~ wander.essence ~

the hubbell trading post & window rock, arizona

wanderessence1025 January 3, 2019

In 1846, when the U.S. took possession of the southwestern territories after the war with Mexico, the Euro-American inhabitants were promised protection from “war-like” tribes such as the Navajo and Apache. The U.S. built military posts to protect them. The Navajo (Diné) resisted this intrusion into their sacred land. When General James H. Carleton came to believe gold existed within Navajo country, he decided to establish a military post in the heart of the gold country. In 1863, Carleton ordered Colonel Christopher “Kit” Carlson to follow a “scorched earth” policy: to destroy Navajo subsistence by burning crops and killing livestock. The soldiers broke up family units and massacred men, women and children. Faced with starvation and loss, the Navajo surrendered during the winter of 1863-1864.

After surrendering, more than 9,000 Navajos were force to march in “The Long Walk,” over 300 miles to a flat, 40-square-mile wind-swept reservation in east-central New Mexico, known as Fort Sumner.

The reservation experiment was doomed from the start. The Navajo’s crops were destroyed by pests, drought and hail. Irrigation water contained too much salt and destroyed the land’s productivity. Thousands died from diseases, starvation and exposure.

After General William Sherman arrived to investigate the Diné’s complaints, the two sides soon signed the Treaty of 1868. The Diné could return to their homeland, but sadly their homesteads had been destroyed. Because of the devastation, trading for food and products became vital.

John Lorenzo Hubbell, born in 1853 in Pajarito, New Mexico Territory, learned the life, customs, and language of the Navajo while working as a clerk and Spanish interpreter at forts and trading posts. Known as Don Lorenzo to Hispanics, and Naakaii Sani (Old Mexican) or Nak’ee sinili (Double Spectacles) to the Navajo, he began trading at Hubbell Trading Post in Ganado, Arizona as the Navajo struggled to adjust to reservation life after the brutal ordeal of The Long Walk. Local tribes congregated at the post, where Hubbell was merchant and liaison to the outside world. He translated and wrote letters, settled quarrels, and explained government policy. He opened his house as a hospital in 1886 during a smallpox epidemic.

For 50 years, Hubbell was known for his kindness and friendship, honest business dealings, and wise counsel to American Indians. He often served as an intermediary between the Anglo-American and Navajo cultures, and sought to improve mutual understanding between them. He died in 1930 and was buried on a hill overlooking the trading post. Now preserved by the National Park Service as a national historic site, American Indians still bring handcrafted rugs, jewelry, pottery and baskets to the trader. Locals buy groceries and share stories.

In 1965, Congress made Hubbell Trading Post a national historic site with the understanding that it would remain a business operation, a working trading post.

Hubbell Trading Post National Historic Site

Inside the trading post, one can buy cowboy coffee, foodstuffs, dishware, cloth, blankets, utensils, pottery, Hopi baskets, handcrafted Navajo rugs, and turquoise jewelry. The room shown below is the bullpen, a cozy room to socialize and trade for staples. It is little changed since 1876, with its creaky wooden floors, tall counters, high shelves, and iron stove. Only the merchandise is new. The prices are definitely modern-day and steep. A pair of turquoise earrings I liked cost $250, and small Navajo rugs ran $450-$1,300.

inside Hubbell Trading Post

When completed in 1900, the two-story barn on the grounds was the largest in northern Arizona. The corral outside was used for livestock. Some held sheep by categories: ewes with lambs; yearlings; and rams, aged and market-ready. Other corrals held horses, mules, or milk cows.

on the grounds of Hubbell Trading Post

It was a windy day when I visited, and the gate creaked as the wind blew it to and fro.

Hubbell Trading Post

Pale green leaves of white-barked silver poplars rustled in the breeze. I was mesmerized by the sound and sight of them. It was so breezy and pleasant here, I didn’t want to leave.

trees

Heading to Window Rock and Gallup, I passed Fish Wash, Kinlichee, and Defiance Plateau. Tall Ponderosa pines lined the road. Window Rock, Arizona is the capital of the Navajo Nation, a decent-sized town through which dust-coated pickup trucks drive.

Window Rock Navajo Tribal Park has a red stone arch for which the capital is named. Navajo Nation government offices surround the park. Recently, Navajos built a Veteran’s Memorial at the base of the rock to honor Navajos who served in the U.S. Military. Code Talkers used their native language to create a code that was never broken by the enemy. Historians credit Code Talkers for helping win WWII. The park is meant to be a healing sanctuary for reflection and solitude.

Window Rock Navajo Tribal Park

Window Rock

And of course, I got my stamp and cancellation stamp.

Hubbell Trading Post sticker and cancellation stamp

Information above came from various brochures created by the National Park Service.

*Tuesday, May 15, 2018*

12,975 steps (5.5 miles)

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“PHOTOGRAPHY” INVITATION: I invite you to create a photography intention and then create a blog post for a place you have visited. Alternately, you can post a thematic post about a place, photos of whatever you discovered that set your heart afire. You can also do a thematic post of something you have found throughout all your travels: churches, doors, people reading, people hiking, mountains, patterns, all black & white, whatever!

