Snow Causes Traffic Problems Across Region (washingtonpost.com):
The weather, in a city that quakes at flakes, also threatened to further complicate the coming and going of traffic in a downtown already locked down for the most secure inauguration — perhaps the most secure anything — in the history of the nation’s capital.
More than 100 square blocks of Washington will be closed for the inauguration, some starting this afternoon.
State Clues — Advanced. See how you do at identifying the state. (Includes sound.)
Different clues each time, so you can play more than once.
Thanks to Nora for the tip.
The Christmas package left the FedEx sort facility in Sacramento this morning.
The package originated in Raleigh, 1761 miles from Albuquerque.
Sacramento is 1,090 miles from Albuquerque.
In opposite directions!
was proclaimed by President Herbert Hoover on this date in 1933. From the National Park Service:
At the northern end of the Chihuahuan Desert lies a mountain ringed valley called the Tularosa Basin. Rising from the heart of this basin is one of the world’s great natural wonders – the glistening white sands of New Mexico.
Here, great wave-like dunes of gypsum sand have engulfed 275 square miles of desert and have created the world’s largest gypsum dune field. The brilliant white dunes are ever changing: growing, cresting, then slumping, but always advancing. Slowly but relentlessly the sand, driven by strong southwest winds, covers everything in its path. Within the extremely harsh environment of the dune field, even plants and animals adapted to desert conditions struggle to survive. Only a few species of plants grow rapidly enough to survive burial by moving dunes, but several types of small animals have evolved a white coloration that camouflages them in the gypsum sand.
White Sands National Monument preserves a major portion of this gypsum dune field, along with the plants and animals that have successfully adapted to this constantly changing environment.
A Christmas gift intended for NewMexiKen has visited more states than a well-travelled RV. Intiially promised by the vendor for Christmas Eve delivery, the original shipment didn’t even leave their facility until December 27. My daughter refused delivery when it arrived at her house in Virginia long after I had returned to New Mexico.
When the refused package finally got back to the vendor 10 days later, they agreed to ship it to Albuquerque. Leaving North Carolina a week ago the package is now in Sacramento, California. I’ll keep you posted.
was first designated for preservation on this date in 1908 when President Theodore Roosevelt proclaimed the area a national monument. It was designated a national park in 1919.
was established on this date in 1908. From the National Park Service —
“This is the best tree-lovers monument that could possibly be found in all the forests of the world,” declared conservationist John Muir when describing the majestic coast redwoods of Muir Woods.
Until the 1800’s, many northern California coastal valleys were covered with coast redwood trees similar to those now found in Muir Woods National Monument. The forest along Redwood Creek in today’s Muir Woods was spared from logging because it was hard to get to. Noting that Redwood Creek contained one of the San Francisco Bay Area’s last uncut stands of old-growth redwood, Congressman William Kent and his wife, Elizabeth Thacher Kent, bought 295 acres here for $45,000 in 1905. To protect the redwoods the Kents donated the land to the United States Federal Government and, in 1908, President Theodore Roosevelt declared it a national monument. Roosevelt suggested naming the area after Kent, but Kent wanted it named for conservationist John Muir.
Learn about whale watching from the Los Angeles Times:
“I’ve rarely experienced more joy in nature than in witnessing these magnificent creatures breach,” Maui Mayor Alan Arakawa told me recently. “It gives you a tremendous sense of awe.”
…“Being able to touch and pet a whale is an experience beyond description,” said Long Beach resident Chuck Cover, who stroked a young gray whale during a visit to Scammon’s Lagoon, about 450 miles south of San Diego. “They look straight at you when they surface. You feel like you’re communicating with them.”
NewMexiKen acknowledges that he can be cranky but the two twenty-something guys on the flight from Dallas to Albuquerque late last night really wound me up. These two, who seemed to have just met when we boarded, played a non-stop game of Mine Is Bigger Than Yours the whole flight — longest flight and layovers, fastest computers, most countries visited (each described in detail), largest music collection, most stuff sold on eBay, etc., etc., etc., etc., etc.
Even with my iPod and Bose headphones I could hear them droning on and on. Next time I’d prefer to sit next to teething infants with ear infections.
was designated as such on this date in 1971. It had been a national monument since 1937.
rode out on what is now Sun Point in search of lost cattle on this date in 1888 and first saw Cliff Palace at Mesa Verde. That afternoon, Richard found Spruce Tree House, and the next day, the two men discovered Square Tower House. Al Wetherill, Richard’s brother, saw Cliff Palace sometime the year before, but he did not enter the dwelling, so the credit for “discovering” the dwelling has been given to Richard Wetherill and Charles Mason.
In 1901, Richard Wetherill homesteaded land that included Pueblo Bonito, Pueblo Del Arroyo, and Chetro Ketl in what is now Chaco Culture National Historical Park. Wetherill remained in Chaco Canyon, homesteading and operating a trading post at Pueblo Bonito until his controversial murder in 1910. Chiishch’ilin Biy, charged with his murder, served several years in prison, but was released in 1914 due to poor health. Wetherill is buried in the small cemetery west of Pueblo Bonito.
