Ramsdell House: On the Amazing Things We Find When We Ask

There's nothing like small-town tourism -- the civic pride of community leaders, the friendly folks who like showing the way.  Always push through the "there's nothing here" and you will get to the interesting.

We recently visited the Kenova Pumpkin House, four hours away from home base.  We stayed overnight and explored the region the next day.  Someone told us about the Ramsdell House, that it was an Underground Railroad stop open infrequently but that we could drive around and spot its historic cellar.  A little GPS work and we pulled up in front of it, finding it open.

Turns out Ramsdell is a wonderful historic home, recently restored and typically open four days a week as well as by appointment.  It's got an amazing story of protection and preservation, having been a rental property and a community center and in disrepair, all in recent history.  

Most significantly, it started the town of Ceredo, begun as an abolitionist colony steps from both Confederate and Union Civil War forts.  It was an Underground Railroad stop just at the Ohio River -- freedom on the other side.  During the time since, much of the house's contents have been miraculously preserved, just locked in the attic.  There are everyday objects, papers from McKinley before his Presidency, shoe-making tools, religious leaflets from the Christian tradition,  newspapers ... all sorts of too-close-to-forgotten history now saved. And the found toys -- they are nothing short of delightful. The building was probably a house church as well as a civic center, and those in town promoted a vision of economic change and development. 

Director Deborah Wolfe, the individual responsible for coordinating much of the restoration, gave us a personal tour.  We discussed directions for future interpretation, including the link to the Native Burial Mound on which the site is situated. We have every confidence that this site is becoming a place of memory and reconciliation -- and we know its staff, including its volunteers, are willing to become your fast friends. Just read the story of the dedication.

Excitingly, traditionally African-American churches across the river are capturing the oral histories of the descendants of the formerly enslaved that made it to freedom.  There are now connections to this wonderful site -- and how powerful to know its success in such a real way. 

Things to Know

• These folks seriously want to show you treasures.  Contact them, and they will try to welcome you when it is convenient for you.  They have a Facebook page called Ramsdell House.  Do reach out -- they are still updating their web presence, and you don't want to miss out because you didn't reach out.

• Free admission, always a gift. 

• There are opportunities to purchase a small souvenir or book from their shelves reserved for such. 

For Further Exploration 

• We were inspired to find Criel Mound, another Native Burial Mound, on our West Virginia Turnpike trip back to Virginia.  It is in South Charleston, both easy to find and large by comparison. It's also in town, allowing one to reflect on its preservation. 

• If you also like to explore mound builder sites, there are others within the broader region.  We've also visited Town Creek Indian Burial Mound in North Carolina; it's interpretation gives more context from cultural geography.

• Oh, and there are Ramsdell House ghost stories.  Of course.

Halloween Bucket List: Kenova Pumpkin House

It's been featured on The Travel Channel and on Ellen. It's just overnight-trip distance away from us (four hours).  We bought an EZPass in January 2019 that allows us to travel the WV Turnpike cheaply.  It seems unwise not to visit the Kenova Pumpkin House, right?

A great tradition sparked by a family that honored each of their kids with carved pumpkins has grown into this event, free to the public.  

The pumpkins are carved differently every year.  We were especially impressed by the Judeo-Christian pumpkins and the Presidential pumpkins. 

Designs change with the times and the gourds. There is a musical display as well -- and it's about two stories tall. 

Allow time for photo ops and conversations.  Volunteers are likely to be working away in the garages behind the house, drilling the designs and soaking the pumpkins in protective bleach water.

The atmosphere is festive and there are food trucks -- hence, our ice cream for dinner from Austin's Homemade Ice Cream.

Things to Know

• It's free!  Parking is surprisingly easy, probably thanks in no small part to the elementary school very nearby.  You will need to park and walk a short distance -- you cannot simply drive around the house when it's in its full glory. 

• Speaking of full glory, you want to visit bear Halloween and preferably during C-K Autumn Fest, a community event sponsored by the tiny towns of Kenova and Ceredo.  The pumpkin display takes time, and you want to show up when it is finished or nearly there.  This video from SpotlightWV will help you get a sense of the ambiance.  

• We stayed overnight in nearby Huntington, WV.  Book at least a bit early -- our hotel was sold out on the night of our stay.  There are other seasonal events in the area, including at the older amusement park Camden Park and Dreamland pool.  

• The owners of the pumpkin house are owners of the local pharmacy and old-fashioned soda fountain, Griffith and Feil.  It's a piece of local history and full of friendly local folks.  Plus, it was the highlight of the trip for 10-year-old E -- yummy hand-mixed Coca Cola.  

