FLW, Mighty Mississip, AR

This is what I woke up to this morning - a beautiful sunrise over the Mississippi River with a barge heading down river and no mules or men pulling it, just a tug.

This is the 2nd time this year I've been able to camp along the River - last time near Natchez, MI and this time in W. Memphis, AR at the Tom Sawyer RV Park.  It was nice last night to sit by the river and watch the barges go both directions and I think they travel all night as I could hear them as I drifted off.

But, back to yesterday.  I decided to go to The Rosenbaum house (designed by Frank Lloyd Wright) instead of waiting to do it on the way home.  Of course I was in awe!!  This is the only house solely inhabited by the original owner and even though by the time she gave it to the town of Florence, it was riddled with termites.  The town raised the money to take the whole structure down and rebuild it according to original plans and help from Taliesin West.  It was so bad that even the books in the house were being eaten by the termites.  It was a great tour because there were only 3 of us so we could take as much time as we wanted and ask all the questions we wanted.

OK, I'm in McDonalds near Little Rock and the internet is WAY TOO SLOW & the food is pretty disgusting so I'll fill in the details from Branson - I hope.

Heading to Branson

     Heading to Branson, MO to meet up with about 37 other "solo-trekkers".  We are calling our gathering "Meet in the Middle" because solos are coming from all corners of the US to meet in the middle of the US.
     There'll be lots of chit-chat, eating, sharing, shows, and wanderings.
     The gathering begins Thurs. afternoon and I'll leave on Monday to go to Eureka Springs, AR with a few other "solos" to explore this "Swiss Alps of the Ozarks" - a Victorian town with lots of Painted Ladies, shops, mountains, forests and supposedly one of the most architecturally beautiful churches in N. America, set in the woods.
     On my way home I'm hoping to swing by Florence, AL to see a Frank Lloyd Wright house - the only one in AL

So, I got an earlier than expected start today which was a good thing:

• before I got to Orlando there was an accident so had to detour out of my way to stop at Lorraine's to get some of Buzz's famous pasta fazool, Lorraine's famous banana bread and to help her get rid of some over-done (for them, not me) chocolate chip cookies - dinner tonight!!

YUM!!

• "check engine" light came on while on the detour so after hugging Antonia & getting my goodies, I had to go to the Roadtrek dealer:  Leisure Time RV in Winter Park to see what was going on.  The NICEST young tech gave me a lesson in filling my gas tank, turned off the light and we're hoping that's the issue.  So an hour later I'm on the road again.
• and you know how annoying it is when your smoke detector's battery dies and it starts chirping?  Well, try that in a vehicle driving down a highway & there's nothing you can do about it until you stop.  I got a new battery from Lorraine but was going to wait until I got to Leisure Time to put it in but of course it then didn't chirp anymore - probably in the middle of the night tonight.
• So, that's my 3 strikes for today and that better be the end of it.

I'm at Deer Run RV Park tonight in Troy, AL after passing Malone, FL when I got off I-10 to get on Rt. 231.  Only stopped 3 quick times - gas (cheapest it's been since last presidential election) at Loves which I loved, loved, loved because they had long-handled windshield cleaners so I could actually get all the way to Rhoda's middle, then once for lunch and once for you know what.  Gained an hour - Central Time (the hour I lost at Leisure Time) so was able to get to my planned-to-stop-at place.

BTW - if you need a typewriter repaired, there's a shop in Cottondale, FL that can do that for you.  Can't miss the little town - right in the middle of many cotton fields.

BTW - what do you think they do at a "Bull Testing" place?

Frustrated in Iowa Part 2

Tuesday, July 24th

All excited this morning to go to a little farm town called Quasqueton and see Cedar Rock - a Usonian house by Frank Lloyd Wright operated by the Department of Natural Resources and it was unique because it was the most complete Usonian home with all the furnishings, landscape, etc. and there were real tours, etc.

So, I drove for an hour on little country roads, all excited.  I knew I was early with the first tour at 11 but I wanted to make sure I got on that tour.  Gates were closed!  I pulled over and called the phone # to see what time the gates would open and the recording said that due to budget constraints, Cedar Rock was now also closed on Tuesday.  AAA book is not up-to-date!!!  Dang I was upset.  Another car pulled up too who didn't know of this change.  I actually debated on spending the night but knew this would make for a very long day on Wed. so left this for next time:(   The house wasn't even visible from the road as I gather it was down a bank towards the river.  I should have taken a picture of the gate:)

I had one more possibility - it was a house in Cedar Rapids - the Douglas Grant House which I knew was privately owned but thought I could just drive by and shoot a picture out the window.  So on I went.  (Do you know how confusing towns are in IA - Cedar Rapids, Cedar Falls, Cedar Rock, Cedar Valley, Cedar Grove, and just plain Cedar.  Then there's Sioux Rapids, Sioux Center, Sioux City and in SD Sioux Falls).

Of course I knew it was on a residential street which got narrower and narrower and finally a sign for dead end and of course it was the last house, down a winding, curving hilly driveway with a sign at the top saying "private".  And of course you couldn't see the house from the top of the driveway and because I'm such a law abiding person, I didn't walk down the driveway to see the house and invade their "private-cy".

Bummer of a day and here I am in Davenport, IA - again the only campground in miles but it's a decent one and I got to be entertained with this original "RV" that moved in just after me.

DATA:

mileage:  172                        gas:  $45  @ $3.56                            Camp:  $30

Frustrated in Iowa

Monday July 23rd 

Well, Patrick, I opted to not go to the Spam Museum - sorry.

Entered Iowa about noon and began my Frank Lloyd Wright pilgrimage - better than corn any day.

