a shopping town. It has outlets for everything and was extremely busy today. They manage, however, to keep the town looking quaint with Cape Cod style architecture, etc. It’s cute, but busy.
Saturday, July 18, 2009
July 15, 2009, Wednesday TO WESTFIELD, MASSACHUSETS
OK, we didn’t quite make it to Massachusetts. Ralph had a blow out on a trailer tire. He and Mike changed the tire, but then we had to stop in Albany, NY at the Wal-Mart Parking Lot overnight and get a tire mounted. Ralph had a tire; he just had to have it mounted. Betty and I went into the Wal-Mart. Now you wouldn’t think that would be a big deal, but this was a two story Wal-Mart. The grocery and the pharmacy were downstairs and the rest of the stuff was up the escalator. OK this is where it gets really exciting. There was the regular escalator stairs for people that went up and down. In the middle of the up and down stair type escalator for people that was an escalator for grocery carts! No kidding! You push your cart into this thing and it goes up right next to you while you’re going up on the moving stairs! That way you can shop for stuff on both floors and use just one cart! OK when you’re just travelling around like this, small things can be very exciting on the boring days…
OK, we didn’t quite make it to Massachusetts. Ralph had a blow out on a trailer tire. He and Mike changed the tire, but then we had to stop in Albany, NY at the Wal-Mart Parking Lot overnight and get a tire mounted. Ralph had a tire; he just had to have it mounted. Betty and I went into the Wal-Mart. Now you wouldn’t think that would be a big deal, but this was a two story Wal-Mart. The grocery and the pharmacy were downstairs and the rest of the stuff was up the escalator. OK this is where it gets really exciting. There was the regular escalator stairs for people that went up and down. In the middle of the up and down stair type escalator for people that was an escalator for grocery carts! No kidding! You push your cart into this thing and it goes up right next to you while you’re going up on the moving stairs! That way you can shop for stuff on both floors and use just one cart! OK when you’re just travelling around like this, small things can be very exciting on the boring days…
July 14, 2009 Tuesday PHELPS, NY
We drove to Canandaigua today. It’s a little bigger town and they have a Wal-Mart. We did some grocery shopping there and then went to Main Street. It’s one of Mike and my favorite towns here in upstate New York. We walked up and down Main Street and went in some of the stores (mostly Galleries). We went down to the pier and looked at the lake and the cute tiny houses on the pier. Betty and I wanted to go inside one of them so bad to see how they are laid out. Some must be just two rooms, but some of them are two story. We had lunch at Arby’s. We drove back to the campground and rested for awhile. I stayed home resting and the rest of the gang went to Palmyra to look at the printing office where the Book of Mormon was first printed.
We drove to Canandaigua today. It’s a little bigger town and they have a Wal-Mart. We did some grocery shopping there and then went to Main Street. It’s one of Mike and my favorite towns here in upstate New York. We walked up and down Main Street and went in some of the stores (mostly Galleries). We went down to the pier and looked at the lake and the cute tiny houses on the pier. Betty and I wanted to go inside one of them so bad to see how they are laid out. Some must be just two rooms, but some of them are two story. We had lunch at Arby’s. We drove back to the campground and rested for awhile. I stayed home resting and the rest of the gang went to Palmyra to look at the printing office where the Book of Mormon was first printed.
July 13, 2009 Monday PHELPS, NY
Today Mike and Ralph had to get the oil changed in the trucks. We also shopped for groceries, and then rested. You can’t imagine how exhausting this traveling can be! And, I cannot tell a lie, we went for ice cream again, but this was what was funny. Ralph was the last one to order and we had taken our ice cream and sat down. The lady asked him if he wanted small, medium, or large. Well he likes ice cream quite a bit, so he said large. He watched as she filled his cone with four, count them, four LARGE scoops of ice cream and he could see her back by the freezer and she was laughing as she was building it. When he came around the corner and we saw the cone he was carrying, we all burst out laughing. Boy we wished we had a camera! Mike keeps sing a song he made up that goes, “it was 10 feet tall and 8 feet wide!...”
