vincennes, partII

After visiting the George Rogers Clark Memorial, I walked across Vigo Street. There is a Little Park that has a monument to all the Navy Ships that have borne the Name USS Vincennes:
It's named after Patrick Henry, Since he was the Governor of Virginia at the time of the Battle, and Virgina at that time consisted whet we know of Virginia, West Virginia, Kentucky, Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Michigan, and Wisconsin.
A couple of blocks North, I found this sign:

From 10-11-2010

This is actually more important to me than Ft Sackvillle, as this is where the army fort was when my characters pass through here. I paused and tried to recreated what it looked like 210 Years ago.
The next stop was the Broulliet house. It's fairly close to my time period, but was closed. I have been inside a similarly constructed house in Sainte Genevieve, so there was no great loss. They had a Bois d'Arc, or Osage Orange, tree there.

Don't eat the fruit, though, I spied a rock with a plaque nearby:

From 10-11-2010

It turn out that this is where Jefferson Davis proposed to his wife.
I kept on making my way up the street. I stopped to let the Railroad Workers get their truck on the tracks.

They were a little embarassed that I was waiting for them to put their truck on the Tracks, but I told them that they were working, and I was on vacation.
Across the tracks was the famous Walnut Grove, where William Henry Harrison and Tecumseh sat down and hashed out several treaties (and almost came to blows).

I do have Tecumseh in my story, but he mainly appears when he was in his late teens to early 20's, so it's not that germane to me, but good to know. Maybe I can have him look at the grove and get a sense of dread. :)
And across the Street is William Henry Harrison's home, Grouseland

It wouldn't have been there yet, but the tour did give me some ideas, and I got to support the DAR.
Vincennes was the First Capital of Indiana Terrortory. The state has moved several buildings next to Grouseland and created a State Historic Site:

The red building was the first Capitol, and the White Building was the Offices of the First Paper in Indiana, which is still being published to this day (Vincennes Sun-Commercial). There was also the house that the author of “Alice of Old Vincennes” was born in. I Thought it made a nice Contrast to Grouseland
I looked at the map that ranger had given me. I decided to wander over to the courthouse and take a look at the Civil War Memorial, fully expecting it to be the run of the mill fountain that nearly every county east of the Mississippi has. I was pleasantly surprised

The Courthouse wasn't too shabby

I walked downtown and had lunch at the Saint Louis Street Soda shop. A ruben, chips, and a diet coke.

I was debating what to do next. One of the Bishops of Vincennes had a 5,000 volume libary. The guides wern't clear if it was open to General admission, so I tried the lock. No luck. I had almost called and made a reservation, but I couldn't think of anything to research. I did come up with one while I was there: who was Jean Hamtramck's (who was the Commander of Ft Knox at my "time") second-in-command? At the same time, I wasn't sure that the information was there, and I would probably waste my time find yet another story from the Past. They supposedly have the Correspondce between Fr. Gibault and his Bishop in Quebec. Bishop "You have not been to this Church in over a year and you were seen in a Log-rolling contest on the Wabash." Fr Gibault "It is too far to make regular trips there, and I must have some recreation" (Fr Gibault was a Voyageur before taking his vows).
So I went back over into Illinois, and drove up the river.. The Park Ranger had recommend that I stop by the Military Museum. I was debating as it seemed to mostly focused on World War II. Unlike the Civil War Memorial, it lived up to my expectations
A couple of things

From 10-11-2010

I thought this was plane was somewhat ironic. It's a Lockheed Shooting Star. One of the Translations of 'Tecumseh' from Shawnee to English is 'Shooting Star'.
This truck caught my eye, as I associated George Air Force base with the Airport in Victorville.

