Joan McCarthy’s 3rd newsletter: The Train Trip April 19-May 17, pre- and post- events
Another long one, I’m afraid. Hope you’re not getting bored. Let me know if you no longer want to receive these, or if you have suggestions on making them more useful to you.
All aboard, toot toot and clackety clack – here we go on the California Zephyr and more. The focus of this trip was visiting friends along the way, and my mother in north central Wisconsin. Driving would have cost about $500 for gas alone, plus another oil change and camping or motels, not to mention the effect that driving 4,460 miles would have had on my body and mind. So I opted for train travel. It took less time, the Explore America fare was only $315, I could enjoy the scenery safely (although I couldn’t stop to hike it), and it was a great opportunity to read or listen to books on tape. My route was as follows:
Leg 1: San Jose to Sacramento via the Capitol Corridor, changed to the Zephyr and a splendid scenic route over the Sierras with historical and scenic information supplied by a volunteer from the railroad museum in Sacramento, slept through Nevada and Utah, enjoyed the Colorado Rockies – especially Glenwood Canyon – the next day, and arrived at Denver’s grand Union Station the second evening for a week’s stay.
Leg 2: Left Denver in the evening, arrived in Chicago the next afternoon and spent the night at the Hostelling International Chicago Hostel for free (got comped in because I volunteered at the Santa Cruz Hostel for a year). The next afternoon, boarded the Empire Builder through Wisconsin to Red Wing, Minnesota, to spend the weekend with Cheryl and Greg Finnegan and their three teenagers in Pine Island, MN. (An overnight stay in Chicago is necessary because the Zephyr is scheduled to arrive at 3:20pm, and the Empire Builder is scheduled to leave at 2:15pm. If we scheduled classes that way at Cabrillo College, we’d be shot by irate students.)
Leg 3: After a weekend in Pine Island, a week in Medford with my mother, and another weekend in Pine Island, I reversed the process between Red Wing, MN and Chicago, arriving in the Windy City about 3:40pm, scheduled to miss the Zephyr by an hour so another overnight stay was necessary.
Leg 3-1/2: Left Chicago at 1:50pm on the Zephyr for an overnight trip to Glenwood Springs, CO. After 2 days and a night there, Freya provided ground transportation to Grand Junction, CO a few hours west, and I spent 4 days there with Freya and Bill.
Leg 4: Left Grand Junction, CO about 4 pm for an overnight trip to Sacramento (same scenery, different direction), transferred to the Capitol Corridor and arrived in San Jose the next evening. Pigeons come into both the Sacramento and San Jose waiting rooms looking for snacks.
The skinny on train travel
The coach seats are far superior to airplanes, much more leg room and seat adjustments. Electrical outlets are provided next to some seats! On all four overnight trips, no one was in the seat next to me so I used them both for sleeping, aided by two pillows (one provided by Amtrak, one small pillow I brought with me) and a lightweight blanket. Next time I’ll take eyeshades because the little ceiling lights left on to help nightwalkers, although dim, were annoying. I learned to walk while lurching to the train’s movement, and frequently spent time in the observation car which features large windows, evening movies, access to the snack bar, and abandoned newspapers and magazines. Some trains ran on schedule, some did not – it depended on whether we had to wait to let a freight train through, as they have priority.
Although food was available in the dining car and snack bar, it was overpriced and not that good (or so I heard as I never tried any). FYI, dining car meals are included in the price of a sleeper, and sleeper compartments are the same price for one or for two passengers – an additional $125 to $200+ for one night of prone sleep. Not worth it for me, but may be for some. If you can get a sleeper car after you board the train rather than in advance, they’re cheaper (but not always available).
Although there purportedly is a limit on carry-ons, many passengers including me carried on a lot of stuff. I had a fannypack, backpack, small duffle, and soft-sided cooler, plus a suitcase on rollers that I either checked in advance or stowed in the cargo area of my assigned car. Seats were not assigned on this trip, although they were on a trip from San Jose to Salem, OR last summer. Also on that trip there were few vacant seats.
The bathrooms were small but the amenities were nice: almond-scented liquid soap, paper towels, Kleenex, electrical outlets, and paper cups (although I brought my own bottled water). A larger “dressing room” had a bench seat, and a stool by one of the sinks so I could brush my teeth sitting down. Considering the constant movement of the train, that stool was necessary.
It appeared the other passengers generally had more time than money, or were traveling one-way and train fare was cheaper than air fare. They included senior citizens, African-Americans and Amish (frequently families), and some real train buffs with maps and guides about the route. My favorite scenic areas were:
Crossing or traveling alongside the Mississippi River
Going over the Continental Divide and through the Rocky Mountains in Colorado, snugly sheltered from the cold and snow outside
The High Sierras in California, passing through many tunnels and show sheds and seeing the cold, rushing water in the rivers from above
Trip theme: art and music
The theme evolved as I began to notice many of the people I visited were artists, art collectors, and/or musicians, and many activities were to see art or hear music. In Denver, they included:
Marti Foxhoven, collector and photographer, who took me to some art galleries on So. Santa Fe including CHAC (Chicano Humanities and Arts Council), the Denver Art Museum, and art exhibits at the Denver Public Library and the Butterfly Pavilion. We also met prolific local artist Bob Ragland while strolling along the Confluence Park greenway and he gave us buttons that read “Real artists don’t starve.” (Meaning they promote themselves constantly.)
