Living the Las Vegas life!

We finally did some gambling here: each of us put a dollar into a machine. This was our exciting take! We left the slip here for the next person, to get them started off right.

Dinner at Table 10 - so good! And I had a mojito, so I've had more to drink on this trip than probably the last year combined.

I'm slightly adjusting to the heat here. This morning, I was relieved it was "only" 90. It was twenty degrees hotter than that as we made our way down The Strip this afternoon - like a blast furnace. I admire the amazing toughness people who live here must have! I'll be happier with some mountains, lakes, and snow of New England.

Thanks ALA!

My bag is full of books, I have handouts from tons of cool vendors, and I'm exhausted. I've clearly had a lot of ALA fun!!

A big THANK YOU to everyone who showed up this morning for the presentation Laura Saunders and I did on a crash course for evaluation!! As a program on the last day of a very busy conference, at 8:30 in the morning, in a room faaaar away from everything, I thought it might just be Laura and I talking to each other in the room. This would have been fine, as we always have a good time. But I counted 100 people at one point in the room, and then lost count - it was great!! I'm a big fan of evaluation, and encouraging more people to do evaluation in their libraries; so it was so good to see other people who want to do this. (If anyone wants to discuss library evaluation further, please send me an email!) I have emailed out handouts to everyone who left their email with us; if you want one, contact me: mary.wilkinsjordan @ simmons.edu.

RUSA awards!

Feeling very grateful here for my wonderful Simmons colleagues, who turned out to support Laura and I tonight! We won the RUSA Reference Service Press Award for our article about reference competencies. Everyone was so nice, so gracious, and so complementary! It was a great experience for us both.

Tomorrow morning, we give a workshop on the basics of evaluation: 8:30 am in N111. We like evaluation, so it should be fun!

So many exciting things here at ALA in Las Vegas!

National Atomic Testing Museum

Pretty neat visit to and interesting museum! We got to learn all about Area 51 (and I purchased a few small souvenirs) and the history of atomic testing in Nevada - very interesting!

Las Vegas fun!

Not a great shot, but so fun to see the Bellagio's dancing fountain last night! And we checked out their Chihuly glass flower ceiling - beautiful. I was amused to see their art museum (sadly, closed when we arrived) has paintings on loan from Boston' MFA! As a member, I was feeling some home-town pride. Less fun was trying to wade thru loud, drunk crowds, so we took the monorail back home. Does anyone see it without hearing the Simpson's monorail song in their heads? I can't believe it's true!

My years of watching Project Runway and Top Chef are really paying off here! I recognize all the chefs and all the fancy, overpriced designers - feel like a good information professional. :)

Headed over to see lovely colleagues next - very excited! It's fun to be out on the road, doing all this great library research; but I miss seeing my co-workers every day. And yes - I know exactly how lucky that makes me! One nice thing about working at a variety of terrible jobs in the past, is that it gives me a deep appreciation of just how very fortunate I am to have this one. I often say that my Dean could come kick me every day, and this would STILL be my best job ever! (I would prefer, however, that she continue to refrain from doing so...)

Bluff

Very nice place to have a short rest period as I trudge through this nice park! Spending at least 20 minutes a day in nature is good for everyone; I'm getting in enough to last me a few days!

Squirrel playground!

Awww....too cute! I didn't see any playing here today, but it looks like fun.

Fog!

Foggy day at the lakefront office! It is actually fun to sit down here, and work on planning Stages Two and Three of the trip. And I've been doing some planning for the upcoming Las Vegas, ALA Annual Conference - which should be fun too!

Mushrooms

Always cool to see these little mushrooms growing on the roots of a rotting tree. Very interesting to see nature in action!

Travel bugs on the move!

I dropped three travel bugs on this Stage One of my trip - and two have been picked up so far!

If you have not yet explored the fun of geocaching, this is a great time to start. You can go to www.geocaching.com and start poking around the site. You can start off with the "Learn" tab on top, or dive straight into the "Play" tab, and either "Hide & Seek a Cache" or "Find Trackables." 

