Wednesday, April 30, 2008

"There was land to take and people to kill
While you were conquering America
You served yourself and did God's will
While you were conquering America"--Tracy Chapman

"There's diamonds in the sidewalk the gutters lined in song
Dear I hear that beer flows through the faucets all night long
There's treasure for the taking, for any hard working man
Who will make his home in the American Land"--Bruce Springsteen

As I drove through Nebraska today, those two songs came on in quick succession on my iPod--followed by Little Steven's "Trail of Broken Treaties" which is also right on. All these songs were appropriate for my drive, as I learned more about the Homestead Act of 1862, both the good and the bad (and everything in between). Sure, I put those songs onto a huge playlist for my trip, but I do wonder if my iPod knew I was thinking about the impact of westward expansion on the land and peoples of America.

I covered a lot of ground today. In fact, it is safe to say I committed a common mistake of misjudging distances when traveling out west (still in the midwest, but still). However, it all worked out great and I saw some beautiful scenery. I had no idea northeastern Kansas was so pretty.

The day started off most aggravating in Kansas City traffic. I found one trails site at Minor Park, some swales and a couple of historical markers. I finally got on Highway 10 to Lawrence after some nauseating traffic. I cruised by the KU campus but really wanted to get out of the city. Fortunately, the Oregon trail auto route is well-marked and it was easy to find my way on all of the roads today.

First stop was St. Mary's. The historic sites in town were closed so this was a short visit. In between St. Marys and Belvue I stopped at the Oregon Trail Nature Park, and am glad I did. I took some short hikes and found the terrain beautiful. It was very very windy but that just added to the fun.

I stuck to the auto route through Kansas and made two more stops: Scott Springs, a popular encampment that had a sculpture of a wagon and an ox, and Marysville, a cute town. Marysville calls itself black squirrel city, but alas I did not see any black squirrels. I have one living in my backyard in Ann Arbor so it's not a big deal. The people here were very friendly and I had a very cheap lunch in a small cafe on the town's main square. I also stopped at a few historical markers along the road. Some were very general, and some dealt specifically with a crossing or a grave. I did miss the turnoff for a cholera cemetary, but perhaps just as well.

From here I made a brief stop at a Pony Express historical marker, then pressed on into Nebraska. I'm really glad I visited Rock Creek Station State Historical Park. The park had some great ruts and swales, and a few buildings from the era they are restoring. The views here were beautiful. I don't think my pictures do this area justice. You could walk right on a small part of the trail. Cool. The rangers were very friendly. Since right now it's looking like I'm not going to be able to see the Guernsey Ruts in Wyoming due to a "winter" storm, I'm especially glad I stopped here.

I then decided to take a "short" detour to Homestead National Monument. It really wasn't that far, but the drive there was not as pretty as the rest of the day. I took a long hike around the upland prairie. They are trying to restore the prairie to its state before homesteaders invaded the land. The monument is built on the land of the first homesteader Daniel Freeman, who prospered. Personally, I have to wonder about someone who rushed to be the first person to get a permit, but whatever. Maybe I'm just being cynical, but interesting that the first homesteader was also one of the most prosperous and has his land be the site for a national monument? Many homesteaders struggled mightily compared to Freeman, which the museum does point out. Anyway, it was a good visit.

I'm in Kearney Nebraska tonight and exhausted. Looks like I will be able to make it to Scottsbluff tomorrow though the weather is going to be awful, just going to be difficult getting out and into Wyoming on Friday...we shall see. I had to eat at some chain Mexican restaurant next to the hotel called Carlos O'Kelleys, because I was too tired to do anymore driving safely. It was ok since I was so hungry, but I wish I had had more energy to find some steak or something...after passing so many cattle on the road. That will be the objective in Scottsbluff--have steak.

Pictures:
Kansas and Nebraska

Tuesday, April 29, 2008

I left too early! (maybe)

Yes, I may have left too early, but more on that later. Also, if you don't want to read this, just go to the bottom for some pictures.

I spent today in Independence MO, with a brief detour into Kansas City after Google maps failed me for the first time. After a number of u-turns, the day began with a visit to the Harry Truman National Historic Site. The tour took you through his house in Independence, where he retired after his presidency ended.

The guide kept emphasizing how modern day presidents could never retire to a small town and live reasonably private lives. It was a very modest home. After that, I walked around the Harry Truman Historic District...and saw many houses. I checked out Independence Square next; not a lot going on, but at one point it was a major westwards trails site, with blacksmith shops, wagons, ox, and a bustle of activity. I saw Clinton's Soda Fountain, where Truman had his first job.