Bonnie and Pat McCune, collectors (also Bonnie’s a writer) – Bonnie and I went to hear my Denver history mentor Tom Noel (“Dr. Colorado”) present a slide show and talk at the Denver Press Club about Burnham Hoyt who designed the Red Rocks amphitheatre
Joyce Whitcomb, artist (former housemate 1979-1984 in Denver), who organized a great potluck brunch with a select group of her interesting and artistic friends Chris and Karen Mohr, collectors, musicians, writers, and I’d include photographers as they had fantastic digital photos of their recent trip to the Galapagos Islands
Paul Kashmann, writer and editor of the Washington Park Profile, a monthly newspaper that was my venue for articles I wrote about history, interesting people, money-saving consumer tips, and humor; he also collects 1960’s rock music posters and is a Dylan and Grateful Dead fan
McCarthy relatives Tim (woodworker/craftsman who’s built two boats since retirement, also musician: guitar and banjo), Georgia (musician: piano), Sarah (musician: vocals and piano), Marty and wife Ruth and son Calder (I’m in the dark about their artistic and musical abilities but know that Marty is a science teacher and a fly fishing guide). Tim and I went to a song circle at the Denver Folklore Center led by owner Harry Tuft, a legend among us old folkies.
Dick Barnes, former director of the Washington Park Community Center and my boss for a few years, music major, peace and political activist, now retired and active in the Colorado Humanist Assn.; also Bettina Basanow, another former Wash Park Community Center staff person, peace and political activist, retired cooperative book store manager
The architect for the “new” (1995) Denver Public Library was Michael Graves (yes, the architect who also designs housewares for Target) and is pretty modern and awesome. See http://www.michaelgraves.com/ and click around through projects and libraries. The “old” Denver Art Museum building (Gio Ponti architect, 1971) looks like a tall concrete fortress. The new addition, which will double the exhibit space, was designed by Daniel Libeskind who is also designing the New York Twin Towers buildings and memorial, and looks like a giant silver origami “object.” See http://www.denverartmuseum.org/, expansion link. Denver’s light rail system is very functional, fast, and convenient. Marti and I rode on it to Englewood to meet Chris Mohr, and viewed the outdoor art on the former Cinderella City shopping center site (now new public and retail buildings and green space).
In Minnesota, Cheryl, husband Greg and daughter Meagan all had paintings exhibited at Crossings, a gallery, retail store and pottery co-op in a former Carnegie Library. We saw an author talk by Lois Lowry, author of “The Giver,” the book chosen for Rochester’s “one book” community reading program (see www.loc.gov/loc/cfbook/one-book.html). I also watched Cheryl make history come alive for a birthday girl and her guests at the Olmsted County History Center where she works, went to two soccer games (my first ever; Sam played and Meagan coached), saw H2G2 the second day it was in theatres (translation: The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy), walked around Red Wing, MN admiring lovely old historic homes and stopped in the Red Wing Shoes museum, and played two long games of Super Scrabble.
In less than two days in Chicago, I managed to fit in 1-1/2 hours at the Chicago Art Institute viewing my favorite impressionists and modern artists. They have at least 10 Cezannes! I also happened upon a photo gallery, an exhibit of architectural models at the Chicago Archicenter, a Jewish history museum, Alexander Calder’s Flamingo outdoor art piece, a large Frank Stella “junk” sculpture I hadn’t seen before, the Buckingham fountain, and a free performance by the Chicago Civic Symphony Orchestra in historic Orchestra Hall on Michigan Avenue. The performance and the hall were splendid – as I sat soaking it all in, I kept thinking how amazing and special it was that I found out about it at the last minute. Both the guest director and feature violinist were from Latvia, and I heard foreign languages being spoken in the audience. Also, the hall had special meaning because long-time family friend Jon Calhoun (deceased 1996) frequently spoke proudly about singing in Handel’s Messiah there every December.
Fortunately, Glenwood Springs, CO came after Chicago because by then my feet were complaining, and the long soak at Glenwood Hot Springs was very welcome. The owner of the hostel there had a huge record collection from the ‘60s through the ‘80s, and I saw a singer-songwriter perform at a music store. My Grand Junction hosts were Freya Hite (artist who had a show at a frame gallery and had sold quite a few paintings) and Bill Wolmutt (“Paisley Bill” to his fellow musicians and fans) who is retired and now makes stringed instruments of his own design and jams with friends. Since Martin’s backpacker guitar has such poor sound, he’s working on improved backpacking instruments, as he demonstrated on the mandolin-type instrument he played as we rested during a hike in Arches National Park outside of Moab, Utah. We also heard a super guitarist play and sing (and loop) at a coffeehouse in an alley in downtown Grand Junction, and went to a housewarming party where Bill and other musicians treated us to an afternoon of acoustic music. Lots of street art in Grand Junction, too, from smooth and shiny metal sculptures to wildly painted bicycles and non-functional parking meters.
