Arizona, The Grand Canyon State

When we think of Arizona, geography is what comes to mind, so that is what the kids wrote about this time around.  And being that we live 2 miles from Arizona as the hawk flies (we can see Arizona rock formations from our kitchen window), the kids stated that we had to take an AZ roadtrip before they finished this post.  Well, I'm never one to turn my nose up at a day trip, so off we went on mini whirl-wind adventure, through sandy deserts, ponderosa pine forest, and red rock magnificence. Thanks kids!!

Lee’s Ferry by NovaLee

In the Glenn Canyon region of northern Arizona, at the very beginning of the Grand Canyon, is a place called Lees Ferry. With the mountains rising around it, and the Colorado River rushing through, Lees Ferry is an amazing place full of history.

Historical Buildings

Lees Ferry was established in 1871 to help settlers and supplies cross the Colorado River, and was named after John D. Lee, the Mormon settler who set it up. With the Grand Canyon walls rising steeply on both sides, it is almost impossible to get across the river for hundreds of miles. Lees Ferry is one of the few places that could be crossed. 

Rafters getting ready for the long ride down the Grand Canyon!

Today it is a campground, a fishing spot, a historic sight, and a launch for those of you who would like to raft down the Grand Canyon (wow! That would be really fun!)

The drive down to Lees Ferry was a lot of fun; one moment there were trees, and the next moment it was just sand everywhere. Half way through our trip we stopped in the Kibab National Forest town of Jacob Lake. The funny thing about Jacob Lake is that there is no actual lake; we were so confused! 

just hiking around!

Then, once we got there, we were amazed; red rocks seem to be jumping out of the earth, the river glinted in the sun, and lizards scurried over the ground begging to be chased with a net. It was so hot that we had to take a dip, but the water was freezing even with the sun beating down on us. The beginning of the Grand Canyon is magnificent! Lees Ferry is a place that you have got to visit. 

Saguaro Cactus by Vega

Would you like to see a Saguaro Cacti? If so, you will have to travel to the Sonoran Desert in southern Arizona (and Northwestern Mexico) because that is the only place they grow.

Saguaros can live for two hundred years, grow up to 60 feet tall, and have over more than 25 arms.  But Saguaros grow very slow; it takes 35 years for them to start making flowers.  Another thing about Saguaro cacti is that they are very heavy.  They can weigh 6 Tons or more when they are full of water!  Saguaro Cactus are pleated like an accordion so that when it rains they can stretch out to store the extra water. 

Many animals, such as the Gila Woodpecker and Elf owl, make

their home in the Saguaro. The Hohokam Indians used the wood like ribs of dead Saguaro for fences and walls, and the fruit was used for food and wine.

I think that the Saguaro is an important plant to the Sonoran Desert.

 

Arizona Fun Facts:

*Phoenix is the capital of Arizona, and it is the only capital named after a mythological creature.  Cool!

*Arizona is home to the only poisonous lizard in the US, the Gila Monster.

*There are 21 Indian Reservations in Arizona, the largest belonging to the Navajo.  There are also many ancient Native American sites throughout the state.

*Do you know where the London Bridge is?  In Lake Havasu City, AZ of coarse!  The Bridge was bought, shipped across the Atlantic, and then re-built brick by brick in the AZ desert.  Lets go for tea and cucumber sandwiches!

*Pluto was discovered from Lowell Observatory in Flagstaff.  Also, Tucson is considered the Astronomy capital of the world.

Happy Trails, we'll see you next time in Arkansas!

  

 

 

Alaska ~ Our Home

Alaska is our home state, so the kids decided to each write a creative piece about THEIR Alaska.  At the end we will add a few fun facts.  Hope you enjoy a visit to our home state!


Alaska by NovaLee

Imagine, there are woods all around you. 

What do you hear?  Birds singing, trees swaying in the cold breeze, logs crackling in your woodstove, the rushing river or lapping lake.  

What do you see?  Green trees, clouds and animals.

berries from my yard

This is Alaska.

Alaska is cold, yet beautiful.  The midnight sun sets for only a few hours each summer day, while winter nights are quite long and we only get a few hours of precious sunlight. 

I spend my summer roaming the woods collecting berries and making fairy forts, swimming in the lakes, and camping with my family. 

Winter days are spent making snow angles, eating snow ice cream, and making snow caves and snowmen.  When it is too cold to go outdoors, I spend my time reading books, watching movies, and playing cards.  I love to sit by the woodstove drinking warm tea while watching the snow fall out my window.

 

grilling up with friends

Here we make use of all the things around us.  We hunt animals for food (moose, bear, rabbit, spruce hen) and we skin them to make a rug or a hat or mittens.  Often, we share the meat we have by making large dinners with friends and family.  Rabbit stew, moose pot pie, and spruce hen burritos are some of my favorites.

