Blue Highways by William Least Heat-Moon ~ March Book Club Online

[salan]

The Book Club Online is  the oldest  book club on the Internet, begun in 1996, open to everyone.  We offer cordial discussions of one book a month,  24/7 and  enjoy the company of readers from all over the world.  Everyone is welcome.

March Book Club Online

Blue Highways - a Journey into America
by William Least Heat-Moon

This should be FUN!  Whether you decide to read and discuss William Least Heat-Moon's classic 1978 travel account  or share your own memories of the "blue highways" of America, you will probably leave winter doldrums behind -  in your driveway. Heat-Moon coined the term to refer to small, forgotten, out-of-the-way roads connecting rural America (which were drawn in blue on the old style Rand McNally road atlas). The book chronicles the author's 13,000-mile journey and the people he meets along the way, as he steers clear of cities and interstates, avoiding fast food and exploring local American culture. His book was on the NY Times’ best seller list for 42 weeks in 1982-83, and its title became a cultural code word for a journey of introspection and discovery.     Some questions we'll explore:      *  What's left of the country stores and cafes on the old blue highways?    *  Do you have photographs?

Discussion Schedule:    Part One ~ March 3-7  (Eastward)     Part Two ~ March 8-11  (East by Southeast~The Carolinas, Georgia)       Part Three ~ March 12-13-14 (South by Southeast) ~ Mississippi, Alabama, Louisisana    Part Four ~ March 15-16-17(South by Southwest)Texas, New Mexico, Arizona    Part Five ~ March 18-19(West by Southwest)Arizona, Utah, Nevada Relevant Links:   Least Heat Moon's route map (interactive)    Interview with Least Heat-Moon "Be a Traveller, not a Tourist"    QUOTES noted from Blue Highways

Some Topics for Discussion
March 15-17 PART FOUR Texas, New Mexico, Arizona

Let's bring in our own experiences and observations whenever possible.
Let's continue the list of  Least Heat-Moon's  philosophical observations, which make this so much more than a travel journal. (Just post your favorites and we'll add them to a list.)
 

 Part  FOUR ~ South by Southwast

1.  Where do you say the  East ends and the West begins?  How does Least Heat Moon react to  the openness, the emptiness, the solitude of the West?  

2.  Highway 21  "The bison laid the route, a nation would follow."  Can you locate it on a map?

3.  Why did Least Heat Moon  pull off the route to Dime Box, Texas - a small town with only two streets?  What did he learn in Claud Tyler's barber shop about change in Dime Box?

4.  The only Apache Least Heat Moon ever talked to.  "The old blood still showed."  What impression does the  limping WWII Navy vet who is hitch-hiking 500 miles across Texas to see sick brother, make on LHM?

5.  Highway 29 west of Pecos River - no towns, no plants, nada. "Men go into deserts to lose themselves."  Is this why Least Heat Moon chose this route? Solitude?

6. Fort Stockton - Mexican cafe - one table, a Chicano, an Indian, a Negro. "What a litany of grievances this table could recite."  And yet they break bread together here, unlike in the Deep South!

7.  Manhattan Cafe, Deming, New Mexico   Two bars: the Central, English, the Western, Spanish.  Were you not surprised that Least Heat Moon chose the Western?  Does a language barrier divide them?

8.  Virginia Breen, owner of the Desert  Den Bar & Filling Station - "we 've got a nice town, what's left of us."  How can she be content in this remote place, "the end of things, down this way"?

9. Do you understand what Least Heat Moon meant when he said it was the 4th time he crossed the Continental Divide that day?  

10. What did you think of "the Boss," the voice in the darkness that night in Cave Creek, Arizona? Was this all a dream? Did the Boss mirror Least Heat Moon's preoccupation with his own problems?

Contact:   JoanP  

From Sally: Dined at Swamp Guinea's Fish Lodge, & dined with the Monks & and am now moving on.  I'm a little behind most of you; but will catch up in time.
Sally

[ginny]

I have Blue Highways Revisited, now, and it's intended as a companion to the original Blue Highways. I think you can get the exact same thing from the link Fry gave here a while back.