To see where my travel bugs are going, hit the Find Trackables, then "Enter the Tracking Code of the Item." Two have been found and are on the move somewhere; you can put their codes here (one at a time):
  - TB6F7R8 Library Corps of Discovery: Truck #1, dropped in Kansas
  - TB6F7V6 Library Corps of Discovery: Truck #2, dropped in South Dakota (I was not creative in naming them!)

Still waiting to be found is the TB6F7VK , Library Corps of Discovery Helicopter; it's in a great park in Iowa - so if you are in the area, go check out the park and find it!(And the nearby library is great too, so stop in and visit it!)

Geocaching.com lets you give your travel bugs a mission. Obviously, the mission of all my travel bugs is to visit public libraries! I'm hoping to find some interesting library photos and/or stories from people. A future project will be to track down all the library-related geocaches and trackables, to see what people are saying about their libraries.

Broken bridges

Very irritated to see that someone broke the bridges in assorted creek locations. I'm slightly muddy, but still moving forward!

Frog!

Cute little frog sitting on the trail, next to a creek. As I hopped over him, he dived into the creek for safety.

Data Entry!

This is not the glamorous and exciting side of doing research, but it is fascinating to start putting together data collected so far. It's great to look back at all the interesting libraries I've visited so far, as I finalize up the plans for the Stage Two and Stage Three visits!

Every public library I've visited on this trip - and on all the vacations I take - has something interesting, unique, and exciting to share. It has been such a privilege to be able to do this trip and to visit all these libraries, and for them to take time to share with me all the amazing and fun things they are doing!! I'm so excited to get on with the rest of this study, so I can see more of what goes on every day in libraries across the country - because it has been great so far!

Just as one example, I was not expecting the summer reading programs to be so much fun! The Collaborative Summer Reading Program theme this year is "Fizz, Boom, READ!" http://www.cslpreads.org/ The science-based programming and materials I've seen across libraries has been so interesting! And it has inspired me to create a wishlist of books I want to read myself. Libraries are working to promote STEM education, reading, and just FUN this summer. Check out all these ideas librarians are already doing this summer: http://www.pinterest.com/mbollar/fizz-boom-read-summer-reading-srp-2014/

And libraries are not just places for kids to have fun, learn, and read books; there is a lot of great programming for adults on every subject imaginable going on in the libraries I've visited!

If you have not been to your local public library lately, either in person or online, GO! You don't want to miss out on any of the excitement and adventure!!

Wisconsin!

I gave a very loud cheer when I crossed the Mississippi and landed back in America's Dairyland! (And to celebrate surviving Minneapolis traffic. They have one of my favorite airports of all time, but the highways are...interesting. Whoever okayed Interstate 694's exit to 94E one quarter of a mile from a busy on ramp needs to be up on some kind of vehicular homicide charges! I drive in Boston, and was more concerned here.)

Only a few hundred more miles! It's pretty easy to hop on a highway in Bismarck and off it in Milwaukee - frees up the mind for thoughts other than navigation! 

Tesoro!

Sitting in the car for many hours on an Interstate highway is a very efficient, but not exciting, way to travel. You have to make your own fun with good audio books, and some serious car dancing to loud music! Gas stops are good intermissions too.

Minnesota!

Another new state for the trip! They are not kidding about the 10,000 lakes slogan - I'll drive through lots of them as I whiz across the state! Beautiful area, already much flatter than the Dakotas. Rainy day is preventing me from enjoying all of the sights, but it's still very nice.

Bye, Missouri River!

The Corps left the Missouri here and headed onward to the Pacific. I'm leaving it and headed the other way - back home to regroup, then head to the ALA Annual Meeting in Las Vegas. Very exciting stuff ahead, before I rejoin the Trail to finish out this adventure!

Deer!

Driving back to camp, I came across this young lady, enjoying some tasty snacks before bed! She seems way too used to people; hopefully that works out okay for her. Also saw several pheasants here!

