On the road in 1850 . . .

I'm reading The Overland Journals of William and Charles Frush this week as background for my next book.

William Frush begins his journal with this cryptic entry dated May 15, 1850: "Left my family and home near Newark, Knox County, Missouri for California on one horse with the expectation of overtaking on route my brother with teem, John H. Frush."

The following entries are peppered with detailed road descriptions for those who might follow. Frush doesn't mention his brother again, but he continued west with a 40 pound pack, joining up with small groups, sometimes folks on horseback, sometimes wagon trains. He notes good meals, an occasional fight, Indians encountered, and graves spotted. Occasionally he sends letters home.

By December 14, he reaches Portland in Oregon Territory and settles there. Between the lines, I read great perseverance and admire his sheer stamina as well as his gift for understatement.

Frush consistently camps upstream from popular stopping places, perhaps because the water near popular camping spots was a source of dysentery and cholera -- two killers along the trail. 

On reaching the River Platte, After leaving Fort Laramie, conditions for those traveling in wagons worsened. Emigrants cut their wagons down or burned them. Grass was poor, and the trail ahead littered with dead stock and graves. Frush reports one man died of "the colera," leaving behind a wife and 7 children. What must it have been like for such a woman?

From the Missouri River to Oregon is roughly 2,000 miles. Frush made this journey in 8 months. 

The first Fort Laramie as it looked prior to 1840. Painting from memory by Alfred Jacob Miller
Source: Wikipedia

Mexico: Of Sacred Trees and Voladores

You may already be familiar with Mexico's beautiful "Tree of Life" pottery sculptures.
Clay sculptures have been a long tradition in MesoAmerica. Before the Conquest, the tree of life (or 'world tree') held deep significance for MesoAmerica, even though after the Conquest, these pottery sculptures became a key way to teach Christianity. I remember reading how the elders cried when the conquistadores burned religious books (codices), sculptures, and paintings.

In San Miguel de Allende, I learned the natives were put to work painting artwork for the Catholic Church in a small, nearby community. But the final murals were whitewashed and hidden from view for decades because they included what the church fathers deemed pagan images.

But the people remembered, and religious ideas were shared between native communities all through the Southwest and into South America.

Back in 2005, we visited Teotihuacan near Mexico City and stumbled upon a re-enactment of the ritual of the World Tree. I cannot pretend to understand its meaning, but to watch this ritual unfolding was a breathtaking experience.

First, somehow, a large artificial 'tree' had been erected.

Next, an elder ascended to the top of the tree, a flute in his hand. 

Four young men -- one for each sacred direction -- followed him up the tree. They are called voleadores (those who fly), though I have learned since a few women serve this role today.

The five balanced on top of the 'tree' as the elder played music and danced. He faced each of the dancers, perhaps to  honor the four sacred directions.  

 

Then, at a key moment, the four men reached out and fell, 

slowly circling the tree -- until they safely reached ground. 

What a moment of faith and trust.

I was so thrilled to see this for myself, that I tried to take a video, but my camera was sideways, and the video unusable. So I offer these few photographs I took that you may appreciate the beauty of this moment.

Today, this ritual of the voladores has been named an Intangible World Heritage by UNESCO.  More can be read at Wikipedia 

Some sense of Salisbury . . . England!

We were at the end of our travels, scheduled for a month in England, and grateful for a rest in London. Five days at the British Museum, two days at the Library, before traveling to Salisbury for that obligatory stop at Stonehenge, a World Heritage site.

Stonehenge (Camp 2004)

What surprised me about Stonehenge was not the crowds of people, nor the ropes that prevented us from reaching out to touch these ancient stones, some 4,000 years old. It was seeing for myself what a picture could not communicate. The scale of the individual stones was simply massive. For example, just one of these stones, perhaps a lintel, measures 16 feet high by 6 feet wide.

The rolling hills around seemed innocent of any rocks like these. Academics have argued for generations about how these rocks came to be in this place. Wikipedia has an interesting overview of the site that describes how Stonehenge was used first as a burial mound and how it gradually morphed into some kind of gathering place, perhaps sacred, perhaps a healing place.

