This is the sky over us as we headed East from Willcox, AZ toward Silver City, NM.  We’re spending a couple of days here, visiting Gila Cliff Dwellings.  We just came from visiting Chiricahua NM and Ft. Bowie National Historic Site in SE Arizona.  After Silver City we’ll be sampling green chile cuisine heading up the Rio Grande Valley to Albuquerque.  I’m posting this mainly to test how this photo looks.

More later.

We spent two weeks plus at the Fountain of Youth Spa (that really is the name) which is located near Niland, CA.  Love the place with its activities and pools and spas and sun and relaxation.  Now we’ve moved on the AZ.  Currently outside Tucson in the Tucson Mountain Park which has a perfect campground…15 minutes from town but over the hill in the midst of saguaro cacti.  Spent today at the Desert Museum which is really a zoo built around the Sonoran desert habitats.  Tomorrow, we’re off toward Nogales, Bisbee and the SE corner of the state.

There are some great stories to tell over the next several days and some catch up on things I need to share.  Sorry about the absence.

There have been some great genealogy finds for me.  The quilt show in Houston was an unsurpassed pleasure for Donna.  We saw all the nephews, niece and son.  We’ve traveled along the shore of  four of the great lakes.  We saw a sheep dog trial.  We ate pasties, butter burgers, Great Lakes whitefish, Chicago dogs, deep-fried cheese curds, rellenos in the Mesilla Valley (where they grow the chiles), buffalo enchiladas, beignets at Cafe du Monde, a great muffaleta from Central Market in NOLA, Chicago deep dish pizza at the original Uno, buffalo wings where they were  invented, Indian pudding at a diner in Vermont, dumplings and cannoli in New York,  bar-b-que at Obama’s favorite spot in Asheville (we actually ate that on the Blue Ridge Parkway which made it even better), pig-on-a-pole at a Havre, Montana farmer’s market and a bunch of crap in other places.  But the culinary highlight of the trip was the Italian ice in Chicago.  I think we went back five or six times.

Genealogically, we found a new clue to Donna’s tree in the backwoods of Minnesota.  I visited repositories in Salt Lake City (Family History Library), Madison (Wisconsin Historical Society), Chicago (Newberry library), Fort Wayne (Allen County Library), New York City (NYC Public Library), Lancaster, PA County Historical Society, Culpeper and Madison county courthouses in Virginia, Spartanburg and Greenville Libraries in South Carolina, Alabama and Mississippi State Archives and the Clayton Library in Houston.

National Park Service sites we visited include California Trail, Golden Spike, Yellowstone, Roosevelt, Voyageurs, Lewis and Clark Trail, Apostle Islands, Keweenaw, Pictured Rocks, Niagra Falls, Erie Canal, Women’s Rights, Saratoga, Sagamore Hill, Federal Hall, Fire Island, Grant’s Tomb, Roosevelt Birthplace, Gettysburg, Harper’s Ferry, Antietam, Shenandoah, Blue Ridge Parkway, Monticello, C & O Canal, Kennesaw Mountain, Carlsbad Caverns, Guadalupe Mountains, White Sands and Casa Grande.

State Capitals on this trip:  Salt Lake City, Helena, Madison, Albany, Jackson and Montgomery.

I drove through the land of my ancestors in five places…Texas, Alabama, Pennsylvania, Maryland and Virginia.  I sat in a pew in the church where my Great-great-great-great-great Grandfather worshiped.

And I spent time with my brother, sister and 89-year-old mother.

A great trip…I’m ready to be home.

We are in Montgomery, Alabama.  Durry is spending a couple of days doing genealogical research at the State Archives.   After we parked the trailer at the RV park, we went into the city center to do a little sight-seeing.  We walked through the Capital and walked by the Dexter Avenue Baptist Church and the Civil Rights Memorial that sits in front of the Southern Poverty Law Center.

The capital building is the original structure from 1851.  It survived the Civil War and is still is use today.  This capital building was also the first capital of the Confederate States of America and was the location of Alabama’s vote to succeed from the Union.

Ironically, just a block away from the capital is the Dexter Avenue Baptist Church.  Almost right next door to the capital is where the Reverend Martin Luther King was Pastor from 1955-1960.  This is also the Church where plans were made for the Montgomery Bus Boycott after Rosa Parks refused to give up her seat to a white passenger.

From the Church we walked to the Southern Poverty Law Center.  In front of the center is the Civil Rights Memorial, which is “dedicated to the 40 people who died in the struggle for equal and integrated treatment of European and African descent.” (Wiki)

The memorial was designed by Maya Lin (architect of the Vietnam Memorial Wall, D.C.) and “is based on the soothing and healing effect of water.” (Wiki)  It was inspired by Martin Luther King, Jr.’s  quote:

.. we will not be satisfied until justice rolls down like waters and righteousness like a mighty stream. …”

Within three city blocks the Confederacy was born and the Civil Rights Movement was launched.

