Tag Archives: History

*Book Review* – American’s Living History

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A Traveler’s Guide to

American’s Living History – The Early Years

By: Suzanne & Craig Sheumaker

 

A Bent’s Old Fort National Historic Site interpretive ranger recommended a book focusing on living history sites across the country.  Fortunately the bookstore/trade room had copies of American’s Living History – The Early Years. After a brief browse I knew we needed to add this title to our travel bookshelves.

Authors Suzanne and Craig Sheumaker selected 300 sites throughout the US that are historically accurate and offer history-based activities, re-enactments and/or special events. The Sheumakers visited each of the 300 locations before compiling the book, plus many others that did not make the cut. “The Early Years” refer to the fact that the authors chose to focus on destinations reflecting pre-1840 history, from early Native American cultures to the opening of the West.

Regional maps and listings provide visual destination locations while themed chapters are organized by field of interest. At first I found the organization a bit awkward but after reading the introduction, historical timeline and several entries I realize the groupings are logical and practical.

Each chapter begins with a short historical perspective, followed by individual destination descriptions and photos. Craig’s professional photography expertise enriches every page. The descriptions offer concise background knowledge and visitation highlights. Frequent sidebars add informative mini-lessons of American history. “Wouldn’t it be great if school history lessons were so interesting?

The award-winning book doesn’t try to provide every detail of hours, fees, restrictions, etc. – dull details that make a book dated by the time it arrives from the printer. Instead, contact info including websites are listed for the reader/traveler to find the latest, accurate details needed for a successful visit.

I couldn’t resist the urge to count how many of the sites we’ve visited – 52. In reading many of those entries I find the Sheumakers’ information extremely factual. Terms such as, “exceptional, meticulous, charming or terrific” are used accurately not as hype. Whether one is an on-the-road RVer or an armchair traveler they will be entertained and enriched by America’s Living History – The Early Years. 

I hope the authors are compiling a follow-up edition covering “The Later Years.” There are many sites dating after 1840 that offer quality living history experiences, especially in the west where settlement was in it’s infancy in the mid-nineteenth century. Meanwhile I need to get on the road to visit the other 248 locations.

America’s Living History – The Early Years is available online at both Amazon and Barnes & Noble or at museum stores across the country.

Alfred Packer Grave – Littleton, Colorado

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Alfred Packer’s Claim to Fame

Alfred Packer Grave

 Alfred Packer gained fame or infamy as the only man in United States history convicted of the crime of cannibalism. Legend holds that the crime occurred in 1874 near Lake City in Colorado’s San Juan Mountains when his party of prospectors became lost during a snowstorm. Packer is buried in the Littleton Cemetery off South Prince Street in Littleton, Colorado.

Students at the University of Colorado in Boulder “honor” the alleged cannibal with the Alfred Packer Grill in the University Memorial Center. Their slogan – “Have a friend for lunch!”

Old Town – Albuquerque, New Mexico

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A Stroll Through Albuquerque’s OlOld Town Churchd Town

 

Quintessential New Mexico, the shaded plaza, adobe church, shops, galleries, restaurants, music, arts and crafts keep visitors returning to Old Town. Most Albuquerque tourists who spend time in Old Town circle the Plaza, admire jewelry spread on blankets, and pop into stores for souvenirs. Those who follow winding, brick walkways into quiet courtyards discover the essence of the Southwest – a slower pace, a musical duo, shaded patio cafes and one-of-a-kind shops.

Kaleidoscopes Colorful magic fills two rooms at La Casita de Kaleidoscopes. The gregarious owner encourages “try them all” as we gawk at the variety – miniature scopes on necklaces to massive floor models. Eighty artists from around the country handcraft these optical wonders. Descriptive names – Marble Scope, Passport to Paris, Dreamdrops, Eye on the Ball – entice us to pause for calming views.

