Author: Lisa

Texas is a big friggin state! Today’s long drive got me through windy, dry, and hilly Texas to the gateway of Big Bend National Park, where I’ll be for the next couple of days. (I have no idea about cell service, so my Big Bend posts may be delayed.) Now, I’m camped at a dusty West Texas RV park, with a friendly owner, clean showers, and western scenery.

Sunset from my RV park.

 

“Indian Scouts” metal silhouettes located across the highway from the RV park.

 

Addie curious where the tall green trees and lush grass went…

I had so much fun taking pictures today! Not only did I enjoy snapping photos of The Alamo (free admission today for all veterans – thank y’all for your service), but I also had a blast capturing images of water fountains, flowing streams, and natural frames on San Antonio’s famous River Walk.

Don’t forget…

 

Alamo archway

 

Fountain on my way to the River Walk

 

One of many bridges over the water

 

River Walk

 

Locks and dam

 

River Walk

 

River Walk

 

Beer break!

 

The old Pearl Brewery

 

Pearl Brewery Plaza

 

Pearl Brewery Plaza

 

River Walk

 

River Walk

 

River Walk

 

Maverick-Carter House

When I imagined Austin, I thought about the funky South Congress Avenue area and the river. I did not think about parks, hikes, and waterfalls. However, given my appreciation for state parks, I reserved a spot at McKinney Falls State Park – and hiked around the park to the Upper and Lower Falls before moseying into town.
Totally cool? I arrived, at dusk, at Congress Avenue Bridge where I saw people gathered under the bridge on the river’s shoreline. Being curious, I walked down the staircase and asked what was happening. Little did I know about the BATS!
“Austin’s resident bats are Mexican free-tailed bats, which migrate each spring from central Mexico to various roosts all over the southwestern U.S.
On their nightly flights the bats eat anywhere from 10,000 to 30,000 pounds of insects, including mosquitoes and harmful agricultural pests.
At the end of the season, you can see roughly 1.5 million bats ascending into the summer sky.”

https://www.austintexas.org/things…/outdoors/bat-watching/

Desert climate for sure!

 

McKinney Falls State Park hike.

 

Upper Falls: “Water cascades through natural channels within a massive bed of exposed limestone and volcanic ash.”

 

Old cypress tree.

 

Prehistoric Rock Shelter: “Listed on the National Register of Historic Places, this limestone overhang provides shelter for Native Americans for more than 8,000 years.”

 

Onion Creek.

 

Lower Falls which “flows over limestone ledges to the pool below.

 

Horse Trainer’s Cabin: “Two-room structure built in 1950s for Thomas McKinney’s horse trainer.” McKinney, a racehorse breeder and one of Stephen F. Austin’s original colonists, owned this homestead.

 

Funky South Congress Avenue district of Austin.

 

View of the city from underneath the Congress Avenue Bridge.

 

Bats! All of those flying dots are! (Click on photo for a six-second video.)

 

Sunset from the bridge.

 

Breakfast: Addie and I headed from our campground in Arlington to a crepe restaurant in Dallas to meet my friend and colleague, Laura, for breakfast. So good to catch up on life, family, and work!
Grassy Knoll: I crossed the river and parked by the Reunion Tower so I could see the Grassy Knoll, where President John F. Kennedy was assassinated on November 22, 1963, by Lee Harvey Oswald. Oswald shot Kennedy from the sixth floor window of the nearby Texas School Book Depository. Although I wanted to tour The Sixth Floor Museum at Dealey Plaza, it is closed on Tuesdays.
Dallas Holocaust and Human Rights Museum: Over dinner last night when Susan and Len suggested I visit this museum, I nodded politely and thought to myself, “No way am I going to another Holocaust museum!” Wow, I am so glad I went! This museum pulled together all of the elements I’ve been ruminating on during this road trip adventure. I’ve seen Native American locations, considered Americans’ treatment of slaves and African-Americans, experienced sites focused on immigrants, … all leading me to reflect on how we “otherize” people so we can dehumanize them and treat them poorly. This museum not only shared the history of Anti-semitism and the resulting Holocaust, but moved the conversation forward to human rights violations in general and genocide in particular. The final gallery presented stations allowing participants to select their own personal Call to Action. This is exactly what I’ve been looking for! What can I do??? The Call for Action kiosks provided direction and inspiration. The only bummer is the information is only available at the museum – not on their website or in any of their printed materials. Regardless, I feel – surprisingly! – optimistic that I will be able to find something that I can DO to help make this world a better place.
With Laura

 

Dealey Plaza

 

The window from which Oswald shot Pres. Kennedy.

