A view from Furnace Creek Ranch

To the right you see a picture taken during sunset on Thursday evening. The view is gorgeous, and I was really impressed by the variety of landscapes that I saw. The roads I drove are the ones that Humbert would have driven, and so these are the scenes he would have viewed as well.

Staying at a "swank" hotel

Lolita would approve. Because of some flight problems, I am staying at the Grand Hyatt in Dallas, TX. Although I am not happy to be in the land of TO, I am glad to finally be IN a hotel room and have eaten a proper meal. It's a beautiful hotel, and the room is the best I've stayed in during my research trips. I also had room service, or as it's called here, private dining. I just didn't want to go downstairs to the restaurant - or whatever they call it here.

So, it's been an adventure in CA/NV. I arrived Wed evening and stayed at the Excalibur in Vegas - there were some flight problems, which caused me to actually arrive SOONER in Vegas than I imagined, but also caused me to fly out of CVG and with a return to Dayton. Thankfully, today's flight problems took care of that, and I'll be back at CVG tomorrow. The Excalibur is where I stayed with my parents last time I was in Vegas. It's just an overwhelming experience to walk into a casino. Hard to explain, but there is a LOT of noise, lights, and general chaos. I must have looked lost as a woman asked, "Can I help you honey?" I would have preferred "young lady" as an address, but at least I didn't get the southern "ma'am."

After dropping stuff off at the hotel, I decided to wander. I wanted to goto Lance Burton's show, but it had already started. Eventually I found myself eating at the House of Blues - had a HUGE rack of ribs - and then at the Howie Mandel show. Some guy named Mendoza - I forget the first name - opened for him. It was fun. Although I really wanted to stay up late, I did try to get to bed at a decent hr - for Las Vegas.

The next morning I was off to Death Valley, CA. Before heading too far west, I picked up a six pack of WATER as I didn't want to break down and die of dehydration. It IS called Death Valley for a reason.

I took the shorter route - 190 to 160 or whatever it's called. It was through Pahrump? When I did hit the ranch I was a bit surprised at how bleak and desolate it seemed. I shouldn't have been surprised. And I should not have been shocked that my cell didn't work. I WAS surprised at no internet as it said on the Web site that there was internet. So here I was in the middle of the desert staying in a cabin much like what Humbert and Lolita would have stayed in back in 47 or 48 with no real amenities. Hmmmmmm... I truly was on the road with Lolita. On a sidenote, I forgot my copy of Lolita, which is the first time I've ever traveled without Lolita on a Lolita research trip. Oops.

Before I could check in, I had to kill a few hours, so I drove around for a bit. On the way in, I had stopped at Zabriskie Point, and of course I thought of Dave Z. To those of you NON-CYCLYING FANS, Dave Z. is one of the best cyclings in the world and one of the top time trialists in the world. I love that guy.

I also stopped off at the Visitor Center in Furnace Creek, which was a very good move as I picked up some books.

I did talk with a NPS ranger who told me I could speak with a woman, Blair, who is the curator for DVNM. I drove out to the station where she was located, and I got a chance to look at some materials in the library. I actually got a lot of information, which was great. I'm going to write her to see if I might get some more materials in the mail - such as old brochures, etc.

Dinner was at the Ranch at something called the Steakhouse Saloon? It was ok. I had a glass of wine - a Macmurray? Pinot Noir. After dinner, I went back to my room, did some writing, and watched some tv.

I got up pretty early - 6am - so I could go to Scotty's Castle, which was about an 1 hr drive from Furnace Creek. Breakfast was a buffet and it was disappointing.

The next morning I headed out very early for Scotty's Castle. I'll write about that soon, but I suppose I better post this before something happens to my computer and I lose everything I've typed!

Destination Death Valley

So, I am writing this from my room in the Excalibur, where I'm spending the night before driving out to Death Valley, CA.

The scenery from the plane was all the cliches you can imagine - I remember the first time I saw landscape that looked like what you see in the western US; I was blown away because I had never seen anything like it in the East. It still impresses me. I saw snow-topped mountains. Although I didn't see THE Grand Canyon, I saw A canyon, and that was enough for me.

The strip itself and the casinos are full of energy and chaos. I really had that deer in the headlights look when I first walked into the Excalibur, but then you quickly become comfortable - even energized - by the environment.

I don't yet have any pictures to post, and I'm really too tired - it's nearly 3am Ohio time - to write much, but I wanted to be certain to "check in" here.

I had some initial travel problems with flight arrangements that had me leaving Dayton for CVG AFTER my CVG to Vegas flight would have departed. How does Expedia/Delta manage to accomplish that itinerary change?

Anyway, everything worked out if by "work out," you mean I left from CVG and return to Dayton.


More soon. I hope to have internet access from Furnace Creek.

