Lore Trial #7: Getting in Touch

These days, there are many ways to communicate with each other. Most of them are instantaneous. It’s hard to believe that it was only 150 years ago when American routes were first established to facilitate communication with the West. There was one “rest stop” along the oldest east-west route that has a very colorful history. By looking at where each of the items below intersects, you’ll be equipped to tell future Ravelos, Souzas, Garcias, Freemonts, and Williams about this place. Well, at least the name of it!

(p.s., I heard Taylor spreading rumors about how I don’t like anagrams. I’m actually not that snobby!)


(1) In 1857, the U.S. government commissioned this John to establish an Overland Mail route.

(2) This route took a southern approach around the Rockies in order to avoid winter snow during the 2, 800 mile trip from St. Louis to San Francisco. The establishment of this route probably reinforced St. Louis’ reputation as the “Gateway to the _____”

(3) John pushed his men to complete the long route in 25 days. He’s frequently quoted as saying, “Remember boys, nothing __ ____ _____ must stop the United States Mail!”

(4) Northern Californian’s persistent demands for a northern route around the Rockies were met when this very well-known mail delivery service was established around 1859/1860.

(5) The new service used individual riders to transport correspondence instead of coaches. Because of the limitations of the rider and the horse, and because of the large number of riders required to make the harsh journey, the new service was expensive. It cost $5 to send a ½ ounce letter all the way from St. Louis to this city which was at the end of the line (and happy to finally receive regular correspondence like its southern neighbor, San Francisco).

(6) The southern coach route transported a larger volume of correspondence and even some passengers. It passed through some dangerous Chiricahuan Apache territory, though, in Arizona and this other state.

(7) One of the most dangerous Indians was this Chiricahuan Chokonen Chief who is almost as well known as my grandmother’s lover. His name lives on in modern media – characters have been named after him in a famous John Ford movie as well as that movie about rowdy youth in New York who come out to play in the subways.

(8) The Indian Chief wasn’t always dangerous, though. He was friendly with this Tom who was a competent and decorated U.S. Army scout, Indian agent, and stagecoach driver. Were it not for their friendship, Indian uprising would have been significantly bloodier.

(9) This engagement in 1861 was a classic case of mistaken identity. John Ward wanted to blame somebody for damages to his property – and all Indians must have looked the same to him. All because of Ward’s bigotry and a luteneint’s inexperience, innocent hostages on both sides were killed.

(10) After the infamous Chiricahuan Chokonen Chief died, this son of his succeeded him as Chief, but only for 2 years.

Crossword Puzzle

  Location Trial #7: Send Help

It took a long time for the guys at the Fort Bowie to get the help and resources that they needed. Most visitors to Fort Bowie only walk through the remains of the second fort, the more impressive one. The one that sparks memories of old west movies about soldiers and their families at the fort. Walking through what remains of the second Fort Bowie, you can really imagine how all of the women characters in John Ford movies might have felt, so far away from the east coast.

Of course, as most of our family came to these areas from the south (i.e. Mexico) instead of Europe by way of "back east," sympathies are a little different.

When I walked the short 1.5 mile hike in to Fort Bowie, I paid more attention to the adversities that the folks must have felt. They were living in an area fed by a small spring with limited water and rather windy, inhospitable climate. An area so unbecoming to inhabitance that the only one who lives there even now is the park ranger.

The area was fueled by conflict between the U.S. and the Apaches. Yes, Cochise and Butterfield and the rest of the folks resigning themselves to living in the area made time for beers at the camp saloon.

The second fort was luxurious in comparison to the firs fort. It was necessary to support the work required of the men living there. And it was certainly necessary to expect military wives to live there. Take a look at these descriptions of life in the first and second forts. If you go there and visit, be sure to not when the photographs were taken. Both years will unlock information about St. Augustine. And they will hopefully introduce to you some of the mysteries of hard life just over a hundred years ago.

