Steering West Sou’ West and heading home. . . eventually

TUE August 24, 2010

Steering West Sou’ West and 14,639 miles since I left Sun City West 3+ months ago; heading back, but remember rule #1 for this adventure, NEVER IN A STRAIGHT LINE.

I stopped first about 48-km outside of the park in Sussex, New Brunswick, Canada to have the electrical problem fixed and the tech found a blown fuse on the Tahoe that he suspects then lead to an overload of an electronic breaker inside of the trailer power converter. The blown fuse in the Tahoe cause the car not to be able to charge the 2 trailer batteries and the popped electronic breaker in the trailer power converter meant that when I plugged into shore power the converter couldn’t step it down to the 12-volts that lights run on; etc, etc, etc. He believe what caused the problem was the electric hitch I had installed on the trailers’ tongue so I wouldn’t have to crank the hitch; he told me in the future just to disconnect the trailers electric connection to the Tahoe before operating the electric hitch.

I am back in the USA tonight and heading for Massena NY and its great to have light in the trailer.

Fundy National Park, New Brunswick, Canada

SUN & MON August 22 & 23, 2010

A pretty day for a short 19-mile drive up the coast of Maine to Prospect Harbor; my last duty station before I retired from the Navy was with the Navy Astronautics Group, Point Mugu CA, we were a satellite navigation command for the fleet ballistic missile submarines, and we had a detachment in Prospect Harbor. Generally once a year we did an inspection of NAG’s detachments and the last time I was in Prospect Harbor was 1985. The gem of the place is a set of guest quarters called Gull Cottage, it a cottage and a lighthouse; one of those nice little places that not many people know about, and hard to get a reservation for.

After Prospect Harbor I continued eastward driving past cranberry bogs and blueberry farms into Canada to Fundy National Park and it started to warm up.

Starting SAT, cell phone service for me started to get spotty and I don’t like that and then I remembered that Forrest would soon be going overseas again so in Calais ME before crossing the border, I stopped at the local fire station and asked where pay-phone was. After getting the crew of 4 together, they thought there was one at a store in the Wal-Mart shopping center. Yes there was and I called Forrest and told him to keep his butt in the ditch and be safe.

Can a cell phone accept a collect call? That’s something for you folks, and me, that are cellphone only to think about.

So here I am pulling in to Fundy National Park and finished getting the camper all settled in and relaxing after supper when I noticed that the lights seem not to be as bright as they normally are. In checking I find that my trailer house-battery system is registering low, it usually reads fully charged, and that is soon emphasized when my propane gas alarm goes off to announce that it is receiving less that nominal power. Out I go to check wiring connections as best as I can for the batteries and leads to the trailer, I find nothing. I start reading the trailer manual and decide to check the power converter and don’t really know what I’m looking at. Bottom line, turn off all the lights and go to bed because it’s dark. No power, no heat and I add a sleeping bag as an extra blanket. Thank goodness the fridge can run off propane.

The campground is only a couple of miles from the Visitors Center that is the hub of all the roads and the village outside of the park is only another mile so I was planning on riding my bike but then I saw a road sign that posted steep and twisting roads because of hills, maximum speed of 40 km/h and suggested low gear; would have been fun going down but then one has to go back up, doesn’t one; change of plan.

Fundy is a beautiful and wonderful park that is well manicured and I mean just that, they aren’t letting the people areas go to natural setting the way U.S. Nat’l parks are, there is even a solar-heated saltwater swimming pool. And the campgrounds have emergency exits that are really car trails cut through the trees in case a forest-fire cuts off the paved campground road. And it is a park designed for hikers with many many trails and a wonderful trail-map that gives trail difficulty and distances in kilometers, 1 km = 0.62 mi; I would describe what I did more as hard walking rather than hiking, fun and beautiful.

And the tide range is what people come to see. I had heard 14 feet but a postcard I looked at said 9 meters.

They clean the showers and bathrooms here twice a day and I have NEVER seen that in a US park.

Saw a soda machine that said “Sorry this machine takes only loonies and quarters; I surmised that a “loonie” was a dollar coin and when I asked, yes it was, and there is also a tooney, a 2-dollar coin and I’m not going to make a joke out of that. Had a great late lunch in the village of Alma and the best fish chowder I have ever had, so good in fact I ordered a take-out of the same chowder for supper.