First stop - Mason City which I found out was just recently named the 4th most important city to visit for architectural value - behind Mumbai and Venice and I forgot the 3rd.

First stop was the City National Bank and Park Inn Hotel which were commissioned by a BOD who wanted Wright to design a building to house the bank, a hotel, offices for lawyers who were on the Board, retail stores and some extra space for future renters.  A large undertaking for Wright but it was amazing.  It's just undergone major restoration with the hotel owning and occupying most of the whole complex.  The bank is now their ballroom.  This is the only hotel Wright designed that is still standing and still in operation.  

Front of the building

Window detail of original bank portion

Side of building but main entrance for the hotel

Lobby of hotel

Ladies lounge upstairs over lobby

I then went to see The Stockman House which Wright also designed:

Only open on week-ends :(

In town additionally there are several houses designed by students of Wrights but I didn't go to see them as I wanted to get to Charles City to see the Alvin Miller House:

This house was under renovation so not open!

Well, 1 out of 3 I guess isn't bad and I was psyched as tomorrow was the star attraction!

So, again, campsites in the state of Iowa are about as scarce as in SD.  Guess there aren't that many tourists in Iowa unless that is, you like to watch the corn grow.  BTW, I'm wondering what the other crop is that is vying for space - thinking it's soybeans but don't know for sure but it does make for better sight seeing - dark green, low growing vs light green, tall.

Anyway, I had 2 "parks" to choose from - both county parks and that was it for miles.  First one - closest to where I was and where I was going tomorrow - it was more like a low rent area and luckily for me the only elec. offered was 50 amp and I didn't have a converter plug but the guy without teeth next door was already trying to help me out.  Told him I'd better see if I couldn't find a pole with 30 amp.  Had to drive backwards 20 miles to the other park but it was great so saved by the amperage.

DATA:

mileage:  246                                   gas:  $71 @ $3.60                         Camp:  $16

The Sky's the Limit - Acoma

Sunday, May 27th

     Woke up without no more smoke in my nostrils, blue skies, good visibility, and less wind.  Good choice in pulling over early yesterday.

     Left at 9 for the beginning of a really good day of seeing, listening, reflecting.

     The first thing I noticed was that the mountains all had flat-tops and I don't think it was because they were in keeping with the whole historic Route 66 theme.  It looked like someone had come out with their level and shaved everything even.

     How many times on this trip have I wished I could have been a fly in the sky - high enough to not be in danger but close enough to have seen everything in warp speed as our earth changed.  It's just amazing to me all the shapes, all the differences in formations and colors.  To see the mountains rise up, to see sand dunes turned into rock, to see rocks splitting off and tumbling down. To watch the power of water creating amazing shapes and canyons from seemingly impenetrable rock.  You may believe that God created the heavens and the earth but Mother Nature made it into something ever changing and always amazing.

    OK, enough of the reflecting part.

    I went to the Pueblo Village of Sky City of the Acoma people.  Driving to the Visitors Center I noticed how all the homes on this reservation looked exactly like the surrounding rock - they blended right in - Frank Lloyd Wright would have been pleased.  Originally I think they either made bricks out of the powdered rock or the rock itself but now they stucco their homes in that exact color.  Very impressive.  Of course there were a few trailers some opted for which spoils the ambiance for us tourists.

     I didn't see any businesses, any gardens, any cattle but did see a large food distribution center and a large housing authority building so unless everyone works for the large casino and hotel down the hill, it must be a lot of government subsidy.  But the land is so bad that we "gave" to the Indians, no wonder it's hard to make a living on it.

     Acoma means "a place that always was" and these people have lived in this area since the 13th century.  They've survived invasions from the Spanish, taken into slavery, plus surviving our own treatment to them.  But they are still a very proud people, very patriotic and very protective of their ways.

"Modern" Pueblo Architecture

Mission church

Mother selling her crafts

A "street" scene

Can you see what's used for mortar-straw & mud

Ladders into the kivas - through the roof

View from on top of the mesa

Home built into the rocks

Another mesa in the reservation

Modern conveyance up to their mesa home

Can you find Rhoda in the parking lot below?

     To go on this tour - up on the top of a mesa, we had to not only buy a ticket but buy permission to take pictures and even then we couldn't take pictures of the people without permission, no pictures in the mission or of the cemetery, no cell phones or cell phone pictures, no videos, no tripods.  And when our tour guide was talking, if anyone else talked, they'd be asked to leave immediately.  But it was very interesting to hear of their history and culture and what life is like for them today.  Time very well spent.

     With no intentions on more sight-seeing today, I was drawn off the highway onto 117 S to see what National Monument El Malpais (bad land) was all about.  Again very interesting rock formations but what made it a National Monument was to protect the lava beds from thousands of years ago.  I drove into the Monument for about 25 miles and then came back as I didn't want to end up that far south.

Some of these lava beds looked like giant cow plops for those of you who've seen such:)

Second largest natural arch in NM

   

    Got to thinking about why I like rock formations so much??  Don't know why I feel the need to take pictures of them all but. . . just try and stop me.  BUT you don't have to look at them all but I bet you do - caught you looking.

     Anyway, to end the day, I again drove 16 miles off the highway to get to Blue Lake State Park before I cut my loses and turned around when the road turned to dirt and I had another 8 miles to go.

Drove another 30 miles to just east of Gallup, NM to Red Rock State Park and you'll have to wait until tomorrow to see pictures of that because it was heavy into sun-setting shadows by the time I got there.

DATA:

mileage:  214                     gas:  $57  @$3.64                     camp:  $20

Acoma pueblo:  $17

weather:  breezy, cool (70s)