BONUS ACTIVITIES:
- earn 5 TOUGH points if you visit a ranger station and give your family crest to the ranger.
- earn 5 SMARTS points if you get a better look at something through a telescope with your family crest in hand.

GETTING BONUS POINTS:
- Take lots of photos!
- Be sure to display your family crest somewhere (do not photshop it in)
- If you have receipts, photograph those as well!
- Post photos with tag "lgfl" on flickr and send to taylor (taylor dot garcia at g mail dot com)

  Challenge Piece: Where-When #7

Location: http://lawngamesforlife.com/Challenge_Pieces/WhereWhen/7/ww_07.jpg
Username: souza
Password: 18671894

  Legend Trial #7: Doris Ravelo

If it weren’t for Doris, there might not be a “Garcia” line in our extended family! Doris was by far the most compassionate of my siblings. Her heart was as pure as her eyes were blue. Her husband, Antonio Garcia, was an academic from a Mexican family with strong ties to the Spanish royal family. Antonio focused on contemporary philosophical studies which seemed to suit Doris well - had she been a scholar instead of a mother I would have envisioned her in a similar field. I loved having Antonio as a brother-in-law and I'm sure Taylor and the boys love having his as a grandfather. Poor Antiono has survived Doris for so many generations, but he remains faithful to her memory. The union between the Ravelos and the Garcias that my sister and Antonio established sometimes seems like a distant memory. Alas.

Right after Doris and Antonio were married, they moved to Minnesota where Antonio had a tenured professorship awaiting him. Doris was still young – and even younger at heart – so she more quickly and seamlessly embedded herseld into the student body than the faculty spouse society.

I loved reading Doris’ letters! She would tell me about college kids, new styles of music, her and Antonio’s plans for moving back west, and her dreams (not aspiration dreams but actual sleepytime dreams). Though she never revealed any involvement with drugs, I really don’t understand how such a generally sheltered and naive person like Doris could have had such detailed, involved , and psychadelic dreams without a little tiny bit of dope. In one letter and a later phone call, Doris couldn’t even bring herself to tell me about this one particular dream because it was so "far out" and spinning on its own in her head. She dropped the matter tidily by saying that the dream was frightening and seemed like the end of the world to her, and there were crazy things that she couldn't quite contextualize for me - things like A B and C.

Doris died a long time ago (1966), but last year during the Hurricane Katrina fiascos, I felt like Doris was on earth. I felt like all of the news channels were showing what she had seen almost 40 years earlier in her dream. She'd seen the end of the world. A B and C never made sense as anything less than hallucinations until I saw the Katrina footage.

Doris had one friend in Minnesota to whom she would confide every detail about her dreams. He was a sensitive soul like her and eventually went on to become a very famous singer (Taylor – one of your favorites, I think). He nicknamed Doris “Rainbow” and treated her like a little sister even though she was quite a bit older than he. I know that one of his songs was written about that end-of-the-world dream of Doris’

After Doris died, I helped Antonio sort through her things. Doris was a real list lady. She was also – like many overly compassionate people – a little eccentric at times. I found lists everywhere – in her bedside table, in old purses, in wallets, in makeup bags, in her jewelry box, in cookbooks. Most of the lists were normal enough: “2 eggs, 3 cups beans, 1 bag rice.” Some of them were perplexing, though: “1 horse, 17 cars, 2 friends, 4 unknowns, 1 relative, city streets, 2 bars.” A few of the lists gave me a déjà vu that I couldn’t kick until – for merely sentimental reasons - I fished out the shoebox where I kept all of Doris’ letters and read through some of them. I was overcome by reverse déjà vu. Those lists I had found were key words to help Doris remember her dreams - many of which she had detailed for me in her letters. Multiple lists of similar items were probably recurrent dreams. The most recurrent list related to the dream that she only half-shared with me. Looking at the items on the list that I did not know about, I was more taken aback than ever by my sister’s unconscious. I pitied that she’d had to endure this least favorite dream so often.

