Stone Mountain, Georgia: The Mount Rushmore of the South

Stone Mountain State Park (August 2011)
History, Nature, and Family Fun

View of Stone Mountain and the Confederate Memorial Carving from terrace of Visitor Center

Fifteen miles east of downtown Atlanta, a monolithic granite dome rises out of the Georgia landscape.  Surrounded by woods, streams, and a large, man-made lake, Stone Mountain and the Confederate Memorial Carving on its surface are the center of a popular state park featuring hiking trails; boat, train, and cable-car rides; a ropes course for kids and adventurous adults; miniature and regular golf; two hotels, a campground, and more.  We recently returned from a family reunion in Stone Mountain State Park.  With family members ranging in from ages three to ninety, there was something in the park for everyone.

A Giant Carving

Confederate Memorial Carving on Stone Mountain (L to R: Davis, Lee, Jackson)

The most famous feature of Stone Mountain is the giant carving on the side of the rock depicting three heroes of the Civil War Confederacy: General Robert E. Lee, General Thomas J. “Stonewall” Jackson (so-named because he was said to stand as firm as a stone wall in battle), and Jefferson Davis, President of the Confederate States.  The entire carved surface, the size of three football fields, makes it the largest bas-relief carving in the world.  The three men are shown astride their favorite horses, Blackjack (Davis), Traveller (Lee), and Little Sorrel (Jackson).  The horses are so big that during the construction of the monument, workers could take shelter from rainstorms in the horses’ open mouths.

A Long History

Reproduction of the head of Blackjack, one of the horses on the monument

The idea for a monument to Southern heroes of the Civil War was launched in 1916 by the United Daughters of the Confederacy, who bought the side of the mountain and hired sculptor Gutzon Borglum to do the carving.  However, after eight years, he abandoned the project and left to carve Mount Rushmore in South Dakota. Meanwhile, the Great Depression and World War II halted further work.  It was not until 1958, after the state of Georgia bought Stone Mountain and the surrounding land and turned it into a state park, that the project was resumed and completed by two other sculptors, Walter Hancock and Roy Faulkner.  (The work previously done by Borglum’s team was blasted off the mountain and the new carvers started over!)  The monument was finished and dedicated in 1970 by Vice President Spiro Agnew.

Fireworks on the Mountain

Lasershow Spectacular at Stone Mountain

Directly in front of the mountain, the terrace of the visitor center provides the best view of the carving.  Inside the visitor center, we watched a video about the history of making the memorial, got an overview of the impact of the Civil War on the communities around Stone Mountain, and found out about various aspects of the mountain’s human, natural and geologic history. A large lawn slopes down from the visitor center to the base of the rock.  Terraces on either side are dedicated to the states that were members of the confederacy.  In summer, and on weekend evenings, a laser show with fireworks draws thousands of picnickers to the lawn.  While one can rent chairs on the terraces for the evening, we sat on blankets on the grass to watch the performance.

Sky Hike and Other Activities

Traversing a beam at the Sky Hike

For the kids in our group, the highlight of the trip was the Sky Hike, a three level ropes and balancing course.  My personal role was to stay on the ground and take pictures!  Safety harnesses insured that everyone stayed safe as they made their way across various ropes, ladders and narrow plank bridges.  It is not an activity for anyone who doesn’t like heights! [Note: closed toe shoes are required for the Sky Hike.  This prompted a quick trip to Target for the kids to buy appropriate shoes since they had only brought sandals.]  We also played miniature golf and watched a glass-blowing demonstration.  Other members of the group took the train ride around the base of the mountain, went on the “Duck” (an amphibious vehicle tour of the park), rode the cable car to the top of the mountain, and did driving tours.  And everyone enjoyed the swimming pool at the hotel!  It was August, and with temperatures in the nineties and high humidity, the pool was the perfect place to be at the end of the afternoon.

Glass blowing demonstration

Practicalities: A vehicle fee of $10 is required for entrance to the park.  Most attractions in the park (except for the laser show) require a ticket. If you plan to do two or more, it is better to buy a one-day pass (adults $27 plus tax, child $21 plus tax).  If you buy the pass at the hotel, you get two days for the price of one.
We were there on a weekend.  We noticed that lines to get into attractions were much shorter on Sunday than on Saturday, when the kids had to wait nearly an hour to get onto the ropes course.  On Sunday morning, there was almost no wait.
We stayed at the Stone Mountain Inn (a Marriott Hotel), which is close to the Visitor Center and attractions.  At the other end of the park near the golf course is the Evergreen Marriott Resort and Conference Center.  

