Travelers: Shadow of the Vaile

The midwest and plains areas of the United States are filled with stories of haunted locations that would be top on any paranormal investigator's list.  And in fact there are many on Meg and my list. This year we got to explore one of those haunted homes: The Vaile Mansion in Independence Missouri.  

History of the Land:

The Vaile Mansion is located in Independence Missouri in Jackson county along the bank of the Missouri River. The area was once the northern boundary of the Osage Nation which included parts of Missouri, Arkansas, Oklahoma, and Kansas. They have traits in common with both Woodland Tribes as well as Great Plains tribes. They were noted for their use of horses and and their buffalo hunts on the Great Plains. 

On November 10, 1808 the US Government and Osage Nation signed the Osage Treaty at Fort Osage (then Fort Clark). In the treaty over 52,000,000 acres, mostly in Missouri, were ceded to the government. Immediately the Osage people protested the treaty questioning whether all necessary representatives were there. They were forced to Kansas where smallpox, other diseases, and war would devastate the tribes. 

The earliest European settlers were French. The land was fought over during the French and Indian War and came under British rule and then was promptly ceded to Spain in 1763. In 1800 Spain was forced to return the land to France in the Third Treaty of San Ildefonso and then in 1803 the area was sold to the United States as part of the Louisiana Purchase. In 1804 Lewis and Clark reached the area and picked plums, raspberries, and apples on their journey west writing in their travel log that it was a "high commanding position." That spot would become Fort Clark and later renamed to Fort Osage.

In 1821 Missouri was formally admitted into the Union of the United States. And in 1826 Jackson county was organized and named for Andrew Jackson. Independence was selected as the county seat and the town quickly began to expand as it became a central location for westward travel. Independence was called "The Queen City of the Trails" as it was the starting point for the three western trails: Oregon, Santa Fe, and California trails. The infamous Donner Party left from Independence in 1846 on the Oregon Trail. Independence also served as an important trade route since it was the furthest west that steamboats could travel on the Missouri river due to the confluence with the Kansas River just six miles away.

In 1831 Jospeh Smith, founder of The Latter Day Saint movement,  stated that a New Jerusalem would be founded in Independence. Followers were encouraged to travel to the area and begin purchasing land. The new comers clashed with existing settlers and in 1833 a decree ordered all members of the Latter Day Saints to leave Missouri. In 1838 removal came to a head between August to November in the Missouri Mormon War. One of the worst clashes was on October 30, 1838 at Haun's Mill. Mormon families had gathered there and were surrounded by over 200 militia members. The battle resulted in 17 deaths.

During the American Civil War Independence saw two battles within the city limits in 1862 and 1864. Also in Jackson County was the 1864 battle of Westport, called the Gettysburg of the West. 

After the Civil War train travel began to increase and moved the center of travel to Kansas City. 

My sister and I believe in the idea of places holding trauma and memory. Even in this limited history above the amount of upheaval and change and the number of people who traveled through this area surely has had an impact. 

History of the Vaile Mansion:

Colonel Harvey Merrick Vaile was born in Bennington, Vermont in 1831. In the 1840s he moved to upstate NY where he would meet Cecilia Sophia Graham and they would eventually marry. Harvey held a variety of jobs including teacher, lawyer, lobbyist, and reporter. However the majority of his fortune came from land investments and partnership in the Star Route along the Santa Fe Trail.  

As Harvey's wealth increased he and Sophia wanted to build a home that matched. They wanted to have a home that people could use as a gathering place and took inspiration from some of the finest homes in Europe. The Vaile Mansion was completed on October 12,1881, at a cost of $150,000. It was a modern marvel for several reasons but the most impressive reason was the fact that it had heating and hot water. Especially impressive since no other home in Jackson County had indoor plumbing. The home had 31 rooms, 14 foot ceilings, a mansard roof, long gothic windows, speaking tubes, and two chandeliers originally meant for the White House but purchased by Harvey when a defect was discovered in them. 

The home was designed by architect Asa Beebe Cross. Cross designed over 1000 structures in Kansas City though today only a handful remain one of which is the Vaile Mansion, another is St. Patrick's at 8th and Cherry in Kansas City, and a third is Sauer Castle at 935 Shawnee Rd in Kansas City.

Unfortunately Sophia and Harvey did not get to live the life the imagined when they began construction on the home. Harvey was charged with fraud and theft of funds with his Star Route. He spent over $100,000 on legal fees and countless hours traveling from Independence to Washington DC to defend himself. He would eventually be acquitted but during the time when he was away Sophia became ill with stomach cancer. On February 14th, 1883 while Harvey was in Washington Sophia passed away from an overdose of laudanum which she had been prescribed for pain. 

Harvey would never get to use the house as a grand and happy gathering space, in fact the planned ballroom on the third floor was never finished. The couple did not have children and Harvey Vaile never remarried. In the Kansas City Times Mary Paxton Keeley remembered a chance encounter meeting Harvey Vaile when she was a young child with her father and brothers visiting the grounds and the lake which on some days was opened to the public.

 Upon seeing her father and his children an aged Vaile asked if they were all his and then commented that the father was indeed a rich man.

Harvey passed away due to complications of a stroke on June 4th, 1894. His Last Will and Testament surprised some. His cousin Olivia Sprague, who had moved in and run the home after Sophia's death was left a yearly allowance, the home was left to become a women's school called called The Independence Ladies College, and to his nieces and nephews he left five dollars each. Not surprisingly the nieces and nephews fought the Will.

The legal battle over the property cost so much that both parties could not maintain the property afterwards and as a result his nieces and nephews never took control of the home and it never became a school as he had planned. The furniture was sold to raise founds, with one exceptions being a clock now on one of the mantles which was original to the home and is verified by a painting of Harvey with the clock in the background. Afterwards the home served as an Inn for a short time, headquarters for the Vaile Pure Spring Water Company, a mental asylum, and a senior living home.

