Southern Journey 2010 NOLA

<body topmargin=0 leftmargin=0 marginheight=0 marginwidth=0> <table cellpadding=0 cellspacing=0 border=0><tr> <td valign="top" height=120 BGCOLOR="#CCCC99" TEXT="#080000" bgproperties="fixed" background="0ec8dfe1esnpes.jpg"> <div> <FONT SIZE="5" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Arial" ><B>Michael Czarnecki</B></FONT><B>     </B><B>|</B><B>     </B><A HREF="index.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Michael Czarnecki"><U><B>home</B></U></A></div> <div> <A HREF="id17.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Brief Bio"><U>Brief Bio</U></A>   |   <A HREF="id18.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Poet"><U>Poet</U></A>   |   <A HREF="id77.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Journeys"><U>Journeys</U></A>   |   <A HREF="id75.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Themed Programs"><U>Themed Programs</U></A>   |   <A HREF="id69.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Colleges"><U>Colleges</U></A>   |   <A HREF="id80.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Parlor Programs"><U>Parlor Programs</U></A>   |   <A HREF="id72.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Writing Workshops"><U>Writing Workshops</U></A>   |   <A HREF="id71.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="PoetintheSchools"><U>Poet-in-the-Schools</U></A>   |   <A HREF="id19.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Oral Memoirist"><U>Oral Memoirist</U></A>   |   <A HREF="id73.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Community Project"><U>Community Project</U></A>   |   <A HREF="id21.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Some of My Writing"><U>Some of My Writing</U></A>   |   <A HREF="id70.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Palm of the Hand Writing"><U>Palm of the Hand Writing</U></A>   |   <A HREF="id22.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Schedule"><U>Schedule</U></A>   |   <B>Southern Journey 2010 NOLA</B>   |   <A HREF="id84.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="SJ 2010 NOLA Page 2"><U>SJ 2010 NOLA Page 2</U></A>   |   <A HREF="id85.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Southern Journey Page 3 NOLA"><U>Southern Journey Page 3 NOLA</U></A>   |   <A HREF="id86.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Southern Journey Page 4 NOLA"><U>Southern Journey Page 4 NOLA</U></A>   |   <A HREF="id87.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="SJ 2010 Page 5 NOLA"><U>SJ 2010 Page 5 NOLA</U></A>   |   <A HREF="id78.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="US 20 Journey 2010"><U>US 20 Journey 2010</U></A>   |   <A HREF="id89.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="US 20 Journey 2011"><U>US 20 Journey 2011</U></A>   |   <A HREF="id79.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="New Orleans"><U>New Orleans</U></A>   |   <A HREF="id81.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Acadia NP 509"><U>Acadia NP 5-09</U></A>   |   <A HREF="id23.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Books Available"><U>Books Available</U></A>   |   <A HREF="id82.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Fliers"><U>Fliers</U></A>   |   <A HREF="id26.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="References"><U>References</U></A>   |   <A HREF="id90.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Guestbook"><U>Guestbook</U></A>   |   <A HREF="id25.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Contact Me"><U>Contact Me</U></A></div> <div> </div> </td> </tr><tr> <td valign="top" height=360 BGCOLOR="#CCCC99" TEXT="#080000" bgproperties="fixed" background="0ec8dfc3.jpg"> <div> <I>Southern Journey 2010 NOLA</I></div> <DIV ALIGN="LEFT"></DIV> <div> Berks County, PA</div> <div> Natchez Trace</div> <div> New Orleans</div> <div> March 1 - 16, 2010</div> <bR> <bR> <div> <A HREF="id84.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="SJ 2010 NOLA Page 2"><U>SJ 2010 Page 2</U></A></div> <div> <A HREF="id85.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Southern Journey Page 3 NOLA"><U>SJ 2010 Page 3</U></A></div> <div> <A HREF="id86.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Southern Journey Page 4 NOLA"><U>SJ 2010 Page 4</U></A></div> <div> <A HREF="id87.