Spent a second night in the dark reading by flashlight and in the cold, this is not my Idea of fun.

Acadia National Park

SAT August 21, 2010

Friday moving from Boston to Acadia National Park, for lunch I stopped by Boothbay Harbor ME; Boothbay Harbor has grown since I was last there about 1966 and the price of the lobster roll sandwich has gone up in price triple but it is still just as good. I had just about given up on having lunch because I couldn’t find a place to park; lots do not have hourly rates, the rate is for all day, $20.00 for a RV or trailer, and they were full, just about given up and was effectively heading out of town when I found three parking places together, glad I had my bike because I was no longer near the center of town.

By the way, weather here was 53 deg when I woke up this morning and went to shower and it reached all the way to the low 70’s during the day.

Acadia National Park is just like you see on film and in brochures, lovely. The ocean and the granite cliffs present a magnificent picture; I walked, I hiked, I biked, I kicked back and had lunch and I took a mess of pictures. Beautiful and relaxing.

Mid afternoon I went into Bar Harbor and acted like a tourist, walking around and shopping but not buying anything, lots of Japanese and Italians and other accents heard, nice.

Bullets:
• See as many self storage places in the woods of Maine as I do in the larger cities
• Impression of Bar Harbor, basically built up in the 50’s but everything is painted up and fixed up, guess its “quaint” here in Downeast Maine.
• This is granite country and 9 or 10 foot granite blocks are used for curbing instead of concrete
• On this trip I notice a lot of second childhood stuff, old men and old women on motorcycles
• You should see the stacks of firewood the locals lay in for the winter
• That reminds me, “winter” begins here September 1, you see it on the rates charged for rooms and other things
• Mel Brooks, “It’s nice to be king.” and you can see that at the Bar Harbor airport, lots of big private jets
• When in Rome: for dinner I had lobster and it just tasted better on the Maine coast than it does from Red Lobster in Arizona or California, followed by Maine Blueberry pie

Boston

WED & THU Aug 18 & 19

Leaving the West Point area and heading for metro Boston about 90-minutes west of Boston I hear a flapping noise and check my rear-view mirrors to see if something has come loose, I can’t pull over and stop because of the heavy traffic and the noise goes away after less than 10-seconds. Now I am 10-miles short of Hanscom AFB where I will be staying the night and I feel a sag from the trailer on the road-side and a driver starts honking at me. This time I do stop immediately and try my best to get as far over to the right shoulder as possible but it is dangerous and yep, a flat. The tire that went flat was not one of the three new tires I bought in Coco beach FL 7,000 miles ago, it was the tire I did not replace. This was no place to change a tire, even calling for road service, and with the next exit only a mile away and with the other road-side tire taking all the weight I drove to the exit, flashers on and slowing traffic and to the first service station and swapped on my spare; I get a new tire ordered and it will be put on the road tomorrow and the spare back as a spare. Fun on the road.

Pulled into Waltham MA and had supper with Mireille, a super lady and the Mother of our Daughter in Law, Kit. She showed me around her bridal salon and later we ate at an Italian and solved all the problems of the world over good food and good company.

Today was sightseeing day and I started out at Minute Man Natl. Historical Pk. and the North Bridge above Concord MA, “The shot heard round the world.” with a Ranger talk and a hike to see several spots. Then I went into Boston to Bunker Hill, USS Constitution, and then into downtown Boston on the Freedom Trail to Old North Church, the Market area, Old State House and other sites. Traffic was as bad as I remembered if not worse since I was now driving a bigger car than the last time I was here, but finding parking on the street was all that bad; fun day.

West Point

TUE August 17, 2010

Got on the road to see how the other half lives at the Military Academy. And naturally the GPS routed me via toll roads that I love so dearly. In the first 2-hours I had paid $7.00 + $23.00 + $9.00 so I pulled off the road at a rest stop and looked at the map and plotted a course that took me north and bypassed Philadelphia and the New York vicinity and I only paid an additional $4.75 + $1.75 for the next 4-hours, it only cost me 1 more hour on the road and I hope a fist full of dollars.

Anyway I dropped the trailer at the campsite and then drove to USMA West Point and walked and looked around, a beautiful and historic place on top of a bluff overlooking the Hudson River. Our country can be proud of our Army and this place that trains its officer leaders.

Washington DC

AWSOME!!!!!

