These roadtrips are getting onerous but I’m traveling with Abercrombies Camp….. (explanations to follow). This one is a three week odyssey of 6000 miles from Tucson to Washington DC, New England and back–and all points in between. And I’ve already put in four trips from Alaska/Seattle to Tucson since August (scroll back). I’ll post each day separately–so if you’re an armchair tagalong, tune in each day……
First night is Fort Stockton Texas. Why? Simply because it’s an eight hour drive from Tucson. I originally planned to drive through Marfa and Alpine Texas but the Holland Hotel in Alpine allows dogs in all the rooms and I don’t like sleeping with dogs. (I’m a farm boy and we kept our dogs outside in doghouses–five star doghouses no less). And besides, I’m allergic to some dogs and most cats. This is a view out my room at the Holiday Inn–a windmill factory–the Spring Branch Water Well, Inc. These windmills are ubiquitous throughout the west and are still being sold today. To the north of my hotel is K-Bob’s Steak House. Dinner would have to be rated nearly 5 stars with my server Rae who wants to be an occupational therapist someday. Tune in tomorrow for my drive to Austin.
A drive to Austin is not complete without stopping at the LBJ Ranch–one of 425 NPS units. LBJ is not one of my heroes–since I spent two years of my life on Vietnamese soil arriving back in the US still unable to vote nor purchase a beer at the tender age of 20. LBJ did enact the 1965 Voting Rights Act and the Civil Rights Acts of 1964 and 68. He was fearful about these legislations turning the south against him and since the mid ’60s, the South became Republican and the Industrial North reverted to Democrat; small isolates not withstanding. Today I drive across the vast Permian Basin from Fort Stockton to Austin–road-cuts exposing Cretaceous sediments; yet the tapped wells penetrating deep to the Permian sediment thousands of feet below belch foul odors of oil residue. The place stinks. Then an epiphany–Fredricksburg and Johnson City–connected with perhaps 50–no, at least 200 wineries–and one olive orchard. A southern renaissance has arrived. Maybe more Texan’s will imbibe these products and mellow out–red wine turning the state blue……I like it! No wonder Texas has “blue” spots in it’s complex social fabric. I hasten on to Austin stopping at Dripping Springs for a visit with the modern day “C. Don Powell.”
Brian Maebius, Renaissance man and artist (park ranger, geologist and nice guy) and his wife and two children live on a 23 acre farm and raise three Alpacas–very curious animals and perhaps the oldest domesticated animals in the Americas. They are very curious and produce a wool-like fiber and….yes, meat, although South Americans now breed cattle which are uglier and therefore sacrificed before these cuties. Another animal that used to run through this property were dinosaurs–in the creek bed exist exposed shelves of limestone exhibit a set of dino tracks–these didn’t reveal themselves to Brian (a geologist) until it rained.
Brian is the C. Don Powell of today. “C-Don” as he liked to be called, was the artist that played a major role in the designs of the original NPS park posters in the late 1930s. Brian and I have continued this theme and now have developed over 50 contemporary designs. The 14 historic prints and all of our contemporary collaborations are now in this book–224 pages with over 400 illustrations. All of the endorsers, authors, contributors will sign about 30 copies and these will be given out to non-profits for fund-raising for public lands. Besides Brian’s signature, leading historian and author Douglas Brinkley, former Secretary of the Interior Sally Jewell, former Director of the National Park Service Jonathan Jarvis, Seattle NPS and train/poster historian/professor Alfred Runte, Documentarians Ken Burns and Dayton Duncan have signed up. So dig out your piggy banks and let’s raise money for our public lands!
I’m standing here in Mexico looking at a plaza featuring a map of the great state of Texas. Now, an an Alaskan, I would never mention that we could fit two Texas’s into the State of Alaska (with room left over to also include New Mexico), so I won’t. Every Texan is unified with one issue right now–the border–and it’s serious. But there is no way to build a wall (ask Quin Shi Huang, Hadrian or Khrushchev how that worked out). Ranger Doug’s solution is to get rid of both the Canadian and Mexican borders–they’re indefensible and let people work and vacate where they please. After all Mexico has some pretty nice beaches…… Then, issue National ID cards that are bulletproof and backed up with DNA. This would solve this whole mess including voting registration–something the Repub’s grouse about every four years. As it is today–we’re in an ideological civil war without a Mason-Dixon Line–rural vs. urban. Back to Austin–walk this Plaza just north of the capitol building–it’s magnificent and adjoins the Bullock Museum–which features LaSalle’s boat “Belle” (discovered and excavated in the 1990s)
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I won’t go into the history of LaSalle, but this was some tough guy–traversing the Mississippi River both north and later south and finally getting his party slaughtered by the locals–no PC or “woke” culture then.