Historic grist mill at the picnic area

The Carrizo Plain: A Glimpse of California's Past

A Day Exploring California's Grasslands (May 2011)

Beginning in the early 1800's Spanish Missions used the land of the Carrizo Plain for grazing cattle.

In the mid’1800's, when pioneers descended the foothills surrounding California’s Central Valley, they found hundreds of thousands of elk, deer, and antelope grazing on the valley floor.  In some places, there were so many animals that they darkened the plain as far as the eye could see.  Today, the valley is no longer a haven for wildlife.  Instead of animals, there are ranches, roads, and towns spread across the plain. To get a glimpse of what California’s Central Valley was like before it was developed, you can go to the Carrizo Plain, a little known valley where designation as a National Monument is helping to preserve California wildlife in its natural habitat. Both pronghorn antelope and Tule elk have been reintroduced to the area and the herds are growing. It is also home to the endangered San Joaquin Valley kit fox, giant kangaroo rat, which hops around at night collecting seeds, and a variety of other small mammals, reptiles, and birds.

A Haven for Wildlife

Herds of Pronghorn Antelope can be seen on the Carrizo Plain, usually in the morning or evening.  They typically rest during the middle of the day.

Hidden behind the Temblor range to the northeast and the Caliente Range to the southwest, the Carrizo plain is a flat valley that follows the San Andreas Fault as it heads north toward San Francisco. (You can pick up a self-guided geologic auto tour at the Visitor Center.  You can see where past earthquakes have actually rearranged fencelines and creek beds!) A visit to the Carrizo Plain is a day’s trip from Bakersfield or, if you want to get up early, from Los Angeles.  We went there recently from our house on Mount Pinos.  We have been to the Carrizo Plain three times, each time in a different season.  Our first trip was in March, and the valley floor was lush with green grass, yellow spring flowers and thousands of migrating and nesting birds.  Our second visit was in November, after the sandhill cranes had arrived for their winter stay in the shallow soda lake at the far end of the valley.  At the end of the day we watched them take off, flapping their wide wings and honking like geese.  On this trip, in May, the spring flowers were gone and the grass had turned golden, but the wild mustard was in bloom and meadowlarks and other birds were busy nesting.  Red tailed hawks perched on poles along the side of the road in between bouts of circling in search of prey.

Springtime is Nesting Time

Bullock's Oriole

Historically, the Carrizo plain has been ranch land, and it is still crisscrossed by fences, and roads are punctuated by cattle guards to keep the cattle that still graze there where they belong.  We entered the Monument from the east end, north of Maricopa on CA 166/33.  The narrow road is paved at first, but quickly turns to dirt.  You can’t drive very fast, but that is fine if you want to look for wildlife or appreciate the scenery.  Absolutely no services are available along the 30 mile road to the visitor center.  We brought a picnic lunch and stopped at one of the two campgrounds to eat it.  Only one other campsite was occupied.  To our delight, a pair of yellow and orange Bullock’s orioles, who had a nest hanging in the eucalyptus tree over our heads, were busy collecting insects for their hungry babies.

Rock Art and a Dry Lake Bed

Soda Lake on the Carrizo Plain is dries up in summer leaving behind crystals of sulphate and carbonate salts.

At the northwest end of the monument is the Goodwin Education Center, which is small, but filled with interesting exhibits and helpful park staff. On previous visits, we had walked from the parking lot not far from there to Painted Rock, once one of California’s most spectacular examples of Native American rock art, but now badly damaged by vandals.  In the past, Painted Rock was open to the public.  Now, in order to see it, you have to go online and make a reservation for a guided or self-guided tour.  On the weekend we were there, it was closed to protect the native raptors which were nesting in the rocks.

Before we left, we stopped at Soda Lake and walked along the boardwalk.  The drainage of the valley is such that the water collects and evaporates, leaving mineral deposits behind.  In winter, Soda Lake is filled with water and provides a home for sandhill cranes and other birds.  In summer, it is a dry lake bed. After leaving Soda Lake, we headed northwest and left the Monument.  As we passed through farmland on our way back to highway 58, we saw a lone pronghorn antelope standing in a field.  Perhaps on another day, we would come back and see a whole herd.

The Carrizo Plain became a National Monument in 2000.

Getting there: The Carrizo Plain National Monument can be accessed either from Highway 33/166 north of Maricopa, or from Highway 58 west of McKittrick. At Traver Ranch, about ten miles from the east entrance you can stop and pick up a map and get other information.  Be sure to have plenty of gas and bring your own water and food.  As we drove along the road through the Monument, we stopped frequently to look at birds and take photos, and rarely met other cars.  That is the attraction of the Carrizo Plain.  While it is not that far from civilization, not many people go there.

