Edelweiss Lodge and Resort - Garmisch, Germany

At the invitation of Sean and Candace, we joined them for Sean's R & R in Germany at the beautiful Edelweiss Lodge and Resort, a military getaway. We arrived in Munich Wednesday, September 16, after flying from Chicago on the same flight as Candace, Adam, and Isaac. Sean arrived from Iraq just a couple of hours earlier.

The Lodge is in Garmisch, about 45 or 50 miles southwest of Munich. The first picture shows the Lodge entrance. The facility is not very old and is beautiful throughout. 

Picture two shows the immense fireplace in the lobby, complete with a sleigh. Sean rested for a moment in one of the rocking chairs in front of the fireplace and was soon joined by Isaac and Adam, who loved the kids' rockers!

Across the street from the Lodge are small farms, with cattle grazing and beautiful mountains--the Alps--in the background.

Sentinel Butte

Sentinel Butte, ND, Tom's home town, was the last stop on our nearly ten-month-long RV odyssey. Sentinel Butte is 17 miles west of Medora and 2 miles south of Interstate 94 in western North Dakota. In many ways, Sentinel Butte is not unlike many other small commu- nities in North Dakota with populations of 200 or fewer. 

It is different in a couple of ways that really count. Some of you may remember stories that made national news a few years back about a small community where everybody in town had a key to the gas pump. Fueling up was completely on the honor system. 

Buzz Olson was the owner of the station when that story broke. The station still operates on the same honor system. These days the station is run by Rick Olson, son of Buzz and current mayor of Sentinel Butte. It may be useful to note here that this service station is the only business operating in the community. The station these days provides fuel but is also the gathering place for members of the community. Morning coffee is a daily ritual.

Fridays, however, are special. Each Friday noon the community assembles for a potluck with Mayor Rick Olson grilling steaks, burgers, and hot dogs. Other community members or visitors--like us--are welcome to participate in the Friday potluck. You can bring a dish to share or put your contribution in the jar and dig in.

Mayor Rick never knows who or how many will show up. It could be anywhere from a dozen to 35 people. In typical western fashion, you'll note that men and women sit in separate areas as shown in the picture. Even though this hasn't been Tom's home town for many years, it is a very comfortable place to visit and the Western hospitality can't be beat! 

It seems that the USA could benefit from other communities following Sentinel Butte's example.

Hang Gliding in Wyoming's Big Horn Mountains

Some of the most memorable moments on our trip are totally unplanned! Watching a hang glider step off the side of a cliff part way up the Big Horn Mountains south of Dayton, Wyoming, was one of those events. 

We were driving up the pass and pulled over at a lookout point to take in the view of the valley below. As we pulled into the parking lot, a hang glider was preparing to launch. We joined a number of other spectators to see him fly. In the few minutes we had before launch, we found out that the flyer was from Colorado, had about 35 years of experience and a thousand hang glide flights. His companion had "flown" about 30 minutes earlier.

To the casual observer, the process and equipment are deceptively simple. We watched as he calculated the wind, stepped off the cliff, and was airborne. He glided toward Dayton, catching updrafts frequently, and eventually landed about half a mile south of the city within a couple hundred yards of the highway we'd driven to the pass. He said before he launched that within 30 seconds of stepping off the cliff he would be 1700 feet above the ground over the foothills of the Big Horn Mountains. We estimate that he traveled five or six miles as the crow flies. His route was anything but straight, however.

The pictures sort of tell the story...

Little BigHorn Battlefield - Indians

Throughout most of our history since the Battle of the Little Big Horn in 1876, little recognition was given to the "other side" in this battle, the native Americans who fought bravely in defense of their way of life. In December 1991 the official name of the battlefield was changed from Custer Battlefield National Monument to Little Bighorn Battlefield National Monument. 

The Indian Memorial near Last Stand Hill was dedicated June 25, 2003, as part of a movement to bring a more balanced perspective to the Battle of the Little Bighorn. "Peace Through Unity" became the battlefield theme.

Reports from survivors on both sides of the battle indicate that their opponents fought bravely and well. The placement of Warrior Markers, made from red granite, was initiated in 1999, to mark locations where Indian warriors fell. Identifying warrior death sites is more difficult because their bodies were removed following the battle. Park Service experts are working with the various tribes to determine the number and death location of native American casualties. While the exact number of Indian losses is unknown, historians estimate that there were 60 to 100 killed. 

The native American encampment on the Little Bighorn River prior to the battle was estimated to include up to 7000 men, women, and children; and scouts estimated that the encampment may have included a herd of horses running into the thousands. Scouts from the Seventh Cavalry spotted the encampment from a lookout point approximately 14 miles to the east as they approached. The first concrete evidence of a large encampment was the very large herd of horses. Custer's intention was to surround this large encampment before they could disperse.

A national contest was held to design an Indian Memorial on the battlefield site. The first picture is from a granite marker in the Memorial. The message of Chief Two Moons, one of the Northern Cheyenne leaders in the battle, reflects the new spirit of the battlefield: "Forty years ago I fought Custer all day until all were dead. I was then the enemy of the white man. Now I am the friend and brother living under the flag of our country."

The second photo shows the Spirit Warriors Sculpture on the Memorial. The final picture shows a section of the circular memorial with marble panels commemorating each of the native American tribes involved in the battle.

Little Bighorn Battlefield - Cavalry

Just before the celebration of the nation's 100th birthday in July 1876, one of the last armed efforts of the Northern Plains Indians to preserve their ancestral way of life took place in Montana at the Battle of the Little Bighorn. 