Today Mike and Ralph had to get the oil changed in the trucks. We also shopped for groceries, and then rested. You can’t imagine how exhausting this traveling can be! And, I cannot tell a lie, we went for ice cream again, but this was what was funny. Ralph was the last one to order and we had taken our ice cream and sat down. The lady asked him if he wanted small, medium, or large. Well he likes ice cream quite a bit, so he said large. He watched as she filled his cone with four, count them, four LARGE scoops of ice cream and he could see her back by the freezer and she was laughing as she was building it. When he came around the corner and we saw the cone he was carrying, we all burst out laughing. Boy we wished we had a camera! Mike keeps sing a song he made up that goes, “it was 10 feet tall and 8 feet wide!...”
July 12, 2009 Sunday PHELPS, NY
After last night, no one got up early enough for church. I was still exhausted, but the rest of the gang went to the Hill Cumorah and hiked up to the top where the golden statue of the Angel Moroni is. I’ve been there before and that’s quite a hike! They went to the Smith farm and the Sacred Grove. After they returned we had dinner that I had put in the crock pot. A little later we thought, wouldn’t ice cream be good tonight? We found a fabulous ice cream shop, and had banana splits! Boy were they goooooooood! Haven’t had one of those in years.
After last night, no one got up early enough for church. I was still exhausted, but the rest of the gang went to the Hill Cumorah and hiked up to the top where the golden statue of the Angel Moroni is. I’ve been there before and that’s quite a hike! They went to the Smith farm and the Sacred Grove. After they returned we had dinner that I had put in the crock pot. A little later we thought, wouldn’t ice cream be good tonight? We found a fabulous ice cream shop, and had banana splits! Boy were they goooooooood! Haven’t had one of those in years.
July 11, 2009 Saturday TO PALMYRA (PHELPS, CHEERFUL VALLEY)
We took off this a.m. and went to a campground in Phelps, NY which is close to Palmyra, the Hill Cumorah, the town of Canandaigua and Lake Canandaigua. After setting up camp, we went to the Hill Cumorah Visitor’s Center. At 9 p.m. we went to the Hill Cumorah pageant. It is amazing what they have done with this stage on the hillside. They had an actual waterfall! They have pyrotechnics like crazy and a cast of over 800! What we didn't expect was for it to start pouring rain about 2/3 of the way through the show. There was a lot of lightning and thunder and they announced that they were shutting down because of danger to the cast, not to mention we were sitting in metal chairs! We took off and ran for the truck. However, by the time we found it we were totally soaked. We were laughing though ‘cause it was funny, all these people running for their cars and wanting to find them quickly they were beeping their electronic key bobs, but everyone was doing it, so it didn’t help much! It was really funny.
We took off this a.m. and went to a campground in Phelps, NY which is close to Palmyra, the Hill Cumorah, the town of Canandaigua and Lake Canandaigua. After setting up camp, we went to the Hill Cumorah Visitor’s Center. At 9 p.m. we went to the Hill Cumorah pageant. It is amazing what they have done with this stage on the hillside. They had an actual waterfall! They have pyrotechnics like crazy and a cast of over 800! What we didn't expect was for it to start pouring rain about 2/3 of the way through the show. There was a lot of lightning and thunder and they announced that they were shutting down because of danger to the cast, not to mention we were sitting in metal chairs! We took off and ran for the truck. However, by the time we found it we were totally soaked. We were laughing though ‘cause it was funny, all these people running for their cars and wanting to find them quickly they were beeping their electronic key bobs, but everyone was doing it, so it didn’t help much! It was really funny.
July 10, 2009 Friday NIAGARA FALLS (LOCKPORT)
Now this was interesting...as we left to see Niagara Falls today there were police all over the road outside our campground which is in the middle of a lot of corn fields. There was also a police helicopter circling overhead. They were searching the corn fields for some excaped prisoner or something. We all hoped they found the guy before we came home that night. So, about Niagara Falls, it is so spectacular! We went on the “Maiden of the Mist” boat which takes you right by the American Falls, Bridal-veil Falls, and right up to Horseshoe Falls, as close as is safe. Boy did we get wet! It’s amazing how you can feel the power of the water. After that we rode the trolley over to Goat Island and rode the elevator down to the riverbank. Then we proceeded to climb some stairs that are right alongside the Bridal-veil falls. Once again getting very wet! Fortunately these venues give you plastic ponchos to wear to keep your clothes “mostly” dry. It is a beautiful and powerful view from this spot. Very much fun. We then went back to let the dog out and grab a bite to eat. I was having a bad fibro flare so I went to bed. The three musketeers took off for Canada. They took pictures, shopped at the gift stores and got lost! Eventually they showed up back at the CG and we all went to bed, exhausted.
