The hills that overlook Simi Valley, California host the Presidential Library and Museum of Ronald Reagan, the 40th President of the United States.  On a recent trip to California, I decided to stop in for a return visit to the library, this time with camera in hand.  As long as I took pictures, I thought I might share them, along with a few of my observations about the library and museum. 

 

The first thing you might notice about the library is how hard it is to actually see the architecture and styling of the buildings from afar.  The complex is built on a hilltop, and there are scant few vantage points from which to see the structures as you make your approach to the parking lot.

Soon, however, you will come to the entrance of the library, where you will start to see details of a gorgeous building, designed with a modern interpretation of classic early California architecture.

A larger-than-life sized statue of President Reagan greets you as you make your way into the lobby of the building, where you will find a gift shop and the ticket counter for purchasing admission to the museum.

One thing becomes abundantly clear as you begin your tour of the museum – if you weren’t sure what President Reagan looked like at the start of your tour, you memory will be thoroughly refreshed by the end of your visit.  Portraits and photographs of President Reagan are on prominent display virtually everywhere you turn.

This portrait of President Reagan is painted on a wall at the end of one of the long hallways within the library.

The museum is divided into a series of small individual galleries, with hallways, aisles, and corridors leading between the galleries covered with images of President Reagan, as in the example pictured above.

A fair amount of exhibit space is devoted to Ronald Reagan, the actor.  In the photo above, you can see a visitor watching a Ronald Reagan film in the mini-theater replica located behind the ticket booth.  In fact, viewing short information films is the “technology de jour” for the Reagan Presidential Library, as you shall see further along in this post.

Again, Ronald Reagan, the actor, is depicted in this display highlighting his television career.  A small amount of museum space is devoted to Reagan’s two terms as Governor of the State of California, and a bit of space is devoted to the campaign leading to Reagan’s election as President of the United States.

The caricature shown above, and other display exhibits serve to convey some of the conservative political philosophies Ronald Reagan was noted for.

 

The Presidential Libraries that I have visited all seek to impart a narrative of the subject presidency.  In the case of the Reagan Presidential Library, the narrative that seems to unfold is one of a president, who through sheer force of will,  ended the cold war and brought the Soviet Union to it’s knees.  Throughout the museum, exhibits highlight the tensions of the cold war, and there are constant reminders of President Reagan’s role in the demise of the Soviet Union, as in this display of opposing soldiers guarding Checkpoint Charlie along the former Berlin wall.

In another gallery within the library, a similar section of the former Berlin wall is on display, just in case you didn’t catch the first one.

Another exhibit illustrating the cold war narrative of this presidency is this mock up of a nuclear cruise missile, shown along side a photograph of President Reagan signing an arms reduction treaty with the Soviet Union.

In the event you may have missed the theme inside, there is yet a third segment of the former Berlin wall on display, this time outside of the museum, in the area of the White House South Lawn replica.

As I mentioned previously, several mini-theater screening rooms present the visitor with a concise summary of the issues of the time.  Here, again following the narrative of this presidency, a film and related displays remind the visitor that the world was on “the brink of disaster” during the cold war years and the years of the Reagan presidency.

Here is yet another mini-theater used to present the visitor with information.  I was amused at the sign over the entrance which reads “Press Room Theater.”  Appropriate terminology,  indeed!

Midway through the tour, you will arrive at the enormous hanger-like structure that houses Air Force One, the retired Boeing 707 presidential aircraft that has recently been replaced with a new Boeing 747 jet aircraft.  There, before your eyes, sits Air Force One, just as clean and polished as the day she was first commissioned.  This plane has flown seven U.S. Presidents – Nixon, Ford, Carter, Reagan, H.W. Bush, Clinton, and G.W. Bush.  Security concerns do not allow for the taking of photographs aboard Air Force One, but the public can walk through the plane and view it with “eyes” only.

The Republican party recently conducted a pre-primary presidential debate that was held at the Reagan Presidential Library, beneath Air Force One in the room pictured above.  I happened to watch news sound bites of this event from the four major broadcast networks (ABC, NBC, CBS and Fox).   Surprisingly, each network anchor referred to the debate as being held underneath Air Force One,  which they all claimed was suspended from the roof of the building.

Let me put this vicious rumor to rest, once and for all.  The airplane is NOT suspended from the ceiling of the building, but is supported on three massive columns constructed specifically for their intended purpose.  The photograph above clearly shows the front landing gear resting on the tallest of the three support columns.

Getting to walk around underneath the aircraft gave me a good sense of just how large each individual engine pod actually is.

Beneath Air Force One is an exhibit displaying a presidential motorcade.  Not shown in the picture above are police escort vehicles and motorcycles.

Also on display in this section of the Presidential Library and Museum is a retired Marine One helicopter, used to shuttle the President between various locations.  This one on display is a Johnson-era Marine One helicopter.