But the note from the author of this book is quite interesting.  He talks about how the images might not match the seasons in the original because Heat- Moon undertook the trip in 3 months of continuous travel lasting 82 days from the firest day of srping to about the first day of summer.

 They broke it up over several years.

Then they say "Heat-Moon has allowed us to photograph pages from his original logbook written on the journey as well as several early manuscript pages, his Olympia typewriter used to write the first several drafts, Ghost Dancing, and more. Discussions with him about these archival images add insight into the travels and the writing of Blue Highways that only the perspective of the author could provide.

Heat-Moon says this about the author: "Ed and I talked often about both my trip and the writing of Blue Highways so that his Revisited contains significant information never before published, details  I believe readers today will find pertinent and sometimes amusing. His reportage is accurate and it corrects a few fouled assumptions that heave circulated for some time.

I wonder what the "fouled assumptions" are in the original?  I am interested to compare them now.

It's a huge gigantic book and heavy, so the webstite is perfect for reading it also. I like the quotes are accompanied by references to the original text (B.H).

The whole thing is wonderful.

[ginny]

I see by the heading we're now in 4 but I just read 3, and now am going to look at the photos that seem to pertain.

My first reaction to 3 was that perhaps if he'd stay out of bars and avoid drunks he wouldn't have heard the same things, but then again, I expect somebody could argue with that. 

I think he should go back, now that it's 2014, and do it again, maybe avoid bars, talk to a lot of people,  and see what he sees now. It's been, what, 36 years? That's not that long a time, I wonder if he'd see anything different. Maybe he should wait till it hits 50 years.

He's in a LOT of bars. At least he is, in 3.

I thought the history of the Chocktaw was interesting. I had never heard that. More injustice.  And he's been unjustly treated, by his former wife, and fired at his job, he's ... well, I need to read on and not make assumptions.


I think he's got the accents dead on, however, and dialect is hard to write. When the characters in his book speak in their various dialects,  you can almost hear them: he's really got it down. On to 4!!

[ginny]

Just catching  up with the  Revisited photos: Father Patrick Duffy has certainly changed, in appearance,  it's fascinating. He had a super story about driving a motorcycle into France, and not knowing any French, and so "I was silently praying, 'Help me communicate with the attendant," when I remembered the prayer, 'Hail Mary, full of grace,'  and extracted the Latin word 'full,' and pointed to the tank. The attendant immediately understood--my prayer was answered."

Love it.

[JoanP]

JoanK... some days ago when you commented about Least Heat Moon's lack of interest in nature, in the flora and fauna along the route - I almost spoke up  - but decided to give you time to notice the birds, the flowers and especially the trees.  I'm so glad you did!  He does so much more than drive down the road staring at the highway as he moves from town to town, doesn't he?  He's only driving 4-5 hours a day -  When not on the road he's either strolling the monastery gardens - or hiking along the Natchez Trace - or in the bars and cafes as Sally will testify!  Lots of fried food in the south, Sally - you'd better be careful - though I've had my share of the catfish!

Callie - I can understand your feelings about the Eastern cities where we all live in such close proximity...but can you understand how we feel when we suddenly find ourselves in such unfamiliar open terrain  - and the strange fauna  able to exist here.  Including snakes where he has stopped for the night?  If you are unfamiliar with them, how do you know which are dangerous, which are not?

I'm sensing that Least Heat Moon is lonely as he makes his way west - unable to find the friendly cafes or hotel bars he likes to connect with the natives in the area.  We'll have to wait till Dime Box, I think.

Ginny, will count on your Blue Highways Revisited commentary to fill in the gaps...wonderful addition to the discussion!