The Trip:

We planned to leave enough time to visit some historic sites and places connected to the Vaile Mansion. For example the pictures above of the confluence of the rivers, Fort Osage, St. Patrick's, and the Sauer Mansion. On our first night in the area we stopped at Lutfi's which not only had delicious catfish but amazing carrot cake dessert. The guys behind the counter were amazingly welcoming and after a short conversation they offered us some of their chicken wings to try with a sauce they were very proud of on it. It was Friday in Lent and we could not eat meat so we tried to decline the wings but they insisted we take them and have them Saturday for breakfast. The wings were a perfect breakfast especially since our hotel did not have much breakfast due to Covid restrictions. If you are ever in the area near Independence/Blue Springs do yourself a favor and stop at Lutfi's! I know I will be back.

The Equipment:

When we booked the investigation we knew it was a public investigation meaning there would be many people in the home that night, but we hoped it would be a manageable amount of people and we began making plans about setting cameras in different hotspots as well as Meghan memorizing some Shakespeare and various poems to recite for Harvey and Sophia's entertainment. 

We wanted to place a trap camera looking at the stairs going to the third floor due to reports of a shadow figure that had been seen in the stairwell, we also planned on putting a recorder on the third floor so that we could cover the area without having to be up there, similarly we planned on putting a trap camera in the basement to look at the door that is said to close itself, and finally another camera in the nature's bower a strange small sitting area overlooking the front lawn and street. However when we arrived we realized it was more people then we felt comfortable with to leave our equipment around. We did end up leaving one camera watching the stair case to the third floor but that was it. As a result we had the one trap camera, my video camera, the two recorders we were carrying, and a body camera that we were still testing out to see how it would perform.

The Investigation/Evidence:

Before going to the mansion we stopped at the Vaile family mausoleum for an S-Box session.

We arrived a little early which was fine because it allowed us a quick nap before beginning. There was a sign in sheet that asked for team name so this will forever be the first official investigation under our team name: Travelers. Now the house is large with over 30 rooms however the amount of people made investigating a little difficult because we didn't want to interfere with anyone else's recordings and by the same token we had to listen very carefully to ours. I think we started out with a good plan. We went straight to the Nature's Bower to set up our camera and look at the faces in the wood grain.

While there we had an Estes Method S-Box session. This is our newest experiment in investigating and helpful in a situation like this where the sound of the S-Box would negatively effect other investigations. For the experiment Meg was wearing earbuds connected to the S-Box and then noice reducing head phones so that she could not hear my questions. 

We left the Bower to go to Sophia's bed room and sitting room. There were so many questions that we had for Sophia and she is said to be one of the most active spirits in the home. We wanted to be sure that we got to spend some time in this side of the house where Sophia spent most of her time when she was ill. As Meg walked past one room she heard a woman's voice. Unfortunately we did not have that voice on a recorder but it sounded like a cry/moan. 

We left the second floor and went down to the first floor. While down there we had some plans for Meg to recite an AE Houseman poem as well as some Shakespeare. Listening back to the recordings though we were struck by how much we heard voices in the recordings. The best way to describe it was as "swirling voices." At the end of this blog post I will link a compilation video of all the EVPs but first I will post some that I have separated out like this one from the first floor women's parlor.

After leaving the first floor we spent time in the basement. As I was walking I saw a very unique orb fly past the video camera. Normally I won't include orbs as evidence because they are usually just bugs reflecting light but this one not only had a strange shape but a strange pattern of movement. 

We left the basement and went straight up to the third floor to try and spend at least a little time on that floor. The floor is famous for evps, disembodied voices, and shadow figures. We set up a laser grid which despite having new batteries began fading in and out as we sat upstairs.

After exploring the third floor before heading back downstairs I commented about how there wasn't much to explore and we recorded this evp.

Now there was a door that we could have pushed up to look into the attic but having been told there are bats I wasn't going to look. 

We came back down from the third floor to check on my trail camera and stopped to talk with two other investigators who were using their SLS.

Now that we had been to every floor for at least a little bit we turned our attention to the other side of the house and Harvey Vaile's office. There we recorded this residual EVP that I found very moving when I listened to it later. Also I used one of my favorite pictures: a portrait that shows Harvey Vaile standing in front of one of the fine marble fireplaces with a clock behind him. I think the fact that you see Harvey reflected in the mirror is what draws me in.

As I said above Harvey and Sophia Vaile never got to live the life they dreamed of in their beautiful mansion in Independence, Missouri. While Harvey traveled back and forth from his home to Washington DC because of the investigations into potential fraud Sophia was home alone and suffering from what is believed to have been stomach cancer. When Harvey returned from a break in the investigation to bury Sophia imagine his pain and grief at missing her last days and suffering she had endured alone. Sitting in his study imagine his attorney or business associates trying to ask about the investigation. What would his mind frame be? That is what I was thinking when we heard this residual EVP.

Finally here is a compilation of all our other EVPs/evidence from the investigation.

We hope to return to the Vaile Mansion someday for a private investigation so that we can fully set up our equipment. Meg did so much more research into the history of the home, people, and land then I included here. This investigation will forever be a special one since it was the first time we actually publicly investigated as Travelers!

Thank you. Please consider following my youtube jorekkeroj and this blog for our future investigations. We will beginning the evidence review from our investigation at the Lotz House.

Travelers: Mt. Olivet Cemetery

 Last Friday we stopped for a couple of hours at Mt. Olivet one of the oldest and largest cemeteries in Nashville, TN for a brief paranormal investigation. We had planned to be there longer but because of different events during the day we arrived very late. We thought about skipping it and just going back another day but then decided we could use this time to get some basic photos and familiarize ourselves a little and then plan a return. 

The cemetery was founded by two Tennessee businessmen, Adrian Van Sinderen Lindsley and John Buddeke, in 1856. A little less than thirty years later Lindsley passed away and was buried at Mt. Olivet. The architecture of the cemetery is Gothic Revival and at one point there was a chapel in that style built by Hugh Cathcart Thompson, the architect of the famous Rhyman Auditorium. 

For this investigation we each carried a recorder, Meghan had her Canon rebel DSL camera, I had an infrared camera, the S-Box, and a body camera. 