After touring the aircraft in the Air Force One pavilion, your visit continues back in the main wing of the building, where you can see replicas of the Oval Office as decorated during the Reagan years, and the Situation Room, as seen in the picture below.

It has become a tradition for each First Lady to personalize their White House environment in certain respects.  One area where this is evident is in the selection of the White House china, flatware and stemware.

The table that you see here might await you if you were fortunate enough to be invited to a state dinner at the White House during the Reagan presidency.  As you may recall from my previous post about the Clinton Presidential Library, I don’t expect to be receiving a White House dinner invitation any time soon, so I am happy to see what the table would look like if I were to somehow be invited.

Visitors who wish to pay their respects to President Reagan can do so at the Ronald Reagan Memorial,  where the late President was interred upon his death in 2004.  The Memorial is on the grounds of the Presidential Library and Museum, and is open to the public.

I have set a personal goal of visiting all 14 of the Presidential Libraries.  To date, I have only visited three (Hoover, Clinton, and Reagan).  Only 11 more to go, and perhaps you’ll get to see them with me as I write about them on this blog.  Or maybe not….

 

The Channel Islands consists of eight island masses off the coast of Southern California.  In 1980 the United States Congress established Channel Islands National Park, which includes the northernmost five of these islands, in order to study, protect and preserve the unique resources of these remarkable islands.  Along with the National Park, the Channel Islands National Marine Sanctuary (administered by the National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), was also established in 1980 to protect the marine resources of the waters surrounding the islands.

I have been a frequent visitor to the Channel Islands over the past 32 years, starting with my involvement in the sport of scuba diving in 1975.  My wife and I also spent some five years living aboard our diesel-powered trawler, with nearly two of those years spent “on the hook” (otherwise known as being anchored) in the lee of the various anchorages scattered around the Channel Islands.  The love I have for these islands runs deep, and the degree to which I miss them is palpable at times.

Since my involvement predates the establishment of Channel Islands National Park, I have seen many, many changes that have occurred in the ownership and use patterns on these islands.  Now that it has been 7 years since relocating to the Ozarks, you can imaging how much of a longing I have felt to return to the islands for a visit.  On a recent trip to California, I decided to devote a day to reacquainting myself with the largest of the Channel Islands, which is Santa Cruz Island.

Numerous commercial dive and sport fishing boats frequent the islands from their home ports on the mainland, but to actually land on the islands requires either access to a private, seaworthy vessel, or the utilization of the services provided by Island Packers, the exclusive concessionaire to the NPS for the Channel Islands.

Round trip fare to Santa Cruz Island runs $46, and it entitles you to passage aboard the Islander, a 64 foot X 24 foot, 149 passenger catamaran built by All American Marine, as seen in the photograph above.  This vessel was commissioned in 2001, is equipped with super-low emission diesel engines, burns bio-diesel fuel, and can operate at approximately 20 knots, offering a quick and comfortable ride across the Santa Barbara Channel.

As the Islander heads for the breakwater, you will see the Channel Islands National Park headquarters and visitor center, located in the heart of Ventura Harbor.  As with all National Parks, the center is a valuable resource for visitors to the park, providing information, interpretive programs and expertise to make your visit both safe and enjoyable.

Since the islands are only accessible by boat, the Park Service operates several vessels used in the management of the park resources.  The vessel seen above is the largest in the CINPS fleet.  The CINPS also operates a landing ship craft (LSC) which is used to transport materials and equipment to and from the islands.

Any transit from the mainland of California to any one of the northern Channel Islands requires crossing the Santa Barbara Channel.  If you examine the nautical chart at the top of this post, you may see that this entails crossing both a northbound and a southbound designated shipping channel.  For those unfamiliar with what a designated shipping channel is, it is basically a pair of sea lanes, separated from each other by a defined separation zone, which is used by large commercial vessels and controlled by specific rules and regulations.   One of the rules states that a vessel, properly navigating within a shipping channel, has absolute right-of-way over any other vessel crossing the shipping lanes.  The shipping channel that exists within the Santa Barbara Channel is a very busy place, as it is a primary route for the entire west coast maritime shipping trade.  You can see from the photograph above that we crossed paths with at least one large container ship as we worked our way over to Santa Cruz Island.

When we arrived at Santa Cruz Island, the captain cruised past Scorpion Rock (shown above), which has become a favorite roosting spot for the California brown pelican, which is listed as an endangered species resulting from the DDT fiasco of the mid-20th century that threatened the survival of many different bird species prior to the eventual ban on it’s use.  The brown pelican, happily, is making a fine recovery at this time.