[CallieOK]

Oh, Joan, I certainly do understand why you would feel uncomfortable in such wide open spaces!  I don't like driving them by myself!
Most people who aren't familiar with local snakes just assume they're all dangerous!!! However, it's very rare to run into one as he did.

Thank you for telling me how to post an Oklahoma "Blue Road" picture.  This one is of the general store in the tiny southern Oklahoma town of Gene Autry - renamed after that western movie star bought a ranch nearby.  Three friends and I went in after we had visited the Singing Cowboy museum nearby.  
Does anyone know what the "Yard Bird" on the menu is?
Look for the "Smoked Road Kill" ad on the hanging sign.  We didn't ask about that one!!!!

[JoanP]

Callie, can you tell us where you live in Oklahoma?  In the southeren  part near Texas?  The photo you posted above is taken in Octavia, Oklahoma.  I googled Octavia and see it is located 344 miles from Dime Box.

Here's a link that will show you the distance between Dime Box, Tx (A), where Least Heat Moon visited, and got the best haircut ever - and Octavia, OK where Callie took some of these pictures -
the distance between Dime Box, Tx (A)and Octavia, OK (B)  372.02 miles by car

[CallieOK]

Joan, I may have mislabeled the pictures in our correspondence.  The other building is in Octavia.  I managed to delete my second attempt at posting a picture and have to start over! 

I live just north of Oklahoma City. It's 208 miles from here to Octavia and 408.75 miles to Dime Box.  However, I-35 South from OKC to Austin is a nightmare to drive because of constant construction and traffic snarls around Dallas and going through Austin.

Will try again. 

[CallieOK]

This general store is in Octavia (population "Several").  Octavia is in the Ouachita Mountains in far southeastern Oklahoma, which is very much like Heat-Moon's description of Arkansas - except for the mountains.  The store closed a few years after we were there.  In the newspaper article about the closing, the description of the owner is accurate.  Babcock holds court from a chair behind the counter, sometimes propping a foot up on the counter.  A beat-up cowboy hat sits atop his head;his wrists are weighted with heavy copper chain bracelets, which he says help his arthritis.  "I don't know why you can't just swallow a penny every day and have it do the same thing", he said..  He grew up not too far north  of Octavia and built the store himself.
Everything you could imagine was for sale here - and a few things you wouldn't imagine!

[CallieOK]

One more:   This is my friend talking to Rupert Cogburn a few miles south of Octavia. (We immediately thought of the John Wayne character "Rooster Cogburn")     We were on our way to the Lodge in Beavers Bend State Park when we saw all the little tin houses with roosters perched on top and stopped to ask about them.
They are fighting roosters!  Apparently, in that part of the state, it wasn't illegal to raise fighting roosters but it was - and is - illegal to conduct a fight.  A couple of men came to talk to Rupert while we were there - but they didn't tell us what they were discussing.    We also met Miss Molly, the hen who gets the roosters in fighting mode.
 

[Frybabe]

Well, let's try the Kindle again.

When I looked up Fredericksburg I eventually found a pix of the Old Nimitz Hotel. It is now the  Museum of the Pacific War. You can still see the ship shape of part of the building. Sorry I can't post the link right now.

[Frybabe]

WOW! The site let me post from my Kindle this time.

[JoanP]

Corned beef is simmering, Irish Soda bread is cooling!  Smells great - until I start the cabbage.  Then the little ones will start to complain!

Callie, love the photos, they give the real feeling for the place.  I'd hoped for a minute, until I read that she was your friend, that you had included a photo of !  

Fry, we'll be along shortly to see your photo of the Nimitz - and talk about its importance.  But first -

We'll need to make a stop in Dime Box...it was important to Least Heat Moon  - for the simple reason he got to talk to the people! (Though he says he wanted to learn how it got its name - I think his question was just an excuse to chat, don't you?)  That seems to be what he lives for - the stories of the lives of the people he's meeting.   The cafes and diners are prime spots - like Ovcarik's Cafe in Dime Box - turned out to be a four calendar cafe!  I've heard the ham and beans are to die for - with hot peppers!  Don't miss it, even though a bit off the beaten path!   LHM is looking for answers - though sometimes not sure if he's getting them.  What did he learn from Claud Tyler in Dime Box - a town with only two streets where he watched a sycamore grow, for example?  Do you think he stops in the small towns like this because there are few people - and they won't be too busy to talk to him?  I'm noticing that there is a Czech population here - Did you find this at all surprising?
 
