Washington D.C.: Belmont-Paul Women’s Equality NM

Belmont-Paul Women’s Equality National Monument
Saturday, August 10, 2019, Washington, D.C.

On my last trip to Washington D.C. in 2019, I visited the Belmont-Paul Women’s Equality National Monument.  This National Monument is interesting for two reasons, obviously one is its connection to the National Women’s Party, a group in the United States that fought for women’s suffrage and other issues of women’s equality.  Second, the history and architecture of this building is so interesting!

The home was built between 1799 and 1800, and it was probably designed by Leonard Harbaugh at the beginning of his career.  He also designed many notable buildings in the early days of Washington D.C.  In 1814, the British partially burned the home during the War of 1812; the stories go that there was gunfire at the home directed at British soldiers.  The home was owned and occupied by the Sewall family until 1912.

Vermont Senator Porter Dale purchased the home in 1922, and renovated it.  Meanwhile, the National Women’s Party had purchased a different property nearby, which was seized by eminent domain to build the Federal Triangle complex.  On the hunt for a new headquarters property, organization co-founder Alva Vanderbilt Belmont purchased an option for the Sewall House.  They purchased the property in 1929.  In the 1950s there was a proposal to condemn the building and demolish it to build underground security vaults for the Senate building.  Thankfully, citizen opposition saved the building.

What was going on inside the walls was equally fascinating!

The fight for women’s suffrage in the United States is largely considered to have begun at the first Women’s Rights Convention in Seneca Falls, New York, in 1840.  I have visited that site as well, if you want to read more about it!  It took 80 more years of lobbying and protesting before white women finally universally gained the right to vote in the United States.  Of course, this all happened before the National Women’s Party owned the Belmont-Paul House, but since that time, the party has lobbied for other issues of women’s rights and eliminating sex discrimination, notably, the Equal Rights Amendment (ERA).

The ERA was passed by Congress in 1972, and was ratified by some of the states, but it was not passed by enough states to become an amendment to the Constitution.  Since the deadline passed, a few more states have ratified the amendment, but of course, those are not legally binding.  Some detractors argue that after so many other laws have passed, notably the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the Equal Pay Act of 1963, that the amendment is no longer needed.

The tour of the house included some of the artifacts of the party, like writing desks and clothing, as well as exhibits on the attempt to pass the suffrage legislation.  There were also banners that the women carried during their two and a half year picket of the White House.  You read that correctly!  Women involved in the National Women’s Party stood outside the White House from January 10, 1917, to June 1919.  They were there in all sorts of weather, and were arrested, beaten, and went on hunger strikes to protest their treatment in jail.  In response, prison guards forced feeding tubes down their throats, causing injuries that never healed.  The attempt to gain women’s suffrage was not always a peaceful undertaking.   

In 2021, the National Women’s Party ceased operations, and donated its papers and artifacts to the Library of Congress.  The legacy of this movement lives on in the education provided by the National Monument at the Belmont-Paul House.  It was an interesting place to visit! 

 

 

 

Retirement Diaries 2024: Garden Time

I can’t believe it is already mid-May!  The sun is out, the temps are getting into the high 60s, and it’s gardening time! 

I have been working out in the yard and garden, clearing up the fallen sticks from the oak trees, clearing away the dead leaves and pulling the lush grass from the beds.  Things are green!  The trees are budding out and the lilacs will be blooming soon.  It’s beautiful! 

I also started my garden with some frost tolerant crops.  Last weekend I planted radishes, beets, turnips and snow peas in the ground.  Nothing has sprouted yet, but I’m sure it is just a matter of days!  I also put up the mini greenhouse in the house, and have a lot starting in it!  Cabbage, bell pepper, cantaloupe, and green and colored bush beans.  I have six tomato plants that were already started, and am starting ten more from seeds (I have never started tomatoes from seeds, so we will see how that goes).  The cabbage sprouts are going crazy, the tomato plants are growing, and I even have one lonely cantaloupe start.  I’m sure its friends will be arriving soon. 

I marked everything on a calendar, with planting dates, and expected date of harvest.  There will be more going in the ground in the next week or two as well!  The big experiment begins! 