California Academy of Sciences, San Francisco

Jellyfish

Where can you see live sharks, colorful coral reefs, an albino alligator, a tropical rainforest, and a penguin colony all under one roof?  At the California Academy of Sciences in San Francisco.  AND, there is much more. The CAS, newly remodeled, is definitely not “off the beaten track” but is a major tourist destination in San Francisco that attracts thousands of visitors every day.  It is a world-class natural history museum, planetarium, and aquarium, all rolled into one.  We went there with our grandchildren last December.  It was the perfect family outing, with something for everyone.

Inside the Planetarium before the show

After entering the museum and getting our tickets for a plantetarium show later in the day, we headed for the rainforest.  This four-story exhibit houses birds, butterflies, lizards, bats, fish, and lush rainforest plants from all over the world in a giant glass dome.  Following the circular ramp we climbed from the forest floor to the canopy at the top, stopping as butterflies flitted around our heads.  Exiting on the top floor, we made a quick trip up to the living roof of the museum, a vast undulating garden of native plants that keeps the building cool and sends oxygen back into the air.  I’m sure it is a great place to relax during warmer weather, but on the day we visited the wind and chilly air made us scurry back inside where we took the elevator down to the ground floor of the museum to see the fish.

Corals

One of the main attractions of the museum is the Steinhart Aquarium with its many tanks of fish, corals, jellyfish, and other sea life.  I sat on a ledge at the edge of one huge tank with my granddaughter, who watched with wonder as fish swam by on the other side of the glass just inches away from her face. As you walk through a "tunnel" in the tank fish swim over your head and you feel as if you are really under the sea.  There were also hands-on exhibits where the kids could touch sea urchins and other tidepool creatures and talk with museum staff.

Live penguins in the Africa Hall

The museum is a mix of the old and the new.  I remember my first visit to the old building more than forty years ago, with its taxidermy dioramas and other traditional museum exhibits.  Many of those exhibits (like the Foucault Pendulum which knocks down pegs in a pit as the Earth turns) are still there, but spruced up.  One of our favorites is the African Hall, with its stuffed animal dioramas, always impressive and realistic in their posed arrangements.  But at the end of the room, one is taken by surprise because the animals in the exhibit move!  A live penguin exhibit occupies the end of the room, where African jackass penguins (they sound like donkeys when they call) make their home among giant rocks designed to look like their natural home along the South African coast.

We ran out of energy before we had explored every corner of the museum.  But that is okay.  It gives us a reason to go back another day.

Travel Tip:  After being closed for several years for remodeling, the CAS reopened in 2008 and is immensely popular, which means it can get extremely crowded on weekends and during holiday periods.  Here’s my advice for maximizing the enjoyment of your visit.  1. Buy your tickets online.  That way you avoid having to stand in line for tickets outside when you arrive.  Better yet, go with a friend who is a member. (Every third Wednesday of the month, admission is free.) 2.  Go early.  Lines for everything get longer as the day goes by.  3.  If you want to see a planetarium show, get your tickets as soon as you go into the museum.  They are free, but you have to stand in line and the tickets go fast. 4.  Plan your day.  There is lots to see!
Lunch: The cafeteria in the museum has a good variety of international and healthy food.  The tables inside were crowded, so we ate outside under a heat lamp.  The fresh air was nice, but it was a good thing we had kept our jackets with us.
  

Japan Alps, Nagoya, Gifu: Part III

Gifu.  Statue of Cormorant fisherman wearing traditional clothing.

Gifu and Nagoya (Trip to Japan, September 2008)
After our visit to the Japan Alps, we took a train back to Gifu from Takayama and arrived in Gifu by 11:30. We bought food for lunch at a market in Gifu station and pastries at a French bakery for my breakfast the next morning, and got a taxi to the Miyako Hotel, a 15 minute ride from the center of town. Our room the 10th floor overlooked the river and was the perfect spot to watch herons, kites and the cormorant boats at night.  

View of river and Mount Kinka from our room at the Miyako Hotel

Tuesday, September 9
Got up at 5:00 for a taxi to Gifu station for a 5:58 train to Nagoya.  I changed there at Kanayama station for Kosoji Station.  All went like clockwork; the trains were not crowded and left precisely on schedule.  While Art attended his conference, I spent the day doing an author visit at the Nagoya International School.  After school, my hosts took me to the 100 yen store (like a dollar store) where I picked up a basket full of toys and souvenirs.