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="SJ 2010 Page 5 NOLA"><U>SJ 2010 Page 5</U></A></div> <bR> <div> Southern Journey</div> <div> Berks County, PA - Natchez Trace - New Orleans</div> <bR> <div> A later start than anticipated - 11 AM or so. That is always the case on these excursions away from home. So much to do before leaving. So much that doesn't get done.</div> <bR> <DIV ALIGN="LEFT"></DIV> <div> southern journey's start</div> <div> long walk through deep drifted snow</div> <div> just to get to car</div> <bR> <div> <IMG SRC="2e758c20.jpg" border=0 width="600" height="450" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></div> <bR> <div> First winter storm of the season came to Wheeler Hill on Feb 25/26. Ten inches of snow followed by a few more inches over the next couple of days before leaving. Consequently, cars were left out at the road and we have been walking, snowshoeing, skiing out from the house. The morning of leaving, we sledded my things the third of a mile to the road. </div> <bR> <div> I drive east on I-86, gray clouds cover the sky.</div> <bR> <DIV ALIGN="LEFT"></DIV> <div> brief bit of sunshine</div> <div> peaks through heavy cloud cover</div> <div> hint of what's to come</div> <bR> <div> The sunshine doesn't last long. Sky overcast, thick, threatening some kind of precipitation. Just like how it's been the last few days on Wheeler Hill. No difference - early road, home ground.</div> <bR> <DIV ALIGN="LEFT"></DIV> <div> sunshine, sleet, gray clouds</div> <div> more sunshine, sleet, more gray clouds</div> <div> this is how it is</div> <bR> <div> I drive US 15 down through Pennsylvania to Sunbury. From there, PA 61 all the way to Reading. Coal country. Czury country. Whenever heading down this way I think of Craig's poems, the places, landscapes, lives that inhabit them. Shamokin, Kulpmont, Schuylkill Haven, Frackville, Centralia. His book, <FONT SIZE="4" COLOR="#0000FF" FACE="Comic Sans MS" ><A HREF="http://foothillspublishing.com/2009/id49.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="http://foothillspublishing.com/2009/id49"><U><U>“God's Shiny Glass Eye”</U></U></A></FONT> comes from this terrain, this geography of coal, this biography of coal lives. </div> <bR> <div> At Centralia, a near ghost town because of underground coal fires that have been burning since 1962, there was an odd juxtaposition of coal mounds and wind generators. White on black, clean on dirty, new on old. </div> <bR> <div> Port Clinton - turkey vultures soaring above. Tilting, upturned wings, dark presences. The first I've seen this year.  </div> <bR> <div> Arrived late afternoon, Craig and Heather's house in Reading. Quick shower, then Craig and I off to Oley, PA, a visit with a friend, Carol, over pizza and salad. Then a Palm of the Hand Memoir Workshop at Clay on Main, sponsored by Berks Bards. Eleven people attended. Good energy, good relating. A follow-up workshop on my way back home, March 15. Looking forward to hearing what is created. </div> <bR> <div> I intended to leave Reading the next morning, but was enticed to stay another day, visiting with Craig and Heather. I had a lot of publishing work to take care of anyway, so I lingered. </div> <bR> <div> Snow lingered here in southern PA. This area received more snow than we did up north. The mid-Atlantic region bore the brunt of winter storms this year. </div> <bR> <div> At the feeders by the house I saw my favorite sparrow - the whitehroat! A few of them were regularly visible at the feeders. These sparrows only pass through our area in migration. I don't see them every year on Wheeler Hill, but often in other places, like here in late winter PA and in breeding season at Acadia. </div> <bR> <DIV ALIGN="LEFT"></DIV> <div> <IMG SRC="2e858850.jpg" border=0 width="600" height="389" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></div> <bR> <div> white throated sparrow</div> <div> can you heed my one request</div> <div> visit Wheeler Hill</div> <bR> <div> Bocce Ball. Craig introduced me to the game years ago. Since then, we have a friendly competition whenever we visit. Here in Reading, up on Wheeler Hill, Bocce Ball is always a part of the relating. Craig has a “court” to the side of the house. When the snow storms hit, he shoveled the Bocce Ball area first. So, most of it was clear ground, though the rest of the yard was snow covered. We played one game. He won, 22-12. It still gnaws at me, a day later. I'll be back in two weeks. </div> <bR> <DIV ALIGN="LEFT"></DIV> <div> <IMG SRC="2e958c20.jpg" border=0 width="600" height="450" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></div> <bR> <div> Beyond Bocce Ball, a great visit, as always, with them. Good conversation, good energy. I could easily have lingered longer, but there were other places calling me.