We started the investigation by just pulling over and then splitting up and walking around looking at the different graves. Because it was late I did not try and find some of the more notable burials in the cemetery like Thomas Rhyman, Edward Barnard, and Anne Dallas Dudley. While reading the names on the graves we recognized many of the family names from counties and streets of Tennessee. As we got out of the car we split up with Meghan going to graves to the right of the car and me walking forward further into the cemetery. As I have done in past investigations I pulled out a few of the best captures and also uploaded to youtube a full video of all the EVPs and the S-Box session. 

The first EVP that I separated out in to its own clip was what we believe to be a residual haunting of someone saying a prayer.

I also pulled out a clip to compare an EVP that was recorded on both Meg and my recorder. 

And the final clip I separated was our favorite and one that made us certain we needed to return. I had parked across from a tall monument for the Weaver- Cole- Cheatham family.  Meg had gone there to investigate while I wandered away to some of the larger tombs. 

Meg began reading the writing on the graves out load one by one beginning with Dempsey Weaver, 1815-1880. Dempsey was one of the founders of Third National Bank in Nashville and at one time was Treasurer of Vanderbilt University. 

After Dempsey Meg moved on to his son, Thomas Weaver's family. Thomas was born in 1850 and passed away suddenly in 1911 in Florida. He had followed his father's footsteps working in banking and serving as trustee for Vanderbilt University. He married Mattie Cheatham in 1872. Her maiden name was one of the names we recognized as the county next to us is Cheatham county. From there Meg moved on to the grave of their son Richard Cheatham Weaver, 1895-1913. He was only 18 when he died of an accidental gun shot wound to the abdomen. 

Next she moved to the grave of his oldest brother Thomas Shadrack Weaver Jr, 1873-1918. Thomas 

It was at these last two graves where Meg recorded an EVP  that convinced us we have to go back. As Meg moved to Richard's grave a voice says "Hey read me". When we first listened we questioned whether in 1913 "Hey" would have been used in that way because we think of it as a more modern usage. Meg check out the etymological use of the word and indeed it dates back to the 15th century. And to further confirm the voice was Richard when she moved on to Thomas Jr we hear the same voice say "now come back." 

As we were listening to the recordings we read about the family history. The Weaver family owned a home called Seven Oaks which burned down but would have been near the Nashville Airport, and there are Seven Oaks apartments and Seven Oaks Park still in the area. Not only was Weaver a well known name but they had connections to the Cheatham family as mentioned above and also the Cole family who owned Colemere which is now a restaurant and event space called Monelle's at the Manor. We definitely had fun learning about some of the history of these families in Nashville and look forward to returning not just to revisit Richard but to see what else we can learn about Nashville and the people who once lived here.

Here is the full video including several other EVPs and our S-Box session.

Thank you for watching we have some big plans ahead in the next few months and look forward to sharing the results.

Past Investigations:

Children's Playground Huntsville, Alabama

Octagon Hall

Mysterious House of Hartford City

Shilo, Vicksburg, and Cedar Grove

Waverly Hills

The Crescent Hotel

The Children's Playground in Huntsville Alabama

Our goal this year for paranormal investigations is to stay local, with  a few exceptions, and focus on getting to know our area. By local I mean a 2-3 hour window; some place that we can drive to, spend a few hours, and return in around 10-12 hours. We started with Maple Hill Cemetery and the Haunted Children's Playground in Huntsville, Alabama. 

Maple Hill started as a two acre cemetery in 1822 when LeRoy Pope sold the property to the city on September 14. Over the next 100 years as Huntsville grew so did the cemetery. Today it is over 100 acres and the burial site of many notable Alabama politicians. 

Adjacent to it is a small playground surrounded by limestone cliffs.  The playground has been called one of the most haunted places in Alabama. The ghosts of children have been seen and heard here, swings are said to move by themselves, and glowing lights have also been seen. Some theories say the children are the young victims from the 1918 Spanish Flu, which hit Huntsville particularly hard. I have also seen references to kidnapped children in the 60s or 70s but have been unable to verify that. 

We wanted to visit the cemetery during the day so we knew that our night investigation would not go very late but at only a two hour drive we will easily return for more night investigating later, probably during warmer months. Even in Alabama January is cold.

We arrived in Huntsville around 3pm and drove to the cemetery. I had a list of notable graves which included a baseball player and several rocket scientists. However when we arrived there were two funerals taking place so we didn't look too hard for the graves and we decided to just drive around and see what we found. 

Our main investigative tools were one voice recorder (normally we would each have one but the battery didn't hold its charge on one), one night vision trap camera, and our S-Box. During daylight hours we drove around the large cemetery with the S-Box and also at times getting out and walking around with just the recorder. 

We then went to our true destination, the adjoining playground, to look around, read a story, and get some photos.

We left to warm up and grab dinner at Below the Radar Brewpub, before returning a bit after sunset which is a time known as "the gloaming" which is an awesome word and I have asked Meg if we can write a horror script titled The Gloaming.

This video starts with a very clear EVP, I think one of our best. I actually pulled it out to make it its own video. I'm trying to figure out how to drive more people to my youtube videos and while I like keeping the compilation videos I feel a series of short videos will help get more views as people will see it as less of a commitment. 

I also have some of our best interactions with the S-Box as we used the Estes Method. The Method gets its name from Estes Colorado, specifically the Stanley Hotel when Karl Pfeiffer, Michelle Tate, and Connor Randall performed the experiment in several sessions in 2016 and since then it has been used by many groups including some on tv. The idea of using the blind experiment was made popular by them but they were not the first. In 2013 Daniel Morgan and Shawn Taylor published The Double-Blind Ghost Box: Scientific Methods, Examples and Transcripts. The way it works is one person listens to the Spirit Box on head phones so that they are unaware of what questions are being asked. They then say what words they hear. Since they can't hear the questions they won't be biased to trying to make sense of the words in a way that will give answers to the questions.  Basically it removes any bias, towards making sense of the sounds, that the investigator may have. 

The following video will repeat the EVP and then continue into the SBox session. At the end is video from our trap camera that for some reason continued to upload with no sound. I finally got it to work and will post that in a separate video.

Now our video from the Trap Camera with sound. I set it up looking at the swings because it is reported that they move on their own. While I did not record the swings moving we did get a strange moment where after recording for over 5 minutes my camera moves. Then we had a strange sound that we heard but could not identify. 

