A new favorite toy...

My family has adjusted to RV living!

It's a bit stormy today...a good day for hitting the road to Oberlin, but not before making one more stop at ND--the Grotto.  

tour.nd.edu (The Grotto)

College life...

In order to break up the trip into a more reasonable pace heading home, we decided to spend a bit of time at both Notre Dame and Oberlin.  Whenever we return to visit our colleges, I know that I am recharged by recalling the first real history scholarship that I conducted.  I think of my most inspiring professor, Geoffrey Blodgett, who has sadly passed away and a younger History professor who is still there, Gary Kornblith, who helped me conduct some fascinating statistic driven research from the colonial America.  I hope that there are students who look back at their experience in the MKA History Department research program with similar fondness.  While we ask our students to do a great deal, especially as they are balancing a host of other demands both in and outside of the classroom...the rewards pay dividends in countless and unexpected ways for decades.

As the trip is winding down, I'm thinking about how to synthesize all that I've gotten from this incredible opportunity.  That may be a bigger challenge than even the Junior Thesis!

My goal...complete!!

I'm slightly obsessed with TR....

We've been away from wireless for a stretch, and in the meantime...I've been to all 50 states!  After an 11 hour drive today (Geoff was a trooper, and so were the girls) we are settling into Mackinaw City/Macinac Island, MI.  This is the spot that connects the UP of Michigan with the mainland--a beautiful spot in the world!  Here are some thoughts and pics from the last few days...

7/23: We crossed the border to North Dakota!!!  Not quite the same way that Lewis and Clark did...but it was truly thrilling nonetheless....

50 states--weehoo!

7/24: Sitting here at Cass Lake, Minnesota….and still thinking about the Missouri River. Interestingly there was an article in The New York Times today about the fight amongst states in the Missouri River region about what to do with the river…what is it for? I hadn’t thought of that question before, yet with what I saw out of our windows of the RV, I’ve gained a much deeper appreciation of these regional issues. The down river states (Missouri, in particular) want to make the priority of the river commercial, even though the barge industry is shrinking. Upriver states such as North Dakota, see the river’s main function for reservoirs and recreation. The tension is real and the Army Corps of Engineers, who gets their orders from Congress, are caught in the middle. All sides agree that flood management is the most pressing matter….especially in 2011.

7/25: On another river related note, we are heading through northern Minnesota—there really are 10,000 lakes up here and they are spectacular—on our way to Mackinaw City, which connects the Upper Peninsula to mainland Michigan…and what did I see but the very beginning of the Mississippi River. It looked so innocent, so calm, so small and manageable. As with many things, looks can be deceiving as I thought back to the countless floods and hurricanes that have affected the people, communities, and businesses on the banks of that mighty river. It also reminded me that we really are heading back east; I have mixed emotions about that. Off to Mackinaw...looking forward...

Open Road in North Dakota....nothing like this in NJ!

Cass Lake, MN

The storm passed... Mackinaw Bridge, MI

I'm already planning our next trip to South Dakota!

Open road in South Dakota Plains

Badlands National Park--amazing.

The Faces!

Walkway with flags from the 50 states leading up to the Faces...this is new since 1982, the last time I was here.

As we moved east to west in South Dakota I was once again stunned by the mix of natural beauty,  how history is alive and well, as well as the pure fun that this part of the country has to offer.  As we were admiring the true beauty of true prairie land in the flat lands of eastern South Dakota, I couldn't help but think of the challenges of farming life.  It's a gamble every single season.  The wonder of the Badlands, the fun of Wall Drug, and the awe that one cannot help but feel when looking up at Mt. Rushmore...today had it all and I'm thinking of when our next trip here may be possible; there's always room to dig more deeply.  Onwards to my 50th state tomorrow--North Dakota, here we come!

Corn Palace...finally!

The majesty of the world's only Corn Palace!