 

No comment

 

My mother’s mother and father’s father were both from Łódź, Poland, leaving before the Holocaust. Out of the 164,000 Jews in Łódź at the start of WWII, only 877 survived.

 

Powerful exhibit with explanations of each phase highlighted by examples from around the world, such as Armenia, Rwanda, Cambodia, and so many more.

 

Throughout the museum, voices of Dallas survivors made the unreal real. This wall showcased the murdered family members of those survivors.

 

I only took one photo of my Call to Action suggestions.

 

I rode the Reunion Tower to the top. Just like in Nashville, they take free digital photos of guests.

 

View from the top of Reunion Tower. These freeways and Dallas drivers? YECH!

Some interesting scenery on my drive… I’m now noticing the lack of green as I’m moving into drier climates…
After two errands – Trader Joe’s (small and crazy parking lot!) and Jiffy Lube (nice service with a pit rather than a lift) – I had a FABULOUS evening catching up and having yummy Indian food with Susan and Len, friends from San Luis Obispo who now live in Dallas. One of the gifts of this adventure is spending time with friends and family!

I went with Plan A-/B+ today! Plan A: Massage and taking the waters. Plan B: Hike. Instead, I took the waters at Quapaw Bath and hiked the Peak Trail to the Mountain Tower. No massages available today.
A few observations:
The last time I took a bath similar to the one at Quapaw, I was in Budapest, August 2019. The bathhouses in Hungary delighted me with their opulent architecture and big range of water temperatures. The inside design of Quapaw left a lot to be desired, and the cold water wasn’t cold enough nor the hot water hot enough. Regardless, I ultimately meditated, relaxed, and enjoyed the bath.
Ugh! Many cranky kids yelled and screamed while I walked around the village. My guess is they were tired, hungry, and disinterested in the sights. Although I feel bad for them, their whines grated.
Hiking the Peak Trail brought me back to my center; give me a forest trail, some water (in this case, searching for hot springs!), and I am in my happy place!
The Quapaw was built in a Spanish Colonial Revival style and sits on the site of two previous bathhouses. It was established in 1922 and named after the Native American tribe that once lived here.

 

Inside the Quapaw – I carefully framed this photo to not show any bathers out of respect for their privacy.

 

Looking at the mountain from the Promenade Trail behind Bathhouse Row.

 

After taking the elevator up 216 feet, making the observation deck at the top 1,256 feet above sea level, one sees the Ouachita Mountains, Hot Springs Mountain, and Diamond Lakes area.

 

View from the tower.

 

In search of hot springs! Around 15 springs were capped in one field.

 

Found!  (Click on photo for three-second video.)

 

A butterfly mural similar to Nashville and Michigan!

 

Fordyce Bath, 1915, now the Visitors Center and museum.

 

The Assembly Room in Fordyce where men and women could reconnect after their baths. This museum highlighted the roles of Black Americans, who took care of the clientele yet couldn’t bathe.

 
Steam cabinets in the museum.

 

Superior Baths, more modestly designed than the others, operated as a bathhouse until 1983 and is now a brew pub.

 

Hale Bathhouse, built 1882, now a hotel.

 

Buckstaff Bath, continuously operated since 1912.

 

Maurice Bathhouse, built in 1911 in Mediterranean style, currently unoccupied.

 

Ozark Bath, 1922, mission style. Now cultural center.

