Jack feeling unwell so we canceled our last 6 or 8 places to visit and pushed for home.   A little over 900 miles later, we arrived back in Bangor on Saturday, September 15, at about 7:15 pm. 

We broke in the new truck well--more than 12,000 miles put on it during this trip.  We were in a total of 19 state, four of which we drove through only - didn't stop to see an attraction.  We had a great time and hope you enjoyed reading about our travels.



We're home again!





Most of our day was spent at the Cahokia Mounds in Collinsville, IL.

Cohakia Mounds is the largest prehistoric Indian site north of Mexico.  The site covered about 4,000 acres and included at least 120 mounds.  The State of Illinois protects 2200 acres of the central portion of the site and 70 of the remaining 80 mounds.  The site was named a U.S. National Landmark in 1965.  In 1982, the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization designated Cohokia Mounds a World Heritage Site for its significance in the prehistory of North America.

The first settlements at Cahokia appeared around 700 AD.  The residents were Late Woodland Indians.  They hunted, fished and cultivated gardens.  From 800 - 1000 AD, the Mississippian (our name for them) culture began as highly structured communities with a complex ranked social and political system.

In 1050 AD, Cahokia became a regional center surrounded by farmsteads, villages and satellite towns with several mounds.  It peaked between 1050-1200 AD, sprawling over 6 square miles with a population of between 10,000 and 20,000 people.  It was the largest community north of Mexico.  Cahokia was organized around Monks Mound and a 40-acre Grand Plaza where public gatherings took place. 

The mounds were made of earth dug from "borrow pits" using stone and wood tools and carried in baskets on people's backs.  Estimates are that 50 million cubic feet of earth was moved for mound construction alone.  Most mounds show several construction stages; many of the "borrow pits" can still be seen.  The most common mound was a rectangular platform which served as a base to elevate ceremonial buildings and residences of the elite.  Conical and ridgetop mounds were often used for burials of important people or marked important locations.  Most Cahokians were buried in cemeteries, not mounds.

It is a fascinating place if you have any interest at all in Native American history.  Collinsville is just a few miles east of St. Louis, MO.

This is known as Monks Mound.  It is the largest prehistoric earthen structure in the Americas.  It contains an estimated 22 million cubic feet of earth.  The base covers more than 14 acres; it rises to a height of 100 feet.  A massive building once stood on its summit where the principal chief would have lived, conducted ceremonies and governed.

This picture was taken from the top of Monks Mound.  There is a smaller mound in the foreground and a huge circle of logs called "Woodhenge".   Woodhenges were used to determine the changing seasons and ceremonial dates.  Five of these circular sun calendars were excavate.  Each circle had a different diameter and a number of large, evenly spaced red cedar posts.  They were constructed AD 1100-1200.  Certain posts align with the rising sun at the Spring & Fall equinoxes and the Winter & Summer solstices.

9/12/12

Today was Abraham Lincoln day.  We first visited Lincoln's home in Springfield - the only home he ever owned.  He and Mary bought the then small cottage in 1844 when Lincoln's law practice was flourishing.  Lincoln later added a second floor for their expanding family.  Lincoln was a self-taught lawyer who had only one year of frontier schooling.  He rode into Springfield in 1837 with all of his belongings.   He was a persuasive arguer for Springfield becoming the state capitol.

  

Lincoln's home after the second story was added

Lincoln began his political career by serving eight years in the Illinois House of Representatives.  He was elected to the U.S. House of Representatives in 1846 and served one term.  He was nominated in June 1858 to run for the U.S. Senate, a race he lost to Stephen Douglas.  Although he didn't win that election, the debates he had with Mr. Douglas set the the stage for his ultimate election as our 16th U.S. president.

Lincoln's campaign wagon

After visiting his home and the Visitor Center we walked to the Lincoln Library and Museum - state-run facilities.  Lincoln's political career and achievements were the primary emphasis here.  The museum houses two theaters that use the hologram technology to illustrate parts of Lincoln's presidential career--in particular the Civil War years and his efforts to abolish slavery.  There's a facade of the White House that houses various Lincoln documents as well as artifacts of his, Mary's and some of his contemporaries.  There is a re-creation of his early childhood home in Kentucky.