Nearly every night for almost a year, I read one or some or all of the lists pertaining to that dream. In the dark, I would plot out elaborate ways to get in touch with that famous singer to ask him what Doris had told him about the dream and to find out for sure if his song had been inspired by it. What I really wanted to do though, when I was lying there in the dark, was fall asleep and share Doris’ dream because I missed her. I never had the dream, but I did commit some common elements from the lists to memory. And Doris has cleared up all of the humanly curious questions that I had since I arrived to the afterlife.

Maybe if you read the list enough, you’ll have the dream! Or at least experience Déjà vu. Afterall, Doris’ tales about the dream preceeded recordings of that song. And Doris’ friendship with that young man preceded both. All of this eerily preceded and accurately anticipated Hurricane Katrina.

* 12 mountains (misty) * 6 highways (curvy and evil)
* 7 woods (sad feeling)
* Graveyard! Stuck.
* Baby with wolves
* Isabela and Rob (with knives)
* David surfing
* Dead poet (alone)
* Sad clown (also alone)
* Dead pony
* Man with dog
* Lover (crying)
* Hater (crying)

  Challenge Piece: Burden-to-Bring #7

Location: http://www.lawngamesforlife.com/Challenge_Pieces/Bring/Souza/7/07.jpg
Username: souza
Password: vean29

From: A Cousin
Date: Dec 22, 2006 11:59 PM
Subject: Happy Holidays!
To: Taylor Garcia
Attachments: kwanza.jpg, christmas.jpg, otherotherfamily.jpg

Dear Taylor,

I know that this is my last chance to earn some extra loyalty points for the family - and the cause. So here I am - why do I always procrastinate sending out the holiday cards every single year?!

In any event, I was very excited to receive a Christmas card from Other Cousin from Other Family. I also received a Kwanza card from Other Other Family and a Chanukah card from Other Other Other Family. I sent them cards too, but maybe they already told you. Please take a look at the attached images of the cards the sent me and the postmarked envelopes. I photographed / scanned them because I know that you're no longer at your same mailin address.

Which reminds me ... did you ever get the wrapping paper or the Thanksgiving card that I sent to you? You might want to have that friend of yours check your mail if it didn't get to you before you left. Because, hey that was totally filled with spirit and loyalty and all kinds of wonderful cheer!

Take care and Happy Holidays!

Love,
A Cousin

Location: http://www.lawngamesforlife.com/Challenge_Pieces/Bring/Garcia/7/07.jpg
Username: garcia
Password: plor64

Ravelos: http://www.lawngamesforlife.com/Challenge_Pieces/Bring/Ravelo/7/07.jpg

Williams/Freemonts: http://www.lawngamesforlife.com/Challenge_Pieces/Bring/Williams_Freemont/7/b2b_07.jpg

  Lore Trial #8: The OK Corral

Freemonts, did you know that your family had an important role in the "Old West?" Your grandmother used to tell me stories about growing up in Arizona. One of the most infamous streets in one of the most infamous towns in Arizona was named after her father: Freemont Street, where the shootout at the OK Corral went down. Yes, indeedey - the Freemonts were a "hearty stock" as they say. They carried a lot of weight around the old cowboy towns and they owned a lot of cattle.

Some Freemonts were in Tombstone - including Grandmother Freemont - on that fateful day in October 1881. They'd united in town to celebrate a wedding and enjoy some time getting to know the bride's family. But instead of throwing bouquets and rice, shots were thrown. 25 shots in 30 seconds! Three of the rowdy cowboys escaped the shootout and fled to an old boarding house in an almost equally rowdy town nearby. There, they cavorted with miners and such.

Each of the men involved in the shootout had their own special weapon which they would rotate towards a certain direction just before shooting, for good luck. Some might call it a coincidence, but rotating each man's pistol "just so" in its special lucky direction and lining all of them up in 3 rows like back in Tombstone reveals where Billy Claiborne, Wes Fuller, and Ike Clanton ran off to.

