7-31-19 Eagle River, WI

My brothers and sisters (who attended) and us

Well, we made it to the Kraus family reunion by Saturday afternoon.  A little late, yes, but not bad for a 4,500 mile route from Pahrump through the deep South to DC to Delavan, WI, hey?  The Kraus family is doing great, all things considered and we had a good time.  The children have grown and I had to relearn names and faces.  The beauty of old age:  you meet new people and get new relatives all the time!

The whole Kraus crew (who attended)

Our next destination is Eagle River, WI, 275 miles directly north.  When asked why, the answer was easy:  because we’ve never been there.  That’s how we do it… close our eyes and point at the map.  The route was so pretty, through the green farmland covered at this time with wheat, tall and tassled corn, beans and other crops.  The John Deeres and crop dusters were busily engaged in caring for the nation’s breadbasket.  Every now and then, we would come upon a dairy with a big “cheese” sign out front.  At last, unable to stand it, we jumped off the highway to unload part of our bank account and fill the refer with many pounds of different types of cheeses, sausage and locally-made candies.

Bloody Mary Wisconsin style

Here we are in Wisconsin

We left home hot and dry towards sweltering heat and unbearable humidity.  Now we are in northern WI where it is 75F and 45F at night, requiring a comforter.  Out with the sweat pants!  What a relief!

Eagle River boasts its cranberry bogs.  It is the perfect climate and soil to grow this fruit which likes chilly weather and acidic, peaty sand, characteristics of the land in this northern area.  We visited the Lake Nokonis Cranberries Co. bogs in Eagle River today and walked out to where they grow.  The bogs are long, wide stretches of land and between each one are raised paths for vehicles.  The sand is leveled in the spring by adding more sand and when new vines are planted, it takes 3-5 years for them to produce berries.  In June, bees are rented from Arkansas and they pollinate the plants for about a month.  There are 2 hives per acre, 650 acres worth of bees.  The berries are green right now, but in the fall they turn red.  They take some samples to a lab to make sure the color and sugar content are correct and then the harvest begins.  They partially flood the bogs and a big rake goes through the plants and breaks the berries off.  Then more flooding takes place because the berries have 4 air chambers inside that makes them float.  They are herded over to the side and a pump draws them off the water and loads them into wagons and takes them to be washed.  They are then loaded into semis and shipped to the processors.  In the winter, the bogs are flooded and when the upper layer freezes, sand is spread on the ice.  This keeps the plants from freezing.  In the spring, when the ice melts, the sand falls down, buries bugs and weeds and adds another layer to the bed.  Northern WI is the largest producer of cranberries in the nation, 6 million barrels (100 lb. per barrel) per year.  Cranberries are good for you.  They are full of natural antibiotic ingredients, antioxidants and are good for memory function, which explains my 9-minute sudokus.  (It doesn’t explain the ones that take 55 minutes and three full erasures.)

Green cranberries in July

Typical bog

Raised tracks between the bogs

Eagle River calls itself the Snowmobile Capital of the World.  They have world-class racing events here and whereas you might see bicycles or lawn furniture on the store front sidewalks in some places, here you see snowmobiles and snowmobile track “groomers.”  The Zambonis of the snowmobile world.  The cumulative snowfall here last year was 6 feet.  That’s more than Nevada by 6 feet and we don’t own a snow shovel.  Should we move here?  Hmmmm…. Maybe not.

The Zamboni of the snowmobile world!

Hi Pines RV Park in Eagle River, WI

We are off to Solon Springs, WI tomorrow, where 2 of my brothers own north woods cabins and where we all spent our childhood summers.  Maybe pontooning on the St. Croix River, maybe a fish fry, maybe venison backstraps on the Barbie, cheese and beer.  That should do us for a while.  I’m so lucky. 

Eddie B's White Spruce restaurant on
just one of a chain of 28 lakes
in this area

7-24-19 Washington DC V & Charleston, WV

Some details I missed:

Lindy at the Bomb Burst spires

Looking up from the center of the spires

Missing Man Maneuver glass panel

The USAF Memorial at Arlington is beautiful.  The etched glass panel depicts one plane flying away from the formation, what the USAF calls the “Missing Man Maneuver.”  The tall monument of three spires represents a maneuver called the “Bomb Burst.”  Both of these maneuvers are performed by The Thunderbirds.  The “Bomb Burst” spires are 270 feet tall stainless.  If you stand on the star at the center of the three spires and look up, it is easy to get dizzy.

