Book Nook Cafe discussion

That is so cool, deb. Also generous to share for others to see and learn from when they visit the museum.

It was a satisfying feeling.

Today we visited the Washita Battlefield National Historic Site. Some survivors of the Sand Creek Massacre ended up here, "Indian Territory". Custer led this "battle" against the Cheyenne. Unfortunately this band was again led by Chief Black Kettle and had just returned from asking federal officials for a safe place to take his band, which was mostly women, children and elderly. The new policy was of "total war", according to Major General Philip Sheridan. About 35 women & children were spared but the 800 horses the band had were shot.

Madrano wrote: The new policy was of "total war", according to Major General Philip Sheridan. About 35 women & children were spared but the 800 horses the band had were shot. ..."

A dark stain on our history to be sure.

The more we visit & read, the more I agree.

Tomorrow we fly to Miami, where we'll catch our cruise ship on Thursday. Then we'll be asea for the next 31 days, sailing from Florida through the Panama Canal, up the west American coast to Alaska. Our final docking will be in Seattle, where we have family who we will be visiting. Bottom line, i'll be afk until late May.

It's great to be able to do this now that the family is in relatively decent health. You know you'll be in my thoughts. I'll try to catch the board when we are on shore in the US but that won't be often.

Wow ! Have an awesome time, Deb. Know you will be missed.

madrano wrote: "Tomorrow we fly to Miami, where we'll catch our cruise ship on Thursday. Then we'll be asea for the next 31 days, sailing from Florida through the Panama Canal, up the west American coast to Alaska..."

Sounds like a great trip. Bon voyage.

Wow! That sounds amazing. Safe and happy travels!

Thank you for the good wishes. I just learned that we sail on the anniversary of the day the Titanic sunk. Oh my! :-)

Home again, home again. Now that we've lost those sea legs we gained on our month-long cruise, i hope to catch up on the board. You folks have been busy and i'm eager to jump in.

Our trip was wonderful. Oh, the heat and humidity of Columbia and Central America! I now feel i know more than i ever want to know about the tropics. I should complain much less about Texas weather, right?

Even Alaska was warm. Most places we visited found locals commenting on the fact that was the warmest day yet. One stop was perfect--low 70s, sunny skies and whales breaching. What more could one ask of Alaska?

Now we are gearing up for my mother-in-law's 90th birthday next week. The theme is Western and she wants line dancing. She's a feisty one.

((((Deb)))) Welcome back !

Your trip sounds amazing.

Thank you, Alias. It was a dream cruise and it was difficult forcing ourselves off the ship! :-)

Sounds like a wonderful trip. Welcome back!

Thank, Barbara. It's nice to read posts here & see what i missed.

I'm back to the board again. Our family experienced the loss of a loved one, which i won't detail here. It's why i was away from the board for almost a month.

It's time to catch up with what's shared here. Knowing this group is here is always a delightful contemplation for me when i'm not participating. Thanks for keeping it up, folks!

Sorry for your loss, Deb.

Thank you, Emma.

Condolences to you and your family, Deb. And glad to see you back on the board.

Thanks, Amy. It's always a pleasure to arrive here & catch up on the posts i've missed.

On another months-long trip. Today we won't travel far--to Mineral Wells, Texas, where visitors are allowed to dig for fossils. Sounds fun.

From there we travel north on Hwy. 281, which runs by two places where we once lived in the Dakotas.

madrano wrote: "On another months-long trip. Today we won't travel far--to Mineral Wells, Texas, where visitors are allowed to dig for fossils. Sounds fun.

..."

I've been to the "Crater of Diamonds State Park" in Arkansas a couple of times...where you can hunt for diamonds. I never found any though. LOL

madrano wrote: "On another months-long trip. Today we won't travel far--to Mineral Wells, Texas, where visitors are allowed to dig for fossils. Sounds fun.

From there we travel north on Hwy. 281, which runs by tw..."

Sounds like fun. Do let us know about the fossils you find !

I've heard of the diamond spot but have yet to try. Soon?

We found some very small fossils. Frankly, it was tough to tell if the bits were fossils or not. It was fun seeking them out, though. We saw some kids and they were having a blast, finding "big ones". They wish!

Today we'll see a couple of forts which were once frontier outposts. We overnight in Lawton, OK. Goodbye, Texas. As a lovely parting gift the temps have only been in the upper 80s this weekend.

Sounds like fun, Deb.

Glad the temps treated you well.

For the first time the lower temps and humidity seem to be finally be here.
Today it's low humidity and temps in the high 70s. Such a relief.

It sounds perfect to me! We are muggy in Oklahoma today. I guess when traveling, the weather changes. LOL!

We learned quite a bit at Ft. Sill, OK, particularly about Buffalo Soldiers and tribal issues.

