Kitty Hawk, North Carolina: The Birthplace of Aviation

 

52 Places to Go: Week 31

Wilbur Wright, Kitty Hawk, NC

On December 17, 1903, in Kitty Hawk, North Carolina, Wilbur and Orville Wright made the first powered flight in a heavier-than-air machine. In the summer of 2008, as part of a family vacation on the Outer Banks of North Carolina, I visited Wright Brothers National Memorial at Kitty Hawk and  saw the museum that displays their airplanes, their workshop, and climbed to the top of the small hill where their historic flights were launched.

Orville Wright, Kitty Hawk, NC

Before building airplanes, the Wright brothers made and sold bicycles in Dayton, Ohio.  Their experience making bicycles helped them develop the skills they needed to build and fly airplanes.


In 1899, Wilbur and Orville began making airplanes in their bicycle shop.  Other people were also working the invention of flying machines, but no one had successfully flown one. Wilbur and Orville realized that flying a plane was similar in some ways to riding a bicycle.  It required constant small adjustments to keep it in balance.  This idea, combined with the Wright brothers skill at assembling machines, contributed to their success at creating the first airplane.

Museum at Wright Brothers National Memorial

During our visit to the museum, we listened to a presentation by one of the park service volunteers, who demonstrated how the various parts of the plane could be controlled by the pilot and keep the plane airborne.  Everyone–including all four generations of our family-- enjoyed the visit and learned things we didn’t know before.

Did you know?  On October 24, 1911, at Kitty Hawk, NC, Orville Wright established a new world soaring record in a 50 mile-per-hour wind of nine minutes and forty-five seconds.  This remained a world’s record for 10 years.

View of the Wright brothers' flight path from top of hill

Details: You can get directions and plan your trip to Kitty Hawk and the Wright Brothers National Memorial at http://www.nps.gov/wrbr/forkids/index.htm
The Wright Brothers National Memorial is operated by the U.S. National Park Service. My National Parks Pass provided free entry for everyone in our car. Check the website for current fees.

History of the Outer Banks:  click here for some nice images, history of the Kitty Hawk area and links to more information.

During the rest of our week on the Outer Banks we enjoyed swimming at the beach and in the pool of our rented house, bike riding, eating fresh local crabs, watching fiery summer thunderstorms from the safety of our porch, and basically, just relaxing.  It was the perfect place for a summer vacation!

 This article first appeared 6/18/2012.

All Text and Photos Copyright by Caroline Arnold

PLACE OF REFUGE on the BIG ISLAND OF HAWAII by Caroline Arnold at The Intrepid Tourist

 52 Places to Go: Week 22

Place of Refuge, National Historical Park, Hawaii

When I am on the Big Island of Hawaii, one of my favorite places to visit is Pu’uhonua o Honaunau, the Place of Refuge, a 45 minute drive south of Kona. At the edge of the ocean, it is the perfect place for a picnic lunch, exploring tide pools, and learning about ancient Hawaiian culture. Once a sacred spot, it is now a National Historical Park.

Coconut palms line the shore in the Place of Refuge

On our recent visit to Hawaii we spent an afternoon there. After listening to an introductory talk from a park ranger, we explored the grounds on our own following the numbered posts that were explained in our brochure.

Carved figures guard the heiau (temple) where the bones of 23 chiefs are contained.

The first Polynesians arrived in Hawaii about a thousand years ago. People settled the islands and lived in family groups governed by chiefs or alii. Complex rules or kapu  governed every aspect of life. If kapu was broken the punishment was death. BUT if the person could make it to a designated place of refuge or Pu’uhonua, a priest could cleanse the sins and the person could return to village life. During times of war the Pu’uhonua was also a sanctuary for children, elders and noncombatants. Defeated warriors could also seek safety in the refuge. When the battle was over, they returned home.

This 12 foot high stone wall, built without mortar, divides the royal grounds from the Place of Refuge

There are two main parts to the park–the royal grounds, which is where the priests lived, and the Pu’uhonua or Place of Refuge.

Fish pond in the royal grounds

In the royal grounds there are several shallow ponds that were used to keep fish for the royal menu.  As we looked into the water we could see dozens of circular depressions in the bottom of the pond, each occupied by a pair of fish. These were their nests.

Each circular nest is guarded fiercely by its occupants

Before metal was introduced to Hawaii by Europeans, tools and building materials were made of stone, wood, shells and other natural materials.