North Dakota Veterans Cemetery

This is a lovely place, very dignified. And way, way too many people buried here. It would be so nice to not need these places....

Keelboat park

Great statutes here! And t be replica keelboat is good. This is where the Corps said goodbye to their boat , sending it and all the material they had collected, hack to St Louis.

Slant Indian Village

Very interesting site. (And there's nothing like rain to keep away the crowds!) I smelled smoke when I entered the village; there was a recent fire in that far structure. It looks like it was set up for group events. 

Last night!

Tent is up, and ready for the last night of Stage One! The rangers have been by to give instructions on what to do in case of tornado. Looks like a thunderstorm is on the way - pretty dark out there here, and ominous deep my. No big deal; tent is up and secure, I know where to evacuate if necessary, and am generally ready to have a fun night! Too early for dinner, so I'm off to go explore some sights.

Last night!

Tent is up, and ready for the last night of Stage One! The rangers have been by to give instructions on what to do in case of tornado. Looks like a thunderstorm is on the way - pretty dark out there here, and ominous deep my. No big deal; tent is up and secure, I know where to evacuate if necessary, and am generally ready to have a fun night! Too early for dinner, so I'm off to go explore some sights.

Library!

It's hard to make out this sign , but this is the library! I was very surprised to see it included in the fort.

The barking squirrels were really making a racket! The Corps sent one back to Jefferson from the Mandan village north of here. They sent two, but only one made it back to Washington DC. Poor little guy; they seem very social, so he must have been lonely.

Ft Rice Historical site

Very interesting spot! This is the ruins of the old fort, with all the buildings identified with weathered signs. And, making a LOT of noise, are the "barking squirrels" identified by Lewis and Clark! These prairie dogs are in mounds all over the field, barking frantically. I walked the perimeter of the site, and they mostly quieted down as they dived back underground, but in neighboring fields they kept up the noise. I had to watch carefully where I walked, and breaking an ankle in one of their hidden holes would not be pleasant!

I tried to stop and see Ft Manuel, where Sacajawea reportedly died, but the road was incredibly slick mud. Luckily, I'm used to driving on ice because I needed all those skills just to get stopped and turned around! And, fortunately I'm in a jeep with four-wheel drive; so I got to test that out. (The sides of the Jeep are covered with mud now; no one tell my dad! I'll get it cleaned before he gets back from Alaska.)

I also tried to see Sitting Bull's burial site at Ft Yates. But it also was a dirt - now mud - road, and I didn't want to push my luck. Hopefully, I'll get to see these locations on a future trip!

Prayer Rocks

These rocks, in Mobridge city park, may have been handprints for Indians to put their hands on when taking an oath. Or, they could have been places for defeated warriors to place their hands in a sign of submission. The lack of accurate history really underscores the need for good archives and trained archivists!

Mobridge has not only locked the doors of the public bathrooms in the park, but also pulled grates over the doors - secured with padlocks! They are serious about keeping people away! The signs alerting pedestrians we are being filmed seem very in contrast to the nice quiet park with beautiful roses. Maybe they are going to chase down the vandals who left McDonald's cups on the ground?

Blue Star Memorial Highway

Lots of interesting historical markers here in South Dakota. I'm definitely in the part of the country with a lot of land and not many people. An hour ago, or so, I drove through Agar, population 82, according to their sign. Beautiful land here, and the wide open feel is wonderful!

Oahe dam

I never vet tired of driving over to here huge dams! Such amazing displays of engineering - it's just awesome to see it.

WINDY!

No rain last night, but the walls of the tent blowing in on me (but not falling)kept waking me up! It was so windy this morning that I couldn't fold up the tent, but just wrestled it into the back of the Jeep. As it wasn't wet, it was no big deal. Too windy for the Jetboil outside, so I took it into the shower area with me - these are nice cinder block structures, so even though the door kept blowing open, it was calm enough to boil water. I ate my oatmeal and tomato juice in the Jeep - too windy to sit outside! Even the birds are having trouble trying to fly in this. I saw several cyclists yesterday; hopefully they are okay today, because this would be a terrible day on the road.