Turns out , there was a George Army Air Field across the river, which is now the Vincennes airport
I then headed over to the Quabache (french spelling) Trails County park, which is the site of what is Called "Fort Knox II", which was the army post present during the War of 1812. I didn't get that far:

From 10-11-2010

I wound up the day by dipping my toes in the "White river" (Translation of Wabash from Shawnee) and a photo of the Red Skelton Bridge:

From 10-11-2010

I then headed back to the Super 8. I was debating heading out for Dinner, but there was a Mc Donald's, Pizza Hut. and Hardee's within walking distance. I had my usual from Hardee's - The Mushroom and Swiss - which I found lacking compared to what I remembered, and called it a day well spent

Vincennes, part I

Recently, I got a nice break. The state of California resolved a tax dispute in my favor. Did I spend the on bicycle parts? no.
Plugging away on my writing, I decided to take a research trip. One of the pivotal place in the colonial northwest was Vincennes, Indiana. Since my Characters would have to gone thought there, I thought I need to go there . Was is it on a Bluff. What was still left?
I started by pricing my flights. I wound up on American with a 6Am departure from Ontario to Evansville, IN via Dall/ Forth Worth airport, TX. It would have been cheaper to fly to Indianapolis, but then I would have had a two hour drive. I woke up early Friday Morning and went over to ONT. I spent my time taking some photos of the murals.

Archie Mitchell and Waldo Waterman, The Fathers of the Ontario Airport

We were soon aboard the “Mad dog” (Mc Donnell Douglas MD-80, a second generation DC-9) for the trip to Dallas Forth DFW.
You never know what you will see at ONT. I noticed that there was a 727 with the Los Angeles World Airports(LAWA) logo on the Tail. Turns out, The airport maintains it as a movie Prop, so they must have been doing some filming
Once at DFW, I spent some time by taking a loop around the airport on the SkyTrain before alighting in Terminal b. Unlike most airports, the people mover is above ground
Despite all my trips through DFW before, I had never been in terminal B. It called Terminal "B" because it was the hub for another airline:

I had lunch at Mc Donalds before getting on the “Jungle Jet” - an Embraer ER1J45(so called because it's built in Brazil) for the trip to Evansville. Once there, I got my car, a Dodge Avenger (Enterprise must have gotten a great deal on these) and made to the Super 8 In Vincennes:

The hotel was beside a nice lake:

I went over to Wal mart , got some sodas, and lost my sun glasses, the next morning, i went back to get some sunscreen and lost my hotel key. eek!
I started by going across the Bridge to where Abe Lincoln first stepped foot in Illinois:

I then walked back into town ,and met some re-enactors, appropriate, yes?

From 10-11-2010

From 10-11-2010

The bridge is flanked by stylized statues of Tecumseh and his Brother , Tenskawata, The Prophet:

From 10-11-2010

From 10-11-2010

From 10-11-2010

Theres also a statue of Father Pierre Gibualt:

From 10-11-2010

Father Gibualt is one of the figures that's been forgotten by History and shouldn't have. He had a parish at the time of the American Revolution that encompass Illinois, Indiana, Ohio, Wisconsin, and Michigan. Vincennes was the site of one of his Parishes (the others being Kaskaskia, IL and Sault Ste Marie,Mi. He was instrumental George Rogers Clark's liberation of the West and the battle of Vincennes
another Figure in the Battle was Francis Vigo

Finally, we have the Memorial itself

The Memorial has Various Murals relating to Capture Of Vincennes and Statue of George Rogers Clark inside. The Ranger was nice enough to take a picture of me posing with George

The Ranger wanted to turn off my Flash, but neither she nor I could figure out how to do it. It turns that Google did a good job of cleaning up the image
I then wandered over to the vistor's Center. Actually, I had gone there First, but the Ranger stationed there sent me to the memorial. The Visitor center had a nice short film (much better than the usual fare) and some exhibits. I think the ranger was a bit surprised to find out that I knew who Mr Clark and Father Gibault were. I purchased a book on Colonials being adopted into tribes (another theme of my work) before moving on. We'll get there tomorrow

Hidden treasure

View Larger Map
View Larger Map
I was biking and found teh neat place and thought I'd share
It's called Founder's Garden In Ontario and commemorates the early "Pioneers of this area:

