Summer 2005 Cheyenne and Beyond

Week 1- July 11 to July 17

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Day 01 -  02 - Monday-Tuesday, July 11 - 12, 2005,  High Bridge to Wheeling WVA, 518 miles driven

We left home at around 12:30PM on Monday, July 11 and after a stop in Easton arrived in Breezewood, Pa. at around 5:00PM. The object was to get close to Altoona, Pa in order to visit the famous Horseshoe Curve. I say famous as there is no railroad buff in the world that doesn't know about the "Curve". My first job out of college was with Railway Express in Butler, Pa. and I had always wanted to take a train ride thru the curve. Instead we got to drive a car to the curve. In going up to Altoona for  the curve I missed the turn off Route 22 and wound up going about 10 miles up the road as there were no turnarounds. It was a lucky miss. At the first available exit there was a sign leading to the right for the Allegheny Railroad Portage National Park site and a sign for the "Curve" to the left. Since it was 9:30 AM and the Curve did not open to visitors until 10AM we went to the Portage site first. It was a good decision. The Allegheny Portage Railroad was built in 1832 to pick up canal boats on the east and west side of the mountains and transport them via a series of inclines powered by steam engines over a distance of about 36 miles. The Portage cut the travel time from Philadelphia to Pittsburgh to 5 days versus 23 days by wagon. The film describing the railroad/portage in the visitors center was excellent. I'll always remember the phrase "You are born, grow up and work all your life and then tumble back into the earth".

By 1852 the need for the Portage of Canal boats was over. The Pennsylvania Railroad built the "Horseshoe Curve" which permitted the passage of trains over the mountains. To accomplish this feat 450 Irish miners armed with picks, shovels, wheelbarrows and dynamite moved part of a mountain and filled in two gaps in the mountains to crate a curve of some 270 degrees. To the west of the curve, the Gallitzin tunnel completed the task of getting over the hump. This engineering feat is still in use. At the present time about 60 trains a day pass over this section of track as it is the major east west line on the east coast. The curves and tunnels importance to the US is highlighted by the fact that during WWII, a plot by Nazi saboteurs to blow up the Gallitzin Tunnel was foiled. The shipment of war supplies from the industrial heartland of the Ohio Valley would have been severely hampered.

From the Portage we headed to the "Curve" and at Gallitzin spotted a sign for the Gallitzin Tunnels. The car automatically turned in that direction. At the tunnel entrance was a diesel engine train waiting to enter the tunnel. Within minutes, the train headed into the tunnel and we left for the curve. At the curve there is a funicular (inclined cable car) which takes you up to the track level of the "Curve". When we got to the top, the same train that had entered the tunnel at Gallitzin was coming into view on the curve. While we were up top, a total of 4 long freight trains passed by.

From the curve we headed to Wheeling, WVA where we planned to spend the night. First we had to visit a Krishna Shrine called the Palace of Gold outside of Moundsville, W.VA. We had spotted a brochure in Breezewood at the motel and decided to visit. At the shrine we were led on a guided tour of the Palace by an interesting young man from Russia. On the tour also were three teenagers from the Wheeling area. They indicated that it was their third time to the shrine. I told mom to take a close look at their faces as we would probably see them at airports in the near future. However it was a needless comment on my side, there was no attempt to sell the Hare Krishna belief system on the visitors. A far cry from the missionaries at Salt Lake City. To go on the tour we had to put coverings on our shoes or go barefoot or in socks. This was also true in the Temple which we toured after the palace. After this full day we had dinner at one of our favorite Italian Restaurants in Benwood - Undo's. It is great.

All pictures are thumbnails and will enlarge if clicked.

Portage Railraoad Steam Engine House #6	Wheels that pulled the rope cables on the inclines at the Portage	The Lemon House - wayside inn on the Portage	Train entering the Gallitzin tunnel	The Curve in a post card - I couldn't afford a flight
Funicular to track side on the Curve	This one had 10 engines	Palace of Gold exterior	Interior of the Palace of Gold	Dieties in the Temple at Palace of Gold

  Day 03 -  04 - Wednesday -Thursday, July 13 - 14, 2005, Wheeling, WVA to Racine, WI 652 miles driven