I also started volunteering for our town’s library, and the library book sale begins today.  It has been a flurry of activity getting ready, moving all the donated books up from the basement of City Hall, and arranging them all on tables.  It helps to be a big reader, so I can help figure out which genres the books belong in.  Hopefully we get lots of sales for funding library activities! 

I went for a hike at a new-to-me park last week.  Crow Wing State Park is right at the confluence of the Crow Wing and Mississippi Rivers, and is the site of a Native American village, and later a white settlement.  There isn’t much left now, but signs explain where things were, and there is an old cemetery.  It is fun to imagine what a tough life it would have been to live here hundreds of years ago. 

Yellow and Cora both had a vet appointment on Tuesday.  Yellow was getting his kidney bloodwork to check how he’s doing and Cora had a vaccine she needed in case I need to board her later in the spring for a few trips mom and I are going on.  Yellow is doing well!  His kidney values are just slightly outside of the normal range, but much better than they were 6 months ago.  It is such a relief!  He’s responding well to his fluids and he’s happy.  Cora’s vaccine had her feeling under the weather until this morning (she even slept through a couple of meals, which is unlike her!), but she seems to be back to normal today. 

It’s been a busy spring so far, but I’m having lots of fun!  I can’t wait to see the results of my handiwork!

 

Salem Weekend: Silver Falls State Park

Sunday, September 1, 2019, Silver Falls State Park, Silverton, Oregon

On my weekend trip to Oregon in 2019, I took the day to go to Silver Falls State Park, and hike the Canyon Trail, also know as the Trail of 10 Falls.  This park is such a gem in the Oregon Parks System!

The park was once the site of Silver Falls City, which was located at the top of South Falls.  The community was largely a logging community, but after the land was cleared of timber, a local entrepreneur sold admissions to the falls area and hosted events where cars were pushed over the falls, and a daredevil even rode over the largest falls in a canoe in 1928.  His name was “Daredevil Al” Faussett, and yes, he survived the 177 foot drop.  That has all been cleaned up now.

In 1926, there was a campaign to give Silver Falls National Park status, but it was not approved, due to all the ugly stumps and mess left from its logging days, not to mention the carcasses of cars that were no doubt left at the base of the falls.  Instead, in 1935, Present Roosevelt named it a Recreational Demonstration Area, and the Civilian Conservation Corps moved in to build facilities, clean up debris, build trails and widen some of the trails behind the waterfalls.  Yes, the trails behind the waterfalls already existed, because the area was formed with basalt over sandstone, and the softer sandstone eroded over time, both to create the canyon, and to erode the narrow pathways behind some of the falls.

When you hike the Canyon Trail, you will pass 10 different waterfalls; you can walk behind some of the waterfalls for a stunning view!  On the 7 mile hike, you pass South Falls, Lower South Falls, Lower North Falls, Double Falls, Drake Falls, Middle North Falls, Winter Falls, Twin Falls, North Falls and Upper North Falls.  Winter Falls is at the end of a half mile spur trail off the main trail and Double Falls is on a 0.1 mile spur trail.  When I was there in early September, it was pretty dry from the summer weather; I would love to go back in the spring when the waterfalls are at their peak flow!

I was there on a Sunday, on Labor Day weekend, and the park was packed.  Next time I would go on a weekday if I could, and I would definitely camp in the campground there. I think that would be so much fun!

Unfortunately, I can’t tell you which waterfall is in which photo, but enjoy!

A Quick Visit to Washington, D.C.

Tuesday, August 6, 2019 to Sunday, August 11, 2019
Washington, D.C.

Back in 2019, when I was working for the water and sewer district, I had a chance to go to Washington, D.C. for a conference.  The conference was scheduled for Wednesday through Friday, but I was able to  pay for a couple of days on my own and fly home Sunday instead.  I always love when that is an option!

I was in conference sessions for full days when I was there, so I really only had the evening hours to explore during the week.  But I made the most of my time! The conference hotel (the Hyatt Regency Capitol) was right downtown near the Capitol, so I was able to get to several nearby places by walking!  When my flight arrived, I took the subway to Union Station, which was about a half mile from the hotel, and then I walked from there.  The first evening that I was there, I had dinner at the hotel, and enjoyed a glass of wine.