Young Abe outside the cabin of his childhood

Replica of the White House

The Lincoln Family

We ran out of time and never got to the Library.


9/11/12

We covered around 400 miles today pulling off the road in the town of Jacksonville, IL.  Rolling hills were the primary topography; we left the pine and evergreen trees behind for a greater number of trees, most of which are the deciduous type.  Too obvious not to notice were the tiered fields of corn or soybean.  Don't know if the farmers have tiered the land for some unknown reason or if the land is just normally that way.  We crossed over briefly into Missouri before re-entering Illinois by a bridge that spanned the mighty Mississippi.  Our stopping point was Jacksonville, IL.

9/10/12
First thing this morning we visited the Prehistoric Indian Village in Mitchell, SD.  This is an actual on-going dig site of what is believed to be a Mandan village that existed around 1000 A.D.  The site sits on a hill.  A river flowed by the village (later dammed to create present day Mitchell Lake) an essential at the time for both water usage and travel. There are believed to have been at least 18 dwellings in this village and many dogs.  The horse was not introduced to the area until the Spanish conquistadors came so it was dogs that pulled the travois used to transport injured or ill people or skins or goods.   The Mandan people were farmers.  Their main crops were beans, corn and squash which they planned intermingled.  The corn stalks gave the beans something to climb on; the squash leaves covered the ground and helped moisture to stay in the soil while keeping down the weeds.

Actual dig site housed within the Thomson Center Archeodome

Bull Boat

To the right is a "Bull Boat" which is made by stretching one bison hide over a wooden frame.  It was best used by tying a series of them together to transport goods down a river; it was possible for a person to transport himself in it too but a little awkward to paddle.

 



 Southern South Dakota is quite flat and today it was very windy (25 - 30 mph winds) and therefore rather dusty.  Lots of goldenrod in bloom along the roadside and patches of pretty yellow flowers that are tall with blooms extending part way down the stalks/stems.

We ended our day in a little town in Iowa called Minden.

9/9/12

Today was a driving day.  Thankfully, Jack and I both drive so we alternated drivers every couple of hours.  At we started out, everywhere we looked there were prairie grasses on hilly terrain relieved at times by herds of cattle, a few bison (sign we passed said it was a "buffalo" ranch), an occasional green patch, and sometimes ponds of varying size and depth.  What once had been marshy areas are mostly dried up.  The drought has been fairly severe in South Dakota.  A woman at the visitors center we stopped at told me that the "Indian corn" crop was so poor this year (because of drought) that they didn't think they would be able to change the murals on the Corn Palace  - something they normally do every year.

We crossed into the Central Time Zone shortly after lunch and the landscape changed.  There was evidence of vast (harvested) wheat fields and then huge fields of sunflowers ready to be harvested.  Patches of red appeared as we got further east; I think these were fields of sorghum also ready to be harvested.

We arrived in Mitchell about 5 p.m. local time and will visit one or two attractions here tomorrow.

Today was cave day.  

We first went to Wind Cave which is part of Wind Cave National Park.  The cave was found in 1881 when two brothers heard a loud whistling sound.  The sound led them to a small hole in the ground - the cave's only natural opening.  The wind was said to be blowing out of the hole with such force that it blew one of the boy's hat off.  That wind, which is where the cave got its name, is created by differences in atmospheric pressure inside and outside the cave.  

Exploration of Wind Cave did not begin until 1890.  An extensive network of passageways have been found to date containing boxwork, popcorn and frostwork formations as well as flowstone and relatively small stalactites.   The cave temperature is constant at 53 degrees.

Although there is no evidence of Native Americans either living in or storing things in Wind Cave, the Lakota tribe believes it is through the small hole (the cave's only natural opening) that the buffalo first came to be on this earth and that their people followed the buffalo and thus populated the earth.   Therefore, Wind Cave is a sacred place to the Lakotas.

Wind Cave is one of the oldest caves and has more than 130 miles of surveyed passageways. It is said to be the fourth longest in the world.  Barometric wind studies indicate that only 5% of the total cave has been discovered in more than 100 years of exploration.  The cave is still being explored today and is said to be the fourth longest in the world.