I have created a folder on my Flickr photo site with pictures of all our campgrounds.  After a while they will all look the same to you.  But if you are interested you can find them here.

Here is the start of the list of some of our likes and dislikes:

• Fast internet access.  We have the ability to go on-line with one computer with Durry’s smart phone, but when two of us want to be on our individual laptops, it’s super to have wi-fi in the park.  (spoiled, are we?)
• A level site pad.  Yes, we do carry blocks that will level the trailer, but when the owner of the campsite thinks ahead,  it is really nice.
  

  Our Spartanburg, South Carolina site that fills a lot of our requirements. The site is flat, its not too crowded, and we have a cement patio!

• A sewer connection next to the trailer is nice.  Yes, we can discharge our holding tanks when we leave the campground, but sometimes when you pay a dollar more, there is a sewer right next to the trailer!
• Shade trees are nice if they don’t have acorns.  Acorns fall out of tree and the sound is magnified inside this aluminum box on wheels.
• Quiet.  That means nice people who respect the quiet hours.
• Quiet…..not next to an interstate or a very active train track.
• A water hook-up with water that has not been heavily chlorinated.   It makes the coffee taste bad.
• An on-site bathroom and shower without any mildew on the walls.  The artificial flowers and painted door stalls in the KOA’s are not necessary.
• WOW!  If the campsite has a laundry room, that is really cool.  Just like at home, it’s a bummer to have to drive somewhere to do your wash.
• Give me a site with the morning sun coming into the dining room:)
• Electric and water hook-ups.
• Scenery.  How nice it is to be in a National or State Park.  These parks have trails and walking paths and ranger talks at night.  Unfortunately, these state funded campsites rarely have both water and electric hook-ups.  If you run out of water while you are camping you are up-a-creek. If you don’t have 30amp service you can’t plug in your computers.  We are just too 21st century (and spoiled) and we DON’T have a TV for entertainment.
  

  Goose Lake, Oregon -- wildflowers, lakes, birds, and places to walk. We had no water or electricity at this site, but the setting made up for it.

• Amenities:  At the Salt Lake City KOA we had access to free shuttle service into the city center.  This service was provided by the LDS Church and I did have to endure many lectures about their organization, but it was a nice way to get into town.  This KOA also had water aerobic classes in the morning.  Nice.  In the campground in Spartanburg the owner gave us a bar of organic home-made soap.  His wife would like to sell us more, but the gift was such a pleasant surprise, I just might buy some.
• Walkable…..we need to be able to walk after dinner.  It would really be nice if the campsite was situated close enough to something/anything within walking distance.
• Space.  Don’t pack us in.  We were just at a campsite in the mountain setting of Asheville, NC.  There were trees and a lake, and great places to walk within their many acres.    BUT…our neighbors were parked RIGHT NEXT DOOR!  When our awning was extended, their trailer was one foot away.  Our site in Havre, MT. was far worse, though.  We were parked in diagonal spaces….just imagine parking in front of the CVS in Arcata…trailer side by side by side.
  

  Parking Lot Campground in Havre, MT.

• And, let’s all put our hands together for the corporate-giant Walmart.  When you are traveling and the day is getting long, and the next nicely shaded and quiet state park is hours away, you WILL find the welcoming parking lot of a Walmart.  Spending the night is encouraged….the lot is well lit and “safe”, there are always other forlorn travelers nearby, and in the morning, the store is open if you need milk for your coffee.  We availed ourselves of a Walmart in Williston, NC.  It’s certainly not the preferred camping site, but I thank them for being there.
• BUT…..the best place to set up camp is where there is LOTS of family to share the fun.
  

  Dinner on Long Island - Adam, Nathan, Donna, Jen, Clay, Durry (photo by Haley Kus)

This church was organized in 1717 for and by Germans who had moved to this area just outside Madison, VA.  The church was built in 1740 and added to over the years.  They claim to be the oldest church in continuous use by Lutherans in the United States.

After the service, I was able to visit the church library.  Initially disappointed by the size, I was surprised to find a bound genealogy for my House kin.  It was full of new information and helped fill in some of the missing pieces.  We were able to find the old house, which still stands (it’s been renovated somewhat) and the old cemetery on the top of the hill near the house.  Only one headstone that was readable but a lot of fragments.  For those Joneses following along at home, our House line goes back through Ada (CP’s wife and our granddad’s mom), to Francis Marion, to Jacob, to Adam, to Matthias.

After the House project, we went looking for Mason’s in Greenbriar county, West Virginia.  Not as much luck but did get some leads.  Now we’re in North Carolina for some visiting, then on to South Carolina to find some info on the Jones line.

Be sure and check the photos link at the top of the page to see more pictures on the House farm, the cemetery and our West Virginia adventure.

