Travels
of Snoopy
Page One
Can You Find
Snoopy???
Be Sure To Check Every Page
Snoopy Is Always Some Were
You Would Not Expect Him
To Be...Sometimes
More Than Once
Sneaking Puppy Snoopy Is...
Moab, Utah
Trip...November, 1999
[Kansas, Colorado & Utah]
The following pages, Snoopy will
share with you his photos and comments of his trip through much of the Maze and Canyon Lands area of Utah.
Snoopy and friend Clark left Arkansas on November 12th and returned to
Arkansas on
November 21st. Some of the comments come direct from Snoopy and others
from me, I am not always sure which comments are from Snoopy or me!
Travels
of Snoopy
Is a travel log of our trip. We always travel as much as we
can via the back roads; Snoopy hates "back-top", we eat in ma/pa
cafes. Visit with only with "real people", you will not find
Snoopy at Disney World!!! Snoopy is a real back country puppy.
Snoopy loves junk shops, small towns [very small], army surplus stores, junk
yards and most of all hardware stores. Snoopy
also LOVES truck stops, he enjoys checking out all the chrome parts, CB's, etc.
I guess that when Snoopy grows up he wants to be a "truck" with a big chrome
bumper. Then can use his CB, and bark "breaker, breaker"...were
are the bears!!! Of course being a "real trucker" he can bitch
about how little he is getting paid and how bad the roads are.
I throw in a bit of humor [or what I deem as humor], take photos of REAL
PEOPLE and the REAL country side. I just take the photos, some of things
we see "makes a comment" in reference to our leaders, country,
etc. Remember I just take the photos...so, if there is a photo that offends
you for some reason. Well, so be it...you will just have to offended!!!
We travel the country and enjoying visiting with the "people" that
make America what it really is. Those that work everyday, raise their
family...these are not the folks that you will see on CNN, they are much more
interesting and in my view a hell of a lot more enjoyable to be around.
Many of the people that you will
"see" will not be found in the "news", so this might be
their only public claim to fame. My guess is that they really don't give a
damn about being in the "news" or on my web site. I shall forever
be thankful to each and everyone of them. For taking the time to visit
with me and sharing their life with me. By doing such that have certainly
made "memories" for me and made my life much more interesting.
I hope that in someway that I gave
something in return, if I did I am sure that it was in no way equal to what they
shared with me and Snoopy.
A photo of our first few hours
of our travel
the photo did not come out
will try again once the sun comes up...
The weather report is good, and promises that
we should see the sun soon...
We made it to western Kansas for the
first day of hunting season...Snoopy was VERY pleased to leave...
This was a "bad one", I
doubt that anyone made it out of this alive :-(
Saint Fidelis Church
"The Cathedral of the Plains"
Victoria, Kansas
Victoria is in the west central part
of Kansas, a beautiful small "plains town". The first settlers
of this area were gentleman farmers from England who arrived in 1873 with the
intention of duplicating their aristocratic lives. [Which
makes me wonder why they ever wanted to leave England, if all they were going to
do was "duplicate", oh well].
The harsh plains weather and rough ground proved to be a bit to much for these
English gentleman, so they moved out.
A group of very poor immigrants from
southern Russia know as Volga-Germans, who were fleeing from the service in the
Czar's army and dangers to their Catholic faith. Created a village of sod
huts adjacent to Victoria, their village was Herzog, named after
their home village in southern Russia on the Volga River.
After the British soon learned that
mother nature was not about to give in to their gentleman life style, packed up
and left. The hard working Volga-Germans took over were the Englishman failed
and created a very thriving village.
Saint Fidelis Church first mass was
sometime around April of 1896.
Craved from native Kansas
limestone...
One can almost "touch and feel the hardship" that these Volga-Germans
had to face everyday. We all should take a moment and give our thanks them
and all the immigrants that made America what it is today...
Just a few of the many "hand made" grave markers
in the Victoria cemetery...The use of "hand made" markers very common practice, since one had little
choice but make everything by hand. Once the marker was made, then the
family could order a "store brought" plaque. In many of the
cemeteries before and during this part of the century were local made. In
this case the local blacksmith made the "headstones"...other areas
that had
a stone mason would have stone markers...areas that had neither a blacksmith or stone mason. Then a
large rock or wooden cross would have to do...
Although a photo plaque are
some what common, Victoria cemetery has more of such than any cemetery that
I have ever visited. This was [still is] a VERY expensive plaque to have
made. These plaques were and still are today by hand painting the image and the
"fired", I have seen many that are well over a hundred years old and
show no signs of aging at all. With the great number of such plaques use
on the markers at Victoria cemetery I would guess that there was a lot of "wealth"
in the area at one time...
I am often ask why I take the time to
visit the cemetery...one can learn more sometimes about the history and lives of
the people that lived in an area by reading the grave markers than any other source of information.
People move away, graves are always there to tell their story!!!
Due to the lack of trees, settlers
had no choice but use the native Kansas limestone for fence post...
Neil the "Victoria Stone man"
runs out of gas...Snoopy gives Neil a ride. Neil spends a lot of time with
Snoopy and Clark teaching them about the history of Victoria and historical stone
post...
To learn what Neil had to say and show
us...click here...
Next Page
Page Two
Copyright:
12.6..1999 - Jim Gaston, #1777 River Road, Lakeview, Arkansas 72642
