Jim Stewart's Blog

I’ll bring together a few days in Las Vegas in to a single day. Las Vegas is renowned for the casinos, but there is a lot more to the city if you look around. There are casino shuttles and taxis that take you around – but there also is standard public transport in the city, which works fairly well and extends over a wise range outside the main areas.

One of the interesting places was a pin ball collection. It is just a big room with loads of machines. Good fun for a couple of hours.

One of the interesting museums was the National Atomic Testing Museum. Just outside of Las Vegas is the place where most of the US underground nuclear tests were carried out, and this museum explains what happened there.

But there is a lot more in the museum that covers stuff that isn’t well known. For example – Kennedy made that statement about sending a man to the moon. There is a reference to “the other things”. If you look at the full text of the speech to congress you will find “accelerate development of the Rover nuclear rocket. This gives promise of some day providing a means for even more exciting and ambitious exploration of space” – this is one of the “other things”.

This is a nuclear propulsion system – yes they were developed and tested near Las Vegas. There is also a really nice annex about Area 51 and UFO sightings.

Las Vegas itself has a lot of glitz in the buildings.

I always like to stay in circus circus – at the end of the strip. It has a circus above the casino and a theme park behind the hotel. More than just a casino with rooms.

I also found a really interesting restaurant.

The heart attack grill – totally non-PC. As you enter you get dressed in a surgical gown. All of the food is fat increased or high sugar. I hear only one person has actually had a heart attack while eating there.

I’ve just been watching an old episode of Room 101. One of the items was around sneezing in public – something fairly relevant to today. But there was another “hilarious” idea laughed about – which was pedestrians having to walk in lanes. And yet today we are all walking in lanes.

Today was my soup making day – which used up the last of my Marmite. I only made a small portion, so I just have four days to find a new supply.

I fitted some supports for my vine to grow on behind my new decking. A few more bits and pieces and it will ready for sitting on.

10th June was my last day driving on my USA trip. I drove from Flagstaff to Las Vegas. I stopped off at the Hoover Dam, and also called in at the glass bridge over the grand canyon (big disappointment).

It was a long drive, and I was glad to hit the hotel in Las Vegas.

There has been a lot of talk about controversial monuments recently. I’m not somebody that stares at statues of people to say “what an evil/amazing person”. I think the only monuments to people I have deliberately gone to see are the 10 modern martyrs in Westminster. Oh and the Ken Dodd statue in Liverpool Lime Street.

That isn’t to say I don’t look at statues – I look at them for their art.

But I started thinking about memorials I have visited. I have to admit the more controversial ones are the ones that have made most impact on me.

There are controversial memorials. One that I learned a lot from is Mauthausen.

Estimates are that around 100,000 died there, but the records were destroyed. One of the things that I learned as I walked around was how close the local community was to the camp – how there was no way this was a secret to the locals. It shocked me that normal people could end up finding a place like this permissible. We are not talking about the evil guards, we are talking about local farmers, school teachers and even priests.

In France there is a memorial called La Coupole. It is an old V2 rocket base that has been transformed in to a museum.

Inside there are an amazing number of displays, including some describing the way concentration camp prisoners were used in the construction. One display talks about the development of rockets for space exploration, the two above representing the USA and the Soviet Union efforts. Between them is a clear panel so you can see through to the uniform of a concentration camp prisoner. Alongside the display is an explanation (and naming) of the V2 experts that helped develop the USA and Soviet rockets, and their involvement in the mistreatment of concentration camp prisoners.

These evil men were still living lives of luxury in their new home during my lifetime. I remember the excitement of the first Moon landing. The chief architect of that rocket had known that concentration camp prisoners were being killed to further his work. I think if I knew that as a kid I might not have felt so excited. Thanks to the French for such an enlightening display.

Then there is one of my favourite memorials – the Valentine submarine building in Farge in Germany.

It really is an impressive structure. It was designed to build U-boats, and 13 could fit inside. They have an audio tour of the site, and as you go round you can learn a lot. They even have audio recordings of the people involved in building the structure – some concentration camp prisoners.

Have a look at some of the plaques they have around the site.

The last two were particularly pointed. One shows that the locals here tried to get food to the prisoners. The other is a very pointed, almost accusation, of a named person. I found the whole attitude of the site was one of “we never want to see this again”.

Another memorial I have visited recently is this one.

It looks pretty plain, pretty bland. This is one of the few remaining memorials from the time of the Spanish Civil war from the anti-fascist side. When Franco took over he made a point of removing all of the memorials (including graves) that represented his opposition.

Something we have never really dealt with in the UK is what we do about history we don’t like. At the national memorial arboretum (well worth a visit if you get the chance) there is a memorial called “shot at dawn”.

This memorial is to all of the soldiers shot for desertion. Walking around you see that many were young men, and there does seem to be a lack of anybody with a senior rank. An unsavoury part of our history that we are finally able to face up to.

I actually appreciated a memorial that shone a light on our less glorious past. It gave me an opportunity to remember – especially those that suffered.

