So Amazing I Had to Scream

While I was in Craters of the Moon National Park with my brothers and sisters there were wildflowers everywhere. I know that doesn’t soundlike that big if a deal but the ground there is covered with black and maroon lava rocks. There isn’t any real dirt around so seeing the ground literally covered with multi colored wildflowers clinging to life in the harsh terrain was beyond description.

Even photos didn’t do it justice because we were literally surrounded by flowers in a barren sea of rock. I finally broke down and just started screaming because I couldn’t believe how amazing it was. My niece in the back seat of my car took a video of me freaking out without my knowing about it.

Craters of the Moon

Panoramic view of the park and surrounding areas from the top of a large cinder cone

Desolation as far as the eye can see. A landscape ravaged by the Earth rending and cracking apart from 15,000 to 2,000 years ago. More than 25 separate cones created 60 distinct lava flows. The devastation remains 2000 years after the last lava flow trickled out and the Earth’s wound stopped it’s deluge of molten rock.

This is my second time visiting Craters of the Moon National Park in the last year. I decided to go with my brothers and sisters and their families while visiting my parents in Idaho. This place is in the middle of nowhere but it’s sure unique.

We spent times climbing cinder cones,

pretending we could fly,

exploring caves,

hiking through gnarly fields of lava

scaling rocks,

and marveling over wildflowers growing out of the volcanic ash and rock.

~Michael~

Just a Little Short

I up and left my family in South Carolina and flew to Salt Lake City so I could drive to Idaho Falls and visit my parents. My Dad has had some complications with surgery and I wanted to spend some time with them. As I was driving to Idaho, I was able to investigate something that I have heard about but that I never wanted to pursue because I never wanted to make my family bored.

I had always heard a rumor of a grave just north of the Welcome to Idaho sign on I-15 and I wanted to see if it was there. Sure enough there was a gravestone and I found the story confirmation here. My sick twisted mind gets a little humor from it. I don’t know what’s wrong with me. Here is the story.

“Hugh Moon crossed the plains to the Salt Lake Valley in 1848, where he married.  Brigham Young asked him to move to Dixie in southern Utah to build up the church there, but he moved again after five years, this time to Henderson Creek in the Idaho Territory.

 He died in 1870 at the age of 54.  His wishes were to be buried in Zion which he concluded to be Utah.  Upon his death, his family took him far enough south that they thought they were in Utah, to a small cemetery east or Portage.  As it turned out, the burial site was just inside the Idaho territory.”

I’m not sure why but I have always found this story humorous. In a time when transportation was so difficult, this man had one dying request which was to be buried in Utah. His family probably went to a lot of work to comply with his request and buried him about 10 yards shy of the Utah border. Then they put I-15 and the Idaho sign right in view of his grave so his spirit knew that his body wasn’t in Utah. It’s like someone was trying to rub it in. I need help determining two things.

1. Why does my sick mind find this is a little funny?
2.  What is the moral to this story? There must be something to be learned from it.

~Michael~

 

Butterfly Garden

I’m going to let you all in on a little secret. They don’t grow butterflies at a a butterfly garden.They grow plants that attract butterflies. We went to a Butterfly Garden in Greensville, South Carolina at the Roper Mountain Science Center and we saw a lot of plants that attract butterflies, but we didn’t see a lot of butterflies.

The garden was set up really well by the Greater Greenville Master Gardeners Association. Each plant had a sign that told what it was, as well as what butterfly the plant will attract. It was very educational and I definitely want to set up a butterfly garden once I live in a home again. Our favorite plant was the passion flower. I have never seen it before and it seemed like something from a science fiction movie.

In addition to a couple of butterflies, we did find some eggs and caterpillars which was still fun for Madelyn to see.

There is a small one mile hike right by the garden that travels around the Science Center with a lot of plaquards that gave information about the flora and fauna of the area.

If you are planning on going to the Roper Mountain Science Museum check the times as most of it is not open during the week, and don’t expect to see butterflies growing out of the ground.

~Michael~

A Walk Among the Dead

As I walked among the graves in Savannah’s Bonevanture Cemetery I travelled through history.

The Oaks covered with Spanish moss bowed down under the weight of the history of those that lay beneath. There was a spooky calm that filled the 100 acre graveyard.

I couldn’t help but feel the regret of those that passed to soon, or didn’t live the life they were destined to. I couldn’t help but feel the peace of those that experienced a fulfilled life. When I am buried how will others see me? When I look back on the life I have lived will I feel peace or regret, sadness or joy?

