Monthly Archives: May 2020

Civil War and Plague Isolation Survivor 2

 in Colorado / Wildlife/animals  tagged African American soldiers / Civil War / Fort Nelson / history / Indiana / Kentucky / measles / National Monument / pneumonia / survival / Washington County by

When the American Civil War broke out, Jacob Evans joined the northern army, hoping to help save the Union. He was a teenager when he marched off with his regiment. They were rugged men battling fleas and lice in huts made of logs and dirt.  Worse, when officers weren’t savvy enough to order the latrines to be dug downstream, sewage leached into the men’s drinking water. Many of the soldiers came from isolated farms and had little immunity against diseases we now immunize for. One sick soldier could wipe out a camp in short order. Ninety-five men died of disease […]

Camping in a Shoot Out

 in Arizona / camping  tagged Arizona / ATV riding / Black Canyon Trail / Phoenix / primitive camping / Table Mesa Recreation Area / target shooting / travel by

We noticed some people target shooting as we looked for a camping spot in  Arizona’s Table Mesa BLM Recreation Area.  Unlike other BLM camping we’ve used, these primitive campsites were grouped which seemed a good idea to prevent bullet riddled campers.  I could almost smell the testosterone wafting off rough and ready campsites and wicked rigs.  Between that and the steady barrage of gunfire, we weren’t sure we’d stay long.  If our poor dog had had a vote, we wouldn’t have stayed at all. The sunset was killer, but the firing continued far into the night.  Bullets rattled in bursts, […]

Colorado Mother of the Year

 in Colorado / Wildlife/animals  tagged Alberta Payton / Alice Glover / baby / Battlement Mesa Schoolhouse / Grand Valley Historical Society / history / mountain lion / Parachute Colorado / pioneer mother / Queenie Glover / rescue / Tom Glover by

In 1884 Tom and Alice Glover drove up Colorado’s Grand Valley in a covered wagon to start a new ranch along the banks of Parachute Creek. Alice held their baby daughter Queenie. When they arrived, Tom pitched a tent for the family to live in that summer. Once the camp was set, he found a couple cowboys to help him build a ranch. While the men were building, Alice was on her own to make the camp a home. On wash day she carried water from the creek to heat in a kettle over a fire. She made her own […]

Lost in the City of Rocks

 in New Mexico / Snowbirding  tagged camping / City of Rocks State Park / hiking / hoodoo / New Mexico / peak / travel / volcanic activity by

New Mexico’s City of Rocks State Park sounds vaguely interesting.  Not true; it’s a Don’t-Miss! Ancient volcanic showers of pumice and ash melded into a slab of rock that then eroded into a labyrinth of channels like streets and allies, tunnels, and caves. Many of the passages called to my inner child. If only my knees weren’t so cranky, I’d crawl in and explore. I longed for a few grandkids to help me enjoy it vicariously. In the distance an evocative peak invited a creatively framed photo, preferably involving a hoodoo. Sure enough, as we left the “city” I spotted […]