On the drive up to Little Rock (and elsewhere in the South), I saw many cotton fields with the product rolled up into pink bales. No photos since I didn’t want to pull over on the highway to take a pic.
I have a mixed reaction to the Clinton Presidential Library. On the one hand, the building is designed well, the displays along with the Clinton-narrated self-guided tour are informative, and the garden with its public art with globes showcasing artists’ interpretations of sustainability are beautiful. On the other hand, his impeachment was downplayed as “politics” with no mention of Monica Lewinsky and Clinton’s infidelity.
Following the library, I found Little Rock’s Trader Joe’s where most people wore masks.
Now, I’m at Crystal Springs Campground, part of Hot Springs National Park. It’s beautiful here! I’m going to try to get a good full night’s sleep so I have the energy to explore Hot Springs tomorrow. Plan B? Hike around this campground and relax a bit… Not a bad Plan B, eh?!
The Oval Room filled with reproductions including the Resolute Desk.

 

Cabinet Room. On the back of each chair is a metal plate with the cabinet person’s title. President is in the middle on one side with Secretary of State on his right and Secretary of Defense on his left.

 

Presidential seal – eagle facing toward peace.

 

According to Clinton, he had a good relationship with Mandela.

 

A list of accomplishments.

 

Railway bridge turned into a pedestrian walkway.

 

The library itself with one of the 26 sustainability globes, each created by a different artist.

 

Another view of the bridge.

 

Addie at Crystal Springs, Hot Springs National Park.

 

Sunset at my campground.

A long long time ago when I first started this adventure, hanging out at Kate and Chuck’s house after my awning surprise and passenger ground effects booboo, Kate and I reviewed my tentative route. We then looked up UNESCO World Heritage sites, and I added them, when possible, to my map. Today, I visited one of them: Poverty Point World Heritage Site in Epps, LA.
What a treat! Around 1650 BC (and I don’t mean Before Covid! 🙂 ), Native Americans began to build a massive complex of mounds and ridges that today makes up the Poverty Point World Heritage Site. Using the best hiking trail guide I have found on this journey, I explored the site and immersed myself in the majesty of Poverty Point. My photos do not show the enormity or brilliance of the site.
White cylinders represent excavated large wooden posts, often as deep as nine feet. More research is needed to determine the purpose of the posts.

 

A long distance view of a mound.

 

Happy to be exploring Poverty Point.

 

Mound A measures 72 feet tall, 705 feet in length, and 660 feet in width.

 

Mound A’s boardwalk to the top and its panoramic view.

 

Whimsy at Poverty Point, not attributed to Native Americans. 🙂

 

Tonight, I’m staying at Poverty Point Reservoir State Park, home of – hidden to me! – black bears.

 

Reservoir.

 

Sunset campground walk.

 

Miss Addie enjoying this campground.

This morning, I hung out in Addie doing some trip planning – and then went over the bridge to Natchez where I toured a couple of homes, found the synagogue, and wandered around the Old Jewish Cemetery.
Note: On my two tours, I was the only guest and my guides shared A LOT of information. 🙂
Longwood, the largest octagonal house in the United States, is an historic antebellum mansion located in Natchez, Mississippi. The mansion is known for its octagonal design, byzantine onion-shaped dome and the contrast between the finished first floor and the unfinished upper floors. Longwood is on the U.S. National Register of Historic Places and is a National Historic Landmark.

https://www.natcheztracetravel.com/…/natc…/longwood.html

 

Intriguing how the staircase highlights the differences between the finished bottom floor (which should have been the basement) and the remainder of the building. Construction halted in 1861 with the Civil War.

 

View up to the unfinished cupola from the first floor.

 

Unfinished brick.

 

As a National Historic Landmark, Auburn has quite a story to tell. It was the first major building in Natchez to follow an actual architectural plan. In the years leading to the Civil War several Natchez homes emulated the style of Auburn’s facade. The home’s spiral staircase stands entirely unsupported, a feat unmatched even in modern buildings. These points introduce you to the dramatic story of Auburn itself.

http://www.auburnmuseum.org

 

The unsupported staircase from below.

 

There’s a plate for everything!