 

Why did Least Heat Moon  pull off the route to Dime Box, Texas - a small town with only two streets?  

Claud Tyler's barber shop

[JoanP]

Callie's photo of the Babcock place in Octavia, OK sounds a lot like the Otto Kolmeter hardware store LHM described in Fredericksburg.  I'd love to go there one day - Did Babcock's carry graniteware, Callie?  I love that stuff!  Kolmeter's was said to have been erected by German settlers there - as soon as the Comanches left.  So there's a Czech and German population down there too!

Fry, we'll be along shortly to see your photo of the Nimitz Hotel in Fredericksburg - and talk about its importance. 

Enjoy the rest of the weekend, everyone!  We're expecting snow tonight - through the night and into tomorrow.  Grandkids are ecstatic.   I suppose the tulips, daffodils...and Cherry Blossoms can withstand one more storm!

[CallieOK]

O.K., Joan - how's this?  

I think WHM is intrigued by unusual town names and does realize that people in the small diners, etc. will have both time and inclination to visit.  
Generally speaking, people in this part of the country are more open to conversation and interested in how/why someone from another area happens to be in their vicinity.

He will be covering a lot more territory in the next several states because he will be able to drive faster and farther between stops.

Edit:  just now saw your additional post, Joan.   I don't remember specifically what Babcock's carried. As I recall, there were no "sections" as such; everything was piled on counters, shelves, etc.  There may have been a system - but it wasn't obvious.
I was looking for homemade sorghum molasses (which I found) and didn't browse through the entire store.

[JoanP]

Look...this used to be  Otto Kolmeter's hardware store...isn't it cute?  In the photo the White elephant Tavern - but the last time we looked - a German import boutique...
 

Next time you're in Fredericksburg, check it out for us, Callie?  Hardware store, tavern or import boutique~ Look for the carved elephant above the door...

So your answer - both the unusual names attract him - and the fact that they are small towns with unhurried people.  I guess the unusual names provide easy conversation topics...

Love the photo - do people tell you you look like your friend?

[CallieOK]

I doubt I'll ever get to Fredricksburg or The Hill Country again.  Sadly, I'm no longer able to do "walking around" type of travel.

My friend and I have a few similarities but no one has ever said we look alike.

The terrain begins to change between Fredericksburg and Fort Stockton. There are fewer trees and the driving distances are longer
On the "blue road", he didn't go through any towns in the approximately 142 miles between El Dorado and Fort Stockton.
If you drove 142 miles in any direction from your town, how many towns would you go through and how much traffic would there be?

[Frybabe]

Here we go, the Nimitz Hotel. Use the Panaramio feature; it's easier than scrolling down the page.

https://www.google.com/search?q=Fredericksburg+TX+Nimitz+Hotel&client=firefox-a&hs=NKg&rls=org.mozilla:en-US:official&channel=sb&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ei=JywmU6LgOcSd0gHZs4CIAQ&ved=0CAoQ_AUoAg&biw=1190&bih=676&dpr=1#facrc=_&imgdii=_&imgrc=XErVUWyMIxDHhM%253A%3BdRu_OW-GXfr5XM%3Bhttp%253A%252F%252Fstatic.panoramio.com%252Fphotos%252Flarge%252F42265588.jpg%3Bhttp%253A%252F%252Fwww.panoramio.com%252Fphoto%252F42265588%3B1024%3B768

Good heavens, what a huge site link address!

[CallieOK]

What a neat web site, Frybabe.  Thank you for sharing it.