 

After unloading passengers (mostly school children) at Scorpion, the crew of the Islander offload the kayaks that they have transported to Santa Cruz Island.  Santa Cruz is a sea kayaker’s paradise, with kelp beds and sea caves as the primary attraction.  The sea caves of Santa Cruz Island are known internationally, and Painted Cave, located on the north side of the island, is the largest known navigable sea cave in the world.  I have been aboard dive boats that have pulled into this cave, which is a feat that can only be accomplished on the calmest of days.

After dropping off most of the passengers at the Scorpion ranch area, the Islander continued on to a spot called Prisoners Harbor.  There were only a half-dozen people landing at Prisoners, including myself.  All of the other passengers headed off to the west, into land owned by The Nature Conservancy, guided by a biologist from Island Packers.  Anyone who knows me would not be surprised that I chose to head in another direction – eastward towards Potato Harbor.  There’s something to be said for getting away from the crowds!

Along the way, I passed many relics from Santa Cruz Island’s ranching past.  The island had been owned by a Dr. Stanton prior to the establishment of the National Park, and was used as an active cattle ranch.  In 1978, The Nature Conservancy bought approximately 90% of the western portion of Santa Cruz Island from Dr. Stanton, who was permitted to continue ranching operations for a limited time.  On Dr. Stanton’s passing in 1987, the ranching operations were halted, and the cattle were removed to the mainland.

Here, in the Prisoners ranch area, are additional remains of Dr. Stanton’s ranching operation.  This brick building was constructed in the late 19th century, giving some indication of how far back ranching had been a part of this island’s heritage.

Past the cattle facilities of Prisoners Harbor one can find a nice roadbed on which to begin exploring the eastern end of Santa Cruz Island.  In the photograph above, you can just get a hint as to the ruggedness of the terrain on Santa Cruz Island.

Along with the dirt roadbed, which was established to aid ranching operations, there is a wonderful network of hiking trails on the island.  The graded roadbed gives way to less developed trails, as shown below.

I will digress for a moment to tell you about a creature unique to these islands, the Island Fox.  At one time, when sea levels were lower than they are today, fox from the mainland found their way to some of the Channel Islands.  The sea levels eventually rose, thus stranding the fox on the islands.  As with many other species throughout the world who become isolated in an area of limited food resources, the fox began to exhibit the trait of dwarfism, so that today the Island Fox has become an extremely diminutive animal, approximating the size of a house cat. 

Within the past decade, there has been a drastic decline in the number of Island Fox at the Channel Islands.  On Santa Cruz, past numbers were believed to be in excess of one thousand animals.  Since the decline, the number is believed to be less than 100 animals.  The causes of the decline are believed to be a chain of events that looks something like this:  early ranchers introduced pigs to the island as a food source.  Domestic pigs, being difficult to confine in pens, escaped captivity and eventually established a feral pig population on the island.  Hunters on the island did a pretty good job of controlling the feral pig population.  The National Park was established, and hunting was eventually banned on the island.  With no natural predators, the feral pig population exploded.  The supply of feral piglets attracted predatory Golden Eagles to the islands, whose numbers had previously been limited by competition from Bald Eagles.  However, the DDT problem, previously referred to in this post, eliminated the Bald Eagle from the island, and the Golden Eagle was free to reign supreme.  The Golden Eagles found the Island Fox to be easy prey, and thus the rapid decline in their numbers.  A detailed and accurate discussion of the plight of the Island Fox can be found at the NPS Island Fox homepage.  I have never been fortunate enough to see an Island Fox in person, even though it has been one of my aspirations for a long, long time.

But, as they say, I digress, so now, back to my day excursion.   After hiking to a remote little corner of the island, I felt the pang of hunger setting in, so I decided that it would be a good time to take a lunch break.  Setting my day pack down beside me, I proceeded to enjoy the delectable ham and cheese sandwich that I had prepared for lunch.  About half-way through eating the sandwich, I looked up, and what do you know, there, not five feet in front of me, was an Island Fox, standing dead-still and staring at me, as if trying to determine whether I were friend or foe.  I immediately froze every muscle in my body, hoping not to startle the fox, lest he/she turn and depart in a hasty retreat.  After what seemed like an eternity (but was probably only a minute or so),  I realized that I NEEDED to get a picture of this fox, otherwise my tale of encounter would be accepted with the same credibility as is afforded to those with tales (but no evidence) of Bigfoot or Loch Ness monster sightings.

Photographers among you may see this coming, but here goes anyway.  My camera was turned off, with lens cap covering the lens.  The camera was safely stowed in it’s carrying case, with the snap fastener securely engaged.  This was all stuffed into the day pack laying on the ground next to me, and of course, the day pack was zipped shut.  Lowering the sandwich to my lap, I slowly reached one hand over to my pack, where I tried to open the zipper of the pack as silently as I could.  Quietly and with deliberate care, I extracted the camera out of the pack, all the while maintaining eye contact with the fox.  As I fumbled with the camera case, and then the lens cap, I realized that I would probably spook the fox before I could compose a shot the way I normally try to do when taking a picture.  Keeping this in mind, I decided to slowly turn the camera to face the fox, thinking that I might only get one chance to squeeze the shutter.  So with the camera down by my left shin, I pointed the lens toward the fox and depressed the shutter button.   The camera fired off a shot, and the fox immediately bolted.