And if you want to see all the pictures click or paste this to your browser: http://www.kodakgallery.com/gallery/sharing/shareRedirectSwitchBoard.jsp?token=803222649803%3A1806061038&sourceId=533754321803&cm_mmc=eMail-_-Share-_-Photos-_-Sharee

Day 1 – WED AUG 11

Washington Monument, Jefferson Memorial, Lincoln Memorial, Arlington Cemetery, VietNam Veterans Memorial, WW II Memorial

We bought tickets for an on & off tour bus so we do monuments and not hiking even though my pedometer read we did 5-miles.

We didn’t have tickets for the Washington Monument so all we could do is admire it from the outside; the tour commentator said tickets are given out at 7:30 AM with folks lining up at 6:30 AM and all tickets are usually gone really quickly.

There is stimulus money being spent like mad on monuments, government buildings and other historic points and I truly believe it is money well spent.

So, the Jefferson Memorial was having a face-lift and again we enjoyed it from the outside.

But the Lincoln Memorial was a different story and we walked up, around, through and down and it was really awe inspiring and the view of the Mall from the main top area was great.

Arlington Cemetery was really just bus over for a view and bus back because the real tour was separate and took over an hour plus time to catch the return bus, we just didn’t have the time and I’m sorry we missed the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier.

Off the bus and walking the VietNam Veterans Memorial and WW II Memorial; this was the 4th or 5th time I had been to the VietNam Vets Memorial and the first time I didn’t see any flowers/pictures/mementoes left at the Wall but it was as moving as always.

After the VietNam Veterans Memorial we walked over to the WW II Memorial that is the newest memorial on the Mall and it was as beautiful as you have seen on the news; the way they have it laid out between Atlantic and Pacific Theaters focuses the attention of viewer, very well done.

And we are really tired after our first day.

Day 2 – THU AUG 12

Capital Building, Library of Congress, Supreme Court & Union Station

Back on the bus for our second day and we were dropped off at the Mall-side of the Capital building and naturally the visitor’s entrance was on the opposite side so we walked around; it did give us a very good view of the building and we enjoyed the stroll. We read the list of prohibited items and I hid my suntan lotion in a baggie behind a bush [it was gone when I went back later and a lady said the guards had collected and thrown everything away].

Anyway we lined up and took a guided tour of the Capital Building and it was really beautiful. Our tour took us through the rotunda with its columns and historically themed paintings and frescoed ceiling, to the Hall of Columns, National Statuary Hall and old senate, house and Supreme Court rooms. We did not see the current House or Senate chambers and we didn’t have passes to see their galleries, but what we saw was wonderful.

After the Capital we walked through the underground tunnel, so we wouldn’t have to go through a security check again, to the Library of Congress and it was the hit of the trip; the Great Hall, the Main Reading Room, the Gutenberg Bible [1 of only 3 vellum copies in existence] and Giant Bible of Mainz, and most impressive to us, the Thomas Jefferson Library. After the burning of the building along with the Capital by the British during the War of 1812, the Library’s books were destroyed and Thomas Jefferson sold his personal library to the United States for $27,000.00, try to translate $27K in 1812 dollars to 2010 dollars, that’s a lot of current dollars.

The Supreme Court building was closed so we just walked by on our way to Union Station to catch the Metro back to our car. It has been a long time since I was in a really big railroad station like they have in the east.


Day 3 – FRI AUG 13

White House Tour, Mount Vernon, Cathedral Church of St. Peter and St. Paul [Washington National (Episcopal) Cathedral]

What an early start to Friday the 13th; our White House tour was scheduled for 7:30 AM and we had a 25/30-minute drive to the Metro station and then a 30/35-minute train ride and then a 10-minute walk to where we were supposed to line-up and we wanted to have a bathroom break before and we wanted to leave time for unforeseen difficulties so we got up a bit after 3:00 AM. And all-in-all we only had a little over a half-hour extra time.

As with most government buildings in DC the security check was extensive and to quote from the email we received:
“Prohibited items include, but are not limited to, the following: handbags, book bags, backpacks, purses, food and beverages of any kind, strollers, cameras, video recorders or any type of recording device, tobacco products, personal grooming items (make-up, hair brush or comb, lip or hand lotions, etc.), any pointed objects (pens, knitting needles, etc.), aerosol containers, guns, ammunition, fireworks, electric stun guns, mace, martial arts weapons/devices, or knives of any size. The U.S. Secret Service reserves the right to prohibit any other personal items.”
Or as I summarize, show up naked with your picture ID card and you’ll be ok.