On Wednesday morning we finally got to visit the Warther Wood Carving Museum in Dover, Ohio. In 2002 on the return leg of our cross country trip we stopped here only to find out in the parking lot that Mom had forgotten her pocketbook about 100 miles back at a Wendy's. That ended that. "Mooney" Warther was a self taught carver who found a pocket knife at the age of five and with a second grade education became a mechanical genius and carver. In his heyday he turned down a lucrative offer from Henry Ford to practice his craft at Greenfield Village in Dearborn and at another time turned down an offer from the New York Central to extend his display of trains by saying "I've got a roof over my head, I ain't hungry and my wife has a large button collection". Mooney worked for a period of time in a steel mill but later turned to making kitchen knives to support his family. The knife business is still active in the same building as the museum and is run by his grandsons and their family's. According to the guide leading the tour, Mooney Warther never sold any of his carvings - he gave them away as gifts. His primary carving subject was the history of steam power with a love for trains. He used all kinds of hardwoods including ebony and for the wheels, gears and other items used ivory. In his early years when he couldn't afford ivory he used his mothers soup bones and in later years replaced all the soup bone parts with ivory. All except one piece in bone which was still on display in the lobby. The amount of detail in the trains is unbelievable. Every pipe, gear, bell, light etc is carved out of ivory and then fitted. all the parts that are supposed to move, move. Even the mouths on his human heads move. Other than the train genre, Mooney's signature was the carving of a working pair of wooden pliers out of one piece of wood. A single pair of pliers would consist of 10 cuts with no chips. He could do one in 10 seconds using basswood. One of his pieces consists of over 500 pairs of pliers interconnected out of one piece of wood which took 32000 cuts.

From Dover Ohio we drove to Battle Creek to have dinner with some friends and also get ready to visit Kellog's Cereal City in Battle Creek on Thursday. Cereal City is a hands on historical museum dedicated to the cereal industry. It is really geared towards kids but when in Battle Creek you must visit just like when in Easton Pa. you must visit  Crayola. We did learn some things we didn't know about corn flakes. The birth of corn flakes is tied to the Seventh Day Adventist Church which ran a sanitarium in Battle Creek. J.H. Kellogg was the primary physician at the San while his brother W. K Kellogg was involved in the business end of the San. To improve the diets of the clients of the sanitarium which really was a health spa, the doctor and his brother were searching for a way to flake wheat grain. By accident they discovered that by lowering the liquid content of the boiled grain they could flake the grain without sticking. The doctor wanted to make the flakes for only the clients of the San while W.H.K wanted to make them available to the public. One of the clients of the San with the last name of "Post" copied the Kelloggs methods and established the Post cereal company. W. H. Kellogg then split from the San and established the Battle Creek Cereal Flake Co. which later became Kelloggs. Kellog perfected the use of advertising in selling his flakes and many of the displays dealt with all the box-top offers and shows that were sponsored by Kellogg's.

From Battle Creek we drove to Racine Wisconsin to get ready to visit the art museum in Milwaukee in the morning. This is another return trip from the cross country journey. We arrived in Milwaukee to find that the museum is closed on Monday's. Tomorrow is Friday and we will make it. After arriving in Racine we drove over to the Windy Hill light house on Lake Michigan. A beautiful spot.  

Warther's interpretation of the steel mill - everything moves	A small bunch of wooden pliers - one piece of wood	Over 500 wooden pliers from one piece of wood	Warther's biggest train carving	Ebony and ivory - the detail is amazing
Yep, she had a lot of buttons	Mom romancing with Toni the Tiger	My car automatically stops at all grist mills	Windy Hill Lighthouse in Racine, Wi	Lake Michigan at Windy Hill Lighthouse

 Day 05 Friday July 15,2005 Racine WI to Madison WI, 128 miles driven

Today we visited the Milwaukee Museum of Art which is set on the shore of Lake Michigan. It is a beautiful setting and a beautiful building. We arrived at the museum shortly after opening time of 10 AM and drove right into the underground parking garage. It is hard to describe the building except that it is spectacular. I will let the pictures do the talking. Some of the items on display were far out but for the most part we even enjoyed most of those. The strangest display in our mind was the little doll laying on its side with a back of a folding chair holding down the head. A tiny video projector cast a video of a human face on to the doll's head and the lips and eyes moved in unison with the audio recording which recited the answers that the artist made to a psychiatric test. Some of the quotes were " It is alright to do bad things now for good results later" and our favorite "Most people aren't worth all the trouble". It was too dark to photograph without a flash and that was not allowed inside.

There was a large display of American fine wood furniture in the lower level and the upper level had a special exhibit of the "Arts and Crafts Movement in Europe and America 1880 - 1920" In addition there was a whole section of art by self taught artists. Grandma Moses was included in this category.  We spent over 5 hours inside the museum including a lunch at the restaurant which except for the potato salad was good. The potato salad did not pass muster. As we were leaving the museum we were treated to a free air show. On Saturday there is an air show scheduled for Chicago and we were treated to the practice session by a few of the Blue Angels and some stunt prop planes.

Milwaukee Art Museum	Milwaukee Art Museum	Main Lobby Hall Milwaukee Art Museum	East Corridor to Exhibits Milwaukee Art Museum	We don't go anywhere where there isn't a Chihouly
It's only two items deep - all done with mirrors	Age versus Youth	Jesus in front of the high Priest - a candlelight masterpiece	Chair made from discarded Spinning wheels	Folk Art whirlygig - Its about 6 feet long

Day 06 Saturday,  July 16,2005  Madison WI to St. Paul, MN, 267 miles driven

Yesterday's posting needs a postscript. As we parked the car in the Art Museum parking lot which was almost empty , a SUV pulled up right next to our van on Mom's side kind of close. That kind of annoyed me but I left it alone. With Mom outside the van and the other occupants at the rear of their SUV the driver of the other vehicle set off the horn on his car instead of locking it. Inside a parking garage and right next to you it is very loud. This is where the proof that God sees all and knows all comes in. I turned my head and called the guy an A__Hole. In turning my head I didn't see that there was a column in front of me and I walked right into it. Score one for God and zero for me.

