We found what Lewis and Clark could not

Today we were off for a two-hour drive to the northwestern township of Letterkenny across the border in the Republic of Ireland. On the way there, we found the Northwest Passage that eluded Lewis and Clark. I can't imagine they missed the sign along the motorway. I wish we could have stopped for a picture.

Also along the way we passed the Ulster American Folk Center. John checked out our guide book to see what they had there. They have a replica ship that the immigrants took to the new world, a homesteader shack and even Civil War reenactors. Too bad we couldn't stop.

As I said, this was our first time to cross the border into Ireland. There's no visible crossing or passport requirement. There's only a sign that says the speed limit will now be shown in kilometers per hour rather than miles per hour. Of course, there's a new currency as well, euros rather than English pounds. And all of the signs are bi-lingual in English and Irish.

Letterkenny (picture at top left is of downtown) is a pretty town that's really expanded in the past few years. The town, not yet a city, sits along the River Swilly. It's a beautiful valley but it's only 45 minutes to the northwest coast and not far from where Northern Ireland will be staging a surfing event at the end of the month. Surf Ireland--who knew?

You have to call Letterkenny a town not a city. To achieve city status, a town must have a cathedral (which they have) and a university (which they do not have but are trying to start). We were there to meet up with the first of our former Missoula visitors Sean Barr.

Sean (shown to the left) was the oldest of the students at 23. He was taking classes at Ulster University and was living in Belfast. After coming to Missoula, Sean worked at some jobs in Belfast and before finishing his degree in Media Communications. He moved to Letterkenny and started his own video production companies. For Killer Snail Productions, Sean produced videos of music festivals and community events. Lady Bird Productions was his wedding video business. But with the recession, the money for productions has dried up a bit, he said.

So now at age 36, Sean is producing fine art. He works in water colors and acrylics. He has some very haunting images almost out of a zombie movie as well as street scenes of places such as Galway and an amazing portrait of Sitting Bull that was inspired by the book Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee. Sean's first ever exhibition will be held in Letterkenny on October 21st. We'll be there with our cameras as he finishes his work, the framing, the hanging and finally the opening.

On our drive back, we decided to go through Derry or Londonderry depending upon your political leanings. We haven't notices much vandalism or spray paint tagging on any of the road signs except for the signs that say Londonderry. In some areas, the London part has been blacked out. In other areas, the Derry part is covered. And in some places, both sides have done their part to cover up the entire city name.

I told you that there had been a car bombing in Derry. John thought it might be a good video to capture. So we went in search of the site. The bomb and car were parked behind a branch of the Ulster Bank. It blew out most of the windows and left a part of the wall blackened. A thick fence behind the bank was just twisted metal. And the Ulster Bank sign was mostly smashed. The bank was closed, and the road had just opened today. It was kind of eerie to be there taking pictures of the place.

Aside from the recent bombing and the 1972 incident that was named Bloody Sunday, Derry is a beautiful city. It's called the Walled City because of a mile long stone and brick wall that was built in the 1600's. The wall (that's me on the wall in the picture to the left), located on the banks of the River Foyle, surrounds some of the higher end shops, pubs and restaurants. Also inside the walls is St. Columba Cathedral which was the inspiration for the hymn Amazing Grace. We had dinner at a pub within the walls (Shouldn't Irish stew just be called stew over here?) before driving two hours back to Hillsborough. Tomorrow we travel south for the first time to Dundalk, Ireland.