Little resonances in Santa Fe with stories in Fenn’s books?
New Mexico Museum of Art
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Tag Archives: Too Far To Walk
Longevity
Don’t you wonder what secrets to a long and happy life Forrest Fenn might share? (In addition to being extremely fortunate in the outcome of his flying career, I mean.)
100 years ago
So, I asked him. Diet? Exercise? Are you some sort of vegan?
His response:
This old lady was asked that question. She said she drank 4 Dr. Peppers a day since she was 8 years old. She said her doctors promised she would die at an early age if she didn’t stop. She said, “I’m 104 years-old, still drinking 4 Dr. Peppers a day and my doctors are all dead.”
Wiki-link — Dr Pepper Interesting: they sued Coca-Cola back in the fifties.
Once, at the county fair, I tossed rings and won a couple large, glass bottles of Dr Pepper. I had to give them to my brother because I couldn’t stand the flavor; tasted too much like prune juice? Like a lot of other fine things, I acquired a taste for it later in life.
Happy hunting, all!
April is Not the Cruelest Month
Lake Michigan
Wishing hoping and praying for the safety of Randy and all those out searching for him.
Randy’s well thumbed copy of The Thrill of the Chase
The Call of Distant Places – Book Launch for Forrest Fenn’s Latest
(If I weren’t eighteen hours away . . . )
Charmay Allred invites you to an autograph party
Please join us and bring a friend
Leon Gaspard – The Call of Distant Places
A new book by Forrest Fenn and Carleen Milburn
Monday September 14, 2015
5-7 pm
La Fonda Hotel
Santa Fe Room
Light refreshments will be served
Please RSVP by Sept 10 to:leongaspardbook@gmail.com
There and Back Again: An Egtved Girl’s Travels
Interesting (to me)
Fathers and Sons
Marvin and Forrest Fenn
Lawrence and Dan Fogelberg
Yours and mine
“The Leader of the Band”
1942 DeKalb All Grade School Band Concert
Dan Fogelberg‘s father Lawrence
Dan certainly had a way with words-
“I’m Just a living Legacy to the leader of the band”
2nd verse: “A quiet man of music
Denied a simpler fate
He tried to be a soldier once
But his music wouldn’t wait
He earned his love through discipline
A thundering, velvet hand
His gentle means of sculpting souls
Took me years to understand”
It puts me in mind of Marvin Fenn as school principal and Forrest’s tales of lessons learned. (See the books.)
Full lyrics here: Dan Fogelberg – Leader Of The Band Lyrics | MetroLyrics
Pondering
1972 Dinosaur National Monument
(Missing my Dad, too)
The Sonnets
Forrest Fenn is writing poetry again. I’d love to watch over his shoulder and see him at work. Is it a messy process with lots of words crossed out? Or does he compose it in his head and only write what works? Does he adhere to form or formula? Or is he a free spirit, free verse wordsmith?
English: Title page of Shakespeare’s Sonnets (1609) (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
Photo credit Wikipedia
Apparently William Shakespeare worried about leaving a legacy. At least the young man narrating the Bard’s first dozen or three sonnets did. He stood gazing marvelously in the mirror, pondering, and concluded that he’d just have to get married and have a son. {Okay. That’s more abbreviated than even a Cliff’s Notes version.} But, it made me think of the last chapter in Forrest Fenn’s Too Far To Walk where he gazes with marvel(?) in his mirror in a closing poem.
Legacy~~~
“Oh very young. What will you leave us this time?” Cat Stevens
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Riddle Me This
Is the poem a riddle? Not a classic Who am I or What am I, but Where am I?
In which case, the first stanza would say something like I, the chest, went in there empty and then I went in there filled. 
Which raises the next question—the critical point of it all—in There, aka the Secret Where.
If Forrest wrote the poem as if it was a classic riddle, he might have imagined himself as the box personified and given clues accordingly. Does this hold up? 
So, if the bronze chest is speaking to you, (no, I haven’t gone ‘um die ecke’, not yet anyway), and says “Take it in the canyon down”, “it” can’t be the chest, right? Or, then again, “take it” might mean carry the chest . Different train of thought….