I don’t know the answer but today is the day I can determine my trajectory. Today is the day I take the step on the right path. It is not yesterday, I can’t change the past. It is not tomorrow, for it may never come. Today is the day I choose, and live, and create my life. Today.

~Michael~

Trolley Tour

It was so fortunate for us to meet Marisa’s parents while we were in Georgia and South Carolina. We figured out that we were in the same area because Marisa’s father saw her post about Savannah on Facebook. After spending a day with them in Charleston, we went to Savannah and took a hop on hop off historic bus tour. It was pretty awesome and a really nice way to see the city.

I can’t get enough of the cool old buildings. I seriously could spend a week walking around the city gawking at the architecture.

We went into the Cathedral of St John the Baptist and looked around. I didn’t get any great pictures of the massive chapel  but the stained glass windows were amazing.

We were able to go to the famous Leopold’s for ice cream. The ice cream was OK but it was a welcome break from the heat.

If you can’t tell already we loved visiting Savannah. I want to go back and spend more time there with Marisa sometime in the future. The history and beauty are amazing.

~Michael~

Who Was the Ad Wizard That Named This Street

There is a street in Savannah that sits by the river. It is called River Street, which makes me wonder who the ad wizard was that came up with that name. I mean it makes sense, but can’t we come up with something better? Now that I think of it, a lot of the guys that named the streets near the Ocean weren’t extremely clever. Fisherman’s wharf, Sea side Street, Ocean Drive, and the extremely unique Ocean Street (as opposed to the drive).

The names might not be very clever but maybe they don’t need to be since the streets are so cool to visit. We took a nice walk along River Street and there were a lot of cool buildings. I think I love brick buildings so much because one of my favorite artists is Edward Hopper. Check out this one. I know Hopper was from the New York but he would have loved painting this brick and stone wonder.

I decided to do a black and white of one of the alleys behind River Street.

The only thing I didn’t like about our jaunt down the street by the river were the historic steps. They had an ominous warning sign next to them. Why are historical steps risky? Marisa seemed to Navigate them relatively well. I wonder if the guy that named River Street named the Historic Steps. I assume he was fired because the other streets and locations and Savannah seemed to have more unique and meaningful names.

~Michael~

Angel Oak

Angel Oak, Charleston, South Carolina

The true meaning of life is to plant trees, under whose shade you do not expect to sit.

-Nelson Henderson-

 

 

Haunted Savannah

Maya with her EMF Reader

With all of it’s history, Savannah, Georgia is said to have a lot of hauntings. Maya and I were able to do a ghost tour of what is considered to be one of the most haunted places, the Weed Sorrel House.

The house was built on top of a former Revolutionary war battle ground (like a lot of Savannah) and therefore it was placed on top of the graves of soldiers.

The house was built by Francis Sorrel. He married Lucinda Moxley who died from Scarlet Fever 5 years after the marriage. Francis then married her sister Matilda. Matilda found Francis having an affair with one of the slaves named Molly that lived above the carriage house.

When Matilda caught them, she jumped off of the roof head first and died. A few weeks after this, Molly was found hanged in her room.

Door to Molly’s Room in the Carriage House

In addition to this sad tale, the basement was used for surgeries during the civil war and most people didn’t survive surgeries. According to the ghost hunters that gave us the tour all of these events have led to a lot of unhappy souls haunting the house.

Scary Basement

The basement and carriage were scary. I about cried like a little girl, Maya on the other hand wasn’t scared at all. The closest thing I have in my pictures to a ghost is this picture with Maya. Is that the edge of a ghost dress in the window. We will never know.

Even if you aren’t interested in ghosts the tour gives a great opportunity to see some of the house from the inside.

 

Maya and I had a lot of fun on this tour. I was glad we didn’t take the younger kids or they wouldn’t be able to sleep in their beds for weeks.

~Michael~

Farmers Market in Charleston

We were lucky enough to be in Charleston when they were having a Farmers Market at Marion Square. The subtropical climate must provide great opportunities for growing because the variety and beauty of the produce in the various stalls was amazing.

There were tomatoes everywhere.

I thought that the white and green asparagus was probably the most beautiful thing at the market.

I wanted to buy all the herbs that I could see but it’s hard to have a lot of herbs while living in a fifth wheel.

I know we weren’t in Georgia but we were close so I wasn’t surprised to see peaches as far as the eye could see.

It makes me so happy to go to Farmers Markets and see so many people that grow such beautiful produce, and seeing so many people that appreciate it. Farmers markets are one of my favorite places to be.

~Michael~