You probably have your own ideas about this, but in case you’d like some ideas, you can visit my page: photography inspiration.

I challenge you to post no more than 20 photos and to write less than 500-800 words about any travel-related photography intention you set for yourself. Include the link in the comments below by Wednesday, January 16 at 1:00 p.m. EST. When I write my post in response to this challenge on Thursday, January 17, I’ll include your links in that post.

This will be an ongoing invitation, every first and third (& 5th, if there is one) Thursday of each month. Feel free to jump in at any time. 🙂

I hope you’ll join in our community. I look forward to reading your posts!

twenty-eighteen

wanderessence1025 December 31, 2018

In twenty-eighteen, I: Visited Pittsburgh for the first time ever. Traipsed around the National Parks and Monuments in the Four Corners area with my ever-patient husband, and on my own. Took a solo road trip to Buffalo, NY and Niagara Falls, NY and Ontario. Walked many miles and did physical therapy on my right knee to prepare to walk the Camino de Santiago in September and October. Read 49 books out of my goal of 45, the best being On Pilgrimage, The Tie That Binds, Benediction, Eventide, The Woman Lit by Fireflies, The English Major, and Whistling Past the Graveyard. Lost an unknown number of pounds walking nearly 500 miles on the Camino Frances over 44 days, gained some of them back during 10 days in Portugal, and gained the last five back when I returned to the U.S. Began a road trip novel and started dabbling in poetry after a long hiatus. Published 132 posts on my new blog.

From January to April, I: Joined the American Pilgrims on the Camino, shared a potluck brunch with fellow pilgrims, and later walked 10 miles with them around D.C. Enjoyed movies such as The Post; Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri; Oh Lucy!; The Insult; The Leisure Seeker; Finding Your Feet; Lean on Pete; and Beirut. Watched plays at various D.C. theaters: Everything is Illuminated, Hold These Truths, Two Trains Running, and Snow Child. Listened to Portuguese Ana Moura sing fado at The Barns of Wolf Trap. Walked all over Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania in freezing cold temperatures, where we visited the University of Pittsburgh, numerous memorials to the titans of American industry, a magnificent botanical garden and conservatory, the merging of the Monongahela and the Allegheny Rivers – forming the Ohio River at Pittsburgh’s point – and some offbeat museums.. Drank dirty martinis at the Ice House with our friends Karen and Michael. Protested in “March for Our Lives,” organized by the students from Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida, where 17 students were gunned down by an unhinged ex-student. Ate dinner with my daughter at Little Nickel, and later, walked the Ukrops Monument Avenue 10k in Richmond. Hiked among bluebells at Riverbend Park.

The Heinz exhibition

another Chihuly

Heinz Memorial Chapel

Pittsburgh from Grandview Avenue: the Allegheny on the left and the Monongahela on the right. Three Sisters Bridges on the left.

Randyland

Campbell’s Soup cans

Martin Luther King Memorial, D.C.

The March for Life

Little Nickel in Richmond (bathroom walllpaper)

Riverbend Park

bluebells at Riverbend

In May, I: Drove 3 days across country and visited my eldest son in Denver, Colorado, then spent 19 days on a road trip around the Four Corners area. Drove amidst immense windmills on the Kansas prairie. Hiked among Ponderosa pines smelling of vanilla and butterscotch at Mt. Sanitas near Boulder. Was involved in a 6-car accordion-style accident on a major highway at rush hour in Denver. Hiked through Red Rocks Mountain Park among evening primrose and creeping barberry. Rested in vintage American motels such as the Palomino Inn, the Mokee Motel, the Alpine Inn, and the Adventure Inn. Got my first National Parks Passport and started collecting stickers and cancellation stamps. Hiked among pinyon pines and Utah junipers on the Coke Ovens Trail at Colorado National Monument. Climbed slickrock on a strenuous hike to Delicate Arch at Arches. Was mesmerized by the scent of cliffrose all over the Colorado Plateau. Saw the confluence of the Colorado and the Green Rivers at Canyonlands. Mourned the ghosts of horses left to die at Dead Horse Point State Park. Walked through rock bridges at Natural Bridges National Monument and ancient dwellings at Hovenweep. Kicked up dust at Valley of the Gods and Monument Valley, and passed through towns like Mexican Hat and Kayenta. Found remnants of the Old Route 66 and the Wigwam Motel. Studied petroglyphs all over the Four Corners. Visited Petrified Forest National Park and the Hubbell Trading Post and learned all about the horrific Long Walk, forced upon Native Americans by white people. Found Native stories and ancient dwellings at Canyon de Chelly, Chaco Culture National Historical Park, and Aztec Ruins. Climbed a house carved into a steep cliff at Mesa Verde’s Balcony House. Drove “America’s Switzerland” on the San Juan Skyway Scenic Byway in Colorado. Did research on my mother’s family in a library in her hometown of Pagosa Springs. Visited my youngest son in Crestone, Colorado, and explored Great Sand Dunes National Park with him. Drove in the dark for 5 hours over a mountain pass in the middle of nowhere to Pueblo. Moseyed back across the country in three long days. Enjoyed the movies Disobedience and The Book Club.