Union Station

 

Me

Wednesday at the conference I met a friend, a lady who was there from Kansas City.  We decided to get dinner afterwards and do a little wandering.  We found The Ministry Wine Bar down the street and had a delicious tasting of sparkling wines, along with my wonderful beet salad.  It was so good!  After dinner we walked over to the Capitol building and checked out the outside of the building, as well as the Supreme Court Building.  No matter how you feel about politics in our country, it is humbling to see where the work of our government occurs, and the site where men and women come together to interpret our laws and our Constitution.

Rose flight at the Ministry Wine Bar

Beet Salad at Ministry Wine Bar

A fire station near the Capitol

The Capitol in the evening

Fountain at the Capitol

The Supreme Court Building

Thursday after my conference, I walked over to the National Portrait Gallery to see some of the artwork.  It is open until 7 pm, so I had some time.  They have many portraits of former Presidents, including my man Abraham Lincoln!  They also have portraits of fictional characters, like Barbie!  It was a fun way to spend a couple of hours that evening, and it was less than a mile walk from my hotel.

Abraham Lincoln at the National Portrait Gallery

Barbie at the National Portrait Gallery

A diorama at the National Portrait Gallery

I have no idea what this tin foil creation is!

Friday was the last day of my conference, and that evening, I met up with Alexis, a girlfriend that I went to high school and did 4-H with.  She had another friend visiting too, so it was a party!  We met at the Hill Country BBQ market, a delicious BBQ restaurant about 3/4s of a mile from my hotel.  It was a fun evening and a nice walk to and from the restaurant.

Sliders at Hill Country BBQ

Saturday I went to the Belmont-Paul Women’s Equality National Monument.  This home has an incredible history, but notably, was owned by the National Women’s Party beginning in 1929.  The Party was integral in the fight for women’s suffrage, and the Equal Rights Amendment.  I toured the home; so I will share more about it in a separate post.

The Capitol during the day

That afternoon, I met up again with Alexis and her friend for lunch at the Old Ebbitt Grill.  Old Ebbitt began in 1856 as a saloon and boarding house, and become one of the iconic political hotspots in Washington, D.C.  It has moved several times, but has been at its current location since the 1920s.  If you hang out there, you are likely to see some politicians!  Of course, we were there on a Saturday, and there were no politicians to be found, as far as I knew.  We did have a fabulous lunch, and I had the shrimp and grits off their brunch menu with a glass of white wine.  So delicious!

Old Ebbitt Grill

 

Shrimp and Grits – Old Ebbitt Grill

After lunch, we walked over the W Hotel and went up to their rooftop bar.  It is nice to have a local friend to show you around!  The hotel is kitty corner from the White House and has incredible views!  The cocktails there are quite spendy, so it isn’t something I could afford to do all the time, but it was fun to check out how the other half lives, and look out over the White House!

The White House from the W Hotel

 

Me at the White House

From there Alexis, her friend and I parted ways, and I went to go check out the Smithsonian’s National Gallery of Art.  It was fun to spend a few hours checking out the exhibits.  Of course, there is so much to see there that a repeat visit will definitely be in order!  That evening I had dinner at the hotel bar, and had a delicious chicken Chop salad, and spent the evening relaxing before my flight the next morning.

National Gallery of Art

National Gallery of Art

My Chop salad at the Hyatt Regency

Sunday I flew home and it was once again back to the daily grind of work.  I had such a fun trip to Washington, D.C.  The conference was interesting, and I learned a lot, and I was able to fit in a lot of sightseeing into my free time!  I hope I’ll be able to get back there again soon.

 

 

Lassen Volcanic National Park Getaway

Sunday, July 14, 2019 to Tuesday, July 16, 2019
Lassen Volcanic National Park, Shingletown, California

During the summer of 2019 I headed back down to California to go to Lassen Volcanic National Park.  It had been on my bucket list for a while, but I was able to score a reservation at one of the cabins in the Manzanita Campground in the park.  A trip was born!

We headed to Lassen on Sunday morning, from Weed, California; the drive was a little less than 2 hours and the weather was beautiful!  Once we were in the park, we checked out the Loomis Museum at the north end of the park.  The museum has exhibits on the types of volcanoes in the park, the eruption in 1915, and the animals in the park.  It was a relaxed afternoon, just checking things out.  The kids got Junior Ranger booklets to fill out to get their Junior Ranger badges.

