Read me a story

Are you a reader? I mean, a real, addicted reader? I confess that I am. If I don't have a book I have been known to read cereal boxes and jar labels in desperation. I have to have at least three books a week or I get the shakes. Okay, so maybe I'm exaggerating a little....but just a little. I can only blame my parents for starting me on this road. When I scored my first library card at age six..... I was hooked forever.

I always need new books. But it is hard to keep enough books on hand when traveling so I went searching for books to possibly down-load. I never would have guessed at the amount of free reading material available. Here are only a few of the sites I found.......

Audio:
The Librivox organization states that their goal is "to make all books in the public domain available, for free, in audio format on the internet." There are over 2,500 titles available on the site at present with more coming. Some are even available in French and German. http://librivox.org/newcatalog

FreeBooks http://www.freebooks.org/
1000+ Free Books, MP3 Audio Books

Print:
Project Gutenberg http://www.gutenburg.com/ is the place where you can download over 30,000 free ebooks, mostly classics,to read on your PC, iPhone, Kindle, Sony Reader or other portable device. No fee or registration is required, but they do ask that if you find Project Gutenberg useful,they would like you to donate a small amount so they can buy and digitize more books.

University of Pennsylvania

http://digital.library.upenn.edu/books/
with a listing of over 35,000 books.

Many of these are classics, how-to and self improvement books. But they fill a need until you find that next road-side ...dealer.

Enjoy.

nonsense

I like nonsense. It wakes up the brain cells. Fantasy is a necessary ingredient in living, it's a way of looking at life through the wrong end of a telescope.....and that lets you laugh at life's realities.

Continuing changes...

In my quest of reinventing myself I am making an active effort to try new things. I have often heard of the fun involved with drumming circles. People speak of the relaxation, the spiritual calmness and the group togetherness.

Learning of a local drumming circle, I decided to check it out. The leaders brought a variety of drums and rattles. The main drum is what I am told is called a pow-wow drum. It is about three feet across and suspended from an x-shaped frame. It has a beautiful sound when struck. Four of us were playing it at once. One person leads off and the others try to match the rhythmic beat. I was mentally carried away with beat, it vibrated through my body leaving a "humming" feeling. This was FUN! Listening to one of the others playing a hand held hoop drum, I was fascinated by the sound. I made the comment that had to have one. Of course, I just planned on buying one somewhere.

The very next day I was surprised with the gift of a drum frame. It is steam-bent birch about 15 inches across and 3 inches high. This is nice...Oh-oh....I suddenly realized that this meant I had to make my drum! Not having ever seen one made and not having the circle's drums handy to check out, I searched the Internet for how-to hints, and found enough information to help calm my nervousness. Luckily, I found a local source for the raw-hide skin needed for the drum head. After worrying over it for a couple of days I finally just dove in and made the drum. I softened the rigid hide by soaking it in water for a few hours. Laying the wooden frame over it, I laced (tied) the hide to the frame with faux sinew. Not perfect but workable and I learned some things to pay more attention to on my next attempt of drum making. Oh yes, there will be another one.

TOP:

BOTTOM:
...showing the lacing holding the head in place. It also acts as a handle to hold the drum when playing it. The traditional lacing pattern is generally finished in an X but this six-pointed star pattern worked out better for me.

But all things considered, I am quite happy with the results.In the end, I decided to oil the skin instead of painting a design on it. The oil has made the drum head almost translucent and has deepened the tone.

See how the sun shines through it?

This style is one of the most basic of drums. Traditional skin drums made by some Native Americans are very close in design to the Celtic bodhrán as well as being similar to the frame drums distributed widely across northern Africa from the Middle East, and in instruments used for Arabic music and the musical traditions of the Mediterranean region.

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"The drum is the Great Spirit's favorite instrument. That's why we were all given a heartbeat..."~ Mano, Navajo Elder

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Here is some more info if you find that you are interested.

