Paisley, Oregon

First timer?  In this formerly once-a-day blog (then every-other-day blog and now a one-to-three-times a week blog), I have my computer select a random latitude and longitude that puts me somewhere in the continental United States (the lower 48).  I call this “landing.”  I keep track of the watersheds I land in, as well as the town I land near.  I do some internet research to hopefully find something of interest about my landing location.  To find out more about A Landing A Day (like who “Dan” is and what the various numbers and abbreviations mean in the first paragraph), please see “About Landing,” (and “Abbreviations” and “Cryptic Numbers”) above.

Dan –  I’ve got the whole lower 48 to land in, and what do I do?  After a “landing” in the Atlantic Ocean, one in Canada and one in the Pacific,  I land a measly 94 miles from my last landing!  So, my OSer misery continues as once again, I’m in . . . OR; 74/63; 2/10; 4; 157.1.

Here’s my landing map, showing my proximity to Paisley:

Here’s a broader view, showing both OR landings:

Here’s my GE view, which looks pretty much the same as my last GE view, a combination of upland woods and meadows:

Here’s an oblique GE view, showing Summer Lake, just northeast of my landing:

This was a banner day here at ALAD, as I landed in three new river watersheds!  I landed in the Sycan R watershed, on to the Sprague R; on to the Link R, and finally to the Klamath (9^th hit, following up on my previous landing, also in the Klamath watershed).

The Sycan, Sprague and Link were my 1092^nd , 2093^rd and 1094^th watersheds respectively.  Here’s a Panaramio shot of the Sycan by foxymike:

From “The Voice of Lake County Oregon” website (http://paisley.presys.com/, this, on the history of Paisley:

In 1843, when the first wagons were just starting on the long trek over the Oregon Trail, John C. Fremont was on a mapping and reconnaissance expedition for the Army when he and many of his party passed through here. None of his party stayed, but names given to many geographic features remain, such as Winter Ridge and Summer Lake.

Not all the settlers crossing the continent on the Oregon Trail were bound for the fertile valleys of the Willamette River. Many came west looking for the open country found around Paisley. By 1870, the town was growing and by 1873, a Post Office was established. An early Scot settler has been credited with naming the town of Paisley after the city in Scotland.

From Wiki, about Summer Lake:

Summer Lake was discovered and named by Captain John C. Frémont during his 1843 mapping expedition through central Oregon.  On 16 December 1843, the expedition struggled down a steep cliff from a snow-covered plateau to reach a large lake in the valley below. Fremont named snow covered rim “Winter Ridge” and the temperate waters “Summer Lake.”  Fremont described the discovery and naming of Summer Lake as follows:

“At our feet…more than a thousand feet below…we looked into a green prairie country, in which a beautiful lake, some twenty miles in length, was spread along the foot of the mountain…Shivering in snow three feet deep, and stiffening in a cold north wind, we exclaimed at once that the names of Summer Lake and Winter Ridge should be applied to these proximate places of such sudden and violent contrast.”

Here’s a picture by “JillElaine” on TripAdvisor.com, more or less showing what Mr. Fremont must have seen.  The “less” part has to do with the lack of water in the lake, which wasn’t the case for John, as he specifically mentioned “a beautiful lake.”   Anyway,  The picture was taken from Fremont Point on Winter Ridge, looking down on Summer Lake:

The white is not ice, but salt.  I wonder if the Lake has gotten saltier and dryer through the last 160 years . . .

I can’t land near Paisley without at least mentioning the Paisley Mosquito Festival, featuring “Ms. Quito”, and the marching SWAT team!

Don’t believe that there’s a Paisley Mosquito Festival?  I’ll close with this . . .

That’ll do it. . .

KS

Greg

© 2011 A Landing A Day

Ashland, Oregon

First timer?  In this formerly once-a-day blog (then every-other-day blog and now a one-to-three-times a week blog), I have my computer select a random latitude and longitude that puts me somewhere in the continental United States (the lower 48).  I call this “landing.”  I keep track of the watersheds I land in, as well as the town I land near.  I do some internet research to hopefully find something of interest about my landing location.  To find out more about A Landing A Day (like who “Dan” is and what the various numbers and abbreviations mean in the first paragraph), please see “About Landing,” (and “Abbreviations” and “Cryptic Numbers”) above.

