Days 38, 39, 40 Deep South

We spent a few days with Tim's Uncle Glen in Poplarville, Mississippi.  Glen and his wife, Fran, are building a home on 25 acres in the middle of nowhere!  So we pitched our tent on the deck of their garage.  We were pleased when Fran's son, Brent, arrived with his family.  It was a great family weekend.

Max and Simon really loved having 12 dogs to play with.  They each had a couple of favourites!

The boys also enjoyed driving the ATV and the golf cart around the property.  Uncle Glen even let them help with some of the yard work -- dragging trees and moving dirt with the tractor.

And, of course, there was a pond that had catfish!  Every day was spent trying to catch a few (which they did).  However, the best catch we had was for supper!  We went to a Fish House and had delicious catfish for dinner. 

We took a trip into New Orleans, Louisiana.  We spent the day walking along the Mississippi River and the streets in the French Quarter.  It was a bustling city on a Saturday.  Jazz musicians performed on many streets and we could hear music everywhere we went.  Max and Simon were enthralled by the human statues.

At Jackson Square Max found an artist that he really liked and so he purchased a piece of original art with his own money.  This was a large purchase but one that he will remember and can decorate his room around.  (The abstract fish is his.)

Our other excursion was to a local farm and corn maze.  We spent an afternoon learning how to lasso a cow and shoot an arrow from a compound bow.

We also spent some time in the corn maze and let Orion be our guide.  He loves mazes and we made it out safely!  Whew!

Day 36 & 37 Three Men and a Little Dog

Bill Clinton was the 42nd President of the United States.  In Little Rock, Arkansas we visited the William J. Clinton Presidential Library.  At the end of his tenure, each U.S. President creates a Library to archive the correspondence and memorabilia of his term in office.  These libraries are a method of recording the history of the American nation and the leaders who shaped the country. This is the first such Library we have visited.

The Clinton Library has an exact replica of the Cabinet room and the Oval Office.  It also has interactive displays for kids to practice giving a speech and create a campaign platform.  Very fun! The main displays describe events that unfolded during Clinton's presidency (1993 - 2001) including his near impeachment and bad personal choices.  But the man also did a great deal of good for the children and poor of the U.S. through his commitment to improving education.

"All Americans have not just a right but a solemn responsibility, to rise as far as their God-given talents and determination can take them."  --Bill Clinton, State of The Union address, 1995

 

Elvis Presley was the King of Rock 'n' Roll.  We visited Graceland in Memphis Tennessee.  Max and Simon were familiar with Elvis' music but really knew very little about his life.  Now they know lots!  We enjoyed touring the Graceland mansion with our audio guide and learning about the accomplishments of this humble man.  Simon was especially impressed by the generosity of  Elvis -- there were several plaques from hospitals, charities, and individuals who had received gifts of kindness and money from Elvis.  Max was impressed by his cars -- many colours and varieties!  He also gave away cars!

The Graceland property contains the main house and several other buildings housing memorabilia from Elvis' life and musical triumphs.  We saw many costumes that Elvis used in his stage performances and several posters from the 31 movies that he starred in.  We also learned that Elvis had recorded over 600 songs and won two Grammy Awards for "How Great Thou Art" and "He Touched Me". The Trophy House contains many gold records and other awards.

When he would come down the stairs wearing all his rings, jangling, and ready to meet his guests, I would be as awestruck as any of them.  It's Elvis!  --Lisa Marie Presley, paraphrase from Graceland Audio Listening Guide.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                          One thing we did not know is that Elvis' body is also buried on the site of Graceland, along with his mom and dad, and his grandmother.

Martin Luther King Jr was a black Baptist pastor and civil rights activist.  We visited the Civil Rights Museum in Memphis, Tennessee.  The Lorraine Motel is the location of King's assassination and it has been turned into a museum that describes the events of civil disobedience and non-violent protests that marked the civil rights movement in the South.  We learned about Rosa Parks and the Montgomery Bus Boycott.  We listened to tape recordings of President JFK talking about James Meredith and his fight to attend the University of Mississippi (Ole Miss).   We watched a movie about the last days of Martin Luther King Jr and his efforts to help the Memphis City garbage collectors in 1968.  It was this event that brought King to Memphis and made him a target on April 4, 1968.

"Like anybody, I would like to live a long life.  Longevity has its place.  But I'm not concerned about that now.  I just want to do God's will.  And He's allowed me to go up to the mountain.  And I've looked over.  And I've seen the Promised Land.  I may not get there with you.  But I want you to know tonight, that we, as a people, will get to the promised land!"   --Martin Luther King Jr, Mountaintop Speech, April 3, 1968    After hearing this speech, Max believed that King had had a vision from God:  he had seen the future and knew he would be killed.  Perhaps he saw 40 years into the future when a black man would be elected President of the United States.

Pete is a little dog.  We visited Pete and his family in Memphis, Tennessee.  Wendy Porter and her wonderful family looked after us for two nights and we had a blast!!

"Bark!  Bark!  Bark!"  --Pete, translation: who is going to play dress up with me when the boys are gone?

Days 31 through 35 Gone Fishin'

We have been relaxing for 5 days!!  It is hard to believe how tiring driving can be -- because you feel like you are doing nothing.  But this weekend we have just rested with the Nippers in northern Arkansas.  It has been 80+ degrees Fahrenheit so we spent quite a bit of time on or near water. Tim and Max and Simon got out their special fishing shirts and settled in for a few days of low keyed activity.  Here the boys are feeding carp at the Fairfield Bay Marina.

Pam and Gary Nipper have a great home on Greers Ferry Lake.  We went swimming and played in the mud almost every day.  When our mutual friend Ward Nicholson was also visiting from Texas, we went touring the lake on a "party barge".  It was a sunny morning and very peaceful.  We made a few casts but no bites.  The day before, people were catching lots of bass.