Sidebar on Japanese toilets: Japanese toilets never cease to amaze.  In public places, such as the airport, one has a choice of traditional–a hole in the floor over which you squat–or western style. The western style seat in the airport was 3-way: a regular seat for adults, a smaller flip-down seat for a child, and a baby seat, on a hook on the wall, which could be inserted for a very small child.  Many toilet seats, including the ones at the Best Western, come with a console that allows you to heat the seat and/or the water.  Another button triggers a spray of water on your bottom or converts the toilet to a bidet.  My hosts had a further addition to their toilet.  A small basin mounted on top of the toilet tank has a spout that gushes water when you flush the toilet.  You can use the water to rinse your hands.  The water runs until the tank is refilled.  Apparently another teacher at the school had a toilet with an electric eye that lifts the lid when you open the bathroom door! 

Coffee in a Can 

Typical vending machine.

Wednesday, September 10
Got up early for another day's school visit and had bacon, eggs, fruit, yogurt and coffee from a can.  You can buy canned coffee (and almost any other kind of drink) in vending machines, which are ubiquitous. You pour the coffee into your cup and heat it in the microwave.  It is surprisingly good!

Fish Cookies, an Insect Museum, and Tame Squirrels 

The Nawa Insect Museum displays insects collected from all over the world.

Thursday, September 11
   I spent the morning walking with a friend along the river by the hotel and shopping and sightseeing on the other side.  We bought some fish shaped cookies (fish are a theme throughout Gifu) and peeked in at a temple with a giant golden lacquer Buddha.  At the park, we went to the insect museum.  After lunch I returned to the park and rode the “ropeway” (a cable car) to the top of Mount Kinka to see the view and tour the Shogun era castle, now a museum.  Before leaving, I stopped at the featured squirrel village where I was given a glove and food so I could feed the squirrels, who scampered about in their enclosed "village".  Apparently Japanese people think that squirrels are exotic and feeding them is a treat!  Perhaps they don’t have squirrels being a nuisance in their yards and stealing food from their bird feeders. 

Traditional Cormorant Fishing

Cormorant fishing.  (Itai) The fish are attracted to the surface of the water by a fire suspended from a basket at the front of the fisherman’s boat.

In the evening, Art’s host at the conference  took us on a boat to see the traditional cormorant fishing.  As in the children’s book Ping (one of my favorites as a child), the cormorants are trained to catch fish for their master.  A ring around the cormorant’s neck prevents it from swallowing the fish it catches. One at a time, the birds are hauled in to disgorge their fish into a basket.

Bakery in Gifu.  Colorful sweet cakes are filled with bean paste.

Friday, September 12
In the morning, Art and I toured the cormorant fishermen’s village and then went shopping for souvenirs at a bakery across the river.  Then I left for the airport to return to Los Angeles and Art left for Kyoto and Fukuoka, where he attended another conference.

Japan Alps, Nagoya, Gifu: Part II

(Trip to Japan, September 2008; continuation of Part I)

Kamikochi, Gateway to the Japan Alps

 Japan Alps National Park

Saturday, September 6
The bus route to Kamikochi went up into the mountains from Takayama, winding its way along a river valley, stopping at a ski resort where people were walking among the fields of cosmos. From the parking lot at Kamikochi we pulled our suitcases along the rocky path to the bashi (bridge),  where hundreds of tourists milled around the concession stands eating and taking photos. The weather was slightly misty and the peaks on either side came in and out of the clouds. We crossed the bridge and went another .3 km to the Alpen Hotel and checked into our ten tatami mat room.
    We then walked along the river to a picnic area called the Weston Relief marked by a plaque explaining that Weston was a European who promoted the Alps as a national park. The air was fresh and slightly cool, a nice change from the sticky weather in Takayama and Nagoya. The forest on either side of the river was lush and open with ferns and other plants on the forest floor. Quite a few people were walking on the river path, although by the end of the day, most day trippers had left. We returned to our room to wait for dinner. We decided not to use the public baths until after dinner, when we hoped they would be less crowded.

Colorful Meals

We arrived at dinner to find our table--marked by our room number on a stand--already set with a variety of dishes and two little burners each--one to fry our Hida beef steak, and the other with a salmon soup. Hida beef is lesser known but supposedly just as good as Kobe beef. It was definitely tender and heavily marbled with fat. Upon arrival at the dining room we realized that we made the mistake of wearing our shoes to dinner. Everyone else had on slippers. Some of the men wore yukatas (cotton robes). We were the only gaijin (foreigners), and, in the whole weekend, we only saw four other westerners in the park. The waiter brought additional dishes, ending with rice and miso soup.

