Stonehenge in America

OK, now for the photos of the Stonehenge Monument built in 1918 by  Sam Hill as a monument to those who died in this area of Washington in World War I.  A separate monument to the more recent wars was added later.  The Stonehenge is completely configured to the real one in England...the same size and with the heel stone lined up to the Summer Solstice Sunrise.  It loses a lot, as the magic and history of the original is not present, but is fascinating none the less.  I missed out getting to see the real Stonehenge with Russell back in the late 80s and have always regretted it.  Joining with several linkys: Tom's Tuesday Treasures (it is a treasure, though not as much as the original!), Sharon's Travel Souvenirs, and Mersad's Through My Lens....

This sign tells about the history and meaning of this cement reconstruction, but shows it's configuration to the original.

In the parking lot we met a couple who were from Northumbria, England!   Such a fascinating man and woman who live in a restored 1600s mill.  I said, "I'm sure you've seen the original Stonehenge" and of course they said yes.  They had flown in to Seattle and were seeing the Northwest.  They said when they saw the sign for "Stonehenge" in Maryhill  they were intrigued and had to come see it!

The monument is located on a rise above the Columbia River, overlooking the river and the tiny town of Maryhill.  The views are wonderful!

I immediately took a shot out toward the heelstone as one would look on summer solstice sunrise.  Weird to see the windmills! :-)  And unfortunately the parking lot came all the way up to the heelstone and there are two cars just out of frame of this shot, their noses behind the stone to the far left...…

Later this "View" RV parked right in front of the heelstone because so many people don't understand its significance!   I found it amusing though that this "View" was blocking the view!   Later we called the Maryhill Museum which oversees the monument and suggested they block this area of the lot.  I was told there will be a special event on Veteran's Day there and they plan to have the parkinglot better configured by then!

More of the henge (notice the plaques honoring the World War I dead from there)….

The only way I will ever get to touch one of the standing stones...albeit cement!  You can't get close enough to the real stones in England to touch them so that's a small consolation, at least! :-)

The views and also the other memorial to those lost in more recent wars:

There are vineyards and peach orchards growing in Maryhill below

Fort Clatsop, Part I

Ever since I first learned about Lewis and Clark as a child, and knew about their amazing trek across our great Nation,  I have wanted to see Ft. Clatsop.  They gave us so much--discovering worlds only Native Americans were familiar with, searching for a river passage to the Western Coast for future trade, discovering myriads of heretofore unknown flora and fauna and opening up a whole new part of America in the process.  Of course the original fort is long gone, but a relatively new State Park has been opened with a wonderful museum and a re-creation of the fort.  It was excellent!   Russell and I were thrilled with this amazing tribute to the Corps of Discovery.  It was a well-spent day!

Joining with Tom's Tuesday Treasures to share some of this awesome place:

First there was an excellent movie.  Then we saved the museum exhibits for later, and we went out to the re-creation of the fort...

The red line follows their route headed northwest

One of several beautiful bronze sculptures, this one outside.  This is Sacagawea and baby Jean-Baptiste.  Her part in the journey has always fascinated me.

I photograph a squirrel and later see an identical one displayed in the museum...written about in the Lewis & Clark journals.

The forest much as Lewis & Clark and the Corp of Discovery experienced it....

We were so happy there was great handicapped access

And here is the wonderful re-creation of the fort.

More to come later....

Blue Ghost Reunion

Here is my Five for this week's Willy Nilly Friday Five and Five on Friday....

My husband Russell was in Viet Nam from 1970-71 in Nighthawk, a night-time helicopter assault team.  He was a doorgunner and served bravely and honorably.  Nighthawk was part of Blue Ghost in U.S. Army F Troop/8th Cavalry in the Americal Div.  Over the years he found a couple of the guys he had served with, and they became dear friends (one has already passed away) but not until about five years ago did he become aware that Blue Ghost was doing a yearly reunion.  This was our very first time to attend in Austin, Texas (it's held in different cities each time) and here he saw men he knew and served with but had not seen since 1971.  What an amazing, wonderful experience!  I can't even explain how important this was to both of us...especially my Russell, who needed this so much, this re-connection with his "Band of Brothers."

1.  Mario Cruz and Russell see each other in the hallway on that first morning of the event...

In 1995 Keith William Nolan wrote a book called Sappers In the Wire which included the enemy over-run of Firebase Mary Ann in Viet Nam in March 1971.  Russell and Mario were two gunners who were instrumental in defending the firebase from the air.  We brought the book to get signatures from many of the BlueGhosts.  Here Mario signs the book....

