Adventures with the other side

Richard and I went on date night last night; someone I work with had left me a flyer for the Anchorage Ghost Tours so I thought why not check it out and maybe learn something new.   Right off one thing I really loved about this tour was the guide who said “I am a history buff” he was not there to dazzle us with effects in the hope of scaring someone, instead he told us stories about different locations and the ghosts who may still reside there. He had done his research on each place we visited and was knowledgeable about the history and the reported ghost sightings.    Some of the stories I knew, like the police chief I wrote about in my Historical Anchorage Hotel post and the lady in the bathroom at the Captain Cook Hotel, but others were totally new to me. We started our tour in front of the Snow City Café, it is said to have a spectacular breakfast and to be haunted so we will be returning to eat sometime soon.   In the 1970’s this building was not one but several store

My oldest daughter was born in Elko Nevada, a small town that is supported by gold mining, cattle ranching and  tourism. Elko was founded as a railroad town site in 1869 and has grown to be the biggest town in Elko County as well as the county seat. All four of my children spent some part of their childhood living in Elko and the surrounding areas. My favorite pastime while living there was to pack up the kids and go explore the numerous ghost towns that easily reached on an afternoon drive. Metropolis Nevada is a ghost town in Elko County, 12 miles northwest of Wells. Interestingly this ghost town was never a gold mining town, instead it was founded in 1910 by the Pacific Reclamation Company of New York. The vision was a booming metropolis were 7,500 people could live and support themselves by growing wheat. If you have ever been to Nevada you can see how I have a hard time understanding that vision in this high desert land. In the beginning the company hired a contractor from S

Family legend says Jesse and Frank James were my uncles several generations back, from tracing my family history it is more likely that they are cousins, but either way I grew up hearing stories about them. A few years back when we lived on Fort Riley in Kansas we decided to take the short trip to Saint Joseph Missouri to see the home were Jesse James was shot and killed. The small white and green home that Jesse lived in with his wife and two young children under the assumed name of Tom Howard was originally located at 1318 Lafayette Street at the top of a hill overlooking Patee house. The home was later moved closer to the highway for a tourist attraction before being moved back two blocks from its original location. This house now sits on the grounds of Patee house and is operated by the Pony Express Historical Association. Patee house was a luxury hotel  in Jesse James day and is now a museum.   Jesse James was just 34 years old when he was shot in the back of t

I love Jacksonville Oregon, I fell in love with this town the first time my husband took me to visit his hometown ( Medford) and we drove over to Jacksonville to visit his mom’s grave and see the town. My first thought when you enter this town is if you removed all of the cars and the power poles it would be exactly like it was in the mid 1800 during the gold rush when it was the county seat. My favorite part of Jacksonville is the cemetery, I spend a great deal of time wandering around old cemeteries and this one is nothing short of amazing. This old cemetery is located at the top of a hill overlooking Jacksonville; the first burial took place here in October 1959 before the cemetery was even open. A prominent business man John Love had acquired permission to have his mother Margaret Love buried here. Later in December 1859 plots were offered for sale and the cemetery was dedicated in 1860. Wandering through this cemetery you may find graves with dates much earlier than 1859

King Ludwig and Linderhof Palace Since my first trip to Germany I have had a fascination with King Ludwig, likely because his life and death are shrouded with such mystery. King Ludwig II was born Ludwig Otto Friedrich Wilhelm on 25 August 1845, he was the king of Bavaria from the age of 18 when his father unexpectedly died to his own untimely death on 13 June 1886. King Ludwig has been called the “Mad King”, the “Swan King” and the “Fairy Tale King” over time. Once King Ludwig ascended the throne there was increased pressure on him to marry and produce an heir; Ludwig was engaged to Duchess Sophie Charlotte of Bavaria. She was his cousin and the younger sister of his dear friend Elisabeth Empress of Austria. Ludwig originally agreed to this engagement but as time wore on he continued to postpone the wedding date and finally ended the engagement altogether in 1867. Ludwig never did marry and he is not tied to any mistresses, this is probably because he was a homosexual who wa