As I mentioned, we were not allowed to take pictures inside the Mt. Vernon home.  Why remains a mystery.  Anyway, the home is not furnished with “period” furniture to represent what “it might have been like.”  The Washingtons’ original furnishings are there, including the bed that George lie in when he died.  Martha’s heart broke when George died.  In the tradition of the time, she closed up the bedroom after his death and never went in there again, even though her writing desk was in there.  George had just finished writing out two versions of his Will.  The day he died, he asked that they be brought to him.  He kept one and ordered the other to be thrown in the fireplace in his bedroom, which they did.  His last words were, “’Tis well.” 

Rob demonstrating the
fan chair like George's

The chair Rob is sitting in is called a “fan chair.”  George Washington had one in his office at Mt. Vernon and it is still there.  You press simultaneously on the paddles beneath your feet and the fan waves back and forth.  Not exactly air conditioning but it moved the air around a little and kept flies off of your head, I guess.

CHARLESTON, WV

The state of VA was initially made up of all the counties of VA and WV.  When VA seceded from the Union, the northwest counties, loyal to the North, parted ways with the secessionists and started the process which would ultimately become the state of WV.  Abraham Lincoln approved the statehood of WV in 1863.  There have been several capitol buildings, the first two located in Wheeling.  In 1869, the capital was moved to Charleston and the third capitol burned down, naturally.  It was followed by a series of buildings until the one we see today was established and dedicated in 1932.  It is still a functional capitol building housing the Senate, the House and the Governor’s Office.  The dome is being refurbished right now and we couldn’t see it from the inside looking up.  So sadly, we couldn’t see the rather impressive 4,000 lb. chandelier in the dome.

I don't know what these plants are but
I thought they sure were pretty!

Rob, Senate Majority Leader

Lindy, House Speaker

Capitol in Charleston, WV

This is how you parallel park a
55 foot long train in the city

Thus concludes our capitol visits for this trip.  We have now chalked up 49 + the US capitol.  The one remaining is Honolulu, which will require oarlocks and a rudder on Noobee.  We are out of the oppressive heat and humidity of the east now and are camped at a nice park in Champaign, IL next to a lake where I just may go kayaking a little later.  The Red Lobster in town features walleye, which seems quite logical and more normal.  It is 82F out there with 54% humidity, considerably lower than what we have just waded through.  Tomorrow, we will head to the Kraus Family Reunion in Delavan, WI.  So I’m off the story-telling hook for a few days.  As Douglas said, “I shall return!”

This is how you conduct a
proper conference call

7-22-19 Washington DC IV

In the course of our discussions regarding our days in DC, we concluded that our goal to see all the state capitols would not be complete unless we also caught the US capitol.  Rob began that investigation and found that we needed a reservation and tour passes.  He also found that you have to get about a 6-month head start on that.  Well, that was discouraging.  Rob continued to dig until he found a tour on Monday, July 22, that still had two slots available.  We snapped them up.  On July 22, we were old hats at using the metro line.  We jumped on, made our train transfers and were in line right on schedule, 15 minutes early, just as instructed.

Plaster mold of the
Statue of Freedom

Statue of Freedom atop
the Capitol dome

If there were one there were a thousand people in different tour groups being herded along our restricted route in the Capitol.  The first thing we encountered was the original 6.5 ton plaster model of The Statue of Freedom which was used to cast the bronze one that is now atop the Capitol Dome.  It was sculpted by Thomas Crawford in 1857.  An enslaved craftsman, Philip Reid, oversaw the bronze casting and assembly process and by the time it was installed on the capitol dome, December 2, 1863, he was an emancipated free man.

We entered “The Crypt.”  This was the room that was intended to hold the tombs of George and Martha Washington.  She said, “No, thanks.”  So The Crypt sits empty.

