Week 30: #52 Ancestors – Colorful By Eilene Lyon This is not really a story about an ancestor, just a bit of family history. My father was an Army officer for about 20 years, and one of his “overseas” assignments was a 3 ½ year stay in Guatemala. This was in the 1970s and I... Continue Reading →
The Danger of Solo Road Trips
By Eilene Lyon When I go on one of my "Dead Ancestor" tours across the country, I take along a micro-cassette recorder. I see a lot of interesting things as I'm driving around and don't want to forget them. It's also helpful for remembering where I went and what I did there. Later, I transcribe... Continue Reading →
Our Trip to Oregon
Week 28: #52 Ancestors – Travel By Eilene Lyon In 1942, my grandparents, Reatha and Everett Halse, made the decision to leave Florence, South Dakota, and head west. Everett’s younger brother, Alvin Halse, was already living in Corvallis, Oregon, and had a job waiting for Everett. That summer, they packed up their worldly possessions and... Continue Reading →
Relative
A Poem By Eilene Lyon If relativity is true, Why can't I find you? It should be a simple matter of bending the space/time continuum. Then we could be in the Same place at the same time. But would it be your time -- or mine? Feature image: Unidentified young man from Cutting... Continue Reading →
A Rolling Stone Gathers No Molde
Our Trip from Molde To Bergen, Norway By Eilene Lyon After our Hurtigruten ferry trip to Molde, we were free to motor our way around the fjord region until our flight back to Amsterdam. This part of the trip was entirely unplanned. We followed our noses (as you shall see), with a little help from... Continue Reading →
Crossing Wyoming
By Eilene Lyon We’re rolling westward on Interstate 80 in southern Wyoming, on our way to do breeding bird surveys along a proposed transmission line route. The rising sun is adding fire to the stratus clouds hanging low in the sky. Our Ford Super Duty truck passes plains and low hills draped in sagebrush and... Continue Reading →
Bike and Barge: Holland
By Eilene Lyon The bike and barge trip in the Netherlands was our third such adventure, but I highly recommend the tulip tour for anyone's first exploration. You don't have to be in super-fit condition to do the riding. We were booked on the Elodie, fairly small as barges go: 13 passengers plus our guide... Continue Reading →
The National Road: Both Obsolete and Ahead of Its Time
By Eilene Lyon On a genealogy trip to Belmont and Guernsey counties in Ohio last year, I encountered the National Road when I stopped at the wonderful museum in downtown St. Clairsville. During my travels there and heading west toward home, I enjoyed bits and pieces of this historic corridor that played a role in... Continue Reading →
One Fjord is Never Enough
Day One/Two in Norway By Eilene Lyon After spending nine days in the Netherlands, we boarded a jet in Amsterdam for Bergen, Norway, to spend a week in the northwestern fjords. This was the flexible part of our trip, as we made no plans beyond the first day. View of the Norwegian coast near Bergen... Continue Reading →