The Eastern Slope Of The Mingus Mountain

My grandparents have owned a lake cottage in Piedmont, Ohio since before I was born. Ever since I was baby I have traveled the one and a half hour drive to our cottage. As I grew older, I took in the scenery and the little towns along the way. One sleepy little farm town in particular we drive through, seventeen minutes away from the lake, is called Cadiz; also known as the town that hosts the Hopedale Mining Coal Company. Yet, I never even knew until eighteen years later that a coal mining operation is stationed there.

“In the 1960s, for the folks in and around Ellsworth, [Indiana,] living life decades behind the time was just the way it was. Manpower over technology. The comfort of tradition over the anxiety of change,” stated Jason Recker, a journalist for The Herald. Patoka Reservoir, an economic center for recreation and flood control, encompasses 8,800 acres of land. Before its construction, a thriving community inhabited the fertile terrain along the Patoka River. Towns of this former neighborhood included Elon, Newton-Stewart, and Ellsworth. (Recker 1) Families lived their everyday lives as farmers, with an occasional visit from a local peddler. One day, though, a new kind of visit altered their peaceful ways. A government-sent official arrived

On a late April day, snow still thick on the high peaks, I joined the Eastern Sierra 4X4 Club for a trip up the rugged, steep dirt road to Cerro Gordo. We drove south out of Bishop, known as the “Little Town with a Big Back Yard,” and headed south to Lone Pine, where we picked up the 136, the road over to Death Valley. Just past the fading town of Keeler, we turned left and abandoned the highway for a dirt road that wound up eight miles to this historic mining town. Bishop indeed has a very big back yard.

The summer of 2016, my family decided to shake up our annual summer vacation by heading out west, and chose to go to Sedona, Arizona. Let me tell you, this place radiates beauty. If you've never heard of Sedona, I’ll give you some background real quick. The city IS a desert city. Everywhere you look there's just dirt or sand on the ground and lots of cacti. But the trait that distinguishes the city IS that it sits within a valley in the red rock. All around you stand mountains made of this fiery earth. During our stay there we hiked along many trails through the red rock to almost every tourist spot, some of which gave you a panoramic view of the mountains. The views appeared surreal and took my breath away. Yes, I could go on and on about the beauty of this city, but that's not quite what this story IS about. On this trip, my family and I got up close and personal with some areas of Sedona that one wouldn't call “tourist hotspots.” The town of Jerome is an old mining town built at the base of a mountain, that now has lots of shops and restaurants, and we decided to make this our next destination. So my dad plugged the town into his iPhone GPS (first mistake) and we headed out to reach our destination. Blue sky and deserted land rolled by as I stared out the window. Time seemed to slowly trail by and we did not see signs of the town anywhere. Then suddenly, the smooth asphalt turned to gravel, and immediately something seemed off. “Are you sure we’re going the right way??”

If one takes the I-40 route, one needs to turn onto US 491 in Gallup. It is an interesting scenic drive that gives the traveler a sense of the rugged desolation of this region between Gallup and the town of Shiprock. On older maps this road appears as US 666 and for the longest time it was known as "The Devil's Highway". (Weingroff, Richard F., 2003)

Corpus Christi certainly deserves its reputation as a fun and entertaining place to vacation. And, despite its size and its prominence as a south Texas cultural, industrial and tourist hub, I also discovered that, if you get off the beaten path, you will find much more. The area offers a rare combination of culture, history, industry, tourism, and conservation – Corpus Christi really

Las Vegas, Nevada has always been known as the “City of Sin”. There is another Nevada city which although not nearly as well-known as Las Vegas, also served had its fair share of sin. Just a few miles from the California border in the north-west part of Nevada lies the town of Reno. Reno became a stopping point for many gold-rushers on their way to California during the 1840s and 50s. This small town would eventually become a thriving community that would come to be known as the “Biggest Little City in the World.” The relatively small city of Reno has inspired a number of books, such as “The Roots of Reno – Northern Nevada’s early casinos and the sins it took to build them” by Al W. Moe, as well as countless articles in newspapers and magazines across the country.

The ease with which Didion’s 1968 stranger could tour the Valley would have astonished its residents sixty years earlier. The township’s earliest “roads” favored the wildlife tracks and native trails that paralleled the river and crossed the plain. The 1908 roads were little better than those first paths—perhaps wider as teamsters strove to keep their wagons out of the deep ruts, but more pitted and rougher. In an era when no driver could call any San Joaquín County road “good,” the county’s residents widely recognized Tulare Township’s roads as the region’s worst.

Sinagua, ancestors of the Hopi, lived at Honanki from about 1100 CE to 1300 CE.” Did you

Where I come from it's taking pride in your yard, knowing every single one of your neighbors, and leaving doors unlocked because there isn’t a thing to worry about. I find comfort in that small town feel, and I am more than proud to be from good ol’ Warrenton, Indiana. Here, we are just a wee bit shy of being big enough to be on a map, but we have a name and we have town lines. Within those lines nearly two hundred people have found a home, and thanks to Mr.Dave Gruible our community is steadily flourishing. There are now three subdivisions on the rise in addition to the church, salon, family restaurant, and campgrounds that nestled into the area years ago.

Looking at these pictures I took it's hard to believe at one time Rock Springs, Wyoming was a completely different world. It was newly discovered and developed land in the late 1800s. It was a city full of immigrants trying to survive early life in the West.

The State of Arizona is widely known for its dry western weather, beautiful scenery and cactus plantations spread over wide expanses of rock and desert. This makes for the traditional wild west territory. This picture is painted best in Tucson, a bustling city of 1 million that is set against awe-inspiring mountains. Tucson is Arizona's second largest city after Phoenix and has a rich Mexican-Native American heritage and history stemming from its occupation by native Indians. Many people have traveled through this city since its inception in the 18th century. From French merchants to Anglo-American frontiersmen to Indian tribesmen, Tucson can boast a rich and diverse heritage.

There were barely any opportunities in Red Rock for the residents when the mill stopped operating unless they moved cities. On the other hand, opportunities for people looking for a low cost of living and affordable housing surged. This led to a steady school enrolment and exploration of eco-tourism for a source of revenue.

Critics say Where the Mountain Meets the Moon is “A beautiful book bound to become a classic.” Some may say the book seems like it is childish, but that’s not the case. The book actually has an average age rating of 12+. It has suspense, Chinese culture-based adventure, and interesting and original stories.

In the foothills of the Putney Mountains located southwest of Charleston, West Virginia, is a little city, called Howardsville that had its own dark history. Ernest Cassidy lived his entire life in the two-story-house near the foothills; he was familiar with the myths, legends and lies about his city, which included him. The mysteries began years earlier when several strange accidents and bizarre events shook Howardsville and as a result, strange mishaps took place, which led to the legends and mysteries, which still occur to this day.