My final video is just a little fun. We had left the car during the day and I forgot my recorder in the car. At some point we hear the door open like some one is getting in but then silence. A few moments later you hear the two of us return and both car doors open and close.

If you enjoy this and want to see more I will post our past investigations down below. Please consider following my youtube and this blog page. It won't always be paranormal stuff but I promise I try and keep it interesting :-)

Octagon Hall Investigation

Mysterious House of Hartford City

Shiloh, Vicksburg, and Cedar Grove

Waverly Hills

The Crescent Hotel

Exploring Historic Octagon Hall

While on a road trip through parts of Kentucky we had detoured because of a sign about a 'Devious Well.' Then that detour led us to see signs for 'Historic and Haunted Octagon Hall.' We tried to stop by the hall but it was closed and so we decided to try again another time. Then the Tennessee Wraith Chasers did a live special from Octagon Hall and we knew we had to get out there. We signed up for a novice paranormal investigation and began researching the home to give ourselves a game plan for the night. We also saw on their website that a reputable paranormal investigation group can rent the Hall with a minimum of six people. So hopefully with a few investigations under our belt as a resume we can do that in the near future.

The hall is located in Simpson county Kentucky along 31W which, back in stage coach days, was the Nashville Road. The home was built by Andrew Jackson Caldwell in a style that was rising in popularity. A book published in 1848 by Orson Squire Fowler "The Octagon House" explaining the benefits in terms of space, lighting, and air flow may have been inspiration for Caldwell and others.  All the bricks used in the home were made on the property. Caldwell finished his home shortly before the start of the Civil War and it played a large part in Kentucky's history. After a defeat at Bowling Green the Confederate army retreated back down the Nashville road toward TN. They found a friend in Caldwell and a resting place on his property during the retreat. The Orphan Brigade, as they were called, retreated and rested at his home in February. Shortly after they left the Union Army came and occupied the area and, knowing Caldwell was loyal to the Confederacy, would regularly search his home for soldiers who may have been hiding. The family did hide soldiers in the home sometimes in a hidden crawlspace under the front stairs and other times in the cupola/attic.

The Caldwell family also suffered personal loss in the home. Mary Elizabeth Caldwell, Andrew's young daughter, was killed in 1854 in the downstairs winter kitchen when her dress caught fire. And Andrew Jackson passed away in 1866. His wife Harriet continued in the home until 1918 when she sold it to a Doctor from Nashville, Miles Williams, who passed away there and left it to heirs who used it as a rental property until Billy Byrd and the Octagon Hall Foundation purchased it in 2001 in order to preserve it and its place in Kentucky's history.

We arrived early and each gave a $5 donation to walk around the museum. This way we could build up some pictures of the place and get a feel for the location and layout. It worked out well because the hall is truly a museum filled with information and artifacts from the Civil War. The paranormal and haunted aspect is cool but there is a lot to see for history buffs as well. 

During our visit before the investigation we spokewith some of the caretakers and members of the paranormal investigation group called the Nightstalkers. They warned us that the spirits of Octagon Hall are very used to being investigated and will play with you. We experienced that by having cameras and batteries malfunction and one funny interaction where Meghan denied knowing what a piece of equipment did and we got a response of " I doubt that." By the way, Meghan truly did not know what that piece of equipment was.

Since we plan on returning I will focus on the history at that time. Today's post will be just a short one about the results from our evidence review.

Our main tools for investigating were the voice recorders that we carried on our arms and our S-Box. I had set up trap cameras in several rooms but did not capture much with them. I created three videos that will have all the interactions we had but I pulled out several clips specifically to show the two types of hauntings we believe we encountered. 

Intelligent Haunting: An intelligent haunting is going to mean that the spirits in the location can and will respond and interact with you. This is really the type of haunting we are looking for when asking questions such as "how many are in the room," as can be seen in this clip:

The next clip is also another example of an intelligent haunting. Since our aim is to learn about who is there and why we often ask questions looking for information about whom we may be contacting:

Residual Haunting: A residual haunting is the repetition of sounds and actions that happened in the past. I think of it a lot as 'place memories.' In this video we are about to head outside during our visit before the investigation:

And now the next clip is from the upstairs bedroom of Mary Elizabeth. Meg sat down and began reading stories out of a children's book. We had first done this in Waverly on the fourth floor where the children's play area was located. Our hope is to provide spirits with  some entertainment instead of just asking them questions. We had success in Waverly and we had success here. It is certainly something we will continue in future investigations. 

Next is a video I have from down in the winter kitchen. My video camera battery kept draining despite being fully charged so I used a portable backup to keep it charged. There are a few reasons why I decided to upload this clip. First at 1:04 and again at 3:47 I think I see an orb/light anomaly which could be a bug or dust but because I had been filming and not seen a lot of dust or bugs and the way it moved slowly made me think it was not dust. Also I like some things that we did as a good example of what a paranormal investigation is like. At one point I introduce myself and the others in the room do the same. This helps me have examples of everyone's voices on the recorder so that if I did have an EVP I could compare it and make sure it wasn't someone whispering. Also it gives me a good count as to how many people are there. Finally it is a solid example that this requires patience because so much of what we are doing is hoping for something in evidence review. I ask at one point if Mary Elizabeth, if she is there, could move the pot. There are stories of it moving on its own. However actually getting that on film would be mind blowing and very rare:

The next three videos are compilations of all the recordings whether EVP or S-Box that we had through out the night. Because it was a public investigation and there were so many people many of our recordings were unusable however what we did get makes me certain we want to return on a night when there are less people to set us up for clearer results.

Part 1

This is all from our visit before the investigation.

 

Part 2:

In this clip we have several examples of what I believe are residual EVPs. Also at the 4 minute mark I start a clip from the barn when we were using one of the other investigator's spirit box. Instead of searching radio stations it can be manipulated by spirits to speak words. In this clip the investigator asks if the spirits want someone to leave. While I want to be respectful of spirits I must admit this is a question I try very hard not to ask for this very amusing reason.

