THE INDEPENDENT MAN OF RHODE ISLAND
What started out as a photographic project of the removal of the Independent Man from its' perch atop the State House became more than just that. I’ve spent a number of days in Providence watching and photographing the restoration project of the State House.I contacted just about everyone in the State House trying to find out the date that the Independent Man would be brought down. Suffice to say there were many moving parts to the answer to my questions and no one seemed to know anything definitively. Finally, this past Friday it was shared (shhhh!) that this week Monday or Tuesday would be the day! I’m smiling as I write this because it was yesterday that it was finally confirmed.
At 5AM this morning, thinking I was going to be the first one to arrive at the State House, I was surprised to find the network news had arrived before me. Cameras were being set up. News anchors were practicing their presentations. The Department of Transportation was there to manage a very tall Christmas tree on a truck being backed into the parking lot down below the State House. The RI State Police were there and we all were observed. The workers were doing all of their last minute items. The crane hook was positioned above the Independent Man and then we waited. 7AM was the designated time and as we got closer you could feel the excitement build. At 6:30AM the news anchors gave their updates and then the final countdown began. Over in five minutes time the Independent Man is now safely on the ground and will be on display in the Rotunda for the next month. Governor McKee arrived and spoke with many. Tomorrow a ceremony will happen at 9:30AM to announce that the public can view the Independent Man. I look forward to seeing the Independent Man up close at some point. What a project this was! Many things were learned. 50 years ago the Independent Man was brought down for the first time. I’m glad that I was there for a part of the history of the second time.
Journey On.
From the Rhode Island College Library:
The “Independent Man” was first proposed to be a statue of Roger Williams at the annual meeting of the Rhode Island Historical Society in 1895. The statue, to be placed atop the proposed new State House, was designed by George T. Brewster for $3,000, who called the statue “Hope” and changed the design to fit the Renaissance Revival architecture of the building. Though now embraced as a unique symbol of the state, the statue was the subject of heated debate over the aesthetic and subject. However, a statement issued by the Capitol Commissioners declaring that the statue symbolized, "authority, dignity, independence, and power," put the debate to rest and it has been known as "The Independent Man" since. Since 1900, it has only moved once, in 1975, for repair and a new coat of gold leaf.
ChaSING WATERFALLS
Did you know that the state of New York has listed that they have 2,000 waterfalls. Visiting an old friend in Ithaca, while there, we decided to explore a number of the waterfalls in the Finger Lakes region. Starting with Watkins Glen State Park and 5,000 steps later, what a beautiful park with multiple waterfalls. More crowded than I would have liked and most definitely physically challenging. Well worth seeing regardless. Our next stop was Taughannock Falls State Park. These falls are actually 250 feet taller than Niagara Falls and can be viewed from the top or bottom. Either way, magnificent. Rocky Falls, Buttermilk Falls and Ithaca Falls were next on the list. I can’t wait to return to this location. Right now, it’s top on my fall foliage travel list!
Journey On
Watkins Glen State Park - Behind the Falls
Taughannock Falls State Park
Ithaca Falls
ALL GOOD THINGS MUST END FOR NOW
Yes, we have been home now for two weeks or so. What does anyone do that owns a RV? Of course we are planning for our next trip. For now, we catch up with things that we need to do and spend time with family.
We traveled 6,125 miles. We visited 10 National Parks, and 4 State Parks. The Parks were located in 5 different states. We were in South Dakota, Wyoming, Utah, Arizona, and New Mexico. By no means did we see it ‘all’ in these states. The west and its beauty is just indescribable.
The final set of photographs come from Monument Valley, a Navajo Tribal Park. Monument Valley is located in both Utah and Arizona. Endless erosion by water, wind and ice over millions of years chiseled rock formations into the unique shapes of Monument Valley. John Wayne, yes THAT John Wayne called the hidden valley “Gods Treasure.”
For those considering this trip please do not hesitate to reach out and we’ll be glad to share the traveling details. Along the way we learned about living once again in a small space. This time our keel was tires.
Stay tuned for future blogs and travel. Please feel free to share my website and blog with friends and family and to reach out to kathleenLcaswell@gmail.com with the best way you would like to be contacted with these and other updates in the future.
Till next time.
Journey On!
Monument Valley 2023
John Ford Point
Things you learn along the way
The San Francisco de Asis in Taos, New Mexico is an 18th century adobe National Historic Landmark. It is an active church constructed of mud and straw sun-dried adobe bricks and is one of the few original buildings in Taos. It is thought to have been built sometime between 1772 and 1816 and is located in the Taos Pueblo. The Pueblo is an ancient pueblo belonging to a Taos-speaking (Tiwa) Native American tribe of Puebloan people. The Pueblo is a collection of multi-storied adobe dwellings that have been continuously inhabited for over 1,000 years. It is one of the oldest communities in the United States.
The unique structure of the Church has been painted and photographed by the likes of Georgia O’Keeffe https://www.georgiaokeeffe.net/ranchos-church.jsp and Ansel Adams https://www.artsy.net/artwork/ansel-adams-st-francis-church-rancho-de-taos . Both artists were known for their paintings and photography of New Mexico landscape and the American West. No, I had no idea these famous artists chose this church to create their art. Now I do.