Two shelters in the royal ground display examples of canoe making and other craft skills.

 

Small holes carved in the surface of this rock were used for playing a strategy game called konane. It is played with black and white pebbles.

Complex rules governed ancient Hawaiian society.  In the time of kapu, examples of infractions included a man eating with a woman, a fisherman catching a fish out of season, or a commoner casting his shadow on a chief. In 1819 the tradition of kapu ended and the places of refuge were no longer necessary. Elsewhere on the Hawaiian islands were other Places of Refuge. This is the only one that has been preserved.

All text and photos copyright Caroline Arnold at The Intrepid Tourist

GLACIER NATIONAL PARK, Montana: A Place to Renew Your Spirit by Caroline Arnold at The Intrepid Tourist

52 Places to Go: Week 19

Hidden Lake, Glacier National Park, Montana

Recently, I came upon an article about Glacier National Park promoting it as a place to go to renew your spirit. It brought back thoughts of a memorable family trip to the park in 1961. To get there we drove from our home in Minneapolis across North Dakota and most of Montana, then spent a week camping in the park, sleeping in our umbrella tent and cooking on our camp stove and over the fire. As I still do when I travel, I kept a diary of the trip. My parents saved the diary, and I found it when I was going through some old family photo albums. My entries note both our activities of the day and more mundane issues such as the weather and what we ate for dinner. (In one entry I describe making peach cobbler over the campfire. In another, I tell how I burned all the lamb chops for dinner!)  I have put some excerpts of our daily activities below. Bear in mind that I was seventeen when I wrote them! For information about visiting the park today go to the National Parks website for Glacier at http://www.nps.gov/glac/index.htm. 

 

Glacier National Park 

Excerpts from Caroline’s 1961 Vacation Log
August 5
We entered Glacier at 1:00.  Our campsite is nice, near St. Mary (Rising Sun Campground) and after it was set up we swam at Lost Lake, a beautiful, cool, but refreshing lake at the bottom of a mountain.

August 6
We first went to Sun Point and then walked to Baring Falls.  The walk was so pretty we used up all the film in the cameras! 

Hike to Virginia Falls with Ranger

 August 7
We got up early for a 9:00 hike to Virginia Falls.  Since no one else was there, we got a specially guided tour by the ranger.  The hike didn’t really seem like six miles because he knew so much and made it sound so interesting.  We ate our lunch on a beautiful grassy ledge about half way up the falls, where we were continually sprayed with mist.

August 8
Most of today was spent in the car recuperating from yesterday’s hike. ... We stopped at Avalanche campground and went on a self-guided nature trail and saw a bear.

August 9
The clouds descended and the rain poured forth as I stayed in my tent all morning reading,  ignoring the deluge in hopes that it would desist. [I was reading the Scarlet Letter, which today sounds like rather ambitious summer reading.  Perhaps it inspired my rather ambitious prose.]

August 10
We took a somewhat leisurely hike back to Hidden Lake for lunch, photographing wildflowers along the way.  We saw three ptarmigan, who were so tame that I got within eight feet to take a picture.  By the same rock on the way back Steve and I saw a hoary marmot, but he, not being so friendly, ducked into his hole before we could photograph him. 

August 11
This morning we arose bright and early for our hike along the Garden Wall.  For the first hour and a half it was rather chilly because of being in the shade of the mountain.  Later the valley dropped below us, revealing a spectacular view, at one point all the way to the end of Lake McDonald.  After four and a half hours of easy walking, with the exception of one switchback, we stopped for a picnic lunch within view of the Granite Park chalet. The last three and half miles went surprisingly fast.  After recuperating for an hour at the chalet with a 35 cent piece of pie, we descended to the end of the trail.

August 12
After lunch we decided to go to Waterton Lakes National Park [the Canadian side of Glacier National Park.] After four miles, however, we got a flat tire, out in the middle of nowhere. [As I remember, the only road connecting the parks was rough gravel.]  The trip, when we finally arrived was worth it, for the scenery was beautiful and the Prince of Wales Hotel was just like a castle out of an old English storybook.

I have fond memories of the Glacier trip and remember the park for its spectacular scenery and as a place not overcrowded with tourists.  Several years ago, my brother Tom Scheaffer returned to Glacier and went back to many of the same places we visited in 1961.  One difference now is that the glaciers for which the park is named are rapidly melting due to global warming.  Nevertheless, it is still one of our most beautiful national parks and a perfect place for renewing your spirit at any time of year.

