The Catholic Monastery of the Holy Spirit is a Trappist religious community in Conyers, Georgia, founded in 1944. It was an offshoot of another monastery in Kentucky. The brothers who first came here faced hostility from local farmers unaccustomed to the centuries old traditions of Catholic asceticism. Religious men farming the red clay wearing white … Continue reading A Monastery in Georgia
The town of Mentone, Alabama, sits on the brow of Lookout Mountain overlooking a valley that runs northeast toward Chattanooga. It is an old tourist and honeymoon resort that once had a spectacular old hotel, which burned down several years ago. Jim, Glen, and I spent some time there yesterday looking at the old mountain top buildings … Continue reading Mentone, Alabama
On May 26, 1838, federal troops moved swiftly over this North Georgia land near present-day Calhoun. They went out hunting Cherokees with orders to bring them to a concentration camp in the same hills that were the Cherokee's ancestral lands. About 4,000 Cherokees would die as the U.S. Army force-marched them a thousand miles to … Continue reading Georgia’s Trail of Tears
Arthur Abernathy Miller built the DeSoto Falls dam for hydroelectric power in the mid-1920s. He had grand dreams. After buying up land around the falls on Lookout Mountain, Alabama, he and his partners began laying the groundwork for a park and resort area, while the generators would supply electricity to small valley towns below the … Continue reading The DeSoto Falls Dam
No historic place in the Big Bend and Tallahassee area has been more overlooked than this one. -- Prospect Bluff on the Apalachicola River was the site of one of the largest massacres of runaway slaves ever officially ordered by the government of the United States. It happened on July 27, 1816, at a strategic … Continue reading Florida’s Slaughter of Runaway Slaves
Waiting on the Runway in ATL, August 8, 2018 Haven't all of us been through it before? -- Stuck on the ground at the Atlanta airport. Nothing to do but play with Facebook. Delayed getting here. Delayed taking off again. Computer issues, and unexplained changes. Cranky passengers and frantic crews. Crying babies and loud old … Continue reading Atlanta Airport Blues
Haystack Rock is a basalt remnant of lava flows rising 235 feet above Cannon Beach, Oregon. It is one of the most recognizable images associated with the state and often has been used as a backdrop in movies. Its closeness to the shore means it forms tidal pools full of bright green algae and sea … Continue reading Haystack Rock, Oregon
The Oregon coast near Portland is rugged and cold in August, at least by Florida standards. It is separated from inland Oregon by a low mountain range that looks much like the temperate rain forest ranges of the Olympic Peninsula to the north, only smaller. Walking the beaches there today felt like Florida after a … Continue reading Cannon Beach, Oregon
Pioneer Courthouse in Portland, Oregon, is one of the buildings used by the U.S. Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals based in San Francisco. It is the oldest federal building in the Pacific Northwest. By local standards it is old. Construction started in 1869 and was completed in 1875. A recent renovation finished in 2005 has … Continue reading Pioneer Courthouse
Oregon's International Rose Test Garden sits well above the City of Portland at Washington Park. It is home to more than 10,000 rose bushes from about 650 different types of plants. Its roots date to World War I. An international movement began at that time to preserve ancient rose plant stocks threatened by the mechanized … Continue reading A Haven for Flowers in Times of War
Robert Craig Waters 