When we returned to our room, we found that our futons had been prepared for the night.

A Hot Bath
Since there was no shower in the room, we decided to try out the baths. Trudging down the hall in only our yukatas (supplied in the closet) and slippers, we went to the second floor where the red curtain signified the door to the women's bath and blue curtains marked the men's bath. For some reason, they switch sides every day, so you have to remember which color is which. In the dressing room we put our clothes in a basket and then went naked into the bath area. Following the example of another woman, I chose a plastic stool and basin and went to the washing area to lather up. Only after being thoroughly clean and rinsed does one go into the hot bath. The semi-circular tub, big enough for about six people, was heated to 40 degrees Celsius. I lowered myself to the first bench and then into the tub which was about two feet deep. It felt good, but after a few minutes, it was too hot and I got out. Meanwhile, the other woman, who had been washing herself when I came in, was still washing. Art had no one else in his bath. Back in the room we turned on the TV where they were showing the classic Kurosawa movie, The Seven Samurai, but even though we knew the story, the movie wasn't enough to keep us awake.

A Walk Along the River 

Bashi (bridge)

Sunday, September 7
We slept well on our futons with the cool fresh air coming through the screen and the total quiet except for the sound of rushing water from a small stream in the back of the hotel. At breakfast (wearing our slippers this time) we found our table set with an array of dishes including salad, soup, salmon and boiled eggs. We took the eggs for lunch, but found them barely cooked.
   After breakfast we set out to walk up the right side of the river along the mostly level path for a supposedly four hour walk. (By the time we stopped for pictures it took us much longer.) It was a perfect day, sunny, blue sky, not too warm. Most of the path went through forest--primeval tall trees--moist forest floor covered with mushrooms, ferns, asters, various plants, but offered occasional stunning views of the river and distant mountains. Although we could hear birds, we had a hard time seeing any. We had brief glimpses of what looked like a nuthatch and a chickadee but were something else.

The Myojin Shrine

Islet at the Myojin Shrine

After about 3 km we came to a bridge leading across the river to the Myojin Shrine. We paid 300 yen (about $3) to get in to see two mirror-like pools, which were, indeed, beautiful. From what we could read in English, they are considered to be home of the gods. We could see fish swimming in the clear water and a heron flew across. In October, a festival is held at the pond and two boats with a dragon and a chicken head on the front are rowed across the water.
    Beyond the Myojin Shrine, far fewer people were on the path. Those we passed were dressed as serious hikers and appeared to have camped overnight. Almost everyone we passed nodded and said o-hi-o gozi mas (good day) or konichiwa. This section of path passed a natural hot spring where we could see bubbles coming up from the bottom. (On our way back, when it was raining, steam formed in the cooler air over the hot pond.) Three kilometers from Myojin we arrived at our destination, a campground called Tasagawa. We ate our picnic lunch by the river and just as we were finishing, it began to rain.

Afternoon Rain

Approaching Storm

On our entire walk back it rained on and off, although never hard enough to soak us. Just after we got back to the hotel, it began to come down harder, but by then it didn't matter. We had some tea (green) with the hot water and tea set provided in our room. Then we ate another huge meal and bathed before bed. The Sunday dinner featured Shabu Shabu, cooked at the table in little paper pots, and beef sashimi. We also were served a whole fish on a stick and numerous little dishes. After dinner the only entertainment on tv was a golf tournament, so again we went to bed early.

Back to Takayama and On to Gifu

Monday, September 8
The morning was misty, but not actually raining.  We went downstairs for breakfast and found scrambled eggs and ham at our table–some others had Japanese style breakfast.  We checked out and pulled our suitcases to the bus stop.  We were the only passengers on the shuttle bus to Hirayu Onsen. Cars are not permitted in Kamikochi so everyone must go in and out either by bus or taxi.  We got right on our next bus and a few minutes after it arrived in Takayama, we caught a train for Gifu, where, for the remainder of the week, Art was attending a conference and I would be doing a school visit.
(To be continued.)

Part III will cover our stay in Gifu and Nagoya.