Restaurant reviews
Food was always a challenge since I don’t eat meat. Denver had the most flavorful choices: Mexican, Thai, Indian, and a great Santa Cruz-style vegetarian restaurant named Watercourse. I “stocked up” in Denver, knowing I’d be headed to less veggie-friendly areas. However, in Chicago I happened upon a health food store and restaurant that had a veggie burger and soup special, and a deli with a yummy tomato basil soup. Cheryl knew about a Chinese buffet in Rochester that worked quite well (especially the desserts), and I discovered that the restaurant chain Baker’s Square has several delicious vegetarian options. Alas, in most of the restaurants in my home town of Medford, Wisconsin, I had to search the menus thoroughly and eventually settle on an omelet or baked potato and salad. On my third day there, mother and her neighbor Cindy and I lunched at Uncommon Ground coffeehouse and I hit the jackpot with a cheese and veggie sandwich on bread with sundried tomatoes baked in, and the next day, I had a vegetarian pizza with sauerkraut as one of the toppings. (Yes, it was good!) Bill and Freya took me to a good Mexican restaurant and a Nepalese buffet in Grand Junction. I found some of my favorite Indian foods there (including dessert!). Coffeehouses in Medford, Grand Junction and Rochester all had some free trade coffee choices – I was impressed because the way Santa Cruz Coffee Roasting Co. boasts about it, I was sure they had an exclusive on free trade coffee (which means paying fair prices to coffee producers in poor countries, as opposed to the mainstream industry practice of bargaining for the lowest price which means producers often sold at a loss).
Weather report
I experienced everything from rain in Denver near the end of April (had to borrow an umbrella) snow flurries in southern Minnesota on May 2 (had to borrow a jacket and gloves), to shorts weather in Glenwood Springs, CO and Moab, UT mid-May (brought my own shorts). Because it was spring, lilacs bloomed profusely everywhere I went – not the puny scentfree California bushes, but big, beautiful aromatic blooms, sometimes found with delicate violets nearby.
Yes, Denver has changed
I lived in Denver from 1969 to 1984, mostly in the Washington Park neighborhood but also near Cheesman Park for 3 years, and attended colleges near downtown Denver so became quite familiar with its buildings and ambience. I also was doorperson at the Oxford Hotel music room in the late ‘70s, in a bleak part of town now revitalized into “LoDo” (lower downtown) with expensive loft housing and “in” restaurants and clubs. New loft-style housing is being built, including one project named after Jack Kerouac. He visited Neal Cassady in Denver during the beat generation days. Neal was quite a character (he was Dean Moriarty in “On The Road,” and in real life he drove the Furthur bus for Ken Kesey and the Merry Pranksters). I’m not sure if they would be irate, or just highly amused, about the new Jack Kerouac Lofts highrise, since Dean mostly lived in downtown Denver flophouses and hobo camps near the train tracks with his alcoholic father.
The nice department stores that were on the 16th Street Mall in downtown Denver have been razed, or now house discount clothing stores. Tee-shirt and souvenir shops predominate, but if you look above the awnings, the beautiful old buildings are still there, many with architecturally significant Chicago-style windows and art deco features. Hybrid-electric shuttle buses are frequent, free and full. The center of the traffic-free (except for the shuttles) street is filled with vendors of food and cheap souvenirs. It’s a bustling, hustling scene that many former and current Denver residents have told me they don’t like. Nor do they like much of the redevelopment, especially the sports arenas near lower downtown and the commerce and housing that are filling in once vacant green acres between Denver and Boulder, or Denver and Golden, or Denver and anywhere nearby. At least the neighborhoods I knew don’t seem to have changed much – except the higher cost of housing due to usual inflation and demand. And East Colfax seemed the same, except for a few more Greek restaurants.
