STONEHENGE SOLSTICE

Sometimes It's Just Another Day

This is a full sized replica of the structure of the same name found in the UK. Though astronomically correct, its primary purpose was not intended as a Druid calendar but as a memorial for those from Washington State who lost their lives in WW I. The town that once surrounded this Stonehenge burned down.

For these folks, Stonehenge was a place for a chance encounter. Salt Lake missionaries meet Yakima barrio boys. 

Looks a little rough around the edges doesn't it. So does the new site but in the next few weeks it should be ready to go. The curious are welcome to click this link and poke around. Feedback would be appreciated.

TULE LAKE #6

Facing West

Sunset on "The Peninsula" and a revelation of different activities than on the east face. Less than 100 years ago the waters of Tule Lake surrounded this prominence.

Low to the ground and up close, first to be noticed are a long parade of petroglyphs. The Native Americans who predated the local Modoc and Klamath bands of tribes left these behind.

Coming by canoe, they paddled out to this place and a left what is now an indecipherable record of their existence. People who know this field of study, admit being puzzled by their meaning. When I first saw these some years ago, they were unprotected by this fence.

Watching over this heritage for perhaps as many centuries has been a series of birds. This Great Horned Owl awaits the dark to begin foraging.

For how many seasons have these big birds been here? Who knows but you can certainly pick out all the rodent skulls at the bottom of the cliff face.

Just as the sun is setting we see the return of a Prairie Falcon. There is a small lizard or rodent in its beak. 

We can't see its nest until it lands as they are pretty well hidden in the countless crevices. Suddenly the falcon flares and does a pinpoint landing at the edge its aerie. Quite a show. Quite a place.

TULE LAKE #5

Facing East

There is a notable thumb of land, sometimes called the Peninsula, sometimes called Petroglyph Point, or on some maps, Castle Rock. Depending on which side you are on, catches either first or last light. Once surrounded by water, these cliffs are now high and dry.

Look one more time again at the previous picture. Towards the bottom, there is a patch of white with horizontal stripes. In 1917, Charles Coppock, born at the century mark, decided to express his frustration with being underage to join US forces during WW I. The result was this flag, dated August 15, 1917. He rowed out to a nearby spot, anchored a platform and painted what you see above. After 94 years some of the color has faded out.

When Charles Coppock returned to the area to farm, machines replaced the mules his father used. These vintage trucks spanned several decades - 30's, 40's and 50s.

Suffering from hard use, this old Ford still has most of its hardware intact.

Two more old battlewagons, a Ford and Chevy, appear to be more recently retired. Both have their license plates still attached. That is likely a field of young horseradish growing behind the trucks.

In that same early morning light that illustrated the "Flag" (above), a Canadian goose sits high above on a nearby spur of rock. Beyond, cliff swallows pepper the sky as they prepare to nest or feed their young.

TULE LAKE #4

Lava Bed National Monument

This medicine pole, also called a medicine flag, was placed at what is called the Captain Jack Stronghold. This pole was placed by the local Klamath Indians to commemorate what the Modoc Indians did to fend off the US Cavalry many years ago.

This is the northernmost edge of what is known as the Captain Jack Stronghold. Named after the fearless Modoc leader of the same name, this site remains important to Native Americans. Tule Lake was once much bigger. The southern shore touched where the sign in the foreground is and water covered the landscape north and east as far as the distant dark hills. Most of the recovered land is now either part of Lava Bed National Monument, The Tule Lake National Wildlife Refuge or privately farmed.

To give you some understanding of the difficulty that the cavalry had in attempting to oust Captain Jack, this natural trench line was one of many that crisscrossed this patch of hostile lava. This natural fort was good enough, that at first, just 51 Modocs repelled over 300 army & militia soldiers.

This is what is left of a small fort that was garrisoned by troops lead by Major General Edward Canby. Their job was to attempt to corral rebellious Modoc tribal members, including Captain Jack, and put them back on a nearby reservation. For his effort, the general was killed by Captain Jack. This came after an illustrious career established in part by Canby's actions during the Civil War.

Not in many public places can you find a cross without a lawyer attached. This monument is on the Lava Beds National Monument and the inscription is almost as notable as finding a cross on Federal land. It says, "Gen. Canby, USA, was murdered here by the Modocs April 11, 1873". A medicine pole and a cross give testimony to two people who served their respective nations without fear. War is like that, isn't it. Sometimes with great meaning, sometimes meaningless.