Dan –  I feel like I have to start by apologizing about the length of time between posts.  It has been weeks and weeks . . .

Anyway, let me get back in the saddle, but keep my lousy OSer trend going (now at 7/8), with this landing in . . .OR; 73/63; 3/10; 3; 156.7.  Here’s my landing map, showing my proximity to Ashland:

Here’s a broader view:

Here’s my GE view, showing a mix of woodlands and meadows:

Here’s an oblique view, showing that I landed in what appears to be a very lovely corner of Oregon:

I landed in the Cottonwood Ck watershed (my 20^th Cottonwood Creek, by the way); on to the Keene Ck; to Jenny Ck; to the Klamath R (8^th hit).

No offense to Ashland (which is a lovely town in a lovely area), but all I could find of interest is the following, from Wiki:

The oldest working telephone booth in Oregon, made of wood with a tin ceiling, is located in downtown Ashland in the Columbia Hotel. The Columbia Hotel, built in 1910 as part of the Enders Building, is the oldest hotel in Ashland and continues to flourish today.

OK, OK, so all of you local Ashlanders are probably thinking that I could talk about the Shakespeare Festival.  I guess I could, but I won’t.  Any readers who are big Shakespeare fans (which I’m obviously not), Google Ashland and Shakespeare and read all about it.  Anyway, here’s an inviting shot of Ashland by Graham Lewis from PreservationNation.com:

Here’s a Panaramio photo by MTGS, looking south towards my landing, which is about two miles away, past the hill on the right side of the photo:

I noticed the “Dead Indian Memorial Road” just northwest of my landing (see landing map).  From Oregon.com:

Long before the first Euro-American emigrants trekked westward, this road was a trail used by the Takelma and Shasta Peoples as a trade route. With the arrival of settlers and gold-seekers, the trail quickly became a wagon road called “Indian Market Road.”

During the 1850s, the increased population of Euro-Americans, their occupation of traditional food gathering areas, and often hostile behavior, caused the most serious “Indian Wars” in U.S. history. In 1854, the bodies of several dead, possibly murdered, Native Americans were discovered along this road in a narrow prairie several miles northeast of this marker. For many years thereafter this portion of Oregon was known as the “Dead Indian Country,” and until recently, this road was officially called “Dead Indian Road.”

Recognizing the negative connotations associated with the name ”Dead Indian Road,” and acknowledging that many Native Americans lost their lives in this valley as a consequence of westward expansion, the name was changed to “Dead Indian Memorial Road” in 1993.

Here’s a Panaramio picture (by Dana Hight) of some ground fog just off the Dead Indian Memorial Road:

I’ll close with this cool Panaramio shot by Mark Peterson, also taken just off the road:

That’ll do it. . .

KS

Greg

© 2011 A Landing A Day

Fayette and Red Lick, Mississippi

First timer?  In this formerly once-a-day blog (then every-other-day blog and now a one-to-three-times a week blog), I have my computer select a random latitude and longitude that puts me somewhere in the continental United States (the lower 48).  I call this “landing.”  I keep track of the watersheds I land in, as well as the town I land near.  I do some internet research to hopefully find something of interest about my landing location.  To find out more about A Landing A Day (like who “Dan” is and what the various numbers and abbreviations mean in the first paragraph), please see “About Landing,” (and “Abbreviations” and “Cryptic Numbers”) above.

Dan –  Phew.  After a miserable 0/6, I finally landed in a USer . . . MS; 31/31; 4/10; 2; 156.3.  As you can see, MS (a long-time USer) is now PS.  Anyway, here’s my landing map, showing that I landed near my favorite highway, Highway 61:

I featured Highway 61 in my Como MS post (12/31/08), including words to the song “Highway 61” by bluesman Mississippi Fred McDowell.

Here’s a broader view:

My GE shot shows that I landed in some woods out in the country:

I landed in the watershed of two new “rivers:”  the Little Bayou Pierre and the Bayou Pierre (my 1090th & 1091st rivers).  The Bayou Pierre flows right into the big ol’ MM.