The design changes every year

Family Fun

Anyone who knows me well, knows that the camping trips that I did with my family...the big ones and the small ones alike....had an enormously positive impact on my life in terms of a deep appreciation for the natural beauty of the US, for the complexities and importance of US History, for family connections being strengthened, and yes...for the Americana attractions that I simply eat up.  After finally making it to South Dakota, and feeling much relief that we were no longer in a flood zone, there she was...the Corn Palace!  If you don't know what it is, you should.  Check out their website, and if your road ever takes you to the Upper Plains, it's a must: http://www.cornpalace.org/  As we were planning the trip and I was so excited about this site, I even found it odd, Shea and Ciara kept asking...what is inside the Corn Palace?  I didn't actually know because, as I recall, when I was there in 1982, we didn't actually go in.  I wasn't going to let that opportunity pass me by again!  I have to say, it was just as cool as I remembered it, and now I could see what was inside. It is the community center for Mitchell (a town of about 15,000) where everything from high school graduation and prom to big name headliners come to use the space.  Onward to the FACES tomorrow!

The Mighty Missouri

This section of I-29 remained open....

Sandbags were everywhere

Plattsmouth Toll Bridge, connects Nebraska and Iowa over the Missouri

As we left Kansas this morning, my mind felt flooded with research ideas for students, and I thought little about the actual drive through Nebraska, Iowa and then onwards to Mitchell, SD.  When we entered Nebraska on State Route 75 and then made it to the major thoroughfare of Interstate 29 headed north.  Uh oh...road closings on the Iowa side of things.  Today is July 21st, and beginning on and around May 1st the Missouri River has seen devastating flooding and individuals and communities have paid the price of living so close to the power of a major river.  Today we winded through areas where I-29 was shutdown completely, following unknown detours, and seeing the aftermath of this dangerous spring and early summer storms.  We held our breath just hoping that we could reach our destination; I couldn't help but think of those people whose whole worlds had drowned with these floods.  One of the many things I truly appreciate about Montclair is that though we have tough winters and a heat wave here or there, we have the safety of being relatively far from a river with the power of these midwestern rivers.  I was reminded of that today.  *The picture of a bridge above is from one of the coolest bridges I've every been across...it crosses the Missouri River dividing Nebraska and Iowa and is called the Plattsmouth Toll Bridge...as recently as a few weeks ago it was the only bridge still functioning that crossed the Missouri in the region.  

Kansas...not the middle of nowhere!

Free State Political Cartoon, 1856

In the John Brown house...this famous deification of him

Caption from a Freedman

From Kansas Historical Museum

Populists' Politics are alive and well in Kansas (William Jennings Bryan would be proud)

The juxtaposition of the tractor and our big rig struck me... 

In fact, it's the middle of everything that mattered in the 1850s.  Today we went from Osawatomie for the John Brown Museum, to the Kansas State Historical Museum in Topeka, to Constitution Hall in Lecompton.  I have been teaching about "Bleeding Kansas" for 16 years, and today, I seemed to see it for the first time.  To be at the actual site where John Brown and his sons lived--before their fateful trek to Virginia--and to see the Assembly Hall where the Pro-slavery coalition passed the [eventually] doomed Lecompton Constitution, was simply stunning for me.  The realities of any survey history course leave so much of the richness of a particular moment in the dust (no pun intended for the climate of Kansas...), but we've always emphasized "Bleeding Kansas", for good reason.  1854 marked the Kansas-Nebraska Act [a compromise that didn't give Stephen A. Douglas his dream of becoming president, and only gave the slavery and freedom factions more clarity in their positions] and January 1861 [after John C. Calhoun, Jeff Davis and the pro-slavery movement gave birth to the CSA] is celebrated for the moment when Kansas entered the Union as a Free State.  I am left wanting to know even more about a period which I've always felt that I know both deeply and broadly, but now I know there's always more...thankfully, our school spends a fair amount of time on this period, and now we'll have contacts through the Kansas Historical Society (http://www.kshs.org/) which should be helpful for our department as well as (hopefully!) some students for their Junior Theses.  I'm eager to share what I've learned both in terms of content and contacts to make the Modern US course even stronger.  Enjoy the pics!

Border Ruffians?

1856 may not be that far off for many folks from Tiger or Jayhawk land.  This morning when we told our proud Missourian RV Park owner that we were heading on to Kansas...he assured me that all we would find in Kansas is dust and wind.  It all of the sudden felt like it was me talking to a tourist who was leaving New York for Philadelphia...  I'm sitting here right now thinking about life 155 years ago in this very space.  Committed citizens from Massachusetts and elsewhere, picked up and came here to make sure that not even one more state would fall to slavery.  This cause was worth changing one's life for, and so many people made that choice.  At times it seems like all we are choosing is between what game to watch, or what book to read at night; people moving to this exact spot so many years ago makes our choices seem a bit pedestrian.  Can't wait for seeing more of the history that I have studied and taught for the last two decades....