Now this was interesting...as we left to see Niagara Falls today there were police all over the road outside our campground which is in the middle of a lot of corn fields. There was also a police helicopter circling overhead. They were searching the corn fields for some excaped prisoner or something. We all hoped they found the guy before we came home that night. So, about Niagara Falls, it is so spectacular! We went on the “Maiden of the Mist” boat which takes you right by the American Falls, Bridal-veil Falls, and right up to Horseshoe Falls, as close as is safe. Boy did we get wet! It’s amazing how you can feel the power of the water. After that we rode the trolley over to Goat Island and rode the elevator down to the riverbank. Then we proceeded to climb some stairs that are right alongside the Bridal-veil falls. Once again getting very wet! Fortunately these venues give you plastic ponchos to wear to keep your clothes “mostly” dry. It is a beautiful and powerful view from this spot. Very much fun. We then went back to let the dog out and grab a bite to eat. I was having a bad fibro flare so I went to bed. The three musketeers took off for Canada. They took pictures, shopped at the gift stores and got lost! Eventually they showed up back at the CG and we all went to bed, exhausted.
July 9, 2009, Thursday TO NIAGARA COUNTY, NEW YORK (LOCKPORT)
OK, I’m going to try and write this so that it sounds funny, however, during the whole thing I thought I would scream! Actually I did yell at the lady in the Campground. We took off for Lockport, NY to see Niagara Falls. We had plenty of time to get there, set up camp and have a nice dinner and rest and relax. We plan on seeing the falls tomorrow. I called the campground where we were going to stay and asked for directions. The Campground lady says; follow 78 east until you see the 104 sign which is after you go through town. I said that that doesn’t sound too hard and we took off. We get to Main Street and go through town. OK now we are on the wrong highway, 35 instead of 78. So we wander around the town’s narrow street for awhile and get turned around and this time we don’t turn on Main Street but go straight ahead. We ended up in the middle of a residential neighborhood and drove around in circles there for several laps trying to get back on the correct route. It’s so scary when you’re driving this big rig and you’re on a narrow street and the worst thing that could happen is that you hit a dead end and can’t turn around. So I called the CG lady back. She says it’s OK you do go through some residential. So we start off again. We come to a really steep hill that we can’t even see the bottom of, and we are scared to go down it, so we turn left and end up in a park. At least we can turn around in the park right? So we go into the parking lot type circular drive and there are several cars parked along the drive, people having lunch, etc. But wait, all the cars are pointed one way and they’re looking at us funny (nothing odd about people looking at us funny I must say!). Oh, guess what, we’re going the wrong way on a one way that isn’t going our way! Oh well, it’s not like there’s a lot of traffic. We get turned around and decide to call the CG lady again. I tell her that we were about to go down this very steep hill and it just didn’t look like it was made for large rigs. She assures me that there is a hill and semi trucks even use this road. I say, OK????…. We went down the hill and ended up in a cemetery! Had to admit it was a really old and a very pretty cemetery, however the road was like a one lane and I think, “this can’t be right.” It’s no easy job to drive this rig and Mike is under a lot of stress. He’s had it by now and he stops dead right in the middle of the street. Now, Mike and I are yelling at each other. Ralph and Betty are about to have a cow and they are stopped half way down the hill! We’re getting a little stressed now (little Ha! Ha!) I call the wicked (by now she is known as wicked) CG lady yet again. She says oh no (all innocent like)…you’re supposed go right when you see the sign that says highway 78 is straight ahead or right. Now you tell me! We get out of the cemetery, fortunately, and go back around…again… and take the right fork. We have passed some of these houses so many times we feel as if we know the people in them! This time it turns out good and we end up at the CG which was not easy to find even once we were on the road practically in front of it. By now I know I can’t go into the CG office and meet this lady because I want to do bodily harm to her. I have never had such bad directions in my life! So all is well now right? Not so fast! She gives us a camp site that already has someone in it! We pull into the one next to it and get stuck in the mud! After several tries we have to drop the trailer and have Ralph drop his trailer and come over and pull us out. (Ralph has 4-wheel drive). We have Ralph pull us up on our blocks because of the mud and the unevenness of the ground, but the blocks slide right out. I’m standing on the sidelines letting the men do their “men work” but I can’t stand it any longer. I pull out my phone and call the “Wicked CG Lady” yet again. I told her in no uncertain terms that we were not going to stay in this swamp field and we were pulling ahead where the ground was hard and dry. We worked it out and Ralph pulled us up a row. Sounds simple, right? All this took about one and a half hours! We went and grabbed a bite to eat and then went to bed! Whew! This was not one of the good days!