Thanks to Ralph.
was designated on this date in 1906. The National Park Service says:
Nestled into a limestone recess high above the flood plain of Beaver Creek in the Verde Valley stands one of the best preserved cliff dwellings in North America. The five-story, 20-room cliff dwelling served as a “high-rise apartment building” for prehistoric Sinagua Indians over 600 years ago. Early settlers to the area assumed that the imposing structure was associated with the Aztec emperor Montezuma, but the castle was abandoned almost a century before Montezuma was born.
NewMexiKen photo, 2003.
was designated on this date in 1906. The National Park Service has this to say about El Morro:
Rising 200 feet above the valley floor, this massive sandstone bluff was a welcome landmark for weary travelers. A reliable waterhole hidden at its base made El Morro (or Inscription Rock) a popular campsite. Beginning in the late 1500s Spanish, and later, Americans passed by El Morro. While they rested in its shade and drank from the pool, many carved their signatures, dates, and messages. Before the Spanish, petroglyphs were inscribed by Ancestral Puebloans living on top of the bluff over 700 years ago. Today, El Morro National Monument protects over 2,000 inscriptions and petroglyphs, as well as Ancestral Puebloan ruins.
The Washington Post has a quick look at the federal appropriations recently passed. Of particular interest to NewMexiKen:
Congress gave the Interior Department a nominal increase, upping its budget to $9.88 billion. The National Park Service was one of the agency’s big winners. Lawmakers increased its funding by $90 million — slightly less than what Bush had proposed — to $2.35 billion. The Bureau of Indian Affairs was another winner, receiving about $2.33 billion, a $29 million increase and $76 million more than what Bush had requested. The Bureau of Land Management received the brunt of the agency’s cuts — its funding was cut by $137 million — coming in with $1.77 billion.
The bill also includes legislative language allowing the government to continue charging various fees at some national parks, to permit the slaughter of some wild horses roaming the West and to continue to allow snowmobiles at Yellowstone National Park.
The bronze Statue of Freedom by Thomas Crawford is the crowning feature of the dome of the United States Capitol. The statue is a classical female figure of Freedom wearing flowing draperies. Her right hand rests upon the hilt of a sheathed sword; her left holds a laurel wreath of victory and the shield of the United States with thirteen stripes. Her helmet is encircled by stars and features a crest composed of an eagle’s head, feathers, and talons, a reference to the costume of Native Americans. A brooch inscribed “U.S.” secures her fringed robes. She stands on a cast-iron globe encircled with the national motto, E Pluribus Unum. The lower part of the base is decorated with fasces and wreaths. Ten bronze points tipped with platinum are attached to her headdress, shoulders, and shield for protection from lightning. The bronze statue stands 19 feet 6 inches tall and weighs approximately 15,000 pounds. Her crest rises 288 feet above the east front plaza.
Source: Architect of the Capitol
[NewMexiKen photo, September 8, 2001]
From The Arizona Republic:
PETRIFIED FOREST – As paleontologist Bill Parker slowly moves his fingers across the skull of a crocodile-looking phytosaur, his voice quickens while he discusses future dinosaur discoveries in an expanded Petrified Forest National Park.
The head of this 30-foot-long creature is so impressive in its detail that it is about to be shipped for prominent display to the Smithsonian Institution.
Two weeks ago, Congress gave its long-anticipated blessing to a bill that will more than double the size, to 222,000 acres, of this northeastern Arizona national park, famed for its calcified wood, dinosaur remains and petroglyphs.
The expansion will protect the new acreage, allow blight removal and yield many new archaeological sites.
became law on this date in 1980, more than doubling the size of the national park system.
According to America’s National Park System: The Critical Documents edited by Lary M. Dilsaver:
In the waning days of the Carter Democratic administration, Congress acted to further protect and expand preserved areas in Alaska, many rescued from exploitation two years earlier by presidential proclamation. This complex and lengthy act defines preserved parks, forests, wilderness areas, wildlife refuges, wild and scenic rivers, and Native American corporation lands and the degrees of preservation and usage for each. It prescribes timber, fish, and wildlife protection and use by Native Americans and other citizens.
New areas for the national park system included Aniakchak National Preserve, Cape Krusenstern National Monument, Gates of the Arctic National Park and Preserve, Kenai Fjords National Park, Kobuk Valley National Park, Lake Clark National Park and Preserve, Noatak National Preserve, Wrangell-St. Elias National Park and Preserve, and Yukon-Charley Rivers National Preserve. The act also added new lands to Glacier Bay National Park and Preserve, Katmai National Monument and Preserve, and Denali National Park and Preserve (renamed from Mount McKinley National Park).
New wild and scenic rivers under Park Service administration included Alagnak, Alatna, Aniakchak, Charley, Chilikadrotna, John, Kobuk, Mulchatna, Noatak, North Fork of the Koyukuk, Salmon, Tinayguk, and Tlikakila rivers. Other wild and scenic rivers are designated or expanded in wildlife refuges and in other areas.