Alex and Freya at Mt. Sanitas

Near the Trading Post Trail

Close up of formations at Colorado National Monument

Delicate Arch at Arches National Park

Canyonlands – Grand View Overlook

Sipapu Bridge Overlook – Natural Bridges National Monument

Hovenweep National Monument

Approach to Monument Valley

The Mitten at Monument Valley

One mitten

Aspen Trail at Navajo National Monument

Coal Mine Canyon, AZ

“It’s a girl, my Lord, in a flatbed Ford slowin’ down to take a look at me”

Wigwam Motel

Plainsman

Spider Rock at Canyon de Chelly

White House Ruins at Canyon de Chelly

Dead Horse Point State Park

Grand View Point Overlook

wagon at Bluff, UT

Wupatki Pueblo

Sunset Crater Volcano

cliff dwellings at Walnut Canyon

Hubbell Trading Post National Historic Site

Giant Logs

The Painted Desert

Window Rock

Spider Rock

The White House Ruin

Hungo Pavi

Bojack Ranch near Pagosa Springs, CO

Great Sand Dunes National Park and the Sangre de Cristo Mountains

The Four Corners area

The whole Four Corners Road Trip

In June, I: Listened to Alison Krauss, David Crosby and Friends at Wolf Trap. Watched the movies On Chesil Beach and The Guardians (Les Gardiennes). Voted for Jennifer Wexton for the 10th district in the Democratic primary. Walked around Richmond National Battlefield and Tredegar Iron Works with my daughter. Had dinner with our friends Karen and Michael at Red Kimono. Walked with my pilgrim friend Susan around Sugarloaf Mountain and enjoyed wine at Sugarloaf Winery after. Visited the Theodore Roosevelt Inaugural National Historic Site and Frank Lloyd Wright’s Martin House in Buffalo, NY, on a solo road trip to Niagara Falls. Learned that the American side of the Falls is more of a natural environment, while the Canadian side has more glitz and commercialism. Entered the maelstrom at Cave of the Winds, bracing against catapulting gales and showers. Walked downriver along the White Water Walk; the unnavigable rapids here churned in confusion and disorder. Chased butterflies flitting about in the Conservatory near Niagara Falls. Drank Tempranillo out of silver espresso cups with my friend Mona Lisa and watched as a rainbow rose from the mist and stitched itself like translucent threads across a blue sky.

Street art in Richmond, VA

Richmond National Battlefield

Tredegar Iron Works in Richmond

Theodore Roosevelt National Historic Site

Rare Delights

Darwin D. Martin House

Moonlite Motel – where I stayed 🙂

View above American Falls from Prospect Point

View downriver & the Rainbow Bridge from the Observation Tower

Niagara Falls from the Observation Tower

Cave of the Winds beneath Bridal Veil Falls

Ten Thousand Buddha Temple

Great Canadian Midway

At the Butterfly Conservatory

Rainbows and Hornblower Cruise

Mona Lisa at Niagara Falls

me at Niagara Falls

me in Niagara Falls

In July and August, I: Enjoyed a visit from my oldest son when he flew home from Denver for a week. Watched the movies Mama Mia! Here We Go Again; The Cakemaker; Leave No Trace; and Puzzle. Bid adieu to my youngest son as he took off to live the van life in Colorado. Enjoyed bottomless mimosas at Pearl Dive Oyster Bar with my California friend Leah. Did physical therapy on my right knee twice a week to prepare for walking the Camino. Had lunch with Susan at Season 52. Walked with Susan and my backpack at muddy Riverbend. Walked around Meadowlark Gardens to test my new camera. Flew to Lisbon to begin my Camino adventure.