Part 3: 

My final video is mostly from the upstairs of the Caldwell home in Mary Elizabeth's room and a room that was used as a hospital. We have several S-Box interactions including one clip at 6:30 when Meg is saying she doesn't know what the device in front of us does (again she didn't lie it wasn't ours) and a spirit answers, "I don't believe that." Remember we had already been told that they are very aware of being investigated and questioned. 

Another good thing to come from this investigation was that it was after this that Meg and I really decided we like this and want to continue. We had been speaking to a couple there who formed their own group and they inspired us to do the same. So we are making our own group which is really just us but will have a name and a symbol. I am going to continue using this blog and my youtube account to upload and share evidence. I don't know if we will get to the point where it is worth creating social media for just paranormal investigations. But we can cross that bridge if we come to it. The group name is Travelers and we are working on getting an official design though we do have a drawing Meg created as a start.

We used symbolism and signs of luck from both our Italian and Irish sides. The round drawing features an Ash tree at the center, Yggdrasil the tree of life, with Pulcinella, an Italian trickster figure. He carries a red pepper in one hand, to ward off the evil eye, and a four leaf clover, faith, hope, love, and luck, in his other.  At his feet is a hedgehog, Irish symbol of good luck. In the bark of the tree are three numbers 42, 48, and 85. In La Smorfia Napoletena 48 stands for the dead who speak, 85 stands for the souls of purgatory, and 42 means coffee... ok we chose 42 because of Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy but coffee works well too.

So far this year we have visited a cemetery/haunted playground in Alabama. We also have booked an investigation at the Vaile Mansion in February and will be returning to the Crescent Hotel in March.  Other than those two we are hoping to keep things local this year with a return to Waverly and new locations like the Thomas House and South Pittsburg Hospital. I also want to go to local cemeteries and learn about the areas local legend: the Bell Witch. 

Here are links to my other blogs about paranormal investigations:

The Crescent Hotel

Waverly Hills 

Shiloh, Vicksburg, and Cedar Grove

The Mysterious House of Hartford City

Standing on a Corner in Winslow Arizona

 Oh my God this was our last trip! Sweet sixteen and just four states left. This trip had the fewest stops of all the trips and consequently the most driving between stops. 

State 45: Oklahoma.

My stop in Oklahoma was in Edmund where there is a statue called "Leaping into History". The statue was sculpted by Mary Lou Gresham and it honors Nannita R.H. "Kentucky" Daisey. She was born in PA in 1855 and moved around from Missouri to Kentucky. As the story goes Nannita like many others headed west during the land rush in 1889 to try and make a claim. She convinced the train operator to let her ride on the cowcatcher, I never knew that is what it was called. Nannita jumped off the train and staked her land in what is today Edmund. She wasn't the only woman to claim land in the land rush but she has become one of the most famous especially with the story of riding the train. The statue was unveiled on July 4th, 2007.

The area with the statue was really nice and seemed like a great hang out area with restaurants and bars. Unfortunately it was also super crowded and there were lots of other dogs so we didn't stay there. Instead we decided to try Whataburger for the first time and then go to a different brewery to have dinner before checking into a hotel. Whataburger ended up being a terrible choice. A lot of people rave over it which is why we went there. We pulled up to the drive through and sat and sat and sat. Maybe they were short staffed maybe there was something else going on. We sat in the drive through line for over an hour. Now the other big maybe is that I should have just pulled away and gone somewhere else- I'll give you that one. Sometimes I am stubborn in all the wrong ways. So we sat and sat and sat until finally it was our turn. We ordered and then got our food and left for our brewery Broke Brewing Co. The brewery had a nice setup with a small patio and a couple of tables. It was a little chilly but comfortable enough. I went inside to get a flight, which came with a bag of pretzels, and on a whim order their dreamsicle orange seltzer. Now I'm usually not a big fan of seltzers but this was so good we bought a six pack to bring home. While I was cashing out the bartender asked what brought me to Oklahoma and I explained about the road trip and told him about the statue of Nanitta. Him and another fellow inside knew of the location but had never noticed the statue before. Hopefully they took a moment to check it out by now.

For a lot of this trip we followed Route 66 and in El Reno, OK we stopped at one of the many Route 66 signs that are set up for Travelers to take selfies/ photos with. 

State 46: Texas

This stop was a lunch stop that had been recommended to my Mom. Now it was a little before noon and Sunday so we were unable to order a beer from the brewery. I figured that would be ok because we may have been there long enough to get a beer at the end of the meal or we could always just pick one and get a growler for the hotel that night. The restaurant is The Big Texan and it is home to the 72 ounce steak. The story goes that Bob Lee was the original owner of The Big Texan, known for its Texas sized steaks. Anyway lots of cowboys were coming in and eating the large steaks and other customers were watching as they did that. Bob got an idea and one day in 1962 he pulled a bunch of tables together to have an eating contest. For $5.00 anyone could enter and the winner, who ever ate the most, would keep all the entry money. 

The eventual winner ate 72 ounces of steak, a salad, a shrimp cocktail, a baked potato, and bread roll. And the 72 ounce dinner was born. As we were driving Meg was trying to figure out if she thought she could do the challenge. Her dislike of shrimp and the required shrimp cocktail was an obvious problem. By the time we got there Meg decided she would pass on the 72 ounce challenge, a decision that seemed like the right one. There was no outdoor seating but it was early and the large restaurant was empty. I requested a seat at a window because we were going to have to leave Gypsy and Domino in the car while we ate and I wanted to be able to see them. Now the Big Texan is way more than a restaurant. It is connected to a hotel, a gift shop, a brewery, a small arcade/Wild West shooting gallery and so much more. 

When we pulled up we walked around outside for a little bit looking around so the pups got to stretch their legs before we went inside. Then we ordered normal sized steak meals.

After eating I went back outside to walk Gypsy Rover again before exploring the gift shop. We took a moment to take the wonderful picture of her imaging what a 72 ounce steak would taste like.

I also left behind a painted rock of an armadillo by a giant crocodile advertising for the Big Texan.  And then not thinking anything of it I went back in to the gift shop. I was checking out some Route 66 "The Mother Road" long sleeve shirts when I overheard a conversation between two women. One of them had found my rock, it had only been about 15 minutes since I put it down. She was very excited about it and said she was going to look up what was written on the back (#drivethe48 and this blog url). It made me super happy to hear her excitement at finding the rock. I hope she did look it up and enjoyed some of the photos!