Shaman drum: http://www.beardrum.com/drumconstruction.html

Drum supplies: http://www.drum.com/

Making a simple drum: http://www.ihobf.org/download/Making_a_Drum.pdf

You can't wait for inspiration. You have to go after it with a club.
~~~Jack London

The Loneliest Highway

US Highway 50 running through Nevada is called the Loneliest road in America because of the extreme distance between the towns.

The state even brags about it!

In fact, the communities along the highway have put together a tongue-in-cheek “Highway 50 Survival Kit.” The kit contains brochures and maps of the places along the route and a special Highway 50 passport which travelers can have validated in the five largest communities (Ely, Eureka, Austin, Fallon and Fernley).

Validated "passports" can be mailed in to be redeemed for a "I Survived the Loneliest Highway" pin and a “Survivor” certificate signed by the governor.

I found that finding someone to stamp my passport was not always easy....I had to really search for some of them. But I found that was part of the fun as we roamed through the towns and shops.

Yes, it is true...the drive along this road is pretty lonely. But there is always something to see in the desert, you just have to keep alert. As you near the town of Middlegate, watch for the Shoe tree. I was amused when I came across this big cottonwood tree in a roadside gully hung with hundreds of shoes. I even saw a pair of roller skates and a water ski hanging among the branches.

From a distance the tree seems to be holding a crop of fruit or maybe sort kind of companion plant like the Spanish moss of the South.

But as you drive closer you realize your mistake and wonder; .....how? .....and why?

From the look of the huge pile of shoes on the ground under the tree, not everyone has the luck of making their footwear hook onto a branch. I tried to toss some of the pile of shoes back into the tree but it is harder to do than it first appears.

If you would like more info on this and other Highway 50 attractions, do some web surfing by starting with these links:
http://www.magazineusa.com/us/states/show.aspx?state=nv&doc=30

http://www.roadtripamerica.com/roadside/shoetrees.htm

Lehman Caves

As you enter Nevada on Highway 50 be sure to stop at Baker and see the fabulous Lehman Caves. Here you can see some of the best shield formations in the world. The Ranger guides make the science of the caves easy to understand for everyone.

Here is one of the shield formations.

Just look at this drapery.

http://www.nps.gov/grba/planyourvisit/upload/Lehman%20Caves-2.pdf

Canyon Country, Utah

http://www.utah.com/bryce/

Colorado

Pikes Peak was our goal in Colorado and as a bonus we came right through the "Garden of the Gods" near Colorado Springs. Everywhere you turned there were those beautiful red rocks against the clear blue of the sky.

The Pikes Peak railroad is a cog railroad. This means that it travels on cogs to pull it up and down the steep mountain sides. Notice the cogs that run through the middle of this track.
The train moves at a walking pace up the steep track.

This photo was taken from our coach. In the distance you can see another train making it's way up the steep mountain side. The broken rock scattered over the land is caused by the repeated freezing and thawing temperatures.

Ironically....our tour guide informed us that the peak gets it's name from a man who never actually stood on it. Pikes Peak is named for Zebulon Pike, an early explorer of the Southwest. Lieutenant (later General)Pike first sighted what he termed the "Great Peak" in mid-November of 1806. A few days later, he attempted to climb it with a small band of men. Heavy snows in the 10,000 foot area turned them back. Pike estimated the mountain's height at over 18,000 feet (he was only 4000 feet off!) and is said to have claimed that it might never be climbed. However, a botanist, Edwin James, did climb it in 1820. By the mid-1800's, a trail was well established to the top, and in 1858, the first woman, Julia Holmes, climbed to the peak..

This is the top of Pikes Peak. The view was spectacular even with the cloud layers and fog.

When we boarded the train in the valley we were sweating heavily. When we stepped off the train at the peak we were feeling the high altitude chill. I noticed that sweat shirts were selling fast in the gift shop so we weren't the only ones not thinking ahead.

More info:
http://www.cograilway.com/
http://www.gardenofgods.com/home/index.cfm?flash=1

A bit of Kansas

Kansas was miles and miles of open highway surrounded by miles and miles of rolling prairie. It was raining off and on and the hidden sun was making an eye aching glare. To break the monotony of the road, I found myself watching for the old homesteads and farms bordering the roadways.