My youngest son and his outfitted van

me with Leah at Pearl Dive

a walk with Susan at Riverbend and Great Falls

my Camino backpack

Korean totems at Meadowlark Gardens

In September to late October, I: Set out on foot from St-Jean-Pied-de-Port in France to walk 799 km, about 500 miles, across northern Spain on the Camino Frances to Santiago de Compostela. Walked over the Pyrenees, encountering pigs, cows, black-faced sheep, long-haired sheep, horses, a mobile snack vehicle for pilgrims, a statue of the Virgin Mary, beech forests, a cattle grid crossing into Spain, and pilgrims speaking in exotic tongues. Walked alongside the Rio Arga, swirling and rushing over rocks and around bends. Got caught up in a parade of big-headed characters in a medieval festival in Pamplona. Topped off a day at Alto del Perdon, where wind turbines swirled on the ridge line and rusted wrought iron medieval pilgrims headed westward in a line. Sailed downhill by bicycle through hay and corn fields to the Romanesque church of Eunate near Muruzábal. Met Darina from Slovakia, who would become one of my closest friends on the Camino. Walked through vineyards and olive groves and across the hot Meseta and over mountains and past granaries. Treated myself to countless servings of cafe con leche, cerveza con limon, tinto verano, potato tortillas, bocadillos, and pilgrim meals. Enjoyed snails, pretty wildflowers, starry weeds, and building-like haystacks along the path. Drank wine from a fountain in Irache. Bought a tiny iron shell necklace from an ironsmith artist in Irache, who gave me a gift of a fresh fig, like nectar from heaven. Started walking in the dark each day, and fell in love with sunrises. Was brought to tears by a shepherd, his dogs and his flock of sheep, who obeyed his every command. Passed fences covered in twiggy crosses. Stopped in countless churches, received pilgrim blessings at Pilgrim’s masses, and read in English at a Vespers service. Soaked my feet with other pilgrims in a fountain at a municipal albergue in Azofra. Enjoyed drinks with Karen and Simon and donkeys, geese, sheep and dogs at Albergue Amanecer in Villarmentero de Campos. Swung in a hammock and soaked my feet at La Casa del Camino in Valverde de la Virgen. Laid a stone with all my worries at the base of Cruz de Ferro. Climbed up and down mountains in Galicia, through forests and cow towns, and past charming granaries. and made it to Santiago de Compostela on October 20. Wept in awe and thanksgiving as I watched the swinging of the botafumiero at the Cathedral at a German mass and then the next day at the Pilgrim’s mass. Received my Compostela for completing the pilgrimage. Got sick with bad cold as soon as the pilgrimage was complete. Took a bus to Muxia, where I stood at a rocky ridge above the surf at Sanctuario da Virxe da Barca. Took a bus to Finisterre, known in Roman times as the end of the known world. Took another bus back to Santiago.

Pyrenees

Zuriain

Pamplona

Cizor Menor

Alto del Perdon

Eunate

walking

Villamayor de Montjardin

vineyards in La Rioja

sheep

Los Arcos

Logroño

sunrise walking

Parque Granjera

outside of Azofra

me outside of Azofra

drooping sunflowers

leaving Grañon

the Meseta

Burgos

leaving Hornillos del Camino

Meseta outside Hornillos del Camino

Donkey with Simon and Karen at Vilarmentero de Campos

Darina in Reliegos

Me in Reliegos

long bridge

long shadows

climbing to O’Cebreiro

O’Cebreiro

sunrise leaving O’Cebreiro

after O’Cebreiro

granary in Galicia

me at Santiago

Darina and me in Santiago

Me with Darina in Santiago

Muxia

Finisterre

lighthouse at Finisterre

Finisterre

In late October & November I: Took a bus from Santiago to Braga, Portugal where I met Mike and we traveled around Portugal for 10 days. Climbed the picturesque steps of Bom Jesus do Monte near Braga. Saw sweeping views of Braga from Nossa Senhora do Sameiro. Found Portugal’s military in full regalia, accompanied by weapons of destruction, at Guimarães. Walked across the Ponte de Dom Luis I in Porto and enjoyed fabulous views of the Ribeira district. Was charmed by colorful laundry, azulejos, street art, pastel de nata, and charming dereliction all through Portugal. Ate phallus-shaped St. Gonçalo cakes in Amarante. Walked around Aveiro, the “Venice of Portugal” in the rain and bought colorful cans of sardines. Drove in the rain around Costa Nova’s candy-striped houses. Enjoyed beers in Ibn Errik Rex in Óbidos. Took an early morning walk atop the medieval walls of Óbidos. Enjoyed a rare sunny day at the coastal beaches and cliffs of Peniche. Arrived to a dark and gloomy Sintra, where we ate at my favorite restaurant from 2013: Sopa D’Avo. Had a nightmare day of heavy fog, pouring rain, long lines and no views at Pena Palace in Sintra. Got a flat tire in our Clubman Mini-Cooper rental after taking a detour down a dirt road in Cabo da Roca. Enjoyed views of red-roofed Lisbon from Miradouro de Santa Luzia and Castelo de São Jorge. Shopped for scarves at my favorite Lisbon shop, LostIn. Marveled over my favorite ceiling at Basilica of the Martyrs. Took the hop-on hop-off bus on our last day in Lisbon, returning full circle to the Vasco da Gama neighborhood, where I began the journey to embark on my Camino. Returned home November 7 from Portugal after a convoluted and challenging travel experience, where we endured an unexpected 5-hour layover in Gander, Canada. Met Leah at Circa in Arlington for drinks and lunch. Saw my youngest son for a few days when he drove home to pick up many of his belongings and take them to his new Denver home, which he now shares with his brother. Celebrated Thanksgiving with my daughter and part of my family at my sister’s home in Salisbury, Maryland. Enjoyed the movies Wildlife and Private War.