Seeing some/most of the White House East Wing first floor rooms, rooms we had seen many times on TV or in the news was awesome. We saw the Library, Vermeil Room, China Room, Diplomatic Reception Room, Map Room, East Room, Green Room, Blue Room, Red Room and State Dining Room. You can look up www.whitehouse.gov/history if you want more information on the different rooms and the White House in general.

After the White House and retrieving our car at the Metro parking lot we drove south to Mount Vernon to see President George Washington’s home and to enjoy another chapter in our nation’s history. Washington considered himself a farmer and although there were many elegant features at Mt. Vernon we thought it was not as formal or as modern as his contemporary Thomas Jefferson’s Monticello. An interesting thing about Mt Vernon is that when you look at it you might think it was made of stone but it is really made of wood that was painted, a thick paint with a lot of sand mixed in and then textured to look like stone, and the technique also preserved the wood quite well. We enjoyed walking around and I saw the two sites where Washington was/is buried. Yes two sites. Washington in his will stated that the family crypt was old and needed to be replaced; so first he was buried in the old crypt and then later he and 21 family members were moved, interesting. We had a wonderful lunch of Virginia Ham sandwiches with Peanut and Chestnut Soup, good.

Onward to the National Cathedral and it is really an impressive and beautiful church. They told us it was the 6th largest church in the world.

Day 4 – SAT AUG 14

National Museum of the American Indian and the Aerospace Museum

Another busy day and we started visiting the Mall museums by starting at the National Museum of the American Indian and they seem to have included South America, Central America and all of North America; I felt it could have concentrated on American Indians and perhaps had something more to my liking. But I want to say that we enjoyed the museum. We had “Indian Tacos” [fry bread with buffalo chilly & beans and cheese and lettuce], more chilly and caramelized zucchini for lunch.

The Aerospace Museum hasn’t changed much since the last time we visited but they have added Space Ship One and the Brightling Balloon Gondola. After going to Kitty Hawk I had to go by the Wright Brothers exhibit area and check it out, liked Kitty Hawk because it had more room to tell the story.

We ended the day by driving over to the U.S. Naval Academy since it is less than 20-miles from Fort Meade and unfortunately after seeing the Visitor’s Center and driving around the grounds we arrived at the Chapel after it had closed to visitors so we missed seeing John Paul Jones’ crypt.

Day 5 – SUN AUG 15

Museum of Natural History and Museum of American History

There were some really weird fish in the Natural History museum and among the strangest was one called the Two-wart ? fish with a parasitic male 2-wart ? fish attached. Also we thought the evolution series they had about man was fantastic. We stayed in the museum a long time but felt again that we could have spent days and days in the museum, it was wonderful.

American History museum was a bit of a letdown but they did have the original “Star Spangled Banner” on display, another wonderful part of our history; I could have done without the Julia Child kitchen and the hands-on/making noise things for children that I saw no American history in.

Day 6 – MON AUG 16

Marla Homeward Bound

On the way to the Baltimore airport for Marla’s flight back to Phoenix/Sun City West we had time and it worked out perfectly. We went back to the Naval Academy and got there a few minutes before the Chapel and Crypt opened. As I said to Marla, I am Navy but don’t really have a sense of the Naval Academy but John Paul Jones is something else and his memory I believe is very intense to the Navy and his crypt at the Academy is a fitting setting.

We had a really GREAT time.

And today I finally got a new tire for my bike. A couple of days ago I went out and my front tire had just collapsed, the sidewall weave had just come apart and would no longer hold air. Oh well, the tire was 6-years old and I guess it was just tired.

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An overall comment about the buildings we visited, they were in great repair and very clan and that is the way it should be in our Nation’s capital; glad they are spending the money it takes to keep these treasures we show to world visitors in top shape.

Also I have a Metro card with $4.75 left on it if anyone is going to DC and wants it. It is worth $9.75 because you first have to buy the card for $5.00 and then you have to put “money” on it that the machines subtract from.

50th High School Reunion

AUG 4 – AUG 9

A brake from traveling with the trailer as I fly from Baltimore to Denver for my 50th high school graduating class reunion; it doesn’t seem like 50-years ago that I graduated from St. Francis de Sales High School in Denver CO, AND WE HAD A BALL!.