This article first posted at The Intrepid Tourist October 22, 2012.

You can also visit Glacier in Caroline Hatton's report at TIT 9/4/17: A Bad Day at Logan Pass (not really).

All text and photos copyright Caroline Arnold
www.theintrepidtourist.blogspot.com

HIKING THE GRAND CANYON IN WINTER. Photos by Tom Scheaffer at The Intrepid Tourist

 52 Places to Go: Week 20

Grand Canyon, Arizona. The Colorado River winds along the bottom.

(This article originally posted on 3/3/14.)

A few weeks ago, my brother Tom and a friend took a trip to the  Grand Canyon in Arizona, visiting the South Rim.  At an elevation of 7,000 feet, the top of the canyon can be cold and snowy in winter. Although there were a few patches of snow near the top, the weather was clear and mild–perfect for sightseeing and hiking.

Kaibab Trail to the bottom of the canyon

They began their hike at the South Kaibab trail. Tom’s friend continued to the bottom and then hiked back up the Bright Angel trail (a round trip of more than twenty miles, descending a mile into the canyon from the rim), while Tom, after going partway down, returned to the rim, stopping to take pictures along the way.  He has graciously allowed me to share some of them here.

Tom takes a rest with a view.

For people who prefer not to make the hike on foot, there is the option of riding a mule.

Mules ready for riders.

At the eastern end of the South Rim, Tom and his friend visited the watchtower at Desert View--so named because of views from there of the Painted Desert to the east.

Desert view from the Watchtower

The watchtower, which sits on a promontory at edge of the canyon, was designed in 1932 by Mary Elizabeth Colter, who traveled throughout the southwest to find inspiration and authenticity for her buildings. The tower was patterned after those she found at Hovenweep and the Round Tower of Mesa Verde.

Watchtower designed by Mary Colter.

The white decorative stones near the top of the tower, which fade out as the eye goes around the tower, follow a pattern used at Chaco Canyon.

Navajo Etched Pottery in Kiva Room of Watchtower

The kiva room of the watchtower, which is now used as retail space, was originally designed as a rest area. It was here that visitors to the canyon in the 1930’s could sit in comfort and have outstanding views of the canyon. And if you climb the stairs to the top of the tower you get an even better view.

For a VIDEO and more of the fascinating history of Mary Colter’s Watchtower go to http://www.nps.gov/grca/photosmultimedia/colter_wt_photos.htm .

For a list of HIKES and useful information about hiking in Grand Canyon National Park go to the National Park Service web page http://www.nps.gov/grca/planyourvisit/day-hiking.htm .

While visiting the Grand Canyon, Tom and his friend stayed at Maswik Lodge. 

Tom and his friends visited the Grand Canyon and hiked the South Kabab Trail again in November 2018. 

All text and photos copyright Caroline Arnold
www.theintrepidtourist.blogspot.com

MOUNT RUSHMORE: A LASTING LEGACY, Guest Post by Cathy Mayone

52 Places to Go: Week 19

Mount Rushmore, South Dakota

Ever since my childhood babysitter returned with tales of working at Mount Rushmore one summer, I’ve had a fascination with this iconic National Memorial.  Chances are you won’t have a business trip to the area or have it be “on the way” to another destination given its western-central South Dakota location so it takes some proactive planning to make a visit happen.  We had to go out of our way to make the visit during our recent pandemic, cross country road trip as we drove from Connecticut to Utah, where we spent our 2021 winter months.

We arrived on a cold, late December day, which was favorable for avoiding crowds.  But it also meant there was off season construction and the Presidential Trail that goes part way up the mountain for a closer view was closed due to ice and snow.  Nevertheless, the granite sculpture did not disappoint, and the Visitor Center provided a fascinating overview of the history and process that produced the remarkable feat, completed on October 31, 1941.

The narrative leading up to its debut goes back seventy-four years, when John Gutzon del la Mothe Borglum is born and then goes on to study art in Paris and New York.  In 1885, a New York attorney, Charles Rushmore, goes to the Black Hills (South Dakota won’t be a state until 1889) to inspect mining claims.  According to Travel South Dakota, the story goes that when Charles asks his guide what the mountain is called, he replies, “It’s never had one…till now…we’ll call the damn thing Rushmore.”