For Further Exploration 

• We're amazed by the beauty and fun of West Virginia.  These tiny towns had treasures, including the Ramsdell House.  We highly recommend stopping by this gem.  From the soda fountain, you are also close to Virginia Point Park, a space that will give you a feel of the geography of the area.
• The Midland Trail, a driving path running reasonably close to the WV Turnpike, is honestly interesting to explore and perfect for planning your road trip.
• The C-K Autumn Fest makes the list for the top small town Halloween destinations in America -- here are the others.

A Little More of Tucson: Tucson Nights

One of my few complaints about Tucson is that it seems to go to bed early, complicating the wanderings of a business traveler busy doing, well, business by day.  A young person I met explained this phenomenon as associated with the service-oriented nature of the town -- many people are working multiple jobs and perhaps the employees of tourist-focused attractions are headed off to jobs in restaurants.  And Tucson does have the restaurants to boast about.  These two activities, however, made my evenings because of their availability.

First, I discovered that Tucson Botanical Gardens was open late til 8 PM on Thursdays and Fridays. Smaller than some botanical gardens, Tucson's is full of surprises and fun to wander nonetheless.  My favorite was the locally-themed Barrio Garden, truly making one feel at home. 

As always, it's spectacularly relaxing to visit gardens when the day ends and the gentle lights come on.  The staff?  Sincerely friendly.  The gift shop?  Fun to browse.

Then, I ventured out to Tumamoc Hill for a popular hike (actually as suggested by that friendly staff at the gardens).  Yes, it is steep, and yes, parking, while free, is limited.  In fact, parking was a bit anxiety-provoking near sunset, but I found a great place near some bike racks across from the hospital. As many a TripAdvisor reviewer has warned, do not park at the hospital.  Get past that, and you have a hike that is a paved, gorgeous, challenging ( = uphill) walk that is well-populated by locals, fitness enthusiasts, and tourists.  Did I go all the way to the top?  No, but just because I ran out of time.  It was still joyous exercise.  Gorgeous cacti, gorgeous city view.

While learning more about the Sonoran Desert, I heard some people there have historically found cacti a beautiful way to remember the dead, noting that the saguaro actually resemble people.  Hiking this hill as the day ends, I get it.

Things to Know

• For other area botanical gardens that are much larger, try Desert Botanical Garden in Phoenix, AZ -- it's not that far between Phoenix and Tucson if you have access to a car.
• I was travelling without workout clothes and shoes -- and staying at the Westin La Paloma, I took advantage of the Westin workout gear lending program. And by the way, this hotel is gorgeous -- and quite inexpensive in the off season.  If you stay, check out the sunrise from the end of the I (like iguana) building.  

See, I told you so.

For Further Exploration

• Tumamoc Hill is actually a laboratory for the University of Arizona, just like Biosphere 2.  A little reading about both sites, and you'll be prompted to think about how science and culture intersect.

Unexpected and Incredible: Mission San Xavier del Bac

It's always a delight to find something beautiful.  Mission San Xavier del Bac is beyond words.  Tucson is home to this gorgeous mission -- the longest continuously operating Spanish mission in the United States.

The plasterwork, the paintings, the statues -- they are all simply something to behold.  There is active art conservation, and I'm pretty sure the same conservators featured in the mission's video orientation are also featured in the 2019 Visit Tucson travel guide.

Take time to simply walk around -- I found small statues and almost missed a wonderful array of bas relief Stations of the Cross.

You will also want to visit the museum, a labor of love from the volunteers. It orients the visitor to some elements of Catholicism as needed.  And, just to make me very happy, it honors purple as the liturgical color of Advent.

We live in a time of lost geography -- GPS sometimes actually keeps us from knowing what we are near, what is on the way.  Google may be able to tell us exactly where we are on the planet, but we often have trouble contextualizing that.  San Xavier is absolutely a place I would have missed if not for asking a local for advice on other places that might be "interesting."  With that vague inquiry, something incredible emerged.

Things to Know

• This is a working church.  That's part of what makes it special.  Plan ahead if you are trying to attend/avoid service times.  
• There is plenty of onsite parking in a rutted lot.  Drive carefully.
• Two good places to start your visit: 1) Admiring the sanctuary and 2) Watching the overview video inside the museum.
• There's a gift shop with reasonable prices and a good selection of local and religious items.  There's also a small marketplace nearby (across the parking lot) with a few local artisans.