 

What do you see when you look at the numbers on the clock face?

 

Temple B’nai Israel, the oldest Jewish congregation in the state of Mississippi, was founded in 1843. By 1861, this small community of mostly French- and German-speaking merchants, auctioneers, shoemakers, and peddlers was ready to erect its first house of worship, but the outbreak of the Civil War delayed its plans for several years. Finally, in 1872, the congregation dedicated its first temple on the current site—an occasion of great celebration as “Jews and Gentiles filled the temple beyond its capacity and great crowds stood upon the sidewalks and street.”

A charter member of the Union of American Hebrew Congregations (now the Union for Reform Judaism), B’nai Israel is a Reform Jewish community that has served as the spiritual home for Jews from Natchez and the surrounding communities for 175 years.

http://www.natcheztemple.org/jewish-history-of-natchez.html

 

Jewish Cemetery, 1844-1899. Outside these walls are many more graves, too.

 

For a totally different pic, hand-washed laundry drying in Addie!

Knowing I had a distance to drive and some powerful sights along the way, Addie and I got started somewhat early this morning.
First stop: The Edmund Pettus Bridge in Selma, AL. This bridge, of course, is the location of Bloody Sunday, March 7, 1965, when John Lewis and Hosea Williams and 600 marchers protesting voter suppression attempted to cross the bridge, troopers opened fire, and 50 protestors were hospitalized. Visiting sites, monuments, and memorials make history and current events come alive and help me see the connections between various past events and present circumstances.
Second stop: Vicksburg National Military Park. I admit it: I am not a Civil War buff, and this site overwhelmed me. It was pivotal to the Union’s success, the rolling hills appeared daunting as a battlefield, and the many monuments create an eerie atmosphere. Nevertheless, the details of Civil War battles don’t really interest me.
Final stop: Vidalia, LA is across the Mississippi River from Natchez, MS, where I plan to explore tomorrow.
A park near the bridge shared stories of the bridge and the key people involved in the Civil Rights Movement.

 

Now it’s becoming clearer to me why the voting rights act has been named after John Lewis. Also, it’s becoming abundantly clear why this legislation MUST pass!

 

Edmund Pettus Bridge…from below.

 

So much history on this bridge.

 

Temple Mishkan Israel, Selma, AL. The earliest Jews arrived in the 1830s, formed the congregation in 1867, and built this synagogue in 1899. Three mayors of Selma were Jewish, terms served 1887-1889, 1895-1899, and 1915-1920. Once a congregation of 150 households, there are now nine members.

 

These signs dot Vicksburg. Notice anything about the colors chosen for the Union forces vs the Confederate forces…?

 

Vicksburg.

 

Vicksburg.

 

Vicksburg.

 

Sunset with the Mississippi and Natchez in the background.

Who would’ve thunk that little Prattville, Alabama would have such a cute historical downtown?! After a morning of trip planning, appointment scheduling, and general puttering, I walked around “downtown” Prattville, a town founded in 1838 by industrialist Daniel Pratt.
For more info:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Daniel_Pratt_(industrialist)

 

 

 

Setting up for Dinner in the District, sponsored by the Chamber of Commerce.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Monument focused on Pratt’s grist mill.

My October reflections, after traveling 3,007 miles down the eastern seaboard to Florida:
Solo travel – choices: October held many fabulous adventures – some with family and friends and some solo. The choices solo traveling allows create for wonderful opportunities! Don’t get me wrong – I love traveling with and visiting friends and family AND I love solo traveling. Both are AWESOME!
Grace: I struggle with the concept of “grace.” Although I know the dictionary definition, “favor or honor, goodwill,” I have trouble seeing how it applies to life. Through my travels, I’m beginning to develop my own personal understanding of “grace.” To me – at this time – it means to live empathically, to give people the space to be themselves, to understand that everyone faces challenges – some quite daunting and some momentarily frustrating. Examples for me might be being a bit more patient with a cashier, being more flexible with friends, reaching out to family facing challenges. It also means giving myself permission to be frustrated, fail, feel…
Rally friends: When I knew I’d be in Florida in October and read that there was a Roadtrek Rally in Sarasota – with great timing after visiting my brother and his family in Satellite Beach – I thought, “Why not go?” Wow! What a treat! Not only did I learn more about Roadtreks in general and Addie in particular, but I also met some wonderful solo female Roadtrekkers – friends I know I will see during future journeys.
That Roadtrek feeling!: At the Rally, I described how I feel when I drive Addie – grounded, happy, peaceful, excited. As I spoke, the women sitting at my table smiled and nodded – yes, that’s the Roadtrek feeling!
Gated communities in Florida: So what is it with Florida? The three homes where I visited are all in gated communities…
New Jersey