Scary, isn’t it….. No, I’m not a saint, but this is my first selfie against the backdrop of the Austin capitol dome and I got my halo crooked.
This architecture follows many of the domed capitol buildings around the country–patterned off the US Capitol Building in Washington DC, and one of only six that are higher–this one at 303.6′. It was completed in 1888. Did you Know that the steel trusses that support the WDC dome were supported by Abbott steel?…..who also built the Monitor and the Merrimack? Probably not. Put this in your trivia file.
I spend three days in Austin and also meet with Douglas Brinkley who wrote the forward to my book and who signed these 30 fund-raising copies. The next morning early, I blast off to Nashville Tennessee passing this sign just before crossing the Mississippi River. Just before these two, I saw a billboard “Whip your children to keep them in order–followed by a biblical citation–seriously. No wonder this country is in trouble politically (and morally, and ethically, and, and, and……). When people ask my destination, I tell them Washington DC, then after a short pause, I tell them that I’m running for President. Nearly everyone I joke with says they’ll vote for me. Hmmmm….. better get my halo straightened up.
So, let’s cross the river and enter Memphis–home of Elvis Presley. This time I keep going after once camped out across the street from Graceland. You can read that post here.
This is the first thing that greets me–a lost pyramid of Cyclops….er Egypt……er…..well, not actually sure except someone inside this pyramid thinks shooting ducks will somehow cause their salvation (Home of Ducks Unlimited). With all the school shootings, I wonder if these same gun-lovers in this nation don’t apply this contorted logic to people? I think it’s time to stand by our Constitution and demand a “well regulated militia” just like the Constitution says. Thomas Jefferson said it should be torn up and rewritten every 19 years. I drive by Sandy Hook, CT upon my return and realize that everywhere I visit in America, there exists a tragedy. In Nashville (center of Tennessee), it’s cold but clear. Tomorrow is Virginia and then Washington!
Hilton Hotel main course of a $23 sandwich (left) and a $14 chicken burger on the right (Doubletree). There is a serious worker shortage across this nation–and it appears that only two people run the major hotels–like Walmart or most pharmacies–a greeter and someone who cooks a four-choice menu. The lobbies look like a 7-11 convenience store, offering choices rivaling most truck-stops. Another travel hurdle is dogs in hotels–I believe I’ve addressed that issue already. What goes with the No Smoking policy, yet they let in barnyard animals? I like dogs–really–but I don’t let then sleep with me in bed. My hotel in Abilene Texas reeks of urine and some perfumey stuff. And the windows are barred shut.
Then I stumble upon this gem in Wytheville, VA. I will stay here on my return–driving several hundred miles out of my way–they did it perfectly. The Bolling Wilson Hotel is once of those old classic brick hotels with creaky floors, a warm dining room serving steaks that hang off your plate and they call you “hon.” Even a piano. All for $129 a night. The greeter sits right by the front door and smiles and everyone calls you “honey.” Named after Edith Bolling Wilson, First Lady to Woodrow Wilson. She was also a pianist–a mid-1800 Knabe square grand still sits in the lobby (I urged them to restore it). This place reeks of family pride for over a century–they hold weddings (too late for me) amidst orchids, canaries and bourbon–real southern hospitality. Virtually visit the hotel here and also their foundation. Then visit the hotel.
The dining room. I’d give them 4.9 stars–get rid of the dogs and the TV sets in the dining room and it’s a full five.