OK, I’m going to try and write this so that it sounds funny, however, during the whole thing I thought I would scream! Actually I did yell at the lady in the Campground. We took off for Lockport, NY to see Niagara Falls. We had plenty of time to get there, set up camp and have a nice dinner and rest and relax. We plan on seeing the falls tomorrow. I called the campground where we were going to stay and asked for directions. The Campground lady says; follow 78 east until you see the 104 sign which is after you go through town. I said that that doesn’t sound too hard and we took off. We get to Main Street and go through town. OK now we are on the wrong highway, 35 instead of 78. So we wander around the town’s narrow street for awhile and get turned around and this time we don’t turn on Main Street but go straight ahead. We ended up in the middle of a residential neighborhood and drove around in circles there for several laps trying to get back on the correct route. It’s so scary when you’re driving this big rig and you’re on a narrow street and the worst thing that could happen is that you hit a dead end and can’t turn around. So I called the CG lady back. She says it’s OK you do go through some residential. So we start off again. We come to a really steep hill that we can’t even see the bottom of, and we are scared to go down it, so we turn left and end up in a park. At least we can turn around in the park right? So we go into the parking lot type circular drive and there are several cars parked along the drive, people having lunch, etc. But wait, all the cars are pointed one way and they’re looking at us funny (nothing odd about people looking at us funny I must say!). Oh, guess what, we’re going the wrong way on a one way that isn’t going our way! Oh well, it’s not like there’s a lot of traffic. We get turned around and decide to call the CG lady again. I tell her that we were about to go down this very steep hill and it just didn’t look like it was made for large rigs. She assures me that there is a hill and semi trucks even use this road. I say, OK????…. We went down the hill and ended up in a cemetery! Had to admit it was a really old and a very pretty cemetery, however the road was like a one lane and I think, “this can’t be right.” It’s no easy job to drive this rig and Mike is under a lot of stress. He’s had it by now and he stops dead right in the middle of the street. Now, Mike and I are yelling at each other. Ralph and Betty are about to have a cow and they are stopped half way down the hill! We’re getting a little stressed now (little Ha! Ha!) I call the wicked (by now she is known as wicked) CG lady yet again. She says oh no (all innocent like)…you’re supposed go right when you see the sign that says highway 78 is straight ahead or right. Now you tell me! We get out of the cemetery, fortunately, and go back around…again… and take the right fork. We have passed some of these houses so many times we feel as if we know the people in them! This time it turns out good and we end up at the CG which was not easy to find even once we were on the road practically in front of it. By now I know I can’t go into the CG office and meet this lady because I want to do bodily harm to her. I have never had such bad directions in my life! So all is well now right? Not so fast! She gives us a camp site that already has someone in it! We pull into the one next to it and get stuck in the mud! After several tries we have to drop the trailer and have Ralph drop his trailer and come over and pull us out. (Ralph has 4-wheel drive). We have Ralph pull us up on our blocks because of the mud and the unevenness of the ground, but the blocks slide right out. I’m standing on the sidelines letting the men do their “men work” but I can’t stand it any longer. I pull out my phone and call the “Wicked CG Lady” yet again. I told her in no uncertain terms that we were not going to stay in this swamp field and we were pulling ahead where the ground was hard and dry. We worked it out and Ralph pulled us up a row. Sounds simple, right? All this took about one and a half hours! We went and grabbed a bite to eat and then went to bed! Whew! This was not one of the good days!