Continuing the Truman theme, next up was the Truman Presidential Library and Museum. I enjoyed it, though it was pretty much like the others I've seen (Carter, Ford, Nixon, and Reagan). I will forever remember the Nixon Library for the Johnny Cash exhibit...but I digress. I do have a beef with these museums. Some of the interactive exhibits allow visitors to vote for their choices of presidential decision making or guess at a president's motives. For example, one today presented dilemmas Truman faced as president, such as choosing to recognize Israel. Then it would ask the audience to choose from four choices--interest group pressure, personal values, long-term good of nation, and recommendation of policy advisors-- which had the most impact on Truman. First, there is no way to answer that without a lot more reading and research. Second, of course, it is an interplay of all these pressures and probably more that resulted in said decision. Interestingly enough, most visitors pick personal values in the survey. I think this is because the exhibits are all geared toward explaining Truman's personal beliefs, including fairness for African-Americans, concern for Holocaust survivors, and saving American lives to end World War II. I don't know. It was a decent museum but simplifying the issue does not help the American public learn anything. As proof of that, there was a scrapbook like thingy in which to write your opinion on the decision to drop the atomic bomb on Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Most people wrote something like "I love you Harry" or "Rock on! Right decision". I flipped through and found a few thoughtful entries pro/con/ambivalent, mostly by young kids who couldn't spell but at least were trying. Admittedly, I did not take the time to write anything, but I would have been there a long time to write out my thoughts. Anyway, I did enjoy my visit to the museum and I reconnected with that period in history.

After that, I checked out a view of the Upper Independence Landing, which looked out over the Missouri River and is presently on the grounds of a lumber company. It was the landing closet to Independence for emigrants arriving by steamboat. It was surprisingly peaceful. Next, I had lunch at probably the most expensive restaurant in Independence, but it was really good and I was starving (blackened tiliapia sandwich with sweet potato fries, so pretentious).

Next up was the National Frontier Trails Center. This is kind of a cheesy museum, but they have a done a good job with what resources they have. The movie romanticizes the trail--especially in regard to Native American issues--but then the museum exhibits are pretty blunt describing both the positive and negative impacts of westward expansion. Mostly it had primary source material from diaries to go along with maps and material objects. It jazzed me up for the rest of the trip and the lady there was very nice and said I was "brave."

So yeah, I got back to the hotel late afternoon, and checked the weather. I had just read in the museum you can't leave too early on your Oregon Trail journey (or if anyone played the computer game, you know the dangers of that). And yeah, it's likely going to snow on Thursday night/Friday--potentially a blizzard. Right now I'm not changing any plans, but I may get stuck in Scottsbluff Nebraska for a second night, or might have to veer off the trail a bit to get to Casper Wyoming, where I targeted for Friday night. We shall see what tomorrow's weather report says. I should be able to make it to Scottsbluff, though my visit to Chimney Rock and Scottsbluff National Monument will either be cut short or will be in windy, rainy, and snowy weather. Hey, it could be fun; I brought my coat. I've got over three weeks of stuff to do, so let the adventure begin! Tomorrow I'm driving through Kansas into southern Nebraska and ending up at Kearney, visiting a few sites along the way.

I'm doing a lousy job of integrating pictures into the blog--but the pics from today are right here:
Independence MO


Monday, April 28, 2008

Long Drive

I'm in Independence Missouri. That's about it. Today was a long drive from Ann Arbor, but it went quite fast. Other than a bizarre weather front that brought a brief period of torrential rain and caused the temperature to suddenly drop ten degrees then go back up in a matter of minutes while in Illinois, nothing too eventful happened on the drive. It did not feel like I really got going until I arrived in Missouri, since I had driven the rest of the route before (in Illinois, Indiana, and Michigan).

Tomorrow: Harry Truman Presidential Museum/Library/Home, and some Oregon Trail related stuff in the area. Alas, the Royals are not in town this week. Bad planning on my part.

Monday, April 21, 2008

Test some photos

I'm preparing for my trip out West by creating directions for following the Oregon Trail out West. I'm also experimenting with how to get photos loaded. I'm trying Picasa. Let's see how that works. So yeah, this seems to work. If you click on the photo below, it should take you to the album. This is from my first trip out West, in 2000 I think. Or was it 1999? Regardless, I think I'm going with picasa and google for this trip.

Test Album

Tuesday, April 15, 2008

I'm heading out to Oregon in a couple of weeks and figured I'd make a blog to chronicle it.