SD ZOO

I spent a day at the zoo recently.  I have been to the San Diego zoo several times and, yet, each time I seem to see something different.  This time I saw more of the African and Australian exhibits.  I love watching the meerkats.  Mostly, they stand very still on guard.  With perfect posture they stand very erect on their back legs and balance themselves with their tails.  And then they run away and hide in their tunnels.  The koalas were having fun, too.  They were making full use of their habitat climbing from branch to branch and eating eucalyptus leaves.  Great day at the zoo!!

Mt. Shasta

I was just zipping by the mountain the other day and I decided to pull off of I-5 and take in the beauty of this majestic peak.  Mt. Shasta is located in Northern California just south of the Oregon border.  It is spectacular and another one of America's natural beauties!

the state capitol

The other day I visited the state capitol building in Salem, Oregon.  It is built in the Art Deco style and is the replacement structure that was built after a great fire destroyed the prior building.

The Senate chamber uses black walnut wood interior and the carpet is woven with a Chinook salmon and wheat pattern symbolizing fishing and agriculture.

The chamber that houses the House of Representatives uses white oak and has a much lighter look to the room.  The custom made carpet has a Douglas Fir design and this pays homage to the state's forestry industry.  There is a beautiful hand painted dome in the central entryway.  Great tour!

national cemetery

These pictures were taken at the national cemetery in Little Bighorn National Battlefield Monument in Montana.  Many of the early graves were given to the fallen soldiers who fought in battle here.  It is also a cemetery where US military veterans are buried.  It is a solemn place with an ever present peaceful beauty.  It is a very thoughtful and beautiful resting place.

memorial to the fallen warriors

High on a hilltop overlooking the wide open plains of Montana is a very thoughtful memorial to the fallen warriors who fought during the battle at Little Bighorn.  A beautifully crafted iron sculpture rests on top of a curved stone wall as part of the circular open air tribute to the warriors.  Unlike the US soldiers that fell and were buried on the grounds, there were very few markers on the battlefield  where the warriors fell.  That is because the surviving warriors carried the bodies of the fallen away from the place where they fell and took their bodies to their ancestral burial grounds in the far away hillside caves where their forefathers were also buried.  This memorial is a very touching tribute to a very proud and courageous people.

the fallen infantry

While I was driving through the Little Bighorn battlefield I stopped at various pull-offs along the way and got out of the car to read the informational plaques that were placed there.  I was able to see the areas described on the plaques and get a better idea of the wide open spaces where the fighting occurred.  The fallen infantrymen of the US Army were buried where they fell and the white stones were placed to mark their graves.  The hillsides were dotted with these graves.  Eventually, when the national cemetery was established on the grounds, the soldiers were reburied there.  A large memorial was erected to commemorate the battle and under the original memorial the bodies of the horses that perished during the battle were buried.  The surrounding terrain offered no cover for the soldiers and the horses were  used in many cases as shields for the soldiers.  A very sobering thought.