 Flash forward 34 years and now South Dakota is old enough to have an historian, Doane Robinson. He approaches Gutzon Borglum, now a well-known sculptor who has been working on Stone Mountain in Georgia, about carving Old West heroes in the Needles, which are granite formations not far from Rushmore.  Borglum, however, has a different vision.  He chooses Mount Rushmore for its size, morning and midday light, and fine-grained granite.  And he proposes the subjects be U.S. presidents to gain federal funding and support.  Borglum abandons his work on Stone Mountain to focus on Mount Rushmore, leaving Sculptor Henry Augustus Lukeman to finish Stone Mountain.

The presidents are chosen for the Memorial based on their significant contribution to the founding, expansion, preservation, and unification of the country.  George Washington, of course, because he was the nation’s founding father.  Thomas Jefferson not only authored the Declaration of Independence, but he also signed the Louisiana purchase that doubled the size the country, ultimately creating South Dakota and 14 other current states.  Borglum greatly admired Theodore Roosevelt, who helped to link the Atlantic and Pacific oceans with his negotiations of the Panama Canal and who championed conservation legislation that set aside millions of acres of public land.  Borglum admired Lincoln so much for issuing the Emancipation Proclamation to end slavery and his dedication to end the Civil War and restore the Union, that he named his son and after him.

While Gutzon Borglum lives to see most of his ultimate life’s accomplishment finished, he sadly dies about 8 months before its completion.  His son James Lincoln, also a sculptor as well as an engineer involved in the project, oversees its completion and dedication.  Granite erodes at roughly 1 inch every 10,000 years which means the Presidents’ noses should last another 2.5 million years and the basic shape of their heads for up to 7 million years.  That is quite a legacy for these sculptors, their workers and the funders and supporters for this inspirational project.

Sources:  National Park Service, Travel South Dakota: 75 Surprising Facts About Mount Rushmore

All text and photos copyright Caroline Arnold at The Intrepid Tourist 

MUIR WOODS: California's Tallest Trees by Caroline Arnold at The Intrepid Tourist

 52 Places to Go: Week 18

What is taller than the Statue of Liberty, weighs more than a big ship, and is the world’s tallest living thing?  Answer: the coast redwood tree.  Reaching heights of more than 350 feet, the coast redwood (Sequoia sempervirens) is taller than any other living plant. (The actual tallest tree, named Hyperion, in a remote forest in northern California, is 379.1 feet tall.)  The largest redwood trees, some of which began growing more than 2000 years ago,  are also some of Earth’s oldest living things.  One of the best places to see redwoods is in Muir Woods, a National Monument in Marin County, California, just a 45 minute drive from San Francisco.  Last December (2010), when we were in the Bay Area, we did an excursion to Muir Woods with our family.

I have been to Muir Woods many times, but I am always awed by the towering grandeur of the trees, which seem to go up, and up, and up, and are impossible to capture in a single photo.  The damp wintry weather on the day of our visit lent a forest primeval sense to the air.  And, despite the mass of cars in the parking lot, once we started walking on the trails marked through the park, it did not seem crowded by people.

Muir Woods is home not only to redwoods, but a wide variety of other plants and wildlife.  On the day we visited, everyone was excited because, for the first time in several years, the salmon had returned to the creek to spawn.  (Once hatched, salmon spend their adult life in the ocean, only returning to their home creek to mate and lay eggs.)  As we stood on the bridge over Muir Creek and gazed into the shallow water, we could see the slippery fish churning their way upstream. 

You have to look closely to see the salmon in the water

Entrance fees: The entrance fee to enter the park is $5 for adults and free for children under 15.  However, a number of days in the year are free.  Or, if you have a National Park Pass, as I do, everyone in your group is free.

Getting there:  Muir Woods is located 11 miles north of the Golden Gate Bridge. Take Highway 101 to the Highway 1/ Stinson Beach Exit. Follow the signs to Muir Woods. Roads to the park are steep and winding. Vehicles over 35 feet long are prohibited. Parking space is very limited and fills quickly on most days. There are no RV parking facilities. For an interactive map, please visit http://maps.google.com/maps and type in Muir Woods National Monument. (My advice:  On weekends and in summer, you may have to park up to a half a mile away, so it is best to drop off your passengers at the entrance so everyone doesn't have to walk from where you park your car.) Note: check ahead to find out about Covid restrictions.