Braga, Portugal

me at Bom Jesus do Monte

Sanctuary of Our Lady of Sameiro

Castelo at Guimarães

Igreja de São Gualter

Igreja do Carmo in Porto

Rio Douro in Porto

Recycled rabbit in Vila Nova de Gaia

Rio Douro

laundry in Ribeira

cloister in Sé do Porto

azulejos in Porto

Amarante

Aveiro, the “Portuguese Venice”

Costa Nova

Mike in Óbidos

me at Ibn Errik Rex in Óbidos

Mike in Óbidos

aqueduct in Óbidos

Peniche

beach at Peniche

a foggy Sintra – Pena Palace

Quinta da Regaleira

Cabo da Roca

eyes in Lisbon

a line of jeans in Lisbon

view of Lisbon from Castelo de S. Jorge

Castelo de S. Jorge

Mosterio Dos Jerónimos

trams in Lisbon

my many heads!

LostIn, my favorite shop in Lisbon

an unwanted stopover in Gander, Canada

Polarsteps: my whole route

Polarsteps: Camino & Portugal

crossing the scary Chesapeake Bay Bridge on my way to my sister’s for Thanksgiving

Thanksgiving snacks from my sister-in-law

In December, I: Met Jackie and Tim at Essentially Vintage in Lucketts and had brews at Vanish Farmwoods Brewery. Reminisced with Susan about our separate Caminos over lunch at Wild Tomato in Potomac. Drove to Richmond with my husband to have dinner with my daughter at Ale Wife. Visited my father and his wife in Yorktown. Enjoyed fried oysters at the To Do Cafe in Tappahanock, and got fresh oysters to take home. Enjoyed Mike’s delicious oyster soup. Went to my husband’s company Christmas party at the Marriott in Bethesda. Saw the Burning Man exhibit at the Renwick on Christmas Eve. Had a quiet Christmas at home with my sister-in-law and a neighbor since our adult kids had to work and couldn’t come home. Watched the movies Boy Erased and Green Book. Ate lunch at the Lincoln and visited the National Portrait Gallery.

On a Whim in Lucketts

Mike at Ale Wife

Wallpaper in Ale Wife’s bathroom

Arlington National Cemetery with wreaths for Christmas

Arlington National Cemetery

Renwick

“Temple” from Burning Man

shadows – Burning Man

Burning Man

breathing mushrooms at Burning Man

men’s room at the Lincoln

Reindeer in D.C.

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Since I’ll be taking a basic drawing class this winter, I felt encouraged by the primitive drawings of Bill Traylor (c. 1853-1949) at the National Portrait Gallery. Born as a slave in Alabama, he witnessed the Civil War, Emancipation, Reconstruction, Jim Crow Segregation, the Great Migration, and the steady rise of African American urban culture in the South. After seven decades of labor, he traveled alone into the segregated city of Montgomery, Alabama, where he spent two decades. He started drawing at age 86.

Two Figures with Pitchfork and Birds by Bill Traylor

Overall, we survived our second year of the Trump Presidency (barely, and with much angst, disgust and disgruntlement), and I had a great time on all my adventures. My biggest hope for 2019 is that my children will find fulfillment and happiness in their lives, and that I will have diverse adventures and learn many new things! I always love the promise of a new year, turning to a new page and reinventing my life.

Happy New Year, and may all your wishes be fulfilled in 2019! 🙂

This post is in response to Ann-Christine’s post: Lens-Artists Photo Challenge #26: Photographic Review of 2018.

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Here are some of my previous years’ recap posts. I now wish I had one for every year of my life, as they serve as great reminders of my adventures, joys and tribulations in years past!

twenty-seventeen

twenty-sixteen

Sadly, I didn’t do one in 2015. 😦

twenty-fourteen

twenty-thirteen

weekly photo challenge: my 2012 in pictures

chaco culture: hungo pavi

wanderessence1025 December 30, 2018

Hungo Pavi sits at the mouth of Mockingbird Canyon at Chaco Culture National Historical Park. It is an unexcavated Chacoan great house (monumental public building) containing over 150 rooms, a great kiva, and an enclosed plaza. It is a good example of what Chacoan sites look like without excavations — covered with a protective blanket of wind-blown sand and native vegetation. It is strategically located near natural drainages, and several seeps and springs. It was occupied from 1000 to the 1250s.

I take a short trail around the building and through the plaza, admiring the structure of the great house against the natural cliffs.

Hungo Pavi

Most of the great houses at Chaco Canyon are oriented to solar, lunar and cardinal directions, and some great houses incorporated sophisticated astronomy markers.

Hungo Pavi

People congregated at Chaco Canyon because it was a sacred place. It may have been considered a “center place” that bound people together through a shared vision. Or it may have been simply a trading center where turquoise was traded for macaws, copper bells, shells and other items from distant lands.

Hungo Pavi

I pass an ancient stairway carved into the cliff.

ancient staircase carved into cliff at Hungo Pavi

Masonry at Hungo Pavi

Hungo Pavi

Today, many of the Southwest’s tribes are Chaco descendents. These tribes see Chaco as an important step on their clans’ sacred migration paths, and a spiritual place to be honored and respected.