Another good place to learn about the less savoury past is this museum.

The decking is finished. At least stage 1. I need to put some planters around the back and train some climbing plants to make a decent backdrop.

Back to Day 14 of my road trip 4 years ago. It didn’t turn out the way I expected.

Recently people have been talking about renaming streets. This street in Holbrook could certainly do with renaming.

It was named after a gunfight that left the floor of the saloon covered in blood.

I headed south to a place called Show Low. Today it is possibly most famous because George Takei has a holiday home there, but back in the 70s it was the scene of one of the most famous alien abduction stories, one with a lot of witnesses. It was made into a film. Anyway I was just passing through on my way to Salt River.

Salt River is at the bottom of a steep canyon road. The scenery in the area really appeals to me.

From there I was aiming to drive to Phoenix and stop off at the Alice Cooper burger joint, but when I got to Globe this all changed. There was major reconstruction ahead, with blasting work meaning only a short steam of traffic was allowed through every 30 minutes or so.

As a result I decided to miss Phoenix and cut back north west. As I drove I cam across a place called Tonto National Monument. It was a cave based dwelling on a hill overlooking a lake. The flowers on the cactus was worth going there for alone.

From there my aim was to go to Arcosanti. I finally made it, but it was late in the day, and it was getting dark (more later).

There is a quick video that tells you more.

The reason it was getting dark early was that there was a massive fire nearby. This is what it looks like when you get close to a big fire – thankfully I got through to Flagstaff before it got too close to the road I was on.

Some thoughts for today – I was chatting to a relative the other day about where we came from. Our generation have very different lives to our parents and grandparents. It certainly isn’t because we are better than them, or harder working than them. Neither is true.

As far as I can tell it is simply about opportunity – an opportunity that our parents and grandparents supported – probably without even thinking about it. In a sense it is the American Dream in action, or maybe even the Old Labour principles of creating a world where people are able to achieve their best irrespective of where they came from. Sometimes I am not nearly thankful enough for the opportunity they gave me.

One branch of my family came through a village owned by Robert Owen, and I thought it might be good to finish with some of his quotes on the subject. Worth looking at his writings if you want to explore a better world.

Is it not the interest of the human race, that every one should be so taught and placed, that he would find his highest enjoyment to arise from the continued practice of doing all in his power to promote the well-being, and happiness, of every man, woman, and child, without regard to their class, sect, party, country or colour.

Society may be formed so as to exist without crime, without poverty, with health greatly improved, with little, if any misery, and with intelligence and happiness increased a hundredfold; and no obstacle whatsoever intervenes at this moment except ignorance to prevent such a state of society from becoming universal.

It is particularly recommended, as a means of uniting the inhabitants of the village into one family, that while each faithfully adheres to the principles which he most approves, at the same time all shall think charitably of their neighbours respecting their religious opinions, and not presumptuously suppose that theirs alone are right.

Women will be no longer made the slaves of, or dependent upon men … They will be equal in education, rights, privileges and personal liberty.

Robert Owen

A friend posted a reminder to people not to enter the Facebook Prize draws. Truth is a lot of them are scams, like some of the fun quiz posts.

Next time you fill in one of the fun quizes try to remember if any of the answers are the security questions for your on-line accounts.

I was looking through my diary the other day and I came across a reminder of a free prize draw I had entered. It was a valid one – it came as a freebie with my car insurance. A few weeks from now I will know if I have won. A free luxury cruise!! It really is amazing how your perception can change in such a short time. Not such a great prize today.

But even if I win, I live alone. So if I go on a luxury cruise it will be against the law for me to take anybody with me. It really has me wondering even more about the future. I wonder how many of the people developing guidance are single.

I remember an old film showing Southern Irish courting with a cart and horse – the man on one side and the woman on the other (back to back), with the cart driven by the chaperone. I think it is called a jaunting cart (as in to go for a jaunt). I wonder if that will be the future of dating.

But lets face it – dating is going to be one of the main ways for the virus to spread, not work. I wonder how long it will take the old married men of the government to realise that.

Today was a good day – I managed to find time to fit another three rows of decking, and the rest is all cut to size ready to go. Might just finish this week if the weather holds good.

And the toothache has resolved itself – it seems it might have been a shard of a tooth that was working through the gum following an extraction. It came through today and the pain is gone.

My American road trip today starts in the Grand Canyon and takes in the double scenic area of the painted desert and the Petrified forest – ending in Holbrook.

I started with a short walk down the path into the Grand Canyon. I had walked all the way down 15 years earlier (and back in a day). I hate heights, but I worked hard at controlling the fear.

As I drove on toward the Petrified forest I spotted a herd of cattle being driven through a forest by some cowboys.

It also seemed to be the right time for cactus flowers. Some of them were stunning.

The first part of the double park to enter is the Petrified Forest. This part of the desert has petrified wood all over the ground. Really interesting to see. But be ready for your car to be searched for rocks as you exit.

Half way through there is an area with a lot of petroglyphs – a sort of cave painting on a cliff.