Book about the redwoods: For a wonderful children’s book about redwood trees, packed with facts and illustrated with an imaginative twist, go to Redwoods by Jason Chin.

All text and photos copyright Caroline Arnold
www.theintrepidtourist.blogspot.com

THE AFRICA TRIP, 50th ANNIVERSARY: Celebrating 10 Years of The Intrepid Tourist, by Caroline Arnold

 52 Places to Go: Week 17

Caroline and Jennifer (age 18 months), Uganda, 1971

Celebrating 10 Years of The Intrepid Tourist

Exactly fifty years ago today, on April 25, 1971, I arrived in Kampala, Uganda for a four month stay in East Africa, while my husband Art participated in a field course in animal behavior. The following blog post about my experiences was first published here ten years ago, on the 40th anniversary of the trip. Still my most memorable travel experience, a repost of that blog seems a fitting choice to celebrate ten years of The Intrepid Tourist. My plan when I first launched The Intrepid Tourist was to share some of my own travel experiences, but it has expanded over the years to include the photos and travel adventures of friends and family as well, for a total of more than 500 posts to date. I am deeply grateful to everyone who has contributed to the blog and for all my dedicated readers.

Trip of a Lifetime, East Africa, 1971
 In 1971, Art, along with four other graduate students at Rockefeller University in New York, embarked on a four month field course in western Uganda.  I didn’t want to miss out on a chance to go to Africa, even with a year-old baby (our daughter, Jennifer) to look after. One other student wife, Mary Sue, went along on the trip and we became traveling companions. During the first six weeks of the course, while our husbands were doing research in the Kibale forest near the town of Fort Portal, Mary Sue, Jennifer, and I traveled in Kenya and Tanzania.  Then, for the second half of the course, conducted in Queen Elizabeth National Park, we were able to join our husbands.

The Africa trip was a key life event for everyone who participated.  The following reminiscences are part of a collection of memories compiled to mark the anniversary and to honor of Peter Marler, who conceived of and organized the trip.  The Africa trip experience can never be repeated.  Africa, and we, have changed greatly in the last fifty years. This post is a trip down memory lane.  I hope you will enjoy reading it.

Impact on My Life
As a wife, I was not involved with the course itself, but without it I would never have had the opportunity to go to Africa. At the time, I had not yet begun to write books for children, but my experiences seeing wildlife, meeting people who lived and worked in Africa, and just being there has been important for many of the books I’ve written since then. In a larger sense, the trip also greatly impacted my world view. Before then, I had never traveled outside the United States and had no idea what it was like to live in a third world country or in a place so rich with wildlife. From the time I was a child, I had always dreamed of travel and adventure. The trip to Africa certainly fulfilled that dream. When I do school presentations and kids ask me what was the most exciting place I’ve ever been, the answer is always the same–Africa.

My memories of the three months in Africa are vivid, reinforced by the hundreds of photos we took (some appear in my books) and by letters and diary entries. My parents eagerly awaited my weekly letters, vicariously traveling Africa with me. My father typed all the letters, making them legible, and put them into a book. I have put a few excerpts below. I used my diary mostly to record animal sightings, brief reports of the events of the day, and our dinner menus. One entry says we ate stewed waterbuck, from meat given to us by a park ranger! The diary also documents the arrival of the Marler family at QE, a greatly anticipated event.

Thank You, Peter Marler

Dr. Peter Marler and Jameson's Wattle in the Kibale Forest near Fort Portal

Peter Marler accompanied us on the trip from New York to Uganda, herding us through the airport like a troupe of wayward Cub Scouts. He had made this trip before, and I was grateful for his expertise both in the larger organization and in the details. In the Amsterdam airport, he introduced us to smoked eel sandwiches. In Kampala he took us to an Indian restaurant to try the delicious East African style samosas. He also pointed out the “bat tree” along the main road, where hundreds of fruit bats hung like small black umbrellas during the day. After helping the students set up at Kanyawara, Peter went back to New York, returning a month later with his wife Judith and their kids. They camped out not far from us at QE and I remember being glad to have them nearby.

