Some Meanderings on My Reading

In an attempt to keep my library fines to a minimum, I am working on finishing the stack of CT River books that I checked out at the beginning of the summer. (I feel so lucky to live in an area with a fantastic interlibrary loan system and with an amazing selection of books on the CT River.)

I just finished reading Nathaniel Tripp's book, Confluence: A River, The Environment, Politics, and The Fate of All Humanity. The book is a mix of history, politics, adventure, and anecdote. Tripp talks about his river journey with Vermont's Governor, Howard Dean. He confesses his illegally kept snowshoe rabbit. He rails against conflict of politics. He explains the science behind the water quality and fish population problems in the CT River. And, he shares an appreciation for the complexity and beauty of this river.

I have a lot of comments about the book, and I've written a lot in my expedition notebook. So, I will just share a few of my favorite quotes and most interesting learnings here. Quotes in italics, my comments in brown.

...Scientists are able to take a small bone called an otolith from the heads of anadromous fish and analyze the trace chemicals in it to determine which rivers that fish swam in. Rivers, and their tributaries, each have their own "fingerprints" that can be followed to the source and are recorded in layers of fish bone. (32)
Wow!

No matter how large or small, where the valley broadens and water slows, it begins to meander in a series of graceful curves, for rivers, too feel the Coriolis effect of the earth's spin, and their flow, too, spins like a corkscrew as it travels downstream. Given a uniform bed, the river's course becomes a sine wave, with the wavelength and amplitude depending on flow and gradient. Erosion and deposition of sediments is a constant process at each bend; centrifugal force throws water against the outside bank, cutting away at it, while fine sands and silt are deposited on the inside bank. (41)
This one is for Mr. Robinson. I am amazed by how much math there in in rivers.

I tell them that all great civilizations began beside rivers because of the rich soil, how wealth begins with soil. I show them how we are trying to stabilize the river with streamside plantings to prevent the erosion of valuable soil... (47)
I was excited to read this quote because it connects to exactly what Ms. Kang and I have talked about related to the social studies curriculum for 7th grade--river civilizations.

One of Reagan's first acts [as president] was to remove the solar panels that President Carter had installed on the White House roof. His administration wanted to put the memory of the energy crisis behind as quickly as possible. (62)
This book talked a lot about energy use. One of the main problems that the some of the fish are facing is that their habitat is being destroyed by dams along the river. It was interesting to note that back before 1950, there was such a low demand for electricity that the power companies didn't want to build any more hydroelectric plants. By the 1970's we had really increased our demand for energy. One of the main causes for that (according to the book which seems to have a rather liberal philosophy--that I agree with) energy demand is air conditioners. The hydroelectric dams are designed to be able to store up their water and release it at peak energy consumption times--in the middle of summer when so many people are using their air conditioners.

My fondest memories of school are the times when I was supposed to be in it but wasn't. (67)
This quote stuck out at me because the author is very intelligent, but really reject traditional schooling. I find this particularly interesting because Duggan is trying to prevent our students from having this feeling. We want to take learning beyond the walls of the classroom so that our students have fond memories of school.

They still had the two most precious things life offers anywhere: a deep connection to the mystery of life itself, and a deep connection to each other. (89)
Tripp said this in relation to the Cree people that he went to visit in Canada. In my study of community, I have also found that this connection to community is important. I think we have to remember to focus on this in our expedition this year.

There is little regulation of roadside advertising in New Hampshire, and zoning is nearly absen in the New Hampshire towns of the Upper Valley, being perceived as one of the most egregious examples fo the loss of property rights. While Vermont villages remain relatively compact and neat, those on the New Hampshire side of the river have often lost their center, with business and residences meandering across abandoned farms and woodlots. Trailer parks and shopping centers are welcomed, and often locate in the floodplains at the river's edge, attracting displaced Vermonters. Vermont, on the other hand, is largely underlain by softer and sweeter derivatives of limestone....The state...started publishing Vermont Life, the first state tourism magazine in the nation. It portrayed a romantic place with white clapboard villages and rolling farmscapes, where friendly people in checkered shirts made maple syrup, cheese, and crafts. (94)
This is exactly the difference I saw when I was up in the CT Lakes region. When I crossed over the border from Vermont into New Hampshire, I noticed a clear difference between the two. I couldn't put it into words to describe it, but Tripp has described it perfectly.

