Teddy Does Lowell

Ted has always been a history buff, so yesterday morning, knowing that exactly 495 years ago (September 20, 1519) Ferdinand Magellan embarked upon his quest to circumnavigate the globe, Ted was moved by the spirit of adventure to circumnavigate the city of Lowell.  Considering that Ted is a dog, both journeys are probably of relatively equal complication.  It required a hearty meal to break the night's fast, so Ted decided on waffles and coffee and the first stop was Vic's Waffle House.

Elvis Waffle - bacon, bananas, peanut butter, and honey

Leaving Vic's Waffle House Ted's belly was dragging on the ground.  Fortunately, the first stop was just outside the door.  

Located on 38 as you exit Tewksbury is the Wamesit Indian Statue.  As you enter Lowell on 38 from the southeast the statue faces you and Ted wasn't sure if it's intended as a welcoming or a warning. 

Wamesit Statue and Vic's Waffle House

Ted drives a BMW

Ted felt moved to pay respects to the gallant sons of the Acre.  The next stop was the Doughboy Statue located at the intersection of Fletcher and Willie, adjacent to the Firefighters club.  This statue is a memorial to the boys of the Acre neighborhood who made the supreme sacrifice in World War I (1917-1919).  

Ted takes a rest

After a lay in the grass at the Firefighters club, Ted headed downtown.  

The first downtown stop was the Market Mills Park to view the Homage to Women sculpture, a tribute to Lowell's 19th century mill girls.  

  

Ted continued his stroll down Market st. and had a cigarette while inspecting the cobblestones.

Crossing Shattuck st. Ted arrived at the The Worker statue, which commemorates the workers who dredged canals in the early 19th century.  

Near City Hall Ted found many sights to take in.  The first was the Victory statue celebrating American Independence.  

Behind Lowell's statue of liberty is a memorial to Charles Taylor, supposedly the first soldier killed in the Civil War.  

City Hall Plaza had several memorials that stirred Ted's emotions.  First he stopped by a statue in memory of the Armenian genocide.  Unlike Obama, Ted is willing to acknowledge the genocide of the Armenians at the hands of the Ottoman Empire.  Ted stands with the Armenians.  

Knot by knot, the Armenian People everywhere
weave their hopes and dreams, as they bloom and prosper. 

  

Ted held a moment of silent reflection at the memorial for police officers who have fallen in the line of duty.  Ted respects the rule of law, but he also knows that justice is complex and not always easily achieved, so he will occasionally break laws he finds unjust, or inconvenient.  

As he was exiting the plaza Ted noticed a dedication to Lithuanians.

Ted felt a kinship with the Lithuanians who came to Lowell for a better life because he too came to Lowell for a better life, at least for today.  

COMING SOON....

TED BECOMES A FREEMASON

Ireland, Northern Ireland, and Scotland Slideshow

Pacific Northwest Slideshow

The Oregon Trail

Getting out of bed in Boise was easy because I planned to have Jack in the Box for breakfast and I'd miss my flight in Seattle if I didn't get moving.

We drove along the Old Oregon Trail Highway and stopped in Baker City, OR to refuel, where the gas attendant was aggressively nice.  The drive through Oregon was beautiful, there were some places where you could look as far as the eye could see.  I was astounded that we could see Mt. Rainier from Dead Man's Pass in Oregon because it was over 150 miles away.  Absolutely incredible.  Mt. Rainier has to be the single most amazing thing I've seen on this trip.  

Here's what the drive along the Oregon Trail looks like.

This is Dead Man's Pass, OR, and I could see Mt. Rainier from here. The camera couldn't, so tally one for the humans.

We stopped in Pendleton, OR, for lunch and were directed to the Rainbow Cafe.  Everyone at the Rainbow cafe seemed to have an affliction, the guy coming out of the bathroom had a bleeding eyebrow, the guy sitting at the bar was missing an arm, and a guy that walked in had a massive scar from his nose to the back of his neck.  It was a nice old town, and life was obviously hard there.  I wasn't super hungry but ordered the Rainbow special burger because I might as well.  Turned out to be a wise decision, it was delicious and a few slices of ham gave it a perfect sweetness.   

Pendleton bathroom philosophy

Pendleton street philosophy

The beauty of Oregon was matched by southern Washington's wine country.  