Off to see more fun things! I'm sad tomorrow is the last day of Stage One of these his adventure, but I'll be happy to be home and seeing my husband again.

Lewis and Clark memorial bridge

It's a little hard to make out in this photo, but this is a great overview at this rest stop! I dropped a travel bug here. And I bought the South Dakota Stories CDs, so will have fun things to listen to in the car!

South Dakota Veterans Park

This is a very nice area, next to the South Dakota Hall of Fame. Every branch of the military is represented here, with monuments and flags, as well as the Vietnam Vet POW flag. As I'm driving my dad's jeep, with his Vietnam Vets service ribbon license plate holders commemorating his service, I am particularly pleased to see this. Very good park.

South Dakota!

Another new state! Thus is a shot of the Missouri River , crossed by Chief Standing Bear Memorial Bridge.

The river looks different here, wider and more shallow, tougher to boat along. Beautiful area!

Tornadoes

Check out how relaxed Seaman looks here. We are both feeling mellow about the tornadoes touching down nearby. Rain, wind, tornadoes - whatever comes we are ready!

George Shannon

George was the youngest member of the Corps, and got lost for a while on the trip. Fortunately, he was recovered safe and sound!

Pooor George!

Later, after returning from the Pacific George Shannon had an accident resulting in an amputated leg. Fortunately, his Army pension was increased to help out.

George Shannon

George was the youngest member of the Corps, and got lost for a while on the trip. Fortunately, he was recovered safe and sound!

Gavins Point Dam

Really beautiful spot, and a very nice NPS visitor's center! You can see the big storm blowing across the Lewis and Clark Lake - hopefully away from me. Wind is pretty fierce though, blowing the Jeep around the road a bit. Tenting out may be a bit of a challenge tonight!

Yanktown Sioux meeting

A quick stop at the Lewis and Clark recreation area near Yankton, SD. Very pretty here!

Vermilion!

It's an art project! It's library advertising! It's definitely an example of all the great things to see and do in this library!

National Music Museum

Located in Vermilion, SD this is a great way to learn more about the creation and use of a huge variety of instruments!

Patrick Gass in Elk Point

The first election by American citizens happened here. Two days after Sgt Floyd's death, the Corps stopped here and elected a new Sergeant. This was a demanding role, and could not be left open for the rest of the trip. Gass was required to keep a journal in the job, and was the first to publish after the trip was finished.

Dakota City and Seaman!

I was just driving by this area and thought that dog looked familiar, and indeed it was Seaman! He is surrounded by some plants native to areas farther West on the Trail that had been collected by the Corps. Cute, and educational - a great combination!

Sargent Floyd Welcome Center

They like Sgt Floyd so much here, they named a steamboat after him! This is a very cute museum with information on Lewis and Clark, steamboat history, and general info on the area!

Lewis and Clark visitor's center

Another very beautiful visitor's center, filled with all kinds of good information!

Sgt. Floyd

At the monument for Sgt. Floyd, the only member of the Corps expedition to die on the trip. He had appendicitis, which was not something that could be treated at the time. I vividly remember my own bout of appendicitis, and how sick and in pain I was; so I emphasize with Sgt Floyd, and wanted to stop here to pay my respects.

After a night of thunder storms, it feels much better out here today. Beautiful sky, filled with puffy white clouds, green fields with some flooding : just great overall!

Dinner!

It's pretty satisfying to light a fire and cook a meal. I was startled recently to be with a group of people, none of whom knew how to light a fire. It seems like it should be a basic skill, and as we have been doing it about as long as humans have evolved, it's clearly not too hard.

Start with a small pile of stuff that will burn. When available, I like to use dry pine needles because they smell good. As an academic, I usually have a paper I'm editing and often crumple individual sheets to use. Put small sticks over that, in a pyramid shape. Get larger ones nearby, and have some bigger logs in waiting. 