The watefall and Flume is honor of George Chaffey, who had the idea a channeling water down from the Mountains
it also has Olive trees

and a roses for some of the first exports:

and a Vineyard , Of Course:

and to Honor Mr Chaffey's Home Country , the Citizen's Business Bank Arena, Home of the Ontario Reign Hockey team:

I was going to post an IFrame of the bing Map, since it will let do a "bird's eye" view, but alas, no luck, We'll have to make do with Google. here's a link to Bing

Vacations and time Tech

well, I took a Vacation. I had done a a blog post a week for a year or two, so I would giving it a break.
So, what did I do , well I went on the one eighty west century:

From 9-18-2010

which went by the Richard Nixon Libary and Boyhood home:


and the Santa Ana river trail:

and I went into Downtown Ontario:

From 9-25-2010

From 9-25-2010

and got geeky with my airplanes:

From 9-19-2010

but mostly i've been working on my other writing. I decided to combine two of my hobbies by taking a trip to Vincennes, Indiana to do some research.
It would have been cheaper to stay here , but some times it does pay to get you boot wet, so to speak.
As an example, My Character were living near Fort Wayne,, In when the Shawnee moved to Cape Girardeau. The route was to take the Portage ("The Glorious gate") from the Maumee to the Wabash and trudge down the Wabash to the Ohio, and the Mississippi. I had my folks walking across the plan and down the Little Wabash to the Forks at Huntingdon. I had them take some canoes across the main channel and the ford the next stream, the Salamonie, where one of my minor characters would fall in, catch Pneumonia, and die (Yes, I'm evil).
Only I started to use the Satellite services available with google maps. and lo and behold, there appears to be some rapids in Huntingdon:

View Larger Map
A least the appear they appear to be rapids. I tried using Street View to get a better look, but no luck,as Google hasn't driven their van down the street that runs by the rapids yet.
So , while I'm probably go going to be doing some rewriting here in the evening(not only That, but my character is staging a miraculous comeback), it looks another Trip in order. I need to do some other investigating while I'm there. now do I fly to Ft Wayne, Indianapolis, or Dayton? and from La/Ontario OR LAX? Southwest, where I don't have to pay for my bags, make my friend Phil (the SWA pilot happy) , but only goes to Indy (Lots more driving). Or fly United, Make my other friend Liesel (The United Pilot) happy, get to fly into Ft Wayne ,where I'm thinking should start (or Dayton), or make my Uncle Henry happy (I think he told me his company had the toiler paper contract with Braniff before they went under) and fly American and schedule a nice long layover in D/FW, pay for my luggage and fly in an Embraer. (they do make it to my AAdvantge. how do i get the little eagle to appear between the A's)

Actually, I don't mind flying in Regional Jet. I've got some time before I have to commit, so it's time to go (for now)

Follow the river

Combining my writing and bicycling, I did a trip on The Santa ana river. in the late 1700s'(I almost wrote my day), rivers were indeed the Freeway , as far as they were the fast and easy way of getting there:

Sunday, I also went back in time, but not as far as I went the Planes of Fame museum:

Sometimes, History is till here, as PSA is still in business. Us airways named the regional subsidiaries after the airline that made up the "old" US air, Allegheny, Piedmont and PSA.

And they did a little bit more, too
Click Here to view the photo of an Airbus painted in PSA colors

The Terrian of History

I was think about on Bike ride Saturday, as I was crossing the Santa Ana River:

From 8-28-2010

and I since I've been working on My historical fiction , I've been thinking how people crossed the river without bridges. The Santa Ana is no big deal, but since my writing focuses on the early settlers of my Home county (That way I can Claim Cape Girardeau as well as Jackson) My character will have to cross the Mississippi. A slightly bigger Hurdle.
I 'm still working on how they did this. Most Native tribe kept Canoes at convenient locations and used a honor system to ensure that not all the canoes wound up on one side.
My Main concern with this was the Mississippi's Current. the Present day current is powerful enough that you will wind up downstream of where you planned. This was not as big of problem, mainly because Humanity has changed and Tamed the river so it more predictable and doesn't wipe State Capital on whim, like happened at Kaskaskia, where the church and the bell is all that is left, and it's now on the "wrong" side of the river:

From 7-8-2010

The river is now narrowed, deeper, and Faster.
And the land has changed , too. Most of the Original settler were Shawnees. Among was a young would become famous in the War of 1812: Tecumseh. He moved from Fort Wayne to Cape in 1788 from what is now Fort Wayne, Indiana. They largely followed the Wabash to the Ohio and then the Ohio to Present day Cario, Il and then up "the Father of the Waters"
Only My research showed that Tecumseh had an accident near Paducah, KY and broke his hip. He eventually walked the 60 miles form Paducah to Cape on Crutches (You don't me to give away the whole story. do you?) My question was why was on the Kentucky side? Not only the did the have to cross the Ohio, but also the Cumberland and the Tennessee.
we turn to history. Not was the Illinois side a swamp, but you may have noticed that I didn't say present day Paducah. That's because there was a Chickasaw Village there(Paducah is named for their Chief , Paduke ) and they probably would have stopped there to resupply, consider the only other spot where they could was Vincennes, IN and they may not had much luck there, as that was a Major US outpost at the time.
Just a reminder that we think is permanent, is indeed, Impermanent

Honey, I don't think this is a bike blog

Ok, what's a picture of Boiling water doing in a bike blog? and yes, I need to clean my stove better.
Well, doing research and writing my novel, I found out about some traditional foods in early America. One of the food that people I am currently writing about, The Shawnee, passed on to us is Johnnycakes -which most people think is a mangling of "Shawnee Cakes". So I decided to little experiential research and cook up a batch.
The first item was cornmeal. No big deal. I headed over to Fresh and Easy. They had cornmeal in a 5 pound bag, which for me would be lifetime supply.
I managed to find a one pound can of Quaker at Wal-mart, so it was on again. The next question was what recipe to follow. A lot of them seem to be awfully modern ("mix water, cornmeal, and High Fructose Corn Syrup").In the end, I picked this recipe from whatscookingamerica.net. While I did question the milk (Cows were viewed as "big Knife", or Colonial animals) , I liked the touch of Bacon Drippings. No , Neither Fresh and Easy or Wal-mart had a can of Bacon Drippings. I guess I could have fried up a slab ("bacon Drippings" is the grease left over after frying) Since I would be using my trusty Whirlpool fire,. I Figured I could use PAM.
I combined the ingredients as specified, and then had a problem. The recipe called for the mixture to be fairly thick, but I had something the consistency of soup. I stirred in enough cornmeal to make it thick enough (I used yellow instead of white cornmeal, That must be it. right!) and then fried the results:

I garnished it with Low - Calorie Imitation Maple Syrup (plenty of HFCS there) and real butter.
The result: I haven't died. yet. It may be a little bland compared to our modern foods, and that my be part of our dietary problems, but still it was a good time for a good cause.
and just in case you need a bicycling fix:

The undiscovered county

No, not that

This is o road a lot of folk don't know about. it's right off Glendora Mountain road.
It wasn't quite as long, and I probably could have done more if I had went around the gate.
I've been blogging less and writing more. Maybe one day I'll get it done and published

The Grandmother road

I did another of my old haunts, the ride up Cajon pass. It went O<
I tried the newest advance in sports nutrition. Meet Mr. Gum E. Bear:

This house is on the crest by Glen Helen park:

with Interstate 15 in the background:

My legs did give out about 3/4;s of the way up the climb to Devore (1 mile of 10% Grade), but I did take a shot of downtown:

Back down 12-13%:

and we're there:

Route 66 is now just a lonely desert road with lots of differed maintenance:



soon, I was where it merges into I-15, so I turned around:

I walk up the grade back into devore. I prefer to think of it as addition by subtraction.

Not My day

I decide to do a ride i've been planning for a while:

Thing did not start out well, as I ran over a needle. It took me about 20 minutes to get it out.
I made all the sights, only I couldn't spot the arrowhead. here's a better picture

all in all, a pleasant and enjoyable day. Not what you'd expect from san berdoo