The Japan Alps, Nagoya, Gifu: Part I

Nagoya and Takayama (Trip to Japan, September, 2008) 

Welcome Cats (Hello Kitties)

Thursday, September 4 (Notes from my trip diary)
    Arrived in Nagoya, Japan, and, with the help of an attendant at the ticket machine in the airport, we got train tickets to the Nagoya JR station.  Then we got a taxi, complete with white lace seat covers, a white-gloved driver, video screen, and automated recorded instructions in English admonishing us to wear seat belts, for a short ride to the Hilton Hotel.  There, on advice from the super helpful, somewhat English speaking desk clerk, we went to a travel agent to buy our train tickets for the next morning to Takayama.  There, another super helpful, impeccably uniformed young woman helped us, and spent an extra ten minutes just to find out what track we needed to go to for our train.  For dinner we went to a small sushi restaurant nearby, pointing to pictures on the menu for our meal.

Takayama, the Little Kyoto of the North 

Lunch of Soba (buckwheat) noodles

Friday, September 5
    Checked out of hotel and went to train station.  Rode backwards to Gifu and then the train reversed direction to go toward Takayama.  Nagoya and Gifu are both on a flat coastal plain, but after leaving Gifu, the train climbed into the mountains, mainly following river valleys.  Saw ospreys and white and gray herons fishing in the shallow, swift flowing rocky rivers.  Also, human fishermen. 
    After two hours we arrived at Takayama, known as the little Kyoto of the north.  We walked one block to the Best Western hotel, left our bags, and went to a nearby restaurant for soba (buckwheat) noodles, a local specialty.  They came cold, on a bamboo tray, with a soy dipping sauce.  A side dish, something like runny farina with a raw egg yolk in the middle, was impossible to eat with chopsticks.  Art’s meal also included an excellent roasted fish and rice mixed with vegetables.  Then we caught a local bus to Hida Village.

Hida Village

Hida Village.  Farmhouse roof made of thatch is steep to withstand winters with up to 6 feet of snow.  Thatch is lashed onto roof supports with rope.  An opening in the roof lets in light.

   In the old part of Takayama and at Hida Village, one feels plopped into a Kurosawa movie, half-expecting a samurai to appear around the next corner.  (In fact, one can rent costumes in Takayama to wear for the day.)  The Hida Village, about a mile uphill from the center of town, is a collection of farmhouses and other buildings from the Edo period, moved there as a “living history” park. (You can see buildings of the same era in the movie “Silk” which was filmed at a similarly preserved mountain village.)  Signs admonished us to “stay on the course”, presumably for traffic control, and follow the prescribed route through the village.  The huge parking lots outside the gate, almost empty, suggested that at peak times the place is packed, but we found it almost empty. 
      The village of about six large houses/barns and various outbuildings  is organized around a pond–with carp you can feed, a swan, and a water wheel.  Except for one house, not from the local area, all the houses had roofs designed to withstand heavy snow, up to two meters, with shingles held down by rocks or thick thatch lashed onto logs.  A small fire burned in each house, filling it with smoke and making it almost impossible to breathe.  In all buildings we had to take off our shoes to go inside (slippers were provided).  At the charcoal burning shed a sign warned us to “Bee careful.”  Few signs in the village were in English.  We did have a brochure with brief English explanations.  Some people were demonstrating local crafts–woodcarving, lacquerware, doll making and textile stitchery.  We bought a set of six cloth coasters.

River Walk

Tori Gate, Takayama

Instead of waiting for the bus, we walked downhill to the art museum.  On the way, we bought three little brooms, another local craft, at a shop.  The art museum is a huge modern building with a shallow reflecting pool on one side and an English tea garden overlooking the city on the other.  It specializes in glass art.  We didn’t pay to go in and instead, caught the free bus (a red double decker) back to town. 
      For about an hour we wandered the streets near the river where the old buildings have been preserved, many converted into shops.  We went to the red bridge (bashi) for a picture and then walked along the river.  For dinner we went to a restaurant we found in the guidebook, Suzuya, where the menu was in English.  We saw more non-Japanese (gaijin) there than we had all day.  I had sukiyaki and Art had beef cooked on a large leaf, a local specialty, both cooked over small burners at the table.

Woman selling mushrooms at farmer's market

Farmers' Market and A Walk in the Park 
Saturday, September 6
    After an American breakfast at the hotel–the buffet offered both American and Japanese foods– we walked to the morning market by the Civic Center where farm women sold apples, peaches, grapes, pears, all kinds of vegetables, leaves like we had seen at the restaurant, pickles, and handcrafts.  We bought two girl’s cloth purses shaped like fish.  We then climbed the hill to walk in the wooded park above the town.  Each time we passed someone, they would bow and greet us with O-hi-o Go-zi-mas (good morning) or ko-neechi-wa and we would reply.  On top of the hill were the ruins of the shogun’s castle and a lot of mosquitoes.  The day had started out with comfortable weather, but became steadily hotter and more humid. 