Fayette is a pretty good-sized town (pop over 2000), but I couldn’t find much in the way of history.  I decided to co-feature Red Lick for three reasons:  I like the name, I found something of interest about it, and it’s closer.  Near Fayette is an the Sringfield Plantation.  From Wiki:

One of the oldest mansions in Mississippi, the Springfield Mansion was built between 1786 and 1791. The original plantation had over 3,000 acres and was purchased by Thomas M. Green Jr., a wealthy Virginia planter, in 1784. Thomas had the house built to show off his wealth. The mansion was one of the first houses in America to have a full colonnade across the entire facade and is the first such mansion to be built in the Mississippi Valley. The whole house was built by his slaves out of clay from the land. The hinges, knobs, and all metal tools were built at the plantation’s blacksmith building.

Possibly what makes the Springfield Plantation most famous is the wedding that took place at it in 1791. Thomas M. Green Sr., the owner’s father, married Andrew Jackson and Rachel Donelson at the house in August of 1791. This marriage would lead to one of the first romantic tragedies in America.

The plantation survived the Civil War and the Union occupation of Mississippi during the later half of the 1800s. After numerous owners over the years, the house decayed for decades. Arthur LaSalle was given a lifetime lease of the home by the owners to live in,  repair and give tours of the mansion in the early 1970s. When asked about the mansion when he first arrived, he said, “It was occupied by the rats and pigeons nothing else.” Springfield is still a working plantation. On August 11, 2008 LaSalle died at the Green Family Plantation. The tours have stopped, but the new owners say they will be restarted.

I found this picture, from Junior’s Juke Joint (DeltaBlues.net):

Here’s what Junior had to say about this place:

You’ll find this bar-b-que joint north of Lorman, Mississippi, alongside Highway 61 a few miles north of Fayette, Mississippi. It doesn’t open ’til 5 pm or you’d see an article about it and some photos here in Junior’s Juke Joint. I always pass by it around noon.

Somebody go there and take some photos and tell us about this cool-looking place with a very cool name.

You may recall that I have bumped into Junior before (my Durant MS post).  From his website:

For those of you interested in the difference between a juke joint and a honky tonk, here’s what Junior has to say:

Hey, Junior!  What’s the difference between a juke joint and a honky tonk?

I’m glad you asked.  Here’s the main differences:

	The race of the customers.
	The race of the girls in the beer posters.
	The predominant type of music on the jukebox.
	The price of beer.
	The amount of violence.

Honky tonk white folks wear nice clothes on Friday and Saturday nights, but juke joint black folks wear their Sunday best. The women wear amazingly colorful outfits, and gold and silver jewelry sparkles everywhere.

Few honky tonks have a kitchen; although 20 years or so ago most of them did. Today, almost every juke joint has a kitchen. Honky tonk customers have cars. They can stop at a late night fast food place on the way home. Many juke joint customers do not own cars and got there on their own two feet. To them, the juke joint is their late night fast food place. Often, it is also their daytime source of fast food.

In several years of visiting Delta juke joints, I’ve never witnessed a fight in any of them. As a comparison, in the same period of visiting honky tonks of my own culture, redneck, I’ve witnessed many fist fights–male/male, male/female, female/female–a knife fight and an actual old west style shootout.

Thanks, Junior.  Click here to visit his funky website.

Of course, Junior loves the Delta Blues.  I wonder if he’s heard of John Byrd, from Red Lick.  I found out about John Byrd through the website for Red Lick Records (www.redlick.com).  Here’s a little history of the company:

Red Lick Records – The Beginnings

When founders and original owners Ken and Ann Smith were looking for a name for their fledgling company, they shut their eyes and stuck a pin in a map of Mississippi and were delighted with the result!

The road sign shown below is of the actual turn off on Highway 61 to Red Lick, Mississippi. It’s a very small place but it boasted one notable blues man called John Byrd who was recorded in the 1930s.

I love it!   I stick a pin in a map (figuratively speaking) for everyone of my landings.  Anyway, from Answers.com, about John:

John Byrd was born in Mississippi in the 1890’s, or possibly earlier. After an early career spent mostly in Mississippi, Byrd moved to Louisville, Kentucky, in the 1920’s and 1930’s, and made much of his living playing 12-string guitar in a band led by Walter Taylor (who may also have worked as “Washboard Walter”).