We also fish here a lot because there are so many lakes and rivers.  Smoked Salmon is very popular, as well as grilled rainbow trout.

When the adults are cooking up some yummy food, us kids are out making tipis, exploring the woods, swimming in the lake, or gravel sledding down the hill (when there is no snow).

There is a lot to love about Alaska, the mountains, the food, the flowers, and although it can sometimes be a challenging place to live, I’m glad it is my home.

Mount McKinley - tallest mountain in North America

 

 




  In Alaska by Vega

In Alaska there are not many people, but there are lots of trees and mountains.  In the summer it is green like a jungle.  It never gets dark so I play on my zipline all day.  There are lots of rivers and lakes for fishing, swimming, and canoeing.  After I catch a fish, I grill it over a fire in my yard and eat it up.

In the winter, Alaska is a world of glittery snow.  When I step outside, my breath turns to mist and my cheeks turn red from the cold air.  We ski through our woods, then drink hot chocolate by the woodstove. When it is too cold I stay inside and play games or watch movies.  Sometimes I even set up the tent indoors and roast hot dogs or marshmallows in the woodstove. 

When I look outside I see moose, rabbit, bear, fox, squirrel, porcupine, and Eagles. 

All of this is what makes Alaska great.

Alaska Fun Facts:

1. Alaska became the 49th state on Jan. 3rd, 1959.

2. Alaska is home to the worlds longest sled dog race, the Iditarod.  Each March, mushers from around the world compete in this 1,200 mile long race from Willow to Nome.  http://iditarod.com/

3. Alaska is also home to the tallest mountain in North America,  Mt. McKinley, or Denali ("the great one"), which is 20, 328 feet. 

4. The design for Alaska's State Flag was created by 13 year old Benny Benson in 1927.  A state wide contest had been held with over 700 entries for the new flag.

5. The city of Barrow (the US's northern most city) has 67 days of continuous darkness in the winter, and 84 days of non-stop daylight in the summer.



6. In 1964, a 9.2 earthquake rocked Anchorage.  It is to this day the most powerful earthquake ever recorded in North America.

7.  The name Alaska means "that toward which the sea is directed".  This is because Alaska has over 34,000 miles of shoreline.

8. Alaska is 1/5 the size of the rest of the USA. 

9. Much of the state of Alaska has no roads.  1 out of every 68 residents is a pilot, and many town can only be accessed by plane, boat, snow machine, or dog sled.

10.  Eskimo Ice Cream is a traditional treat in many parts of Alaska.  Unlike standard ice cream, it is made from seal, reindeer, or moose fat, mixed with fresh berries and sometimes fish.  This is one treat we have never tried, but we do love to make our own version of ice cream by mixing snow, milk, and honey.  Yum!!
 
11. Many people thought that the purchase of Alaska was a huge waste of money, so for many years the state's nickname was Seward's Folly, after William H. Seward, the Secretary of State who bought it.  Today, Alaska is known as The Last Frontier and The Land of the Midnight Sun.


Well, we hope you enjoyed this little trip to our home state of Alaska.  We'll see you next time in Arizona. 

Happy Trails!!

 

Sweet Home Alabama

Today we travel to Sweet Home Alabama!



Yellowhammer - Alabama State Bird

Alabama is known as The Heart of Dixie because of it's location in the middle of the southern states, and also as the Yellowhammer State, after it's state bird.  Montgomery is the capital city.  Alabama is know for many things, such as space travel, civil rights, and peanuts!

Here is what the kids have to say.......
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Rosa Parks by Vega
On December 1st, 1955, a black woman called Rosa Parks got on

the bus in Montgomery.  A white man (the bus driver) told her to move, but she refused because she wanted to change the law that said white people should be treated better than black people.  Ms. Parks was arrested, but her action helped start the Montgomery Bus Boycott.  A boycott means not using something, so the bus boycott meant that people walked instead of using the bus.  This almost put the bus company out of business!
I think Rosa Parks was a brave and important part of our history.
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Alabama is home to several great civil rights leaders, including Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr (although he was born in Georgia) and his wife Coretta Scott King. 

Another famous activist from Alabama is Helen Keller. Keller, who overcame being deaf and blind, was  a social activist for  women's suffrage and labor rights.



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Alabama by NovaLee

When life gives you lemons, make lemonade; that's what the people of Alabama do.  One example of this is that Alabama is the only state to put up a monument dedicated to a pest...the boll weevil.

The Boll Weevil was a blessing in disguise when, in 1915 it destroyed the main farm crop they had, cotton.  When all the cotton was destroyed by this little pest, the farmers, instead of giving up, decided to plant new crops such as peanuts and sweet potatoes.  This was good for two reasons; by rotating crops the soil got better, and the farmers made more money off of the new crops than they had with cotton.  So thanks to the boll weevil, Alabama's farmers never stuck to one crop again. 