Light the small stuff; blow gently as necessary to get it started. As the sticks catch, start laying the larger sticks onto that - trying to keep the pyramid shape. As they catch, arrange the larger logs in another layer, keeping the pyramid shape (tops together and pointed inward, bottoms spread out for support). The idea is that as everything burns, it collapses in on itself.

Do all of this in a designated fire ring, of course. Save the more advanced fire work until you get comfortable with it. Tie back long hair, don't wear extremely loose clothes, and have closed toe shoes - no dragging laces. Catching yourself on fire is easy, and really ruins the fun.

Once you have your fire going, roast hot dogs, burgers, steak, veggies - whatever you like. Campfires generally lead to roasted marshmallows and/or smores - for me anyway! 

Of course, be sure to have water nearby - more than you think you need. When you are done, soak the heck out of the fire. It takes some time to get started, but once it does start it does not want to quit. Drown it all before you leave a campsite. Puddles of water are fine. 

You will reek of smoke afterwards. Either be prepared to live with it, or spray Febreeze (or whatever brand you have) all over your clothes. A quick shower is nice. 

Experience the fun of a campfire while you are out enjoying your camping trip! Go outside! Have fun in your state and national parks! Don't worry about doing it all "right" - just go have a good time in nature.

Onawa

With a sense of humor like this, you just have to love this library! Added in the really beautiful construction, the energetic staff, and all the great resources, and I thoroughly enjoyed my visit. Drop by and check it out yourself! And if you find the travel bug at nearby Lewis and Clark State Park, bring it here for a photo!

Dropped travel bug!

I dropped another travel bug here, in a very nice wooded area! This was a red helicopter, PKNAGQ. Now, someone go find it and start moving it along!

Lots of mullberry trees here; some were pretty high up, and the fruits available on the lower ones were pretty small. I still ate some, of course! Just not as amazing as the orchard I found in Kansas City.

Boat!

I'm sitting in a replication boat, tethered to the dock here. As always, when visiting historic sites, the first thing I notice is how short people were! I'm not a huge person by modern standards, an inch or two below six feet. But I'd be miserable stuffed into these small spaces! 

Very cool boat tho! It really lets you feel the history!

Replica boats

At my second Lewis and Clark State Park! This has a great visitor's center, with all these replication boats. Looking at them, and at the fast-moving Missouri River outside, and I'm really glad to be in the Jeep!

And I discovered I've arrived in the park for Lewis and Clark Days! Lots of people camping here in replication tents, dressing the part as reenactors. Looks very neat. And again, makes me very glad for my modern tent - easy to out up and take down, and even with some leakage is probably drier than these were. Also grateful for DEET, even though I have a few mosquito bites, and my Jetboil - giving me hot oatmeal and hot tea every morning! 

I'm glad to be on this adventure, and definitely glad my adventure is much easier than the original Corps of Discovery!

Luxury!

Seaman and I are having a luxury break from the tent, in a cabin! He's claimed the top bunk already, and I think we are both going to be pretty comfortable here. The wind is FIERCE out there, so I'm happy enough to be out of the tent tonight.

Fort Atkinson

As always, I'm surprised and impressed by the interesting things I fund to mark the Trail! This group of statutes represent the First Council that Lewis and Clark had with local tribes. Seaman looks so cute here that I really wanted to give the statue a pat!

Council Bluffs

Beautiful Lewis and Clark site here! And a nice trail runs along the bluff through the trees. I didn't have time to follow to the end (sadly, the constant refrain on this trip!), but enjoyed it for a while. Like many of these historical sites you have to work to find them, and signs directing drivers are often incomplete. But it's worth it when you do find one this nice!

A new friend!

Check out the newest member of the Library Corps of Discovery: Seaman! He was added to the journey today, at the Lewis and Clark Center in Nebraska City. It's nice to have another team member in the Jeep!

We're staying in a hotel tonight; it's a little weird after getting used to tents. But, it's nice to get some laundry done!

Omaha!

I was born here, but left around six months and hadn't been back until today. It looks very nice! Beautiful boardwalk and walking/biking areas near the river.