[salan]

I am in Louisiana now.  I am finding it interesting as we lived in Baton Rouge for 9 years.  When we first moved there, we went to a crawfish festival in Breaux Bridge & it almost ruined eating crawfish for me.  There was a lot of drinking, dancing on the tops of cars, loud Cajun music and people sucking yellow goo looking stuff out of the heads of crawfish!  This was in 1975.  Fortunately, I got over my aversion to crawfish & really learned to appreciate the folks in Louisiana.  Lots of good memories of those years!  I can't wait to get to the next leg of my trip as I live just 39 miles from Fredericksburg & will be familiar with the territory he is travelling.
Sally

[CallieOK]

Sally,  I'm so glad to see someone else from this part of the country!  Looking forward to your comments as he travels to/through/past your area.

[JoanP]

I agree, Callie - we are so fortunate to have someone from the Fredericksburg area in our convoy through Texas!  Were you aware before we started out that Least Heat Moon had stopped in Fredericksburg, Sally?
.
A crawfIsh question for you- did you ever learn what that yellow goo might be? I'm not sure I'd have eaten them without knowing. I remember a crayfish paella in Spain not so long ago.  They were so dry and crunchy, I wasn't sure | was supposed to be eating them or brushing them to the side of my bowl- which I finally did.  But the yellow goo you and LHM mentioned?

As you leave Louisiana and head into what LHM considers the emptiness, the loneliness of Texas, do you sense he was depressed, or low, rather than content  with the welcome solitude? Remember he stayed with his cousin in Shreveport right before he left Louisiana for Texas - and commented that there was no letter from his wife. Does this sound as if he had expected or hoped to hear from her?

Especially when he crossed the Pesos River on Highway 29 and found nothingness  - no towns, no plants, he wrote, "Men go into deserts to lose themselves."  Is this why Least Heat Moon chose this route? Solitude?  Who thinks he sounds depressed?

[CallieOK]

I think he's sounded depressed ever since he left Missouri!

I wonder if he had previously traveled to/through any of the areas along his route for this trip.  Did he plan his route because he knew what kind of country he would be travelling through?

[ANNIE]

Yes, JoanP, he indicates that he is lonely in the wide open spaces of Texas.

Fredricksburg is very popular now and is supported by all the tourists that come to see what's for sale in the many shops plus eat in a good restaurant, of which, I understand, there are quite a few.  My friend who lived there in the '80's said their trip to the town started out with enjoying the Bluebell fields along the way.  Very beautiful and impressive.

When we lived in Austin, in the '50's, no one spoke of Fredricksburg as the place to visit!  But we had retired neighbors who had farmed in the area.  Raised their kids out there also.  They said the area was mostly owned by German farmers. Grew up in homes where German was their main language.  My grandfather made friends with Granpa Nauert,(our neighbor) and when they got together, they found that their German languages were slightly different.  My grandfather spoke "high" German which was different from Granpa Nauert's German.  But close enough for them to compare the pronunciation of  same words.  My grandfather had learned his German when he was in the seminary in St Louis.  I still own his German class book.

[Frybabe]

Callie, I think the trip was at least partially planned. Some of the places he visited, though, I believe he saw the names on the map and wanted to see what was there. I guess the names seemed unusual or strange to him. It reminds me of the old song, The Bear Went Over the Mountain (to see what he could see).

I thought he seemed of two minds at during the trip. On the one hand, he seemed depressed or lonesome. On the other, he seemed to invite the solitude. Standing out in the middle of the wide open at night must put a different perspective on things. I've seen pictures of the night sky and the crags below it from that area. It looks like you could almost reach up and touch the Milky Way. Spectacular.  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aQg5J1sCdPI

[nlhome]

I thought he wanted the solitude and the time for introspection. He has some major changes in his life to contemplate.

I had to finish the book last night - could not renew it - I've enjoyed the whole trip, although I admit some of the introspection didn't hold my interest.