After Wind Cave, we went to Jewel Cave National Monument.  Jewel Cave is believed to be the second longest cave in the world, and it is still being explored.  To date, the cave passages that have been mapped and explored total at least 160 miles.  This cave is far different from Wind Cave.  The formations are different and the 'chambers' much larger.  

The original opening to Jewel Cave was found in Hell Canyon (not the one we visited some weeks ago).  It, too, was a small opening; that opening was enlarged with dynamite.

 

Jewel Cave NM was established in 1908 when less than one mile of the cave had been explored and few of the cave's wonders had been discovered.  Explorations in the past 45 years have revealed more of the cave's treasures; and because the cave is a scientific gem, much of it has been set aside for research and is not open to the public.  Calcite crystals are evident everywhere; some are called dog tooth spar - an elongated, many sided crystal that is pointed at the end.  Others are called nailhead spar; each of these crystals is elongated, many-sided and has a flat or blunt end.  The crystals typically cover cave walls in crusts from two to six inches thick or occur in deep pockets in walls.  Pure calcite crystals are translucent white.  When iron oxides, other minerals, or impurities are mixed in, the crystals may be red, yellow or an opaque white.  Large sections of the cave's crystal lining appear gray and do not sparkle.  These are covered with silt left from ancient times when water filled the cave.  Water still seeps into the cave today and is cleansing some crystals of their gray color.  

Other formations found in Jewel Cave include: straw stalactites, flow stone and cave bacon.

Like Wind Cave, there is no evidence of Native Americans having used Jewel Cave to either live in or store things in.

Left Longmont and headed northeast toward South Dakota by way of Wyoming.  The closer to Wyoming we got, the flatter the country.  The Rockies dwindled to little more than hills.  A huge statue of a bison suddenly appeared on a hilltop as we approached the Wyoming border.   The ever present wind turbines could be seen off in the distance.  Scrubby grass covered the ground, black angus and steers grazing on it.  Every so often we came upon wild sunflowers growing along the highway and we saw a field of them that must have been planted as they were in very even rows. These sunflowers are about 1/5 the size of the giant ones we've grown at home.   Snow fencing seems to be placed in every open spot (and there are lots of spots) to keep the winter snows from drifting across the road.  In some places they have begun to grow evergreens in staggered rows to act as  wind breaks and perhaps live snow fencing.  There are gates on some of the highways, similar to the ones we have at railroad crossings, that are apparently lowered when roads are closed in the winter because of snow.  

We are in Hot Springs, SD tonight and will be visiting Wind Cave (fourth largest in the world) and Jewel Cave (second largest in the world) tomorrow.

9/6/12

Today we hiked the Wild Basin Trail in Rocky Mountain National Park with a group of Longmont (Colorado) Seniors, my brother, Fred, being the leader.   We walked up and up (supposedly only 600 feet elevation gain) and never did get to the spot we were looking for (a stream or stream bed) crossing the trail supposedly 2 or so miles from the starting point.  Not being used to the mountain altitude, we huffed and puffed a little more than usual but were able to keep up with the group just fine.  The aspens have just started to turn, their leaves shining like gold in the sunshine.

Fred and Mary took us to a tea house in Boulder for dinner.  The building was sent to Boulder as a sister city gift from one of the countries that resulted from the breakup of the Soviet Union--something or other 'stan'.  The building was very ornate, the food offered was varied (i.e. I had a Mediterranean dish, Jack had a Mexican one and Fred & Mary had Indian food).  All of it very good.  After dinner we strolled through downtown Boulder's promenade (walking street) looking in the shops and generally had a very pleasant evening.

Hurray!!  No Big Ben alarm this morning.  I was up anyway but Jack got to sleep past 7 a.m.

Spent a good part of the day driving to first Netherland, Co and then Estes Park.  After Estes Park, we drove into Rocky Mountain National Park in search of elk; but, alas, we saw no elk.

In Netherland, we saw the Carousel of Happiness, a restored 1910 Looff carousel with 58 animals that were hand carved by the carousel's creator, Scott Harrison.   When Harrison was a marine serving in Viet Nam, he envisioned building a carousel in the mountains.  The image sustained him throughout his military service and inspired him, with the help of some dedicated volunteers, to build the carousel and pavilion in picturesque Netherland,  Colorado.