Lassen Peak

We checked in to the Manzanita Campground, the park’s largest campground.  The first night, we had a tent site.  The sites are large and open, you can see all your neighbors, and tents and RVs are largely mixed together.  It is a great campground; it was warm during the day, but it did get cold at night.  Maybe best of all, the bugs weren’t bothersome!  We checked out Manzanita Lake; one day it would be fun to canoe or stand-up-paddleboard on the lake.  The lake is right on the edge of the campground.

The campground also has a general store, with souvenirs, grocery items, ice cream and even beer and wine.  I got a t-shirt, an enamel mug and a bottle of wine to share.  The wine is long gone, but I still have the shirt and the mug!  That evening we made steak and corn on the cob over the fire, and had smores too!  It was a wonderful, peaceful evening around the fire, chatting and watching the crackling fire.

Saturday morning dawned sunny and bright, and we made breakfast on the camp stove.  We didn’t want to dawdle, so there would be plenty of time for exploring!

We decided to start at the south end of the park and work our way back up to the north end, where the campground is located.  We started at the Kohm Yah-mah-nee Visitor Center and checked out the exhibits, and of course I got my Passport stamp!

We checked out the thermal features and walked part of the boardwalk.  Unfortunately, the boardwalk that goes to Bumpass Hell (yes, that is actually the name) was closed for trail rehabilitation when we were there.  I will have to go back to see it!  There are mudpots, where boiling mud bubbles and lets off steam.  It isn’t as spectacular as the geysers of Yellowstone National Park, but it is still a cool natural feature to check out!

Lassen Boardwalk

Lassen Mudpots

Me Lassen National Park

I loved all the Bristlecone pine trees that were growing in the area, and we stopped at a couple of overlooks and trailheads to check out the views and the landscape.

Lassen Volcanic National Park

We wanted to do a hike, but not one that was too difficult, so we hiked the King’s Creek Trail.  This trail is 2.3 miles round trip, although you can connect with other trails for a much longer hike.  Although the hike starts at approximately 7,300 feet in elevation, the trail itself has about 700 feet of elevation change over the course of the trail.  This is one that starts by going down, so you have to go back up a little at the end!  All that said, it is a beautiful hike, through grassy meadows with a creek crossing over a log bridge.

King’s Creek

King’s Creek Meadow

Lassen NP

The trail takes you down a hill, and the waterfall is right next to the trail, giving you nice views of the cascade.  It’s beautiful!

King’s Creek Falls

That evening, we had a reservation for a one bedroom camping cabin.  The bedroom had two twin bunk beds, and the outer room had a queen futon.  So the cabin could sleep six!  There was also a table and two chairs, a heater/AC unit and a lantern.  It was a nice setup! 

That evening we had another nice meal over the campfire, and enjoyed sitting around the fire talking and drinking wine.  It was peaceful, and quieter in the cabin section of the campground.

Lassen Cabin

 

Lassen Chipmunk

The last morning that we were there we went to an interpretive talk about the pioneers who traveled through what is now the park to reach the lush farmland in Western California.  The rangers spoke about the pioneers methods of transportation, how to cook over a fire, and what it was like to travel so many miles in a covered wagon.  The kids finished their booklets and earned their Junior Ranger badges. 

We did a little more hiking, and checked out the huge rocks near the trail.  It was a wonderful end to a nice trip.  One day I’ll make it back to Lassen to check out more of the park.

 

 

 

 

Lassen Volcanic NP History

Lassen Volcanic National Park is located in northern California, and its mountains are part of the Cascade Range of the Pacific Northwest.  This park is unique in that it is one of the few places in the world where visitors can see all four types of volcanoes; Composite Volcanoes, Lava Domes, Cinder Cones and Shield Volcanoes.  Lassen Peak, the mountain for which the park is named, is the largest plug dome volcano in the world (plug domes are a type of lava dome).  The park also contains thermal features similar to those made famous by Yellowstone National Park, including mudpots and fumaroles.

Lassen Volcanic National Park

Human habitation in the area began thousands of years ago, and four tribes lived and traveled in areas of the park.  The Atsugewi, Yana, Yahi and Mountain Maidu all made use of park areas seasonally for hunting and gathering.  They continue to use these areas today to preserve traditions and celebrate their history.  White settlers first entered the area in the 1830s, and Peter Lassen, a Danish blacksmith, settled in the area.  The Nobles Emigrant Trail then was established through the park area, leading settlers to the Sacramento Valley further west.