The vast majority of acreage in the Denali, Gates of the Arctic, Glacier Bay, Katmai, Kobuk Valley, Lake Clark, Noatak, and Wrangell-St. Elias units is designated wilderness.
was established on this date in 1999. According to the National Park Service:
Minuteman Missile National Historic Site is one of the nation’s newest national park areas. It was created to illustrate the history and significance of the Cold War, the arms race, and intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) development. The National Park Service is currently involved in the planning process to determine the future of this site. We encourage you to contact us with any questions, comments, or suggestions.
Minuteman Missile NHS consists of two significant cold War sites, a Launch Control Facility (Delta-01) and a missile silo complex (Delta-09). The facilities represent the only remaining intact components of a nuclear missile field that consisted of 150 Minuteman II missiles, 15 launch control centers, and covered over 13,500 square miles of southwestern South Dakota.
Captured from the Many Glacier Cam at Glacier National Park on Tuesday.
Today only half the water of the Niagara River passes over Niagara Falls. And at night it’s just one-quarter. The water is diverted to produce hydro-electric power.
So, when we go to Niagara Falls we see only half what our ancestors could have seen. Bummer.
On November 29, 1864, Colonel John M. Chivington led approximately 700 U.S. volunteer soldiers to a village of about 500 Cheyenne and Arapaho people camped along the banks of Big Sandy Creek in southeastern Colorado. Although the Cheyenne and Arapaho people believed they were under the protection of the U.S. Army, Chivington’s troops attacked and killed about 150 people, mainly women, children, and the elderly.
The Sand Creek Massacre National Historic Site was authorized by Public Law 106-465 on November 7, 2000. The purposes of the Act are to recognize the national significance of the massacre in American history, and its ongoing signficance to the Cheyenne and Arapaho people and descendents of the massacre victims. The Act authorizes establishment of the national historic site once the NPS has acquired sufficient land from willing sellers to preserve, commemorate, and interpret the massacre. Acquisition of a sufficient amount of land has not yet occured. Currently, the majority of land within the authorized boundary is privately owned and is not open to the public.
was authorized on this date in 1998. The National Park Service tells us:
On the morning of September 23, 1957, nine African-American high school students faced an angry mob of over 1,000 whites protesting integration in front of Central High School in Little Rock, Arkansas. As the students were escorted inside by the Little Rock police, violence escalated and they were removed from the school. The next day, President Dwight D. Eisenhower ordered 1,200 members of the U.S. Army’s 101st Airborne Division from Fort Campbell to escort the nine students into the school. As one of the nine students remembered, “After three full days inside Central [High School], I know that integration is a much bigger word than I thought.”
This event, watched by the nation and world, was the site of the first important test for the implementation of the U.S. Supreme Court’s historic Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka decision of 1954. Arkansas became the epitome of state resistance when the governor, Orval Faubus, directly questioned the authority of the federal court system and the validity of desegregation. The crisis at Little Rock’s Central High School was the first fundamental test of the national resolve to enforce African-American civil rights in the face of massive southern defiance during the years following the Brown decision.
Dave Barry posted this item on his blog:
Hey —
I’m a flight attendant with Northwest Airlines… You’re gonna love this one.
Recently, Northwest reprimanded a flight attendant because she made a passenger put her lap dog back in its carrier during the flight.Until last month, this was the required action when a pet was removed from their carrier. With our October FAA Manual Update “Emotional Support Animals” are no longer required to be in carriers during peoples travels and if they are the size of a lapchild they can be held in the passengers lap through out all phases of flight. This in itself has most flight attendants saying…. what? so now anyone can have their pet in their lap for emotional support through out the flight??? better yet… WHAT contstitutes an “Emotional Support Animal”… and what authorization does someone need to carry this “ESA” with them on flights. Remember we are not talking about Dogs for the Blind or Monkeys for the Paralized. Spefically noted in the Update Pigs and Small Horses are to be allowed on board planes…. YES … SMALL HORSES? As my co-workers and I read this we asked ourselves, Who is going to clean up after the Quadriplegics pig and pony as we travel from Detroit to Tokyo??? and better yet where are we going to put the cleaned up items.We are Union Workers you know, and I know there is nothing in that last contract that requiring us to clean up after dogs, cats, pigs, monkeys or horses. Our contract negotiations are scheduled to begin in the next few months while pay cuts seem to be on the top of the list for Management requests, I’m thinking first you put me in the middle of the passengers and the Terrorists, but now you tell me I have to live with barn animals on my flight too??? God, I need to rethink what I do for a living.I’ve enjoyed reading your column through the years…. thought you might enjoy that.
NWA Flight Attendant
Can you position the 50 states (their outline) inside a blank map of the U.S.?
NewMexiKen scored 96%, misplacing Wyoming and Arkansas by a few miles (having none of the states that border them in place to help).
Thanks to Hugh at Three Bed Two Bath.