In Salisbury proper, we visited St. Thomas Church primarily to see its "doom" painting (a painting of the Last Judgment dating from about 1475), which clearly shows on each lower side those souls ascending to heaven or those descending to Hell's mouth. The story goes that this wonderful painting was created as a thank-offering for a safe return from the Holy Land, then whitewashed over during the Reformation and not rediscovered until the 19th Century.

Doom Painting at St. Thomas Church (Camp 2004)

Later, we walked over the more famous Cathedral of Salisbury, a much grander church built about 1220 (and home of one of the copies of the Magna Carta), but still, we strolled in the garden and tried to imagine a life of quiet contemplation. 

Cloisters,  Salisbury Cathedral, England (Camp 2004).

In the next few posts, I shall share images from several different trips as my computer can finally "read" picture CDs. May you travel well!

On the Serengheti . . .

Africa surprised me with its open spaces. Once we were on the Serengheti Plains, animals wandered about their lives, seemingly unaware of the rumbling, open-air tourist jeeps that parked nearby.

A lioness makes her way down a rocky hill on her way to find breakfast.while a herd of antelope grazes nervously thirty feet away. 

Looking for breakfast (Camp 2012)

Two giraffes amble on hilly ground, munching on the tops of thorny trees.

A landscape of giraffes (Camp 2012)

Herds of wildebeest cross in front of our jeeps by the thousands on their annual migration.

The Great Migration (Camp 2012)

Early one morning, we surprised a mother lioness and her babes at a watering hole.

At the watering hole (Camp 2012)

 And at the end of the day, the African landscape shimmers at sunset. Beautiful memories!

Camping near Serengheti Plains (Camp 2012)

Friday: Do It Different Day!

Friday. We planned a scrumptious lunch of sushi to celebrate Valentine's Day after the morning mix of snow and rain slowed. But I went out to the garage to go for a morning swim at a gym nearby. The car would not respond. Not a click. Not a moan.

Thankfully, the AAA guy was here in under 30 minutes to diagnose a dead starter. He pounded on the starter with a big hammer, and our little Toyota sprang to life! So we drove to our car repair place here in Spokane and are now home, waiting for news.

Today is definitely "do it different" day!

Instead of leaping into the projects that await my attention, I wanted to post here, the first entry since January 3. What stops me from posting more often here? We're not really on the road these days, though we have two trips coming up this year that I'm excited about -- one to Oregon this spring and the other to Canada late in the summer. But day-to-day, we're home in Spokane. I thought you might enjoy reading about past trips, but posting here seems to fall to the bottom of the list.

How about random pictures from travels? What do you think?

Here's are are two leopards taking a little siesta before bounding out to hunt. Perhaps these are appropriate for today -- Happy Valentine's Day!

Nuzzling Leopards on the Serengheti (Camp 2012)

Getting Close on Valentine's? (Camp)

Stargazing at Saqqara . . .

On our third day in Cairo, we met with Mohammad, a guide well trained in Egyptian history, to travel south to the pyramid complex at Saqqara. On the drive south past fields of alfalfa and sugar cane, we passed carts drawn by water buffalo and saw White Nile Herons skimming along the Nile. Houses with wires sticking out seemed half-built until Mohammad explained the parents will build the next level for their children, thus avoiding taxes by not finishing construction.

Saqqara is perhaps best known for the stepped pyramid of Djoser, built some 2,900 years ago. Each level (and there are 6) is made up of successively smaller layers, rather like a square cake, with the actual burial chamber far below the pyramid.

Djoser's Stepped Pyramid (Camp 2004)

I never realized that the snake that appears on the center of the pharaoh's crown was a very real symbol of the power of life and death the pharaoh held -- until we visited Saqqara. This frieze along the South Court reminds us of the awe the pharaoh inspired.

Limestone Cobras (Camp 2004)

Entrance to Pyramid of Teti

What remains most memorable came near the end of our day-long stay, as we crossed the great open courtyard to the Pyramid of Teti.

There we were taken down a stone stairway to visit the funerary chambers underneath the pyramid. We walked crab-wise along a long stone tunnel, bent over, for what seemed almost more than I could manage, until we came to the 'stand up' room. Then after another small tunnel (not quite as long as the first), we entered the small rooms that once held the mummy of Teti.