Only now do I realize the scope of the Field Course and how Peter’s vision for it made it happen. Now, on the fortieth anniversary of the Africa trip, I would like to thank Peter for creating the Field Course and for allowing me and Jennifer to tag along, providing us with the opportunity to have our own African experience and to share a bit of Art’s. Together with Art’s experiences during the course, and our travel together afterward in southern Uganda, this period still ranks as the most outstanding in our lives.

UPDATE July 14, 2014:  Sadly, Peter Marler passed away July 5, 2014.  Click HERE for his obituary in the Los Angeles Times.  Peter was a great friend, inspiring teacher, and intellectual giant.  He will be greatly missed.

The following entries are from my diary (in italics) and letters to my parents in California:

Queen Elizabeth National Park

The Students Camp:  Our accommodation at Queen Elizabeth (our room is the open door)

June 23, 1971
Arrived at Queen Elizabeth Park.

June 27, 1971

Mweya is an open, almost stark bluff above a large lake and channel which are filled with fish and hippos. At night the hippos come out of the water and up here to feed on the bushes, so one cannot step out of doors after dark. There are also elephants, bush pigs, and marabou storks, which wander in and out the camp area day and night. The windows of our room face the “Canteen”–the local native hotspot–and at night we hear loud music from that side, while from the other side we hear snorts of the hippos and elephants. I was under the impression that someone came in the night to empty our garbage can until I realized that the elephants and marabou storks were removing it all.

I am quickly reviving all my Girl Scout talents. We aren’t actually “camping” in that we have a room with three cots in it, but I am cooking all our food over a wood fire (which is tricky since we have a bare minimum of equipment.) The biggest problem besides obtaining food is water since it all must be boiled. At Mweya the only foods available are eggs, milk, and bread from the local Indian shop, tomatoes, bananas and matoke from the very small market, and you can buy fish from the Canteen.

Jennifer pointing to the eye of one of the tilapia (to be our evening's dinner)

July 4, 1971
Food supply here is very erratic. For the last three days there haven’t been any eggs and one day we had trouble getting fish. Tilapia–a tender, sweet fish–is the mainstay of our diet. It costs about 10 cents for two large fish. Pineapples, 10 cents each and bananas, 2 cents for four, are the main fruits. Vegetables vary but tomatoes and onions are always available.
Dad, it’s a good thing I used to watch you fillet fish when I was little, because that’s what I have to do every day. I’ve become quite an expert! We throw the remains to the marabou storks who hang around expectantly while we work. The dominant stork in group is apparent by the puffed pouch under its throat.

There are little lizards all over and the other day a four foot snake crawled into my shower as I left. I didn’t wait to see if it was poisonous. Apparently there are some really deadly snakes in the park and I don’t care to run into any of them!

July 5, 1971
Invasion of “dudus”–a small lake fly–in swarms of millions which clung to walls, food, people, and made the air thick.


July 7, 1971
Mary Sue found a baby bat.
Marlers arrived.

Euphorbia and Canteen, Mweya, Queen Elizabeth National Park

July 8, 1971
Showed Judith Marler local shopping spots–duka, market, and canteen–and got chased by a mad elephant twice and accosted by an incoherent drunk in canteen.
Had tea at Lodge.
Art out all night.

July 9, 1971
For excitement lately we have had an earthquake (a small one), an invasion of millions of lake flies (which just as suddenly vanished two days after they arrived), and I was charged by a mad elephant. We were walking to the market and making a wide path around an elephant when suddenly he trumpeted, started flapping his ears, and rushed toward us. Luckily it was only a bluff.

Last night Art and his study partner stayed out all night watching kob with an image intensifier. It is a telescope-like thing developed by the army which magnifies any available light so you can see things at night. What Art wanted to find out was whether the animals mate at night like they do in the day and he discovered they did.

Two male Uganda kob sparring on the lek (mating ground)

July 10, 1971
Trip to Katwe to get our lump of beef at 4/50 shillings per kilo.


July 16, 1971
Awakened in night by violent thunderstorm. Next morning discovered Waser’s tent had blown down and everything got drenched so they spent the night in the VW. Marler’s tent also blew down but they were gone.

July 17, 1971
The other day we had a hard rain, which apparently signals the male termites to come out of the ground. So, in the middle of the night we were awakened by a din, caused by the Africans going out to collect the termites around the lights. In the morning, we saw bowls of them and discarded wings all over the ground. They fry the termites and it is a great delicacy!

July 19, 1971
In evening, Art and Beverly’s seminar on ants.