I bid adieu to the Bolling Wilson Hotel in the morning with light snow falling. I’ve almost 500 miles ahead of me with snowy roads. In Tennessee, they preemptively salted the roads and it was worse than the snow itself. Miles of cars backed up behind two spray trucks–with 50% of all vehicles on 40E and now 81N semi’s driven by idiots. They cut you off within a foot. During this fiasco of two salt-trucks — 1/4 mile apart–causing weaving in traffic, I witnessed whiplashing semi’s and stalled parked cards salted over like snowballs. I was run off into the duff once. All at 70 mph. It’s a wonder no one was killed. Stay tuned…..Washington DC is next and I’ll mention this to our public servants.
Room with a View….the tall obelisk is the Washington Monument–we’re on E Street three blocks from the Department of the Interior. Tomorrow is my meetings with the Museum staff and the NPS Director. I couldn’t get a meeting with the Secretary. We’re* staying at the State Plaza Hotel–in a two bedroom suite with a kitchen! And all for under $200 a night which included underground parking. Put this on your stay list–very friendly staff–all from south of the border mentioned above. The doorman, Omar, is from Eritrea and has been here 29 years now. The front desk gals are from Brazil and everyone is super nice. I could stay a week–and might have to as it snowed two more inches and the whole town is paralyzed…..but not Ranger Doug! Stand by for an exciting day tomorrow…..
*We? I’ve linked up with fellow lobbyist Olive Theodore, my 30 years old adopted daughter–or actually, she has adopted me. She works for the Center for Wooden Boats and is working with Patty Murray and Pramila Jayapal’s offices on funding. I’m working with Lisa Murkowski and Murray’s offices on NPS monuments and funding….. We are a team!
This is my sixth trip to Washington. It is cold with about 4″ of snow on the ground and all Federal Buildings are shut down. Not due to Congressional squabbling, not to funding of our country, but because of 4″ of snow. Coming from Alaska, I won’t even turn on my windshield wipers for this amount.
First stop the Department of the Interior. This building was built in 18 months–ahead of schedule and under budget for $12.6M in the 1930 depression. Harold Ickes, SOI under FDR wanted to consolidate all the Interior offices into one building. This was the first federal building to boast elevators, escalators, central heating, underground parking, a gymnasium and even an ice cream parlor on the rooftop. FDR wanted his employees to want to come to work. The Voice of America broadcast there during WWII and beyond. An antiaircraft gun accidentally discharged while being cleaned, from one of two roof-top mounts (during the War) and blew a hole right below the “W” of Wisconsin on the Lincoln Memorial. It’s all in my book. But I digress…..
The Interior Museum–a small but fascinating and often overlooked museum–is my second home now. They are currently housing the Thomas Moran murals along with William Henry Jackson paintings from the 1872 Hayden survey–painted from his photos just before he died. This alone, is worth a 6000 mile drive. Here left to right, Elsa–intern at the DOI Museum, Olive, Dr. Chuck Boice, Baltimore physician who donated the only surviving copy of the Yosemite WPA print, and standing in front of Ranger Doug & Brian Maebius’s Mammoth Cave National Park print, is Registrar Jason Jurgena. The DOIM staff is almost like a family now. I signed several books and posters which are now accessioned into their permanent collection. It’s a wonderful feeling to walk through the offices and see this WPA style revived….at least it is for me.
My first appointment is with NPS Director Chuck Sams. We meet briefly but I spend half an hour with Deputy Director Michael Reynolds going over the new Olympic Lodge (WPA style, of course); Old Santa Fe Trail Building monument status; Jenny Lake Campground expansion; and the incorporation of the Arthur Foss (Klondike/WWII tug) under NPS protection–it’s currently used as a party boat. I also want to instigate a 50 year plan to remove the Jackson Airport from Grand Teton National Park. Our National Parks need 100% Congressional funding so….. write your Congressmen/women and demand full funding of our parks.