The Crypt

We then came to Statuary Hall a gigantic circular room with a beautifully-painted dome.  On the dome at the center is a mural with important people like Greek gods and George Washington is included.  I think it represents George ascending into Heaven or something.  Around the sides of the room are marble and bronze statues of important people.  Each US state has two statues in the Capitol Building located in various places.  Nevada’s statues are Sarah Winnemucca and Patrick Anthony McCarran.  (California’s are a tax collector and an illegal immigrant.)

Rob in Statuary Hall

Statuary Hall

This is an early version of our
Statue of Liberty, created in 1831.

Dome mural

George W's Ascension into Heaven?

The Capitol rotunda, our next stop, is where Ronald Reagan and other Presidents have lain in state.  Now, the rotunda is empty except for the statues.  That was the end of our tour.  UNLESS…..

Lindy at Ted Cruz's office

…we had a pass to go into the House and Senate Galleries.  We learned that we could obtain one from our Senator in the Senate Russell building.  We walked there (in the oppressive heat and humidity) and found Ted Cruz’s office. 

Meredith Jones and Lindy

To my surprise, there sat Meredith Jones!  She is the chick I have been communicating with since January to acquire the White House tickets!  I introduced myself and she gave me an immediate smile of recognition.  She was happy to provide us with passes to the Senate and House Galleries.  We strolled back to the Capitol Building and found ourselves in an endless line of people and multiple check points.  At the final one, we had to empty our pockets and turn over all of our belongings, phone, camera and anything else we had on our person besides our undies.  It took us an hour to get to the head of the line to enter the House Chambers.  We sat in the Gallery for five minutes and that was that.  Did we go to the Senate Chambers?  No, I don’t think so, Tim.  What a waste of time.

When we returned to Cherry Hill Park, the Farmall tractor was pulling a “hay wagon” around the park.  For fun, we grabbed a beer and hopped on.  A great way to wrap up our fun in Washington DC. - continued

"Hay Ride" around Cherry Hill Park

7-21-19 Washington DC III

A bit of irony is that Martha and George Washington’s great-granddaughter, Mary Custis, married Robert E. Lee, a north and south clash within one family.  The Arlington Plantation was a part of the Custis estate, which Mary inherited, and she and her husband lived there for a time.  Robert E. Lee accepted the Command of the Confederate Army when the Civil War broke out and the southern states began to secede from the Union.  At that time, the Arlington Plantation was confiscated as a spoil of the war and to insure that Robert E. Lee would never return, they buried Union soldiers’ remains on the property.  They didn’t return.  Their son Curtis demanded that the property be returned and was refused.  The case was taken all the way to the Supreme Court which ruled that the land must be returned to the Lees.  The Lees did not want the soldiers’ bodies to be disturbed and ultimately, Curtis Lee sold the plantation to the government for $150,000.  This land evolved into Arlington National Cemetery.

Arlington is now the final resting place of over 400,000 patriots and their families as well as a few Confederate soldiers and slaves.  Many of the graves contain the remains of more than one individual and sometimes, groups or a family so the number of internments is approximate.  The headstones are aligned such that they are symmetric from any angle and the rows continue over the rolling hillocks until they begin to blend together as if the ground were covered with snow.  It feels like a weight crushing the heart.

Twenty one steps, twenty one seconds at the end of
the mat, twenty one steps back, over and over
perpetually.  Magnificent.

The Tomb of the Unknown Soldier is the most sacred shrine in America.  The remains lying here represent all heroes who made the ultimate sacrifice of their lives and their identity in the service of their country.  On the lowest level lies a soldier from WWI, on the next level a soldier from WWII and the Korean War.  The third level is empty because DNA testing has now made soldiers’ identification always possible.  The 3^rd US Infantry Regiment, the “Old Guard,” has kept constant vigil at the tomb since 1932, whether in deep snow, sleet, hail or hurricanes.  The sentry is relieved at varying intervals depending on the season (every 30 minutes in the summer).  The Changing of the Guard ceremony is solemn and magnificent.  The guards are sheer, spotless perfection, not a speck of dust or a microscopic imperfection.  The sentry coming on is inspected, his weapon is inspected and the moves of the soldiers are exactly flawless.  If you have no other reason to visit DC, the Changing of the Guard at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier is most worthy.  This display of pageantry is deeply moving to behold.