July 21, 1971
Vast colonies of army ants have made trails across the ground. They are the same ones Art and Beverly studied in the Kibale forest. They go out in a column five to twenty ants wide and throw up dirt on either side forming a trench. On either side “guard”ants stand with their pincers raised, seemingly against potential predators. [One day, Jennifer dropped her teddy bear onto an ant column, and the ants hung on so tight, that I had to cut out patches of the bear’s “fur” to remove them.]

July 24, 1971
In morning, took car trip with Marlers and Mary Sue around Royal Circuit hoping to see lions, but saw only lots of waterbuck and kob, a group of elephants with two babies and hippos at hippo pool.


July 25, 1971
Spent most of afternoon at swimming pool and treated ourselves to ice cream.

Mary Sue's Python

July 30, 1971
Last week Mary Sue and I found a nine foot long baby python. It had been speared through the head and left dead on the side of the road. I didn’t really want to touch it, but Mary Sue wanted to bring it back and skin it, so she did. The skin is really beautiful and will be a great souvenir to hang on her wall. We created quite a sensation by bringing it in and there was a whole crowd of people watching the skinning procedure. Afterwards it was rubbed down with salt, scraped, and dried.

Caroline and Jennifer with baby hippo that was being hand reared by park staff

We are at the end of our stay here. This week Jennifer and I and Mary Sue went on two major sightseeing expeditions. Our first was hiring a Land Rover to take us to the craters, which turned out to be absolutely beautiful in the late afternoon sun. On the way we had two special treats. First, a group of elephants, which included a tiny baby nursing from its mother. The second was a pride of lions on a buffalo they had recently killed. This was the first time I’d seen lions doing anything but sleep (like house cats, they are basically rather lazy.) On Wednesday morning we took a boat trip up the channel. We saw all sorts of birds, lots of hippos, giant monitor lizards, plus elephant, buffalo, and bushbuck. It was a beautiful day and what made the trip most enjoyable was that Jennifer behaved well for the entire three hour ride.

July 30, 1971
Punch party at 6:00 in hostel with field course and NUTAE people.

(When the course was over, Art, Jennifer and I spent a week traveling in our rented VW through southwestern Uganda, up to but not across the borders to Burundi and Rwanda, and then back to Kampala.  In all, we spent nearly four months in East Africa.)

Note: In addition to Peter Marler, leaders of the field course in Africa were Tom Struhsaker, whose research site at Kanyawara was the location of the first half of the course, and Steve Green. Although I haven't mentioned them in the report of my activities, they also were key to the success of the course.

All text and photos copyright Caroline Arnold

HAWAII TROPICAL BOTANICAL GARDEN: Hilo, Hawaii by Caroline Arnold at The Intrepid Tourist

 52 Places to Go: Week 16

Heliconia bihai, Hawaii Tropical Botanical Garden

The Hawaii Tropical Botanical Garden, a treasure trove of tropical plants from around the world and a photographer’s delight, is one of our favorite places on the Big Island. We have been there three times, including on our recent trip to Hawaii two weeks ago, and each time we have had a different experience–depending on weather, time of day, and the growth and addition new plants as the garden is maintained.

View from trail of Twin Rocks in Onomea Bay 

The garden is planted along a steep, narrow valley with a walkway descending 500 feet from the top of the garden (120 feet above sea level) to the ocean below. The top portion is densely planted along a boardwalk and is the perfect place to be eye-level with some of the taller plants. As the walkway reaches the lower part of the garden various side trails lead to waterfalls, a lily pool, a bird cage, orchid garden and more. Actually, orchids have been strategically placed throughout the garden and almost everywhere you look their colorful blooms pop out of the background.

Onomea Waterfall

The sheer variety of plants in the garden is overwhelming with shapes, patterns and colors more like modern art than Mother Nature.  I was reminded of the paintings of French artist Henri Rousseau (who was inspired by the plants he saw in the greenhouses of the botanical garden in Paris.) Among the goals of the garden is to collect and cultivate tropical rain forest flora of every nature and origin, with emphasis on species threatened by extinction.

Patterns of green plants

Although plants are the main emphasis of the garden, the valley is also home to a variety of wildlife. As we walked the garden paths, cardinals and other birds flew overhead, insects buzzed around the flowering trees, frogs called from inside bromeliads, and lizards scampered along the large leaves.