We began enthusiastically planning the fieldwork, consulting local residents in the selection of the sampling sites. During one of our local planning sessions, a representative from the consulting firm that would be doing the work happened to casually mention that its protocol required technicians to wear Tyvek suits with rubber boots and gloves while doing the work. Suddenly what had seemed like it might be both fun and instructive began to look ridiculous as well....There were already rumors of men in chemical warfare suits being spotted at night.... We asked why on earth anyone would want to wear a hot, sticky, Tyvek suit to take samples from a river in which the rest of us cavorted wearing swimsuits or less, and they answered in humorless monotone that it wasn't just the river, it was the possibility of ticks and poison ivy on the shorelines too. What a weird society we have come to live in. Perhaps it is the constant threat of litigation that has made us all so defensive. Certainly it is in the interest of the makers of Tyvek to encourage people to wear one of their suits at all times. But it is more than an affront to me personally, as one who believes in both science and common sense, and proposes that they may in fact be the same thing. (135)
I know that quote is rather long, but I think it is super funny. I am all about being safe, and wearing long pants if I am walking in an area with a lot of ticks. But, wearing chemical protection suits just seems to be going too far!

Quad Cities

After a fun-filled day in Hannibal, Missouri, Tanya and I headed north on the Mississippi River (by car, not by boat) to Moline, Illinois, part of the Quad Cities area.

The Mississippi River passes right in the middle of the Quad Cities. The Mississippi River trail, a bicycle trail that follows the length of the river, is well-developed in this area. We took a walk along the bike path to see what one city is doing to unify the city and the river.

You can view my pictures of Moline's bike path here. I also picked up several maps and brochures about the area that I will be able to use at school this year when we are looking at the CT River's bike path.

Mark Twain's Home

Part of the purpose for my grant this summer was to visit Hannibal, Missouri, boyhood home of Mark Twain. Springfield's curriculum for 7th grade requires us to read Tom Sawyer. Since I will either be teaching that or excerpts from Huck Finn, I wanted to visit the place where it all started, to bring back some interesting artifacts for my students.

I met up with my friend Tanya (a friend from high school who now lives in Madison, Wisconsin), and we drove down to Hannibal together. Tanya is also an English teacher (although she teaches college), so visiting the home of a famous author was the prefect nerdy English teacher trip for us.

The Hannibal website makes it look like there is enough to keep you busy for days in that town. Lucky for us, we planned to do some more exploration north along the Mississippi River, so we only allotted one full day for Mark Twain's boyhood town.

The main thing I noticed about Hannibal is that it almost seemed like a ghost town. We arrived on a Sunday afternoon, and the streets were nearly empty--of cars and people. The next day wasn't much better. Apparently Hannibal doesn't have much going on aside from its Mark Twain fame, and I guess that doesn't really draw huge crowds of tourists. In fact, the biggest crowd we saw all day was in the coffee shop where we were taking a break after touring the museum. While we were there, several reporters and politicians arrived for a press conference with one of the candidates for Lt. Governor of Missouri.

We saw all of Hannibal's major sites: the museum, the Tom Sawyer fence, Tom Sawyer's hill, and the Tom Sawyer cave by lunch time. After lunch we took a cruise on a riverboat to see the Mississippi River from another angle. A little more luxurious than Huck Finn's raft, but the view was probably comparable.

After spending the day in Hannibal, I can honestly say, I understand why Huck Finn had to get on that raft and escape town (I mean in addition to the fact that he had an abusive father and he didn't want to be civilized by the Widow). There was nothing else to do but escape! No wonder Tom Sawyer had such a wild imagination, if he couldn't invent anything to do, he would have been bored to tears in Hannibal. Now, I will admit that the town may have been a bit more exciting in Mark Twain's days, but I hardly saw any local kids the whole time I was there.

By the end of the day in Hannibal, I had collected several pictures, a couple of postcards (to send to my students) and a couple of books to add to my classroom library. Hopefully I will be able to use some of this to make our studies of Mark Twain more interesting this year!

The Amana Colonies

On day five of RAGBRAI, we rode through the Amana Colonies. Although the colonies were scenic, we didn't linger there for long during the ride because of their disappointing lack of food. However, we returned to stay in the Amana Colonies after finishing the ride, and I learned a lot about the history of this community.

The Amana Colonies remind me a bit of the Shaker settlements in New England. In the mid 1800's a group of Germans left Germany to find more religious freedom. They initially settled outside of Buffalo, New York, but when that area became too crowded, they purchased 25,000 acres in the Iowa River valley and moved out west. In Iowa they established six villages, and one of the first communal religious societies in America.

The Amana colonies were self-sufficient. They grew all their own food and made all of their own products. Each person in the colony had a specific job to contribute to the well-being of the community. A person might be assigned the job of farmer, carpenter, baker, or even a doctor (the doctors were sent outside of Amana to receive more education). No one received any money for his/her labor, but everyone received food, shelter, medical services, and education from the community. Religion was very important in the community, and residents were required to attend eleven church services each week. The residents of the villages took a lot of pride in their work, and produced high quality textiles, foods, and machinery.

