COURTYARD-2015

Glacier, Seattle—but Kansas CityMy twin sister, Danielle, anddid not rate particularly high onI pose at the Grand Canyonthe expectations scale. I had a coupleof historic sites I really wantedof Yellowstone.to see, such as the National WorldWar I Museum, but I had put KCin the category of “while you’re atit….” Suffice it to say, I fell in lovewith Kansas City. The city is secondin the world only to Rome inits number of fountains. Butwait… that’s not all. We were ableto take in the jazz heritage, theNegro Baseball League museum,the World War I national museum,the old Spanish section called “ThePlaza,” and even a Royals game.The good eats at the famous barbequejoint “Oklahoma Joe’s” willnot soon be forgotten either. Thereis a reason the line to this restaurant,tucked inside a gas station,is always out the door.The next leg of the trip was thesingle longest driving day, takingus clean through Iowa to get toRapid City, South Dakota by■ DDS ADVENTUREnightfall. Mount Rushmore hadbeen on the itinerary since the veryHistory Teacherbeginning. For some reason, I hadalways worried that actually gettingto this national monumentHeads Westmight never happen for me. Unlessdoing some type of cross countryby Donna Fedele ’00trip, why would anyone go to theihad never been out West. As a U.S. history teacher and an American, southwest corner of Souththat fact weighed on me. Last spring, I applied for the Andrea Archer Dakota? I found out there aretravel grant, hoping to see the American West at last. Thanks to Nancy more reasons to head out that wayHathaway and the board of trustees I received the grant, and I began than just the national monument.planning. There were two weeks mid-August when all three of my siblings The Black Hills are stunning. Onecould join me. The four of us began an adventure that will provide memoriesto last a lifetime. The journey started for me in Chicago and ended for trip was heading from Mountof my favorite drives of the entireall of us in Seattle. In between, we made stops in Illinois, Kansas, South Rushmore to Devil’s Tower inDakota, Montana, Wyoming, Idaho, and finally Washington State. From Wyoming. It is a part of the countryI will never forget. With athe vantage of hindsight, I fully appreciate the oft-quoted sentiment thatpictures cannot do justice to the West. It must be seen.thankful heart for having finallyOne of the highlights of the trip was Abraham Lincoln’s home in seen these four presidents carvedSpringfield, Illinois. In considering possible routes, I could not pass up the into the rock, and for the contributionseach one made to the countryopportunity for a visit. The drive through Illinois made me appreciate thispiece of the country as I thought of Lincoln’s experience in it. As the vast we were traveling, my siblings andflat farmland went on for seamless miles, I thought about Lincoln covering I continued on our journey boundthat same ground as he traveled to debate Douglas for the seat in the for one of those “great expectations”—theLittle Bighorn NationalSenate. It was particularly profound to me, knowing what this countrymeant to the man who would be our 16th president, and how he envisionedits future.My twin, Danielle ’00, and myBattlefield. It did not disappoint.Our next destination was Kansas City. Some parts of my “American brother, Ralph, are also teachers;Road Trip” I had great hopes for—Yellowstone, Battle of Little Bighorn, my brother is even a history16 www.DutchessDay.org . wiNter 2015