Heliconia along boardwalk

Tickets to enter the garden are purchased at the gift shop next to the parking area. An annex to the gift shop has interesting displays of items collected by the Lutkenhouse family (who built and founded the garden) that reveal some of the early history of the area. Dan and Pauline Lutkenhouse founded the garden in 1978 and opened it to the public in 1984. It is now operated as a non-profit corporation. Admission for a day is $15 for adults, children ages 6 - 16 are $5. Children under 6 are free.

Lily Lake

Directions: The Hawaii Tropical Botanical Garden is located on the 4-mile scenic drive off of Highway 19 (turn off just after the 7 mile marker). The scenic route goes through dense rainforest. This side of the Big Island is the rainy side, and, in fact, there was a small shower just before we arrived at the garden on our recent visit. (The gift shop provides umbrellas if needed.) But, whatever the weather or time of day, the garden is always worth a visit.

This article was written after my visit in 2018. For more about Hilo and the Hawaii Tropical Botanical Garden go to my post I wrote in April 2012.

Entrance to the Hawaii Tropical Botanical Garden

All text and photos copyright Caroline Arnold.

THE GARDEN OF FLOWERING FRAGRANCE: Chinese Garden at the Huntington, San Marino, CA by Caroline Arnold at The Intrepid Tourist

 52 Places to Go: Week 15

Zigzag Bridge in the Chinese Garden, The Huntington, San Marino, CA

In the Chinese Garden at The Huntington, in San Marino, California, the exotic plants, beautiful small lake, complex of pavilions, tea house and tea shop, stone bridges, and waterfalls, make one feel transported to another time and place. Built in the style of traditional scholar gardens in Suzhou, China, it is the perfect harmony of nature and architecture.

Tea House

On a recent warm afternoon, Art and I went there with a friend, beginning our visit with a delicious lunch from the garden restaurant of pot stickers, wontons, and a rice bowl, which we ate outdoors on the patio at the edge of the lake. (There were also tables inside the tea house.) We watched a pair of geese swim while colorful koi glided through the shallow water below. A heron flew overhead.(The Huntington gardens are are great place for bird watching.)

Flowering tree

Around us, trees were beginning to blossom, and along the paths plants were covered with bright flowers. The Chinese name of the garden, Liu Fang Yuan, means Garden of Flowing Fragrance and the look and smell of spring was everywhere.

Stone bridge is framed by a wooden window

After our lunch we circled the lake, stopping to admire the view from the various bridges and pavilions. In typical Chinese style, windows of the structures were designed to frame the view and were works of art in themselves.

Pavilion of The Three Friends is seen through the waterfall

At each turn there were views to admire. On one side of the garden a waterfall tumbled over a ledge and had a walkway underneath. On the other side of the lake, water cascaded down the hill creating a small stream.

This natural stone sculpture is titled Patching Up the Sky

Throughout the garden groups of rocks have been artfully arranged to create miniature landscapes. And everything is named--from the buildings, to the sculptures, to the groves of trees. (The Pavilion of The Three Friends seemed like the perfect spot for a picture of the three of us.) Throughout the garden benches were strategically place for resting and enjoying the view. And although there were quite a few other people strolling the paths, the garden felt tranquil and evoked a sense of peace.

Water lilies grow on the 1.5 acre lake

The Huntington, originally the estate of railroad magnate Henry Huntington, is famous for its library of rare manuscripts and its art collection, as well as its many gardens. I have been to the Huntington numerous times, but it is so big  there is never enough time to see everything in one visit. The Chinese garden is a relatively recent addition.  (It opened to the public in 2008.)  I had not had a chance to visit it before so this was an ideal opportunity.

Lattice window looks out of the garden

Afterward, we visited the Japanese garden, with its raked stone zen garden and amazing collection of bonsai, strolled through the rose garden, just bursting into flower, stopped to take a look at the exhibits in the Dibner Hall of the History of Science (with its display of 250 copies of Darwin’s Origin of Species in its many editions and translations), and ended our day with a walk through the Desert Garden, where the cacti and succulents were in glorious bloom. I’m glad I finally had a chance to visit the Chinese garden. It was the perfect beginning to a spring afternoon at the Huntington.

For information about visiting the Huntington, click HERE.

Walkways in the Chinese Garden are created with a mosaic of dark and light stones

 

 

 

This article was originally published in 2019.

All text and photos copyright Caroline Arnold.