State 47: New Mexico

I love New Mexico! From the moment we entered it I thought the state was beautiful. I never fully appreciated the adobe/pueblo architectural style until I saw it in New Mexico. The buildings, landscape, and sky just worked perfectly together. The state slogan is "Land of Enchantment" and I felt that. We started our visit in Santa Fe at The Cathedral Basilica of St. Francis Assisi. Unfortunately the doors were locked because the Bishop had closed all churches to visitors/parishioners due to Covid 19. That was definitely frustrating. It is times like these when people are struggling and the world is crazy that I would think we need Churches more. I would think just asking people to be mindful of social distancing and even putting a limit like stores have. I would certainly be ok with looking in and counting how many people to see if I could enter and then waiting my turn if it meant keeping the doors open. 

The first church in that location was built in 1610. The current Basilica was built in 1886. It was elevated to a Basilica in 2005 by Pope Benedict XVI. Inside is the La Conquistadora statue a wooden statue of Mary holding baby Jesus. The statue is dated between the 15-17 century and was brought by the Spanish to America. Unfortunately since the Church was closed we could not see it. The Cathedral stands out because of its Romanesque Architecture style featuring round arches and Corinthian columns. It also has a large rose window featuring the 12 Apostles.

After walking around the outside of the Cathedral we checked in to our hotel and then went to pick up dinner. For dinner we stopped at Tomasita's. I ordered and then waited outside for them to bring the food to the car. The food was fantastic especially the Tortilla Soup.

The next morning we got breakfast from Craft Donuts and Coffee, a food truck with fresh made donuts as you order them. 

Next we took a little detour out of Santa Fe because it was too early for our planned locations, they didn't open until 10 and instead of sleeping late and relaxing we hopped in the car and drove to El Santuario de Chimayo. The building is adobe with bell towers on either side. Inside were pews on either side and an altar. Just before the altar on the left wall is a doorway that leads back to a hole with dirt in it. The site draws over 300,000 pilgrims a year because of the legend of healing dirt. One long room had crutches and testimonials of people who were healed after visiting the shrine. Through a small doorway there was another room with the well. The gift shop sold religious items, books, and small plastic containers to hold dirt.

We turned back to Santa Fe but first we had to stop at a fun roadside attraction: camel rock. It's always neat when nature makes its own silly roadside attractions. This one is a good one. As we were driving down the highway we saw signs saying "Camel Rock" next exit. We all looked around and then we saw it right off the highway and yeah... it looks like a camel. I left a painted rock of the New Mexico state flag at the picnic area near the rock.

Once back in Santa Fe we went to San Miguel, the oldest church in the 48 contiguous states. The mission was originally built in 1610 but it has seen a lot of change. In 1640 the Governor and the Franciscan friars at the Church had a falling out. The Friars were forced out of the city and part of the church was dismantled. In 1641 however the Governor was arrested and the Franciscans returned and rebuilt. In 1680 during the Pueblo Revolt when indigenous people rose up against the ruling Spanish, the mission was damaged. It was repaired but only temporarily. In 1710 a larger refurbishing was completed using the original foundation but changing the shape of the apse. In the1830s the bell tower was added but then the church fell into disrepair. In 1881 the church was sold to the Christian Brothers of De La Salle who ran a nearby school. In 1887 the bell tower was repaired, a new metal roof completed, and buttresses were added and support the walls were finished. The last remodeling was completed in 1955. The apse maintained the trapezoidal shape and the church is small at 24 feet wide and 70 feet long. Unfortunately it was also closed like the Cathedral so we could not see the original bell or the reredos, large decorated pieces behind the altar, dating back to the 1700s.

Next we travelled a few minutes away to the Loretto Chapel to see the Miraculous Stair. The chapel was commissioned in 1873 as an addition to the school owned by the Sisters of Loretto. Connecting the chapel to the choir loft is a spiral staircase that has become the chapel's most striking feature. Apparently as construction was on going there was a lot of questions about how one would reach the choir loft. The small size of the chapel meant that a traditional staircase would take up a large portion of the chapel. Legend tells that the Sisters began praying a Novena, nine days of prayer, to St. Joseph for help with the question of reaching the choir loft. At the end of their prayer a mysterious stranger appeared with simple wood working tools and he set to work at building the staircase. There are several mysteries surrounding the staircase:

1. Who was the mysterious stranger?

2. How is it supported with no center pole like many spiral stairs?

3. What kind of wood was used and how was it held together?

Now the most miraculous version of the story of the stairs says that St. Joseph, the patron Saint of carpenters on the ninth day of the novena came and in one night he built the staircase and then disappeared before his identity could be revealed and without requesting any payment. 

Because the archdiocese had sold the chapel to a private company which now holds events in the space it was open for viewing despite the Bishops call to close due to Covid 19. Standing inside and looking at the staircase is truly a splendid sight. The stairs are 20 feet and completely twist around twice. An iron rail and a support to a column were added after the stair case was built. The wood used is some kind of spruce but is not native to New Mexico. One thing that stands out when you closely examine the stairs is that there are no signs of nails. The stairs are held together by glue and wooden pegs rather than nails it creates a beautiful solid finish. Most spiral staircases also have a pole at the center to support the weight of the staircase. Instead on this staircase the weight is supported by the seven interior stringers that are interlocked and glued together. The spiral is so tight it gives similar support to a straight stringer. That leaves the question of who was the carpenter? Who ever he was his work is masterful. Carpenters with todays modern tools at their hands have looked at the staircase and shook their heads at the work. In her 2002 work historian Mary Jean Cook may have found the identity of the carpenter. Francois-Jean Rochas had travelled to New Mexico to work as a rancher in the 1870s. The Sisters had an entry in their 1881 ledger paying him $150 for wood and in an article about his death in 1895 it is mentioned that he was considered an expert carpenter and had built a staircase in Santa Fe. 

So was Rochas the mysterious stranger who built the stairs? Maybe does that make it no longer a miraculous staircase, I don't think so. The craftsmanship and design leaves todays modern carpenters with more precise tools in awe. Francois was the answer to the Sister' s prayers and his work still stands today giving visitors a beautiful work of art to admire.

