The Gibraltar of Nebraska

Scotts Bluff, named for the unfortunate Hiram Scott, a Rocky Mountain Fur Company clerk whose companions abandoned him to his fate near the bluff, is also nicknamed the Gibralter of Nebraska.  

This photo of Scotts Bluff (right) was shot through a bug-splattered windshield.

That’s not surprising since the bluffs tower 800 feet over the North Platte River Valley, the “highway” that pioneers bound for Oregon traveled.  

After walking almost the length of Nebraska, the pioneers, many of whom were barefoot by this point, were undoubtedly thankful that they had made it to this milestone, a landmark that a USA Today article, published June 25, 2013, called a pioneers' version of GPS.

Knowing that we had several stops to make during this day’s segment of the Oregon Trail, Tim and I arrived at Scotts Bluff National Monument soon after the park opened at 8:00 a.m.  

We watched the National Park Service video in a room lined with watercolors painted by William Henry Jackson, the notable photographer and American West artist.  

Scotts Bluff by William Henry Jackson

In fact, the Scotts Bluff National Monument houses the largest collection of Jackson's works in the world.  

William Henry Jackson 

In 1866, after serving in the Union Army and following a lover's spat with his fiancee, Jackson headed west.  He signed on as a bullwhacker with a wagon train bound for California.  His artistic ability as a watercolorist and his knowledge of photography picked up while tinting photos in a studio in Troy, NY led him to other employment, first as a photographer for the Union Pacific Railroad and later for the United States Geological Survey.  Towards the end of his life, he turned to painting watercolors and by doing so, he documented the settlement of the West.  He died at age 99.

Tim and I hopped aboard the park's first shuttle to the top of the bluffs.

Tim in the rearview mirror
Cindy in the interior mirror
One of the tunnels straight ahead

Our shuttle driver was a loquacious, gentlemanly volunteer with a wealth of knowledge about the area which he imparted to us on the climb through three tunnels built by the Civilian Conservation Corps to the summit.

Although Chimney Rock, visible 23 miles to the east, is made of the same layers as Scotts Bluff, it lacks the limestone that serves as a cap stone for these bluffs.  But that limestone cap will not save these bluffs forever.  Just like Chimney Rock, wind and weather are chipping away at these bluffs, too.

Geodetic Marker 

Our driver could testify to that; he told us to look for the geodetic survey marker at the summit.  The marker was once flush with the surface.  Since its placement, it has eroded more than a foot.

So who knows how much longer these bluffs will last.  I'm only glad that I, like the pioneers, could visit this place.

Bandelier National Monument

Climbing on the playground's jungle gym was a favorite activity of mine when I was an elementary student.

So it was a joy this past Sunday at Bandelier National Monument to watch a new generation of young children scamper up and down ladders to peer into the cliff dwellings that were home to the Ancestral Pueblo Indians centuries ago. 

Although our ascent was at a more sedate speed, Tim and I, too, wanted a glimpse of what it must have been like to live in a cave carved high in the limestone cliffs of the Jimez Mountains.

Located 40 miles northwest of Santa Fe, Bandelier's more than 33,000 acres preserve the cliff dwellings and territory of Ancestral Puebloans going back over 11,000 years.  I'd visited the park in 2007 when my family held a reunion in Santa Fe, but Tim was unable to join us that weekend.  I wanted him to see this intriguing national park which, like the National Park Service itself, is celebrating its 100th birthday this year.

Parking at the monument is limited so the National Park Service has started a shuttle service from nearby White Rock, NM.  The shuttle leaves the Visitors Center there every 30 minutes during the week and every 20 minutes on the weekends.  We were happy to leave driving over the winding mountain road to the shuttle driver.

I have a National Park Service access pass that I received for free due to my hearing disability.  This allowed us to bypass the tourists in line to pay the park's entrance fee.  That was good because we had only 3 hours to spend in the park before catching the last shuttle back to White Rock.

At any park we visit, we like to watch the NPS video at the Visitors Center.  The movie at Bandelier gave us a brief introduction to the history of the Puebloans whose descendants still live nearby, not in cliff dwellings, but in the Pueblo communities of Cochiti, Santo Domingo, San Felipe, San Ildefonso, Santa Clara and Zuni.

Leaving the visitors' center, we joined the crowd of tourists to climb the path to the dwellings; then, waited and waited for our turn to ascend the ladders up to the caves.

Everyone--and we were no exception--wanted to take photos as friends and family climbed the ladders.  

Undoubtedly, many of these digital images were posted on their Facebook pages later as evidence of their visit here.

But the Ancestral Puebloans documented their presence in a much more permanent way; they left petroglyphs engraved upon the rocks.

We were reminded of the cliff dwellings we've seen at Mesa Verde National Park in southwest Colorado.  The ruins at Mesa Verde are more extensive, but those at Bandelier were more mysterious to me.  

Why did the people here build both cliff dwellings and homes on the canyon floor below?  The ranger we spoke to gave us a plausible answer.  She said the foundations left on the canyon floor were likely summer homes.  There, the people had closer access to the water of the Frijoles Creek and could grow crops on the canyon floor.   The caves on the cliff, on the other hand, had the southern exposure warming the canyon wall in the winter.

Most of the crowd drifted back to the visitors center or perhaps they set out to hike the Frey Trail  along the top of the mesa, named for George and Evelyn Frey who managed the lodge built here by the Civil Conservation Corp in the 1930s.  Seventy percent of the park is wilderness with over 70 miles of hiking trails. 