CALIFORNIA DISCOVERY #2

Fall River Valley

From one valley (the Pit) you see a little more of Mt. Lassen. 

In the more verdant Fall River Valley, Shasta is seldom out of sight as seen in the above image.

This pano gives you a small sense of the scope and flavor of the Fall River Valley. With Shasta anchoring on the right and Lassen on the left, you have a whole lot of beautiful in between. Fall River has more farm land than timber and seems to have plenty of water for irrigation.

In places there is enough water to grow rice. This dredge sat adjacent to some wild rice growing fields. I never did find out what purpose it served. Besides rice, there are broad fields of alfalfa and hay and beef cattle everywhere. And of course all this water draws a multitude of waterfowl. Those are Canadian Geese in the shot above.

The Fall and Pit Rivers come together near the boundary of the two valleys. Perhaps not at showy as Burney Falls, Pit River Falls still has its own beauty. The bridge in view used to be the main road into the area until realignment of California Hwy 299 bypassed it.

Still remote by today's standards, the former Fort Crook was extremely isolated in the 1850s & 60s. It was at least a 10 day ride to the Presidio in San Francisco, assuming the weather cooperated. After the Civil War the Fort was abandoned. One marker commemorates the fort site, the other an early guide who accompanied the first soldiers into the area. The man who founded the fort later became better known as General George Crook who became a decorated hero of the Civil War.

SAVANNAH SQUARES

And A Round

Perhaps the most visited square in Savannah is Monterey. Folks don't always come to enjoy the beauty - they come to see the Mercer House, site of a murder made famous in both book and movie form: "Midnight In The Garden Of Good And Evil." Do you remember the story? Now do you remember that there were 4 trials - all ending in overturned or innocent verdicts. The OJ of his day, that was James Arthur Williams. Pity he was remembered for the gruesome details and not for the over 50 homes and mansions that he also restored in Savannah.

A Church, yes? Well, call it Temple Mickvie Israel and you'd have it right. This is the only synagogue in the US designed in the Gothic Revival style and the temple houses the third oldest practicing Jewish congregation in the US. It anchors the other end of Monterey Square.

In 1730 British colonist James Oglethorpe began working on what would be one of the most liveable city plans anywhere. Gridded neighborhoods designed around a common square became the blueprint for what is now Savannah's Historic District.  Oglethorpe lived to see 6 of the squares completed. Today 22 remain as "Progress" claimed two of them.  Most photographed is Forsyth Park, above.

Though many individuals like Mr. Williams have contributed over the years to the restoration of Savannah's historic core, few entities have done as much as SCAD in recent years. Founded as a private college in 1978, Savannah College Of Art And Design created an innovative program that has brought over 67 buildings back to life as architectural treasures. In addition to charging tuition the school also sells bonds (to many of the student's parents). The bonds have offered a generous payback to bondholders while at the same time allowing the college to purchase core structures. Then SCAD focuses academically on the restoration of those buildings. All the school's disciplines are brought to bear in examining each structure and students are involved in all facets of the rehabilitation. Revenue for the bondholders comes from the new tenants that move into these restored gems.

Not all historic houses are in the original District. As the town outgrew its grid of squares and neighborhood, housing spread west and so in many neighborhoods there is the touch of Victorian and other styles.

This is the "Round" mentioned in the subtitle. I had thought that working roundhouses were a thing of the past. Apparently no one told the Roundhouse Railroad Museum in Savannah. They have bragging rights to the "oldest and largest existing nineteenth-century railroad complex in the nation."

Something About Savannah

River St

Cotton was king in the 1880s. When the Cotton Exchange was completed, Savannah was the top exporter from the Atlantic seaboard and number two in the world. Nearby was a marker commemorating Eli Whitney's invention of the cotton gin. 

Indeed, Savannah had become such a notable trade center that it also earned the name "Wall Street Of The South". This too is part of "Factor's Walk" which is a series of walkways and bridges that connected the businessmen of town to the counting houses and river boats docked behind these buildings.

The shots above and below gives you an idea just how the trade houses stood between the river and the town. Factor's Walk runs along the bridge and off to the left. Riverfront Savannah is famous for its ironwork with many ornate pedestrian bridges and spans. The cobblestone, for the most part, is ballast from long departed sailing ships.

Definitely gentrified now but no less attractive, this end corner is all part of the same block of buildings as in the previous pictures. Though the "X's" look like graffiti, they are actually iron ties designed to give strength to the old walls made of concrete or tabbi.