Hungo Pavi

cacti at Hungo Pavi

cacti at Hungo Pavi

Hungo Pavi

masonry at Hungo Pavi

Hungo Pavi

Two masonry styles are shown below.

masonry styles at Hungo Pavi

back wall of Hungo Pavi

back wall of Hungo Pavi

masonry at Hungo Pavi

Hungo Pavi

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On Sundays, I post about hikes or walks that I have taken in my travels; I may also post on other unrelated subjects. I will use these posts to participate in Jo’s Monday Walks or any other challenges that catch my fancy.

This post is in response to Jo’s Monday Walk: Blessing the Fishermen.

anticipation & preparation: delaware

wanderessence1025 December 28, 2018

To prepare for our three-day trip to Delaware, I started by looking through a guidebook, Moon Handbooks: Maryland & Delaware. Focusing on the Delaware section, I found two areas to explore, Upper Delaware and Lower Delaware. I read about the du Pont family, why Wilmington has seen hard times, and about the history in the area.

I found some novels and a memoir set in Delaware, as follows:

The Book of Unknown Americans by Cristina Henríquez (& Mexico) ****
Shattered: Reclaiming a Life Torn Apart by Violence by Debra Puglisi Sharp & Marjorie Preston (memoir) – my copy of this book is autographed by the author, who I met at a writer’s conference in Dewey Beach, De. in 2005. ****
The Saint of Lost Things by Christopher Castellani
Beloved by Toni Morrison (also Ohio & Kentucky)
West of Rehoboth by Alexs D. Pate

I finished the first two books, am currently reading the third, and I own #4. I don’t know if I’ll have time to read more than the first two as we’re going at the end of December or in early January.

Preparing for Delaware

Living room at Winterthur in Delaware

Itinerary:

Day 1: UPPER DELAWARE

Drive to Nemours Mansion and Gardens (2 h 33 min drive)
Delaware Art Museum in Wilmington (7 minutes)
Old Swede’s Church in Wilmington (12 minutes) (Make appointment on website)
Walk around Wilmington, including the Riverfront
Stay night in New Castle (17 minutes)

DAY 2: UPPER & LOWER DELAWARE

New Castle Court House Museum
New Castle Historic Homes (can only see outside in January)
Biggs Museum of American Art, Dover, DE (51 minutes)
LOWER DELAWARE
1. Bombay Hook National Wildlife Refuge (21 minutes)
2. Cape Henlopen State Park (1 hour 4 minutes)
3. Stay the night in Rehoboth

DAY 3: LOWER DELAWARE AND RETURN HOME:

Rehoboth Beach Boardwalk (25 minutes)
Delaware Seashore State Park (18 minutes)
Drive home (3 hr 12 minutes)

JOURNAL AND INTENTIONS:

Here are my intentions for this trip:

My intentions for Delaware

To see books set in the U.S.A., please visit books | u.s.a. |

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“ANTICIPATION & PREPARATION” INVITATION: I invite you to write a post on your own blog about anticipation & preparation for a particular destination (not journeys in general). If you don’t have a blog, I invite you to write in the comments. Include the link in the comments below by Thursday, January 24 at 1:00 p.m. EST. When I write my post in response to this challenge on Friday, January 25, I’ll include your links in that post.

This will be an ongoing invitation, on the 4th Friday of each month. Feel free to jump in at any time. 🙂 If you’d like to read more about the topic, see: journeys: anticipation & preparation.

I hope you’ll join in our community. I look forward to reading your posts!

the call to place: delaware

wanderessence1025 December 27, 2018

Sometimes we choose a journey due to constraints of time or money, to a place within driving distance. We might have visited a place earlier in our lives and only had time to skim the surface, so we want to return and delve deeper.

This the case with our call to Delaware. We have several days we can venture out in January and we want a place within a short drive from our home in Virginia. We’ve also visited a couple of places in Delaware over the years, but have only skimmed the surface.

Why Delaware? The second-smallest U.S. state has a decent-sized city in Wilmington, some cute historical and beachfront towns, state parks, and a wildlife refuge.

On December 7, 1787, Delaware became the first state to ratify the Constitution of the United States, and has since been known as “The First State.” As I’m still on a quest to fill up my National Park passport, we’ll make a stop at several of the seven sites that make up First State National Historical Park. These are spread throughout the entire state. The park focuses on the story of first settlement through the ratification of the United States Constitution. The sites include: Wilmington: Beaver Valley, Fort Christina, and Old Swedes Church; New Castle: New Castle Court House; Dover: The Green, Dover and John Dickinson Plantation; and Lewes: Ryves Holt House.

As second smallest state in the USA after Rhode Island, Delaware should be easily navigable. There are sites in Upper Delaware, which include Wilmington and New Castle. Lower Delaware includes shore areas such as Lewes, Cape Henlopen State Park, Rehoboth Beach, Dewey Beach, the Delaware Seashore State Park, and the Bombay Hook National Wildlife Refuge.

In June of 1990, when I was only 34, Mike and I, along with our friend Carroll, took part in a sprint triathlon on the grounds of St. Andrew’s School in Middletown, Delaware. A sprint triathlon consists of a half-mile swim, 12.4-mile bike and 3.1-mile run. As in most events such as these, athletes are seeded according to their normal speed, and since I’m so slow, I started in the last wave. My friend Carroll was in the wave ahead of me, and Mike was in one of the earliest waves.

