Abe's Day

Above, Abraham Lincoln depicted in a display at the Abraham Lincoln
 Presidential Museum in Springfield, Illinois. Photo by Armand Vaquer.

Today is Lincoln's Birthday.

This is the day that the birth of the 16th president, President Abraham Lincoln, is commemorated. Some states still recognize it as a holiday, while others just observe Presidents' Day.

According to Wikipedia:

Lincoln's Birthday is a public holiday in some U.S. states, observed on the anniversary of Abraham Lincoln's birth on February 12, 1809, in Hodgenville, Kentucky. Connecticut, Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Ohio, California, Missouri, and New York observe the holiday.

In many other states, Lincoln's birthday is not celebrated separately, as a stand-alone holiday. Instead, Lincoln's birthday is combined with a celebration of President George Washington's birthday (also in February) and celebrated either along with the Federal holiday of Washington's Birthday or as Presidents' Day on the third Monday in February.

History

The earliest known observance of Lincoln's birthday occurred in Buffalo, New York, in either 1873 or 1874. Julius Francis (d. 1881), a Buffalo druggist, made it his life's mission to honor the slain president. He repeatedly petitioned Congress to establish Lincoln's birthday as a legal holiday.

Above, the Lincoln Family at the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Museum. Photo by Armand Vaquer.

In many areas, the Republican Party commemorates Lincoln's Birthday with Lincoln Day Dinners as Lincoln was the first Republican president. 

The Lincoln Assassination: Everything You Need To Know

For you Civil War era history and Abraham Lincoln buffs, I found an interesting video on Lincoln's assassination on April 14, 1865 at Ford's Theater in Washington, D.C.

It is "everything you need to know" about the Lincoln assassination by Mr. Droste History.

Above, the actual Presidential Box at Ford's Theater where Lincoln was shot. Photo by Armand Vaquer.

Above, the Presidential Box recreated at the Lincoln Museum in Springfield, Ilinois. Photo by Armand Vaquer.

The video:

Above, President Lincoln's tomb at Oak Ridge Cemetery in Springfield, Illinois. Photo by Armand Vaquer.

New Sculpture Planned For Lincoln Library and Museum

Above, the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Museum in Springfield, Illinois. Photo by Armand Vaquer.

One of the highlights of my 2016 trip into the midwest U.S. was a visit to Springfield, Illinois. I was in Springfield on Election Day and watched the election night coverage in a RV park there.

Springfield was the home of President Abraham Lincoln and where he is now buried. It is also home to the Abraham Lincoln Library and Museum.

Above, the Lincoln family greets visitors in the museum's main lobby. Photo by Armand Vaquer.

A new sculpture is planned, titled "Beacon of Endurance".

According to the Journal Star:

Abraham Lincoln was a master at using words to motivate and inspire. 

Now his words will be part of a new sculpture honoring the 16th president at the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum announced Wednesday, Lincoln’s 211th birthday. 

An advisory panel will help the presidential library and the sculptor decide which words the sculpture will include. The public also will have a chance to share ideas through social media, according to ALPLM officials. 

“Beacon of Endurance” was designed by B.J. Krivanek of the Chicago firm Krivanek+Breaux/Art+Design. When completed, the obelisk will stand at the museum’s southeast corner, at the intersection of Jefferson and Seventh streets. The sculpture is 24 feet, 10 inches tall and slightly tilted “to suggest human and constitutional traumas and vulnerabilities,” Krivanek said, in a press release. 

The bottom, where Lincoln quotes will be inscribed, will weather and rust over time. 

Above that, in impervious stainless steel, will be individual words about Lincoln’s character and principles.

To read more, go here. 

6 Best Presidential Presidential Libraries and Museums

Above, the main lobby of the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Museum. Photo by Armand Vaquer.

History has always been one of my passions. When traveling, I generally look for places of historial significance.

Do It Yourself RV has an interesting article on six best places of presidential interest. Some are presidential libraries and museums and some are homes. Of the six items listed, I've been to three of them.

You don't need an RV to go to any of them, but it sure does help having one!

They begin their article with:

One of the greatest things about traveling the country—whether in an RV or otherwise—is the opportunity to see all of the amazing historic sites our nation has to offer. Sure, our country may be young. However, we’ve had a lot going on in our short history, and it is fascinating to witness the sites where incredible historic events took place. 

My family and I love exploring historic places and history museums of all kinds. We’re especially fond of two types of historic learning opportunities: living history museums and presidential sites. Today we’re going to talk about the latter. 