Journey On
This LAND BELONGS TO YOU AND ME
It’s very difficult to describe the beauty that we have seen during this trip, especially the last few days. Let me try this way. When my children were very young we were fortunate to see sunsets every evening from our home. When there was an exceptional sunset, I would call to them and say, children, come quickly. Come see what God made. That is exactly the way I would describe what we have seen. The beauty that God made. It’s more than breathtaking. It takes your breath away.
Yellowstone to the Grand Tetons to Moab, Utah where we have spent the last several days visiting Canyonlands National Park, Dead Horse Point State Park and Arches National Park. We also said hi to Kevin Costner who is shooting a movie here. Ok, I didn’t really see Kevin Costner but we met an ‘extra’ in his movie at the Moab Museum of Film and Western Heritage.
Later today we leave for Monument Valley Navajo Tribal Park.
Grand Canyon of Yellowstone
Mesa Arch
Utah Canyon
THE WOW OF WYOMING
As far as your eyes can see, you are in awe of the immense size of Wyoming. The mountains, the State and National Parks, the wildlife and the surprises that you delightfully embrace as you travel through Wyoming. You find you’re pulling over frequently to take in the breathtaking scenery. It is the wild west with a cowboy type culture. We see mountain ranges and hope we don’t have to drive over them. We are learning how to do that in a 24 foot RV. We have seen cows that fill miles of land, all sorts of wildlife, buffalo and a herd of wild horses, to my delight. I was mesmerized with this large herd and how they interacted.
We first stopped at the Devils Tower National Monument. It has a geologic feature that protrudes out of the prairie surrounding the Black Hills. It is considered sacred by the Northern Plains Indians. Interesting fact which we actually observed is the color change of the tower depending on the light that is hitting it.
We then traveled on to Cody, Wyoming, founded in 1896 by ‘Buffalo Bill’ Cody. Today we spent time in the Buffalo Bill Center of the West. Outside was raining. The complex actually has five different museums featuring art and artifacts of the American West. There is so much to see that you are given a two day ticket. We return tomorrow. Tomorrow night, a rodeo and then off to Yellowstone and then to the Grand Tetons National Park.
A trip of a lifetime. Just Wow!
Devils Tower
Are the badlands really bad
ARE THE BADLANDS REALLY BAD?
THE BADLANDS NATIONAL PARK IS ONE WITH MANY COLORS DEPENDING ON THE TIME OF DAY AND WEATHER. WE SAW IT ALL. THE NAME BADLANDS CAME FROM THE LAKOTA PEOPLE WHO CALLED THE AREA MAKO SICA WHICH TRANSLATES TO BAD LANDS. THE LAND IS COMPRISED OF JAGGED CANYONS AND BUTTES.
WHILE WE WERE THERE THE WIND WAS FEROCIOUS. EVEN WITH A TRIPOD YOU WERE BLOWN AT OR OVER. I CAN SHARE NEITHER NED OR I WENT VERY CLOSE TO THE EDGES.
THE HIGHLIGHT OF THIS SEGMENT WAS THE SURPRISE APPEARANCE OF THE BIG HORNED SHEEP. BEING IN THE RV, YOU CAN’T JUST STOP TO RUN AND GET A 600mm LENS AND SHOOT AWAY BUT THAT IS EXACTLY WHAT I DID AFTER WE TURNED AROUND AND WENT BACK. THANKFULLY, HE WAITED FOR ME. NO, THE BADLANDS AREN’T BAD!
THE BADLANDS NATIONAL PARK IS ONE WITH MANY COLORS DEPENDING ON THE TIME OF DAY AND WEATHER. WE SAW IT ALL. THE NAME BADLANDS CAME FROM THE LAKOTA PEOPLE, WHO CALLED THE AREA MAKO SICA, WHICH TRANSLATES TO BAD LANDS. THE LAND IS COMPRISED OF JAGGED CANYONS AND BUTTES EVERYWHERE YOU LOOK.
WHILE WE WERE THERE THE WIND WAS FEROCIOUS. EVEN WITH A TRIPOD YOU WERE BLOWN AT OR OVER. I CAN SHARE WITH YOU THAT NEITHER NED NOR I WENT VERY CLOSE TO THE EDGES.
THE HIGHLIGHT OF THIS JOURNEY WAS THE SURPRISE APPEARANCE OF THE BIG HORNED SHEEP. IN THE RV, YOU CAN’T JUST STOP IN THE MIDDLE OF THE ROAD. FIRST, THE ROAD IS TWO LANES. SECOND, THE 600MM LENS IS IN THE BACK OF THE RV. THIRD, ONCE YOU TURN AROUND, YOU WONDER WILL HE STILL BE THERE!?
THANKFULLY, THE BIG HORN WAITED FOR ME.
NO, THE BADLANDS AREN’T BAD!
Our Land Yacht
After spending the better part of thirty years on the water, Ned and I are now owners of a 24 foot Chateau motorhome, which we promptly named Journey On. Yes, Ned wanted to name it Lollygag IV, but we agreed that Lollygag was water. Journey On is land. We depart May 22nd for a trip out west with 6 wheels under us verses a keel. Follow along as we Journey On.
JOURNEY ON