Trail Log 1995-1997 - Lamar at Colorado State University

City tour on a nice day. Population here is 700,000, founded in 1651 by aristocratic exiles, on the
Angara River, people who had some money and culture, even though they were exiles.
We visited a square with three churches. I bought a doll set from the man who carved them in the
market, and asked him to sign the set on the bottom (pix). He ran home to get another set to sell
as well.
The Church of the Savior, 1706. Spasskaya. (pix) This is pictured on the doll set, the first doll.
The second doll is the Church of St. Nicholas near Lake Baikal, seen the next day. The 3rd doll
is the first wooden church in Eastern Siberia, some kilometers away toward Lake Baikal. The 4th
doll is a typical Siberian village church. The 5th doll is a rural house.
In much of the old town, there are ornate wooden houses, with gingerbread (pix).
Visited the Church of the Holy Sign (Znamenskaya tserkov), 1763, a white church. There are the
graves of two of the Decembrists here (pix).
There are 82 industrial enterprises in Irkutsk, a great many of them are closed.
The main street is named after Marx (Karla Marxa), with a monument to Lenin.
Traditionally, Siberians did not paint their houses, but only the shutters. Blue is for hope, green is
for long life.
The exploration of American by the Russians was launched from here. This was once said locally
to be the American district of Irkutsk! They traded fur for silk and tea.
Irkutsk is "the Paris of Siberia." There was a gold boom in the 1880's.
The Angara River, the outlet of Lake Baikal, was dammed in the 1950's for power.
Irkutsk State University Buildings seen. The university has 12,000 to 14,000 students. Irkutsk
Technical University is bigger, with 25,000 students.
I bought another doll set at the Irkutsk Museum (for Shonny), once the Siberian Geological Society,
now a cultural museum.
About 12.30, we had a fine lunch in a restaurant hotel room done up in indigenous decor.
After lunch, we took a tour of the botanical gardens.
Day-lily, Hemerocallis minor, seen here and pix. This is the yellow day lily we saw in masses from
the train. Gray's Manual lists H. fulva and H. flava introduced from Eurasia in the U.S.
Linum sibiricum, blue flax
Pulsatilla patens, Pasqueflower
Dianthus versicolor, Campion
Aquilegia sibirica, Columbine
Larix sibirica, larch. 60% of the surrounding forest is larix.
Edelweiss, grows all around Lake Baikal, though not yet in bloom.
Lilium pumilum, a striking red lily, with a single nodding blossom, often seen later around Lake