Back on I-90, approaching Seattle, the end of the journey was near.  We traveled 1,865 miles on interstate highways, dirt roads, bridges, and scenic byways.  We saw mountains, rivers, valleys, forests, and lakes.  We drove through flat dusty plains, national parks, and twisty mountains roads.  We passed cities, towns, campgrounds, and Indian reservations, and slept in Seattle, Missoula, Helena, Idaho Falls, and Boise.  We breezed by buttes, bluffs, and barren hills.  We smelled farms, flowers, and sulfurous hot springs.  I touched lava rocks and the hearts of Tinder babes.  We heard waterfalls, geysers, and cowboys shooting the bull.  I saw a yankee from the east wearing a Hartford Whalers hat AND a Phil Plantier shirt.  For the first time I ate huckleberries and finger steaks, and elk meat for the second time.  I battled rain, wind, dust, Seattle traffic, and allergies.  I was most impressed by the Grand Tetons, the American Bison in Yellowstone, and Mt. Rainier.  I thought a lot about pioneers of the west, specifically, Lewis and Clark.  There is a lot to see and do across this land, from sea to shining sea, America offers endless beauty and adventure.

At the airport we had our last meal, I had fresh Pacific Yellowfin Ahi with snow peas.  

Alaska Airlines with Mr. Rainier in the background 

Long live all the mountains we moved

If you haven't trekked the Oregon Trail while being serenaded by Taylor Swift then you don't know anything about being a pioneer, adventure, love, or America.   

I'm Your Huckleberry

I woke up in Idaho Falls with the Snake River right out the window.  The falls are nice and I stopped to take a look before today's drive through the Snake River Plain across southern Idaho.

Driving through the Snake River Plain is mostly flat and straight and not a lot of people live there.  We stopped in Arco, ID, population 995, for gas and that was one of the bigger towns we saw.  Arco claims to be the first town in America lit up by atomic power.  

Numbers on the side of a butte in Arco, ID.  Illuminati...

We also stopped in a town called Carey, population 604, which made me think of Jen Carey from LHS.  We stopped at a gasmart and and when my mother went in I asked her to get me the usual - a Snickers and a 3 Musketeers, my driving essentials.  

Carey, Idaho

Road warriors

 This is what it looks like to drive though the Snake River Plain.

Located in the Snake River Plain is the Craters of the Moon National Monument and Preserve.  The volcanic rock is impressively black, and so was the wind that made me want to stay in the car.  

A lot of southern Idaho looks scorched, whether it's black fields of lava or desperately dry desert-looking farm land.  Many rivers and reservoirs appeared on the GPS that no longer exist.

At Craters, we settled in for the next destination - Idaho City.  My mother requested that we go to Idaho City because one of our relatives made his way to Idaho City in the 1860s to prospect for gold.  My mother is big into genealogy.  I figured we could stop there before spending the night in Boise.  Since it was her special thing I put on music I knew she would like - my Irish Hit Parade playlist that I made for the trip to Ireland in February.  Before I knew it I was pounding the gear shifter to Flogging Molly's Float.  

Route 20 to Boise was long and mostly straight.  We turned off for Idaho City at the edge of Boise and headed north into the Bosie National Forest to find Idaho City in the foothills of the Sawtooth Mountains.  The Lucky Peak Lake area was nice and then as we followed the Ponderosa Pine Scenic Route along Mores Creek the roads twisted and kept me on my toes.

Idaho City seemed like it had changed very little since the 1860s, except that people back then were probably cleaner and dressed better.  We drove down Main street and Montgomery street and were scoping out places to have a meal.  Gold Mine was the obvious choice.  Jim Callahan told me I must have finger steaks while I was in Idaho, so I did.

Finger Steaks

After we ate I thought I should have ice cream from the Sarsaparilla Ice Cream Parlor.  After scanning the flavors I had to have Huckleberry Heaven because I'm in Huckleberry country.  The huckleberry is native to the northwest because it requires elevation and acidic mountain soil.  It is the state fruit of Idaho.  The ice cream was delicious, it tasted sweet and rich.

Downtown Idaho City

There was a lot of driving today, but there'll be more tomorrow, over 500 miles to Sea-Tac.  Idaho is a big state, bigger than all of New England combined, but with the population slightly more than New Hampshire.  I'm in Boise for the night and I'll be heading up the Oregon Trail in the morning.

Main street, Idaho City