Summer Plans

Image above is of Palo Duro Canyon, the second largest canyon in the United States and the birthplace of the Red River. It is located near Amarillo, Texas. Hah, and you thought the Texas panhandle was flat!

This is turning out to be an exciting summer. I can’t wait to tell the very, very few people who stumble upon my site about all the planning that is going on here in Red River Historian-ville!

First, I bought a Volkswagon Jetta TDI (diesel), and I have begun putting biodiesel B100 in my tank. I now have ca. 80% less emissions than a gas car, and I also get about 40 mpg. Not too shabby! I found a great place for biodiesel in the Dallas/Fort Worth Area, http://www.dfwbiodieselinc.com . The station is located along Long Avenue next to 35 W in Fort Worth.  The Sun Travel Plaza in Denton also sells B20, and if you happen to own (or are considering purchasing) a diesel car/truck, you can find out where you can purchase biodiesel in your neck of the woods at http://e85.whipnet.net/alt.fuel/biodiesel.stations.html (this link lists Texas only, but you can snoop around and find your own state).

Summer is going to be busy, too. In June, I’ll be attending a workshop in Michigan on the history of the Ford company’s dealings with labor issues. This workshop is sponsored by the National Endowment for the Humanities (http://www.hfcc.edu/landmarks/). I’ve got a ton of reading to get done by the time of the workshop, which will last a week. Hmm, maybe I should be reading instead of blogging…?

I also have two, possibly three trips planned, in addition to teaching a summer class. I will be making my final Bonnie and Clyde (see: http://www.redriverhistorian.com/clydeart.html ) trip in June, where I’ll be visiting sites in Oklahoma, Missouri, Kansas, and Iowa. Then, I’m taking the annual pilgrimmage to Galveston to enjoy sun and surf at the Red Neck Riveria. Towards the end of summer, I’m hoping to take a week and a half to travel out west: I want to visit the Petrified Forest National Park (http://www.nps.gov/pefo), Grand Canyon National Park (http://www.nps.gov/grca) , the Bonnie and Clyde Death Car Exhibit at Primm Valley Casino in Nevada (http://www.vegas.com/attractions/outside_lasvegas/getawaycar.html) , Zion National Park (http://www.nps.gov/zion), Durango, Colorado (http://www.durango.org/), and Boise City, Oklahoma, where travelers and cattle drivers left their names on autograph rock along the Santa Fe Trail (http://www.nps.gov/archive/safe/fnl-sft/photos/okpages/phook.htm). I’ve planned the trip so that I can drive through Monument Valley (http://www.monumentvalley.com/), too. Man, I’m hoping that all works out schedule-wise and I’ll be able to do that.

Anyway… my books are coming along quite nicely, too. I should have them ready to go by the end of summer, hopefully.

Hope that whoever is out there (you are welcome to comment, I won’t bite!) will also have a great, safe, and not-too-hot summer!

Peace!

List of Things to Do

I am trying to make my site into something bigger. I dont’ like to work for anyone except me, so my ultimate goal is to be self-employed by doing what I love. I’m sure I’m not alone in that wish! I’m going to try my darndest to make it a reality.

I guess the problem is that “what I love” just happens to be history and writing - not very lucrative areas. It’s not that I care about making a lot of money, but it would be nice to make a living off of my interests and not starve while doing it.

I currently have  a business plan in place that involves creating a small, regional press (Red River Historian Press) that will publish regional histories, travel guides, and vintage how-to guides. I also am slowly amassing inventory for a “mobile store” that I want to set up at area festivals. Further, I’m hoping to create a “mobile classroom,” which involves offering fun classes to retirement homes and such.

It just seems like all my efforts are in slow motion. What with work, the house, and the constant “What ifs…?” swimming in my head, it seems like I’m not doing enough to really make a go of this.  So, I thought that if I put all this out on my Blog - even if NO ONE is reading it, which is okay - I will find myself a lot more committed.