In addition to the carousel, the pavilion houses a fully restored 1913 Wurlitzer Band Organ and puppet theatre.  We didn't get to ride the carousel or hear the music as today and yesterday the pavilion was closed.  It was fun to see though.  The dedication and skill it must have taken to carve all of the animals is inspiring.  Unfortunately, I have been unable to pull the pictures I took and downloaded to this crazy laptop into the blog so.............

Tomorrow, we go with Fred, and a group of seniors he is leading, on a hike in Rocky Mountain National Park.  Weather is supposed to be clear and quite warm.  Should be fun.

9/4/12

We arrived in Manitou Springs and Cave of the Winds shortly after noon today.  Our tour commenced around 1:30 p.m.   Cave of the Winds was discovered in 1881 by two young boys.  When they told of their discovery, no one believed them; so it was not until about a year later that one man decided to look for himself and the cave discovery was validated.  The cave opened to the public about five years later.  Cave tours in the 1800s were far different from what they are today.  The tourists crawled on hands and knees through the cave openings and tunnels; and ladders to get to the different cave levels.  Candles were used for illumination.   As the cave became more of a tourist attraction, "improvements" were made to better accommodate them--openings were enlarged, cement flooring and electric lighting were installed.  The stalagtites and stalagmites were smaller than I expected although some were reportedly hundreds of years old.  I felt no winds blowing through the caves but apparently they do blow at times.

After touring the cave, we headed for Longmont and our visit with my brother, Fred.  Unfortunately we hit the Denver rush hour traffic so made slower progress than expected but did arrive in time for dinner and a nice visit with Fred & Mary.

Another unplanned stop took us in the opposite direction from Cave of the Winds.  We traveled a short distance south of Montrose and went to the Ute Indian Museum.  The Museum highlights the Ute Indians and early explorers including the Franciscan missionaries who mapped and named many of the rivers, valleys and mountains in western Colorado in their quest for a route from Sante Fe to California.  A monument on the property honors Chief Ouray who was a peacemaker between the Utes and settlers.  Chief Ouray spent most of his life negotiating with the federal government in an attempt to assure a peaceful existence for his people.  History tells us how shamefully our federal government treated not just the Utah Utes but all of the Indian tribes.

There were exhibits of beautiful Indian beadwork.  It seems like they beaded almost everything.

Sorry, no pictures.  This wonderful photos software on this machine will not import all the pictures on my memory card. 

Black Canyon (from the south rim)

An unscheduled visit today to Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park near Montrose, CO.  Quite different from what we've been seeing.  At it's deepest the Canyon is 2,772 feet.  The river drops an average of 96 feet per mile in the national park and drops 480 feet in one two-mile stretch.  Fast, debris-laden water carving hard rock made the Canyon walls so steep.  Of course this took millions of years.  Until it was dammed, the river rushed through this gorge, in flood stage, at the rate of 12,000 cubic feet per second with 2.75 million horsepower force  dramatically scouring and eroding the canyon walls.

The Canyon was named "Black" because it is so deep, so sheer and so narrow that very little sunlight can penetrate it.  Early travelers found it forebidding.  In 1900 the nearby Uncompahgre Valley wanted river water for irrigation (most of the area from Utah to Montrose, and probably further east, is green only because of irrigation) so five residents hazarded an exploratory float down the Gunnison River but gave up after a month.  In 1901 Abraham Lincoln Fellows and William Torrence floated the Gunnison on a rubber mattress (33 miles in 9 days) and determined that an irrigation tunnel was feasible.  Work on the tunnel began in 1905; it was dedicated in 1909.  The tunnel was blasted through 6 miles of rock and still delivers river water to the Valley for irrigation today.

The Gunnison River is the blue line at the bottom of the canyon

 Incidentally, Painted Rock was 'painted' by Mother Nature.

Painted Rock with the Gunnison flowing by

 

We are staying in Montrose tonight and will head for Manitou Springs and Cave of the Winds tomorrow.