 

The picture I obtained is not one that I would consider entering into a photographic competition.  In fact, it doesn’t even qualify as a decent animal ID type photo, but it certainly captures a sufficient image to verify that my story is not a tall tale, but indeed is an actual sighting.  Believe me when I tell you that this encounter absolutely MADE MY DAY.

Finishing my sandwich, I noticed that it was probably time for me to start heading back towards Prisoners Harbor so that I would not miss the boat for my return to the mainland.  Sure enough, the Islander could be seen pulling up to the pier at precisely the scheduled time.  Boarding the boat, I found a comfortable spot to enjoy the trip back to Ventura Harbor.

After picking up passengers at the Scorpion ranch, where we had deposited them earlier in the day, we now headed over to Anacapa Island, which is the smallest of the Channel Islands included in the National Park.  Here we picked up passengers who also wanted to return to the mainland.  Above, you can see the steep staircase at Anacapa’s Landing Cove, which must be negotiated to explore the island.  After picking up these remaining passengers, we headed back across the Santa Barbara Channel towards the home port of Ventura Harbor, but not before cruising along in the channel amongst a large pod of Pacific white-sided dolphin, who took advantage of the superb bow and stern wakes to partake in a little bit of surfing, a sport that they invented long before Hawaiians ever caught on to the concept.

Many books have been written about the Channel Islands in general, and Santa Cruz Island specifically.  Although this small post does not do the subject justice, I have provided enough links to get you started in your research should you decide to visit these islands.  Although the location of Channel Islands National Park ensures that it remains the least visited of all the National Parks, those who are familiar with these islands will tell you that Channel Islands National Park is the gem among gems in our park system. 

Do plan on being one of the few who gets the opportunity to experience this wonderful resource that we are fortunate to have available to us.  I can assure you, you won’t be disappointed.

Perhaps you recall from a post back in July (Welcome to Our Hen Houses) that we have two structures for housing our fowl.  The guineas are housed in a free standing hen house, with  indoor and outdoor areas.  The chickens are housed in an enclosure within our equipment barn.  Locating the chickens within the equipment barn has proven to be a BIG mistake.   We like to release our chickens each morning and pen them back up at night, which means that there are times during the day that they congregate in the barn and on the equipment.  I’ll spare you any photographs, but you can imagine the mess they create on the equipment, which, I’m sure you’ll agree, is totally unacceptable.  I suppose I should have anticipated this occurrence.  I mean, it is called an equipment barn, is it not?

As it happens, our chicken flock has been reduced in number by predation, and there are only three remaining at this time.  We have ordered chicks from a hatchery to augment our shrunken flock, and expect them to arrive in a few weeks. (if this cycle does NOT seem like deja vu to you, see the post To Free, or Not to Free (range your chickens, that is).   Prior to their arrival, we thought this would be a good time to relocate the chickens to housing located some distance away from the equipment barn.  We have tried housing the chickens in a chicken tractor (see A Tractor for Chickens?) without much success, and have decided that another free standing chicken structure would be appropriate for our needs.

Having settled on the type of chicken housing we wanted, the next step was to choose between buying a prefab chicken structure or building one ourselves.  When attending a HorseFest in Springfield last year, Retta brought home a catalog from an Amish owned company in Seymour, Missouri that produces a variety of livestock shelters.  Within the catalog were several structures that could possibly suit our needs, so we thought we would take a ride to Seymour and look them over so that we could make an informed build-buy decision.  Only one thing stood in the way of our plan to drive to Seymour – Bull Shoals Lake.

This topographic map depicts a portion of Bull Shoals Lake.  It is a lake about 40-50 miles long created by the (some would say the damn) damming of the White River, which formed a lake with a multitude of fingers and a shoreline exceeding 1000 miles!  You can see a yellow boundary line in the map, which represents the Missouri-Arkansas border.

We reside on the south side of Bull Shoals Lake, while Seymour, Missouri lies well north of the lake.  Driving all the way around Bull Shoals Lake is a long detour for someone heading due north, and there are no bridges spanning the lake at any point.  So what’s a person to do?