• For my site: I need to update and revamp my bookstore; add a page about the Cane River National Heritage Area; add links to Louisina and Arkansas on the Itinerary Page. 
• For my store: I need to buy a color laser printer; more books, maps, and postcards; and some trinkets to sell.
• For my classes: I need to mail out the brochure and cross my fingers!
• For the Press: I need to finish the two books I’m writing; get a proof reader to go over them; take an In-Design class and then tweak the books using that software; find a printer; and then find more authors who I can publish!
• Marketing: once the Press is underway, I want to get the word out through columns, giving presentations, sell the books to museums; and having a PR-kind of person help me with press releases.

Aargh. I’ve got big plans and time’s a-wastin’.

Additions to My Site = More to Explore!

This old plantation store between Shreveport and Natchitoches, Louisiana, is where sharecroppers, who were paid with scrip, would buy what they needed from the plantation owner.

I’ve always meant to add information on Lousiana and Arkansas to my site, but time constraints have never allowed me sufficient time to explore those areas as much as I wanted. Which is funny, because most of my family lives in eastern Texas and Louisiana.

I decided that this year, I will include Louisiana and Arkansas into the “fold” - after all, my site is called Red River Historian. And the river certainly runs through those states, too! The Red River has a real presence in Louisiana’s history, and althogh my focus has been on western history, I’ve made the committment (and it wasn’t hard to committ, anyway) to learn and discover more about southern history.

It’s strange how until recently, the history of the US South has not been a big interest of mine. I think it stems from the proliferation of histories that deal with the South. The South is arguably the most-studied region in US history, especially the antebellum and Civil War periods, and somtimes it’s hard to wrap my head around it. I’m not a big Civil War fan, so I will continue to “gloss over” the war except when necessary, but I am interested in the periods of Americanization after the Louisiana Purchase.  So this is good news… it means I have a lot more exciting things to discover!

 

Biking Around DFW

The Rock Island Depot along the trail at Fort Richardson State Park (http://www.tpwd.state.tx.us/spdest/findadest/parks/fort_richardson/)

I wouldn’t call myself a real cyclist - I don’t wear spandex (Lord help the person seeing me if I did!) and I don’t look for challenging trails and death-defying grades. All I want is a smooth ride, pretty scenery, and relative safety as I travel around on my Sun 3-speed, beach combing bike. Yes, it has a spring-loaded seat, fenders and a basket. I never claimed to be cool.

While I enjoy riding around town on my granny bike, I also like to find quiet trails around DFW. Because I don’t want to do dishes right now, I’ve decided instead to regale my non-existent readers (? Maybe there’s one or two out there…) with a list of the good and not-so-good bike trails I’ve discovered. I’ll add more to the list as time and enthusiasm permit.