Wind, water and gravity are the main components of  erosion and the effects of erosion were everywhere today in the Arches National Park where we spent the entire day driving and walking to view various sites including: Park Avenue, Balancing Rock, Garden of Eden, Cove of Caves and eight or so arches.  At last count, there were more than 2,500 arches in Arches National Park.  To qualify as an official "arch", the rock must have an opening of at least 3 feet in length in any direction.  There is no requirement for width; quite a lot of the arches in this Park are so skinny you'd have to place your cheek against the rock to see any light through it.  Some arches are given the name "window".  Window is a descriptive term that is often given to rock openings high on a rock wall or fin.

Arch, bridge, window or hoodoo, spire, tower--these are descriptive names given to sandstone formations visible in this and other Parks located in the southwest.

"Park Avenue" is an example of a fin type formation

Balancing Rock is on the right

This is a double arch; it has three openings in the same rock.

North Window

South Window

Tunnel Arch

After spending 6 or 7 hours at Arches, we headed north and then east into Colorado.  The landscape became flatter and less colorful almost immediately with high bluffs and mountains in the distance.  We were treated to a few lightning displays as we traveled east and could see the sheeting effect you can see when it is raining some distance away.  Tomorrow we plan a less demanding day and should be in Longmont some time toward the end of this upcoming week.

Happy Labor Day everyone!!

On the way to Canyonlands today (there are three sections; we went to the Needles area), we stopped at what is called Newspaper Rock.  The rock is perhaps 20' wide and at least as high and is full of petroglyphs.  No one knows for sure what the different symbols mean.  Some are easily recognized as buffalo, big horn sheep, circles with different symbols in the center but their meaning is unclear.  It is believed, for instance, that many hands drawn in close proximity is supposed to mean a family gathering such as a wedding.  There were so many different 'pictures' on this one rock, I wonder at their meaning and over what period of time they were put there.

We first went to the Visitor Center in Canyonlands and got information from the Ranger on several different trails.  We walked two short ones (it was hot in the sun).  At the end of the first, we saw what was once a grain storage bin set into the crevice of a rock by Native Americans.  The second was a bit more challenging (we had to climb two latters to get to higher levels) but was well worth the effort.  Again we saw petroglyphs and then a few pictographs.  It was evident that the overhang areas were used by Native Americans and one supposedly used by pioneers.  Interesting.

Example of a "needle"

Storage bin in rock crevice

A pictograph

Water seeps through this rock giving life to plants and small animals

These things belonged to some pioneer(s) who lived in this overhang area until 1875

Canyonlands is a wilderness of rock at the heart of the Colorado Plateau.  Water and gravity are the primary architects of this land, cutting flat layers of sedimentary rock into hundreds of canyons, mesas, buttes, fins, arches, and spires.  It remains primarily untrammeled--roads are mostly unpaved, the trails primitive, and rivers free flowing.  Bighorn sheep, coyotes and other native animals roam its encompassing 527 square miles.







8/30/12

Today we left Capitol Reef and headed for Natural Bridges National Monument.  On the way we drove through Glen Canyon.  We were still seeing a lot of sandstone formations but, unlike Capitol Reef, they were almost entirely one color - reddish brown.  A pronghorn antelope ran across the road in front of us just before we reached the Glen Canyon area.  Poor thing ran into a fence after crossing and acted so confused.

There are three natural bridges in the Monument: Sipapu, the second largest natural bridge in the world; Kachina Bridge, a massive bridge which is considered the "youngest" of the three; and Owachomo Bridge which is the oldest of the three.

Sipapu Bridge

In Hopi mythology, a "sipapu" is a gateway through which souls may pass to the spirit world.

Owachomo Bridge

Kachina Bridge

Kachina is a massive bridge and is considered the youngest of the three bridges because of the thickness of its span. The relative small size of its opening and its orientation make it difficult to see from the overlook.

Owachomo means "rock mound" in Hopi and is named after the rock formation on top of the southeast end of the bridge.  This bridge could collapse at any time (the middle of arch top is relatively thin and is the most likely spot to give way and collapse the bridge).