That’s right – hop on board a ferry to be shuttled across the lake!  The Ozarks is an area that is blessed with an abundance of surface water in the form of creeks, streams and rivers.  In earlier times, there was a large number of private and public ferries in operation that transported people, wagons and livestock across the many waterways that occur in this region.  One by one, the ferries halted operation as bridges were built to span the rivers of the area.  In Arkansas, by 1968 the hundreds of ferries that had served the state were reduced in number to 17.  By 1986, there were only 4 ferries remaining in operation, and today, there is only 1 ferry that continues to serve the public in Arkansas – the Peel Ferry.  And so our journey to Seymour, Missouri would take us on a minor, but quaint adventure across Bull Shoals Lake on the last surviving Arkansas ferry.

I have had the good fortune to travel around the Puget Sound and Strait of Juan de Fuca in the Pacific Northwest on many occasions.  Ferry travel is common in that area, and I have ridden those ferries a number of times.  Big ferries, with multiple automobile decks, passenger lounges, food and beverage service, and some (for longer journeys) with sleeping accommodations.  The Peel Ferry has none of these amenities, as is obvious from the following photograph-

The Peel Ferry is about as simple as a ferry can get.  It is no more than a barge with ramps on each end, powered by a small tug lashed to the side of the auto barge.  It will only hold about six vehicles, and has no passenger amenities at all.  Simply a way across the lake.  But the price is right – the ferry is free for all to use.

Here is a photograph of the ferry leaving the the dock on the south side of Bull Shoals Lake, as it begins it’s short journey to the opposite side of the lake.

Unlike the ferries of the Pacific Northwest, which ply ocean like waters, this ferry only traverses a short section of placid lake water.  The loading ramps do not even need to be elevated for the trip across the lake.

Eventually, the ferry approaches the dock on the opposite shore of the lake.  Notice the massive lineup of cars awaiting the ferry at it’s terminus?  The question might arise, “why does this ferry continue to run, especially at no charge, when all the others have discontinued operation”?  The answer lies in a close examination of the topographic map that appears at the beginning of this post.  You will notice that below the Missouri border, but north of the lake the is a large chunk of land protruding down into the lake area.  This land area is too small to form it’s own political jurisdiction, but large enough to contain roads, and probably several hundred residents, all of whom need the services that are typically provided by a county government.  Lacking a costly bridge, the county would be faced with the daunting prospect of having to provide services to this portion of the county by routing vehicles and road equipment all the way around the lake, into Missouri, and then back down into Arkansas again.  Instead, the Arkansas Department of Highways and Transportation has opted to maintain the services of the Peel Ferry, primarily for the benefit of the county, but available for all motorists to use.

After leaving the ferry, the small highway that services the area winds through the beautiful landscape of the Ozarks.  The picture above shows one of the two one-lane bridges that are located shortly beyond the north terminus of the ferry.  All-in-all, the Peel Ferry adds a quaint charm to what would otherwise be merely a bucolic and picturesque drive in the countryside.  If you are ever in the area, make it a point to be one of the few people who gets the opportunity to ride the last remaining ferry in Arkansas.

There is a local group known as the Rusty Wheels Old Engine Club that stages a public show twice a year at their club site outside of Harrison, Arkansas.  Unfortunately, I usually read about how good their shows are in the newspaper after they occur.  This year was different however.  I ran across an advertisement regarding the show as Retta and I savored our dessert at the ice cream shop, after enjoying a delightful meal at a local diner, a Friday night “tradition” we have recently established.  So I spent Saturday at the show, taking in the old machinery while reveling in the beautiful fall weather we have been having.

I had expected that I would see many restored tractors at the show, such as the John Deere 1951 Model A – HC tractor shown above, and the rugged looking steel cog-wheeled John Deere shown below. 

I did not expected to see the large variety of interesting additional machinery and activities that were at the fall show.  Those items that I can identify, I will.  If I can’t, maybe you can fill me in with a helpful comment.  Forgive the lengthy post, but the following photographs a but a small sampling of what was available to see. 

How about this 1965 Bombardier log skidder?  Un-restored, but it is still in daily use by a local logging crew.  And obviously, an opinionated owner ;)

This 1947 John Deere/Lindeman 14 horsepower crawler would come in handy from time to time in my woods.

It’s funny, but every time I made it a point to prominently display my camera (I would pretend to be fiddling with the controls), somebody would take the opportunity to drive right in front of me in their unique machines, such as the gentleman in the home-built buggy, seen above.

Shortly after lunch, the tractor pulling competition was scheduled to begin, so the preparatory tractor weigh-ins began about noon.  The Allis-Chalmers tractor (pictured above) has just been weighed, and is driving off the scale to await his chance to pull the sled. 

For those of you who may not be familiar with tractor pulling contests, here are the basics in a nutshell.  The tractor is hitched up to a device called a sled, the green piece of machinery shown in the picture above.  The sled is engineered with the wheels and axle acting as a fulcrum point, in such a way that the load borne by the tractor increases the further along the track it travels.  Eventually, even the most powerful tractor will come to a standstill.  The tractor that pulls the sled the furthest is declared the winner, and everyone rejoices afterwards!