Our journey wasn't all travel or photos....we stopped at antique stores, junk stores, yard sales. We wedged more of our collected loot into the van and had a great time just looking.

Then, on one of the back roads that we favored, poking above the countryside was this odd looking structure. Seeing workmen outside of it we stopped and asked questions. I was told that it is used to store the salt needed to clear the snow from the winter highways. Being a resident of the far west, I had never seen such a building before.

The dome shape keeps it from having to have interior posts and supports so the trucks and salt loaders can drive inside.

Age isn't a matter of calendar months. It is an Attitude. So do not let anyone tell you that you are too old to do anything that you want to do.

St. Louis, Missouri

Ahhh, St. Louis...the gateway to the west. There's a lot of history to uncover in this city, but we were focused on the archway. As you approach the Mississippi River from the Illinois side the first thing you see even before the river is that shining silver arch soaring into the sky. My reaction was simply WOW! It was early morning and the commuter traffic hadn't started yet so I pulled off the road on to a wide shoulder posted with no parking signs. At first I thought I might have broken something when I hit one of the deep pot-holes there, but luckily both the van and ourselves were fine. Hmmm....maybe that is why the signs were posted? Anyway...I was determined....so I hopped out of the van and started taking photos.....no prize winners but reminders of my day. All of a sudden the roadway was packed with vehicles heading into St. Louis. I jumped back in the van and waited nervously for a break in the flow and took it.....scaring myself in the process. Need I mention that I am not a brave driver?

The Arch is very impressive from a distance but is overpowering when you are standing under it. This is at the base....I hadn't dreamed it would be so huge!

The Arch is situated along the Mississippi river in a park setting. As I was standing there several heavily loaded barges came by me.

You enter the exhibit underground. There are beautiful 3-D displays on Louis and Clark, the construction of the Arch and other related things. Located here also are the tram entrances, the gift shops and the video theaters.

Yes, I said trams. There are two, one in each side of the Arch.

You ride them up the inside of the actual arch until you are standing inside the top of the arch at 630 feet. The observation area at the top of the Arch allows you a birds-eye view of the surrounding city.

This was a fun day and another "Must see" attraction crossed off my list of things to do.

The road that is built in hope is more pleasant to the traveler than the road built in despair, even though they both lead to the same destination. ....Marion Zimmer Bradley

Confederate Memorial

Over the years I have heard much about the beauty and artistry of the memorial carved on the side of Stone Mountain near Atlanta, Georgia. It really is an amazing sight and worth a visit. But sadly it is combined with a hillbilly style amusement park. It is just my opinion, but having this impressive memorial to the Confederate heroes stuck next to hee-haw silliness makes as much sense as a merry-go-round in a cemetery.

The day we were there the park was packed and the roads were filled bumper-to-bumper with people coming and going. There is a cartoon laser light show focused against the mountain every evening that tends to attract hundreds, possibly thousands, of viewers a night. So bring the kids, cousins, aunts and grannys. Have fun, eat some barbecue, but take time to remember why that sculpture is there.

This is the largest high-relief sculpture in the world. The carved surface covers more area than a football field. The sculpture depicts three heroes of the War Between the States; Confederate President Jefferson Davis, General Robert E. Lee and General Thomas J. "Stonewall" Jackson.

The monument was began in 1924 by Gutzon Borglum who later was responsible for Mt. Rushmore in South Dakota. Borglum worked with pneumatic drills and dynamite as did the second sculptor, Augustus Lukeman, who took over from Borglum in 1925. The monument was finally finished in 1970 by Walter Hancock who used thermo-jet torches which allowed the removal of tons of stone a day. That is amazing progress, in less than 50 years, both in machinery and technique.

The monument is much larger than it appears from viewing it from the park. Workers could stand inside the horse's mouth. The deepest point of the carving is Lee's elbow which is cut 12 foot back into the mountain surface.

If you want full details, facts, figures, history etc. check;

http://stonemountainpark.com/outdoors-recreation/outdoor-detail.aspx?AttractionID=486