One afternoon we drove to the Little Red River near the Greers Ferry Dam.  It was a very hot day and so we enjoyed lazing on the shore.  There were trout in the river.... we know because we could see them, touch them, talk to them..... but they did not bite even once all afternoon!

Our break from driving also meant that it was a good time to get caught up on email and blogs and school work.   We also played mini golf and shuffle board, and attended a local basketball game.  We watched the West Side Eagles play in their new arena.

We were surprised to find maple trees in Arkansas.  They were changing colour and, along with the Nipper's hospitality, made us feel like we were home!

Day 30 The Reluctant Traveler

We spent two very long days on the road traveling from Colorado Springs through Kansas and Missouri to Greers Ferry, Arkansas (North of Little Rock).  One of the joys of traveling east is watching the sunrise in the morning.  The downside is having the sun in our eyes as we drive.  But as we move east and south we are happy to find warmer weather.

As we travel these long days we sometimes have one passenger who is not as enthusiastic as the rest...... Occasionally, Simon refuses to do his school lessons in the car. Occasionally, he makes remarks that express what the rest of us are thinking........
"Simon, do you know how an oil pump works?"  "I don't need to know."  
"Simon, do you know how many states we have driven through?"  "Too many."  (The correct answer was 15.)

But all we need to do to improve his mood is find a bit of chocolate!  Did you know that Russell Stover Chocolates are made in the state of Kansas?   We discovered this and enjoyed a stop-over for some outlet sales.  Russell Stover is the largest producer of boxed chocolates in the United States.

Days 27, 28, 29 Colorado Springs

We traveled through the Colorado Rockies to Colorado Springs.  We saw our first bit of snow and the aspen groves were turning bright yellow.  Did you know that aspen trees have a powder on the bark that can be used as a sunscreen?   The bark of an aspen tree also contains the main ingredient in Aspirin -- salicin.

We spent three days hanging out in Colorado Springs.  We stayed with the Schrocks (Brian's parents) and we had such fun! They were wonderful hosts -- sharing their space, their food, and their coupons!  We had a special meal called Mount Fuji which is a mound of rice covered in toppings (raisins, peanuts, coconut, onions, cheese) and topped with chicken and gravy.  Yummy!  But we also discovered that Ed is a card-carrying member of Rizutos Ice Cream so we enjoyed a visit there!

The highlight of our visit was a trip on the Cog Railway to Pike's Peak.  The summit is 14,110 feet high and the train travels on a 25% grade !!  The cog in the middle of the track "links" to the train like a gear.  Regular adhesion trains can only do 9% grade.  It was a wild ride!

And once we arrived at the summit we felt quite dizzy -- really!  The air is so thin up there we were lacking oxygen.  We also walked in 6 inches of snow up there.  It was minus 12 degrees Celsius -- the coldest temperature we have experienced in several years.

We also visited another "natural wonder"!   The Garden of the Gods is a park of red sandstone structures.  We walked among the unusual and steep rock formations with fossils that you can see and touch.  There is also a towering rock called the Balanced Rock which is the most photographed structure in the park.

Day 26 Four Corners

The Grand Canyon was our furthest point west and so today we started heading east from Arizona through New Mexico to Colorado.

There is only one place in the United States where four states meet together.  This is called the "Four Corners". The states of Utah, Arizona, New Mexico, and Colorado converge at a point.  There is a monument in that spot and it was fun to put a limb in each state.

It is also the point where three Native American nations meet -- the Navajo, the Ute, and the Denis converge here also.  A sign also said that the line running through the middle is 37 degrees Latitude.  This is important to American Civil War history because slavery was abolished north of the 37th Parallel.

We arrived in Durango, Colorado in time to Skype our family in Nova Scotia.  They were all together to celebrate Thanksgiving.  Simon was bummed that he missed out on a turkey dinner.  We promised him one on our return to Canada.

Days 23, 24, 25 Grand Canyon

Natural Wonder!!!  We have spent four days exploring the Grand Canyon in Arizona. 

The view is truly spectacular and so hard to capture!  Geologists agree that the canyon is 6 million years old and was formed when the Colorado Plateau uplifted and the Colorado River downcut the canyon.  This created the depth of the canyon.  Erosion is causing the canyon to get wider.  It is now about 10 miles across.

We spent all of our time on the South Rim of the Canyon which is 8000 feet above the Colorado River.  We walked a few kilometres along the Rim Trail which looked down into the canyon.  We also watched sunset from the rim as the colours on the Canyon walls changed from gray and brown to pink and red.  There is a new Trail of Time along the Rim which displays many of the rocks that line the Canyon's walls.  Sandstone, Limestone, Shale and the bedrock Granite.

Tim, Max and Simon took a hike down into the Canyon on the Angel Bright Trail.  They descended about 1 km into the Canyon on a well marked, busy, and sometimes narrow path.  This is a steep but popular trail and will take you all the way to the bottom of the Canyon.

We decided to camp in Grand Canyon National Park because it would give us some time together and a rest from driving.  But, instead of a rest, we were so busy!!  The Park Rangers offer activities all day long to teach people about the Canyon.  We attended special programs on Condors, Ravens, Raptors, Elk, and the Geology of the Canyon.  We tented for three nights and the temperature dropped to -1 Celsius each night.  

We met several knowledgeable and kind Park Rangers.  One of the Park's programs for Max and Simon was the challenge to become a Junior Ranger.  They were required to attend certain programs and then complete some observations and activity pages in a book.  After they pledged to "enjoy and protect Grand Canyon and all national parks, and to be a friend to planet earth", they received a metal badge that looks very similar to the real Ranger badge!