The battle between the U. S. Cavalry, under the command of Lt. Col. George Armstrong Custer, and combined forces of Lakota, Cheyenne, and other tribes of the Great Plains estimated at 1500 to 2000 warriors took place on June 25 and 26, 1876. It should be noted that Custer divided his 600-man force into three battalions--one led by Custer, one led by Marcus Reno, and the third led by Frederick Benteen. Historians believe that Custer underestimated the size and fighting capability of the Lakota and Cheyenne forces. 

We visited the Battlefield just a couple of days before the anniversary.

The battle was but one encounter in a conflict that began with the arrival of Europeans in North America. Discovery of gold in the Black Hills, the refusal of the Indians to sell the Black Hills, and the influx of gold-seekers to an area considered sacred by Native Americans hastened this violent clash of cultures. The policy of the U. S. Government under U. S. Grant was to move native Americans to reservations.

The battle took place over an area about 5 miles long on ridges and in ravines north of the Big Horn River near what is now Hardin, Montana. Visiting the battlefield, hearing the Rangers talk about the incidents that led up to the battle, and walking the site brings this poignant piece of history into sharp perspective. Scattered throughout the battlefield are markers showing where soldiers, scouts, and civilians of Custer's unit died. This is one of two battlefields in the world where specific combatants fell. 

The first picture is a diarama in the Visitors' Center Museum, depicting the battle. The second picture was taken from Last Stand Hill, where Custer and the last of his unit died. The Seventh Cavalry Memorial, in the third picture, stands at the top of Last Stand Hill. The Memorial inscription reads, "The remains of about 220 soldiers, scouts, and civilians, are buried around the base of this Memorial. The white marble headstones [picture 2] scattered over the battlefield denote where the slain troopers were found and originally buried. In 1881 they were reinterred in a single grave on this site. The officer's remains were removed in 1877 to various cemeteries throughout the country. General Custer was buried at West Point." The final photo shows where Custer fell.

Over 260 soldiers and attached personnel died during the battle. Custer's entire immediate command was killed. The lone survivor was a horse called Comanche.

This normally semi-arid part of Montana was beautifully green during our visit. The view from the battlefield area is awesome. Visiting this battlefield gives one greater perspective on the stories and myths about the Custer Expedition.

Buck Knife Headquarters in Idaho

A short distance from Spokane, in Post Falls, Idaho, we stopped to tour the Buck Knife manufac- turing plant. We became aware of the plant through a young cousin of Tom's, Toni Decker, who works at Buck. She encouraged us to tour the plant.

Tom has had a Buck hunting knife for years. He is convinced they are, without a doubt, among the finest knives in the world. Buck produces a standard line of knives but also produces specialty knives at customer request. If you own a Buck knife, you can send it to the 

plant and they will sharpen it for $5. 

Buck knives were first produced in 1902. The Buck family has continued to manu- facture a variety of knives in their facilities. The plant, originally established in California, was moved to Idaho in 2004. 

In the first picture Tom is standing beside a water feature which is in front of the building. The second picture shows the huge entry hall, complete with an antler chandelier. There are a number of mounted trophies throughout the foyer. 

The third photo shows mastadon tusks, two of many found in a quarry in Alaska. Some Buck knives have ivory handles made from these tusks. The final photo is of a water buffalo.

We toured their production facilities and were impressed with their attention to quality and detail. Although no photos were allowed on the tour, it struck us as a well-organized, state-of-the-art factory. We were also impressed by the number of women who held responsible positions on the manufacturing floor.

Grand Coulee Dam

Grand Coulee Dam is the largest concrete structure on the planet and the largest hydro- electric project in the U.S.  Its turbines are capable of producing 6809 megawatts. It generates more power than a million loco- motives. And that's just the beginning of impressive statistics about the size and capability of this dam. 

It took nine years, starting in 1933 during the Great Depression, to build the dam. Thousands worked around the clock, finishing the dam in 1942. Its 12 million cubic yards of concrete could build two standard six-foot wide sidewalks around the equator. The latest addition, completed in 1980, is the third power house (on the left side of the dam in the first picture). 

The second picture is a view of the third power house from the top of the dam. Its six turbines generate 80 percent of the power at the dam. Three turbines of the six in the new powerhouse are the world's largest turbines. The turbine shafts are 11 feet in diameter; the bolts used to bolt sections of these shafts together weight 900 pounds each. The new powerhouse functions primarily as a peak demand generator. 

The six feed pipes that bring water to the turbines in the new powerhouse are 40 feet in diameter. Two of those pipes at full capacity equal the flow of the Colorado River, according to our tour guide.

The dam actually has three important functions: irrigation, power production, and flood control. Electricity was not foreseen as its primary function when the dam was built, but today is one of the Dam's most important jobs. The pipes you see on the left hand side of the third picture are irrigation water pumps that life water from the Lake Roosevelt up 280 feet to allow water to flow into Banks Lake for irrigation and municipal water. Water from Grand Coulee Dam irrigates more than 500,000 acres today.

The final picture shows an osprey nest on top of a power pole near the dam. Ospreys are impressive birds of prey. In addition to very effective fish-catching skills in the dam, the ospreys have also virtually eliminated the pigeon problem around the dam. Managers at the dam audiotaped an osprey and play the tape periodically near the top of the maintenance crane on the dam. The crane is no longer "fowled" by pigeons.