IWSG Nov. 2018 Bones and Bridges

Welcome Readers and fellow Writers, to the November 2018 online meeting of the Insecure Writer’s Support Group! Founded by author Alex Cavanaugh and comprised of writing members just like you (and me), featuring writing tips, resources, articles, contests, and IWSG swag! See what we’re all talking about here and join us as we share our writing journeys.

*We meet on the first Wednesday of every month – join us and enjoy!

Visit our gracious Co-hosts, and let them know you’re here: Ellen @ The Cynical Sailor, Ann V. Friend, JQ Rose, and Elizabeth Seckman!

Today is National Tongue-twister Day! Can you say Rubber Baby Buggy Bumpers three times, fast?

Here’s one for National Young Readers Week: Big black bugs bleed black blood! I may as well eat large marshmallows for that one ;-)

By now, many of you have submitted your stories for the annual IWSG Anthology contest – Best Wishes! Are you well into your November Novel or Memoir (in a month) project yet?

In honor of Historic Bridge Awareness Month, I decided to check out my own state of Arizona, since I happen to be aware that The London Bridge spanned the River Thames in London in 1831 - before being moved to Lake Havasu City, Arizona in 1971. 

That should count, right? It didn’t.  

However, my search led me to one right at the northern edge of one of my favorite non-places! The Canyon Diablo Bridge (part of the National Old Trails road in 1914) was a handy accessory for the old Route 66 as occasionally; the river does run like a herd of startled gazelles. And sure enough, the people came. Once Mr. and Mrs. Cundiff built a store, gas station, and a campground the people started to stay awhile too. One of those people was a Mr. Miller who thought he could make the little town called Canyon Lodge an even hotter spot on the map with a Zoo and a couple of shacks from which he sold fake artifacts. 

Business was booming right along until Mr. Miller dug up some authentic old skulls from a nearby “Death Cave,” where a group of Apaches lost a game of hide-and-seek with a group of Navajos several hundred moons before, and things took a sinister turn for the worse. Mr. Miller became obsessed with the idea of changing the name of the town to “Two Guns”; a name he liked to call himself. After a name-change was repeatedly denied, and the zoo animals inexplicably revolted, Mr. Miller marched over and murdered Mr. Cundiff.  Mr. Miller pleaded self-defense and was acquitted, though wounds from a vicious mountain lion attack left him near-death himself. 

Meanwhile, Route 66 was re-routed, and the town all but dried up and blew away. Some call it “Death by Highway” others wonder why a weather-beaten sign still reads “Two Guns.”

Are there any historical bridges where you live? Do you have a favorite tongue-twister?

By the way, Happy Movember, guys! Did you know the average man touches his mustache 760 times a day? Can this be true?

Happy Thanksgiving, Everyone!

2018 A - Z Challenge - G

G          Things We Appreciate

Among my favorite things to see is the color Green of grass and leaves, emerald stones and peas – and grapes - though the reds taste so much sweeter.

 

We have both of the two leading producers of Greeting Cards in the world right here in the United States. Cards are some of my favorite things to shop for. Have you ever laughed out loud in a card aisle?

Goldfinches, when gathered in numbers are called a Charm, which I think is fitting since they sing the sweetest song. By the amount of Golden Crownbeards I see popping up around the property, I’d say spring is indeed upon us, here in the Sonoran desert. But I do declare these yellow flowers are much more attractive along roadsides on my way to my latest Ghost Town adventure.

Gleeson Jail

On the south side of the Dragoon Mountains lie the ruins of a town called Gleeson. Indians first prospected the area for turquoise. But in 1900, an industrious miner by the name of John Gleeson discovered there were also large deposits of copper to be had. It wasn’t long before more miners flooded the area and Gleeson became a bustling town of 500 people. A post office opened within a matter of months and actually lasted longer than the old settlement did. Today there are more remains of buildings than there are residents, including a Saloon, a store, a hospital, a jail, and the remnants of an old school.

The small ceremonial mallet, most often called a Gavel, was used by VP John Adams to call the very first US Senate to order in 1789. Auctioneers use them when finalizing a sale. Rapping a gavel also signifies the closing of proceedings, and in some cases, they’re used to keep order during events where they are used. There are actually rules for Gavel usage, the knowledge of which would have come in handy for another VP who broke one during a heated debate in 1954. The replacement of that gavel proved to be quite a task since it was made of solid ivory.

German Chocolate cake was created by an Englishman, Samuel German, who worked at Baker Chocolate Company; the first American chocolate factory, located in Massachusetts. Who knew?

Any thoughts? Can you add to the list of things we appreciate that begin with the letter G?

Phantoms of Vallecito

Nothing seems as distant as your destination when crossing the desert in summer. Sometimes even a brief stop at a ramshackle gas station proved refreshing when we could run inside and take turns standing in front of the fan on the counter while grandma pumped gas out front. 

Of course, back in the day, I’m about to tell you about, there were no gas stations. Anywhere. But there is a place where you suddenly glide down from the menacing high desert mountains into a veritable wonderland of flatland grass and a natural spring. No wonder everyone stopped there.

Nestled in the heart of ‘earthquake valley’ in the Anza Borrego desert are remnants of a once bustling stagecoach station called Vallecito (little valley), where weary travelers and their burros could rest and replenish water and supplies.  However, having come through the ‘journey of death’ across the unforgiving desert, many weren’t able to go any further.

Such as the Lady in White, who was assumed to have traveled cross-country alone to meet her prospective husband (some speculate she was a mail-order bride), only to die of exhaustion and dehydration in a back room of the station. Although she was buried in a wedding dress found in her suitcase, and hers is one of only three gravesites in the old cemetery, her restless spirit is said to roam the valley ridges on moonlit nights, an unsettling vision; in tears, and flowing white.

As the first official transcontinental route (between Yuma and San Diego) for stage lines and emigrant caravans alike, especially during the Gold Rush days, Vallecito became a principal stop for the antecedents of the Pony Express, though back then it was called Jackass Mail. 

While the stagecoach that ran between Carrizo wash and Vallecito station is of small note in history these days; stories abound of sightings of four mules pulling a coach with a driver who sits slumped over. If by morning you’re not sure you saw what you think you did, wagon wheel tracks in the deep, soft sand are quite convincing that someone (perhaps the mailman?) wants the trail to remain open.

And then there are the fireballs. Reportedly seen (since as far back as 1858) north of Vallecito station as burning balls; projecting soundlessly up and exploding into cascading flames that light even the darkest of night skies. If there is an explanation for these sightings, I haven’t found it. But, as one local historian puts it; “Don’t gaze long into the darkened night…for something is undoubtedly looking back.”

Do you have a favorite road trip memory? Would you camp in earthquake valley? What do you think those fireballs are?

Anza-Borrego Desert State Park