Festival Carts, Shrines, and Lion Masks

Festival carts and manikins wearing traditional clothing

We returned to town to see festival carts on display at the museum next to the Shinto shrine and Tori arch.  There a polite young woman apologized that no one could take us on an English language tour; instead, she handed us a tape recorder with English explanations.  The elaborately carved and painted carts (two stories high) are similar to those used at the Gion festival in Kyoto except that they have wheels.  The carts are used for festivals in the spring and fall; the one held in the fall is a harvest festival, similar to American Thanksgiving. Our ticket also got us in to the museum next door in which the shrine complex at Nikko had been recreated in miniature–it felt a little like going to see the tiny Taj Mahal in Florida.
     Next to shrine museum was the Lion Mask museum where we went in to see lion masks and the “puppet show.”  The puppets, which were similar to those on some of the festival carts, were more like robots or automatons and did acrobatics, served tea, or wrote.  Art was selected from the audience and given a scroll written by the puppet scribe.

On to Kamikochi
    We walked back to the hotel to pick up our luggage, stopping on the way at an ATM and the convenience store for some boxed lunches (a sandwich and "bento"). We ate them at the bus station while waiting for the bus to Hirayu Onsen where we caught a shuttle to Kamikochi. 

For more detailed information about Takayama from other travelers, click here and here.

Part II will be about our visit to Japan Alps National Park.

Australia's Red Center: Alice Springs

Tropic of Capricorn marker just north of Alice Springs

A Town Called Alice
(Diary entry from our visit to Alice Springs in April 1999)
    On Sunday morning we flew from Ayers Rock to Alice Springs, a distance of about 300 miles.  Although it was Easter, there wasn’t much celebration.  We noticed that some people are trying to promote the bilby, a marsupial with long, rabbit-like ears, as an Easter Bunny alternative--eg, the Easter Bilby--but it doesn't seem to be catching on. At the Desert Park in Alice Springs (where we actually saw a bilby in the night exhibit) they had a special exhibit of eggs to celebrate the rebirth of life.  They showed all kinds of eggs--birds, reptiles, insects and even mammals (the echidna.)  We got nabbed by a ranger on our way in who needed an audience to talk about the eggs but who managed to get sidetracked into telling us about his Aboriginal heritage and how he is part of the emu clan.
 
A Working Ranch (Station) and Bed and Breakfast

Flock of budgies seen at water hole at Bond Springs Station

     In Alice Springs we visited the shops and art galleries in the center of town and were tempted to buy some of the carvings and paintings but the ones we really liked were both too big and too expensive.  We then drove north of town about fifteen miles to the Tropic of Capricorn marker (to take a companion photo for our Equator shot from 1971 and the more recent Greenwich Meridian) en route to the Bond Springs Station, a working cattle ranch that was also our bed and breakfast.  We had our own small cottage and arranged to have dinner there which we ate on our own verandah as we watched the stars come out. 
    In the morning we went out for a bird walk along a dry creek bed and saw parrots, cockatoos, budgies, zebra finches as well as some kangaroos who seemed as surprised to see us as we were to see them.  Later in the day we had a tour of the station and got some insight into the challenges of grazing cattle over millions of acres in the outback.  I always had a romantic image of cowboys on horseback rounding up the cattle, but on modern stations like this one the cattle are mustered with airplanes, helicopters and motorbikes because it is quicker and more cost effective.  That evening we went to a barbecue and were served beef steaks from the station’s own cattle. At both Ayers Rock and Alice Springs we had terrific views of the night sky.  For the first time we saw the Magellanic clouds--which Magellan apparently used to figure out where south was.
 
The Telegraph Station

Sign at Old Telegraph Station, restored at site of original Alice Springs

   Our outings in Alice Springs included a tour of the old telegraph station (now a museum) which is at the site of the original Alice Springs.  The “spring” is actually a pool in a river bed and was named after the wife of the Superintendent of Telegraphs.  The telegraph station, constructed in the 1870's, was the beginning of the town of Alice Springs and the line, which went between Adelaide in the south and Darwin in the north, provided, for the first time, a direct connection (via an undersea cable between Darwin and Java) between Australia and the rest of the world.  We got to talking with the managers of the Telegraph Station Museum and they showed us the three joeys (baby kangaroos) that they were taking care of after their mothers had been killed by cars.  One was so small that they kept it tucked into a purse sized cloth pouch.