An hour later, we rush to the Hart Office Building on Capitol Hill and meet with my Alaskan Senator, Lisa Murkowski to whom I present my book. Now, let me explain–I’m a center of the road registered Independent voter although (to those who know me) I lean left and would claim to be a progressive thinker “outside the box” and all that rubbish. But Lisa (along with Maine’s Susan Collins and Mitt Romney) did the right thing by voting to impeach TFG (“the former guy” whose name is so odious I won’t reveal it). And she is very dedicated to all people living in Alaska. She loved my book, peppered me with questions about my 20 years of itinerant dentistry there, then asked Olive and me to escort her to the Capitol for a vote or meeting….. Alaska needs to change. Lisa–let’s wean off oil and set up an ecologically sensitive tourism economy beginning with a new ferry fleet to Alaska in the likes of Hurtigruten in Norway (who are now selling passage in Alaska). Make Alaska Great Again……
Next stop was the Secretary of the Interior, Deb Haaland–this time with clean Carhartts and Filson shirt (and Abercrombies Camp vest)….. Now her schedule was very restricted during my visit (increased security since 1/6? or change in protocols?) so I dropped off my book with the Museum staff and it worked it’s way up to her desk. A day later walking the labyrinth under the Capitol Building, my phone rang and this bubbly voice announced “this is Deb Haaland (pronounced Holland). I thought it was a gag and said so……but the Secretary said it indeed was her and she wanted to meet me and thank me for the book in person, and within 24 hours, here I am accompanied by two very lovely and progressive women! (Read this wonderful article about Secretary Haaland in the WaPo here.) Now, I must relate a conversation I had 50 years ago while driving road patrol in the Grand Tetons with my supervisor in the patrol car with me. We were driving behind a bobbling, weaving Winnebago–a motor home–not the noble tribe of Winnebagos of the Upper Midwest. I exclaimed to my boss in frustration that perhaps it was time to give the National Park Service back to the Native Americans–to whom it belonged–and he just about drove off the road. Well, fifty years later I finally got my wish.
I introduce my book to the Secretary. This is the zenith of 30 years of searching, researching and three years of writing. The book comes with a miniature silk-screen print–revealed here–the Secretary is impressed by all this and gives me a medallion–I’ve four or five of these now from past visits:
And the obverse:
Mine are now all proudly displayed at Kupreanof National Monument (my home in Alaska).
So let’s get down to brass tacks. Here is the Capitol–the very one overrun by TFG’s hoodlums just three years ago. Most of these miscreants are now in jail, except for one in particular. The place is now continuously patrolled by a phalanx of Capitol Police with AR-15s or something similar. Well, the gun lobby got their wish and have put our democracy behind an iron fence. Perhaps this is why it’s so difficult to meet/greet our public servants.
My first trip to Washington was in 1970 where I stood in the Oval Office and met with President Nixon and several of his staff including John Ehrlichman. We drove through the SW entrance in a 1967 station wagon and the guard simply asked me to identify the people in the car by name. We sat in the West Wing within 15 minutes; spent perhaps 6 hours touring the West Wing. Our rights as citizens to “petition the King (or Queen),” the foremost fundamental right of a citizen in a democracy has now been eliminated. Thanks to TFG for destroying democracy. Here’s the Newsweek article:
*TFG = The Former Guy for those who won’t pronounce his loathsome name.
**For the benefit of the coming elections. Note the title “Clean-cut leader…..” I put this on all my resumes.
On our drive up to NYC, my co-lobbiest, Olive, who works for the Center for Wooden Boats in Seattle, wants to meet NYC’s counterpart “Rocking the Boat.” We are impressed at their mission–building, restoring small wooden boats with local and youth help. Olive casts away her chic-boots so they won’t get soiled in the slush and we schlepp this recently restored boat out to their storage shed. Mike XXXXXXX(last name to follow during editing). We then drive down to the Lower East Side where Olive finds this gem of a hotel:
The Freehand is worth the visit and I’ll stay there again. It’s essentially an Argentinian theme with a restaurant to blow your waistline. The staff is marvelous and the rooms are like little ship bunks–tightly organized but absolutely charming and clean. I’ll return here as it’s only four blocks from the Swann Gallery. The Swann auctioned the WPA National Park posters discovered by LA Laurent (reference my book) when I was in Antarctica and is one of the premier auction houses in the country. Ten original WPA prints of our National Parks sold for about $40,000 in 2 minutes. The Library of Congress bought five, I bought two, and two went at large. One of these rogue prints was Mt. Rainier (I already had six) and the other….the only copy of Yosemite to survive. Tracking down this print took 15 years and was finally donated by Dr. Boice mentioned under the photo in the DOIM Museum entrance above–thank you Chuck Boice!