But tractor pulling is not limited to conventional farm tractors.  Massive, high budget jet-propelled or diesel-propelled tractors compete in larger venues, but here in a more moderate income area, the souped-up tractor of choice for pulling competitions are the lawn tractor, as shown below.

Not the ordinary lawn tractor you would expect to purchase at the local big-box store, but super-duper, highly modified and detailed custom jobs, especially built for these pulling competitions.  Some are so highly modified that they resemble a Top Fuel dragster more than a lawn tractor, as you can see in the following photo.

This is a motor sport that you can be competitive in at the top levels without having to budget hundreds of thousands, or even millions of dollars.

And as you can see above, the participants are generally equipped with an active sense of humor.

The variety of engine types represented at the show was vast, including this operational steam locomotive.  The engine only travels about 60-70 feet before it reaches the end of the track and has to back up, but it provides enough distance to show off the operational capabilities of the locomotive.

Not to be outdone by larger equipment, the tabletop engineers also had their trains running up and down the tracks.

This fellow made it his goal to keep this antique engine running the entire duration of the day, so everybody who walked by could see it running.  He was on the road to success in this quest, but it was no easy task.  He was constantly fiddling with the engine to keep it chugging along, but then what else would you expect from a 1915 Fairbanks Morse 1.5 hp engine? 

There were many variations of operational small engine replicas on display and for sale, one of which is shown in the picture above.  This kit is manufactured and marketed by a gentleman who lives in the neighborhood, using only a 7″ lathe and small milling machine for the production of his kits.

Various old saw and sawmill equipment was displayed at the Rusty Wheels Old Engine show, such as the tow-able cut-off saw seen above

This horizontal saw is powered by the steam engine located a distance outside the shed.  The engine powers the saw via a long belt and pulley system, which you can see in the picture above.  There is a large distance separating the engine from the saw for several reasons.  This arrangement affords room for long lengths of lumber to be cut, keeps the saw operators out of the smoke and noise from the engine, and protects them from harm should some type of pressure failure occur in the steam engine.

But the most important reason for the distance is to create the grip necessary for the belt to power the saw.  The sagging weight of the long belt causes it to exert tremendous pressure onto the surface of the pulleys, thereby reducing slippage to a minimum.  Additionally, since the seam that is used to join the two ends of the belt is prone to damage, the extreme length allowed the ends to be trimmed and re-spliced as necessary.  The engine would just have to be moved a little closer to the equipment, and all would be operational once again.

Various old industrial equipment was on display, and most had been restored to operating condition, with ongoing demonstrations of the machinery in action.  The photograph above shows a cord braiding machine.  This machine kept chugging along all day, weaving the brightly colored threads above into the cordage you see spooling onto the reel, seen at the lower left of the photograph above.

I could go on with hundreds of additional photographs, but instead I invite you to see for yourself at the next Rusty Wheels Old Engine show, which comes up again this spring.  It is well worth the time, and adult admission is free, children and seniors free-er, of course!

The website for the Rusty Wheels Old Engine Club is www.rustywheels.com.

UPDATE:

 Spring 2011 Show -  June 10th and 11th, 2011

 Fall 2011 Show -  October 7th and 8th, 2011      

Hot Springs National Park, Arkansas

Hot Springs National Park lies within the city of Hot Springs, Arkansas, approximately 50 miles southwest of the capital city of Little Rock.   Hot Springs Reservation was established by Congress in 1832, and transferred to the National Park Service in 1921, making it the oldest property in the National Park Service inventory, even older than Yellowstone National Park.  The predominant feature of HSNP are the 47 protected hot springs which flow freely from the ground, and the eight historic bathhouses which are located on the famous “Bathhouse Row.”

There is a public observation tower located on a mountaintop above Hot Springs, and for a nominal charge you can ride an elevator to the top of the tower.  From the observation deck you are afforded a 360 degree view of the surrounding area.  The area known as “Bathhouse Row” is located below the tower, and the view of the town from up high is shown in the following photograph-

The bathhouse row area is worthy of exploration.  The buildings in this area have been preserved and restored, and the architectural styles are varied and beautiful.  This bell tower is just one of many interesting features that can readily be viewed from the street.

On a terrace just above bathhouse row there exists a beautifully tranquil and inviting hiking path which is constructed from brick formed into intricate patterns.

Along this path are many of the protected hot springs from which the town (and park) were named.  The photograph below is just one example of the many springs along the cobblestone lined walkway.

There are eight historic bathhouses located along bathhouse row.  At this time, five are operating and open to the public, with steam baths, sitz baths, and massages as part of the services offered to visitors for a fee.  The National Park Service has set up it’s headquarters and visitors center at the old Fordyce Bathhouse near the center of bathhouse row.  The Fordyce Bathhouse is not operational, but rather is restored and open to the public  for self-guided tours.  It is very interesting to tour the Fordyce Bathhouse.  You will see many beautiful stained glass works of art, such as this stained glass ceiling located on the top floor of the building.

