I was gleeful arriving at Vicksburg National Military Park in Mississippi on a lovely day in May 2017!  Roni chalked it up to my enthusiasm for yet another Civil War battlefield but it was more than that.  Something about an opponent trapped in fixed position and surrounded makes for a different kind of battle.   But beyond that, both sides (North and South) agreed  this position gave a large strategic advantage to the side that controlled Vicksburg.

Major General Ulysses S. Grant led his Army of the Tennessee into Mississippi  south of Vicksburg and took the capital Jackson.   He moved west forcing Lt. General John C. Pemberton back towards Vicksburg with Union General William T. Sherman threatening the Confederates from the north.   Pemberton dug in around Vicksburg hoping to be assisted by General Joseph E. Johnston but the help never came.

The warfare was brutal trench warfare with bombardments from canons and bullets from sharp shooters causing both sides to seek cover.   The Union troops did a better job of concentrating canon fire to pick off Confederate canons when they fired.

The battle was one of redans, redoubts, lunettes, salients, shebangs, trenches and tunnels with each soldier becoming an engineer to give his side an advantage.   If you can read that sentence without looking up some of the terms, you are a more knowledgeable person than I 😉  The Confederates were trapped in Vicksburg and blunted every attempt of piercing their lines.  The siege lasted for 47 days.

The Union soldiers dug entrenchments around the Confederate positions and then dug them closer and closer to the earthen shields protecting the confederates.  At several points along the line the Union troops dug trenches up to the walls and then dug tunnels under them to plant thousands of pounds of dynamite.  After the explosion the Union troops ran through the opening in the fortifications only to be pushed back.

This illustration shows how the trench was dug right up to the Confederate position.

This picture shows the challenging topography the Union soldiers had to navigate with trenches to get to the Confederate fortifications.

The Shirley’s were Union sympathizers and their house was in the midst of the sheltered Union soldiers facing the Confederate embattlements (obviously restored from the battle damage :).

As usual, the National Park Service did an excellent job in pulling together a learning experience for anyone visiting the park.

But that wasn’t all because at the end of the drive you find a partially resorted iron clad gun boat.  The USS Cairo saw service on the Union side on the Mississippi and was the first ship ever sunk by an electrically detonated torpedo (really it was a mine but thats what they called them).

It sank in 36 feet of the Yazoo River and over time mud covered it to preserve the much of the original wood as well as the metal parts.  Normally on trips around America you learn of ancient buried fossils but this was sunk in 1862.  I was so excited to walk around and into the ship.  They took such care in preserving and restoring the gunboat, a true testament to their dedication to history.

The Battle of Vicksburg took a terrible cost in lives on both sides but in the end the Confederates surrendered Vicksburg and the Union cleaved their land down the Mississippi making communications and supplies suffer greatly for the Confederate war effort.   Now both Southerners and Northerners can walk the battlefield in peaceful thought to learn how our country has been shaped by the forces of conflict.

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Roni and John are grateful for you exploring our precious venture with us.

As you read our previous posts, you know we have been fortunate to be blessed with opportunities our lives have presented us.  This April was no exception, getting to enjoy the Spring Tulips in the Skagit Valley with my mother.

For those of you that have never driven north of Seattle WA and experienced the Skagit Valley in the spring time, you really need to 🙂 For my birthday, I picked mom up and we made the hour drive to Mount Vernon WA.  The sun was bright and warm (unusual for a spring day in the Puget Sound area, lol)  The mud flats of the Skagit Valley had dried after the previous weeks of rain.

As we started our drive into the farm fields, signs stating “NO TULIPS YET” greeted us, but I was certain the showcase field of the area would satisfy our craving for tulips.  After a few turns and ending in a caravan of cars, we parked at RoozenGaarde.  It turns out the local Seattle Times paper had a full spread of the tulips the past weekend, so on a Monday morning everyone headed to join us.

But we really could not complain, we spent the day awed with the beauty and diversity of the fields.

Mom and I made it to La Conner WA for a late lunch before heading back to Seattle with bunches of tulips under our arms to enjoy the beauty in our homes.

Roni and I hope you enjoy reading our blog of our precious venture across America.  Please see many more lovely tulip pictures at our gallery:

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Our tour of the central part of America was ending in early May 2017 and we looked east to Arkansas to determine what to explore next.  Much to our delight we found Hot Springs National Park and headed to the the first piece of Federal Land set aside for recreation in 1832.  For over 8000 years the indigenous peoples had enjoyed the unique hot springs before the Spanish and the French had claimed the area.  The first American settlers were no different and this small part of Arkansas became a destination for many people troubled by sickness, pains, invalids, and others.