Having a variety of crops is also good for Alabama, because Alabamians LOVE food!  Some of their favorites are fried catfish, peanut butter pie, sweet potato pie, BBQ, and pickled pigs feet.  Gosh, they love food so much, they even have food festivals, such as National Peanut Festival, Catfish Festival, the Alabama Crawfish festival.  Another main local food is cracklin', which is fried pig skin.  This is something I've tried, and actually like!

Here are some interesting facts about Alabama:

* The name Alabama means plant gathers. It comes from a local tribe, and actually was the name of a river first.

*Alabama was home to the Civil rights movement of the 1950's and 60's. 

*Over half of the peanuts in the US are grown in Alabama!

*The first rocked to put people on the moon was built in Huntsville Alabama.  If you want to be an astronaut,  Huntsville is the place to be!  There you can attend space camp, and get to float around in zero gravity.

For more information on Alabama, check out these websites:

http://www.enchantedlearning.com/usa/states/alabama/

http://www.sos.state.al.us/kids/emblems.htm

Happy Trails.  And we are off to our next destination....Alaska!

LOUISIANA!!!

Although we intend to go through the states alphabetically, we decided to start with the ones that inspired us take this journey.  So we begin with Louisiana, and we thank the Zatarans Gumbo box that got this whole project rolling (who knew that cleaning out the cupboards could start you on a journey?!)

Louisiana by Vega

Louisiana is a one of a kind place.  Before becoming a state on April 30^th, 1812, Louisiana had been owned by both the French and the Spanish.  Louisiana has a lot of different cultural influences, including French, African, Caribbean, and Cajun.  This makes for some crazy mixes of food, such as Gumbo, and for some wild parties, such as Mardi Gras.

Louisiana was named for King Louis XIV of France.  It is the 18^th  state.  The capital is Baton Rouge and another major city is New Orleans. 

I like that Louisiana has a state dog.  It is call a Catahoula Leopard Dog, which is known for it’s webbed feet and odd eyes.  The brown pelican is the state bird, and there is a picture of it on the state flag.

I also like that Louisiana is the shape of an “L”, and it starts with the letter “L”.  This makes it easy to find on a map.

Louisiana is an interesting state.

Food and Fun, Louisiana has it all!  By Nova Lee

Louisiana is famous for its food. Lot of cultures have inspired its cuisine’, such as the French, Italians, Spanish, African, Native American, Cajun, and Cuban.  Because of the varied cultures there are so many different styles of food throughout the state.

When you walk into a café you might find beignets or French donuts which are square, fried pastries.

 If you walk into a restaurant you will most likely find gumbo on the menu, with shrimp if you are in New Orleans, or with chicken and sausage if you are in Cajun country. Fun fact: Gumbo is actually an Africa word meaning okra.

Gumbo

Praline is a candy made from sugar, butter, cream, and pecans, which is eaten throughout the state. King Cake is a Mardi Gras desert that has a tiny plastic baby hidden in it.  This idea is based on a tradition from medieval times; whoever gets the toy has to buy the next king Cake!   

Other favorite Louisiana foods include red beans and rice (traditionally eaten on Monday), catfish, crawfish, and gator.  GATOR!?!? Who eats gator? Hmmmm…… I wonder if it would be any good?

Fun fact: Louis Armstrong the famous jazz musician often singed his letters as: Red Beans and Ricely yours!

Louisiana is also famous for its music.  New Orleans is considered to be the birthplace of both Jazz and Blues.  Zydeco music is a mix of Cajun and blues that is known for using accordions, washboards, and the fiddle. Get a feel for it here at: http://www.pandora.com/bruce-daigrepont/paradis/zydeco-2-step

Another thing Louisiana is famous for is Mardi gras.  Mardi gras is French for Fat Tuesday, which is the day before Ash Wednesday, or the start of Lent.  Lent is a 40 day period when Catholics give up something they love, such as meat, alcohol, or sweets.  So Mardi gras is a festival of indulgence before the fast begins.  It is said that during Mardi gras, everyone is forgiven for their sins.  In New Orleans there are parades with floats that throw beads into the crowds.  In Cajun country, people dress up and run from door to door, singing and dancing, while asking for ingredients for their gumbo.  Sometimes farmers will throw out live chickens that the Mardi gras (or runners) have to catch. Now that is what I call a party! (Check out video below)

Wow! Louisiana is a really cool state! It has great music, yummy food, wild festivals, and an amazing variety of cultures.  This is one state I’ve got to visit!

**A big THANK YOU to my friend Jen in Acadiana LA for all her awsome information.  You really made your state come alive for the kids, and now they can't wait to visit!**

Happy Trails, the Gypsy Love Circus