Route 66 used to pass through this park, and they have place the remains of an old car at the point where it passed the park road.

The rest of the double park is made up of the Painted Desert. This is a series of sand hills with a wide variety of colours.

The park entrance is in the south and exits to the north with the interstate running through the middle. It was a quick drive from there to Holbrook, ready for my artistic architecture visit the next day that would prove a little more difficult than expected.

Four years ago today I went from St George to the Grand Canyon. I expected to have a look at the canyon then drive on to find a cheap motel further south. But when I arrived at the lodges it had gone past the check in time, so they were offering rooms at a ridiculously low price. I stayed there that night. I also whispered the price to a few others who also ended up spending the night.

I drove to the East entrance to the park and stopped at a number of the locations along the south rim to take photos.

One of the things that struck me was how tame the wildlife seemed.

Because I was staying there I was able to take photographs right up to late at night. The changing colours were amazing.

The late night sun certainly made all the difference. I could have spent days there just looking at the changing light. But instead I found myself in the bar (with my sugar free coke) chatting to a couple. Keldon was a car painter and I chatted to him while his partner was comforting the barmaid that had just come off duty. I asked what was going on. Apparently the barmaid had just witnessed her partner pull out a gun and shoot himself.

In that bar that night I met two people that had witnessed their partners commit suicide with a gun.

The suicide rate in the USA is about double that of the UK. To put this in context using current events – around 250 black men are shot by police in the USA each year (0.5/100,000 compared to the white rate of less than 0.2/100,000). The gun suicide rate is over 7/100,000. And while police shootings have been decreasing the suicide rate is increasing.

Between 1999 and 2006 the suicide rate increased about 1% each year, since then it has increased about 2% each year (rate not absolute number for data geeks). For young white boys (10-14) the rate has doubled in the last 20 years – the number of 10-14 year old white boys committing suicide in the USA is now about the same number as black people shot and killed by police. A white man is two to three times more likely to commit suicide than a black man. And the suicide rate for white men is increasing at about 4% per year.

Sounds terrible? Just don’t get me started with the native american suicide rates.

Behind these rates are many more having their lives shattered, and many more on the verge of ending it all – young people who say they can’t take it anymore. This is the second cause of premature death in the 10-34 age range.

I wonder if one of the reasons this flies under the radar might be that the suicide rates get higher as the community size reduces. The rates in small rural, farming, communities are about twice that of inner cities, the increases are highest in the central USA. And one of the main problems must be the difficulty people have in asking for help.

So I don’t use the term “All Lives Matter”, but I cannot criticise somebody for using the term. I really don’t know their circumstance, and there are a lot of people that are finding it hard to say “Please help me”. This might just be their cry for help, either for themselves or their community.

I really am an unbelievably wonderful person. And so are you. I heard it on the TV the other day. We have made such amazing sacrifices by staying indoors. There is only so much daytime TV a person can cope with – and we have managed to put up with it. We are amazing.

One of the villages I visited in Nicaragua does not have good water flow, so the minerals in the water build up – their kidneys are failing. So far this year 180 refugees have drowned trying to cross the Med.

I really have not made any real sacrifice. I might have been made a little less comfortable, but otherwise I have had a life that is luxurious compared to the vast mahority of people in the world.

I know the idea the government want to create is that we are all struggling together, to bring us together.

No matter how bad things get here we need to make sure we don’t forget to work for more justice in the world.

This week for me has been one of the busiest weeks I have had this year with work. Next week looks busier, probably the busiest this year. I need to be thankful, not be praised for making a sacrifice.

So on to my second day trip from St George four years ago. I visited Zion national park.

The last little bit of the map (B to C) is a walk. I walked up the canyon to the narrows. The first part of the walk is along a well made path through an open canyon. At the end there are some steps down to the river. From there on the canyon gets narrow. In places the river runs from wall to wall. You can’t do this walk without getting wet (although there are some places will hire out dry suits – badly named because you tend to sweat a lot in them).

I didn’t have a dry suit – I just walked in the river. But there are two essentials – sticks of some kind and polarizing lenses in your sunglasses (they help you see through the surface of the water to find the shallow paths).

To start with the river is fairly wide. I started early in the morning, and with a low sun the canyon is dark at the bottom and bright at the top. There were always others in sight, but it wasn’t crowded. Here the river is just between ankle and knee deep.

There are places with sandbanks, which means the river flows from side to side of the canyon – which means you need to cross the river time after time. And each time you are trying to find the shallow path (at this point anyway).

At some points the walls of the canyon are wet as waterfalls cascade down from the plateau far above. The canyon starts to get narrower and narrower, often with overhanging rock. The river fills the whole canyon in a lot of places.

Eventually the paths become deeper and deeper – especially where large rocks have blocked part of the canyon.

I walked up to a place called the Narrows. By the time I got there most others had given up – virtually nobody was in the canyon. It was an amazing place to be.

The interesting thing about the way back was the change in water height. Because this is melt water the river height changes during the day – on the way back the water was up to 20cm higher in places.