Surprises in Travel, the Desert areas

 

Olive Ann Oatman (September 7, 1837 – March 21, 1903) was a child who was enslaved and later released by Native Americans in the Mojave Desert region when she was a teenager.

For today:

Traveling? I thought of lush mountains, beautiful beaches and hundreds of acres of veggies; I was surprised at hundreds of acres of Sun Flowers! I think it was in Kansas or Colorado I was so pleasantly surprised at seeing Sun Flowers and noting with a smile that it appeared every last one, followed the sun like Soldiers marching.

I could not find my pic, this is from the net.

We had read about the “Oatman Massacre” and set that as a destination in around 2000. Ah ha, it is close to Gila Bend. There is a National Park in the area with an RV park. More education to this Southern Boy. Gila is Actually pronounced 'Heela' Bend.

It was easy to find a camping spot, so we headed that way. We took a month’s reservation. WHAT? Very little SAND? This cannot be. Lots of Scrubs and cactus. Plenty of paths in that area.

 

This is the home of the Gila River Indian reservation. The home of the famous Ira Hayes and the Gila River. We actually shopped on the reservation, sad my friend the fate of the American Indian.

The Balad of Ira Hays, US Marine who helped raise the Flag on Iwo JIMA.

Hiking in this desert area we met Workers on an isolated farm.. They spoke no English. My first realization that Mexico was just down the road. Very few people were helpful at directions to the Site of the Massacre.

The Oatman Family and their 7 children, dedicated Mormons  were on their way to Utah. They fed some passing Indians. After the meal they were all killed except two girls. Thinking they had killed the son, they threw his body over a cliff, he survived to tell the tale and look for his sisters. The Girls were taken as slaves. Only Olive survived. Her chin was marked as a slave.

WE walked several days and actually enjoying a desert environment, we located the site, there were No big signs, just a simple acknowledgement of the site, on a 2 rut desert road.

I have lost my 2000-01-02 pictures. The above are from the net.

Want to view some beautiful out of the way DESERT areas? Drop by ANY TIME ‘Spare Parts and Pics’ and You will be enamored by the beauty of the Joshua Tree areas of Southern California. One must admire the American Writer and photographer Edward Abbey, a guy with a camera’s eye that can catch subtle but beautiful sites.

If you see only one post of Ed’s, you must visit:

Spare Parts and Pics: Water Dagger Petroglyph Revisited

Those formations and info left from the past engraved in many areas are fantastic

Tomorrow, the Yuma, AZ Area,  desert beauty.

 

Nite Shipslog

PS 

 AGAIN, thank each of you for stopping by.  Having friends is important. You guys are the best… You make a guy proud to know you.

For you who haven't read it here are the SAD lyrics for Ira's life.. Since I was a Marine, I do think of Ira.

The Ballad of Ira Hayes

Song by

Johnny Cash

Ira Hayes
Ira Hayes

Call him drunken Ira Hayes
He won't answer anymore
Not the whiskey drinkin' Indian
Nor the Marine that went to war

Gather round me people there's a story I would tell
About a brave young Indian you should remember well
From the land of the Pima Indian, a proud and noble band
Who farmed the Phoenix valley in Arizona land

Down the ditches of thousand years
The water grew Ira's peoples' crops
'Till the white man stole the water rights
And the sparklin' water stopped

Now Ira's folks were hungry
And their land grew crops of weeds
When war came, Ira volunteered
And forgot the white man's greed

Call him drunken Ira Hayes
He won't answer anymore
Not the whiskey drinkin' Indian
Nor the Marine that went to war

There they battled up Iwo Jima's hill
Two hundred and fifty men
But only twenty-seven lived
To walk back down again

And when the fight was over
And Old Glory raised
Among the men who held it high
Was the Indian, Ira Hayes

Call him drunken Ira Hayes
He won't answer anymore
Not the whiskey drinkin' Indian
Nor the Marine that went to war

Ira,he is returned a hero
Celebrated through the land
He was wined and speeched and honored
Everybody shook his hand

But he was just a Pima Indian
No water, no home, no chance
At home nobody cared what Ira'd done
And when did the Indians dance

Call him drunken Ira Hayes
He won't answer anymore
Not the whiskey drinkin' Indian
Nor the Marine that went to war

Then Ira started drinkin' hard
Jail was often his home
They'd let him raise the flag and lower it
Like you'd throw a dog a bone

He died drunk early one mornin'
Alone in the land he fought to save
Two inches of water in a lonely ditch
Was a grave for Ira Hayes

Call him drunken Ira Hayes
He won't answer anymore
Not the whiskey drinkin' Indian
Nor the Marine that went to war

Yeah, call him drunken Ira Hayes
But his land is just as dry
And his ghost is lying thirsty
In the ditch where Ira died

Songwriters: Peter Lafarge. For non-commercial use only.