Today we are in Alva, OK, where i was born. Tomorrow we go to a small town western museum in Freedom, Ok, where my mother was born. Seeing these places is highly satisfying emotionally, a way to connect with my ancestors.

That's sounds lovely, Deb, and enjoyable on so many levels for you.

It has been a good day.

In addition to the Oklahoma stops we visited Carrie Nation's house in Medicine Lodge, Kansas. Our image of her changed quite a bit. In addition to her hatchet-wielding acts against alcohol consumption and businesses, she was among the first to create a shelter for women effected by domestic violence.

Thanks for keeping us up on your travels. I know I will never get a chance to see the things you are, so I am living vicariously through you. :)

I'm pleased to be able to share with you. Thus far (knocking wood) i've been able to connect to the Internet easily, unlike many of our trips.

Today we traveled along the Santa Fe Trail awhile. It is isolated in most places. While our day began a bit wet, by noon we were in sunshine and 70 degree weather. Hurrah!

madrano wrote: "I'm pleased to be able to share with you. Thus far (knocking wood) i've been able to connect to the Internet easily, unlike many of our trips.

Today we traveled along the Santa Fe Trail awhile. I..."



Did you hike a bit of it ?

Yes. There were even a few ruts from the travelers of the 1800s still visible.

Btw, apparently i didn't knock wood hard enough. Tonight it took us over three hours to get on the 'net. The hotel's internet connection crashed.

madrano wrote: "Yes. There were even a few ruts from the travelers of the 1800s still visible.

Btw, apparently i didn't knock wood hard enough. Tonight it took us over three hours to get on the 'net. The hotel's..."

Wow! You are really walking in the steps of history. How neat is that !

Sorry to hear about the wonky internet connection.

We came across some similar ruts when we followed the Oregon Trail, too. Those were in a sort of softish rock formation many yards long. Who would have thought they would survive? It's somewhat like running across Civil War embankments--i thought they would have been reincorporated into our good earth. Thankfully not.

We are in Minnesota this week. Yesterday was a glorious day visiting Native cultures. We began in Pipestone, MN., where Native Americans can excavate for the red pipestone available in the area, with which the create pipes. When my husband worked in Indian Health Service with the federal government, he was given a couple of the pipes, which have been valued by us.

Had we known how long and hard the excavation process is, our appreciation would have increased a hundred fold! The film we saw showed a family excavating over years to get to the rich red pipestone needed. The museum hired a pipe maker to work on pipes there, so we could watch the process. Neat. While we couldn't afford the prices of the pipes, which are in the hundreds of dollars, we could purchase smaller items, such as owl and turtle images.

Our next stop was a couple of hours away--ancient rock pictures, petroglyphs. Unlike ones we saw in New Mexico, these were on the flat stones in the ground. Visitors could touch them and even walk (shoeless) on the stones. It felt spiritual, particularly with the wind blowing as it was. Fortunately there were guided tours, too, wherein we learn the how to carving, as well as possible depictions seen. Glorious day, ruined only by our limited internet access. LOL!

Thanks for sharing, Deb. I am traveling vicariously though you.

I'm glad to hear it, Alias. It's nice sharing, as i imagine i'll be able to look at this thread to see where we were when. Win-Win.

My husband planned this trip with little help from me. He knows what i like and don't. So imagine my pleasure in the number of literary-related stops we've had. First, a couple of stops where the Little House family lived, particularly the Burr Oak, Iowa, sites.

Then there were three poets--Carl Sandburg, James Whitcomb Rixley and yesterday, at the Wright Brother's museum, Paul Laurence Dunbar. I'm so pleased. When we return i hope to remember to read this thread, in order to share some work by each. (Note: i see that GR has James Whitcomb's last name misspelled. It should be Riley.)

madrano wrote: "My husband planned this trip with little help from me. He knows what i like and don't. So imagine my pleasure in the number of literary-related stops we've had. First, a couple of stops where the L..."

I enjoyed the TV show based on the Little House books. However, I've never read them. It must be fun to visit the home of the Ingalls.

It has been. We learn some "real" aspects of the family. In Burr Oak I bought a small book,Wilder in the West by William T. Anderson, which is about Eliza Wilder, Almanzo's sister. You may recall from the series that she was Laura's school teacher for awhile. Simultaneously she was homesteading, farming and raising animals. To help prove her claim she wrote a report to the government, which is the basis for this short book. I read it already and liked her streak of independence.

madrano wrote: "Then there were three poets--Carl Sandburg, James Whitcomb Rixley and yesterday, at the Wright Brother's museum, Paul Laurence Dunbar. ..."