The view out our window. Could that be the Empire State Building? The NYC skyline is forever changing and some of the skinny hotels are frightening
From the front steps of the American Museum of Natural History–Teddy Roosevelt’s crowning glory….let’s go in….. But before we do–let’s ponder this missing statue on the front steps…
Removing this bronze statue was a travesty in my opinion. Reinterpret it if you like, but this–in my mind–was not derogatory in any way but a tribute to both American Indians and African Americans. The museum is beyond description…..let’s go in for a visit.
The NW American Indian room is perhaps the best collection of native art in the world and rivals the Louve. And shock of all shocks, six days after I visited this collection, the Biden Administration closed closed it! Here is the article in the New York Times.
A magnificent Chilkat Blanket. Woven out of goat fur snagged on bushes in SE Alaska and died blue yellow and white. These were ceremonial capes and were stored in bentwood boxes–also magnificently carved. This deserves a separate blog but let’s move on….
Look at these gems (and I include Olive here).
If there was a closer description to where I live in Alaska, I have not found it yet. This is a diorama of the Endicott Glacier just north of where I live in Alaska and is virtually identical to the LaConte Glacier 20 minutes boat ride from my home. The taxidermists are credited, but for some reason, the artists who painted the dioramas have been eliminated. Of the missing artists are J. Perry Wilson, Carl Rungius and Conrad Schwiering. I met “Connie” in the Tetons in 1970 and we became friends–I hauled a blank canvas up into the Teton back-country and then back down. That painting hangs in my home still. I serendipitously found a J. Perry Wilson painting and grabbed it. Art is ephemeral as I then learned. The poster I found in the Beaver Creek barn began me on a life of collection.
Just before Covid, I spent a winter dissecting out Phytosaur bones and gluing then together in Petrified Forest National Park–the fourth park I’ve worked in. These beasts roamed he area 217M years ago in the upper Triassic. You can reread the posts of my adventures here.
Well, it’s time to hobble the horses and pee on the fire….. Frankly, I’m surprised they haven’t taken TR’s statue down also. I have a nice final chat with TR and he likes my RDE cap so I make him part of the team. TR did a lot for our National Parks….bar none. He shot white rhinos and wasn’t too “woke” with his “walk softly and carry a big stick” foreign policy but our politicians are continuously figuring things out as we’ve seen in Congress on this sixth visit. It may not be a perfect system but it’s still the best. Too bad 73M Americans are still chasing this pipe dream with orange hair. Having never been shy about politics, I’ll risk not being named as TFG*s future VP with this:
More to come as I meet with Dayton Duncan tomorrow to sign my books…..stay tuned!
Breakfast with Dayton Duncan in Rindge New Hampshire. And here, everyone thought I was stumping for a Republican Presidential candidate. Nope–we’re discussing my book. Dayton wrote a lovely endorsement along with seven other signatures–these will “fully signed” copies will be auctioned to raise money for public lands. This diner was built in 1947 and came from Ohio and is a real roadside attraction.
The waitresses are right out of a Hollywood movie and called me “hon……” and bought my book!
If you’re ever in Rindge New Hampshire, stop in for dinner–check out this place here.
I motor south after breakfast first visiting the Cathedral of the Pines. Another patron in the diner, also a Vietnam Veteran volunteers there and came over and after overhearing my book stalk to the waitresses, offered me a tour. It was built by the parents of a pilot shot down in WWII in Germany. It’s dedicated to those fallen in this community and has four bronze plaques designed by Norman Rockwell and cast in bronze by his son. With the NH Republican primary tomorrow, I doubt I’ll meet TFG here honoring our veterans. Thanks you John Wooden for the tour and thanks for serving to protect our country although Vietnam was a war of aggression, not in our national interest. Next stop is Ossining NY, but the property (search ELDA above) is unavailable so I make an appointment for next August on my return–to photograph the last stage of the history. The “castle” was torched and I want to document this.
My last stop is back in Norwalk CT where I give a short presentation on my book and Powerpoint of the history of the WPA posters. Here Heather Raker stands in solidarity with Ranger Doug with Stephen Mather (First Director of the NPS) between us. A small but very enthusiastic group and I spend another hour and a half visiting the facility and this great group. These bronze “Mather Plaques” are situated around the US–try to find them if you can. Here is a good article to read first.