July 8, 2009, Wednesday KIRTLAND, OH
Today we went to the John Johnson Farm in Hiram, OH. All the revelations found in the Doctrine and Covenants Sections 73, 76, 77, 78, 79, 80, 81, & 99 were received while Joseph and Emma were living at the Johnson Farm. This is a most sacred place. When the Johnsons owned the farm it was over 200 acres and they had the second largest dairy in the territory. It included 19 cows. When the church purchased the land in recent times they were able to acquire a little over 100 acres. When the Johnson family first moved to Kirtland they had 8 children and lived in a small cabin across the street from where they were building their home. Elsa eventually had 15 children, 10 of which lived to adulthood. The Johnson’s were such generous people. They gave Joseph and Emma a place to live, and they made a room for Joseph as a study. He had many meetings in that room and some of the brethren even watched him while he translated and Sidney Rigdon wrote what he said. They remarked how they would go so slow and would always repeat and make sure it was perfect. As we sat in the room you could feel such a strong, sweet, calming Spirit. It made you feel like you just wanted to stay there. Brother Johnson later became an Apostle. The Johnson home was so different from all the homes we have been seeing, like the ones in Nauvoo. This home is really quite spacious. They had a sitting room off the kitchen and also a parlor. The parlor became Joseph and Emma’s bedroom. This is the room in which Emma had her twins that died. Then later Joseph and Emma were given twins, whose last name I can’t remember right now, but their mother died during childbirth and their father couldn’t raise them alone. One night the twins were very sick with the measles and that was the night that a mob came and pulled Joseph out of bed, drug him across the snow and ice and tarred and feathered him. The extra exposure with the open door as they drug Joseph out resulted in one of the sick twins dying. They also grabbed Sidney Rigdon who was staying in the cabin across the road. They drug him by his feet and his head bounced so hard on the ice that he was delirious for several days besides being tarred and feathered. The mob was quoted as saying something like, “that should keep Joseph from preaching tomorrow.” Nine o’clock the next day Joseph was outside preaching to the Saints as well as the mob. I’m so glad we have freedom of religion today. I have lots of pics of this place, but will only post these two right now.
Today we went to the John Johnson Farm in Hiram, OH. All the revelations found in the Doctrine and Covenants Sections 73, 76, 77, 78, 79, 80, 81, & 99 were received while Joseph and Emma were living at the Johnson Farm. This is a most sacred place. When the Johnsons owned the farm it was over 200 acres and they had the second largest dairy in the territory. It included 19 cows. When the church purchased the land in recent times they were able to acquire a little over 100 acres. When the Johnson family first moved to Kirtland they had 8 children and lived in a small cabin across the street from where they were building their home. Elsa eventually had 15 children, 10 of which lived to adulthood. The Johnson’s were such generous people. They gave Joseph and Emma a place to live, and they made a room for Joseph as a study. He had many meetings in that room and some of the brethren even watched him while he translated and Sidney Rigdon wrote what he said. They remarked how they would go so slow and would always repeat and make sure it was perfect. As we sat in the room you could feel such a strong, sweet, calming Spirit. It made you feel like you just wanted to stay there. Brother Johnson later became an Apostle. The Johnson home was so different from all the homes we have been seeing, like the ones in Nauvoo. This home is really quite spacious. They had a sitting room off the kitchen and also a parlor. The parlor became Joseph and Emma’s bedroom. This is the room in which Emma had her twins that died. Then later Joseph and Emma were given twins, whose last name I can’t remember right now, but their mother died during childbirth and their father couldn’t raise them alone. One night the twins were very sick with the measles and that was the night that a mob came and pulled Joseph out of bed, drug him across the snow and ice and tarred and feathered him. The extra exposure with the open door as they drug Joseph out resulted in one of the sick twins dying. They also grabbed Sidney Rigdon who was staying in the cabin across the road. They drug him by his feet and his head bounced so hard on the ice that he was delirious for several days besides being tarred and feathered. The mob was quoted as saying something like, “that should keep Joseph from preaching tomorrow.” Nine o’clock the next day Joseph was outside preaching to the Saints as well as the mob. I’m so glad we have freedom of religion today. I have lots of pics of this place, but will only post these two right now.