 

Old Town Tour Guided walking tours sponsored by the Albuquerque Museum offer a historical and informative insiders view of Old Town. Museum docents lead the seasonal tours, mid-March through mid- December, pointing out details we’d miss own our own. A self-guided walking tour brochure is available at the museum for those whose visit doesn’t coincide with a guided tour.

Corrales, New Mexico

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So Near – Yet A World Away

One of our favorite Albuquerque area destinations is the nearby village of Corrales. Although suburbia quickly approaches, Corrales maintains its 300-year-old rural ambiance along the banks of the Rio Grande River. In the fall roadside stands San Ysidro Church - Corralesoffer pumpkins, apples, pears, and jugs of cider.

Photographers and artists gravitate to the Old San Ysidro Church. The picturesque restored adobe now serves as a community center. A stroll through the annual fine arts exhibit that coincides with Balloon Fiesta enriches a leisurely afternoon.

The village supports a number of unique galleries and shops. We always like to stop into the artist-owned Corrales Bosque Gallery. Among the original works from jewelry to visual arts in a variety of media there’s always something that captures my imagination. Hanselmann Pottery sells their wares on the honor system. I’m not a quilter but love to walk through the colorful fabrics at Quilts Ole.

Casa San Ysidro - Interior Behind adobe walls, Casa San Ysidro holds a treasure trove of early New Mexico. The replicated rancho was home to Alan and Shirley Minge from 1953-1997. Today the rambling house, furnishings, and extensive historic and artistic collections are an extension of the Albuquerque Museum. From the kitchen’s wood-burning cookstove to the altar in the capilla, or chapel, tours (by reservation) relate the fascinating stories behind artifacts and architectural details.

Locally owned restaurants, wineries and bed and breakfasts ensure creature comforts while we savor the rural New Mexico ambiance.

Old Town Museums – Albuquerque, New Mexico

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So Much to Explore!

Three outstanding facilities stand without walking distance of each other. It couldn’t be easier to explore art, history, science, technology, natural history and astronomy. Time and energy runs out before we can do it all; but, the journey proves fascinating.

 

Albq Museum

 

Albuquerque Museum of Art & History An outstanding permanent collection and excellent temporary exhibits make this a repeat experience when visiting the city. A permanent exhibit, Four Centuries, covers 400 years of history in Albuquerque. The museum’s art collection emphasizes contemporary and historic regional artists. We’ve been fortunate enough to see several quality visiting exhibits over the years. The outdoor sculpture garden presents numerous styles and genres. Guided tours of galleries and garden are available. The education department sponsors informative walking tours of Old Town.

 

Explora! – An incredible, hands-on experience awaits learners of all ages interested in science, technology and art. Robotics lab to interactive fountain, principles of sound, motion, or electricity, this is a learning laboratory that fascinates tiny tots to senior citizens – a perfect multi-generation spot. Explora! is so popular with adults they get periodic adult-only Friday nights scheduled just for them. Visitors get so involved they spend twice as long as planned. This is truly an exception facility – a “have-to-do” while in Albuquerque.

  Explora3   Explora2Explora1

 

Dinosaur enthusiasts find the New Mexico Museum of Natural History & Science a must stop. We explore an ice cave, stand inside a volcano and ride the “EvolaAlb Natural History Museumtor” for a Journey Through Time, from Origins 200 million years ago to the Ice Age. Collections include the world’s longest dinosaur and oldest mammal fossil.

Within the museum, the Astronomy Center showcases a 55-foot diameter planetarium dome and high-definition imagery to explore our universe – and beyond. Permanent exhibits, Space Frontier and Making Tracks on Mars leads us through space exploration.

Wise visitors include a Dynatheater show during their touring. Sitting back to watch the giant screen presentation offers the perfect way to rest without wasting a minute. Mummies: Secrets of the Past is the current feature.