Walter Taylor had the more flexible and aesthetically pleasing voice between the two, but even on recordings on which Taylor sang, Byrd’s guitar playing displays the kind of dexterity, in its runs and fills, that gives him equal footing and them some.  His guitar more than made up for any shortcomings, often sounding like the work of two good players rather than a single extraordinary one. Had he been able to remain active after World War II, and come from a city with more of a blues reputation than Louisville, he might’ve been more widely remembered. ~ Bruce Eder, Rovi

As is my wont, here’s a YouTube link, so you can listen to good ol’ John.  Here’s an album cover featuring John & Walter.

I’ll close with this shot of the elegant Jefferson County Court House in Fayette:

That’ll do it. . .

KS

Greg

© 2011 A Landing A Day

Harrisville, New York

First timer?  In this formerly once-a-day blog (then every-other-day blog and now a one-to-three-times a week blog), I have my computer select a random latitude and longitude that puts me somewhere in the continental United States (the lower 48).  I call this “landing.”  I keep track of the watersheds I land in, as well as the town I land near.  I do some internet research to hopefully find something of interest about my landing location.  To find out more about A Landing A Day (like who “Dan” is and what the various numbers and abbreviations mean in the first paragraph), please see “About Landing,” (and “Abbreviations” and “Cryptic Numbers”) above.

Dan –  First, let me apologize for my infrequent posts.  Work has been very intense.  Nothing bad, just very busy.  Anyway, moving right along . . .

The misery continues (0/6), with this landing in . . . NY; 40/32; 4/10; 1; 156.7.  Here’s my landing map:

I was excited to see how close to a road I was, ‘cause I figured I might have a great StreetView shot (which I do).  But before that, here’s a broader view:

Here’s a close-in GE shot, showing my proximity to Route NY 3.

Here’s a GE shot a little further out, showing that I landed out in the woods:

Drum roll please, here’s a Street View shot of my landing:

Obviously, the hand of the LG pushed this giant push-pin into the side of the road.  I wonder what the neighbors think . . .

I landed in the Greenwood Ck watershed, on to the Big Ck; to a new river, the W Br of the Oswegatchie R; on to the Oswegatchie (2^nd hit); on to the St. Lawrence (89^th hit).

Here’s a pretty Panaramio picture of Greenwood Ck, just east of my landing:

Here’s a lovely Panaramio shot of the Oswegatchie:

I landed about a mile west of an entrance to Adirondack Park.  Here’s a sign on Route 3:

So, the Village of Harrisville is nearby.  From their website:

Just outside the western edge of the Adirondack Park

Just close enough . . .and just far enough away.

Just busy enough . . . and just quiet enough.

I can’t really find anything much about the Village, but just a couple of days ago, Harrisville made the local news.  Here’s quite the story from the Syracuse Post-Standard (by Douglass Dowty):

A Harrisville man called 911 at 11:15 a.m. to report his 2001 red Chevrolet pickup — with a loaded Ruger .357 caliber revolver inside — had been stolen from his driveway. State police and Lewis County sheriff’s deputies responded.

A short while later, a second call came in from near the closed Trackside Bar, about two miles away. Someone was using a red pickup to smash his way into the bar on Depot Street. More troopers responded.

But a state conservation officer arrived first. John Murphy found the front door broken down and the suspect inside, making himself a drink.

“Apparently the bar was closed and he wanted a drink,” the trooper Campeau said. “He was fixing himself a white Russian when the state conservation officer showed up.”

The suspect refused Murphy’s orders to surrender, jumped in the pickup and took off.

He drove across the county line into St. Lawrence County, where he was picked up by more troopers and deputies from that county, as well as the village of Gouverneur.

Whitney refused to pull over and drove at a high speed through the town of Edwards, where he forced an oncoming sheriff’s vehicle off the road. He continued into the town of Fowler, where he nearly struck a trooper who was placing a tire deflation device.

He finally stopped after all four tires were deflated and his pickup struck the rear of a state police vehicle. Once out of the pickup, he refused to place his hands behind his back.

Whitney was eventually arrested and sent to the St. Lawrence County jail, where he is being held without bail.

I’ll close with this sunset shot over Star Lake, located east of my landing:

That’ll do it. . .

KS

Greg

© 2011 A Landing A Day