Bull's Flat Stanley Adventures in the South

Greetings Bull and classmates...

Flat Stanley has been having quite a few adventures since leaving Minnesota on February 11th. He's traveled through Iowa and Missouri and then stayed in VanBuren, Arkansas for two days to visit family and tour the Ft. Smith National Historic Site in Ft. Smith, Arkansas.

Flat Stanley is in one of the original cannons used at the fort when it was built in 1817 to keep the peace between the Osage and Cherokee Indians. The park includes the remains of two frontier forts and the Federal Court for the Western District of Arkansas and Indian Territory.

In 1871 the Army closed the fort and in1872 the Federal Court moves in due to the lawlessness in the area. In 1875 Judge Isaac C. Parker arrives to dispense justice. He was known as the "Hanging Judge" and the gallows from which many people were hung is on the right. In 1896 Judge Parker died and in 1961 Congress authorizes Fort Smith National Historic Site.

When Flat Stanley finished touring the site he became a Junior Ranger and two of the park rangers bestowed him with that honor. He received a booklet with the history of the fort and a badge, which will be coming in the mail soon!!

Then it was on to Oklahoma where Flat Stanley saw the Trail of Tears. Between 1831 and 1845 many Indian tribes were forcibly moved into Indian Territory (now known as Oklahoma). The Indians suffered many hardships during these moves hence the name Trail of Tears.

Flat Stanley arrived in Rockport, Texas on February 15th where he has seen many of the birds and herons and even loons from Minnesota that migrate south for the winter. The whooping cranes flock to this area from Canada. They are a beautiful, large bird standing four to five feet tall and they spend their winter in the Aransas National Wildlife Refuge, which is 55,000 acres and home to deer, Javelina (wild pigs), armadillo, alligators and other animals and birds.

Flat Stanley had an opportunity to cross the gulf on a ferry and drive down to Padre Island where he got to see more of the ocean. The Padre Island National Seashore protects the largest stretch of undeveloped barrier island in the world.

After visiting Padre Island Flat Stanley wanted to go to Corpus Christi to visit the retired World War II warship the USS Lexington, which is open to public viewing. He really liked the ship and thought the Blue Angel jet was awesome.

Flat Stanley has several more adventures coming up, but he has had so much fun telling you all about the things he has seen so far. He will be going to see the Alamo in San Antonio and will have more stories and pictures to share.

Love you Bull!!

Aunt Jan

Hello from Florida!

Hello to all from Newt in Florida!  We apologize for not writing sooner, but it’s been a busy month.  First off, we’ve been enjoying our great weather here.  You can see Newt enjoying some sun on the balcony of my apartment.  After being back in South Dakota for one week in January, we’ve had our fill of snow for the year. =)

The last few weeks Newt and I have been enjoying a box of local, seasonal produce from the Homegrown Coop.  A bunch of local farmers get together and sell their fruits and vegetables.  They grow them without chemicals that can be bad for your body and for the earth.  For a little bit of money, you can go and get a box of many different kinds of things grown in the area.  All of the food was delicious!  Although some of it was a little different than what Newt and I are used to eating, it was fun to try new things.  We tried a green vegetable called kale and another called Swiss chard. 

Last weekend, there was an event called Arts Fest.  For 10 days, there are 220 art events in four counties (including Orange County where we are) and ALL are free!   All events included are usually ones that would cost money, but Arts Fest is held to get people from the community involved.  It’s nice that they do that, because some people might not ever be able to see some of those things. On Saturday, Newt and I went to the Orlando Shakespeare Theater and saw a play called Pride and Prejudice.  It’s based on a book written a long time ago.  The actors in the play were all professional actors and they were very good.  Some had even been on television shows! 

On Sunday, we went to the Orlando Folk Festival. 

 We saw Native American dancers and folk singers.  We also were able to go into The Mennello Museum of American Art and saw some fun art. 