Within the Fordyce Bathhouse you will also encounter unexpected works of fine art, such as the sculpture shown in the photograph that follows. 

For those interested in the actual workings of a bathhouse, the Park Service has done an admirable job of preserving the equipment that is necessary for a bathhouse’s operation.  The photograph below shows a control manifold that is used to regulate the temperature of the spring water before it is introduced into the baths and showers.

The sweat chambers shown in the next photograph were a very popular part of the bathhouse experience.  Personally, I think they look like instruments of sadistic torture, and I do not think I would have opted to enter one without coercion.

After a ride up to the top of the observation tower, followed by a foot tour of the historic buildings along Bathhouse Row, a look around the Fordyce Bathhouse, and perhaps some bathing in one of the five operational bathhouses, you might enjoy taking a ride around Lake Hamilton, which is located just south of the town of Hot Springs.  If you are lucky, you might just find an elusive pot o’ gold at the end of a rainbow!

 Ozark Folk Center

Just outside the quaint little town of Mountain View, Arkansas, exists a wonderful state park called the Ozark Folk Center.  The mission of this park is to preserve and present to visitors the pioneer heritage of the Ozarks region.  Last year Retta and I spent some time at the Folk Center, where we were able to enjoy a day filled with American folk music and displays of living history.

The park strives to recreate an authentic pioneer village, and many of the living history displays are housed in original log houses scattered about the grounds.

The photographs above and below show two of the log cabins that the visitor is able to examine and stroll through.  It is my understanding that these two cabins were disassembled at their original location, and then reconstructed within the park.

The best part of the Ozark Folk Center are the living history displays which occur throughout the park.  In an era where we are accustomed to mass production, it is both interesting and educational to witness how many common items were produced in the past.  For example, we all know what is required today in order to sweep the floor.  We go to the local super store, where we fork over $4.88 to buy a broom produced in Malaysia or China.  But in the past, in order to sweep the floor you had to first make the broom yourself.  This process entailed the searching for, and gathering up of all the components that made up a broom.  Straw would have to be found to create the broom head. Proper wood had to be found, cleaned and dried, and only then could you begin the process of weaving the straw onto the broomstick in order to create a functional broom.

In the photograph above, the craftsman shows a visitor how the process of making a broom occurs.  One of the things that I enjoyed most about the Ozark Folk Center was the fact that you could mingle with the craftspeople, who were delighted to show you all the nuances of their skill.  By the time this demonstration was over, I felt as if I could produce a half-way decent broom on my own, should the need ever arise.

This friendly lady was demonstrating how the pioneers would bake various treats.  The kitchen was equipped with many of the utensils, ingredients and appliances that were in use in days gone by.

The print shop pictured above was the means by which books, magazines, and newspapers were produced in the past.  In this day and age, when virtually anybody can become a publisher with a computer and simple printer, it is interesting to think about all of the technology that has evolved over the years.  Today, we can publish anything we want to at the mere push of a button, but in the past it took all of the machinery pictured above to create the most simple reading matter.

Now that we have swept the floor, baked some treats, and printed a newspaper to read, we might want to wash up before enjoying our fresh-baked snack.  Since there was no market available to purchase soap, it was necessary to make your own soap in the past.  The Ozark Folk Center has a soap making demonstration that shows all of the steps involved in producing a bar of soap.  Today, this might be an enjoyable hobby for some, and a full fledged business for others, but most of us would probably prefer to just pick up a bar of soap or two at the local market.

The woman in the picture above uses this loom to demonstrate various weaving techniques and patterns to visitors.  Throughout this room were several looms, each with  weaving projects in various states of completion.

You may have noticed in all of the photographs above that there doesn’t appear to be many people gathered around the crafts persons.  At the time that we visited the Ozark Folk Center, we pretty much had the grounds to our self.  I do not know if this is the way it is at the Folk Center all of the time, but we were there in mid-June of 2005, and the place was not crowded at all.  We had a wonderful time visiting the park, and I especially enjoyed the ability to have one-on-one conversations with the craftspeople throughout the park.

Although I do not have pictures to show about the music, I still must comment about it now.  Mountain View, Arkansas is considered by many to be the American folk music capital of the world.  On any given evening, you are welcome to pull up a lawn chair in the town courthouse square, where you will be treated to musicians performing traditional folk music.  Since there is plenty of space around the square, many individuals and groups may be performing at any given time.  There are places around the square to buy snacks, such as hot dogs and hamburgers, but Retta and I opted for ice cream cones.  Lapping up the ice cream, while sitting in a lawn chair and listening to talented musicians play traditional American folk music is a wonderful way to spend the evening. 