The US Marines were appointed the task of taking the island of Iwo Jima, a strategic location for the USA to stage the campaign against Imperial Japan.  It had 3 airstrips from which the invasion could be launched.  In the end, they succeeded in securing the island, after 36 of the bloodiest days of the war, but at a dear price.  Our Marines suffered 26,000 casualties and 6,800 deaths, their largest losses ever in one campaign.  The Marines planted a flag at the top of Mount Suribachi on February 23, 1945 after they completed their orders to capture the mountain.  The Marine Corps Memorial at Arlington, modeled on the photo snapped by journalist Joe Rosenthal depicts the six Marines who struggled to raise the American flag on Mount Suribachi.  It was sculpted by Felix de Weldon.  The colossal monument, 78 feet tall and weighing hundreds of tons, is breathtaking and it is difficult to turn and walk away. - continued

US Marines Memorial at Arlington.
The flag waves on the mast perpetually
by orders of Ike.

7-21-19 Washington, DC II

George Washington's dad's house

Mt. Vernon, stage 2

Later, George added two wings and
this is the Mt. Vernon home that
we see today ( minus the scaffolding)

George Washington’s dad built the Mt. Vernon house.  Originally, it consisted of four rooms.  The house and property remained in the family, then George inherited them and he began expansion.  He raised the roof and added a second floor.  Later, he added a wing on either side and that is the Mt. Vernon we see today.  The Washingtons’ estate was huge and their wealth was accumulated in the wheat industry.  Being situated on the Potomac River with its connection to Chesapeake Bay and ultimately the Atlantic Ocean was key to transportation, trade and their success.  George himself got into the whiskey business later and for a while, owned one of the biggest distilleries in the country (Not a very big country, in those days, granted.), producing 11,000 gallons a year.  By any standard, that’s a lot of booze!

Martha had been widowed and was left with a pantload of money and about 150 slaves.  George wasn’t exactly poor and he owned a bunch of slaves, too, the total coming to about 320.  George and Martha married well, combining all that wealth, but by other standards, for example the White House, Mt. Vernon seems a bit less vainglorious and opulent.  We were not allowed to take pictures inside, unfortunately.  One item that George Washington treasured is mounted in a glass case on the wall near the front door, the key to the Bastille prison.  It was given to him by Marquis de Lafayette as a symbol that our revolution against British oppression would be successful.  Lafayette came to the colonies and was a central figure in our Revolutionary War victory.  He and George were pretty tight.

The paint cellar

Smoker house

Rider chair buggie

Mt. Vernon has a lot of outbuildings like stables, a meat locker where meat was salted and smoked, a cellar for storing paint and chemicals, laundry, kitchen, a barn where buggies were parked and, of course, the slave quarters.   Ironically, George was opposed to slavery and wished for it to be abolished in our country and yet he owned or rented a bunch of them as did a few of our other founders.  Slavery, which had been an institution since the 1500s, was essential to production on the southern plantations.  Several of the founders were anti-slavery but were afraid to make it a clause in the Constitution.  This document had to be unanimously ratified and they knew that the southern states would never sign up.  So they left it out, “for now,” figuring that eventually it would fix itself.  Which it did, as you know, but that took a couple 100 years and a devastating, bloody war.  At the time, though, George wrote his own Will and in it, emancipated his slaves.

Men's slave quarters at Mt. Vernon.  Yes, the men
and women were separated, even husband
and wife.  They were permitted to
see each other on Sunday.

Rob sits where George and Martha may
have sat on their porch looking out at
the Potomac River.

One day, George was out riding around on the farm in the snow supervising stuff. When he came in, he didn’t change out of his wet duds and by the next day, Dec. 12, he had a sore throat.  It escalated into “quinsy,” which is an abscess of the tonsils that eventually closes up the throat and air passage. The Father of our Democratic Republic died two days later, Dec. 14^th, 1799, at the age of 67.  (This should teach you:  stay warm and dry or you could end up dead like George Washington!)  Martha was lobbied to have George’s tomb moved to DC but Martha was adamant in fulfilling George’s wish to be buried at Mt. Vernon.  She grieved deeply when he died and lived only 2 more years.  Martha and George Washington lie forever side-by-side.  Theirs was a tender love story.

Rest in peace,
George and Martha Washington

Lindy and Rob sit where George
and Martha sat.