A resort community grew out of the initial log cabins that had troughs of hot spring water flowing from the mountain springs to nurture those that needed healing.

The Visitor’s Center of the National Park (formerly the Fordyce Bathhouse) is a fascinating walk back in time to see what a resort in the early 1900s would look like.

So what exactly came out of the ground to bring people from all over the world to bathe or drink it for thereputic value?  The traces of minerals and the average termperature of 143F seemed to work on a variety of maladies and drinking the cooler springs containing different minerals helped in a similar manner.   We did not hear any discussion that would explain how the water helped.

At first the rich and poor could come to the hot springs and avail themselves of the waters using primitive facilities but as the bathhouses started to cater to the wealthier clientele, the government created a a bathhouse for the indigent people.  The government facilities in the late 1800s were sexually and racially segregated.  African Americans were the main workforce at the private bathhouses even if they couldn’t use the private facilities  (only the government subsidized one).

The Bathhouses provided many treatments, not just the use of the hot springs, but also rubbing mercury compounds on the body to cure syphilis.  The water and steam treatments from the springs were applied in many different complex ways:

At various times the city of Hot Springs was declared as “The American Spa” and catchy phrases such as “Uncle Sam Bathes the World” or “The Nation’s Health Sanitarium” were used to describe this wonderful destination in Arkansas.  Professional Baseball Teams conducted Spring Training in the area, a large Army/Navy Hospital was built here, and  President Clinton’s childhood home was here.

The Visitor’s Center encouraged us to take some of their spring water home for free, indicating they were the only National Park that encouraged visitors to take a key resource home with them, lol.

The visit to the area was enriching to us in another important way.  We met Janey and Bill at our campground and have kept in touch since, visiting them in Quartzite AZ this winter.

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John and Roni

April 19, 1995 a truck bomb exploded in front of the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building in Oklahoma City OK, killing 168 men, women, and children and injuring over 680 others.  Try to fathom this death and destruction and if you are like us, you won’t be able to.

We are not sure exactly why we visited all the 9-11 memorials around the country or why we ended up in front of the Oklahoma City National Memorial on a lovely afternoon in May 2017.   I think we were looking for answers, “why do people cause mass destruction?” , “what effect did this disaster have on the community?”, “how did it happen?”, etc…

The combination of pictures, videos, documents, artifacts from the blast, and so much more made the museum amazing.  It told a story from the start of a normal day for normal people at the Federal Building.  Children being dropped off at the daycare in the building, water resource board hearings starting across the street, and so many little things in many lives until 9:02am when the explosion changed the lives of so many.

The museum then does an excellent job at portraying the confusion and chaos after the blast, the stories of the survivors, the fate of the victims. the heroic efforts of the rescue and recovery teams and the impact on not only America, but on the world.  There is one room that took our breath away, a memorial to all the victims with personal pictures and memorabilia.  Each person a precious life that was taken from us due to the terrorist attack.

Life in the years after the explosion were difficult for the community and so many people were involved in the process of healing while treating the memories of the event with respect.

The investigation and steps taken by law enforcement to catch the perpetrators and put them behind bars was also detailed.  The FBI’s exhaustive and intensive investigation led to the apprehension of the two domestic terrorists and we are thankful America is protected by such a fine organization.  This was the worst homegrown act of terrorism in the history of America.

Oklahoma City has been rebuilt around the explosion and we felt the positive sense of community as we walked about on a nice sunny day.  Somehow they have built “hope” into the Memorial and the Survivor Tree is certainly one example of their attempts to focus on life, not death.  An American Elm tree that photos show was growing in the 1920s survived the blast, the shrapnel of glass, metal and stone, the burning autos parked beneath it, and then the forensic destruction of the tree to collect evidence, all was not enough to kill it and now it is an intrinsic part of the Memorial.

We are thankful that America preserves our history through the efforts of the National Park Service.  We also appreciate the efforts of so many American communities to tell and preserve the personal stories that our history is woven from.

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“Go West, Young Man”, whether first attributed to Horace Greeley or John Soule, was a prevalent trend in the mid 1800s in America.  As we traveled the midwest we saw evidence of this trend over and over.  The motivations for the migration varied from fleeing religious persecution, to being forced by gunpoint to migrate, to seeking better opportunities in business or farming, or free land to settle on, and of course the promise of finding gold.   How much motivation would you need to face possible death by starvation, freezing, indian attack, robbers, etc.. ?