[CallieOK]

I've also finished the book and will have to check it in by the end of the week.

The hard-cover was published in 1983.  I have the paperback edition, published in 1999.  In it, WLHM added an Afterword, dated May, 1999.  His comments there give more detail about how and why he chose his route - but also somewhat shaded my opinion and attitude toward his mind-set along the way.

Joan, do you prefer those of us who have the 1999 edition wait to make comments on the Afterword?

[ginny]

In an aside I love the wide open spaces, just love them. That drive from San Antonio to New Mexico blew my mind. No phone transmission, just the wide open sky.

I loved Illinois, those beautiful farms. What a magnificent country this is, so different.

Right now our trees are in full bloom of spring, everything is white (the Bradford pears). I don't care what anybody says about a Bradford pear and yes they stink but they are absolutely gorgeous, broken in two or not. The forsythia and quince are blooming here, I wouldn't live anywhere else but when I go out to the mid west or the west, I just LOVE the wide open spaces and start dreaming of 1000 acre farms hahahaa.

I'm kind of like the old cowboy song: Don't Fence Me in.

Loved the Gene  Autry store and the general store, we have several like that here, fascinating.

Gene Autry certainly did well for himself, didn't he?

Loving the book: he's definitely taken the road less traveled, hasn't he?

Robert  Frost: (this is what I think every time I open the book):


1. The Road Not Taken
 
 
TWO roads diverged in a yellow wood,   
And sorry I could not travel both   
And be one traveler, long I stood   
And looked down one as far as I could   
To where it bent in the undergrowth;    
 
Then took the other, as just as fair,   
And having perhaps the better claim,   
Because it was grassy and wanted wear;   
Though as for that the passing there   
Had worn them really about the same,          
 
And both that morning equally lay   
In leaves no step had trodden black.   
Oh, I kept the first for another day!   
Yet knowing how way leads on to way,   
I doubted if I should ever come back.        
 
I shall be telling this with a sigh   
Somewhere ages and ages hence:   
Two roads diverged in a wood, and I—   
I took the one less traveled by,   
And that has made all the difference.          
 

[JoanK]

"It looks like you could almost reach up and touch the Milky Way. Spectacular."

Just finished a fascinating book "the End of Night" about how our use of electric lights is making the night sky invisible in more and more places. It claims 80 percent of the people born now will never see the Milky Way. How long has it been since you have seen the Milky Way at night. For me, not since I lived in the Israeli desert in the 1960s. Here in the LA area, I'm lucky if I can see three stars on a clear night. As a child, even living in a big city, I could see hundreds.

[JoanK]

I take it back -- the sky over Israel was a Southern (below the equator) sky, and I don't remember if the Milky Way was visable. I just remember I'd never seen so many stars looking so close in my life.

[salan]

We had friends from England visiting us and we took them out to our ranch (about 12 miles from our house).  My husband cooked steaks out on the grill, put potatoes in the coals and grilled onions & garlic.  They brought wine & a bouquet of wildflowers that she had picked along the road.  It was a beautiful clear night & you could see every star in the sky.  We sang "Deep in the Heart of Texas" and other campfire songs.  This couple have travelled all over the world & have stayed in first class accommodation & eaten at 5 star restaurants and yet they still talk about their trip to Texas & our ranch outing as one of the main highlights of their many travels.  We have always thought our part of Texas is beautiful; but seeing it from their eyes put a whole new prospective on it. 
Sally

[JoanP]

Oh Sally...that  sounds wonderful- magical!   I don't  remember Least Heat Moon sharing such a  time with anyone as he made his way across Texas, do you?  Maybe because he's traveling alone, doesn't have friends here, like you!

He did have some moments alone under the stars...
JoanK - when we visit my husband's brother in Apple Valley,  the high desert of CA, we
do see the stars that you and Sally are talking about.  You 're so right about the electricity from so many towns and cities in close proximity, obliterating the stars.  