Little did those cowboys know, but their refuge would soon become a dangerous place as well, overrun by vengeful, psychotic murderers and embittered ghosts.

	
* Wyatt Earp rotated his weapon east 		* Morgan Earp rotated his weapon east
* Virgil Earp rotated his weapon south 		* Doc Holiday rotated his weapon south

 
* Billy Claiborne rotated his weapon east 	* Wes Fuller rotated his weapon west
 

* Frank McLaury rotated his weapon east 	* Tom McLaury rotated his weapon west
* Billy Clanton roatated his weapon west 	* Ike Clanton rotated his weapon west

  Location 8: This Room Is Haunted

Like most older tourists visiting the southwest and meandering along the Old West Highway, I decided to stop in Bisbee, AZ which was supposedly less of a "tourist trap" than Tombstone but similar in spirit.

Bisbee was yet another Arizonan town after my own heart - everyone there loved the earth and was an artist of some kind. Of course, it was yet another town that had crammed our species' greedy paws right into Gaia's core in the pursuit of precious metals.

Copper issues aside, I decided to stay at a place where 26 souls had met their fate and 5 ghosts lurked. Sure enough - my room was haunted. Folks say that Room #13 was the most haunted, but back then they were all pretty haunted. Still, 13 does seem to have a special meaning for ghosts and so maybe room #13 was more haunted than the others. No matter what, those poor ghosts were so bored because folks would just ignore them or cry or yell at them. And other folks would run away from them. Not me.

I heard water on in the washroom and ran out to the kitchen to get a glass. I filled it at the basin, shut off the faucet, and returned to my room, setting the glass on my nightstand. I heard tapping at my door and flung it open. I heard rustling under my bed and sat down on the edge, smoothing out a space for my companions. After playing "simon says" with the ghosts for a little while, they considered me a kindred spirit and let me lead.

I stomped the floor and they rattled through the insides of the floorboards. I fluffed my pillows and they danced them around the room like marionettes. I put on a coat and checked my lipstick and then the ghosts finally "materialized." I convinced a pair of them - old Nat and his lover - to head over to Florida in December for the fete. And they followed through! They are almost angels now. And happily amused.

The innskeeper renamed all the rooms shortly after my visit, to confuse the ghosts should they return and also to collude the superstitious tourists.

Do you know the current name of the room where I stayed? It's in the photograph above.

BONUS ACTIVITIES:
- earn 5 TOUGH points if you stay a night in a haunted B&B and tape your family crest to the mirror.
- earn 5 SMARTS points if you perform a seance in a haunted space and begin by burning your family crest.

  Challenge Piece: Where-When #8

Location: http://lawngamesforlife.com/Challenge_Pieces/WhereWhen/8/ww_08.jpg
Username: souza
Password: pomegranate

  Legend Trial #8: Daniel Ravelo

Every family has at least one "black sheep" tucked away in its history. We've got our fair share, but one of the most tragic ones was young Daniel. He's the one in the photo above with his arms outstretched - as though even then he needed help. But Daniel was never one to play fair and his very name provided the key to his demise.

I visited his grave shortly before I got ill. It can tell the story of how he died far better than I:

Daniel Ravelo
Beloved Son and Brother

April 18, 1952
February 2, 1970

PBEDEMRHOUPFLSE
PBAAZSOBDVIOMNU

"Nothing is random"

It's a Playfair Cipher since Daniel was never one to play fair. There is a good applet from Simon Singh that allows you to set up a specific keyword, which is good since we need to use Daniel's name for this.

When using the applet, make sure you set the keyword to DanielRavello and break up the encrypted string into digraphs: PB ED EM RH OU PF LS EP BA AZ SO BD VI OM NU

Once you do all that, you find out he tried to fly from a tree while on LSD.