What better trip to write about on Independence Day than George Washington’s Mount Vernon.       The land where Mount Vernon stands was in George Washington’s family since his great grandfather’s time 1674 and was originally called Little Hunting Creek Plantation. In 1735 when George Washington was just 3 years old his father moved the family to the property and a modest home was built. When George Washington’s half-brother Lawrence inherited the property he renamed it Mount Vernon in honor of Admiral Edward Vernon his commanding officer in the British Royal Navy. When George Washington began leasing and then inherited the plantation he expanded the home raising the roof making it two and a half stories high and added north and south wings, a cupola and a piazza. The mansion is 11,028 square feet in size. The exterior of the mansion looks like it is made of stone, but in reality it is wood that was then painted and had sand thrown on it to give it a more impressive and e

I was born in Ogden and spent a great deal of my growing up years there so I am quite familiar with the Ben Lomond Hotel, I had not however stayed there before this year when we traveled to attend my grandfathers funeral. The Ben Lomond started out as the Reed Hotel from 1891 to 1926 then in 1927 the hotel was rebuilt with additional stories added and named the Bigelow Hotel.  Marriner S. Eccles purchased the hotel in 1933 and renamed it the Ben Lomond Hotel. The Ben Lomond Hotel was one of three grand hotels in Utah, the other two the Hotel Utah ( that I stayed in as a child) and the Newhouse are no longer operating as hotels, with the Newhouse being demolished and the Hotel Utah turned into church offices. The Ben Lomand as well as the city of Ogden have a very colorful past, the hotel is located at the top of 25th street with Union Station at the bottom. Prohibition began in Utah earlier than the rest of the nation, and it is believed that there may be a series of tunnels that

The Menger Hotel San Antonio Tx Richard and I planned a trip to San Antonio last year to visit some of my in laws. San Antonio has a long history so it stood to reason that I would be able to find a haunted hotel to spend a night in. As it turns out there are several in this city so it took me a few days of reading about them to decide where to stay.   The Menger is located directly across the street from the Alamo and boasts numerous ghosts as guests so it was decided that is where we would stay.   My in-laws are wonderful and always indulge my haunted pursuits so once I had chosen a hotel my sister in law quickly agreed to spend the night with us. This incredible hotel was built 1 February 1859 by William Menger a German immigrant, on the site of his very popular brewery. In the beginning this small hotel only had 50 rooms but the hotel was so successful that plans to expand were quickly put in place and a 40 room annex was built with a tunnel co

Several years ago my youngest brother was studying in Ireland, as neither Richard or I had ever been there we decided this was the perfect opportunity to fly over see my brother and explore this stunning country. As we were walking the streets of Dublin one afternoon we came across Kilmainham Gaol ( jail) a daunting old stone building that proclaims to be the oldest preserved Victorian jail in Europe, it is of course also reported to be quite haunted. Kilmainham opened in 1796 as the new jail for Dublin and operated as a prison until 1924. During its history this jail housed not only everyday criminals but also women, children and political and military prisoners. In its early days public hangings took place at the entrance where two  different shaded stones now mark the spot that the gallows protruded above the front entrance. Later a hanging room was added inside the prison. (If you look above you can see the bottom drops out of the balcony, this is where the public hangings to

The White Eagle Saloon and Hotel I have very different expectation when I stay in an American Hotel as opposed to staying in a European hotel, but the one thing that is the same is my insistence on having a private room and bathroom.  Last year when my husband took me to Portland to see a Black Sabbath concert I broke that rule. Our original plan was to fly in see the concert then spend one night and fly back home, we only really needed a bed to sleep in. Of course I immediately started looking for haunted hotels in the area and came across the White Eagle Saloon and Hotel. It looked perfect; an old building with a haunted history, but it also came with shared bathrooms. I decided to break my own rule and just enjoy the experience; after all it was only for one night. Later when I found out my son and his girlfriend were going to drive up and meet us I opted for a second room for them and a second night for all of us. The White Eagle was opened in 1905 by two Polish immig