Earlier this week I spent the day in their library.  I had a great visit, doing some serious genealogical work.  There was a volunteer there who helped me…Velma (I didn’t get her last name).  She reminded me of Humboldt County’s great library helper, Linda DeLong.  She knew where every book was, got deeply involved in my family names, spent the better part of the day pulling books and files for me to check  and finished up making my copies, collating the sheets and putting everything in a nice bundle for me to take home.  I had a great day…and for all the Velmas and Lindas who help those of us doing research (often without a clue about what all exists for us in the research facility)…THANKS!

Since we left NYC about a week ago we’ve been traveling through what has turned out to be my ancestors’ backyards.  We worked our way down through the Pennsylvania Dutch country, through Gettysburg, Harpers Ferry, and now we’re here on the edge of Shenandoah National Park.  My ancestors came through here in the mid-1700s, some going on to Kentucky about 1800, others into Tennessee and then Missouri by 1820.  And tomorrow I hope to find the old graveyard, where Mathias House and his wife are buried.  They died about 1820 and the book I was reading said the house still stands…we’ll see.

Here are some observations from the last month or so:

• New York is too big
• Long Island is too long
• There are some unusual people in the world, most of them loud
• Vermont deserves all the accolades it gets
• NYC traffic is tough to drive a truck through
• Gettysburg is inspiring and depressing at the same time
• Harpers Ferry needs to be better known

As always, check the link in the top bar for more photos, cleverly labeled “Easy Link to Our Photos.”  Donna adds more almost daily.  It’s a good way to keep up with where we are when there aren’t any posts.

Tomorrow we’re in Madison, VA getting ready for the big Fiber Fair and Sheep Dog Trials.  With all the rain, I’m afraid the sheep will all be dreadlocked.

Unknown Solidiers at Gettysburg

We’re sitting in Gettysburg at the moment after spending a couple of days here.  Within the hour we’re off to Harper’s Ferry for two days.

Three weeks in NYC left little time to do anything other than go into the city, look around, spend time with Clay and the cousins, and take the train back to the campsite.  We’ll fill you in later.

For pictures, click the link on the top right.  They get updated almost daily.  And you can find each of us on twitter and facebook where we update more frequently than here.

That’s it for now…heading south.

This campground…Greenwood…just outside Bennington is just off the Appalachian Trail and is perhaps the best campground of the trip.  Quiet, well maintained and run by an interesting family, it’s just the place to spend an extra day recharging and completing those tasks you’ve put off till later…this is later.

Yesterday we took a circle tour of the lower half of Vermont.  A great breakfast at Dot’s in Wilmington (I had the Berry-berry pancakes which had straw, blue, black and rasp for berries…Donna had a fruit parfait that including huckle)

followed by a few hours driving through drop-dead gorgeous countryside that took us to Calvin Coolidge’s birthplace.

Today one of the places we visited while the dryer was working was the Old Church (founded 1805) and the graveyard attached which holds the final resting place of Robert Frost.

What made me wish I had Yankee roots, the tombstones include maiden names of wives and a brief history of those interred.  This has to be one of the great graveyards of the world.

Tomorrow we start south for New York and Long Island.

We did the usual things…”saw” the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, looked at the waterfront, drove by the sports venues…but the really cool thing was the Farmer’s Market which was more like the permanent Market in Los Angeles than  farm stands around a square.  This place was incredible with every kind of food you could think of (it seems it always comes back to food, doesn’t it?).

I also walked across the street to a funky, barber’s college and got the best haircut of my life for $4 and a $3 tip.

After Cleveland, we proceeded along the shore of Lake Erie.  One goal was to see and spend time on each of the Great Lakes on our route (all of them except Huron).  We moved up through the little part of Pennsylvania (Erie) and spent the night over the border in NY in a town where Welch’s Grape Juice got started…there are vineyards all through this part of the world.

Next up was lunch in downtown Buffalo (the last time I pull a trailer through those small streets) at the bar that invented the buffalo wings.  The bar was great…the wings…just okay.  Donna’s are actually better.

That night…Niagara Falls.  Not much else to say.

Then off through Rochester, NY just to see where Nathan went to school (Eastman School of Music) and spent the night in the Finger Lakes region.  Talk about beautiful countryside.

Then up through Syracuse to sort of follow the Erie Canal (we get off on little jags from time to time) and finished up outside of Albany. With a couple of days in the Albany area we spent a few hours in the state library (couldn’t find anything about the McGladry’s) and walked around the state capital area.  It’s quite…different, to say the least.

We also did a little dancing around the Saratoga Springs area, just to see it and toured the Saratoga Battlefield.  This area was quite the linchpin in the Revolutionary War.  You should look that up.

Now we’re spending the next couple of days in Vermont.  I’ve never slept in VT so for two nights we’re in this cute little campground, in the hills above Bennington.

Not bad for a week.

PS…you can follow us on Twitter and Facebook where you can access Donna’s flickr pix and see more of our trip.

PPS…I just noticed, on the right side of this page, we have a flickr stream…click on any picture and go see all the other pictures from the trip.