8/29/12

Spent the day exploring Capitol Reef National Park.  The Park got it's name from one of the formations that looks like the Capitol Dome in Washington, DC.  65 million years ago, a great buckle in the Earth's crust formed that stretches across south-central Utah.  The great force, which later caused the uplifting of the Colorado Plateau, is called the Waterpocket Fold.  This Fold created a barrier, another name is a reef. Thus the name, Capitol Reef.  The Park is filled with many different formations of varying colors.  It is a truly beautiful place whose look  changes as the sun shifts in the sky.  

In addition to the sandstone formations, we saw petroglyphs that are believed to have been drawn by the Fremont tribe.  For those of you who don't know the difference between a petroglyph and a pictograph:  A petroglyph is a symbol that is 'pecked' (with a tool) into the rock; a pictograph is one that is painted on the rock.  Pictographs don't last as long as petroglyphs.

Water freezing and thawing eventually cracks the rock and pieces fall out forming a hollow like this one.

Looking down the Grand Wash

Capital  Dome

Another type of formation

The sandstone formations and structures found in Utah (primarily) are the result of this part of North America being under the sea millions of years ago.  The sand, plants, animal life and minerals in the sea plus nature's "cementing" materials plus time, volcanic activity, wind and water are the bases for all of the sandstone in its various forms here.  The black coloring that appears on some rock faces is caused by manganese. They are unsure about how it gets there - either by seepage from within the rock or airborne particles.  I vote for seepage after seeing some of the rock faces.

Today we left the KOA in Vernal UT and drove to Capitol Reef National Park.  Between there and here (we are staying at a Best Western in the Park for tonight and tomorrow night) we again got into big sky country but different from Montana.  Instead of vast open flat spaces, we saw flat, arid countryside dotted with mounds, mesas, buttes and what appeared to be mountains - or all of the above - (the variety of shapes is awesome) in varying colors from dirty white to tan to brown to reddish purple to charcoal gray; and then suddenly we would get a glimpse of green--trees, corn, grass or alfalfa--that were either near a river or on land that's being irrigated.  The variety of shapes is awesome.  At times we saw rocks precariously perched on the tops of the shapes or on hillsides.  Just before entering the Park, the ground turned to a reddish tan sand that was sprouted with dry grasses or sagebrush.  

We passed a coal burning electric generation plant on the Price River (which at that particular point was little more than a trickle) as well as oil rigs and areas of coal mining. 

Tomorrow we will spend the day in Capitol Reef.

Inside Capitol Reef NP

Inside Capitol Reef NP

Inside Capitol Reef NP

8/27/12

Today was spent at Dinosaur National Monument.  We arrived at the Visitor Center around 11 a.m. and were promptly taken by tram to the Quarry Exhibit Hall where the back wall is a mass of petrified dinosaur bones (the Hall was built around a dig site).  After going through the Hall and reading the information provided, we took a self-guided tour along Cub Creek Road primarily in search of petroglyphs that date back 1,000 years.  It was much too hot to hike around or we would have seen more. 

Section of back wall of Quarry Hall

Section of Quarry Hall back wall

Flute Player petroglyph

Lizard petroglyph

8/26/12

Today was our day for seeing wildlife as well as the beautiful Flaming Gorge and Red Canyon.  We started out in Flaming Gorge, named by a one-armed soldier who mapped the area.   We went well into Sheeps Creek Canyon; besides the beautiful rock formations and the rambling, babbling creek we saw there, we were also treated to a gray fox running across the road in front of us.  We proceeded on to Flaming Gorge Dam (which is on the Green River and created a 91 mile long lake) where we viewed a film about it's creation and the electrical power it provides the area.  As we drove higher and higher we were able to look down on the Lake and see how it curved in around the canyons and bays it created

Entering Flaming Gorge

Sheeps Creek Canyon

We got to Red Canyon and were promptly greeted by a group of Big Horn sheep--lambs and ewes.  The Park Service person told us that the rams rarely come into the Park staying primarily on the cliffs.  After or Visitor Center visit, we went in search of a shady picnic table to have our lunch.  The one we found was by a small lake in which we saw a moose cow standing on the far side in the lake eating aquatic plans that she pulled from the bottom of the lake.  We also had a chipmunk come near hoping for a few crumbs to be left behind from our lunch.

Flaming Gorge Lake

Big Horn Sheep lambs

Our lunchtime visitor

Moose cow across the lake