 At the end of the day, Newt had to rest on a chair outside.  It was a fun, but exhausting day!

Well, we better go off on another adventure!  We hope everyone is having fun and see you next time!

Hello Giraffe!

We flew from the Island of Oahu to San Diego, California, which took almost 6 hours! Our cars and everything in our house were put on large ships, which took 5 weeks to get to our new home. Stanley had a wonderful trip and enjoyed the ride. Stanley has asked me to add a picture of him on a surfboard before he left Hawaii. He then lived on the beach in Oceanside, California which is about 30 miles from San Diego. He could see the Oceanside Pier and watch the surfers from his balcony. Here are some pictures of him on the balcony. Stanley is now in Afghanistan with Nathan and he asked me to tell you "As-Salamu Alaykum"which one of the ways they say "hello" there. He will be posting about it and sending more pictures very soon!! We hope you had a great Valentines Day and got lots of Valentines from your friends!

Love,

Dave, Kelly & Stanley

Jackrabbit's Flat Stanley in the Jordanian Desert

Jackrabbit's Flat Stanley returned from India and set off for the country of Jordan in the Middle East! Jordan is a country that borders Iraq, Israel and Saudi Arabia. Despite being mostly desert in the central and eastern portions, many fruits, like apples, dates and pomegranates, grow in the north. Aqaba is a beautiful port city in the south on the Red Sea where you can snorkel!

Wadi Rum Desert

Flat Stanley in the desert of Wadi Rum

(It's colder than it looks!)

Our Bedouin guide in Wadi Rum. Bedouins are nomadic desert people which means they live in tents and move around. Flat Stanley slept in a tent in the desert!

Looking through the Siq at Petra. A great walk if you're not claustrophobic! The building up ahead is the Treasury (where Indiana Jones found the Holy Grail).

Flat Stanley went to the ancient city of Petra. Petra means "rock" and all the buildings have been carved into the desert sandstone.

Chatting with the locals in Petra.

Can you see the camel? He's "camel-flauged."

Bedouin guides at Little Petra.

Flat Stanley goes to MEXICO!

Hello again Cow! Flat Stanley and I just returned from a wonderful trip to Riviera Maya, Mexico. My best friend got married down there over the weekend and Flat Stanley and I had such a FUN time! We wanted to go para-sailing, which where they take you on a boat and harness you up to a kite so you're up in the sky overlooking the ocean, but the weather was just too windy for that. Flat Stanley had just loved playing on the white sandy beaches of the Caribbean though! Here are a few pictures. Hope you're all staying warm back in South Dakota! :)

Ant's Flat Stanley visits Rome

Hi Ant and everyone! Recently Stanley accompanied our family when we visited Rome for a day to do some sight-seeing. Rome is a very old city and was founded in 753 B.C. It is also the capital city of Italy. Rome is a fun place to visit because there is so much history that happened there and there is so much to see.


The first picture is taken from the top of the Spanish stairs. You can see the dome of St. Peter's Basilica in the distance.


Left: This photo is taken at the bottom of the Spanish stairs. The building at the top of the stairs is a church.















Below: Stanley spotted these Roman gladiators and insisted that we get a picture.



















Left: The world famous Trevi Fountain! There is a legend that says whoever drinks the water or throws a coin in the Trevi Fountain will assure his return to Rome. (So of course Stanley threw a coin in the fountain!)









Below: Stanley enjoyed viewing the interior of the Pantheon. It is said to be the best preserved ancient building in Rome. It was originallybuilt as a pagan temple but became a Christian church in 609. Catholic services are still held here today.
















Stanley loved his visit to Rome as you can tell from this last picture.

Flat Stanley is enjoying his visit here and says he could really get used to the Mediterranean climate, however there's no place like home and he looks forward to getting back to Castlewood and Ant. He's just going to wait until there is a little less snow!!! In the meantime we will keep you posted on his further adventures! Take care and stay warm.