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Posts Tagged ‘history’

California National Historic Trail

Posted in California, Nevada, tagged , , , , , , , on April 2, 2008| 2 Comments »

Getta Move On!

So many of the National Park Service’s historic sites are static. Event X happened at Location Y so we put up a visitor’s center! Come on down!

Not so the National Trails. The trails are sites-in-motion, and collectively record the most significant event in American history: the great east-west migration.  The nation has never been static, we’re marked more by moving around than we are by staying put.  From the first time the settlers crossed the Appalachians to Lewis & Clark to Manifest Destiny to underage girls sneaking away to Hollywood, we’re a nation on the move. This is true today: according to the U.S. Census Bureau, almost 10% of the population moves from one state to another every five years. I wonder how many people live in a state other than their birth state? Quite a lot, I’d wager.

Blogging about these trails is gonna be tough. They aren’t single, compartmentalized sites, they’re a chain of locations connected by a common purpose. In the case of the California Trail, it’s a collection of sites important to the Gold Rush of the mid-to-late 1800’s. In the fall of 2007, during my trip to Yosemite, I took a little trip down (er, actually, up) the California Trail.

Sutter’s Fort — © 2008 America In ContextI started in Sacramento. What a cool little city! I had never been before, and I was really impressed with the downtown. It’s nice, clean, easily walkable, with a lot of great hotels, shops, restaurants, and (of course), brewpubs (I stopped in the Rubicon, a fine establishment 🙂 ). Went to Sutter’s Fort, an official stop on the California Trail. It’s a rebuild: all new construction meant to look like the old construction (hence the entrance fee). It’s nice enough, but it is fake. Good enough for the kiddies, I suppose, one young lad was having a grand old time playing cowboy amongst the barrels & things.

I then headed up Highway 50 to Lake Tahoe which was, and I’ve gotta be honest here, a real dump. Yeah, it was off-season, but still, I can’t see the appeal. I’m sure the lake is great for boating, and of course the skiing is renowned, but the town itself is a lame tourist trap. To see even worse, cross the border into Nevada for the casinos. “Craptastic” is a good word to describe these joints, all of which have a highly dubious clientele. Not gangster-dubious, but punk-kid dubious. Late teens & early twenty-somethings with attitudes bigger than the balls to back them up. “I’m a big time Texas Hold ‘Em player, look how cool I am!” Yeah, coolness — don’t stay up too late, I’m sure you have the morning McMuffin shift. I know some really good Hold ‘Em players, and all of them are nice guys with no attitudes and real jobs that punk-rats like you would drool over. I’m sure there’ll be a government bail-out program for jerkwads like you who blow all your minimum wage cash at tables way above your skill level. Anyway, I digress …

Sierra View — © 2008 America In ContextThe absolute best part of this little spur on the California Trail are these Northern Sierra mountain roads! I rented a Nissan Altima (well, that’s the car they gave me), and it was a blast taking it up and down those roads! Thanks to the time zones, I found myself awake at 5 AM on a Sunday morning. After breakfast, I hit the roads about 6 AM, right before dawn was breaking. Had the roads all to myself, what a ball!! Just like a car commercial, definitely a better time than breathing in Tahoe second-hand smoke.

At the bottom of Rte. 207 lies the Minden/Gardnerville area of Nevada. What a beautiful little valley! Small towns, great scenery, seemingly nice folks. A lot of bikers touring around, taking in the views. A great, quiet place, probably a great place to raise a family, and a place where I could see myself retiring (except I love New England so damn much). In the nearby town of Genoa sits Mormon Station State Park, another stop on the California Trail.  I got there too early (again, damned time zones), but it’s clearly another reconstructed site, and I just didn’t have the interest. So I hopped back into the rented Altima and took to the road again.

Quiet Hamlet — © 2008 America In Context

This time, the road was the famed Highway 395 that runs parallel to the back side of the Sierra Nevada mountains. Another great stretch of road with some great vistas. I would have made great time, but I found myself stopping for pictures far too often. Eventually, the road would lead to my real destination: Yosemite National Park.

But that’ll have to wait for another post. And with that, I’ve just pissed off Ellie again (you know who you are 😉 )!

Cloud Wrap — © 2008 America In Context

[Pics on this post are mine. Sadly, due to poor photo management, I lost many others, those that are left (mostly of Sutter’s Fort), are here.]

Links:

California National Historic Trail

Sutter’s Fort State Park

Mormon Station State Park

Highway 395 Road Trip

Rubicon Brewing Company

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Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee

Posted in Uncategorized, tagged , , on March 27, 2008| 6 Comments »

Several weeks ago, in my Badlands post, I briefly mentioned the Wounded Knee massacre site on the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation. I thought my recommendation this time around should go back to that.

I applaud anyone who wants to read more on Native American history. Over the decades since I was a kid, we’ve collectively become more sensitive to their plight. They are no longer depicted as the “savage enemy” in popular culture, but IMO we still don’t understand the full depth & breadth of the trauma these people went through.

For those wishing to embark on an independent study of the Native American, I can recommend no better starting point than Dee Brown’s classic “Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee”, the first widely read work of its kind: a history of Indians by an Indian.

Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee

I have to be totally honest here: Brown isn’t the best writer in the world. His prose isn’t graceful or eloquent, but it is written from the heart, and in a storytelling style that suits the voice of the Native American people. Unlike Europeans, tribal ancestors spoke (or even sang) their histories, passing tales & lessons down in a great, verbal tradition. Brown relates these sad tales of Indian oppression in a similar, conversational style that honors this tradition. Reading “Bury My Heart” is like listening to tales of old, spoken by wise, yet dispirited, elders to wide-eyed youth.