There is quite a cost of redoing some of the old cobble - lots of hand labor. The irony is the road is no less bumpy.

Today river trade is measured in rising passenger counts. This is the "American Star," sister ship to the one we sailed on. Savannah is a perfect small ship destination with so much of its 20 square block historic district within easy walking distance of the docks.

Savannah draws many more tourists than those just delivered by ship. That's Savannah's Convention Center across the channel and access from the riverfront can be obtained by ferry. When General Sherman decided not to burn Savannah, he did the town, and America, a real favor. 

BEAUFORT, SC

A Town Preserved

Beaufort before the Civil War was one of the wealthiest plantation cities and trade centers of the South. In the early months of the war the city residents fled when Union troops invaded a nearby port. With the city and area in Union hands the city remained untouched by cannon fire. One of the many antebellum buildings still in use is St. Helena's Anglican Church, celebrating its 300th anniversary this year. Not many southern cities were so fortunate to escape unscathed from that war.

The grounds of old churches cradle the long dead. William Henry Cory was a veteran of two wars. Born in England in 1831, he was old enough to be part of the horrific Crimean "Charge of the Light Brigade." Cory relocated to the colonies and later fought for the Rebels during a 3 year span. The image was taken on Veteran's Day and thus, Union soldiers who fell nearby and were buried in the same churchyard are also honored with flags of their country.

Beaufort churches are busy places on Sunday. When doing a search for the number of churches in the area, there were too many to count.

Not as old as St. Helena's, the Beaufort Inn is a beautifully kept Victorian style former mansion. It was built in 1897 for a summer retreat for a congressman's family. They lived large then and they live large now, don't they.

Most evenings we had entertainment. Our evening in Beaufort we had a very competent local actress run us through the extensive way women would use fans as a communication device during the 1800s. She got many in the audience involved. For more see: http://www.allhandfans.com/handfans/levels/language_of_the_fan.htm

I'll stick with texting.

Watching the top of mast and waving at the sailboat's passengers, the bridge tender has a eagle eye for all the river traffic. Night and day we passed any number of bridges. From New York to Florida there are 7 different kinds of bridges and you must request an opening at each bridge to pass.

First light at Beaufort with the swing bridge now serving car traffic. 

We have pulled away from our docking wharf and as usual Captain Snyder is on the starboard bridge wing making sure clearances are maintained. This man has had a captain's license since he was 18. His hobby is raising horses.

FORT SUMTER

Flash Point

Long silent now, these big cannons fired some of the first shots of the Civil War. The irony is that they were defensive shots. Charleston was a stronghold of the secessionist movement but the fort was still in Union hands. On April 12, 1861 the newly organized Confederate army pulled the trigger on an artillery attack on the Union garrison at Fort Sumter. Less than 36 hours later the Union surrendered the partially completed fort and the war was on. 

Begun after the War of 1812 as a coastal fortification against foreign invaders, Sumter sits on 70,000 tons of imported New England granite piled atop a sandbar. Construction of the fort was slow. Even by 1861 the fort was only partial armed and some walls not finished. 

During a succession of failed Union invasions and bombardments in an attempt to retake the fort, much of the structure was turned to rubble but still occupied and actively defended by the Rebs. Only with Sheridan's march through South Carolina on the way to Atlanta in early 1865 was Charleston evacuated and the fort abandoned.

This is tabby with some brick added. Tabby was an early form of low grade concrete with oyster shells taking the place of lime. The material was a common building material in the coastal South but very labor intensive to make. Tabby was commonly faced with brick or stucco to hide its uneven appearance and we saw quite a bit of it on our travels along the old towns served by the Intracoastal Waterway. 

Interestingly enough tabby made for a good fort wall as cannon balls would only sink into the material and not shatter it. In many cases after a day's shelling, soldiers at night would go out and pry out the cannon balls embedded in the tabby. They then fired the very same shot back at their enemy the next day.

After the Civil War the fort was in ruins. Partial reconstruction took place to ready the fort for some functionality during the Spanish American War. This fortification, called Battery Huger, was added in 1910 and sits entirely inside the old fort. During WW I & II most all the weaponry was stripped for use in Europe. Today Fort Sumter National Monument receives over 800,000 visitors and most all of them come by concession-operated ferry.

Almost as an emphasis on how warfare has changed over the intervening 150 years, the USS Yorktown sits not far away. Retired from service in 1975, it is also a popular tourist attraction.