After the temple tour, we walked over to the North Cemetery next door to the temple. We took pictures of the memorial to Joseph and Emma’s twins who were born and died on the Johnson Farm. Mike also found the graves of John and Elsa Johnson who owned the Johnson Farm. I found the grave of Parley P. Pratt's wife Thankful. What a cute name. Next we went to the site where of the Isaac & Lucy Morley Farm. In its day the farm was large and productive. The Morley’s offered shelter to anyone who was passing through town or to people who needed a temporary home while they were building their own. Isaac was known around town as “Father Morley” because he tried to take care of everyone, even building a school house for the children and hiring a teacher for them. Thanks to the powerful preaching of Parley P. Pratt and his three missionary companions, the Morleys and many of the families living on their farm joined the church. Today the Church owns only a small piece of what was the Morley farm, a wooded hill on which the school house resided. At one point Joseph preached in that school house during the Priesthood session of the first conference of the church
We next drove up to the Kirtland Temple. The RLDS church has a Visitor’s Center there. We watched a film they had in a small theater. When the film was finished, the screen went up and the curtains parted and you had this spectacular view of the temple. It was quite moving. Next the tour walked through the temple grounds to the temple. We were able to walk through the first and second floors, which look remarkable the same with the Aaronic Priesthood seats on one end and the Melkezedek Priesthood risers on the other end of the room. It was neat how they did the benches on the second floor. They had writing tables which could swing up with supports underneath. This second floor of the temple was used for study and learning, so they had the writing tables. Many missionaries studied here prior to leaving on their mission. Many wonderful things happened in this temple. At the dedication, many people saw the angles who came to the dedication, and the people who were outside said that the whole building glowed, and even God the Father and his Son Jesus Christ appeared here. OK now the sad thing is that there is no longer that special Spirit there. There is more Spirit in the Sacred Grove than there is in this building. It’s sad. It’s also sad that the RLDS don’t seem to treat it in any way as special. Meetings are held there, anyone can go tromping through and it just doesn’t feel special.
Friday, July 17, 2009
We got to go inside the Johnson Inn which they have changed to something like a visitor’s center with a film and other info. When John Johnson sold his farm to help finance the building of the Kirtland Temple he was up in years. John and his wife Elsa moved into the town of Kirtland. The Church gave him the Johnson Inn so he and his wife could have an income and a place to live.
It was really fun going though the Whitney’s store. They had it set up like it was back then. I learned a lot about how smart the women were back in that time. For instance they wore plane white bonnets for day-to-day living, but when they dressed up and wore a fancy bonnet, the bonnets were always lined with peach colored silk. This would give their face a nice peachy glow! Hopefully you can see the bonnets in the picture. They also sold hurricane lamps made of tin. They poked holes in the tin to let out the candlelight. The holes were poked from the inside out so that the wind wouldn’t blow the candle out; even in a… you guessed it a hurricane.
Next we went to the Newel K. Whitney Home. Newel and Elizabeth Whitney were such kind and giving people. They had heard of the teachings of the Prophet Joseph and had prayed about it together. When the Prophet showed up at their store he walked in, looked at Newel and said, “I am the Prophet Joseph Smith, you have prayed me here, now what do you want of me?” Elizabeth walked in from the bartering room, saw the prophet and began to cry as the Spirit was so strong. They believed and were baptized and gave everything they had to move with the saints to Missouri.
July 7, 2009, Tuesday KIRTLAND, OH (THOMPSON)
Today we went to a place called “Historic Kirtland.” The Mormon Church has a Visitor’s Center there and offered us a tour, and we said we would love one! We started in a gathering room outside a small theater. When we walked into this room I was immediately captivated by an oil painting that has to be the most beautiful I’ve ever seen. It was by Walter Rane. We also saw some other work of his here; they have a whole Book of Mormon gallery by him, but nothing like this one. It is a painting of the building of the Kirtland Temple with the temple about ¾ of the way done. It's about 4 x 5 feet. The perspective is absolutely perfect. The contrast of the blue sky and the brown building is exquisite. The people around the building are perfect. The folds of their clothes, their faces, are perfect. Oh my but I love this painting almost as much as the statue of David in Florence, Italy! This picture doesn't do it justice! We next went into a little theater and watched a time period film about Kirtland in the 1800’s with a whole group of RLDS members.