This day's plan was to head towards St. Paul, MN with a stop at the Wisconsin Dells. We had wanted to see the "Dells" the last time in 2002 but it was not possible to drive the Wisconsin bank of the Mississippi and also see the Dells. Wisconsin Dells is a small town of 3000 on the banks of the Wisconsin River. The town bills itself as the "Waterpark Capital of the World" and from what we saw it deserves that billing. The main street of the town sports every kind of water ride that one could think of. It's a kids paradise. What we came here to do was to take a boat ride through the Lower Wisconsin Dells and also the Upper Wisconsin Dells. It turned out to be two boat rides as the lower and upper sections are separated by a hydroelectric dam. However the company running the boats provides a free shuttle bus between the two different sections. The operators have perfected the moneymaking scheme here as they take your picture before you board the boat and then try to sell you the pictures on departure. They insisted on taking a picture even after I told them not to waste the film as I had no intention of buying the picture.  

The ride on the Lower Dells lasted an hour. We did get to see a Bald Eagle along the river and a whole bunch of sandstone/limestone rock formations each of which had been given a name. It was a pleasant ride despite the 100 degree temperature. We had stocked up on water and sun screen before getting on the boat. Every kind of water craft could be seen on the river. Kayaks, canoes, Skidoo's and power boats of all sizes and dimensions. From the Lower Dells we switched to the Upper Dells ride which lasted two hours. Of the two rides, the Upper Dells was more interesting with more cliffs and also two opportunities to walk some trails which led you to the required souvenir shop. The first walk led you to "Witches Gulch" which is a narrow gorge in the banks of the river. What was amazing was that the temperature inside this little eco-system was about 10 to 15 degrees lower than out on the river. The guides attributed this to the rock which absorbs water like a sponge and in hot weather the evaporation of the water in the rock acts like an air conditioner. Works for us. The other walk was to see the "Stand Rock" where the operators have arranged for a German Shepard dog to leap the six foot chasm separating the bank from the rock. There is a safety net in case of a miss. Sure enough after all spectators were lined up, the dog handler showed up with the dog and made the to and from leaps with no problem. The idea for the rock leap came from a landscape photographer - Bennett, who invented and perfected  stop action photography. To prove his invention he had his kid jump the chasm and after 18 tries captured his son in the air over the chasm. There is a print of the original shot at the rock while the original is now in the Smithsonian. The picture is titled "Bridging the Chasm"   At one time, the local Indian descendants used to put on a show for the tourists at the "Rock" but now have opened a nearby casino and have chosen to raise money at the gaming tables instead.  It was a nice day out on the water.

Wisconsin Dells Lower Boat Dock	Lower - Grotto Rock	Wisconsin Dells Upper	Into the Witches Gulch
Stand Rock - Look for the dog	From the shore - Wisconsin River	Rock Formantion - Upper Dells	Wisconsin Dells - its busy out here

Day 07 Sunday, July 17,2005  Minneapolis, MN, 79 miles driven

Today was a quiet day with no particular rush to be anywhere. The only definite plan was to go to church, and then after breakfast to go over to the mother of all malls "Mall of America". We also had reservations to see a theater in the round play "Moon Over Buffalo" at 2:00 PM. We had been to the mall in 2002. With the temperature outside nearing the high 90's by 11:00 am it was a good idea to duck into an air-conditioned building and look around. It seemed that a lot of other people had the same idea as there were numerous people inside the mall waiting for the stores to open at 11:00 AM. The food concessions and the amusement park - Camp Snoopy were already open and busy at the time we arrived, 10:30AM. We visited three stores one of which was the American Book Warehouse where mom bought my birthday present 1776 by McCullough. Mom also visited Nordstroms Rack and also The Disney Store.

By 12:30PM we were done and heading to downtown Minneapolis to get to the play. "Moon Over Buffalo"  is a hilarious comedy. At $20.00 per ticket we were royally entertained by a troupe of very talented players. One of the ushers explained that all the actors and stage hands were volunteers and not paid actors. In one of the scenes the father asks his wife how could such a screwy couple as they have such a beautiful daughter. Her response was classic "She isn't yours. I slept around."  The play at one time was on Broadway with Carol Burnett in the leading role. It was a great afternoon. After dinner we went to a Barnes and Noble store where mom exercised her gift card.

One of many rides at the "Mall"	Mom did some shopping here.	This one's for you Ken.

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