There we saw the chamber for the coptic jars, four stone jars designed to hold key body parts from embalming (for example, the stomach, the intestines, liver and lungs). The heart remains with the mummy so that the soul can find its resting place.

Throughout the chamber, shawabtis would have been placed, those small figurines forever on call, to do the pharaoh's bidding, but now on display at a museum. I could use a shawabti now and then.

There we also saw the magnificent stone carvings Teti commanded be placed next to her tomb.. All along one wall, prayers had been carved -- with stars above. No photographs were allowed when we visited in 2004, but the chains of hieroglyphs covered the wall from floor to ceiling, awe-inspiring. Today, on Wikipedia, we can see the fantastic detail of the hieroglyphic prayers and stars that kept watch over Teti.

Wall of prayers from Teti's Tomb (Wikipedia)

Was I claustrophobic underneath the Pyramid of Teti? Yes! For I had just learned even for the Pyramid of Khufu, some 2.3 million blocks had been used, each estimated to weigh 2.3 tons. Broken stones everywhere reminded me how fragile these pyramids are -- and yet they remain.

Read more about Djoser's pyramid.
Read more about Teti's tomb.

These entries on Egypt are an excuse for me to revisit the trip we took in 2004. I hope you enjoy!

Gazing at Giza Again . . .

Giza seen from the air (Wikipedia)

When we left Cairo to take a day trip up the Nile to Giza, I was surprised by how close the pyramid complex at Giza was to the actual town of Giza, which is now the second largest city in Egypt at a healthy 7.8 million. One moment, we are in a dense city; the next at Giza, that burial complex of kings.

Seeing these pyramids was absolutely a thrill. We spent just one day exploring these pyramids.

The Terrifying One (Camp 2004)

Dubbed "The Terrifying One" in Arabic, the Great Sphinx remains an awesome sight -- despite its missing nose. I long believed that Napoleon's soldiers shot off the nose around the turn of the 19th Century, but research reveals no additional bullet holes! I discovered that in 1378, well before Napoleon, a Sufi preacher named Mohammed Sa'im al-Dahr, angered by people who worshiped the Sphinx, took a crowbar to the nose to destroy its spirit. For his efforts, he was hanged and buried at the base of the statue.

The Great Sphinx and Khafre's Pyramid (Camp 2004)

Khafre's pyramid is seen above directly behind the Sphinx with its limestone cap still in place. The limestone casing was applied to reflect the sun throughout the day. 

At the foot of Khufu's pyramid, we discovered the excavation site of a solar boat. Layered over with massive stones, the solar boat (now displayed in a museum at the Giza complex) is ready to take the spirit of Khufu to the heavens to be reunited with Ra, the sun god.  

Solar boat excavation near Khufu's Pyramid  (Camp 2004)

Solar Boat Museum, Giza (Camp 2004)

We could walk entirely around this solar boat. Sometimes called a funeral barge or a royal barge, this solar boat was made of cedar wood from Lebanon. It had no mast and no sail, but would be powered by the Pharaoh's attendants wielding ten pairs of oars. What intrigues me about this boat is its purpose, to carry the soul of the Pharaoh to the heavens. I found on Wikipedia that during the time of the Pharaohs, the Milky Way was positioned over Egypt in such a way that in the early morning, the sun appeared at the foot of the Milky Way and traveled along its entire body, at sunset appearing to fall from the tail of the Milky Way. Wikipedia provides an image of the Milky Way as the ancient Egyptians may have seen it.

At the base of Khufu's
Pyramid (Camp 2004)

That's me, standing next to one of these massive pyramids, actually touching the stone. Reverentially, of course! My notes from our visit say approximately 2.3 million blocks were used to build Khufu's pyramid. Each of these stone blocks weighed about 2.3 tons.

Herodotus reports that the builders of the pyramids worked in three-month shifts for 20 years, 100,000 men at a time. The longer the pharaoh lived, the more time he would have to build a lasting memorial and resting place for his soul, but not every pharaoh lived a long life.

Note: I'm writing about a trip we took to Egypt in 2004 to share my memories and photos. I hope you enjoy these virtual trips!