[JoanP]

Callie, nlholme, I hope, we all hope, that because you've  had to return your library books, you will continue to join us on the road!  You add so much!  We would be lost without you!  You must be enjoying meeting other readers like Sally as we cross borders to different regions... Please don't go.  It would be different if you both hadn't read the book.

Callie, I 've been thinking  about your question regarding Least Heat Moon 's 1999 Afterword in which he explains why he took this particular route.  I checked my paperback copyrighted 1982 - it 's not there.  I've been enjoying trying to figure that out from what he's written in BH.  It's one thing to learn from Blue Highways Revisited what has become of people we've already met...but we're only half way through with Least Heat Moon.  I think I'd like to put off your kind offer until we've come to the end of the journey - to see how close we come to figuring him out.  Another reason to ask you to stay on the road with us!

I wouldn't be at all surprised if the reason he chose this route  came from Frost, Ginny - I sense, as others here have expressed,a he  needs solitude, but needs to get a different perspective from talking to people...hard to do in big cities.  

"...took the one less traveled by,  
And that has made all the difference."

Lucky you - Spring!  We had 8 inches of snow last night.  Schools closed yet again.  Federal Gov. too... This is ridiculous!

[JoanP]

Callie, you asked  an interesting question -
I wonder if he had previously traveled to/through any of the areas along his route for this trip.  Did he plan his route because he knew what kind of country he would be travelling through?

What do you think? I was surprised at the visit to his cousin in Louisiana.  Had he visited her before?
Frybabe thinks he partially planned the trip - and then deviated a bit for some interesting side trips...but he stuck to the circular route as planned?
And Fry and Annie sense his depression, which is perhaps relieved when he is alone.  But there is still the loneliness and the need to talk to people.

Annie- so interesting about the German farmers in Texas.  I wonder when they first arrived here.

[JoanP]

A question to sleep on- do you think  this man is getting anything from this trip so far, any new perspective after listening to Claud Tyler, that barber in Dime Box...or Virginia  Breen, the  remote saloon filling statïon owner on Highway 81 in New Mexico...Or how about the guy in the Stetson at Cave Creek, Arizona, who seemed to appear out of nowhere?

Is Least Heat Moon learning anything from these conversations that might make a difference in his life when he gets back to Missouri?  Or is it too early to say?

[CallieOK]

Oh, Joan, I don't intend to leave the discussion at all at all <she said in her best Irish brogue/Oklahoma drawl>.  I've taken notes on some things along the rest of his trip - just may not be able to remember details.

I agree that comments on the Afterword in the 1999 edition should wait.

Apparently, the driving distance between Kansas City, MO (where he grew up) and Shreveport is about 9 hours.  If his cousins' are originally from the Kansas City area, he may have seen them through the years,
 
Before I return the book, I want to see if he makes any comments that indicate he's gaining insight from the conversations along the way.  Somehow, I feel he isn't trying to learn anything - just observing and writing about lifestyles that are probably quite different from those of his readers - and, maybe, his own as a youngster.

[Frybabe]

Has anyone gotten to the Chicuahua Mountains yet?

The episode at Cave Creek struck me. I went through a similar thing after I moved back here, leaving George in Allentown. I too was depressed by the events in my life at that point. When I got back here I tried reconnecting with two friends who also got divorced within a few years of me. I was in the process of learning to live on my own (which I had never down before) and move on from past events. It turns out, that my two friends hadn't. They were both still caught up in the venomous attitudes and accusations from actions years ago. One had caught her husband cheating on her and the other was being abused. The first was living with her former in-laws; she was enduring constant criticism of how she was raising their grandchildren and said the in-laws were reading her mail. I wondered why she when to live wondered why she was living with them in the first place rather than staying put or moving back to her hometown. The second, even though she had remarried, seemed to still worry over her ex and make excuses for his behavior. The most I remember her saying about her new husband was that I would like him because he liked to read. Here I was trying to pull myself up; here they were dragging me back down.