How was the Wright Brothers?

madrano wrote: "Simultaneously she was homesteading, farming and raising animals. To help prove her claim she wrote a report to the government, which is the basis for this short book. I read it already and liked her streak of independence. "

It was a very hard life for sure.

Julie, we liked it and felt it filled us in well. However i realized that having read the McCullough book the material was redundant. I don't think i learned anything new but, of course, it was a thrill to see some of their equipment and sites. At Huffman's Field, where they practiced post-Kitty Hawk, i was most pleased. There were flags to mark the space the Brothers tried to keep within when flying. We were impressed by the fact it wasn't a large area at all!

Prior to Dayton we stopped at Wilbur's birthplace, which was in Millville, Indiana. It is out of the way but very quiet and informative. The original home is there, as well as a number of exhibits about their careers. I had forgotten, i suppose, that the brothers learned their mechanical skills from their mother, whose father was a tinkerer, as well. They stressed that fact, as well as the fact that she did, in fact, complain when her husband stayed away longer than planned. As a mom whose husband travelled quite a bit, I totally understood.

I was incommunicado a few days because we were staying with a cousin who had low internet connectivity. Her husband's family have been in that town for 5 generations. It was fascinating for us who moved rather often during our marriage.

Yesterday we visited a home where Harriet Beecher Stowe lived with her father while he led a seminary in Cincinnati. While she moved there as a young woman, without that experience her most famous book, Uncle Tom's Cabin, would not have been rich in depictions, such as crossing the river on the ice floes. It happened nearby, as did other stories in her book. Indeed, she wrote a number of stories featuring "Uncle Lou", Tom's predecessor. Sadly, the house itself was disappointing, as it has been remodeled and there are very few items original to the family. Pity, but the history is strong.

I really enjoyed reading UTC. I think we read it together on a Barnes & Noble website.

Why yes we did! I was surprised by how much i liked it, having tried numerous times prior to that.

Reposting to this thread

madrano wrote: "We leave this Wednesday for Greece. After a month there, we go to the Republic of Ireland for another month. After that, France, Germany, Holland, Poland & one other with my sister & 15 yr. old nep..."

Deb, I am going to repost this in the Where In the world is Deb thread so I can remember your itinerary. Unless I win lotto, I very much doubt I will ever be able to visit these places, so I am going to live vicariously through you. :)

Have an awesome trip my friend !

Thank you, Alias. I have so much to do before we leave tomorrow that my excitement is only now started to bubble forth. This much i know about our stay in Greece. We arrive in Athens, where we'll be staying 3 or 4 days, depending on how you look at it. We catch an overnight ferry to Crete, where we'll be staying a month.

We've been to Crete previously but Dan was ill during the trip so doesn't remember much. We'll go to Knossos Palace again. I liked that site because it's mostly open air & one gets a real sense of the surrounding area & how it fit the royals. This time we will be renting a car so we can travel to other archaeological sites on the island.

From there we go to Santorini and Mykonos islands. Again, we've been to both on previous visits. Our first visit to Santorini the archaeological dig we wanted to visit was closed because part of it had collapsed a year earlier. So, naturally we want to see that. Plus, Santorini is just beautiful. This time our hotel is facing the caldera, the top part of the ancient volcano which is visible still.

When we went to Mykonos last time we just screwed up our schedule & couldn't catch the ferry to the island of Delos, which is one of the most important mythological, historical and archaeological sites in Greece. It's considered the birthplace of Artemis and Apollo.

A return to Athens for another day or two, then we fly to the Republic of Ireland. There we begin with several days in Dublin to see the city, including the Book of Kells. I've been a fan of illuminated manuscripts for years & this is supposed to be one of the best.

From there we will rent a car & travel around the southern part of the island. Due to car rental rules over there (as i understand it from Dan), it's much cheaper if we break up the rental. Therefore we're taking a train (or bus, i've forgotten) to Belfast & getting another rental there. We both have ancestors from the entire Ireland so will be keeping that in mind as we visit sites, too.

We'll be there about a month. At that time it will be almost time to meet my sister & nephew in Paris, so we'll go there a few days earlier to see things which don't call to them this trip. Then, we hit the road but much of that is still up in the air.

Just writing some of this down is fun. I'll try to keep in touch, as it'll be easier than one massive recap in November.

Wow wow wow!!!! I,ve done most of those places in the course of the years Deb! Moving among islands in Greece and driving all round Ireland from Dublin and back to Dublin along the coast...amazing! There are some of the most impressive landscape I have ever seen on the route. Causeway Coastal Route and Cliffs of Moher the two parts that I loved me the most. Cities were great too, Dublin, Cork, Galway and Belfast definitely a must!!! I will follow your updates!

madrano wrote: "Just writing some of this down is fun. I'll try to keep in touch, as it'll be easier than one massive recap in November. ..."

Yes please! :-)