  Challenge Piece: Burden-to-Bring #8

Location: http://www.lawngamesforlife.com/Challenge_Pieces/Bring/Souza/8/08.jpg
Username: souza
Password: zeen65

Celebrate The Spirit!

O' Come all Ye Family
Loyal and Triumphant
O' Come Ye, O' Come Ye
To St. Augustine!

It's almost time for us to be together for the three G's!
Ghosts! Gaia! GoodWILL! (Aunt Anna's will, that is.)

If you cannot make it, we will miss you!
Out of town family, please send news, photos and stories to Aunt Anna to be shared with everyone during the party! -
anna.ravelo@gmail.com

Angels and Gaia bless you - hope to see you at the PARTY!

RSVP via sms to cousin Taylor - XXX XXX XXXX
Don't forget ******* for the exiting *******.
It's always a favorit with ghost and kids alike!

There is no cost, but donations are welcome to defray the party costs. Also, please be sure to bring the item assigned to your family. We can't have a proper party without those items. Without a proper party, the ghosts will not be entertained. All will be for naught!

December 23rd at **********
**********, St. Augustine, FL
Aunt Anna + Cousin Taylor
-----------------------------
*** / XXX tba or tbd per challenge pieces

Location: http://www.lawngamesforlife.com/Challenge_Pieces/Bring/Garcia/8/08.jpg
Username: garcia
Password: cror96

Ravelos: http://www.lawngamesforlife.com/Challenge_Pieces/Bring/Ravelo/8/08.jpg

Williams/Freemonts: Okay. I lied. We don't have their piece yet. In fact, we only have up to piece 7 for them.

  Lore #9: Billy the Kid

Everyone has heard of "Billy the Kid" but not too many people know much about him. Rumor has it that he killed 21 men over the course of his life and rumored fact more conservatively estimates his toll at around 9. First person account can guarantee that he was indirectly responsible for the death of my (now deceased) colleague's father, James Carlysle.

Amelia Carlysle tells the story best, but she's dead now. One afternoon, she came home from playing outside and found her mother in tears. Papa had been trying to catch that young trickster with some other men and one misadventure led to another - he was accidentally killed by his own dimwitted friends, mistaken for one of The Kid's men.

Oh if only he had been one of The Kid's men! Those guys laughed and had fun and didn't seem to mean any harm. Now Amelia would be raised as Billy had been raised - without a father. At least, her mother wouldn't die. Billy tried to do right by the Carlysles. He snuck into a rich man's house and typed up a letter, right good as he could (Billy had good aim with a gun but not so good aim with his finger).

Amelia turned out alright - after a few years in California, she moved back to New Mexico. Settling down in Billy's out-west hometown, she spent hours contemplating his legacy, his myth, and desert birds. She became almost as much of a legend in the birdwatching community as Billy the Kid did in the Old West. Just before she died, I received a typed letter from her letting me know that she'd tried to to the right thing - understand Billy's life and honor her father's memory. I think doing right could do all of us a little good - might tell us where to go to learn more about Billy and his youth.

If you look at the picture of Billy, you'll see some writing at the bottom: do;brtvoyu,idri,

Combine that with the knowledge that Billy has bad aim when he's typing, and you'll see that it is a keyboard puzzle. Just shift all your fingers to the left one space and you'll find silver city museum.

  Location Trial #9: Silver!

When people talk about the American West and prospecting, they usually think of Gold Gold Gold. They often only even think about California's Gold Rush. Some of us older folks, though, were around back in the days when folks were still talking about how their family had made it rich thanks to some pioneering young buck of a brother or cousin or father or son.

Silver City was THE PLACE to strike it rich. People came from all over and there was such a livliness to the place. Now, it's often the butt of jokes because it's filled with so many retirees that the name "Silver City" refers more to hair color than to precious metal.

I think more young people should check out Silver City, though. The old and young mix almost effortlessly there, and both have so much to learn from each other. When I visited the cmmunity, I was midddle aged. I was just starting to "hit my stride," as they say, and Bisbee was about to hit hers (for a second time). As I walked through the town and the museum, I kept thinking "who lived here?"