Pre-trip event: the funeral
On April 8, Kelly and Michael received calls from McCarthy relatives – their grandmother (my mother-in-law) had passed away. The wake in Sioux City, Iowa and funeral across the Missouri River in Ponca, Nebraska were being scheduled for April 15 and 16. I was able to reschedule my train trip at no additional cost, and we quickly found air tickets for me, Kelly, Michael and wife Dana. The news was not that sad, given that grandma Marty’s brain had succumbed to Alzheimer’s years ago and her death at age 92 was peaceful. She had four sons and one daughter, who all moved far away from their home town, married and had children. I had married the oldest son Mike who passed away in 1976. Twenty of us showed up – just two wives, two of her grandchildren and her two great-grandchildren could not. (I think my math is correct.) The occasion gave us an opportunity to talk about grandma Marty as we remembered her: peppy, actively involved with Boy Scouts as a den mother, the Symphony Guild, a horse club (she rode), and always interested in her children’s and grandchildren’s lives and welfare. It was California-born Dana’s first trip to the Midwest, and she saw gray skies, flat terrain, last year’s cornfield stubble, inhaled Sioux City packing plant odors, learned to skip rocks on the Missouri River at Ponca Park, met a lot of in-laws for the first time, and really liked Omaha’s Old Market area, a renovated section of the city full of cool restaurants, bars, shops, art galleries, street performers, and cops on horses (see www.omahaoldmarket.com/). Those of us who remembered the conservative days of the early 60’s (I lived there in ’63-64) were amazed. Our last night there, all but Mary and Ed were able to hang out and relax in a hotel conference room passing the guitars for an unrehearsed family jam. Plans are in the making for a reunion the summer of 2006 and “not waiting for the next oldest to die before we get together again.”
Post-trip events: Strawberry Music Festival and Jackie’s visit
On Wednesday, May 25, I drove leisurely to Camp Mather (just west of Hetch-Hetchy dam in Yosemite National Park) for my 14th Strawberry Music Festival (see http://www.strawberrymusic.com/, and buy tickets for 2006 as soon as possible because they sell out early!). Camped at “Camp Get There From Here” as usual, caught up with everyone’s news as much as possible, worked a couple of morning shifts so I didn’t miss many performances, saw a lot of good music, and for the first time didn’t have to drive back on Monday with all the Memorial Day traffic. I stayed at a nearby national forest campground, fended off mosquitoes and finished reading “Plainsong” by Kent Haruf. After two attempts to go to Yosemite to see impressively full waterfalls (the line of cars was so long I couldn’t even see the entrance station), I gave up and had a cool, pleasant lunch at closer and less crowded Rainbow Falls. It was cool because I forgot to zip up my soft-sided cooler and dumped cold water on myself when I stood up. Since it was a hot day, it was also pleasant.
On June 7, Jackie Weller arrived at San Francisco Airport after a red-eye flight from Denver. She (see www.thelivinggoddess.com/) and her business partner (see inspirationalpathways.com/) had a booth at the Harmony Festival in Santa Rosa and she came early so we could catch up and hang out. We did a little sight-seeing along the California coast and in Sonoma wine country, and spent a very relaxing and soothing 20 hours (too short!) at Harbin Hot Springs (see http://www.harbin.org/), a rustic retreat center with natural hot springs pools, cooking facilities, affordable dormitory lodging, walking paths, and mellow new-age activities. For example, I saw a German movie “In July,” actually more punk than new age but still enjoyable, especially viewed from an overstuffed chair while munching on an organic vegan chocolate chip cookie. We had to leave our shoes at the door.
Speaking of feet –
The foot pain, which began after a lot of walking on cement in Chicago, was still plaguing me when I returned to San Jose on May 17. A visit to a doctor and X-rays confirmed my suspicions – it was plantar fasciitis, which for some people can be chronic. The plantar fascia is a dense band of tissue at the bottom of the foot, and “itis” means inflammation – get it? The first doctor recommended ice packs, stretching exercises, ibuprofen, good supportive running shoes, and over-the-counter heel inserts. The latter helped immediately, the rest helped more gradually. The podiatrist re-recommended the same stuff, plus taped my foot into a certain position for 24 hours and injected cortisone into the most painful foot. I followed all advice, and experience only a little morning pain in one foot now. Since I can’t take salsa lessons now, I’m going …
On the road again
This will be mostly a music festival trip, with the itinerary so far as follows:
June 23-26, Kate Wolf memorial festival, north of Laytonville, CA
June 30-July 3, visit David Kent and wife Beatriz in Port Angeles, WA
July 7-10, High Mountain Hay Fever festival, Westcliffe, CO (Norman and Nancy Blake, Mike Seeger, Dry Branch Fire Squad, Country Gentlemen and more)
July 13-17, Woody Guthrie memorial festival, Okemah, OK, (Burns Sisters, Tracy Grammer, Kevin Welch, Sarah Lee Guthrie & Johnny Irion, Jimmy LaFave and more)
Visit John Haviland at Lake Okoboji, Iowa (long-time long-lost family friend) sometime before
August 11-14, Willow Folk Festival, near Stockton, IL (no famous people but a small treasure I attended several times with Jon Calhoun and his son when Jon was alive)
Followed by a visit to Chicago with Meagan Finnegan, artist and architectural draftsperson-in-training
August 26-27, maybe the Northland Bluegrass Festival, Stevens Point, WI, followed by a visit with my mother in Medford, WI
September 15-17, Starvy Creek Bluegrass Festival, Conway, MO (Lynn Morris Band, Lost Highway, Bill Grant and Delia Bell, J. D. Crowe, Jessie McReynolds and more)
And I think I’ll wing the rest. Scheduling too much isn’t always a good thing – I might miss some good meandering opportunities.