2.  I can't describe what this reunion meant to us both.  Here are just a few more photos, including one of the daughter and grandson of a Nighthawk friend who passed away years ago.  Russell invited them to join us for the banquet.  They drove in from south of San Antonio to be there that night.  That was very special!

3.  We had our portrait made in front of a bunker...

4.  Our trip to Austin took us back to old stomping grounds.  We had lived near there for five years, ending in 2003.  Our grandson was born in Austin.  I used to work at the International Festival Institute at Round Top, and will be posting photos of our return for two days to visit our friends there when we have our next week's Five.

5.  Anybody remember the play that was later made into a musical starring Dolly Parton as a madam of a house of ill-repute and Burt Reynolds as the sheriff who is crazy about her (and lets the "Chicken Ranch" as it was called slide in under the legal radar for years)?  It was called The Best Little Wh*** House in Texas, and was based on an actual place located once in LaGrange, TX.  I remembered when we lived in TX we would sometimes go to LaGrange, and also Bastrop where we discovered this hairstyling salon.  That was back in the early 2000's....and guess what, "The Best Lil Hair House in Texas" is still there. :-)

A Sad Remembrance

Just wanted to do a post about 9/11.  Just a small observation of how hard it was to observe the anniversary yesterday.  I think it gets harder in the sense that I feel our country now slipping away, and have so little hope for a future we can all hold onto. I don't mean to be morose, but we can't just have "happy happy joy joy" and not face the evil that we need to be in prayer about; that we need to fight and stand strong against.  Of course we all NEED the "happy happy joy joy" stuff to help us cope!  So we need to keep that up as well.

God bless every brave soul who faced evil that day and in the days since...the fire fighters, policemen & women, the service men and women, the citizens who helped others around them, the EMT and medical workers, the rescue dogs and their handlers.  And God bless the survivors who lost loved ones that day.  And God bless all of us as we face so much that lies ahead...the Christians who are being killed and persecuted and all the innocents and good people who just want to live their lives with some joy and find that harder and harder to do.  Let's keep our heads high and fight for what we believe in, and encourage one another, and find some joy, too.

Never Forget

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I am taking a break for several days....will be back soon, I promise! 

Last of The New List on Friday

I used to drive around neighborhoods looking for interesting fences and often found interesting mailboxes and yard art and even the occasional mural.  This mailbox however was from one of our recent drives.  Tucson tends to be artistic in its view of life, and I love that!  I may post some of my old fences and mailboxes and yard art from time to time since most of you haven't seen them.

Now for the Willy Nilly Friday Five hosted by Tanya in Roanoke.  I always look forward to this meme!  Join in!

To complete Bethany's List and add four of my own (there was only one of hers left):

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If I were to visit you in your hometown, what would be the first place you'd want me to see?

Well, I was born in Jasper, Alabama, though I spent most of my childhood here and there because of Dad being in the Navy.  But my hometown is very special to me and I have a lot of wonderful memories.  It isn't the kind of place where tourists visit because there aren't any "sites."  Well, we do claim two famous people from Jasper.  You could drive by and see Tallula Bankhead's home (if you know who she was, you are in your golden years like me! :-) ) And the other famous person from Jasper is George Smith Lindsey....who, you ask????  Why, Goober from the Andy Griffith Show!   But I never saw his house, so I would take you to my old elementary school, where I attended on one of my short sojourns there as a resident.  It's an older brick building, and there is a small creek just across the road with a small bridge.  Just down the road is my Aunt's house where my Mother was dropped off when she was in labor with me because my Aunt was a nurse and my Grandparents had to go to work.  My Dad was away in the Korean War at the time.  The hospital wasn't far away then...now that old building is gone.  The town is quaint and lovely, just a small southern town.

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If you were given three do-overs in life, what three professions would you choose, and why.

First, wife and mother, as I have, with a more active writing profession along with it.  

              This is the most satisfying gift I could give myself...and of myself to my family.

Second, I would become an historian with an emphasis on fibers and fabrics material culture.

              I adore working with fabrics and I love history, especially ancient history

Third,  I would be an animal conservationist, perhaps studying wolves

              I feel strongly about endangered species and love nature

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If you could invite one person from the past to lunch so you could meet them in person, and learn from them about their time, who would you invite? And why?

 One of our Founding Fathers, probably George Washington...and get their take on what they felt during the Revolution and birth of our country (and their take on what things have become)

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If you had one last vacation in life, and had the money and time to go anywhere in the world, where would you go?

The British Isles, to see Stonehenge especially.  Mom & I went to Ireland for a ten day tour once, and it was GLORIOUS!

*****

What would your second choice be?

Hawaii 

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I would love to see your answers to the 15 questions (first 11 from Bethany and last 4  from me) from anyone else who wants to participate!