Before leaving Santa Fe my Mom wanted to stop at a store she had seen the day before. She had seen the sign advertising "Russian Art Gallery" and noticed a beautiful Matryoshka doll in the window as we had driven by. I parked nearby and left Meg with the dogs and the car as my Mom and I walked a few blocks to the store. As we went in the store was filled a variety of different types of styles of art. There were oil paintings, matryoshka dolls, painted eggs, and lacquer boxes. When we entered Jiri, one of the owners, quickly greeted us. The store had originated in north Carolina but him and Olga, co-owner, had decided to change locations and moved to Santa Fe several years ago. Sadly Covid and raising rent was hurting his business and like many other small businesses he was faced with changing his way of doing business. My Mom and I were looking at an impressive set of nesting dolls and I was counting the dolls up. I said "oh wow nineteen pieces." "How many did you say?" Questioned Jiri. "Nineteen" I repeated a little unsure. "Count again." He said with a smile. I turned and this time I saw it almost right away. The tiniest Matryoshka doll I had ever seen. 

Up above I have the link to their website. They are also on Facebook. The hardest part for a store like this about switching online is that no two items are the same so each item would need individual listings. If you are a collector or enjoy Russian/Eastern European art check out one of those links for beautiful authentic pieces of art.

Next up was a long drive to stand on a corner..... in Winslow, Arizona! When I had been looking up information to plan a drive down Rte 66 I had found that there was a photo up street sign, traveling guitar player statue, and a flat bed Ford.  

Winslow had been a thriving town until around the 1970s when a bypass for I-40 was built. The traffic no longer had to pass through Winslow and a lot of jobs, tourism, and businesses were lost. In 1997 La Posada, an original Harvey House- string of hotels opened along the rail road lines, was added to the National Register of Historic Places.  This proved the first step Winslow needed. The Standin' on the Corner Foundation was formed and in 1999 Standin' On the Corner Park was opened to the public. The goal was to use the popular song to help revitalize Winslow. 

Jackson Brown had begun work on Take it Easy planning to use it on his own album but he found himself stuck. He had the line "Well I'm standing on the corner in Winslow Arizona" but had nothing to finish it with. He reached out to Glenn Frey who added "Such a fine sight to see. It's a girl, my lord, in a flatbed Ford slowing down to take a look at me." Just like the verse is a joint project between the two singers the story behind it is a joint story between two towns. Jackson Browne had been on his way to Sedona when his car broke down resulting in him spending the entire day in Winslow. At another time Browne had told a story to Glenn Frey about a time when he was in Flagstaff and a young blond woman in a Toyota had slowed down to check him out. A few minor changes and it was that story that inspired the end of the verse. 

Originally I had looked at staying at La Posada but the timing didn't work out and we continued to Flagstaff where we planned to spend the night. And it was a good thing that we wanted to stop there because with a light snow falling and temperatures dropping the roads were becoming pretty slick. We dropped my Mom and the pups at the hotel and then went to Flagstaff Brewing Company to order to go and bring back dinner to the hotel. Flagstaff Brewing was located in a brick building with a welcoming decor. The bar had a beer and wine tap as well as  a large variety of liquors. The decor around the brewery very much had an outdoor/active feel to it.  We enjoyed a flight while we waited and then picked a beer to bring back with us. Right before we went to bed I took Gypsy out for a walk and she got to play in the snow!

The next morning we began our drive to another bucket list location, we reached so many throughout these trips. About three hours after leaving Flagstaff we reached the Grand Canyon!

Everything about it was breath taking the light covering of snow juxtaposed against the red and orange colors of the canyon rock, the bright blue of the sky with periodic clouds casting shadows on the canyon below, and the sheer enormity of it. The canyon is 277 miles long, 18 miles wide, and its depth is 6,093 feet. 

The first inhabitants of the Grand Canyon where the Ancestral Puebloans around 1200 BC. The grand Canyon was also home to members of the Cohonina, Yuman, Havasupai, Hualapai, and Hopi cultures with the latter few still calling the surrounding area home. The area is considered sacred by many and looking out at the deep Canyon formed by the Colorado River it is easy to see why.

We also got to see several of the different wildlife species in the park including apparently the reclusive javelina described by American author and environmentalist Edward Abbey as:

"My favorite desert animal, I think, after such obvious choices as coyote, vulture, cougar, ring-tailed cat, gila monster and gopher snake, is the whimsical, cockeyed, half-mad, always eccentric, more or less loveable Pecari angulatus sonoriensis, otherwise known as the javelina or peccary."

Sadly I have no picture of them but as we drove the rim we saw two of these cute fellows walking along in the woods. Speaking of animals we also saw a man walking his cat on a leash in the snow at the Grand Canyon. This made Meghan's day.

We spent the night near the Grand Canyon and then left early the next morning for our next destination. It was November 11th, Veterans Day, and our next stop was the entire reason why we had to take this trip at this particular time. On the eleventh hour of the eleventh day of the eleventh month in 1918 World War One officially ended. The day was originally celebrated as Armistice Day to celebrate the Veterans of World War One.  In 1954 the name was changed to Veterans Day to celebrate all who had served in the military and had been discharged honorably. The spelling of the name sometimes has an apostrophe making it possessive however that is incorrect. The day does not belong to Veterans instead Veterans is attributive- describing the person who is honored. 

So we drove south from the Grand Canyon to Anthem, AZ to see the Veterans Memorial. The Memorial  was designed by Renee Palmer Jones and was dedicated in 2011. It features five white pillars  with a circular opening in them representing each of the branches of the military.  The red of the bricks, white pillars, and blue sky combine to represent the United States Flag. The names of servicemen and woman are written on the bricks. At 11:11 the circular openings line up with the sun and illuminate the great seal of the United States. Normally there is a large celebration that attracts thousands of people. I knew that the celebration was cancelled because they did not want to attract the crowd but the sun would still be shining. We arrived there early and the first entrance we came to was blocked off. My heart dropped a little bit. I became concerned that they may have closed the park off to really keep away a crowd. That was not the case though and we were able to turn into the next entrance. We parked and walked past a playground and miniature train tracks complete with train that kids could ride. There were several members of law enforcement including a canine unit. We walked around the memorial it was a little before nine and there were already a few people gathered around. The memorial was roped off to keep people back. I settled by the barricade a little bit to the left of the seal. Gypsy Rover had made it past the officers canine and three other dogs really successfully but then she saw a medium sized dog a little shorter than her and she started getting super excited. With the amount of dogs that were there and the amount of time we had to wait Meg decided to hang out at the car with the dogs. 