Today we went to a place called “Historic Kirtland.” The Mormon Church has a Visitor’s Center there and offered us a tour, and we said we would love one! We started in a gathering room outside a small theater. When we walked into this room I was immediately captivated by an oil painting that has to be the most beautiful I’ve ever seen. It was by Walter Rane. We also saw some other work of his here; they have a whole Book of Mormon gallery by him, but nothing like this one. It is a painting of the building of the Kirtland Temple with the temple about ¾ of the way done. It's about 4 x 5 feet. The perspective is absolutely perfect. The contrast of the blue sky and the brown building is exquisite. The people around the building are perfect. The folds of their clothes, their faces, are perfect. Oh my but I love this painting almost as much as the statue of David in Florence, Italy! This picture doesn't do it justice! We next went into a little theater and watched a time period film about Kirtland in the 1800’s with a whole group of RLDS members.
July 5, 2009, Sunday TO PORTAGE, INDIANA
Happy Birthday Ralph!!! 69 years young today. You’re doing great! We were off to Kirtland today, but it’s a long way so we stopped in Portage, IN and stayed in a Wal-Mart parking lot. It was noisy enough to require a sleeping pill but it was OK. We took Ralph out to Applebee’s for his birthday. He had steak and the restaurant gave him a hot fudge sundae for desert! Should have seen the smile on his face.
Happy Birthday Ralph!!! 69 years young today. You’re doing great! We were off to Kirtland today, but it’s a long way so we stopped in Portage, IN and stayed in a Wal-Mart parking lot. It was noisy enough to require a sleeping pill but it was OK. We took Ralph out to Applebee’s for his birthday. He had steak and the restaurant gave him a hot fudge sundae for desert! Should have seen the smile on his face.
Saturday, July 4, 2009
In the Family Living Center the missionaries have the most interesting displays. They show you how the pioneers used to make yarn out of wool and flax. I had no idea you could make yarn out of flax. And then they also used the seed for oil. Actually, linen is made from flax. Who knew! They demonstrated how to make bread in the old brick ovens and even gave us a piece of bread to taste. Then we watched as they made rag rugs on the loom. I took a picture for Marilyn. Her looms are the only ones I have ever seen up close until now. Then we went to where they make rope from flax. They had a demo of barrel making, and we learned that a person who makes barrels is called a cooper!
Sunset on the Mississippi is the name of a variety show some of the missionaries and other hired players put on in an outside theater in the evening. It was so much good clean fun! They had some wonderfully talented people, a couple of girls who played the fiddle like I’ve never seen, so fast. They had a clarinet player from Brazil that was brilliant.
The senior missionaries put on a play called Rendezvous in old Nauvoo. We went to it tonight at 7 pm before we went to the Sunset on the Mississippi show. It was held in the Cultural and Masonic Hall, so we got to see that building also. It’s much like a theater with benches and a stage. The missionaries were really cute and the music was fun.
The senior missionaries put on a play called Rendezvous in old Nauvoo. We went to it tonight at 7 pm before we went to the Sunset on the Mississippi show. It was held in the Cultural and Masonic Hall, so we got to see that building also. It’s much like a theater with benches and a stage. The missionaries were really cute and the music was fun.
We went to The Brigham Young Home. This was the Young’s second home in the area. At first they settled across the Missouri in Montrose, Iowa. When Brigham was on a mission his wife Mary Ann purchased an unfinished log cabin in Nauvoo and moved the family of six children. When Brigham came home from England he finished the cabin and then began work on the house. After Joseph Smith was martyred, he added an East wing to accommodate meetings of the Apostles. The members completed the temple and did as many ordinances as they could before they started the trek west.
John Taylor’s Home was next. Most of the homes are pretty much the same, but this one was a little nicer and a little bigger. Most of the homes are also red brick and two stories tall; however, each storey is only about 800 to 1000 sq feet. John Taylor was the third President of the Church. They were converted by Parley P. Pratt who is one of my favorite characters in history. He’s the one who was incarcerated for no good reason and was able to escape with the Lord’s help. When they set the dogs on him they were yelling, “go get him,” and the dogs ran past each jailer after Parley. When the dog reached Parley he stopped running and started pointing and yelling, “got get him.” The dog then proceeded to run right past Parley and he got away!