The Amana Colonies underwent the "Great Change" during the Great Depression. The residents of the society decided that the communal life was no longer working for them. They divided up their land and resources so that everything was owned by individuals instead of by the community as a whole. They continued to manufacture products like textiles, food, and appliances, and the quality of their products was recognized nationwide.

Today the Amana Colonies are preserved as a part of history. The buildings in the villages all look similar to how they would have looked 80 years ago. Some of the residents are descendants of the original settlers, but others have moved here more recently. In addition to museums and shops with traditional foods and products, the Amana Villages seem to be home to a fairly large artist community. I spent a morning walking through the village of Homestead and looking at the farms. Later, I browsed through the village of Amana. One of the highlights of the visit was talking with a woman who worked at the museum. She was raised in Amana, but had moved away as soon as she was old enough. She told us that at the time she left there just weren't enough educational opportunities in the village. But, she eventually grew to appreciate the sense of community in the small villages, and she came back there to retire.

Here are some more pictures of the Amana Colonies.

RAGBRAI Photos

So, I never got around to writing a more detailed description of my RAGBRAI trip. But, I have finally uploaded some more pictures from the trip. You can view those here. Or, if you belong to Facebook, you can view my dad's RAGBRAI photos here.

Highlights of my RAGBRAI Adventure

I returned from Iowa a few days ago. Before I take the time to write a long story about my experience, I want to share the highlights and some pictures. So here are some of my favorite things about RAGBRAI, in no particular order.

*The pie (I nearly ate an entire pie by myself during the time of the ride.)

*A recumbent bike disguised as a banana.

*Eating fresh baked kolaches in Solon, Iowa (Kolaches are a Czech pastry that my grandma used to make. There are a lot of Czech people in that region of Iowa.)

*A side trip to Waterloo to learn about my family history

*Riding up almost 21,000 feet of hills across the state.

*Mr. Porkchop (A man who has been cooking porkchops at RAGBRAI for years. He drives his pink school bus to a different spot along the ride every day, and he yells, "Pork Chhhhooooop" as you ride by.)

*Coasting downhill toward the Mississippi River in LeClair

*The corn fields, corn fields, corn fields. Oh, and did I mention the cornfields?

*Visiting Nevada, Iowa (Gospel singers and "Chris Cakes," a Christian form of pancakes that would absolve you of all your sins committed during RAGBRAI--or so they said.)

*Our homestay with a 90 year old woman in Jefferson.


*The excitement caused by rumors that Lance was on the ride. (Lance Armstrong).

*Being stopped for a train in Boone and getting a free key chain because of it

*The fact that I rode almost 450 miles--ALL THE WAY ACROSS IOWA!!!

*The costumes (There were riders dressed like bananas and riders dressed like cows. Team Spam had cans of Spam attached to their helmets. One team wore grass skirts and had bobbing hula dancers attached to their heads. One couple wore inflatable turtle swimming tubes to survive all the flooding.)

*Getting to ride with my dad and little brother and to hang out with my stepmom and aunt.

*The fact that there was an Elvis impersonator in several towns we rode through.

*Poppin Johnny's tractor-powered homemade ice cream.

Why RAGBRAI?

In a few days I'll be heading to Iowa to ride in the RAGBRAI, a seven day bicycle tour that goes from the western edge of the state to the eastern edge. Why, when the focus of my expedition has been rivers, am I headed to Iowa for a bike ride?

This trip will take me through the heart of several small towns, and the idea of community is also a focus of my expedition. RAGBRAI is known for "the sights, the sounds, the friends, the food, but most of all the hospitality of the warm and friendly people of Iowa."

Iowa is bordered by the Missouri River on its western edge and by the Mississippi River on its eastern edge. "Over the years, a tradition has developed for riders to dip their rear tire in the Missouri River or its tributaries as they begin their seven-day journey east. When they complete the ride, they will dip their front tire in the Mississippi River."

This year in particular, with all the flooding in Iowa, my journey will allow me to look at how rivers can destroy and at the same time build up communities. Even though the floods have caused a lot of damage to many areas of the state, the people of Iowa are still joining together to make this bike ride happen. (If you are interested in reading more about the floods, go to the Des Moines Register's website. If you want to make a donation to help out the people who were flooded, go to the state government's website.)

So, since my grant was taking me a few hours from Iowa to study Hannibal, Missouri and the Mississippi River, it just made sense to go a little bit further and include a bike ride across Iowa in my expedition.