Pick it up & give it a read.

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Cabrillo National Monument, San Diego, California

Posted in California, tagged , , , , , , on March 24, 2008| 2 Comments »

Spanish Influence? Who’da Thunk It!

East Coasters, even those who don’t study history, know of Britain’s role in American history, for it’s glaringly obvious. We also have an idea of France’s role in the Revolution, the settling of New Orleans, and the Lousiana Purchase. We also know a lot about European immigrants, and, of course, the impressment of Africans in the days of the colonies.

Statue of Juan Rodriguez Cabrillo courtesy of WikipediaWe never think about Spain. Well, maybe Floridians do, but the rest of us are clueless.

Californians, on the other hand, know full well about Spain’s role. Their whole countryside is full of it, from  the El Dorado National Forest down to the Cabrillo National Monument near San Diego. Spain had a huge role in the exploration and settling of the west coast of the continent, and, when you consider Mexico, Spain had a role in American history from the missions of San Antonio all the way to the the founding of San Francisco.

Cabrillo was the first west coast NPS site I visited, and the first one to plant the idea of Spanish influence in America in me. I happened to be in San Diego for a conference, and took the opportunity to stop by Cabrillo. It’s located on the Point Loma peninsula just past the naval reservation. The site honors Juan Rodriguez Cabrillo, a 16th century Spanish explorer who led one of the first expeditions up the western coast of North America. Sadly, he died during his explorations, but his trip did lead to further trips by other explorers, eventually leading to the settlement of the coastline by conquistadors and clergy (for good or for evil, you decide — my own opinions on the matter will get their due in a later post).

Cabrillo is a small site. There’s a small museum at the visitor’s center; the Old Point Loma Lighthouse; remnants of World War II coastal defenses; and a statue of Juan Rodriguez Cabrillo. The highlight of the site, by far, are the excellent views of the Pacific Ocean, the bay, and San Diego itself. I hear you can see whales migrating past the monument in January, and I know you can watch the seals have a conversation with a foghorn (you’ve gotta be there to know what I’m talking about).

On a side note, I have to give props to San Diego. I was only there for about a week, most of the time in conferences, but I liked what I saw. The historic district has some great restaurants, and the San Diego Zoo is an absolute must see. I don’t particularly like zoos, they’re usually like “animal abuse on display”, most disturbing. But the SDZ does a good job. The animals look healthy & happy, and the staff truly seems to care about them. Forget the pandas, the line’s too long. Check out the rain forest aviary & the wild cats. 8)

Keep your eye out for conventions in San Diego, and convince your boss you absolutely have to attend one. 🙂

Cabrillo Tidal Pool courtesy of Wikipedia

[Sorry, I didn’t own a digital camera when I visited Cabrillo. Photos shamelessly glommed from Wikipedia. However, here’s a great blog entry on Cabrillo with some fantastic photos. Sites like this make me want to work on my photography skills all the harder.]

Links:

Cabrillo National Monument

San Diego Zoo

Rock Bottom Brewery (I normally don’t care for chain brewpubs, but Rock Bottom has really good beer & food. The San Diego Rock Bottom is the first one I ever went to, hence the link here).

Google map to Cabrillo

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Boston African American National Historic Site, Boston, Massachusetts

Posted in Massachusetts, tagged , , , , , , on March 15, 2008| Leave a Comment »

The Site That Isn’t

Some NPS historic sites are magnificent. Some seem mundane but teach very important lessons. Others try but miss the mark. Then there are sites that simply aren’t there at all. The Boston African American National Historic Site fits that last category.

Basically, the site consists of the Black Heritage Trail, an extension of Boston’s famed Freedom Trail. It marks residences, offices, organizations and schools important to the Abolitionist Movement. This is important stuff, indeed. As I’ve said over and over again in this blog so far, black history is American history, and it’s impossible to understand the latter without including the former. Unfortunately, the Black Heritage Trail is simply not the place to do it.

About the only thing the Black Heritage Trail shows is gentrification, that process by which rich, white folks renovate a urban, lower class neighborhood. It’s a very controversial term, the subject of great emotion. Is gentrification good because it cleans up neighborhoods and increases property values? Or is it bad because it displaces poor residents who cannot afford to find better housing? At this time, I’m unprepared to argue one way or another.

What I am prepared to argue is the effect gentrification has had on the Black Heritage Trail. Basically, this trail is valueless. I’m not saying that these sites used to house people, businesses, and organizations vital to the abolitionist movement. I am saying that these sites no longer have that relevancy. They’re all private (white) residences, or other buildings that no longer have anything to do with black history, all in a beautiful, peaceful, serene neighborhood, that, although visually historic & preserved, no longer has any of the character of the times the trail is trying to portray. As such, I call the Boston African American National Historic Site a sham.

The only building that is open to the public, and still relevant, is the last stop on the trail, the African Meeting House. It contains a small museum without much of a permanent collection, but it does host some fascinating rotating displays. When I was there, they had a collection of movie posters from independent black cinema from the 40’s to the 70’s. I love old movie posters, and these were amazing. Unfortunately, photography wasn’t permitted, so no pictures 😦 .

I might get some harsh criticism for this bad review of Boston African American NHS. I think the NPS is correct in trying to capture Boston’s importance in abolition, but with the Black Heritage Trail, it fails.

African Meeting House — © 2008 America In Context

[I am trying to make a point by only having one pic on this post….]

Links:

Boston African American National Historic Site

POV’s Essays on Gentrification

The Neighbors Project

Google Map to BAA NHS

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