Thursday, July 19, 2007

Momument to Washington

Baltimore is a city of monuments and one in particular is dedicated to George Washington. It has been the center piece of Baltimore’s Mount Vernon Place since 1829*. Situated in the center of a circular, cobblestone drive that is flanked by a tree lined park, a fountain, and bronze statues depicting various aspects of our Republic’s foundation: “WAR,” “FORCE” (which includes deception and thievery), “ORDER,” and “PEACE.” The surrounding park is a place where people come to quietly gather. On the day I visited, it was mostly derelicts sleeping on park benches and washing up in the fountain. The inspiration for this pillar was undoubtedly Trajan’s Column in Rome, but it was done without the imperial pomp and flash of Trajan’s due to a lack of funds and cost overrides. Nonetheless, it is equally as impressive, and I say this as a witness of both.

Adorning the top of the column’s 178 feet, a limestone statue of George Washington—-originally he was going to be riding in a chariot—takes an upright pose. The commanding view from the top is breath-taking, as are the steps that lead you there. I counted 228 steps that corkscrew up the core of the tower, and I counted half that coming down. The tight staircase reminded me of my youthful frolic up the spiral stairs of Paris’ Notre Dame. Unfortunately, the decades since have loosened the coils of my youthful spring, such that I stood on the final stoop with rickety knees and legs that wobbled. The heat inside the monument was unforgiving and the humidity crushing.

"Great Washington stands high aloft on his towering mainmast in Baltimore , and like one of Hercules' pillars, his column marks that point of human grandeur beyond which few mortals will go." - Herman Melville, from Moby Dick

Unquestionably, I have gone where “few mortals will go” (especially in mid-July), and I am here to
say that I shant go there again. (By the way, that awesome gothic cathedral in the background is Mount Vernon Place United Methodist Church, of which we are members—I mentioned it in a previous email.)

HAIL TO THE CHIEF:
Washington’s Column at Mount Vernon Place with Washington posing at the top.

A marble bust of Washington representing him as a Roman warrior (this is inside the small museum at the base of the column). Note his Romanesque hairdo.

View from behind iron grate at the top of the column (the spire of Mount Vernon Place UMC). There are four doors at cardinal points on a compass from which to view the city.

.This is the last known photograph taken of George Washington. It captures him in a private moment whilst he contemplated his legacy, and puzzled over a troublesome hangnail.

Final stoop before iron grate at the column’s interior apex.

Separation of a marble step near the top where an alarming crack has formed in the center column that supports Washington’s statue.


*The cornerstone was laid in 1815, but plans for its construction commenced in 1809. The War of 1812 interfered with its execution.


Copyright © 2007 Jonathan Aspensen All rights reserved. No part of this website, nor any of its contents, may be
reproduced in any form without the express written permission of
Jonathan Aspensen.
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Friday, July 13, 2007

New River Gorge beach front property.

West Virginia is a mixed bag of architectural oddities and natural beauty:


GRIST MILL. The operator of this mill had a system set up where the unsuspecting customer would pay twice if their corn was of high quality. The miller would detour a certain amount of the milled corn into a secret bin, and then charge the customer the normal flat rate for the rest.

This is or was Thurmond, West Virginia; the downtown district is as you see it. Store front, steps, gravel walkway, railroad tracks, and creek.

Grand Victorian—

Two story house with mobile home addition.

Mobile home with single story house addition. (Front)

Backside. Note the theme of uniform windows.

Bridge with one way traffic for cars on the right and trains to the left--no exceptions.

Water moccasin—primitive footwear

Firefly/lightening bug—bioluminescence buttocks.

Copyright © 2008 Jonathan Aspensen All rights reserved. No part of this website, nor any of its contents, may be
reproduced in any form without the express written permission of
Jonathan Aspensen.

Sunday, July 8, 2007

Bridges of West Virginia--

Ancient Wall of Rock.


CROSSING BRIDGES

Up on an oak shaded rise was an old school bus that had been converted into someone’s living quarters. The clarity of its window panes were dim from years of accumulated dust and mildew, and the curtains or cardboard or paper sacks that covered the windows were just as sullied with age. The bus’ cheery orange had long ago faded, and in its stead pale green lichen grew. The bus looked more like a plant than a machine. To arrest the rust that caused leaks in the bus’ roof, the lord of this manor had apparently slopped a wide swath of runny tar that covered the width of this dreary domicile. So sloppy was the application of tar that it dripped down the bus’ sides and streaked a few of its windows.

Behind where the driver’s seat would have been, a sooty stove pipe protruded from the roof, this pipe more than likely vented exhaust from a stove that served as both heater and kitchen for this immobile home.

The name of this town is Thayer, West Virginia—perhaps calling it a town is being too generous; Thayer is more dot than destination, it is a wide spot in the girth of a very narrow goat path. The driveways of some of the shacks dropped off from the road abruptly and came to a stop; there were no garages, no carports, and no places to park—really, the cars just stopped. There was one way into these precipitous driveways, and a harrowing way out—that is to say, they blindly backed up and out until they reached the relatively flat plain of the road.