All aboard, toot toot and clackety clack – here we go on the California Zephyr and more. The focus of this trip was visiting friends along the way, and my mother in north central Wisconsin. Driving would have cost about $500 for gas alone, plus another oil change and camping or motels, not to mention the effect that driving 4,460 miles would have had on my body and mind. So I opted for train travel. It took less time, the Explore America fare was only $315, I could enjoy the scenery safely (although I couldn’t stop to hike it), and it was a great opportunity to read or listen to books on tape. My route was as follows:
Leg 1: San Jose to Sacramento via the Capitol Corridor, changed to the Zephyr and a splendid scenic route over the Sierras with historical and scenic information supplied by a volunteer from the railroad museum in Sacramento, slept through Nevada and Utah, enjoyed the Colorado Rockies – especially Glenwood Canyon – the next day, and arrived at Denver’s grand Union Station the second evening for a week’s stay.
Leg 2: Left Denver in the evening, arrived in Chicago the next afternoon and spent the night at the Hostelling International Chicago Hostel for free (got comped in because I volunteered at the Santa Cruz Hostel for a year). The next afternoon, boarded the Empire Builder through Wisconsin to Red Wing, Minnesota, to spend the weekend with Cheryl and Greg Finnegan and their three teenagers in Pine Island, MN. (An overnight stay in Chicago is necessary because the Zephyr is scheduled to arrive at 3:20pm, and the Empire Builder is scheduled to leave at 2:15pm. If we scheduled classes that way at Cabrillo College, we’d be shot by irate students.)
Leg 3: After a weekend in Pine Island, a week in Medford with my mother, and another weekend in Pine Island, I reversed the process between Red Wing, MN and Chicago, arriving in the Windy City about 3:40pm, scheduled to miss the Zephyr by an hour so another overnight stay was necessary.
Leg 3-1/2: Left Chicago at 1:50pm on the Zephyr for an overnight trip to Glenwood Springs, CO. After 2 days and a night there, Freya provided ground transportation to Grand Junction, CO a few hours west, and I spent 4 days there with Freya and Bill.
Leg 4: Left Grand Junction, CO about 4 pm for an overnight trip to Sacramento (same scenery, different direction), transferred to the Capitol Corridor and arrived in San Jose the next evening. Pigeons come into both the Sacramento and San Jose waiting rooms looking for snacks.
The skinny on train travel
The coach seats are far superior to airplanes, much more leg room and seat adjustments. Electrical outlets are provided next to some seats! On all four overnight trips, no one was in the seat next to me so I used them both for sleeping, aided by two pillows (one provided by Amtrak, one small pillow I brought with me) and a lightweight blanket. Next time I’ll take eyeshades because the little ceiling lights left on to help nightwalkers, although dim, were annoying. I learned to walk while lurching to the train’s movement, and frequently spent time in the observation car which features large windows, evening movies, access to the snack bar, and abandoned newspapers and magazines. Some trains ran on schedule, some did not – it depended on whether we had to wait to let a freight train through, as they have priority.
Although food was available in the dining car and snack bar, it was overpriced and not that good (or so I heard as I never tried any). FYI, dining car meals are included in the price of a sleeper, and sleeper compartments are the same price for one or for two passengers – an additional $125 to $200+ for one night of prone sleep. Not worth it for me, but may be for some. If you can get a sleeper car after you board the train rather than in advance, they’re cheaper (but not always available).
Although there purportedly is a limit on carry-ons, many passengers including me carried on a lot of stuff. I had a fannypack, backpack, small duffle, and soft-sided cooler, plus a suitcase on rollers that I either checked in advance or stowed in the cargo area of my assigned car. Seats were not assigned on this trip, although they were on a trip from San Jose to Salem, OR last summer. Also on that trip there were few vacant seats.
The bathrooms were small but the amenities were nice: almond-scented liquid soap, paper towels, Kleenex, electrical outlets, and paper cups (although I brought my own bottled water). A larger “dressing room” had a bench seat, and a stool by one of the sinks so I could brush my teeth sitting down. Considering the constant movement of the train, that stool was necessary.
It appeared the other passengers generally had more time than money, or were traveling one-way and train fare was cheaper than air fare. They included senior citizens, African-Americans and Amish (frequently families), and some real train buffs with maps and guides about the route. My favorite scenic areas were:
Crossing or traveling alongside the Mississippi River
Going over the Continental Divide and through the Rocky Mountains in Colorado, snugly sheltered from the cold and snow outside
The High Sierras in California, passing through many tunnels and show sheds and seeing the cold, rushing water in the rivers from above
Trip theme: art and music
The theme evolved as I began to notice many of the people I visited were artists, art collectors, and/or musicians, and many activities were to see art or hear music. In Denver, they included:
Marti Foxhoven, collector and photographer, who took me to some art galleries on So. Santa Fe including CHAC (Chicano Humanities and Arts Council), the Denver Art Museum, and art exhibits at the Denver Public Library and the Butterfly Pavilion. We also met prolific local artist Bob Ragland while strolling along the Confluence Park greenway and he gave us buttons that read “Real artists don’t starve.” (Meaning they promote themselves constantly.)