From libraries and homes to museums and national parks, there are dozens of super cool presidential sites across the US. These are all awesome ways to look back on some of the most influential people in our country’s history.  The give us a chance to learn more about how they thought and what they believed. 

Of course, some of the historic sites are better than others. Therefore, if you have only a limited amount of time, you will need to pick and choose. Below I’ve compiled a list of our top 6 favorite presidential sites in the US. If you’re limited on time, pick one of these and rest easy knowing you absolutely cannot go wrong with any option on this list.

Above, Air Force One at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library. Photo by Armand Vaquer.

To read more, go here.

Lincoln Library May Have To Sell Artifacts To Pay Debt

Above, the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Museum. Photo by Armand Vaquer.

The Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library & Museum may have to sell some artifacts in order to pay off a loan.

The St. Louis Post-Dispatch reported:

SPRINGFIELD, Ill. (AP) — The foundation that supports the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum says it might have to sell artifacts if it can't pay off a decade-old loan that financed items related to the 16th president. 

The Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library Foundation has revealed it owes $10 million on a 2007 loan it used to buy the Barry and Louise Taper Collection, which includes a stovepipe hat Lincoln purportedly wore, bloodstained gloves he wore the night he was assassinated and an 1824 book containing the first known example of his handwriting. 

The foundation paid $25 million and borrowed $23 million. The note comes due in October 2019.

Above, the Lincoln family stands in the main lobby of the museum. Photo by Armand Vaquer.

To read more, go here. 

Abraham Lincoln's Long Goodbye

Above, a replica of Abraham Lincoln's casket at the Lincoln Museum in Springfield, Illinois. Photo by Armand Vaquer.

The final journey from Washington, D.C. to Springfield, Illinois of President Abraham Lincoln began on April 21, 1865.

Lincoln's funeral train took a long route that was almost 1,700 miles long. It took 13 days to complete the journey. The funeral train stopped at major cities and state capitals along the way.

CBS Sunday Morning posted a video on YouTube telling the story of Lincoln's funeral train. It is an interesting video that Lincoln scholars and history buffs will find interesting.

Here's the video:

“Yo-Semite Valley” Was Made A California State Park On This Day

Above, the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Museum depiction of President Lincoln
reading the Emancipation Proclamation to his cabinet. Photo by Armand Vaquer.

Today in history, in 1864 to be exact, the first step in making Yosemite National Park a national park took place. It began with a stroke of a pen by President Abraham Lincoln.

According to the Smithsonian Magazine:

On June 30, 1864, President Abraham Lincoln put his signature on the Yosemite Grant Act. This represented an important precursor to the national parks system, because it was the first time the American government had taken the lead on preserving a wilderness area in a way that would become typical of the national parks.

The Act granted the “Yo-Semite Valley” and the nearby Mariposa Big Tree Grove to the state of California. But there were a few important provisions: “...that the said State shall accept this grant upon the express conditions that the premises shall be held for public use, resort, and recreation; shall be inalienable for all time,” the Act reads. In plain English, what was happening was that Lincoln was charging California with taking care of Yosemite–already a burgeoning tourist destination–as well as developing it by putting in things like roads, so more people could come to view its dramatic vistas and towering sequoias.

This moment has been heralded as an important precedent for the national park system. But creating Yosemite was also an act of erasure. “Native Americans were the main residents of the Yosemite Valley… until the 1849 gold rush brought thousands of non-Indian miners and settlers to the region,” writes History.com. “The crown jewels of the U.S. national parks system, including Yellowstone, Yosemite, Glacier and Grand Canyon, are all customary indigenous territories,” writes Stan Stevens in Indigenous Peoples, National Parks, and Protected Areas: A New Paradigm.

Above, Yosemite Valley from Tunnel View. Photo by Armand Vaquer.

To read more, go here. 

Metropolis Trip Video

Above, Superman at the Super Museum. Photo by Armand Vaquer.

A video of photographs of my October/November 2016 trip to Metropolis, Illinois is now up at YouTube.




Places shown include the Super Museum, Meteor Crater, Sun Studio, Graceland, Lincoln Home, Lincoln Tomb, Lincoln Museum, Monument Valley, Grand Canyon National Park, Eisenhower Presidential Library and the State Capitol in Topeka, Kansas.

Lincoln Assassination Photography

Above, Abraham Lincoln by Gutzon Borglum. Photo by Armand Vaquer.

In June 1982, I was invited to a reception at the White House as part of the California Reagan Delegation to the 1980 Republican National Convention.

Above, Ford's Theater in 1982.
Photo by Armand Vaquer.