• Texas State Trail between Weatherford and Mineral Wells (with trail heads in between, including at Lake Mineral Wells State Park). The trail is formed from an old railroad bed, so it’s mostly even. You can ride the trail all the way to the old depot at Mineral Wells, which sits in the shadow of the old Baker Hotel. There are many restaurants and stores along the way, but watch some of the road crossings, because motorists aren’t watching for you! Weatherford is 12 miles from the trail head at the state park; Mineral Wells is 6 miles away.
• Fort Richardson State Park in Jacksboro, Texas: Even if there wasn’t a bike trail, this would still be my favorite state park, because the fort and its history are absolutely fantastic - scenic and interesting at the same time! The bike trail goes up and down some very rugged landscape and winds around Lake Jacksboro in a 12 mile loop. Along the way, interpretive signs and old ruins of bridges, mills, and baptizing facilities offer plenty of diversions. Some weirdness prevails, too, like this one house-on-stilts with a makeshift boat dock where 80s heavy metal is always playing at high decibles; and the airport and runway next to the trail that seem desolate and forgotten.
• Lake Ray Roberts Greenbelt near Denton, Texas: I’ve been on this trail many times, and while it’s not my favorite - too many trees and not enough points of interest - it’s a great, peaceful ride with level paths and some unexpected wildlife (including cottonmouths). The trail goes all the way from US 380 east of Denton to Lake Ray Roberts State Park, which is about 11 miles all in all. You cannot access  the beach at the lake from the trail, but maps do not make that clear. More than once, I’ve had to tell people who were walking along the trail with beach towels in hand that theirs was a futile endeavor.
• Chickasaw National Recreation Area at Sulphur, Oklahoma: The trail at this national park is not the best for granny bike riding, but it’ll do.  Lots of hills make this one a challenge, and the trail isn’t very long, either. However, it’s well worth the time because it takes you from the interpretive center to the smelly Sulphur springs from which the town gets its name. Another, foot-only trail leads to two bubbling springs that were encased in overly- enthusiastic stone work by the CCC during the 1930s.
• Bonham State Park in Bonham, Texas: The park merely surrounds a very small lake and is really nothing to write home about, but the trails make for good mountain biking (rugged, stone-laden, and tight). I prefer a smoother ride where I don’t have to constantly worry about the next obstacle in the way, but to each her own. I did see a lot of insect and arachnid life while I was out there, including large wolf spiders and tarantulas. That’s an endorsement, by the way - I think spiders are cool. The only dangerous spiders in Texas are black widows and brown recluses, so the bigger, hairy ones, while creepy, are fairly harmless, though they may bite!

Would a Rock by Any Other Name… Still be a Rock?

One of the archeologists at the Gault Site explains carvings found in the sandstone.

This past weekend I attended a three day class sponsored by the Texas Archeology Society (TAS) (http://www.txarch.org/). I wanted to learn more about archeology and maybe even get a few pointers on how to identify sites, and what to do with them once I did identify them. The academy was held in Belton, TX, a pretty little town with a river running just west of the Main Street.

Several archeologists taught a class of about 60 how to probe, map, and survey a site. I was highly amused by the many men at the academy (at least those in my group) who almost had heart attacks when mapping - they were so set on having everything measured precisely to the exact millimeter that we never did get much accomplished. I am not the most detailed person in the world, and when I said that it probably isn’t going to hurt to be a little off, after all it’s just holes we’ll be digging- I think I probably set their hair on fire.

On Sunday, we got to put our newly found skills to the test at the Gault Site where all sorts of items from the Clovis culture who inhabited central Texas about 12,000 years ago have been excavated. We’re talking arrow heads and inscribed rock and spear points and the like. At least I think that’s what we were talking about, although I never saw any fully formed artifact. Instead, as these were stone age sites we were probing and surveying, and this was very rocky terrain, everything started to look the same to me! So I ended up mapping random pebbles. Sometimes (and I’m ashamed to admit this), I just kind of ignored a few rocks. I don’t think I was the only one to do that, either, although I must have looked like I knew what I was doing when a woman took me aside and in a hushed voice asked me, “Can you tell the difference between a rock and an artifact?” I really, really, really wanted to say “Of course!” and receive the admiration that is due a serious student of the Archaic period, but I just ended up shrugging and shaking my head.

On the plus side, the weather was excellent. There was also a lot of food. The TAS catered breakfast and lunch, with free drinks all day. I realize that if there’s one thing archeologists don’t do, is starve.

I also got to spend Friday and Saturday night at a good friend’s house, which saved me hotel money. On Saturday night, because we’re so wild and crazy, we watched “Volver” with Penelope Cruz and directed by Pedro Almodovar. Excellent movie, by the way.

I haven’t really made up my mind yet if I want to attend any more academies. On the one hand, it’s very informative. On the other hand, it’s rock. I think I’d be a lot more fascinated by historical artifacts. There’s only so much enthusiasm one can catch for burnt rock middens with crushed mussels littering the pits, and unfortunately I didn’t catch much.

Hidden Dallas

The tiled floor peaks out from underneath the asphalt of a parking lot in downtown Dallas reminds me of what has been lost.

Passenger service to St Louis from Dallas via the Texas and Pacific - now, the Amtrak takes the intrepid traveler to that destination.