Cultural Centers – Albuquerque, New Mexico

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Celebrating Cultures of New Mexico

Native DancersNortheast of Old Town, the  Indian Pueblo Cultural Center entertains and educates with a hands-on children’s facility, museum, and guided tours. Drummers and dancers from New Mexico’s 19 Indian Pueblos give performances of traditional dances in the enclosed courtyard. Museum displays trace the development of each Pueblo’s culture and showcases arts and crafts distinctive to each group – a good primer before hitting the gift shops where a wide selection of authentic artwork, jewelry and pottery await selection. Breakfast and lunch menu items at the Pueblo Harvest Cafe reflect Native American and Southwestern influences. Highly recommended are the blue corn pancakes, Tiwa Taco or stone ground corn fries.

Special programming during the annual Balloon Fiesta include daily Native dance performances and demonstrations by noted Pueblo artists, Native film screenings and a frybread stand. More than 50 artists participate in the Indian Art Market October 3-4, 2009.

Flags at Nt. Hispanic Cener The National Hispanic Cultural Center celebrates the visual, literary, media and performing arts of the deep Hispanic roots and influences on the Southwest. The Art Museum exhibits works from the expanding permanent collection as well as themed temporary shows of traditional and contemporary art. Programming at the Roy E. Disney Center for the Performing Arts features  dance, music, theatre, storytelling, puppet shows and film. Annual fiestas and festivals in the center’s Plaza Mayor honors Hispanic holidays and cultural traditions.

Alb - Nt. Hispanic Center

The center’s La Fonda del Bosque Restaurant has been  cited as one of the country’s 50 best Hispanic restaurants. Breakfast, lunch or Sunday Brunch with live music delights diners seeking authentic regional cuisine. Weather permitting, the tree-shaded courtyard provides the perfect setting to partake of the daily buffet or order traditional favorites from the full menu.

Cemetery Walks – Colorado

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A Walk with the Spirits

 

Crested Butte Cemetery Arch A leisurely walk through an historic cemetery relates intriguing details of the region’s settlement and struggles. Styles of enclosures, markers and headstones reflect cultural, ethnic and societal influences. Inscriptions tell of epidemics, natural disasters, gunfights or the steadfastness of a man’s character. A chiseled boulder in the Cripple Creek Mt. Pisgah Cemetery states, “He died as he lived, honest, loyal and an upright man.”

Crested Butte Child's Grave Children’s graves were frequently enclosed with wooden or wrought iron fencing, or carefully laid stone borders. Headstones with carved lambs denote infant burials. Poetry abounds. Especially memorable is a monument in a Central City cemetery marking the graves for one family’s five children – all who died before reaching their first birthday.

Graveyards near ghost towns and mining camps remain worthy of investigation. Spend a crisp autumn afternoon strolling the distinctive cemeteries near Alma, Central City, Cripple Creek or Leadville for a Colorado history refresher coarse.

The Littleton Cemetery on South Prince Street is the permanent (?) resting place of Alfred Packer, the only man in United States history to be convicted of  the crime of cannibalism.

The tombstones in Cripple Creek’s Mt. Pisgah Cemetery tell so many stories of the town’s famous and the infamous. On September 26, 2009 the Gold Camp Victorian Society planLeadville Grave with Aspens a day of Mt. Pisgah tours with character reenactments throughout the cemetery. Tours start at the Cripple Creek District Museum located next to the Cripple Creek & Victor Narrow Gauge Railroad Depot. The tour begins with a ride aboard the historic trolley. The first tour leaves the museum at 9:30am; the last departs at 2:00pm. Donations to benefit the society’s historic preservation efforts are $8/adult, $15/couple and $5/child under 12. I’m sure you’ll meet Pearl.

Under the October full moon, Riverside Cemetery is the site of a History & Mystery Tour on October 2 & 3. Tours at 4:30, 5:30, 6:30 and 7:30pm each evening with tickets priced at $12/adult, $10/child. Required reservations can be made by calling 303-322-3895 or emailing heritage@fairmountheritagefoundation.org. On Halloween, Oct. 31, Crested Butte Cemetery Open Gate free tours are planned every 15 minutes between 2:00-3:15pm. Historians and actors will share the stories of influential Colorado residents such as Governor Evans and Augusta Tabor. Reservations are encouraged.