The Trail of Tears was the removal of many Native Americans from the South East portion of our nation to areas further west at gun point and on foot.  As settlers continued west the Native Americans were cordoned off to smaller and smaller parcels resulting in the following:

Another movement west caused by religious persecution was the Mormon Trail where members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints moved their lives west after violence in Illinois and a governor’s executive order to exterminate Mormons in Missouri.  The trail went from Nauvoo, Illinois to Salt Lake City, Utah.  The Western Historic Trails Center in Council Bluffs, IA and the Mormon Trails Center at the Historic Winter Quarters in Omaha, NE tell the story of their migration starting in 1847.  The migration was the most organized movement of people to the west with winter camps, farms and stockpiles of food made ready for the next ones to head west.

The eastern start of the Oregon Trail shared the same path as the Mormon Trail and California Trail, but diverged to take people to the Oregon valleys.  Over 400,000 people traveled on the trail, farmers, settlers, business men, tradesmen, everyone necessary to build America on the west coast.  The trail led over a lower pass of only 7000 feet to facilitate the movement of people and their belongings. Circled wagons along the trail were not to protect from Indians who were more helpful than not, but to keep the livestock corralled.  Imagine the excitement of finally making it to the lands of Oregon, or did the migrants only sigh with relief the journey was over?

With the acquisition of public lands by the US Government, the west needed to be settled to put it to work and secure our borders with more settlers.  The Homestead Act of 1862 offered 160 acres of public land free to people willing to farm and build a home.  Congressional acts before and after this also encouraged settlement in all our states to varying degrees.  A wall at the Homestead National Memorial in Beatrice NE illustrates how much of each state was homestead lands:

As a young man in school, the Oklahoma Territory Land Rush of 1889 sticks in my mind with imagery of settlers rushing across the land to claim their “free land” to become their new home.  The last homestead patent was issued in 1998.  This dream of migrants across America was also fueled by immigrants from all over the world coming to America to share in this dream.

So much of American History is a study in contrasts, benefiting some peoples and stepping on the rights of others.  Our hope is that our melting pot of diversity is a better country now than in the past, with the responsibility on our shoulders of insuring  we continue on a path that befits a compassionate nation.

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John and Roni

At the beginning of our Precious Venture in August of 2016 we visited Iowa briefly as we hurried to the northeast to see the Fall Colors.  We were happy to have a second drive through Iowa in April 2017  to visit our friend Catherine and her son Jack in Des Moines and a chance to explore the covered bridges of Madison County.

Amidst the wandering thunderstorms the countryside of Iowa unveiled itself with the bountiful farmlands and dotted with patches of forest, numerous creeks and rivers, quaint small towns nestled in comfortable glens and atop rolling ridges, and the quintessential covered bridges with their histories dating back to the mid 1800s.

Getting off the beaten path and exploring the countryside is where this trip around America has always shined for us.  It was such a joy to explore the backroads of Iowa, find one gem of a covered bridge after another, and getting our Jeep muddy 🙂

Even if you don’t remember the movie Bridges of Madison County or were not born in time to see it, exploring central Iowa will help you understand the setting, this is middle America at it’s best.  After you have seen enough bridges, pull into Northside Cafe in Winterset IA for lunch.  Scott Valencia, co-owner gave us a history lesson of his fine restaurant and the food was great!

Take the time to enjoy Madison County when you can.  You will not be disappointed 🙂

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John and Roni

We visited Fort Scott back in April of 2017:

Fort Scott was an unexpected delight to us on the eastern border of Kansas.  We arrived in spring with the warm sun on our backs as we enjoyed the wide open farm and ranch land of the area.  Fort Scott began as a chain of forts protecting the western Mississippi River borders from native Americans in the early 1840s.

Initially the forts maintained the border of the permanent Indian Frontier, but western expansion changed their mission to helping pioneers move west along the Santa Fe and Oregon Trails.  The troops consisted of infantry as well as a more versatile unit called the dragoons, who could fight mounted or on the ground.  The stables can be seen on the left side of the picture above, the officer quarters at the far end away from the camera, and the ammunition storage in the center red brick building.

These troops earned their keep by marching into California and Mexico City in the Mexican American War of 1846.  Prior to the Civil War, there was great debate on how states such as Kansas should enter the United States, slave or free?  It seemed a sensible thing to let each state decide for itself, but that resulted in great bloodshed as both political views sent people into the states to uphold their beliefs.  The fort had been sold off in auction but the soldiers returned periodically to reign in the violent debate.

When Kansas entered as a free state and the Civil War started, the fort served as a supply source, hospital to the Union troops in the west, and a point to which war refugees (white, black, and Indian) migrated to.  The first Black regiment to fight the Confederates was formed from these refugees.  Native Americans were also enlisted to fight in the war.

The story of the fort and our western frontier ends with the advent of railroads and the troops defended the building of the railways.