The swim portion of the sprint triathlon at St. Andrews School.

After the swim, and at the end of the bike ride, I was at the tail end of the pack. Race course sweepers on motorcycles were following closely behind me, and I got so irritated, I jumped off my bike and yelled at them, “Back off!” By the time I reached the trail through the woods for the final 3.1-mile-run, I was truly at the end of the pack. I wasn’t happy about being last, as I’d already finished last in a 5-mile run in Coeur d’Alene, Idaho in 1982, an icy course called the Hangover Handicap on New Year’s Day.

I take off on the bike, not looking very happy!

As I plodded along, I saw Carroll running ahead of me, which motivated me to pick up my pace. As I caught up with her, we ran together for a bit, and then I apologized and told her I was NOT going to finish last, at which time I mustered all the energy I had and pushed ahead. I finished second to last and Carroll last; she actually would have been last even if we had crossed the finish line together because she had started a wave ahead of me. I still laugh about that incident, even though it is quite embarrassing, and very selfish! 🙂

Carroll finishing last!

me with Carroll after the race

One of my favorite films, the 1989 Dead Poets Society starring Robin Williams and Ethan Hawke, was filmed almost entirely on the St. Andrew’s School grounds. It is a gorgeous campus, and visiting there took me back to scenes from that fabulous movie.

St. Andrew’s School

the lake at St. Andrew’s School

In 2004, I went to a writer’s conference at Books and Coffee in Dewey Beach, Delaware, which has now vanished, as have so many independent bookstores. At that conference, I met the author Debra Puglisi Sharp, who had recently published her book, Shattered: Reclaiming a Life Torn Apart by Violence, which tells the story of her abduction and her husband’s murder by a man on crack cocaine. She had been living an easy middle class life in her quiet Delaware neighborhood when violence struck and sent her life careening.

I also went to Rehoboth with my best friend Jayne in 2008 for a short visit, although I didn’t explore as I would have liked to.

I dipped again into Delaware in June of 2016 to visit Winterthur, the estate of the du Pont family, one of the richest families in America. According to Forbes:

DuPont started as a gunpowder manufacturer, later expanding into dynamite, paints, plastics, dyes and materials. Its scientists invented nylon, Kevlar and Teflon. It eventually evolved into a chemicals giant.

Winterthur was originally the home of Evelina Gabrielle du Pont and her husband, James Bidermann, eventually passing into the hands of Henry Francis du Pont in 1927 (winterthur museum, garden and library: a delaware country estate).

I won’t visit Winterthur again on this trip, but I hope to visit Nemours Mansion & Gardens, a 77-room Louis XVI-style château built by Alfred I. du Pont. It also boasts the largest formal French gardens in North America, a Chauffeur’s Garage housing a collection of vintage automobiles used on the estate, and nearly 200 acres of scenic woodlands, meadows and lawns.

Last December, I ventured to Cape May, New Jersey (a mid-december escape to cape may) and despite its being freezing cold, I enjoyed walking on the beach and having it all to myself. Travelers can cross the Delaware Bay from Lewes, Delaware to Cape May, N.J. by ferry, but I drove directly to Cape May last year.

It’s fun and festive to visit small towns in America when they’re all decked out for the holidays, so I hope they’ll still be festive when we visit.

As none of our adult children will be home for Christmas this year, we hope to celebrate part of the holidays by having a little adventure. 🙂

Winterthur

Winterthur

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“THE CALL TO PLACE” INVITATION: I invite you to write a post on your own blog about what enticed you to choose a particular destination. If you don’t have a blog, I invite you to write in the comments. If your destination is a place you love and keep returning to, feel free to write about that. If you want to see the original post about the subject, you can check it out here: imaginings: the call to place.

Include the link in the comments below by Wednesday, January 23 at 1:00 p.m. EST.

My next “call to place” post is scheduled to post on Thursday, January 24. If you’d like, you can use the hashtag #wanderessence.

This will be an ongoing invitation, on the fourth Thursday of each month. Feel free to jump in at any time. 🙂

I hope you’ll join in our community. I look forward to reading your posts!

{camino: day 1} climbing to orisson

wanderessence1025 December 25, 2018

Chanting at 6:15 on Tuesday morning nudged us pilgrims from our dreams. At a breakfast of muesli, bread and coffee, Joseph at Beilari warned that the weather over the Pyrenees was expected to be stormy and possibly dangerous on Wednesday. He suggested we shouldn’t stop overnight in Orisson but continue straight through to Roncesvalles. Alternatively, we could go the lower valley route to Valcarlos. Ingrid and I debated whether to heed his advice but decided to stick with our plan to stay the night in Orisson. I set my backpack aside to be transported ahead and began to walk by 7:30, with an omelette sandwich from Beilari in my day pack. Pilgrims emerged from various hostels, fresh and hopeful, and converged on the road leading out of St-Jean-Pied-de-Port like troops heading out to do battle.