Bonnie and Pat McCune, collectors (also Bonnie’s a writer) – Bonnie and I went to hear my Denver history mentor Tom Noel (“Dr. Colorado”) present a slide show and talk at the Denver Press Club about Burnham Hoyt who designed the Red Rocks amphitheatre
Joyce Whitcomb, artist (former housemate 1979-1984 in Denver), who organized a great potluck brunch with a select group of her interesting and artistic friends Chris and Karen Mohr, collectors, musicians, writers, and I’d include photographers as they had fantastic digital photos of their recent trip to the Galapagos Islands
Paul Kashmann, writer and editor of the Washington Park Profile, a monthly newspaper that was my venue for articles I wrote about history, interesting people, money-saving consumer tips, and humor; he also collects 1960’s rock music posters and is a Dylan and Grateful Dead fan
McCarthy relatives Tim (woodworker/craftsman who’s built two boats since retirement, also musician: guitar and banjo), Georgia (musician: piano), Sarah (musician: vocals and piano), Marty and wife Ruth and son Calder (I’m in the dark about their artistic and musical abilities but know that Marty is a science teacher and a fly fishing guide). Tim and I went to a song circle at the Denver Folklore Center led by owner Harry Tuft, a legend among us old folkies.
Dick Barnes, former director of the Washington Park Community Center and my boss for a few years, music major, peace and political activist, now retired and active in the Colorado Humanist Assn.; also Bettina Basanow, another former Wash Park Community Center staff person, peace and political activist, retired cooperative book store manager
The architect for the “new” (1995) Denver Public Library was Michael Graves (yes, the architect who also designs housewares for Target) and is pretty modern and awesome. See http://www.michaelgraves.com/ and click around through projects and libraries. The “old” Denver Art Museum building (Gio Ponti architect, 1971) looks like a tall concrete fortress. The new addition, which will double the exhibit space, was designed by Daniel Libeskind who is also designing the New York Twin Towers buildings and memorial, and looks like a giant silver origami “object.” See http://www.denverartmuseum.org/, expansion link. Denver’s light rail system is very functional, fast, and convenient. Marti and I rode on it to Englewood to meet Chris Mohr, and viewed the outdoor art on the former Cinderella City shopping center site (now new public and retail buildings and green space).
In Minnesota, Cheryl, husband Greg and daughter Meagan all had paintings exhibited at Crossings, a gallery, retail store and pottery co-op in a former Carnegie Library. We saw an author talk by Lois Lowry, author of “The Giver,” the book chosen for Rochester’s “one book” community reading program (see www.loc.gov/loc/cfbook/one-book.html). I also watched Cheryl make history come alive for a birthday girl and her guests at the Olmsted County History Center where she works, went to two soccer games (my first ever; Sam played and Meagan coached), saw H2G2 the second day it was in theatres (translation: The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy), walked around Red Wing, MN admiring lovely old historic homes and stopped in the Red Wing Shoes museum, and played two long games of Super Scrabble.
In less than two days in Chicago, I managed to fit in 1-1/2 hours at the Chicago Art Institute viewing my favorite impressionists and modern artists. They have at least 10 Cezannes! I also happened upon a photo gallery, an exhibit of architectural models at the Chicago Archicenter, a Jewish history museum, Alexander Calder’s Flamingo outdoor art piece, a large Frank Stella “junk” sculpture I hadn’t seen before, the Buckingham fountain, and a free performance by the Chicago Civic Symphony Orchestra in historic Orchestra Hall on Michigan Avenue. The performance and the hall were splendid – as I sat soaking it all in, I kept thinking how amazing and special it was that I found out about it at the last minute. Both the guest director and feature violinist were from Latvia, and I heard foreign languages being spoken in the audience. Also, the hall had special meaning because long-time family friend Jon Calhoun (deceased 1996) frequently spoke proudly about singing in Handel’s Messiah there every December.
Fortunately, Glenwood Springs, CO came after Chicago because by then my feet were complaining, and the long soak at Glenwood Hot Springs was very welcome. The owner of the hostel there had a huge record collection from the ‘60s through the ‘80s, and I saw a singer-songwriter perform at a music store. My Grand Junction hosts were Freya Hite (artist who had a show at a frame gallery and had sold quite a few paintings) and Bill Wolmutt (“Paisley Bill” to his fellow musicians and fans) who is retired and now makes stringed instruments of his own design and jams with friends. Since Martin’s backpacker guitar has such poor sound, he’s working on improved backpacking instruments, as he demonstrated on the mandolin-type instrument he played as we rested during a hike in Arches National Park outside of Moab, Utah. We also heard a super guitarist play and sing (and loop) at a coffeehouse in an alley in downtown Grand Junction, and went to a housewarming party where Bill and other musicians treated us to an afternoon of acoustic music. Lots of street art in Grand Junction, too, from smooth and shiny metal sculptures to wildly painted bicycles and non-functional parking meters.