Marla flew up from Sun City West and joined me and we stayed with my brother and sister-in-law, Gerry & Donna Mussett, and they were wonderful hosts.

Friday night took us down SE of Denver to a classmate’s ranch where he had slaughtered one of his cattle and hosted a steak cookout with roasted corn, baked potatoes, salad and deserts, um, um good; The occasion was the very informal first get-together to, in a lot of cases such as mine, see people you hadn’t seen or talked to in 50-years. After getting over the expected change of appearances, we walked around and re-made acquaintances; good thing they had made up name badges with the old high school picture on them. I would walk up and look at the picture, try to remember what we may have done together back in school and talk for awhile and then move to another classmate. This is the way to start something like this, a good long social-hour standing up, then a time to sit, relax and eat and then more time to socialize and have a desert.

There were 162 people in my high school graduating class and about half made it to the events, most with significant others and many simply came alone, it was wonderful seeing everyone.

Saturday Marla and I toured Denver a little more, seeing places I wanted to see and that we hadn’t made it to on FRI. We went to the old high school and as has happened in many places, it had fallen on hard times of decreasing enrollment and they had closed the high school and changed it to a grade school. And strangely it was a lot smaller than I remembered.

We also went by and visited with my other Denver brother and his wife, Mick & Marie Mussett, and this visit was special because we hadn’t talked to either of them for a long time; doing well and looking fit.

Saturday night was the banquet and again meeting old classmates and renewing friendships over good refreshments and good food. The organizers of the events had included a photographer and a show putting classmates on the spot for things done in ancient times.

I hadn’t been motivated to go to any of the previous reunions but this was an event I will cherish and remember.

After sleeping in a bit on Sunday we meet with another cousin of mine, Pattie Buehler, daughter of my father’s sister. Pattie and I had corresponded with each other a couple of times starting with when she was taking care of her mother, my Aunt Marion, when Marion need help. I went bye to see Marion in Delray Beach FL on this TBA and had lunch and meet Chuck and now with the trip to Denver, I have meet Pattie; knowing family is important.

Antietam Battlefield, Harpers Ferry & Pathfinding

Antietam Battlefield

AUG 3

The Battle of Antietam on September 17, 1862, climaxed the first of Confederates two attempts to carry the war into the north. About 40,000 Southerners were pitted against 87,000 Federal Army of the Potomac and it was the site of the single bloodiest day of the Civil War with 23,000 soldiers killed, wounded or missing.

More men were killed or wounded at Antietam on September 17, 1862, than on any other single day of the Civil War. Federal losses were 12,410, Confederate losses 10,700. Although neither side gained a decisive victory, Lee's failure to carry the war effort effectively into the north caused Great Britain to postpone recognition of the Confederate government. The battle also gave President Abraham Lincoln the opportunity to issue the Emancipation Proclamation, which, on January 1, 1863, declared free all slaves in States still in rebellion against the United States. Now the war had a dual purpose: to preserve the Union and end slavery.

Attack and counterattack was the strategy of the day. Although outnumbered two-to-one, Lee committed his entire force, while the Union army General George B. McClellan sent in less than three-quarters of his army, enabling Lee to fight to a standstill. During the night, both armies consolidated their lines. In spite of crippling casualties, Lee continued to skirmish with McClellan throughout the 18th, while removing his wounded south of the river. McClellan did not renew the assaults. After dark, Lee ordered the battered Army of Northern Virginia to withdraw across the Potomac into the Shenandoah Valley.

The Antietam Battlefield is huge and it is hard to fully it take it in but the Rangers have a wonderful overall presentation that they do in an observation room where you can see most of the battlefield and with the descriptions envision the troop movements. After the Ranger presentation and a video presentation, I did some walking around for the nearby monuments and Dunker Church and then I did the driving tour.

Harpers Ferry

John Brown’s Raid led a group of 21 men in a raid on the Harpers Ferry U.S. Arsenal on October 16, 1859 and it is one the seminal events sparking the Civil War. Brown hoped his raid and capture of the arsenal would cause slaves to run to join him but in that it was a failure. When the raid failed, Brown found himself hold up in the armory fire engine house, now known as John Brown’s Fort. A detachment of U.S. Marines under the command of Lieutenant Colonel Robert E. Lee was dispatched from Washington D.C. by President Buchanan to take care of the situation and Lee asked one of his subordinate officers, Lt. J.E.B. Stuart if he would lead the attempt at peaceful settlement and if that failed the initial assault; and we all know that Brown was captured, tried and hung by the State of Virginia.