Anyway, back to Nauvoo…When the Taylor’s got to Nauvoo, many of the Saint’s had already left and the rest were getting ready. They started out in a cabin and then were able to move into this home. They lived there for less than a year before they made the trek west. John Taylor was with Joseph Smith when he and Hyrum were killed in Carthage. John was wounded but recovered. The missionaries tell the story of when the Taylor’s were leaving Nauvoo, their little boy cried and cried because they had to leave his little wooden rocking horse behind. John risked his life sneaking back into Nauvoo to get the little horse and tied it to the outside of their wagon for the trek west. They actually had the horse in the home for the tour.
Anyway, back to Nauvoo…When the Taylor’s got to Nauvoo, many of the Saint’s had already left and the rest were getting ready. They started out in a cabin and then were able to move into this home. They lived there for less than a year before they made the trek west. John Taylor was with Joseph Smith when he and Hyrum were killed in Carthage. John was wounded but recovered. The missionaries tell the story of when the Taylor’s were leaving Nauvoo, their little boy cried and cried because they had to leave his little wooden rocking horse behind. John risked his life sneaking back into Nauvoo to get the little horse and tied it to the outside of their wagon for the trek west. They actually had the horse in the home for the tour.
The Saints were commanded to build a house of shelter for people who were travelling through Nauvoo or people who arrived there and did not yet have a cabin or a place to live. The Mansion House was built and Joseph, Emma and family moved into it and ran it like a hotel. In the beginning they offered free shelter, but eventually they had to start charging because of the great strain on their finances. For a time before the temple was finished, the Mansion House served as a venue where several temple ordinances were performed. At this time Joseph was active as President of the Church, the Mayor of the City, and had many other jobs. He finally had to hire a man to run the Mansion House. One part of the agreement was for the Smith’s to give up their master bedroom to this man and they moved down the hall to a smaller bedroom. One unique thing about the master bedroom is that one of the closets had a false wall where Joseph could go to hide when the mobs or the law with trumped-up charges would come looking for him. After the martyrdom of the Prophet and his brother in Carthage, the bodies of Joseph and Hyrum were displayed in the Mansion House for the saints to view. It is estimated that over ten-thousand people viewed the bodies that day.
We went on a tour with the Reorganized Church because you can’t get into any of their properties without being on a tour. They keep them all locked up. One of the places we went to was the Red Brick Store. In the old days it was Joseph Smith’s store and all kinds of good could be purchased there. We looked at a book there that actually showed things that were purchased and by whom and on what date back in the day. That was fun and there were a lot of familiar names. The Relief Society was organized in the large room above the store.
While on their tour we visited the Smith Family Cemetery which is next to the first Smith home. Joseph, Emma, Hyrum, Joseph Sr. and Lucy Mack Smith were some of the people buried there. It is a beautiful site along the Mississippi River. The Smith Homestead was originally a log cabin and then they built onto it. The Reorganized Church tour took us inside so we could see it. It’s amazing how these people could live in something so small. We were thinking about how opulent our homes have become these days.
The Land and Records Office was so exciting. They had a computer program that you could put a last name in and see everyone who lived in Nauvoo during the pioneer’s time with that last name. Then you clicked on that name and you could see his family names, and any land they may have owned, etc. It was great! Betty found out that her family owned the very land the Land and Records Office was on!
The Sarah Granger Kimball Home was probably my favorite. Even though it was quite a small home, it was a little outside the city and was clapboard instead of brick. Lots of flower gardens around it because she loved flowers. She used to have the ladies over all the time to quilt and make shirts for the men working on the temple. It was in her home that the idea for a women’s club came about. Sarah asked Eliza R. Snow to write up a constitution for the club, which she did. Sarah showed the constitution to the Prophet. Joseph took it under consideration and prayed about it and he told her that the Lord had something even better in mind. That’s how the Relief Society came about. Sarah became a ward RS president after arriving in SLC and remained that ward’s RS president for 40 years! When the Saints started leaving Nauvoo, of course Sarah wanted to go. Her husband, however, was well liked, well off and not a member. He didn’t want to go. She bought a wagon and loaded it and went without him, but he followed later when his business was taken care of. Three years after they married he was baptized into the church.
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