I know there are many, many people out there who have a low opinion of Dallas (I’m not naming names, but you know who you are). Fortunately, I’m not one of them. I think Dallas is pretty nifty. Yes, some parts are ugly, there are WAY too many ‘iffy’ neighborhoods, and the differences between the ‘haves’ and ‘have-nots’ are palatable. And, besides the always insightful and slightly neurotic Dallas Observer, the city only has one newspaper. 

However… Dallas is a real card. This city tries to be fancy and cosmopolitan, but its shady little past always keeps popping up in the most unexpected places.

I took a drive through Dallas the other day to visit a bunch of sights -the Texas Theater in Oak Cliff, Old City Hall, Old Red Museum, JFK Memorial (you know, the usual Kennedy tour) and while moseying around, I spotted some very interesting hints of what Dallas used to be like.

On Elm Street, just south of the US 75 bridge, one can see an old Texas and Pacific advertisement painted on the side of a commercial building - a tribute to Deep Ellum’s railroad past, where the T&P would lumber on Pacific Avenue, the next street over. In a parking lot just a few blocks up from Deep Ellum are the remains of what once was a magnificently tiled floor of some poor, demolished building.

I’ve promised myself that very soon I’ll be taking a visit to the DeGoyler Library at SMU to hunt down some more vintage Dallas photos, just so I can see what Pacific Avenue used to look like with the trains slicing through its middle. I also like to picture the way Dallas was before that bohemoth, Interstate 30, was built and cut off the southern part of downtown (on occasion, I’ve had people gripe that Fair Park was so far away, when it’s really just a mile from Union Station!)

Oh, how I wish Dallas looked like it used to…

Driving and discovering

I took a couple of roadtrips this past weekend. My road trips are usually local - I don’t drive very far because I like to know where I am. I want to see the locations behind the history. Since I’m learning so much about the history of the Red River Valley, I guess that’s why I continue to explore that region.

My class had told me about a ghost town named Dexter in Cooke County, Texas. Dexter used to be close to Gainesville, TX in size, but it was slowly abandoned after the ferry stopped running and the railroad decided not to lay its tracks around Dexter (the topography is not really suitable for tracks, as just 15 miles south the terrain is much flatter). Ergo, Dexter is a town no longer.

I found the remains of the old downtown hidden behind trees, including a vault that stands amid the foundation of what used to be the bank. Its iron shutter doors, a form of fire saftey at the turn of the century, remain intact, though the vault itself is crumbling. In a few years’ time, the entire structure will cave in on itself (maybe with the help of a few people who desire some of the loose bricks).

Besides the vault, a church, and two cemeteries, an old store (?) school (?) is the only builidng left standing in this once busy town that hugged the Red River.

As usual, I started to contemplate the fragility of the human story in the American West. Far from being unique, ghost towns litter the landscape around here, testament to the many failures of the capitalistic experiment the West was to settlers, immigrants, and industry. Withits few ruins, Dexter symbolizes the tenuous hold that people had in this region, and the rapidity of development and progress - founded in 1873 (Post Office opening), the city of Dexter had outlived its purpose by1900.

I love to read these ruins, because I feel that when I do, I allow the story to continue.

Bad History

A crowd strains its collective neck to watch the last public hanging at the jail in Denton, Texas (the jail is no longer there, having succumbed to a parking lot). 

I’m giving a class about “Bad History” right now. No, not “bad” as in “many errors and too much traditionalist interpretations,” but “bad” as in: seedy stuff, women who took the wrong paths, outlaws, and so forth. It’s a broad topic and very interesting. I learned quite a bit about the seedy side of Dallas and Fort Worth. Talk about your “bad” towns!

An experiment in self-indulgence

Well, I guess there was no way around it… I decided to add a blog to my website. I don’t think the blog will be updated frequently, as it takes times to write and time is what I have such little of! But I do want to talk to my readers, and I want to at least pretend to be “with it,” plus I am a little self-involved, anyway, so here goes!