Billy the Kid's mother, Catherine McCarty, lived here. It was her destination for a new home and new hope for her and her new huband and their two children. Miners lived here. Bankers, teachers, performers, cowboys, bartenders, innskeepers, conductors, and shopowners all lived here. Mothers, brothers, aunts, cousins, daughters, sisters, nieces, nephews, grandparents, and godchildren all lived here too.

Consider the photograph above - it's of some "typical" work places of the time. What does that mean? Who sat in that chair? Where were these pieces of furniture. Was there a window nearby? Did it have a view? Did the craftsmen who made these items ever imagine that they'd someday be displayed in a museum? Will my boring office someday be displayed in a museum? Will my person and my hopes and dreams be reduced to a historical display of my oak desk, PC, and adjustable desk chair?

Family - go revisit this place. Ask yourself - "where were these items originally?" That alone will complete the trial, but I implore you to ponder deeper, for your own sake.

BONUS ACTIVITIES:
- earn 5 TOUGH points if you take a photograph of your workplace with your family crest proudly displayed.
- earn 5 SMARTS points if learn about the origins of the names of a street near your workplace and then photogrpah the streetsign with your family crest taped to it.

  Challenge Piece: Where-When #9

Location: http://lawngamesforlife.com/Challenge_Pieces/WhereWhen/9/ww_09.jpg
Username: souza
Password: bankoftyrone

  Legend Trial #9: Maurice Arroyo

Maurice Arroyo (boy seated, on left) - (b. 1945 d. 1994)

As many kids as everyone has had, it’s been pretty difficult to keep the Ravelo line alive. We’ve been blessed in many other ways, though. Consider my nephew Rafael’s partner, Maurice Arroyo. Their union was inspiring and brave and defied all of our family’s preconceptions about how people – and things – should go together. Our family did ultimately do a tremendous job supporting Rafael’s relationship with Maurice and welcoming him into the family with as much gusto as any legal spouse, even as foreign a notion as homosexuality was for most of us in those days. The two of them wanted to adopt a child so badly, but no agency would even meet with them. They would have been the best parents. And Oh! If only we’d had an Arroyo branch of our family tree!

Rafael and Maurice decided to celebrate their 20-year anniversary by doing something really special. They went backpacking in a remote location where neither one had ever been before. What happened there is tragic and beautiful at the same time. For almost a week, they exalted life together. They explored a new and strange place with a tender curiosity afforded by a lifetime of learning from each other and the confident ease granted only by a loving and deep connection – a connection so deep that it was not perceptible on the surface in even the tiniest bit. And then Maurice fell off a cliff while trying to snap a photo of a butterfly. Poor dears.

We never did recover Maurice’s body. Rafael took most things as a sign. This incident was a sign that their love for each other had finally overflowed and Maurice was ready to meet his maker and seize his rest right then and there. When he dies, Rafael wants all of us to return to that cliff and reunite his remains with Maurice’s. Do you all know where we will have to go? The answer may come together in a way not immediately apparent but not complex in the end – like a lot of life’s good things.

So, it should be fairly obvious that this page is different from the others in that it is built with frames. If you look at the source code, you'll see that the page is made up from different bits from different folders in the images directory.

images/a/1.html
images/l/2.html
images/s/4.html
images/k/5.html
images/a/6.html

If you're really good, you'll notice that there is no 3.html, which means that there is a letter missing. Add in the missing letter and you get Alaska.

  Challenge Piece: Burden-to-Bring #9

Location: http://www.lawngamesforlife.com/Challenge_Pieces/Bring/Souza/9/09.jpg
Username: souza
Password: heen75

Garcias: unknown

Ravelos: http://www.lawngamesforlife.com/Challenge_Pieces/Bring/Ravelo/9/09.jpg
Password: ched36

Williams/Freemonts: unknown

Continue to Trials 10-13 >>