Restaurant reviews
Food was always a challenge since I don’t eat meat. Denver had the most flavorful choices: Mexican, Thai, Indian, and a great Santa Cruz-style vegetarian restaurant named Watercourse. I “stocked up” in Denver, knowing I’d be headed to less veggie-friendly areas. However, in Chicago I happened upon a health food store and restaurant that had a veggie burger and soup special, and a deli with a yummy tomato basil soup. Cheryl knew about a Chinese buffet in Rochester that worked quite well (especially the desserts), and I discovered that the restaurant chain Baker’s Square has several delicious vegetarian options. Alas, in most of the restaurants in my home town of Medford, Wisconsin, I had to search the menus thoroughly and eventually settle on an omelet or baked potato and salad. On my third day there, mother and her neighbor Cindy and I lunched at Uncommon Ground coffeehouse and I hit the jackpot with a cheese and veggie sandwich on bread with sundried tomatoes baked in, and the next day, I had a vegetarian pizza with sauerkraut as one of the toppings. (Yes, it was good!) Bill and Freya took me to a good Mexican restaurant and a Nepalese buffet in Grand Junction. I found some of my favorite Indian foods there (including dessert!). Coffeehouses in Medford, Grand Junction and Rochester all had some free trade coffee choices – I was impressed because the way Santa Cruz Coffee Roasting Co. boasts about it, I was sure they had an exclusive on free trade coffee (which means paying fair prices to coffee producers in poor countries, as opposed to the mainstream industry practice of bargaining for the lowest price which means producers often sold at a loss).
Weather report
I experienced everything from rain in Denver near the end of April (had to borrow an umbrella) snow flurries in southern Minnesota on May 2 (had to borrow a jacket and gloves), to shorts weather in Glenwood Springs, CO and Moab, UT mid-May (brought my own shorts). Because it was spring, lilacs bloomed profusely everywhere I went – not the puny scentfree California bushes, but big, beautiful aromatic blooms, sometimes found with delicate violets nearby.
Yes, Denver has changed
I lived in Denver from 1969 to 1984, mostly in the Washington Park neighborhood but also near Cheesman Park for 3 years, and attended colleges near downtown Denver so became quite familiar with its buildings and ambience. I also was doorperson at the Oxford Hotel music room in the late ‘70s, in a bleak part of town now revitalized into “LoDo” (lower downtown) with expensive loft housing and “in” restaurants and clubs. New loft-style housing is being built, including one project named after Jack Kerouac. He visited Neal Cassady in Denver during the beat generation days. Neal was quite a character (he was Dean Moriarty in “On The Road,” and in real life he drove the Furthur bus for Ken Kesey and the Merry Pranksters). I’m not sure if they would be irate, or just highly amused, about the new Jack Kerouac Lofts highrise, since Dean mostly lived in downtown Denver flophouses and hobo camps near the train tracks with his alcoholic father.
The nice department stores that were on the 16th Street Mall in downtown Denver have been razed, or now house discount clothing stores. Tee-shirt and souvenir shops predominate, but if you look above the awnings, the beautiful old buildings are still there, many with architecturally significant Chicago-style windows and art deco features. Hybrid-electric shuttle buses are frequent, free and full. The center of the traffic-free (except for the shuttles) street is filled with vendors of food and cheap souvenirs. It’s a bustling, hustling scene that many former and current Denver residents have told me they don’t like. Nor do they like much of the redevelopment, especially the sports arenas near lower downtown and the commerce and housing that are filling in once vacant green acres between Denver and Boulder, or Denver and Golden, or Denver and anywhere nearby. At least the neighborhoods I knew don’t seem to have changed much – except the higher cost of housing due to usual inflation and demand. And East Colfax seemed the same, except for a few more Greek restaurants.
Pre-trip event: the funeral
On April 8, Kelly and Michael received calls from McCarthy relatives – their grandmother (my mother-in-law) had passed away. The wake in Sioux City, Iowa and funeral across the Missouri River in Ponca, Nebraska were being scheduled for April 15 and 16. I was able to reschedule my train trip at no additional cost, and we quickly found air tickets for me, Kelly, Michael and wife Dana. The news was not that sad, given that grandma Marty’s brain had succumbed to Alzheimer’s years ago and her death at age 92 was peaceful. She had four sons and one daughter, who all moved far away from their home town, married and had children. I had married the oldest son Mike who passed away in 1976. Twenty of us showed up – just two wives, two of her grandchildren and her two great-grandchildren could not. (I think my math is correct.) The occasion gave us an opportunity to talk about grandma Marty as we remembered her: peppy, actively involved with Boy Scouts as a den mother, the Symphony Guild, a horse club (she rode), and always interested in her children’s and grandchildren’s lives and welfare. It was California-born Dana’s first trip to the Midwest, and she saw gray skies, flat terrain, last year’s cornfield stubble, inhaled Sioux City packing plant odors, learned to skip rocks on the Missouri River at Ponca Park, met a lot of in-laws for the first time, and really liked Omaha’s Old Market area, a renovated section of the city full of cool restaurants, bars, shops, art galleries, street performers, and cops on horses (see www.omahaoldmarket.com/). Those of us who remembered the conservative days of the early 60’s (I lived there in ’63-64) were amazed. Our last night there, all but Mary and Ed were able to hang out and relax in a hotel conference room passing the guitars for an unrehearsed family jam. Plans are in the making for a reunion the summer of 2006 and “not waiting for the next oldest to die before we get together again.”