Lassen’s claim to fame is that it is one of the few volcanoes in the United States to have erupted in recent history.  Lassen Peak began erupting in 1914, and continued off and on with eruptions both large and small until 1921. Thankfully, monitoring of the volcano had already begun and people living in the area had a warning prior to the eruption.  No one was injured or killed, although some homes and buildings were destroyed.  Prior to that, the most recent eruption in the park was the Cinder Cone, which erupted between 1630 and 1670 (mostly likely 1666, according to tree ring analysis).  The area had been designated as a Forest Preserve in the late 1800s, and then Lassen Peak and Cinder Cone were designated as two separate National Monuments in 1907.  The eruption led to the park’s designation as a National Park on August 9, 1916 by President Woodrow Wilson.

Today the park has a lot to see and do; visitors can hike, snowshoe and ski in the winter, camp, and see wildlife.  There are hiking trails up the mountains, in the wilderness, past waterfalls, and boardwalks built around the thermal features.  Manzanita Lake in the northern section of the park has a large campground, a museum and a store.  The southern section of the park has a fairly new Visitor’s Center.  Sadly, some areas of the park were significantly damaged by a fire in 2021, but many sections of the park have reopened since that time.

I spent three days and two nights camping there in 2019; one night in a tent and one in a camping cabin.  I had a great time, and will tell you about my visit next!

Lassen NP

 

2024 Retirement Diaries: Back from Michigan

My Mom and I got home from our trip to Michigan on Sunday evening.  We were away for about ten days, and had a wonderful balance of doing some sightseeing, antiquing and thrift shopping, and relaxing.

We headed out the Thursday before last, heading out from Minnesota at about 7:30 in the morning, and made the 10 hour drive in one day.  Fortunately, the weather was pretty decent for the Midwest mid-winter, with some rain, no snow and periods of sun.  Traffic through Chicago was light; way better than what I generally experience going through Seattle in the mid-afternoon!  Other than rest areas, gas and a drive-through for lunch, we basically just cruised all day and arrived in Michigan around 7 pm, in time for a delicious chili dinner at my aunt, uncle and cousin’s house!

The next week we kept busy, but not busy at my usual travel pace.  We checked out some antique stores, some thrift stores, and a new rock shop in town.  The rock shop was huge and had so many cool rocks!  It was hard to control myself. 

My cousin and I went to breakfast with her coworker and went to the beach at Lake Michigan to look for rocks.  We were there for about an hour before we were completely freezing, but it was a worthwhile trip.  I found an amazing agate!

We had lunch and dinner with another aunt, uncle and cousin.  I took some walks out in the neighborhood, and one day it was even too warm for my coat.  It is unheard of to be wandering around in the winter in just a fleece!

One afternoon we went to a local high school play and that evening we ate seven layer dip with tortilla chips and watched the Superbowl.  Wow!  The game was mostly boring with a lot of spice thrown in right at the end!  I thought the half-time show was rather meh…

We checked out a local museum in Kalamazoo, which had a small exhibit on the history of the mental asylum in the area.  It originally opened in 1859, and was known as the Michigan Asylum for the Insane.  The hospital is still in operation, celebrating 165 years this year.  Malcolm X’s mother and the inventor of the Gibson guitar were both institutionalized there.  It was an interesting exhibit, and they showed several books that have been written about the asylum and the asylum system.  Unfortunately, the museum doesn’t have a gift shop!

I got lots of reading done, and some writing, and it was nice to spend time with family.  One evening, we watched Oppenheimer.  I know it got mixed reviews even though it has been nominated for 13 Oscars.  For sure, it’s long, and it’s hard to sit for that much time without your butt falling asleep.  Plus it is a complicated story, so you have to pay attention, and it helps if you know at least some of the background for the development of the atom bomb.  But I thought it was a really good movie!  Better than Killers of the Flower Moon, which I saw a few months ago.

On the way home, mom and I did a two day drive and diverted to Galena, Illinois.  Galena is one of the most historic cities in the Midwest, with white settlement going back to the 1820s.  Plus, the Civil War General and U.S. President Ulysses S. Grant lived there for a time!  In fact, nine Civil War Generals are from Galena.  There is too much there for Galena to not get its own post, so watch for that in the future!  It was also frigidly cold while we were there, and some things were closed for the winter, so this is certainly a little town I will want to visit again.