Okay, that was a bit long winded but you can see the similarities between them and the fellow LM met at Cave Creek. Cave Creek has an interesting history. I was a bit disappointed that LM did not mention the are is very big on birding. http://www.birdandhike.com/Bird/Favorite/Az/Portal/_Portal.htm I saw some great bird photos on other sites, but this one give an overview of various areas and some nice general pix.

Map:  https://maps.google.com/maps/ms?msid=200170088072207293959.0004a6765ac967c64920f&msa=0&dg=feature

Now I have to go recheck to see if he says which hair raising Forest Road he took to get across the mountains.

[JoanP]

"Before I return the book, I want to see if he makes any comments that indicate he's gaining insight from the conversations along the way.  Somehow, I feel he isn't trying to learn anything." Callie

Maybe it's just me, Callie.  Maybe you're right - he set out trying to escape the mess in Missouri, not trying to learn anything.  But as he listens to each of these folks living lives very different from his own, I can't think he's not making connections to his own life. Some of his observations were quite subtle.  

The contrast between the inane, empty (disappointing) conversation on killing cats over in Ovcarik's cafe, where it appeared nothing was happening worth talking about in Dime Box - and then hearing Claud Tyler's memories of Dime Box...LHM sensed that CHANGE was happening here - though a slow process...like watching a Sycamore tree grow out front.  Change is possible, it just takes time.  
Very subtle.  Maybe too subtle.  Maybe it will become important as he moves on.  Maybe not.

I hope everyone gets to the Chicuahua Mountains soon. I think the meeting with "The Boss,"  was a huge eye-opener for LHM!  Nothing subtle about the impact this guy in the big Stetson hat had on him.  Thanks for sharing your story, Fry.  I think Least Heat Moon had similar feelings as you did as he listened to the man's unending complaints and regrets.  Don't you think he learned something from this, something that would affect his own life?

[JoanP]

Fry -  Thanks for the bird watching site - In it, I spotted this map - and see Portal.  LHM wrote that he saw a small wooden sign that said "Portal" and "Paradise."  He was surprised...he'd never heard of the Chicuahuas...so it's likely he's never heard of Portal and the bird reservation before either.  He wrote that "Portal consisted of a few rock buildings - and not a human in sight."



I see this nice cafe there too - maybe it's not that old, but it looks it, doesn't it?

On the same map, you can see the Onion Saddle Road too...another harrowing time - "LHM described this road as a single rutted lane...no place to turn around as he went higher...higher."  After he got back down - he got on the Interstate, e took it to Phoenix...seems to have been in a hurry to leave Cave Creek behind!

[ANNIE]

I just traveled the scary road with no signs or indicators of where he was.  Wow!

Frybabe, thanks for the links to the Chiricahuas.  My goodness, I was so surprised that the area around Portal has visitors from around the world.  And the number of different species of birds that they come to see is unbelievable.   One can have a guide there for leading you to the best places for birding.  I wonder where the closest airport is?    And could we rent a car to get to Portal and the Chiricahuas?  The Portal Peak Lodge suggests that you make reservations early as they fill up fast during the spring when birders come in.   The PPLodge is described as "A Gemstone Set in a Treasure".  There's also Myrtle Kraft  Cottages where the views from the private cottage porches is breathtaking!
So, here's a link to Myrtle Kraft Library and its history.  From reading it, I think she was a teacher in the school?  http://www.portalrodeo.com/myrtle-kraft-library.html  
While I was searching for Myrtle, I found a retirement center in San Simon, AZ named Myrtle Kraft Cottage.

I think LHM is getting some good and some useless stories.  Especially the guy in the ten-gallon hat. I found LHM's reaction to him as interesting.  His recording the man's speech and then replaying it.  Finding the man to be so self centered that he wasn't learning anything while coming to Portal Peak Canyon on a regular basis.  Just watching the stars would be a life changing moment.  And he didn't notice them!  He often carried his bag of troubles up to the peak but never left them there.