You know, when you travel across the country, sometimes you must choose to spend the night somewhere just because it’s time to stop and sleep. Hence, our time in Bakersfield CA.
If you end up here, try Maggie’s Diner for breakfast. Exceptional food, service, and atmosphere. We chose a table outside and even though the heat was still raging, it was cooler than Phoenix. And remember, it’s still a dry heat. To be fair, it was also 7 a.m.

Do those word sound familiar? If you’ve ever participated in Field Day, then chances are you’ve heard them. I remember the anticipation of standing in line for a race. Each one of us was waiting to hear a teacher say those three magic words. When they did, I leapt off of the starting line and ran across the field as fast as my legs would go. I wanted that blue ribbon for first place. Usually, I ended up with the silver one for third place.

The church of which I am currently a member put out a magnet a few years ago with the church’s logo and this catchphrase: Loveland—Where Everybody is Somebody.
I thought this a comforting sentiment. Church should be the one place that everyone feels like someone, no “big ‘I’s or little ‘you’s’”. Unfortunately, that is not always the case.

i remember in the late fifties copying this recipe from the television screen. It has been a staple of mine ever since. I have used it on a stew, with tomato sauce instead of potatoes as well as topped with chicken gravy.

By Steve Roark
Volunteer for Cumberland Gap National Historical Park

I don’t know of anybody that doesn’t have a fear response when they stumble across a snake in the woods or the tool shed. The usual reaction is to jump back and express a four-letter metaphor. I do it myself, even though I know that snakes are mostly harmless, and the poisonous ones rarely strike a human unless really provoked. But all that knowledge goes out the window when I first see a snake, and I’m instantly in a “get out of here” mode.

One of the most common and well-known therapeutic procedures performed by doctors of chiropractic is spinal manipulation (sometimes referred to as a “chiropractic adjustment”). The purpose of spinal manipulation is to restore joint mobility by manually applying a controlled force into joints that have become hypomobile — or restricted in their movement — as a result of a tissue injury.

Having been bundled up by the Covid-19 pandemic and suffering from “cabin fever,” we decided it was time for another travel adventure.
After landing in Vancouver, Canada, we walked to the 44-story Harbor House Tower with its panoramic observation tower on its top floor. Next, we visited the nearby Chinatown which is the second largest Chinatown in North America. I stopped for a moment to photograph the welcoming Chinatown gate.

But first, let’s get out of Yucca Valley. We are heading to Bakersfield only because there is a distinct lack of lodging on the way to Yosemite. Along the route today we will also go through Needles and Barstow. Name that tune!

I will let you in on a little secret: I love loud noises. Not the sudden ones as in a balloon popping or a firecracker exploding. Let’s put it this way; if you’re ever attending a firework show and you see a short woman with glasses and her fingers burrowed inside her ears, it’s probably me.

The first time I remember becoming aware of church dinners was when I was a young child. Maynardville Baptist (now the First Baptist Church of Maynardville) was going to have a homecoming. I didn’t understand at the time that homecoming was a special service to welcome former members and pastors to renew “auld acquaintance.