In Glenwood Springs, costumed historic characters recall their lively pasts as lantern led tours visit the “spirits” of Linwood (Glenwood Pioneer) Cemetery. Doc Holliday is reportedly buried here … or is he? Join the Annual Historic Ghost Walk to hear the story. The walks are planned for Oct. 16-18, Oct. 23-25 and Oct. 30-31, 2009. Tickets are $15/person and go on sale Oct. 1. These annual walks sell out quickly, purchase tickets as soon as they go on sale by calling the Frontier Historical Museum at 970-945-4448.

Leadville Sunken Graves We’ve tramped around many of Colorado’s cemeteries through the years, especially those near early mining camps. Each has its own distinctive characteristics and slate of citizens with fascinating stories. Leadville’s Evergreen Cemetery contains graves from 1879 to the present, graves with ornate headstones and those with rotting crosses. One early section with sunken graves ranks as the spookiest I’ve ever visited. Judge Neil Reynolds introduces the spirits of  Evergreen Cemetery during Halloween Cemetery Tours, Oct. 30-31 at 8:00pm each evening. This popular event usually sells out – call 719-486-3900 or 888-532-3845 for tickets, $10/person.

Durango & Silverton Narrow Gauge Railroad – Colorado

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Riding the Narrow Gauge Rails

DSNGR Train Billows of smoke, hissing steam and haunting echoes of the whistle signals the departure of each train out of the Durango & Silverton Narrow Gauge Railroad station. Yearly, up to 200,000 passengers board the historic train for the 45-mile scenic journey through the San Juan Mountains of southwestern Colorado.

Founded by the Denver & Rio Grande Railway in 1879, Durango continues to  rely on the railroad as a major economic force. The spur to Silverton opened in 1882 carrying freight and passengers to the mining community, returning with over three hundred million dollars in precious metals. Today, after 126 years of continuous operation, tourists are the valuable cargo. Rail buffs from around the world make Durango a prime destination.

Coal-fired steam engines pull an assortment of vintage rolling stock from city to wilderness. Standard fare riders choose between open-air gondola cars or vintage coaches. A variety of premium classes adds more comfort and amenities for the 3½-hour, one-way journey. The dramatic scenery of rugged peaks, waterfalls, cliffs high above the Animas River and wildlife thrills all passengers. D&SNG Railroad by River

Legend holds that founder of the Denver & Rio Grande, General William Jackson Palmer, implemented narrow gauge because he wanted to prevent men and women from being able to sleep in the same bed on the train. The narrow cars only had room for single sleeper bunks on each side. With rails set 36 inches apart, compared to 56.5 for standard gauge, narrow gauge was less expensive to build and ideal for mountain terrain with sharper curves, steeper grades and narrow ledges.

Arrival in Silverton seems a step-back to the days of the Old West. The entire town is a designat06-Silverton Shoped National Historic Landmark reminiscent of a Western movie set; false-front emporiums, ornate Victorian hotels, wagons and stagecoaches traveling the dusty streets. Rail passengers have a two hour lay over, time for lunch and a walk around town. Some choose to overnight in Silverton- allowing time for jeep and mine tours or a high country hike. Reservations can also be made for a one-way rail trip with return by bus, a practical choice for younger children or those unable to devote an entire day to train travel averaging 18 miles-per-hour.

San Juan Scenic Skyway – Colorado

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Scenery, History and Recreation Galore

Along Colorado’s San Juan Scenic Skyway

 

Any season of the year, but especially in the fall, the San Juan Scenic Byway circling much of southwestern Colorado amazes visitors with natural beauty, remains of ancient civilizations, Western history and outdoor recreation. In four parts I’ll share an overview of the route first published in a suburban Denver lifestyle magazine, Buzz in the ‘burb.