Regardless, we were glad that fewer people continued on to Alcove House, a large cliff dwelling that can only be reached by climbing a 140-foot series of ladders.  

Just ahead of us on the ladders was a father and his son who couldn't have been more than five years old.  That boy scrambled up and down the ladder without a hint of fear.  

Several adults were more leery, taking the ladders with much greater caution.  I'm used to climbing up grain bins on my family farm in Kansas so this was easy for me and, of course given his days as a SWAT team member, Tim knows no fear.

Coming down from Alcove House, we'd hoped to have time to hike one of the trails, but the park ranger warned us that the last shuttle would leave the park at 5:00 p.m.  So we spent some time talking to the ranger and learned that she and her husband were seasonal rangers who left their home in Florida to spend six months, at first, Sequoia National Park and now at Bandolier.  They are trained to answer questions from tourists and are paid a nominal salary.  They live in the lodge behind the visitors center in very tight quarters with no television or wifi.  When they worked at Sequoia, the nearest grocery store was an hour and a half away.  Wilderness, indeed!

If you go to Bandelier, take plenty of water with you.  We drained our water bottles and wished we had more.  Once back at the visitors center, we were able to refill our bottles before we caught the shuttle back to White Rock.

This is one of my favorite NPS parks.  If we ever come back, I'd like to take one of the park's Nightwalks.  I think the view of the stars here would be amazing.

The Big Easy

The Big Easy, as New Orleans is sometimes called, is not so easy on one's wallet!

Adding another night to our original 3-night stay in this city was the first hit to the budget.

Then, we picked a RV campground within walking distance of the French Quarter. With only 3 days to spend sightseeing, we wanted to maximize our stay.  

Finally, despite our resolution to eat meals at home, we were seduced into eating dinners out with friends Tim met through an online RV forum.  But I don't begrudge that money.  That expense was more than compensated by the new friends we made, the delicious food we consumed and the lively music we enjoyed. 

The food and the music at Mulate's were terrific!

So, how did we tour the Big Easy without completely blowing our budget?  We found these inexpensive attractions. 

Park Rangers!  Before this visit, I'd never linked New Orleans with the National Park Service.  Yet, NPS has two parks, Jean Lafitte Visitor Center and the New Orleans Jazz National Historical Park, both in the French Quarter.  Rangers at either location give excellent walking tours and, best of all, these tours are free. 

The park ranger at the Jean Lafitte National Park & Preserve center on the Decatur Street gave us a 9:30 a.m. walking tour that highlighted the different immigrants and Indians who have called New Orleans home.  Then at 11:00 a.m. we hustled over to the French Market just a half-mile away for a walking tour to places of significance in the history of jazz.

I also used a walking tour listed on the Frommers web site to comb through the streets of the French Quarter for the quintessential French Quarter balcony to photograph.  The filigree wrought-iron balconies that give New Orleans its distinctive appearance are almost everywhere one looks.  Ultimately, I realized it's personal preference that defines what is the perfect balustrade.  But with Frommer's help, I learned about the architecture and history of the French Quarter along the way. 

Jazz musicians, card sharps and magicians can be found on almost any street corner.  Free entertainment, but tips are appreciated. 

A walk along the riverfront through Woldenberg Park gave an up-close look at the mighty Mississippi with all its bustling activity, natural splendor and historical significance.    

Although New Orleans is a long way from Mark Twain's Hannibal, Missouri, it's easy to see why this river has such a place in American literature.

For a round-trip fare of $2.50, we caught the St. Charles streetcar at the corner of Canal and St. Charles for a trip through the Garden District.  This neighborhood has wonderfully well-preserved Victorian and Greek Renaissance mansions built between 1832 and 1900.   As additional bonuses, our trip took us past Audubon Park and the campuses of Loyola and Tulane universities.

Mardi Gras isn't just a Tuesday!  It's a season!  Carnival begins on January 6th, the Twelfth Night or Feast of Epiphany.  There are a number of parades hosted by krewes throughout the weeks leading up to Fat Tuesday, which occurs on February 9th this year.  Carnival krewes are fraternal organizations whose members are assessed any amount from nominal to outrageous in order to fund their parades or balls. 

On Saturday, Jan. 23rd, we found a spot at the corner of Frenchmen and Esplanade to watch the Krewe du Vieux's parade.  The Krewe du Vieux is known for its raucous, art-inspired spirit.  Ha!  I certainly found it raunchy!  But it was inspired with a merry spirit (or should I say "spirits" as most of the parade's participants and spectators were imbibing one kind of spirit or another).  The parade snaked through the streets of the French Quarter until, with the press of the crowd, it was practically single file.  How the mules pulling the floats were able to continue on the route is a mystery to me.  It must have also been challenging for the parade's jazz musicians to keep the swing of the music going in such close quarters, too.  Since we couldn't be here on Mardi Gras, this was the next best thing. 

One more attraction we enjoyed for the price of two Hurricanes (a tropical drink made with rum) was the Carousel Piano Bar in the Monteleone Hotel.  The 25-seat circular bar turns on 2,000 large steel rollers, powered by a 1/4 horsepower motor.  The bar rotates at a rate of one revolution every 15 minutes.  It was pretty amazing!  We enjoyed the pianist's music, too!

So, it is possible to have a good time in the Big Easy without breaking the bank!  And the memories made during it all?  Well, those are priceless!