While in Washington, D.C. I crammed about a week's worth of touring in three days. Among the places I visited were the U.S. Capitol, Mount Vernon, Arlington National Cemetery, the Air & Space Museum and Ford's Theater.

Ford's Theater was the site of the assassination of President Abraham Lincoln by John Wilkes Booth, an actor and Southern sympathizer.

Booth snuck into the Presidential Box at Ford's Theater during a presentation of the play, "Our American Cousin" and shot the President in the back of the head.

Last November, I visited the Abraham Presidential Museum in Springfield, Illinois. In the museum, there were numerous life-sized dioramas of different events in Lincoln's life. One of these was the assassination at Ford's.









The first photo below was from Ford's Theater in 1982. The portrait of George Washington is the actual one that hung there the night Lincoln was shot in April 1865.

Above, the Presidential Box at Ford's Theater. Photo by Armand Vaquer.

Next, the diorama of President and Mrs. Lincoln at Ford's Theater at the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Museum in Springfield, Illinois.

Above, the Lincolns watching the play, "Our American Cousin". Photo by Armand Vaquer.

Next, John Wilks Booth sneaks into the Presidential Box during the play. Earlier, he carved a peephole in an inner door to the Presidential Box so he can see Lincoln before he went inside. He also used wooden bar to fasten or hold the outer entrance door shut.

Above, Booth sneaks into the Presidential Box. Photo by Armand Vaquer.

Following the shooting, the mortally-wounded Lincoln was carried across the street to the Petersen rooming house, where he died the next morning. It was felt that Lincoln would not survive being taken back to the White House.

Above, the blood-stained pillow is on display at the rooming house where Lincoln died. Photo by Armand Vaquer.

There is a small museum in the Ford's Theater basement. Among the items on display, is the suit Lincoln wore when he was shot.

Above, the suit Lincoln wore when shot. Photo by Armand Vaquer.

Above, the Petersen rooming house. Lincoln was carried up these stairs. Photo by Armand Vaquer.

Above, Lincoln lies in state diorama at the Lincoln Museum. Photo by Armand Vaquer.

Above, Lincoln's Tomb in Springfield, Illinois. Photo by Armand Vaquer.

Lincoln In Death Photograph Discovered

The only known photograph of President Lincoln in his coffin was discovered by a teen in 1952.

From AbrahamLincolnonline.org:

More than 50 years ago a 14-year-old boy found a photograph of President Abraham Lincoln in his coffin taken on April 24, 1865, in New York City. The discovery startled historians, because Edwin M. Stanton, Lincoln's Secretary of War, had ordered this photograph to be destroyed. Stranger yet, the one surviving print remained with Stanton, whose son preserved it.

Above, the only known photograph of Lincoln in death.

Illinois State Capitol

While driving from the Lincoln Home National Historic Site to the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum in Springfield, Illinois, I managed to take this shot of the Illinois State Capitol from the windshield of The Beast.

Above, the Illinois State Capitol. Photo by Armand Vaquer.

There are actually two state capitol buildings in Springfield. The present one shown above and the one that was used during Lincoln's day. The old capitol had been restored and is now a tourist attraction.

There is a website that tells all about the Illinois State Capitol. To access it, go here.

Lincoln's Birthday

Photos by Armand Vaquer

Since today is President Abraham Lincoln's birthday, I thought I'd post a few photos from my trip to his hometown in Springfield, Illinois.

From the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Museum:

Above, early education. Lincoln said, "When I came of age I did not know much.
Somehow, I could read, write, and cipher to the rule of three; but that was all."

Above, The Whispering Gallery highlights the pressures that the Lincolns faced.

Above, Lincoln read the Emancipation Proclamation to his cabinet. He was
 urged to revoke it. But he often replied, "Broken eggs cannot be mended."

Above, at the entryway to the Abraham Presidential Museum, the family is
shown wearing traveling clothes evoking the trip from Springfield to Washington.

From the Lincoln Home National Historic Site:

Above, the Lincoln Home National Historic Site. 

Above, the front parlor. The room at right was often used to meet with law clients.

Above, the wall in front of the Lincoln home was built by a law client in payment for Lincoln's legal work.
Since the man was a bricklayer and had no money to pay Lincoln with, he built the wall in lieu of cash.

From the Lincoln Tomb:

Above, the sculpture by Gutzon Borglum (who sculpted Mt. Rushmore) in front of the Lincoln
Tomb. It is said that rubbing Lincoln's nose brings good luck. It is shiny from all the rubbing.

Above, one of several sculptures depicting Lincoln's life in the two hallways leading to the burial chamber.

Above, Lincoln's final resting place.