Along the tree shaded route the mountainside crashed to the New River Gorge and left little—no—left, NO, room for mistakes. On more than one occasion I threatened to close my right eye (being the passenger that was the eye nearest to the precipice) so that I could concentrate with my left eye on the path ahead. The road was wide enough for two cows, and a chicken--that was it! Fortunately, we only met one vehicle on our way out, and that was at a “widening” of the road just enough for our mirrors to nearly kiss and move on. Ceilon said on more than one occasion that it felt as if we were in a Stephen King novel. The 1970 movie Deliverance flashed through my mind. “Uh-oh, Ceilon—I just seen a kid on a porch wit’ a banjo.”

It was not our intent to visit Thayer, but to see the New River Gorge Bridge; however, its name, the New River is a misnomer. The river has reportedly carved its way through the canyon since the Cretaceous epoch (the period in which the dinosaurs had their last hoorah!). The bridge that spans the canyon is the second highest arch bridge in North America, and is truly something to behold. Thayer was a “shortcut” on our way back to our camp site at the serene Babcock State Park.

West Virginia is coal mining country and it is the South, historic markers along the roadway denote points of interest usually referencing skirmishes in the War Between the States or the loss of life at various coal mine disasters or rebellions. It is also the State in which the term "Redneck" blossomed forth into our vocabulary. In 1921 striking miners wore red bandannas around their necks to distinguish fellow strikers from the roughnecks who came there to beat the crap out of them.

West Virginia is also hillbilly country (a fact not lost on the tourist trade). There are hillbilly T-shirts, hillbilly hats, hillbilly shot glasses (of course I bought one), hillbilly markets, hillbilly this and hillbilly that. But not being one that traffics in stereotypes, I have to say, that some of the locals did little to discourage the impression that hill folk were--well--um--unique!

Here is something that one should never forget while traveling through West Virginia. Basically there are two rules to follow: 1.) Do not ask the locals any questions beyond the reach of their arms or line of sight (because they don’t seem to know, whether by intent or nature, what lies beyond their holl'r. We were talking to a couple from Texas and she cautiously asked, "Hav-v-v' you-u-u-u found the people here a little...ambiguous in givin' di-rections?" she asked); and 2.) DO NOT take any roads marked on a map in white or you will end up over Thayer, and there ain’t where you want to be.


We visited two noteworthy bridges on this trip; the first one was of man's design (West Virginia's New River Gorge Bridge), and the second was of nature's doing (Virginia's Natural Bridge). I have to say that I spent a good deal of time oogling over that stretch of steel that reached across the New River Gorge and wondered who but a nutcake would put in a bid to paint it?

The New River Gorge Bridge in West Virginia truly is a modern marvel. As we drove across the bridge I spit out the window and 40 minutes later I was able to catch the spit in my coffee cup after I took this picture.

Click on the above and below picture to enlarge them.

We also drove down to the old bridge that you can see spanning the river to the lower left.


However, the bridge that caught my attention and admiration was Virginia’s Natural Bridge. This water hewn arch of limestone is in the beautiful Blue Ridge Mountains and has been the focus of considerable attention for several centuries. This grand arch of natural rock also bears a pair of initials left behind by George Washington who was commissioned to survey this area in 1750.

In 1774, Thomas Jefferson was so impressed with its grandeur that he purchased the land around it from King George the III, and established it as a tourist destination. I also heard a
rumor that Jefferson, wishing to corner the market on spin-off toys, designed a character mascot costume which he name "Mickey the Norwegan Warf Rat."

Click on the above picture to enlarge it.

Take note of the diminutive people in the background. We also drove across the crest of the Natural Bridge on Hwy 11. That was a thrill with high merit.

Natural Bridge has been sighted in poetry, immortalized in paintings, and Herman Melville applied its massive formation as a metaphor in Moby Dick:

"But soon the fore part of him slowly rose form the water; for an instant his whole marbleized body formed a high arch, like Virginia's Natural Bridge, and warningly waving his bannered flukes in the air, the grand god revealed himself, sounded, and went out of sight."


We also visited--FOAMHENGE?

Foamhenge

Reportedly, this ring of battleship gray, styrofoam monoliths is an exact replica of England’s Stonehenge. Okay-- Furthermore, According to its creator, it took “4-5 Mexicans and one crazy man to construct it.” Alright.

The approach to the entrance of Natural Bridge was also quite fascinating as well. On the drive down you pass a wildlife zoo, a turn off to view some natural caverns (after Foamhenge I would be a little leary), Yogi Bear’s Jellystone RV Park (it must be a franchise), and a few abandoned amusement parks that hard times have fallen on.

I should also like to say that if you visit Natural Bridge in the summer months, perpare yourself for withering heat and wilting humidity. It was miserable!

Copyright © 2007 Jonathan Aspensen All rights reserved. No part of this website, nor any of its contents, may be reproduced in any form without the express written permission of Jonathan Aspensen.