The Flying Doctor

    Our other tourist destinations in Alice Springs were to the Desert Park (an exhibit of desert wildlife), the Royal Flying Doctor Service, the School of the Air, and finally a date grove where we had afternoon coffee and date cake before returning to Melbourne. 
    The Flying Doctor Service was started by a Presbyterian missionary in 1928 as a way of providing health care to people in remote areas.  Communication to the center in Alice Springs was by radio and when a call came in a pilot and a doctor would head out hoping that when they got there they would find a suitable place to land.  The radio service is also used to give medical advice for immediate treatment while the patient is waiting for the doctor to arrive. When we toured the center in the early afternoon, the log on the wall showed five emergencies had already been dealt with that day.  In the 1950's someone had the idea of using the same radio service to provide schooling to children who live on remote cattle stations and that became the School of the Air.

School of the Air

Studio at School of the Air where classes are broadcast

    The School of the Air now has its own facility and teaches about 200 children, some of them living as far as 1000 kilometers from Alice Springs.  We listened in as a teacher gave a lesson to a six year old student.  Kids get group lessons by grade level each morning for an hour and then once a week each child gets an individual lesson.  The kids get lesson packets every two weeks in the mail and the work is supervised either by a parent or a governess.  We saw samples of work on display at the school headquarters and it was well done.  In many ways these kids have all the advantages of individual attention in their home schooling and at the same time they are able to grow up on their cattle stations and be part of that life too. 
    School of the Air goes to grade 7 and after that the kids go to boarding school.  Our tour guide on the cattle ranch where we stayed had grown up there and went to School of the Air with his brother and two sisters.  (We saw the room that they had used for their lessons.)  Although we had driven into the ranch on a dirt road that was in bumpy but reasonable condition, until recently there was no road at all.  Getting into town was an ordeal, especially if it rained and the creeks filled with water, so School of the Air was the best option.
 
A Self-Sufficient Life

Sunset, Bond Springs Station

    It is hard for us to realize how self-sufficient people have to be in the outback.   At Bond Springs they have maintained the original homestead buildings as part of the National Trust so you can see how people really lived when they first came to the outback. The first house was one tiny room with dirt floors and a canvas bed.  Later a slightly larger house was built.  (I had always thought that quilts were a uniquely American craft but when we visited the homestead we saw on the bed a wedding quilt that had been made for the couple by the bride and groom's mothers.)
  The current family home was built in the 1930's and has at its heart a high ceilinged kitchen with a giant table where we ate breakfast..  Even at Bond Springs, which now seems quite modern, it has only been recently that the station has had telephone service and they still have to produce all their own electricity.  Despite the obvious hardships, the people who live in the outback love it and can't imagine why anyone would want to live anywhere else.  When we told one of the staff at Bond Springs that our home was in Los Angeles, she seemed genuinely sorry that we had to live in a city.

Vacation Reading 
    I am reading a book called We of the Never-Never, a memoir of Jeannie Gunn, a woman at a cattle station in the early part of the century.  During the rainy season they would be cut off for weeks when rain swollen rivers became impassable and then it would take weeks after it dried for wagons to travel from Darwin.  Her solution to the perpetual fly problem was to construct a net that enclosed the entire dining room--table, chairs and all!  The book was made into a movie that we saw the last time we were in Australia. (The outback is the Never-Never because once you live there, you never-never want to return to city life.) Art is reading another classic, A Fortunate Life, about a man whose life would seem to be anything but fortunate.

Window Seat
    I always take several books to read on vacations and never read any of them partly because I always buy books on the trip (like We of the Never-Never) and start reading them and partly because when I'm on the airplane I find it much more interesting to look out the window than to read.  Our flight to Uluru (from Melbourne via Sydney) took us over miles and miles of desolate desert where you could see the patterns of salt deposited across the bottom of enormous dry lake beds.  It is hard to imagine that there are times when these lakes actually have water in them.


Desert on a Grand Scale
    Our trip was so full that I have just touched on the highlights.  At moments the Australian desert reminded us of experiences we’ve had in American deserts such as at Joshua Tree National Monument, in the Mojave, or in Borrego Springs, east of San Diego, but the scale and distances in Australia are so much grander.  There is also the sense with the Aborigines that they are part of a really distant past--in a time long before there was any human life in the Americas. The Red Center is definitely the most foreign place we've visited in Australia and it’s a long way from anywhere.  Its like flying from LA to Denver and realizing that there is nothing in between.
[Our trip to Alice Springs was during a three month stay in Australia in 1999 when Art was working in Melbourne.  I have been to Australia a total of five times.  We returned to the Red Center on our trip in 2002.]