</div> <bR> <div> Today was a driving day. Left Reading about 10:30 AM, much later than I intended. West from Reading then south, southwest on interstate 81, through a little bit of Maryland, West Virginia, a lot of Virginia. I drove about 400 miles for the day, through the Shenandoah Valley, Blue Ridge and Shenandoah Mountains framing the eastern and western horizons. They are all covered in snow. </div> <bR> <div> There is something special about viewing mountains. Dark presences looming in the distance. My heart always beats faster when mountains are present. The soul, the spirit is stirred just by the sight of them. </div> <bR> <div> Now, I've settled into a motel in southwestern Virginia. Nearly 700 miles from Wheeler Hill and many miles yet to go. Tomorrow takes me into new territory. I'm slowly getting into the rhythm of the road.</div> <bR> <DIV ALIGN="LEFT"></DIV> <div> strange room far from home</div> <div> hundreds of road miles behind</div> <div> even more ahead</div> <div> *************************************************</div> <div> 3/4/10</div> <bR> <div> When I left the motel in Virginia this morning it didn't seem like I was in southern VA. Cold - temp must have been in the 20s. A few flakes were in the air. Sky overcast, low clouds, mountains only partially visible. Drove near Mount Rogers, highest point in Virginia, 5,729'. Not visible.</div> <bR> <div> I've been trying to take a break every 100 miles or so of driving. Stop, get out of the car for awhile, walk around. This is new for me. Previously I would drive for a few hours before stopping. Sometimes I've driven home from Acadia, 11 hours or so, with two quick gas and bathroom stops. The same for other returning home drives. Keep moving down the road, let the miles fly by, stop only when necessary. I've changed my road tune. A little wiser with age - at least in this matter.</div> <bR> <div> So, my first 100 mile break was in Bristol, VA and Bristol, TN. Bristol is a small city that straddles the boundary between the two states. Gas, bathroom, Salvation Army store - nothing purchased. Downtown, State Street lies right on the border. North side streets are in VA, south side, TN. </div> <bR> <DIV ALIGN="LEFT"></DIV> <div> <IMG SRC="2eb58c20.jpg" border=0 width="600" height="450" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></div> <bR> <div> As I move more westerly through Tennessee the snow has finally disappeared, even in the wooded areas. Nearing Knoxville, clouds thinning out, more blue sky, sun.</div> <bR> <div> A long mountain ridge appears west of Knoxville, exposed rocky outcroppings. These may be the last mountains I see till the return home.</div> <bR> <div> In a bathroom I came across one of those religious tract handout. Haven't seen one of those in a long time. </div> <bR> <div> And along the highway, more billboards advertising wine and liquor stores that I think I've ever seen in an area. </div> <bR> <div> Put up early for the day in Lebanon, TN. A great price on a motel - America's Best Value - 29.99. Clean rooms, great service, swimming pool, hot breakfast. Some campgrounds charge almost that much for a night.</div> <bR> <div> Wanted to get out on foot a little, so checked maps and headed to some public land north of town a little ways. In the parking lot were three guys standing by a pick-up drinking beer. Stopped to talk with them for a little bit, getting some info about the waterway/ Learned it was Cedar Creek, a tributary of the Columbia River.