What a day!

Gateway Arch

Louisiana Purchase

Interpretive History at the Jefferson National Expansion Memorial at the Arch

Another view...wow!

We made it to Missouri just after noon today, and even though Ciara was wilting from the heat, we pressed on to the Arch and the National Park that is housed below the Gateway Arch.  I was really looking forward to the exhibit which is dedicated to Lewis and Clark's expedition of 1804-1806, but more broadly to all geographical exploration completed by the US.  There is even a statue of Lewis and Clark (with their accompanying dog, Seaman) at the exact spot in the Mississippi where they returned to St. Louis.  It is partially covered by the Mississippi mud, and I have to say, it was pretty darned cool.  As for the Arch itself, I hadn't given it much thought prior to our arrival, but when Geoff could begin seeing it from route 55 south, I found myself getting more and more excited--the engineering feat lived up to that excitement and the girls were instantly fascinated--how did someone build that?  Ciara thought that people had to be standing on one another's shoulders; Shea thought that there had to be a super big ladder involved somehow.  That is when Geoff and I had the conversation about how not all engineers captain trains....and so it continues.  I hope the sense of wonder continues with them through all the years, as the trips that my parents planned (Geoff's too) have for me.  Hope you like the pics.... Kansas or bust tomorrow!

Meet me in St. Louis!

We are heading out to Missouri, but looking ahead to Kansas this is what we saw...

uh oh...wish us luck!

Much needed rest...

We had a very great, and necessarily, low-key day yesterday.  We resupplied a bit, and went to bed early.  The girls are still soundly asleep!  However, we didn't go to sleep before seeing the sunset and counting fireflies with the little ladies--absolutely awesome.  We'll head out bright and early to St. Louis tomorrow.

PS-As you can see from the pic...the girls love their clubhouse, over the cab in the rig.

Great job Geoff!

We departed from Montclair at 3:30 pm, and drove straight through to Frankfort, Illinois, arriving 5:20 Central Time.  Wow--that was a long drive, and Geoff did a fabulous job navigating the big rig and pulling into truck parking spots like a pro next to the 18 wheelers!  The girls slept well, and I stayed awake for about 95% of the trip to be a good co-pilot.  The picture is from the first rest stop we stopped in (Liberty, PA).  All safe and sound--the adventure is fabulous already!

Here she is...

Last night at home...

The girls screamed with excitement...Ciara ran at first site of the RV and made no mention of TV, and for those of you who know her, that says a lot!  We spent the evening packing, organizing, and....imagining.  Geoff and I are both feeling so grateful for our parents who packed up their families and just headed out there.  The "there" may have been different, but the experience was the same.  We observe our children's anticipatory excitement and reconnect with our earlier selves when our parents tried to do something to make our family unit strong--we hope to do that and expect that there will be so much more that cannot be planned out or expected.  Stay tuned...

Costo run!

Here are a few pictures that capture the mood of the girls while were were stocking up yesterday...

Geoff and I are picking up the rig this afternoon--wish us luck!  I'll post a pic or two so you'll know it's us if you see a somewhat out of place 30 foot long vehicle in Montclair...

Woke up today....

...thinking that it was tomorrow.  I guess I'm getting pretty excited; we all are.  It's good to know that we don't have to bring everything, because our to-do list is a bit daunting.  I picked up the Triptik from AAA yesterday, it is such a great service.  I highly recommend for any traveler to go to AAA, they have extensive resources (Tour Books, Camp Books) in addition to the maps, directions, mileage, etc.  I have used Mapquest, or other online tools (let alone our GPS) for many trips, but a complex trip such as the one we're tackling, really needs more than a simple Mapquest search can provide easily.

Pre-Trip planning

So...my amazing school has given me the opportunity to complete a lifelong journey to visit all 50 of the United States. This trip would not have happened without the trifecta of my amazing, supportive & well-travelled husband; my parents who gave me and my siblings an incredible head start on this journey; and, PAMKA, the most encouraging and thoughtful group of volunteers who help make our school soar. Thanks to you all for this incredible opportunity.

Tomorrow will include a massive provisions trip to Costco!