Harpers Ferry was an industrial town on the convergence of the Shenandoah and Potomac Rivers and also the C & O Canal and B & O Railroad ran through it; Harpers Ferry was well situated as a gateway to the west. George Washington surveyed the area, Thomas Jefferson stayed overnight there on his way to the Philadelphia Continental Congress and Meriwether Lewis outfitted there for the Lewis & Clark expedition west. Also there were several Civil War engagements in the area with both sides continuing to blow-up, burn-down and rebuild the railroad bride. The North burned down the arsenal to keep it from falling into Confederate hands but that failed to destroy all of the rifle –making machinery that General Stonewall Jackson captured, dismantled and shipped south for southern use.

Pathfinding

I had been pre-warned that finding Mark and Lil’s house could be difficult but I was prepared. First I had a map that Mark had drawn for me when he visited AZ last spring and second the address was recognized by me Garmin GPS.

The plan was to leave the trailer at their house while I flew to Denver for my 50th High School reunion and for awhile everything was going according to plan. I had past problems with Garmin directions but with Mark’s map, a AAA map and daylight on my side off I went from Harpers Ferry direct to Sheppard town and Dam # 4 Rd, Garmin doing well. Driving down Dam # 4 Rd and following Garmin directions, Garmin told me I had arrived at my destination on my left. WRONG. The house number on my right was 806; far above the number I was looking for, and on my left was the actual Dam # 4. Ok, walk over to the 806 house and ask directions and the gentleman told me he didn’t know where it was but to get into his Jeep, because that was easier than searching while pulling a trailer, and we would go find it. He also said some friends of his from AZ had a hard time finding him last year and when I said I was from AZ we were instant pardners. He didn’t find it, stopped at a friend of his and asked him and the friend said he didn’t know but, unremembered name house, on the right was number X and second unremembered name house, on the left was number Y so it must be between those two. With those hints we immediately found the number and driveway but 806 pardner wouldn’t let it go at that so he drove up Mark and Lil’s driveway to make sure I could get the trailer up; WOW when was last time someone was so kind, all in all he spent a good 20-minutes with me.

C & O Canal and Fort Frederick

MON August 2

The Chesapeake and Ohio Canal was built to link the east to the west, east = Georgetown MD, west = Cumberland MD and the coal fields. And as usual the Visitors Center, a pre-Revolutionary War building, and two videos. The first was a 9-minute 1917 black & white silent movie regarding canal operations and an old Charles Kuralt “On The Road” about revitalizing the canal. The 184 mile tow path was rescued in the 1950s by Justice William O. Douglas. Today it is a favorite biking and hiking area and preserves a part of our history.

As a surveyor in Virginia, before there was a West VA, George Washington conceived of the canal and was the first president of the Patowmack, now the river is spelled Potomac, Canal Company. The Canal was started in 1828 and completed in 1850 and was obsolete almost from the start because of the railroad but it was in operation until 1924. Part of the Canal National Historic Park is the Paw Paw Tunnel a 3,118 feet long canal tunnel, which was built to bypass the Paw-Paw bends, a six-mile stretch of the Potomac River containing five horseshoe bends, it was dug by hand. I drove over to the tunnel and did a 2 1/2 mile hike to, through, and return; oh by the way, when was the last time you changed the batteries in the flashlight you carry in your car, I was sweating it in the tunnel.

After the canal and tunnel I headed over to Fort Frederick, the last remaining stone fort from the 1754-1763 French and Indian War. The fort is a Maryland State Park and a National Historic Landmark. The fort was erected in 1756 to protect settlers. The fort is massive and constructed of stone; most other forts of the period were built of wood. The fort was abandoned in 1759, used again during the Revolutionary War as a prison for Hessian and British troops and again during the Civil War Union troops spent time at the fort in 1861. An early use of Federal Stimulus Funds was seen in 1934 when a CCC company was sent to the fort to restore it to park status

This is a nice area however I have not been able to have cell phone service for the last two days so Mark if you are reading this I’ll be there tomorrow afternoon, late afternoon I think.