View San Juan Scenic Skyway

Introduction

Like curly ribbon around a festively wrapped gift the San Juan Skyway circles spectacular southwestern Colorado. Plunging waterfalls, rumbling rivers, jagged mountain peaks, hot springs, deserted mining camps, rich western heritage, trendy resorts, and ancient cliff dwellings dot the map along the 236-mile loop designated an All American Road and Scenic Byway.

07-Waterfalls Weaving over five mountain passes, the paved two-lane route links two National Forests, a National Park, major communities and remote ghost towns. In theory one can drive the Skyway in six hours. While the windshield-framed vistas would still be stunning I can’t imagine making the drive non-stop, missing the many opportunities for exploration, recreation and a deep breathe of fresh alpine air.

Two or three days provides a more realistic time frame while the leisure traveler with a week to spare can easily fill the days and still leave with a to-do list for the next visit. Whether we complete the entire loop or drive just a segment we always vow to return – with more time.

A September visit promises the added attraction of golden aspen groves. The view of Mt. Sneffels from Dallas Divide is a classic Colorado autumn photograph.28-Aspen near Telluride

San Juan Scenic Skyway – Part 2

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Ouray – Durango

04-Animas Forks Heading south towards Silverton the San Juan Scenic Skyway dramatically clings to canyon walls of the Uncompahgre River. This is the white-knuckle portion of the drive for flatlanders and those unfamiliar with mountain driving. Tunnels, snow shed, waterfalls, rugged red peaks and rusty-orange mine tailings hold our interest as we wind our way to the top of Red Mountain Pass.

Silverton

One of the richest mining districts in the world around the turn of the 20th century, Silverton was known as a wild town, notorious 11- Silverton Arrivalfor gambling, drinking and the Blair Street red-light district. Today, excitement peaks with the arrival of the Durango and Silverton Narrow Gauge Railroad in a mighty puff of black smoke. Hundreds of passengers descend on shops, restaurants and bars for two hours of modern day carousing.

During mid-day when the town teems with train passengers, we head to the Old Hundred Mine for an underground tour considered one of the best in the state.15-Mine Tour

Everyone dons hard hats and yellow slickers before boarding the electric mine train. Journeying 1/3 mile into Galena Mountain the one-hour tour is guided by an experienced miner. While he demonstrates the use of jack-leg drills, mucking machines and slusher the reverberating sounds give a harsh reality to the quest for ore.

Durango

16-Molas Lake Progress southward to Durango is slowed for photographers wanting shots of Molas Lake, Engineer Mountain, Coal Bank Pass, and Durango Mountain Resort. Could it be time for another soak, this time at Trimble Hot Springs, six miles north of town? Surrounded by landscaped gardens and shady lawns the soaking pools invite total relaxation. Active youngsters and those seeking real exercise gravitate to the Olympic-sized swimming pool. Massage and spa treatments can extend the stay for an indulgent day in the shadow of red sandstone mesas.

Durango serves as commercial, educational and tourism hub for Southwestern Colorado and the entire Four Corners region. Rich in history yet vibrant with youthful energy, the city offers options for all. Kayaking, rafting, mountain biking, fishing, golf – outdoor recreation is a way of life.

20-Strater Hotel Dining choices demonstrate the community’s diversity. One evening we choose Bar D Chuckwagon with barbeque dinner and Western entertainment by the Bar D Wranglers. The next night we’re downtown on the quiet patio of Seasons Grill savoring Alaskan halibut with saffron aioli and risotto cake. After dinner shopping includes stops in outdoor outfitters and art galleries. And, who can resist the ragtime tunes and honky-tonk piano at the Diamond Belle Saloon in the Strater Hotel – distinctively Durango.

Heading south towards Silverton the highway dramatically clings to canyon walls of the Uncompahgre River. This is the white-knuckle portion of the drive for flatlanders and those unfamiliar with mountain driving. Tunnels, snow shed, waterfalls, rugged red peaks and rusty-orange mine tailings hold our interest as we wind our way to the top of Red Mountain Pass.

02-Red Mountain

  • This post is a portion of an article by Nancy Yackel first published in Buzz in the ‘burbs, a suburban Denver monthly.