We drove a bit of the historic Route 20 (the longest road in the United States), and the Great River Road (which goes along the Mississippi River) on the way home as well.  We were able to travel through small towns and farmland, and get off the main highways.  Most of the attractions were closed, as we headed through on a winter Sunday morning, but it was a beautiful scenic route!

All in all, it was a fun family visit, with a bit of sightseeing, and well worth the trip.  Hopefully next time I’ll be able to see my family on the other side of the state as well!

 

 

Circus Trip 2018: Yosemite NP

Day 90, Saturday, October 13, 2018
Yosemite National Park, Mariposa, California

I’ll say right up front that I need to see more of Yosemite.  My visit was too short, and too emotional to really do justice to it.

That morning I woke up in Bridgeport, California at my campsite at the little marina there.  It was cold (about 17 degrees or so), so I decided to get breakfast out, and went to the Bridgeport Inn for corned beef hash and coffee.  I’m not ordinarily a coffee drinker but I needed a warmup that day!  The Inn was built in 1877 as the Leavitt House, and has a hotel, restaurant and bar.  Mark Twain stayed here at some point.  The food was good, and warmed me up, but soon it was time to get on my way.

I headed west over Tioga Pass and soon was in the line to enter Yosemite Park.  I was so excited to see it!  This is one of the National Parks that has been on my bucket list for a while.

Sadly, when I headed into the park, I started to feel a heavy weight in my heart.  I had long wanted to visit Yosemite, but it had been a dream I had with my ex-husband when we were married.  In fact, when we separated, we had a trip planned to Yosemite, and I ended up canceling.  He went with his dad, and I didn’t go, because we were having so many problems.  We ended our marriage shortly after that.  I always thought it would feel amazing to finally visit, but it was quite the opposite.  It was like all the grief I had been holding in for a few years at that point finally came tumbling out.

I parked at a lake on the pass and sat next to the beautiful water.  People were all around, but no one really noticed me.  I sobbed.  I thought maybe once I had it out of my system, I could go on, but I kept starting to cry again after that first time.  I finally decided I wasn’t ready for Yosemite that day.  I didn’t go into the valley, or do much more than just drive through the park, sitting in my sadness.

I did get a stamp and a few postcards to commemorate the parts of the park that I did see, but I definitely need a do over.  It has now been almost 7 years since my divorce was final, which will be longer than I was married.  I think I’m ready now.

So after leaving Yosemite that day, I headed up to northern California to see the man I was dating at the time.  That relationship didn’t work out either, but for reasons unrelated to Yosemite.  That’s a long, sad story for another time, if I’m ever ready to tell it. 

I suppose I could call this day the last day of my big road trip, even though I spent close to a month in Northern California before I finally headed home to Washington.  But I wasn’t traveling all the time anymore, so it seemed the trip was at an end.  I saw parts of Northern California that I had never been to, but I also just relaxed.

All in all, I spent several months on the road that summer and fall.  If you remember back, I left home on July 16, and got back home on November 12, 2018.  It was the trip of a lifetime, and one that I would love to do again with a different itinerary.  It was exhilarating and fun, and sometimes sad and lonely.  I learned so much about bravery and courage, and feeling comfortable in my own skin.  I healed, and learned how to be alone.  It was everything I needed at the time. 

Now, 5 years later, I’m at at different place.  I’m retired, with the ability to pack up and take a trip when the mood strikes me.  And I do.  Life isn’t perfect, and I still have stories of sadness and hardship that I’m not quite ready to tell.  But life for the most part is good.  I have other tales to tell, and other road trips to take, and memories to make.  I hope you will continue to follow along.

 

Circus Trip 2018: Mono Lake

Day 89, Friday, October 12, 2018
Mono Lake Tufa State Natural Reserve, Lee Vining, California

After I visited Bodie, I wanted to see the tufa formations at Mono Lake.  If you have never heard of tufa towers, you are in for a treat!

In Mono Lake, there are freshwater springs beneath the surface of the lake that are rich in calcium.  This calcium rich spring water mixes with the lake water, which contains carbonates.  When the two combine, a chemical reaction creates calcium carbonate, otherwise known as limestone.  Around the springs, the calcium carbonate becomes a solid, and over decades, forms a tower of limestone under the water.  So how are they visible at Mono Lake?