Project Update

I thought it was time to give a sense of where I am with this project. I've visited numerous places, taken a good number of photos, shot some video, spoke with too many people to name, written a lot, and really learned a great deal in the past few months.

Britt Carr at Miami is working on the technical aspects (FLASH programming, etc.) for the Web interface. We may have an image of an old Plymouth to use as the navigation window, but I still would like to get a 41 Plymouth...my own "Melmoth." I can't just use a picture from the Web because the image has to be taken from a certain angle to be useful on the site. So, if anyone has any contacts that might help, please contact me.

I sent off letters today to Mrs. Hastie, who was one of the Plantation owners at the time that VN visited. I hope she remembers his visit. I also sent a letter to Mr. Manny Hough thanking him and his crew there in Shakespeare for their help. There's so much more I'd like to share on this blog, but I am also aware that much of what I want to say will have a more appropriate venue on the actual formal Web site for the project. So, if there's a question you have, please let me know. I haven't made any earth-shattering discoveries about VN, but I believe I have uncovered some details that other scholars haven't. We'll see.

I've also really appreciated the support and interest of Mr. Dmitri Nabokov. I try to avoid bothering him too much, but there have been a few times when I've asked him about whether his father was in a particular place.

Otherwise, it's back to teaching for me, so less travel. I will be in Death Valley in October. I also need to apply for more funding for this coming summer.

Thank you for reading.

My day in Shakespeare, NM

I have had the BEST day. Thanks to the folks at Shakespeare and in Lordsburg that have made this such a wonderful visit. The picture above is of Janaloo Hill Hough's final resting place and of the view she, Rita, and Frank have of their beloved Shakespeare.

I will post more about my visit, but I wanted to get these pictures up now.

Looking ahead to today, looking back to yesterday

So, today I go into Shakespeare, NM. I am very excited about my visit. I just finished Janaloo Hill's piece on Russian Bill. I also emailed DN to ask whether his father ever mentioned Rita Hill. I'm a bit bummed that what I wrote last night didn't get posted, and it seems like the blog as a whole is acting up. Oh well. These entries are really just for friends/family to see what I'm up to and how I'm handling the project.

Last night at the rodeo was interesting as it was the first time I've attended a ranch rodeo and heard the word "rodeo" used as a very - as in "Ok, let's rodeo!" The Bay ranch took the first event - the name of which I can't recall - but it involved roping horses in a pen, saddling them up, mounting them simultaneously, and riding past a chalk line at the other end of the arena. I really wondered about the timekeeper as it just seemed like 1:50 was a bit too brief for what they did. The second event involved cutting and driving cattle. That was a huge challenge for some. Imagine about two dozen or so cattle, and you have to find the four that are marked with your number ("brand"), cut them, and drive them into a pen at the other end of the arena.

I feel like I should include a picture since last night's post was lost. So I will below:

Lost post from last night

Ok, so I am visiting a ghost town; I guess it makes sense that my post from last night would be a ghost. It even included a picture of the downtown area. Argh!

The Hidalgo County Fair and Rodeo

Oh,I should mention that I attended the fair tonight - 3 dollars to get in - bought a barbecue plate for 6 dollars (well spent money) - and saw some of the rodeo before worrying that the storm was going to hit and I'd get soaked. 

Greetings from Tucson, AZ

Just arrived in my hotel near the airport. Tomorrow I set out for Shakespeare, NM. It's about 150 miles east on I-10, which is not a highway Humbert would have had access to as it didn't exist. I wish I had some old maps of this area with me, but I never did manage to locate any. The traveling has been a bit tiring - it's almost 1am "my time" now, but at least I am here. No pictures yet.

I am a resident of two states

How is this possible?
(There's also a hidden message)

Returned from Middlesboro, KY and Cumberland Gap, TN

I did not have internet access for several days, so that's why there were no updates to this site while I was actually ON THE ROAD. Overall, it was a great trip, and the area really grew on me. That said, I came a day earlier than originally planned to save on costs, because I accomplished enough during my visit. Amazing what no internet access will do for you. I also managed to see WTC for $1.50, but that's another story.

The drive down to Middlesboro, KY was easy until I hit some storms and major traffic congestion about 30 miles from 25E. Old 25 would have been the road HH drove, and I was tempted to take 25E from Cincinnati to the area, but I knew that would add time to my trip. I also figured I'd get a taste of it once off I 75.

The hotel I stayed at, the Best Western, was ok. I wish it had internet access. The town is overrun with fast food establishments; I was looking for a local place where I could get something to eat. I settled on the Waffle King for dinner. It's probably a local chain, but it felt better than a Ryan's or a Pizza Hut or a McDonald's.

There's a lot to tell about the trip, but I'm a bit hungry now that I've started writing about food, so I'll end this here. I'll post a picture in a moment in another post. More soon!