 

Pennsylvania

 

Washington, DC

 

Maryland

 

Virginia

 

North Carolina

 

South Carolina

 

Georgia

 

Florida

 

Alabama

 

Dennis, Anna, and Vanessa (New Jersey)

 

Melanie (Washington , DC)

 

Eric (Washington, DC)

 

Parker (North Carolina)

 

Martin and Madison (South Carolina)

 

Angila and Eric (Florida)

 

Roadtrek friends (Florida)

 

Anna and Donny (Florida)

 

Ruby (Florida) 

 

Marjorie and Phil (Florida)

Since I arrived at dusk last night, I walked around my campground for a bit this morning. With only 20 sites, it took a whopping three minutes to explore to whole park! Coe Landing County Park Campground sits on Lake Talquin and, with more time, would be cool to hike and explore.
However, I had 2pm tickets in Montgomery, AL, for the Equal Justice Initiative’s National Memorial for Peace and Justice and Legacy Museum: From Enslavement to Mass Incarceration.
The Memorial focused on the US’s terror of lynching, honoring the over 6,000 Black Americans murdered from after the Civil War through the 1950s. Metal blocks, one for each county and listing the names and dates of those lynched in that county, hang from the ceiling. To say the memorial is powerful is a complete understatement.
The Museum, which does not allow photography so the guests can pay attention to the exhibits, chronicles how slavery evolved through racial terror lynchings and racial segregation to mass incarceration. I have studied slavery and segregation; nonetheless, I know little about our history of lynching terror and the current state of mass incarceration. The connections among these horrible aspects of our culture opened my eyes to how our past is now our present. Until the museum, I didn’t grasp the relationship between slave and convict labor. Additionally, I find it much clearer to see how voter suppression is yet another means of disenfranchising black and brown Americans.
During my adventure, I’ve seen in museums, at memorials, and through conversations how fragile our country is unless and until we fight to value each other. How we move from where we are to where we need to be…that is the question.
Addie at Coe Landing County Park Campground.

 

Lake Talquin

 

In Florida, what hidden dangers may be present in the lake…?

 

The National Memorial for Peace and Justice.

 

The National Memorial for Peace and Justice.

 

The National Memorial for Peace and Justice.

 

The National Memorial for Peace and Justice.

 

The National Memorial for Peace and Justice.

 

The National Memorial for Peace and Justice.

 

The National Memorial for Peace and Justice.  (Click on photo for 39 second video.)

So nice to spend last night as the first overnight guest at Anna and Donny’s home in Sarasota. After waking up to freshly brewed coffee, Anna and I walked for a bit so I could see their condo complex and stretch my legs before today’s long drive. 
Before my drive, though, Anna had to feed me! And so did Marjorie! (Anna – breakfast, Marjorie – lunch, it’s 8:30 pm and I’m still full!) Italian and Jewish mommas would never let someone leave their homes without a full belly! 
From Sarasota, I went to Gainesville to catch up, after *40* years!, with my college roommate Marjorie and her husband and my Brandeis classmate Phil. Guess what? It didn’t seem like any time had passed! The conversation flowed…and flowed…and flowed!!! So good to reconnect!!! 
I arrived at my campground with just enough light to park – perfect end to a perfect day!
Pond near Anna’s Sarasota home.

 

With Anna. 

 

With Marjorie and Phil.