How many....

...people born in West Branch become President? Only one.
Herbert Hoover National Historic Site, has become....
...a place to pay tribute to a native son,
how many people born here became President, only one.

He only lived in West Branch for nine years,
when he became an orphan, now wipe away those tears.
This is the place he's buried, his library is here,
and there are many visitors, that go through each year.

This is the home in West Branch, it only has two rooms,
and there isn't much closet space, I wonder where were the brooms.
From this simple beginning a president was born,
but in the big depression, his name for some was scorn.

This is the Miles Farmstead, it's part of the Park,
this is a nice old farm, you can visit on a lark,
the place is surrounded by tall prarie grass,
sprinkle in some flowers, ah, that's a happy lass.

This is a sample of the prairie grass,
the cone flowers here are yellow, please don't trespass.
This is one type of prairie that fed buffalo herds,
they're starting to come back now, are so are the birds.

Hoover is most remembered as the leader who....
was president when the depression started, but then who knew?
The shanty towns were known as "Hoovervilles",
he tried to fix the economy, but too large were the spills.

Enjoy!!

As the....

...time moves on we strive to recall,
important history that relates to us all;
so here we are Springfield, Illinois,
to visit Lincoln, he will not annoy.

This is the street, the house is on,
Jackson and Eighth, the house lives on,
so we can remember the great man he was,
taking out country through the great Civil Wars.

Here it is! The house that Lincoln built here,
in his hometown of Springfield, where people were dear,
this was home, not the house where he would live,
in Washington, the Capitol, he had much to give.

We need to remember all that he did,
he wasn't shy, he never just ran and hid;
he promised the slaves that they would be free,
maybe not thinking how great he would be.

Out in the garden, a young Red-tailed Hawk,
may cause a visitor to stand and gawk;
but that's not how problems are solved,
that takes action, by all involved.

Enjoy

We will...

...stay in the tropics, just one more day,
do some diving in the reefs, what do you say?
there are many wonders under the sea,
fishes and turtles, and coral to see.

Here's an example of the 'wild life' that's here,
the South Pacific holds things to cheer;
colorful fish and the coral is great,
but there's no support for a fifty-first state.

This is coral, just don't ask me what kind,
if I had to name all this stuff, I'd lose my mind;
just look at the colors of this animal-rock,
it lives and breathes around the clock.

Angelfish

Having a technical problem, look in again tomorrow and see where we go.

How about...

....going to a real different place,
far away, where there's no rat race?
Some place down south of the equator,
you can slow down, you'll feed greater.

American Samoa, it's the only US territory,
south of the equator, the land tells the story;
a group of island in the South Pacific Ocean,
has a following to show their devotion.

This is the beach in a place named Toaga,
nice coral sand, when you walk, it's a two legga,
and beaches like this are easily found,
on the volcanic island, where they grow out of the ground.

A little inland, away from the sea,
there's a white tropical bird, for you to see,
lush growth of plants make an island of green,
could be one of the nicest places that you have seen.

This is the Cardinal Honeyeater, not very big,
being the island's hummingbird is his gig;
the beak helps take the nectar from each flower,
small enough to sit on a petal for it's bower.

The Collared Kingfisher doesn't eat fish,
it likes insects served on it's dish,
there must be big bugs, that's all I can say,
look at the size of the beak, sure looks' that way.

Look at this one! Wow, holy cow,
what in the world are we looking at now?
It's not a bat, it's a big flying fox,
we won't take this one home in a box.

A last look around, these are the Pola Islands,
sure hate to leave, the lovely islands,
so, we'll stay tomorrow, and dive in the reefs;
that way nobody has any beefs.

See you tomorrow, got a snorkel?

If you've...

...ever wondered what it looked like on the moon,
we may have an answer, right now.  So soon?
Way out in Idaho, in the southeastern part of that state,
is Crater of the Moon National Monument and Reserve, it's great.

There was a large volcano, back in another era,
maybe more than one, leaving room for error;
this is what's left, after a hundred thousand years,
lava rock and sand, some plant life, and oh dears!

The first photo is the Spaltter Cone, and this is Triple Twisted Tree,
there's a lot of weird stuff out here, you should go and see!
Pre-historic rock!  There's plenty of that right here too;
Apollo Astronauts came to see it, so why not you?

This is a "lave tube cave", I'm given to understand,
the rock was melted by lava as it spread across the land;
jeepers! That would've have been, scarey in the least,
when this stuff was going, it wasn't fit for man 'nor beast.

Soon it will be winter, and this is what you'd see,
snow and the famous "rime ice tree",
rime ice is a kind of frost, the kind that's hard to scrape,
it's why airplane wings are heated, so they can escape.

So, there you have it, in both hot and cold,
pre-historic and the future, all that you can hold;
so while we wait for winter, you need something to do,
and those pretty buttons are right there, waiting for you.

And please don't forget to Live and Let Live,
those of us who have, can afford to be the ones who give,
you won't need much money, that's not what I mean,
just be good to each other, that's the heart of my scheme.

Enjoy!

After he...

..was a Rough Rider, Theodore Roosevelt had a ranch,
out in North Dakota, it's still here, and not by chance.
The Theodore Roosevelt National Park, it's named;
and that is not by chance.  He founded the system, for him it's framed.

These are the cattle, raised on his ranch,
the Dakota Territory was alive, on the Little Missouri branch;
out here in the Badlands, western part of the state,
the lands are still bad, but the scenery's great.

This is an overlook, you can see what the lands about,
cowboys and cattle, could get in and out,
it's hot in the summer, and there ain't much shade,
and real cold in the winter, one never 'has it made'.

You might find a nest of Eagles, high up on the cliff, lucky you!
On the banks of the Little Missouri River, as it winds through;
the river provides the water, an element needed first,
for the wildlife and the cattle to quench their thirst.

There's the river winding, you know it's headed south,
eventually it'll end up, in the Mississippi Deltas' mouth;
it's a long, eventful ride if we were to go that far,
might be a good idea, now that "rivers" are made for a car.

So, while we ponder that, as the sun sets in the west,
maybe we should have been cowboys, as the life we loved the best.
We could ride the range with horses, lasso a cow or two,
or, we could be, here and now...just like me and you.

Enjoy!

It was....

...7700 years ago, when Mount Mazama blew,
it must have been some explosion, I wasn't there. Were you?
It formed a caldera, and it's very deep you know,
and slowly, over time, it filled with rain and melting snow.

Now we have Crater Lake, one of the deepest in the world,
1943 feet deep, so the national flag was unfurled,
it's a National Park, open for us to see,
if we go to Oregon, and don't go to see the sea.

Take a look at the very clear blue water here, reflecting the sky,
a small island call the Phantom Ship, going sailing by,
it must be a very pretty sight, but there is still cold air,
high up on these mountains, and a view that's rare.

This is Hillman Peak, and look at all the rock,
it's left over from the lava flow, it must have been a shock...
...to see this all left over, after all that time,
but if you were to visit, it would be worth the climb.

It's here in different weather too, snow, fog and rain,
but I'd like to see it on a good day, if now it would be a pain,
maybe still worth viewing, but I'd want to see the blue;
so might not this be the trip worth taking for you?

Enjoy!