Four young girls were killed in a bomb explosion which ignited the Civil Rights movement in 1963 at this site. The next few stops as we headed home became more and more familiar. Trees and grass and rolling hills prevailed. We stayed in Spartanburg, Seagrove and tried stopping at a few places as we went thru Virginia but everything was closed
We had a rushed trip thru Birmingham. We stopped for an hour at the Birmingham Museum of Art and saw a selection of 19th and 20th century paintings.
The architecture in New Orleans was a combination of French, 1930s, mid century, new hotels and businesses and religious edifices.
The French Quarters was a combination of old French charm, circus shenanigans, rock bands, and total debauchery. Bourbon Street lived up to its reputation of over indulgence. It was all good fun and an experience to remember.
The work by Texas artists as well as others was an enjoyable experience. High culture is embraced in every state. I also found the Forrest Bess piece and the Pierre Dauer piece of a custodian from Macon Randolph College in Virginia from the 1940s a pleasant surprise.
The Battle of the Alamo was quite a significant historical event but there is so much more to the history that surrounds the battle. The independence of the Mexican who occupied the territory, the establishment of Texas a a country and the final annexing of the territory as part of the United States is a complex and intriguing story.I tried to understand it all and there is so much more to learn. I found it ironic that at one point when the Mexicans occupied the area after they encouraged Americans to settle the territory they feared the Americans might overshadow their culture so they banned immigration from the US. I was also intrigued by the graffiti I saw. Unfortunately, I never found out much about the chiseling of names in the sandstone.
The road to Sonora was desolate. Most of Texas along Route 10 is desert, prairie and rolling hills for hours. There is no signs of life. The small town of Sonora only features a collection of motels, gas stations and a few chain and Mom and Pop restaurants along the highway. We went deeper into to town and went to a Lowes grocery store and then to a restaurant on a side street. Besides the restaurant there was a pool hall with a juke box playing Mexican music next store.
American capitalism can be a danger in many ways. The historic town of Tombstone is a great example of trumping commercialization over historic preservation. The little western town is now filled with souvenir shops, boutique shops, fancy wine stores and old fashioned salons that were once the haunts of Billy the Kid and Doc Watson. There are shop after shop of western wear made in China and Vietnam. In the streets are reanactors dressed as gun slingers who dramatize gun fights in the streets. There were major contrasts to observe where you see “Let’s go Brandon “signs and pictures of Donald Trump endorsing local candidates on shop windows against a backdrop of gay cowboys in black tights with thigh length boots, black silky jackets with glittery decoration on their collar walking tiny dogs on leashes. The town was jut not right.
The saguaro is a majestic plant. It can grow over 40 feet tall. It takes 100 years for a plant to grow to a height of 15-20 feet. They grow their first arms in 50 to 75 years.