Just a couple of final thoughts:

I finished the book Unbroken: A World War II Story of Survival, Resilience, and Redemption by Laura Hillenbrand this weekend.  About Louie Zamperini and other POWs during the War, it felt good to make the finish of the book on Memorial Day weekend. 

And on a more personal note, today is my 46th Wedding Anniversary!  Thank you, sweet Russell, for being my partner in this journey and giving me the love and support you always have....love you with all my heart!  I was 17 and he was 19 as we walked down the aisle of the little Baptist church in Chesapeake, Virginia in a small, intimate ceremony.  We were just out of high school.  Our lives together have been special and wonderful, and I am so grateful for my darling hubby!  He is also my favorite Veteran, leaving me to wait for him as he went to Vietnam to fight as a helicopter door gunner! I'm so proud of him, also.

St. Elizabeth Ann Seton Catholic Church

This church captured my attention as we drove by one day.  We had never been down that stretch of road before so had never seen the church.  I went back a few days later to get pictures.  This beautiful church is my offering for this weeks InSPIREd Sunday.  Thanks Beth & Sally for this great meme!

For Memorial Day I want to remind everyone to honor our fallen veterans, even if only in your heart tomorrow...their sacrifices are great because they gave all they had to give.  God bless their families, and may this country always be a God fearing, free nation!

Five Favorite Things--History

I thought I would do something a little different for Willy Nilly Friday Five today (join in with Tanya on this great meme with the link)  and list five of my favorite things dealing with history:

1. First, I love the mysteries to be found in our unwritten distant past.  I first began to be interested in archaeoastronomy as a result of a book my husband brought back from a trip (in the early 80s) that included England and Stonehenge, called Stonehenge Decoded by Gerald Hawkins.  His views were a little controversial when the book was first written but have become widely accepted, and I have watched numerous TV shows and read numerous other books that supports the astronomical alignments of many prehistoric sites.

A photo Russell took of Stonehenge

Not only has Stonehenge captured my imagination...I watch every show, special and movie, and am constantly looking for books about the mysteries of our distant past.  From Pumapunku to giant skeletons to the Great Pyramid alignments with Orions Belt, I can't get enough.

2. Secondly, I love the little known facts of our early American founders, the players in the great drama that was the Revolution and the beginning of our wonderful country.  I have long read about our country's history, and biographies of the founding fathers (and mothers) but have recently also learned about some minor players that are fascinating:
     a.  Peter Francisco, hero of the Revolution
     b.  Sybil Ludington, brave teen who did a midnight ride just as important as Paul Revere's
     c.  Dr. Joseph Warren, who played a more major part than Paul Revere as well
....and there are many others, including those who fought against the crown in revolts years before the actual Revolution.  By coincidence, my husband and I both have ancestors who feature in this bit of history.  My ancestor is William Drummond who fought with Allen in Bacon's Rebellion in Va. and was later hanged by the Royal Governor, Berkeley, in 1676.  His sword is in the museum at Jamestowne.  Russell's ancestor was Benjamin Merrell who fought in a rebellion in NC, the Battle of Alamance, and was hanged by the Royal Governor there in 1771.  We apparently come from a long line of people who don't take lightly to having their freedoms curtailed! :-)  Merrell had nine sons who fought in the Revolution. 

Sybil Ludington's Midnight Ride

3.  Early Irish and Scottish history. I am fascinated by the struggles of these two countries against the power of the British crown.  I love their cultures and am fascinated by their histories both ancient and less far distant.  To have both Irish and Scottish ancestors says that blood in me is crying out to those who came before me but who share a common bond.

4.  My early love was for the War Between the States era, and it always holds a firm place in my heart.  The players in that theatre of our history are fascinating and the events complex and interesting.  It's a mixture of romance and dire struggle and echoes of Revolutionary ideals as well as certain shame and complexity of lies and political maneuvers.  It bears long study to truly understand.

5.  American Indian history is so important.  I love learning everything about it.  Much of it breaks my heart.  It is another extremely complex issue...I could describe it in much the same words I just described our War Between the States era.

6.  I had to go with six because I also really I love the era of the American late 20s to the early 40s. The Great Depression years speak to me in a very real way.  People had to be REAL during those years because the chief concern of survival on a daily basis, and people had to depend on each other for so much.  There have been many changes since those days, and we are suffering now as a result of our dependency on technology and yielding of power over our own lives.  The last genuine days were probably right after World War II.

Some of my grandson's ancestors in the 30s

I have always believed everyone should understand history.  It's so important, and can be so interesting on so many levels.  I have always loved it and continue to try to learn as much as I can about our years on this earth.  It's a wonderful obsession!