Above, the Lincoln Tomb.

Six Reviews Posted At TripAdvisor

Above, a photograph of Elvis on display at Sun Studios. Photo by Armand Vaquer.

TripAdvisor has approved and posted my first six review on attractions I visited during my recent cross-country trip to Metropolis, Illinois. They are now ready for viewing.

They are:

• Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum
• Graceland
• Sun Studio
• Meteor Crater
• Lincoln Home National Historic Site
• Lincoln Tomb and War Memorials

Above, the Meditation Garden at Graceland. Photo by Armand Vaquer.

I have since added two more attractions and they are now pending approval:

• Dwight D. Eisenhower Library and Museum
• Monument Valley: Goulding's Lodge and Tours

To go to TripAdvisor, go here.

New Reviews At TripAdvisor

Above, the Lincoln Tomb in Springfield, Illinois. Photo by Armand Vaquer.

Last night, I was looking up one of my attraction reviews at TripAdvisor and ended up posting six reviews of attractions I saw during my recent trip to Metropolis, Illinois.

I posted reviews on the following attractions:

• Meteor Crater, Arizona
• Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library & Museum
• Lincoln Home National Historic Site
• Lincoln Tomb & War Memorials
• Sun Studio, Memphis, Tennessee
• Graceland

These are now pending approval.

Above, Lincoln Home National Historic Site. Photo by Armand Vaquer.

I will eventually get around to posting reviews on the Super Museum and Monument Valley.

Trip Souvenirs

Above, the Super Museum had a lot of goods for sale, but I passed on them. I've too much stuff already. Photo by Armand Vaquer.

During my recent 3-week trip to and from Metropolis, Illinois I stopped off at a number of attractions, but bought very little souvenirs.

I bought some books, but as far as knick-knacks, not much. I have enough stuff as it is. The two new tires I had to get in St. Louis, Missouri and the electric ceramic heater I bought in Kansas don't count.

At Meteor Crater in Arizona, the only thing that "suited my fancy" was an Arizona cookbook.

The only thing I picked up at the Super Museum in Metropolis was this magnet for The Beast:

At Graceland, I did pick up a magnet for The Beast but the only other things were a hat and t-shirts for friends. I did buy a CD of Elvis: Aloha From Hawaii.

I am picky about things like knick-knacks. A lot of items I saw that looked good had "Made In China" stamped on them. I avoided those. A lot of other travelers felt the same way, as I overheard.

At Sun Studio, I bought myself a hat and a CD of The Million Dollar Quartet:

Then, when I went to Springfield, Illinois, I picked up two Lincoln busts (one was carved from a piece of coal, which I found was unique) and a book on the Lincoln Museum.

Here's the busts:

At the Eisenhower Library, I didn't see anything that I particularly wanted. But, when I went on to Colorado, and after crossing Wolf Creek Pass, I stopped in Pagosa Springs for coffee and a snack. But, the restaurant had a gift shop and I found two Indian wool mats that I am using for the dinette's back rests to protect them from Sierra's claws.

I didn't find anything I wanted in Monument Valley. But I took plenty of photographs while there and at other places. Those are sufficient for me.

Some of these places I had been to already and I still have some things I bought back then. I transferred a couple of magnets from the house to The Beast.

Double J Campground

Above, The Beast at Double J Campground. Photo by Armand Vaquer.

When planning my cross-country trip to Metropolis, Illinois, I looked for campgrounds/RV parks located along the routes I would take and at my final destinations.

For the travel to and from my destination(s), I tried to keep each day's drive at around 350-400 miles. KOA Kampgrounds were generally located at those mile points. The task was somewhat difficult as many campgrounds were closed for the season. I had to find campgrounds/RV parks that are open all year.

I also stayed at non-KOAs. One of which was the Double J Campground in Chatham, Illinois. Chatham is next door to Springfield, where the Abraham Lincoln attractions are located.

The Double J Campground was nice campground with level campsites with plenty of trees for shade. It is located on Historic Route 66, but also next to Interstate 55.

I made use of their laundry room and Wi-Fi. They have several routers for Wi-Fi, all one has to do is use one with the strongest signal. They do have cable television available, but I opted to go with the local broadcast stations for Election Night coverage.

If one is planning to see the Lincoln exhibits in Springfield, the Double J Campground is an ideal place to stay.

Here's some photos of the campground:

Above, the campground has easy access roads. Photo by Armand Vaquer.

Above, the campground is located in farmland. Photo by Armand Vaquer.

Above, although the off-season, there were other campers at the Double J. Photo by Armand Vaquer.