More wordplay? Google –How to Write a Riddle Poem, etc.
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Up My Creek
Play day.
A week and a half late but a perfect day for it.
(Inre: Warm waters/Putting In— I made a less than graceful re-entry after the picnic lunch. I need more practice.)
Monarch Butterfly Danaus plexippus Purple Coneflower 3008 (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
Monarchs everywhere lately!
Once the harvest is over, I may have more time for the Chase.
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If You Recognize This Person….
only child
If you know who this person is, let me know. I’ll drop off the photo, etc., next time I’m in New Mexico.
This pic made me think of the twins in Forrest Fenn’s book, Too Far To Walk, which made me wonder about a couple more things which may remain mysteries. Ah, well.
Back to the Chase—Dal’s blog is in overdrive lately since he officially dropped out of the hunt for Fenn’s treasure. Lots to keep up with over there.
Another great addition is over on Jenny Kile’s blog. Forrest is answering searcher’s questions at the rate of more than one a day.
Love it!
English: Stout Arch, Mystery Valley, Monument Valley Navajo Tribal Park, Arizona, USA Français : Stout Arch, Mystery Valley, Monument Valley Navajo Tribal Park, Arizona, États-Unis (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
Me? It’s raspberry season. This year– raspberry ice cream made with organic cream and sugar. Small treasures….
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Cities of Gold
Cover via Amazo
So I read another Douglas Preston book this spring. (I bought this one, Mr. Preston.) It was a departure from his horror/thrillers I’d read previously, but this non-fiction book was fascinating in another way.
He decided to retrace the steps of Coronado from the border of Mexico to the Pecos Pueblo in search of the Seven Cities of Gold. It turns out that it was a bit of a wild goose chase for Coronado, but people will believe what they want to believe when it comes to treasures of gold. Time hasn’t changed that.
Preston smoothly wove massive amounts of history into the story of his trek on horseback through some very harsh lands. He’s also made use of the experience in some of his fiction, i.e. Thunderhead, Tyrannosaurus Canyon, and others.
Tyrannosaurus footprint from Philmont Scout Ranch, New Mexico (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
Let’s see. Did Mapsmith call Dal foolhardy? Well, let’s just say it takes a certain mix of courage, stamina, and not too much information to undertake some adventures. Which is why the glory goes to the brave. Kudos to all of you. Lacking two of the above, I’m just happy to get the vicarious thrill when I read about your adventures.
Pecos Glazeware Bowl, labelled as serpent design, Pecos National Historical Park From the ruins of the Pecos Pueblo in in San Miguel County, New Mexico.
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Coins on Stones
Found this article on Facebook today, Memorial Day:
COINS LEFT ON TOMBSTONES
While visiting some cemeteries you may notice that headstones marking certain graves have coins on them, left by previous visitors to the grave.
These coins have distinct meanings when left on the headstones of those who gave their life while serving in America’s military, and these meanings vary depending on the denomination of coin.
A coin left on a headstone or at the grave site is meant as a message to the deceased soldier’s family that someone else has visited the grave to pay respect. Leaving a penny at the grave means simply that you visited.
A nickel indicates that you and the deceased trained at boot camp together, while a dime means you served with him in some capacity. By leaving a quarter at the grave, you are telling the family that you were with the solider when he was killed.
According to tradition, the money left at graves in national cemeteries and state veterans cemeteries is eventually collected, and the funds are put toward maintaining the cemetery or paying burial costs for indigent veterans.
In the US, this practice became common during the Vietnam war, due to the political divide in the country over the war; leaving a coin was seen as a more practical way to communicate that you had visited the grave than contacting the soldier’s family, which could devolve into an uncomfortable argument over politics relating to the war.
Some Vietnam veterans would leave coins as a “down payment” to buy their fallen comrades a beer or play a hand of cards when they would finally be reunited.
The tradition of leaving coins on the headstones of military men and women can be traced to as far back as the Roman Empire.
Thanks to the radio station that posted it.
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