For Further Exploration

• The intersection of peoples and their religions is always fascinating.  Here's a starting point for the intersection of this native people group and the Catholic faith.
• I found out about this site while visiting Casa Grande.  One of the mission's first priests helped give Casa Grande its modern name.

Pumpkin Patch: Jeter Farm

It's tradition to go to a "pumpkin patch" at least once a year for us.  While this might only hold while the kids are relatively young, perhaps it shouldn't.  It's good to be outside; it's good to be local; it's good to support local businesses; it's good to hang out.  The proliferation of fall farm site agritourism in Virginia is evidence. 

As soon as the weather became a bit crisp (late this year), we visited Jeter Farm, approximately at the intersection of 460 and 220 in Bonsack, Virginia.  Their fall festival is economical ($10 entry/person includes almost all activities) and is close to home.  There's a hayride, a corn maze that is just big enough to get lost in without being overwhelming, a corn crib to play in, and fun slides.  Don't forget the free pie pumpkins (one a person), too. 

I wish more of the sites endured into November; I wish there were season passes for locals; I wish a lot of things.  But nonetheless, a trip to the pumpkin patch is worth it.

Things to Know

• Jeter Farm is one of the most economical options in the Roanoke area and is wonderful for small kids because it is not overwhelming in size.  Your other options include Layman's Family Farm in Montvale, Virginia, where you should check their social media and special events page for deals.  You can see a now-older trip to Layman's from us -- including a pretty tiny E -- and a more contemporary one on this blog as well.  Your options expand with Sinkland Farms (they have live music) and White Fall Farm (we are intrigued by their hay castle concept).
• There are some concessions available and a sheltered picnic area.
• We've made two trips in one day before, visiting with a church group in the morning, leaving our wrist bands on, and returning same day for a little more.  This year, we tagged a Michael's Make Break on for G, where she was delighted to paint a craft pumpkin.  The Make Breaks are great deals -- for about $4, G painted a pumpkin with their supplies and cleanup.  

For Further Exploration

• Virginia is really exploring the agritourism space.  There's plenty to explore.  
• So, this year's trip hit a Hokie Bug Fest trip for E.  Therefore, he missed this one, but he commends Bug Fest to you.

Casa Grande: Big House, Little Blog

I saw the brown National Park Service sign driving from Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport to Tucson.  So, I found a few extra moments.  Wandering off the beaten path by 12 car minutes, I found Casa Grande Ruins National Monument.  It's a hidden gem.

Casa Grande is a smallish park with a fascinating force to it.  It's a set of built ruins built by a people who lacked domesticated animals to help them.  It represents the possible peak of an era in a civilization -- and holds mystery of its use and its demise.  Be sure to watch the overview film and talk to a docent -- the helpful volunteer I met explained the preservation of the site well.

It's attracted visitors for years, some of whom literally left their mark on it with carvings -- helping you to reflect on how history is remembered, honestly.  The preservation structure over the ruins dates back to the early 1900s.  Bonus: If you also visit Mission San Xavier del Bac, you will discover a connection with the modern-day naming of Casa Grande.  This wonderful mission site was recommended to me by the same helpful volunteer I mentioned above.

I'd been reading The Secret Token by Andrew Lawler on the plane out, thinking about our cultural fascination with the history of the lost colony of Roanoke.  Stay with me here: Lawler in part argues that our connection with Roanoke relates to the complexity of the idea of assimilation.  We are both fearful and hopeful that the lost colonists simply joined nearby indigenous groups.  It turns out the Ancestral Sonoran Desert People honored at this site have in part rejected their previous name, Hohokam, because it means those who have vanished.  Their argument?  Movement, assimilation, and the like do not "end" a group -- and they are still here, both among the ruins and living in the region today.

If you are like me, you didn't know this site was here.  Now, you know better.

Things to Know

• This is a fee-free National Parks Site.  You are off the beaten path but not far from the rest of the world -- I could hear children playing at the nearby school.  Why would you not stop, right?
• There is a small gift shop and museum.
• The ruins are outside with a short loop trail around them -- I'd estimate I walked about .25 mi to take a first look at the ruins.
• Reminder:  This site is not all that far from Phoenix Sky Harbor if you are landing there.
• This trip is poppy approved!  So, for the self-described intellectually curious, this is a great place to ponder human history and its remembrance.  Come, history and social science folks.

For Further Exploration

• Mapquest tells me Montezuma Castle is just 2 hours, 16 minutes away.  These two National Parks would pair particularly nicely.
• I was pleased to see Finders Keepers by Craig Childs available in the gift shop.  I discovered this book on a previous trip and think it gives depth to the conversation around preservation in the US Southwest.