The town hosts the annual Ozark Folk Music Festival, as well as a host of other traditional American music festivities.  The Ozark Folk Center has daily concerts in several venues in the park, so that visitors can listen to traditional folk music the year round.   I highly recommend a visit to Mountain View if you have the opportunity.

William J. Clinton Presidential Center

 

Today’s field trip takes us just south of the Ozarks to Little Rock, Arkansas, where we will visit the Clinton Presidential Library and Museum.  The Clinton Library is the newest of eleven Presidential libraries administered by the U.S. National Archives and Records Administration.  Besides the Clinton Library, I have visited the Herbert Hoover Presidential Library and birthplace cottage located in West Branch, Iowa, and the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library located in Simi Valley, California.  The Harry S. Truman Presidential Library in Independence, Missouri is on my list for a visit in the near future, and I aspire to see the seven additional Presidential Libraries in the course of my lifetime.

The first thing that one tends to notice upon arrival at the Clinton Library site is the unique architecture of the building itself.  I have seen this building in photographs, in video, and through the lens of my camera.  And none of these depictions of the building do it justice.  My meager photographic skills certainly can’t, but maybe they will whet your appetite to see for yourself some time. 

The grounds of the Clinton Presidential Center lie along the banks of the Arkansas River, next to an old railroad trestle that is in the process of renovation.  The area is beautifully landscaped, and though it will take many years to achieve the mature lushness that surrounded the Hoover Library in Iowa, or the wonderfully aromatic rose garden at the Reagan Library in California, it is in a remarkably pretty location.

As you begin to acclimate to the unusual architecture, you begin to notice all kinds of little surprises, such as this interior/exterior transition which is viewable from upstairs only –

The public exhibits are contained on two floors, with an open mezzanine allowing for an unimpeded view of the facility.  I was impressed by the spaciousness that this design presented, as opposed to the museum-like, one room leading into another room design of the Reagan or Hoover Libraries.  It allows the visitor the opportunity to see where the crowds are gathered at any given moment, and to divert to an empty section of the Library, which makes the visit much more enjoyable.

It is interesting to note the bookcases that are situated at the ends of the exhibit sections, which hold the large blue binder shelves.  Contained within these binders are some of the actual archived and indexed presidential documents.

The Clinton Library and Museum exhibits seem to have been designed from the ground up to be a more hands-on, interactive experience than I encountered at either the Hoover or Reagan Libraries.  The Cabinet Meeting Room is recreated in actual scale, and visitors are encouraged to sit around the cabinet table to explore the issues that were current at the time of the Clinton administration.

Interactive touch screen display panels are built into the Cabinet table, and a surprising amount of information is accessible directly from this system.  You are encouraged to ask questions of the docents, who are knowledgeable about many aspects of the Clinton presidency and Presidential protocol.

Scattered throughout the building are varied signs and symbols of America and the presidency, such as this rug that lays on the floor of the Oval Office replica.

First Ladies in America have a history of White House re-decorating, from flooring to furnishings, from art to landscaping, and everything in between.  But the one item that gets updated most often seems to be the White House formal dinnerware.  The display at the Clinton Library of a complete formal table setting was gorgeous.  Since I am pretty sure I will never be invited to a White House dinner, it was nice to see how I might have dined if I were.

A self-admitted car guy, I couldn’t resist snapping a few pictures of the Presidential Limousine.  Forget the sit-down dinner with all the fancy china and crystal and all, I would rather just be invited for a few laps around the block in this baby!  Can you imagine what it would be like to be chauffeured around in the Presidential Limousine, motorcade entourage and all?

I guess no tour of a Presidential Library should end without some mention of politics, and this one won’t either.  The concept of the Presidential Libraries administered by the U.S. National Archives and Records Administration is to make available to historians, scholars, and the American public the complete record of the subject administration, accessible in one convenient location.  This has been achieved at the three Presidential Libraries that I have visited.

An additional function of these libraries, through the museum portion of the facilities, is to present a portrait, a legacy if you will, of the President depicted.  The materials that are displayed to the public, and the manner in which they are displayed are generally under the control of a foundation created by the former President in question.  It stands to reason that controversial positions of an administration are presented in the best available light by the library’s foundation.  So in the sense that what is displayed, and how it is displayed is cherry-picked, you might argue that you are viewing revisionist history at times.  I will not argue with that point of view, but I will point out that all three Presidential Libraries that I visited seemed to be equally adept at “shaping” events to suit the image they wanted to portray.

So my (unsolicited) advice is this – visit every Presidential Library you can, and take away from them all of the knowledge and history that they have to offer.  Take off your political hat and put on your historian’s hat when you enter the front doors, and be thankful for the opportunity to get an inside peek at selected American presidencies.