</div> <bR> <div> As we talked one of them asked me if I was “independently wealthy?” I laughed and said “independently poor.” “How come you get out traveling like this then?” I explained it was my work, being a poet and a traveler. “That's cool.” </div> <bR> <div> The walk was nothing special, but it did get me out on foot after all those miles in the car, cruising down the interstates. Did see my first Great Blue Heron of the year and a Black Vulture. </div> <bR> <DIV ALIGN="LEFT"></DIV> <div> <IMG SRC="2ed58c20.jpg" border=0 width="600" height="450" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></div> <bR> <div> along water's edge</div> <div> cedar trees lining path way</div> <div> vultures soar above</div> <bR> <div> When I returned the guys were still there drinking. As I left they wished me safe travels. </div> <div> ***********************  </div> <bR> <div> Natchez Trace</div> <bR> <div> A day traveling the Trace. </div> <bR> <div> As I take a picture at the head of the Trace a Cardinal sings and morning sun shines bright. Air still cool, frosty, but a pleasant day ahead.</div> <bR> <DIV ALIGN="LEFT"></DIV> <div> <IMG SRC="2ef58c20.jpg" border=0 width="600" height="450" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></div> <bR> <div> Flocks of Robins along the parkway. Both sides of the road have varying width of grassy areas, mostly woods beyond. So, good foraging area for Robins and every once in awhile, a Flicker. </div> <bR> <div> Split rail fences line the parkway in many locations. The Parkway varies in width, from a few hundred feet, never getting very wide. A long, 444 miles, mostly narrow greenway full of history and nature. No billboards, no buildings other than an historic one now and again. </div> <bR> <DIV ALIGN="LEFT"></DIV> <div> <IMG SRC="2f158c20.jpg" border=0 width="600" height="450" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></div> <bR> <div> Too much to write about here, so I'll just post some pics with a few words.</div> <bR> <DIV ALIGN="LEFT"></DIV> <div> <IMG SRC="2f358c20.jpg" border=0 width="600" height="450" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></div> <bR> <div> first small hike on Trace</div> <div> Garrison Creek barely flows</div> <div> woodlands quench my thirst</div> <bR> <bR> <div> <IMG SRC="2f558c20.jpg" border=0 width="600" height="450" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></div> <div> First view of the Old Trace. You can see how the ground is worn down. There are better examples ahead, but this was the first look.</div> <bR> <bR> <div> <IMG SRC="2f758c20.jpg" border=0 width="600" height="450" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></div> <bR> <div> Another short hike down to Jackson Falls. </div> <bR> <div> <IMG SRC="2f958c20.jpg" border=0 width="600" height="450" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></div> <bR> <div> Saw my first wildflower in bloom while at the falls. Didn't bring my flower book. Anyone know what it is? </div> <div> (Now identified - Early Saxifrage - thanks to Tom Cornell)</div> <bR> <DIV ALIGN="LEFT"></DIV> <div> <IMG SRC="2fbf4770.jpg" border=0 width="500" height="375" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0">         <IMG SRC="2fdf4770.jpg" border=0 width="500" height="375" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></div> <div>    Better view of the remanants of the Trace.        </div> <bR> <div> <IMG SRC="2ff58c20.jpg" border=0 width="600" height="450" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></div> <bR> <DIV ALIGN="LEFT"></DIV> <div> Old Honda Accord Wagon - Old Trace</div> <bR> <bR> <div> <IMG SRC="301f4770.jpg" border=0 width="500" height="375" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0">         <IMG SRC="303f4770.jpg" border=0 width="500" height="375" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></div> <bR> <div> The Mound was about 10 feet high and 75 feet on each side. </div> <bR> <div> <IMG SRC="305f4770.jpg" border=0 width="500" height="375" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0">         <IMG SRC="307f4770.jpg" border=0 width="500" height="375" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></div> <bR> <div> Civil War is always a presence down south.</div> <bR> <div> There was so much more I could post. Many more pics and historical information. This will have to do for now.</div> <bR> <div> In Tupelo, MS for the night. Birthplace of Elvis. I'm a few blocks from there. Will drive by before leaving the city, heading back on the Trace. </div> <div> ************************* </div> <bR> <div> <A HREF="id84.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="SJ 2010 NOLA Page 2"><U>SJ 2010 Page 2</U></A></div> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> </td> </tr></table></body>