In 1941, water diversions began by the Los Angeles Department of Water & Power, and the water levels in the lake fell dramatically.  The tufa towers have been exposed since that time; they no longer grow, and are now slowly eroding away.  Mono Lake is one of the unique places where these tufa towers can be seen!

The South Tufa Trail is about a mile long; it gave me a close up, spectacular view of these tufa towers.  They were so cool to see!  I stayed as the sun lowered in the sky, and captured some nice photos.  I also got to see big flocks of Yellow Headed Blackbirds and a few ducks.

 

On my way to camp for the night, I stopped to see the Mono Lake Historical Society Musuem, which is housed in the old Mono Lake Schoolhouse, and the Upside Down House, which was built by Nellie Bly O’Bryan.  Nellie Bly O’Bryan, not to be confused with the journalist Nellie Bly, was a silent film actress in the 1920s and 1930s.  After retiring from film in 1934, she moved to the Mono Lake area and became a State of California licensed mountain guide.  She also owned and operated a resort on Lundy Lake, near the east entrance of Yosemite National Park.  She built the Upside Down House by hand as a tourist attraction, where everything in the house is just that – upside down. 

Unfortunately, both the museum and house were both closed for the day (and probably season?), so I had to be content with taking photos outside in the fading light.  I would like to visit when they are open someday! 

That night I camped at a little marina that also had campsites.  It was $20 for the night, and had a beautiful view of the water in Bridgeport, California.  The only drawback was that it was COLD!  It got down to about 17 degrees that night!  But I was snug as a bug once I was layered up under all my blankets in the car bed.  That was the coldest night of my entire trip!

 

Circus Trip 2018: Bodie State Historic Park

Day 89, Friday, October 12, 2018
Bodie State Historic Site, Bridgeport, California

The night before I had stayed in Bishop, California, at a fun family owned campground that was very busy for early fall.  It got a bit cold that night, but I was snug in my car bed.

In the morning, I got on the road and drove up to Bridgeport, California.  I had been interested in going to Devil’s Postpile National Monument, but unfortunately it was closed for the season.  I had read online that it was generally open through the end of October, so that was disappointing; I will have to go back!

I stopped at the Visitor’s Center for Mono Lake, which had information on Bodie, Mono Lake and Yosemite.  I was excited to visit all three! I decided to start with Bodie, and was happy that it was a beautiful sunny, day.  Bodie is 11 miles off the main highway; the last three miles are gravel and some of it was very rough.  I bounced along and took it all in stride as all the California drivers passed me.  But soon enough, I was there, and I was in for a real treat!

I paid the $8 admission and bought the information book for $2 (prices have gone up since then I’m sure), and they set me loose on the park.

Bodie started out as a mining camp in 1859 when gold was discovered there; it became a boom town in 1876.  Within three years there were about 8,000 people and 2,000 buildings, with many of the residents mining both gold and silver, and the rest providing goods and services to the miners.  Sadly, the boom was short-lived and the town began to decline as early as 1880; I think this might have been because of the climate. 

Bodie is a harsh place; at almost 8,400 feet in elevation, and little protection from the elements, Bodie gets extremely cold and the wind can blow up to 100 miles per hour.  In fact, Bodie experiences an average of 303 days per year where nights are below freezing, and only two days per year on average where the low temperature stays above 50 degrees.  It is considered a subarctic climate; not something you really think about in California.  Wow.

Bodie was basically a ghost town by 1915, although the last remaining mine closed in 1942 and there were residents there until the mid-1940s.  Now the town is in a state of arrested decay; the park preserves the buildings as best it can, but does not restore them.  That said, time and a couple of fires have reduced the 3,000 buildings that were there at its peak, to about 150 now.  Even still, it is one of the most complete ghost towns that exists in the United States, and it is so cool to explore!

I spent several hours wandering the site, peeking in windows, walking the streets, and imagining what it would have been like to live there.  It was such an interesting place!  I was there until about 3 in the afternoon, but I still wanted to see Mono Lake, so I got back on the road.  On the way, I found this big herd of sheep, so I had to get a photo!  I’ll share about the lake next – it isn’t just any old lake!