My Mom had started a conversation with one of the sheriffs about several things including what brought him to Anthem.  My Mom also told him about our hope to see a roadrunner in person. As time went on the crowd began to grow. We met a group of three woman. One was a local and the other two were friends of hers who had come to town to see the Memorial. One of them was traveling to every state capitol. We discussed Nashville for a bit before settling back to waiting. My Mom at one point had wandered off and I was holding our spot when the sheriff came over to me through the crowd and asked me to come with him. At first I was worried about losing my spot that I had been guarding now for awhile but the people around me promised they would hold my spot. I went with him and there by a little pond he pointed at a bird.... a roadrunner! I thanked the Sheriff and then I snapped a few pictures right before the little fellow ran a bit to the side. He didn't go far and I went back to my spot where most of the people who had been around me kept their word and did not take my spot. One set of people had moved forward but not to the barrier so I went back to where I had been and just had less room than before. My Mom had also returned while I was gone and the others had told her the Sheriff had come to get me. I told her about the roadrunner and pointed her in the direction. She was able to see it just before it ran off. She returned and we settled back to waiting. 

The sun was already beginning to move across the Seal and as 11:11 approached it became more and more illuminated. 

With the moment finally here the crowd cheered and then slowly began to disperse. I looked around the park and left a painted rock by a tree on it I had painted a poppy, a symbol of remembrance for Veterans. I know that shortly after I left the rock it was found by a child because the parent reached out to me. They moved it elsewhere in the park. So far several people have reached out to me about finding the rocks. I think one or two of them kept them. Others re-hid them. One person who found a rock completely moved it from Ohio all the way to PA which is awesome, who knows how far it could have travelled by now!

As we were leaving I also snapped a picture of a saguaro cactus, apparently what I think of as the stereotypical cactus is only found in a small area in the south west. It made me laugh to think that just the day before I was stunned into silence by the splendor of the Grand Canyon. One day later I was overjoyed to see roadrunners and cacti. One could say I am easily amused however, as I see it, there will be a lot more roadrunners and cacti in my life and way less Grand Canyons. I have to find a way to recognize the joy in small moments. 

After leaving Anthem we drove to Tucson. I had originally wanted to go to Arizona in 2019 and planned on visiting with family but I was unable to take the time off. For most these trips we didn't tell people where we would be and didn't try and meet up in fact there wre a couple of times where after making an instagram or facebook post I would get a message from a friend or family member that we had just passed them. Now as the trip was approaching and Covid numbers were rising I did reach out to them a few times just to be sure they would be comfortable meeting up. I didn't want them to feel pressure to meet up, there would be other road trips and other chances. We did end up meeting up at Barrio Brewing for a delicious meal and just some catching up that is always fun when you have family members who you don't see often spread out around the country. 

We also had a neat road side attraction to visit in Tucson. It is a statue of an invisible horse. In a median of a four lane road there is a statue of a horse and baby. From a distance the statue is nearly invisible then as you approach it to view from the side it becomes visible. The best way to view it is to get into what looks like a bus lane but after driving by a few times I realized it was there to see the statue.

After leaving Tucson we began heading east towards our final state, Louisiana. Our route took us east and back in to New Mexico. It was late at night when I stopped at a rest stop off highway 10 in New Mexico. I got out of the car and began closing the door when I looked up and froze. Above me was the most beautiful clear and star filled sky I have ever seen. If I had time to just stand there for hours I think I would have. It just further convinced me that New Mexico really is a magical place of enchantment. Next time I drive through I will be leaving plenty of time for night sky watching. 

We continued driving east to Las Cruces. A gentleman at the Veterans Memorial had told us about the farmers market in Las Cruces, New Mexico but we weren't there at the right time. We did get to see a giant chile pepper.

Our route took us all the way to the American/Mexican border so not only did we drive in all 48 contiguous states but we also managed to drive close enough to our neighbors to wave hi!

We stopped for lunch in Odessa, Texas at Frisky Brewing Co. The food was good but the best part was sharing our trip with the waiter who brought us out a special dessert and asked if he could take our picture.

And then we were there.....

State 48: Louisiana! 

Steel Magnolias is a movie that I watch whenever it is on. As a family we have watched it many times and we saw it performed on Broadway. So this movie about women supporting each other and the relationship between a mother and daughter made perfect sense as our last stop. 

At the street was a sign that marked the house as the "Steel Magnolias House." The house is in a neighborhood of similar beautiful homes most of which seemed to be Bed and Breakfasts. We parked on a side street and walked in front of the house. I had hoped to get a picture of us on the porch but a woman who was working on the yard of the house next door yelled at anyone who went near the house telling them the owners didn't want anyone near the house. So I settled for this picture from the sidewalk. 

Now Louisiana is famous for its food and I have a whole road trip planned to New Orleans that is basically all eating. So we wanted to get something that would be unique to the area we were in and decided on ice cream at Yum Yum Dessert Bar. We watched as they made to order our rolled ice cream. The owner, Shika Stewart, was behind the counter with a young man who was still learning the technique. She patiently showed him and re-rolled some of the ones he had done. This one he did perfectly well on his way to being a master with an excellent teacher!

The process takes a bit of time since they pour a house made ice cream mix on to a frozen slab and then using spatulas/tools they flatten it into a smooth layer that can be rolled as you see above. It is definitely a skill and amazing to watch as they work the mix into a delicious dessert.

And then we drove home. We accomplished something amazing we saw so many different places of historical or geological value. We saw locations famous because of movies and songs. We visited must see tourist destinations and holes in the wall/ rare gems that no one had ever heard of, even locals. 

Thank you to anyone who has shared this adventures with us!