You can enter  Fort Scott and wander the restored troop buildings, then find another pleasure by wandering the the town and admiring the old architecture.  A lot of work has been put into the town and fort to give any visitor enjoyment in walking back into history.

Kansas was really very nice to explore, the Spring weather was perfect and combined with a Royals baseball game, we had a blast 🙂

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Back in April 2017 we visited Graceland:

Growing  up the music of Elvis was a very normal sound in our home.  Even now when I hear his voice I become nostalgic and it warms my heart.  It reminds me of my daddy.  Singing, dancing and being silly.  So Graceland was a very warm and exciting experience for me.

Of course his home still looks the same as it did when he passed away in 1977.  To me it was incredibly gawdy but I guess that was the way the rich decorated their home back then.   Below are two examples.

I would like to remember Elvis the way I did when I was a child so I choose not to reference all the unpleasantness that ended his life.  I imagine it’s immensely hard being so famous!  His death was a big deal in our home.  Somber.  His music lives on in my soul and my heart!

Roni

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We both grew up naive about Civil Rights issues, knowing their seriousness but not appreciating how deep the attitudes of so many people were on the issues.  We started out on our precious venture leaving the Northwest and immediately started finding references to the Underground Railroad in Indiana with Levi Coffin and in Cincinnati with the Freedom Museum.  In Detroit we visited the Motown Museum and Ford Museum to learn about the struggles of blacks in a white world.  The themes were repeated everywhere we went, and as we moved south the history of slavery came to the forefront along with the Civil War.  Our education on Civil Rights was further expanded when we hit the deep south visiting museums and memorials in Atlanta, Birmingham and Tuskeegee.  When we arrived in Memphis we had learned that Martin Luther King Jr. was assassinated at the Lorraine Motel and wanted to visit the site.

The National Civil Rights Museum is connected to the motel and brought into amazing clarity the history of civil rights issues for blacks from first African slaves shipped to colonial America to the death of Martin Luther King Jr.  All the previous information we had learned about Civil Rights was laid out in an organized timeline of events displayed in charts, displays, videos that filled in all the gaps we had in our knowledge of the history of Civil Rights for Blacks in America.

Really a memorable experience to see the history of Black Civil Rights from first being slaves in our country to the present day situation, we were both moved.  Our travels around this nation have shown us the strength of the people of our great country.  They have also peeled back the veneer and shown us our weakness.  We believe all in our wonderful country must work hard to guarantee equality to all those whose Civil Rights are threatened!

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When you explore Tennessee with all the excitement for music at Nashville and Memphis, it is easy to miss a major Civil War Battlefield tucked in the rolling hills east of Memphis.    We decided to drive through the Shiloh NMP in our RV, the first time we had tried this, rather than finding a campground nearby and using our jeep.

The rig is decidedly not agile, but navigated all the roads well and only rarely rubbed on the tree branches hanging down 🙂

So getting back to the battlefield in April of 1862 (same time of year as we were visiting), the Union Army under Ulysses S. Grant traveled up the Tennessee River to a landing just north of Corinth, Mississippi, a key railroad junction.  Grant’s Army of 40,000 was camped near the small log church called the Shiloh Meeting House.  The trees were vibrant green in spring time beauty when General Johnston the Confederate Commander marched 44,000 troops  into the Union Army, seizing the initiative.

The Confederates hammered the Union lines all day, slowly backing the Union Army towards the river landing site.  When a particularly stubborn group of Union Soldiers in the “Hornet’s Nest” wouldn’t retreat, the Confederates massed their cannons to shred the Union defenders in the woods.

By nightfall General Grant and his worn army were defending the river landing site, pushed far back from their original positions.  Fortunately for the Yankees, General Buell landed several thousand fresh troops that night and the next day was a completely mirror image.  The Confederates were pushed back and back, finally retreating to Corinth.  In the following month the Union troops finally attacked Corinth and the result was a crippling blow to the Confederates communications and supplies on the western side of their new nation.  Because of this victory, General Grant was able to attack Vicksburg, another battlefield we visit later this trip 🙂

23,746 casualties from the two days of fighting at Shiloh seems insane, and it was, but it was also a clear sign of what the cost to both sides would be if this Civil War ever reached an end.   Now you drive the roads, read the markers of the troop positions, read the descriptions of the sequence of events at each sign in the quiet of a spring day with everything so pretty in the spring colors.   Can you hear the bugles?  Can you hear the roar of cannons or the splintering of trees as bullets send splinters all around you?  Can you hear the sobs of men dying after the battle has moved past them?   Both sides fought valiantly for their principles but the cost to America was tragic.

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