From Norwalk CT, I drive a short 45 minutes to ELDA–my great uncles “castle” on the Hudson River. Arsonists torched it last year and I need to take some photos. I have not given up on getting this building into National Park custody–I believe it was part of the Manhattan Project during WWII. Iron gates and surveillance cameras are everywhere–even drone patrols. I called the real estate office and they forbid my entrance so no photos. David T. Abercrombie was the founder of Abercrombie & Fitch–his brand before Fitch, the lawyer, took over the business was “Abercrombies Camp.” Here are links to more links of this history.
After my attempts to visit ELDA, the long trip began southwest on several interstates touching crossing six states within an hour: Connecticut, NewYork, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, West Virginia and Virginia. The first day drive I actually make it into Tennessee–the Bolling-Wilson Hotel in Wytheville is booked! I’m devastated but limp into Bristol Tennessee in one long day. The Sessions Hotel (a Merriott rebuild) is quite nice with a great bbq restaurant–I left half on my plate it was so ample. Breakfast was even better and a great send-off for the long 7 hour drive through Tennessee. The freeways are 50% semi trucks and all sorts of large oversized vehicles. This one I could get a photo of–a swimming pool–not hauled at night, on back-roads, but at rush hour in the center lanes.
Mid-day, I pass Bucksnort, Tennessee and I keep driving. Nasty weather, too.
Remember this mysterious pyramid I mentioned earlier?…here I am again crossing the Mississippi River and now you’ll believe me about ducks and gun-lovers. I love guns and pets but they all have their place. I’m glad to hear on Sirius XM today that the mother who gave gun access to her son is on trial for his four murders. “A well-regulated militia,” remember.
Tonight is the AC Hotel in downtown Little Rock–an old historic building refurbished by Marriott. It’s OK, very sparse in interior design but first class and about $200/nite. And they ding me for $30 for parking but I park on the street–we’ll se if my car is there in the morning (it is). My room has a noisy fan–grinding away until I change to a windowless room w/o TV–I’ve never owned one and usually can’t turn them on. It felt like a prison cell but a 5 o’clock gin & tonic and it was dinnertime. A local restaurant (Samantha’s around the corner) served me tilapia, calling it mahi mahi. Now, as an Alaskan, I know my fish and this wasn’t Mahi…. At this rate, I’ll be losing money on my book tour in another two weeks. Life on the road.
Little Rock to Dallas is about 6 hours depending on how you drive. I almost get derailed here at the Ranger College–perhaps another reason for a roadtrip. I visit an old chum, Jack, in Dallas. He’s the most educated man I know. We were dental school room-mates for a year and he went on to general residencies, and oral surgery residency, private practice, med school, and finally specialty training in anesthesiology. Nineteen year of training by my count (including undergraduate four years). Not a finer fellow; so Jack…when are you going to get your MBA? I spend an hour in Dallas, then motor on to Abilene…..Texas, not Kansas.
Abilene Texas tonight with sandwiches for dinner in my room is the final straw–so I decide to make a heroic run all the way to Tucson the next day with a stop in Carlsbac to check out my park displays.
I pass dozens of ‘trains’ like this–is this even legal? And the lead tow-car is sometimes in worse condition than the ones being towed.
I pass thousands of these oil pumps–half are not pumping. Methane is still burned off into the atmosphere.
Somewhere in West Texas….. This is today’s Route 66–but much degraded with most towns half gutted. It’ depressing but an obvious outcome in our “cash & carry,” exploitative economy. I half expect to see Jack Nicholson riding in the back of a pick-up truck playing an old clunker piano (“Five Easy Pieces”).
Oh, wait….. No, it’s either a texas barbecue or some oil-rig pump doo-dad. Not sure.
Another empty derelict just outside Carlsbad Caverns National Park. I also stop briefly at Guadeloupe National Park and gaze up at El Capitan. There are trails here worth exploring. But I’m anxious to head home so make a 12 hour dash. My odometer gives a final tally at 5771 miles in just 15 days. If you think this blogpost is long, don’t complain…..try driving it. Stay tuned.