Wearing shorts and a t-shirt, and carrying my trusty LEKI hiking poles, I walked with Ingrid and countless other pilgrims, up and up, a constant breathless climb. Fuzzy sheep dotted green fields that skirted forests of chestnut and white beech trees. Window boxes blooming with impatiens, fuchsia, and Australian sword fern decked out whitewashed farmhouses.

French drivers veered maniacally around us, between us. Under a tree, an Italian man pulling a trolley regaled us with Italian opera – Pavarotti. We stopped and listened, laughed and clapped. We were all so hopeful and excited and nervous, and here we were, listening to opera under a tree on a mountainside.

From pilgrims passing by, conversations echoed in Danish, French, Spanish, Korean and German. Cows studied us, chewing placidly on grass, and a donkey brayed. Cowbells clanked, their music sashaying through the trees. Cornfields gleamed as if the sun had soaked into each stalk. Tidy bales of hay dotted the fields. Along the path were yellow arrows, often crudely painted on trees, rocks or signposts.

It was a very steep climb for five miles, especially toward the end, but the views were stunning. Emerald mountains unfurled around us, in undulations and rumples. I stopped not only to catch my breath but to take photos. And to eat half of my omelette sandwich.

When we reached Orisson at 11:15 a.m., we were given tokens for a 5-minute shower. Ingrid lost hers immediately and was afraid to ask for another because she might get yelled at. I advised her to come clean, ask for another right away, so they’d know she hadn’t had time to use it and ask for another. She did and they gave her a replacement. She and I were first in the side-by-side showers, laughing and joking as we hurried to get rinsed off within the 5-minutes. We both had time to spare. After drying with our washcloth-sized towels, we dressed in what we’d hike in tomorrow, washed our clothes and hung them on the line outside to dry. My pilgrim credenciale got bent and warped at the edges from carrying it in my waist pack and sweating all day. I wrapped it in a plastic baggie, where it would stay for the rest of my Camino.

Our pleasant room had six bunks with windows opening onto views of the Pyrenees. Ingrid and I, first in, grabbed bottom bunks. Our roommates were Joyce from Connecticut, Marianne from the East Coast of Canada, and Bridgett and Jeannette from Ottowa. Joyce, Bridgett and Jeannette had large hardshell suitcases they were transporting ahead each day, arranged by a tour company.

On a platform overlooking the Pyrenees and the impossibly green valleys, we sat at picnic tables with other pilgrims and talked. An Irish guy named Cyril told of his struggles working on various farm operations, how he understands cattle more than the owners, how he milks an endless line of cows each day. David and Michelle from Britain just retired and said they have an adventurous spirit. They wanted to start a new life, now that their children were grown and they had free time. Big and sturdy, they both had a general roundness to them: she with a blonde pixie cut, he with a big belly, a ruddy complexion and a bemused expression. Lisa from Leesburg, Virginia, not far from my home, told in dramatic fashion about how she can walk forever and carry a pack with no problem, but going uphill is another matter. I listened, laughed, drank wine and ate the other half of my omelette sandwich.

It was a long afternoon. Trying to nap in our room proved elusive, especially as someone with a drone was directing it outside of our window, looking in.

At our pilgrim dinner of soup, baked chicken, peas and potatoes, we all introduced ourselves. We were told the forecast for tomorrow was fine. I decided I must trust, have faith, that it would all work out in the end.

the Nive River in St. Jean 7:30 a.m.

farm houses

farm houses

me with Ingrid

Ingrid & Michelle

Corn stalks

bucolic Pyrenees

cows

cow friends

the path behind us

flowering friends

sheep dotting a hill

me on the Camino

a lone pilgrim

sweeping views of the Pyrenees

me on the trail

me with Ingrid walking up and up

Pyrenees

views

pretty farmland

views from above

Orisson

view from the outdoor cafe at Orisson

Brigette, Jeannette, Marianne, Lisa, Michelle and David

View from Orisson

view from Orisson

Pilgrim dinner at Orisson

*Day 1: Tuesday, September 4, 2018: St-Jean-Pied-de-Port to Orisson (8km)*

*14,873 steps, or 6.3 miles*

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“PROSE” INVITATION: I invite you to write up to a post on your own blog about a recently visited particular destination (not journeys in general). Concentrate on any intention you set for your prose. In this case, one of my intentions for my Camino was to write using all my senses to describe place and to capture snippets of meaningful conversations with other pilgrims.

It doesn’t matter whether you write fiction or non-fiction for this invitation. You can either set your own writing intentions, or use one of the prompts I’ve listed on this page: writing prompts: prose. (This page is a work in process.) You can also include photos, of course.

Include the link in the comments below by Monday, January 7 at 1:00 p.m. EST. When I write my post in response to this invitation on Tuesday, January 8, I’ll include your links in that post.

This will be an ongoing invitation. Feel free to jump in at any time. 🙂

I hope you’ll join in our community. I look forward to reading your posts!