Post-trip events: Strawberry Music Festival and Jackie’s visit
On Wednesday, May 25, I drove leisurely to Camp Mather (just west of Hetch-Hetchy dam in Yosemite National Park) for my 14th Strawberry Music Festival (see http://www.strawberrymusic.com/, and buy tickets for 2006 as soon as possible because they sell out early!). Camped at “Camp Get There From Here” as usual, caught up with everyone’s news as much as possible, worked a couple of morning shifts so I didn’t miss many performances, saw a lot of good music, and for the first time didn’t have to drive back on Monday with all the Memorial Day traffic. I stayed at a nearby national forest campground, fended off mosquitoes and finished reading “Plainsong” by Kent Haruf. After two attempts to go to Yosemite to see impressively full waterfalls (the line of cars was so long I couldn’t even see the entrance station), I gave up and had a cool, pleasant lunch at closer and less crowded Rainbow Falls. It was cool because I forgot to zip up my soft-sided cooler and dumped cold water on myself when I stood up. Since it was a hot day, it was also pleasant.
On June 7, Jackie Weller arrived at San Francisco Airport after a red-eye flight from Denver. She (see www.thelivinggoddess.com/) and her business partner (see inspirationalpathways.com/) had a booth at the Harmony Festival in Santa Rosa and she came early so we could catch up and hang out. We did a little sight-seeing along the California coast and in Sonoma wine country, and spent a very relaxing and soothing 20 hours (too short!) at Harbin Hot Springs (see http://www.harbin.org/), a rustic retreat center with natural hot springs pools, cooking facilities, affordable dormitory lodging, walking paths, and mellow new-age activities. For example, I saw a German movie “In July,” actually more punk than new age but still enjoyable, especially viewed from an overstuffed chair while munching on an organic vegan chocolate chip cookie. We had to leave our shoes at the door.
Speaking of feet –
The foot pain, which began after a lot of walking on cement in Chicago, was still plaguing me when I returned to San Jose on May 17. A visit to a doctor and X-rays confirmed my suspicions – it was plantar fasciitis, which for some people can be chronic. The plantar fascia is a dense band of tissue at the bottom of the foot, and “itis” means inflammation – get it? The first doctor recommended ice packs, stretching exercises, ibuprofen, good supportive running shoes, and over-the-counter heel inserts. The latter helped immediately, the rest helped more gradually. The podiatrist re-recommended the same stuff, plus taped my foot into a certain position for 24 hours and injected cortisone into the most painful foot. I followed all advice, and experience only a little morning pain in one foot now. Since I can’t take salsa lessons now, I’m going …
On the road again
This will be mostly a music festival trip, with the itinerary so far as follows:
June 23-26, Kate Wolf memorial festival, north of Laytonville, CA
June 30-July 3, visit David Kent and wife Beatriz in Port Angeles, WA
July 7-10, High Mountain Hay Fever festival, Westcliffe, CO (Norman and Nancy Blake, Mike Seeger, Dry Branch Fire Squad, Country Gentlemen and more)
July 13-17, Woody Guthrie memorial festival, Okemah, OK, (Burns Sisters, Tracy Grammer, Kevin Welch, Sarah Lee Guthrie & Johnny Irion, Jimmy LaFave and more)
Visit John Haviland at Lake Okoboji, Iowa (long-time long-lost family friend) sometime before
August 11-14, Willow Folk Festival, near Stockton, IL (no famous people but a small treasure I attended several times with Jon Calhoun and his son when Jon was alive)
Followed by a visit to Chicago with Meagan Finnegan, artist and architectural draftsperson-in-training
August 26-27, maybe the Northland Bluegrass Festival, Stevens Point, WI, followed by a visit with my mother in Medford, WI
September 15-17, Starvy Creek Bluegrass Festival, Conway, MO (Lynn Morris Band, Lost Highway, Bill Grant and Delia Bell, J. D. Crowe, Jessie McReynolds and more)
And I think I’ll wing the rest. Scheduling too much isn’t always a good thing – I might miss some good meandering opportunities.
posted by Joan McCarthy at 8:50 PM
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