Travelrific® Travel Journal
Picture postcards in prose.™ Check out the blogroll on the front page for official merchandise and other resources!Archive for pennsylvania
Old Wheels in Hershey
By Linda Tancs
There’s more to Hershey, Pennsylvania, than its chocolate-themed park. Indeed, just minutes away is the AACA Museum, an automotive museum dedicated to the preservation and presentation of vintage automobiles and their vast history. A Smithsonian affiliate, the facility showcases vintage vehicle displays and interactive exhibits featuring cars, buses, motorcycles and other vehicles from the 1890s through the 1980s. Permanent exhibits include the Cammack Tucker Gallery (the world’s largest display of Tucker ’48 automobiles and related artifacts), the Route 66 gallery exploring this iconic stretch of roadway and the Museum of Bus Transportation. Special themed exhibits and car shows are plentiful.
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The House Above the Falls
By Linda Tancs
In the 1930s wealthy department store owner Edgar Kaufmann commissioned renowned architect Frank Lloyd Wright to build him a house in the woods in southwestern Pennsylvania. Not just any house, mind you. Positioned right over a waterfall in the Laurel Highlands in Mill Run, its cantilevered tiers assure that the man-made structure melds with its natural surroundings, which include a mature forest, sandstone boulders, a stream, a variety of plants and flowers and, of course, that waterfall. Appropriately named Fallingwater, the structure is a National Historic Landmark. Be sure to capture the trademark view from the clearing called, what else, The View.
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An Iron Plantation in Pennsylvania
By Linda Tancs
Hopewell Furnace National Historic Site in Elverson, Pennsylvania, is an example of an American 19th century rural “iron plantation.” Operating from 1771 to 1883, Hopewell and other iron plantations led the industrial revolution in the United States. Hopewell and sites like it were called iron plantations because these early industrial enterprises were typically isolated, largely self-sufficient communities centered around the production of iron for sale. Comprising 848 acres, the site’s cold-blast iron furnace and accompanying community have been restored to the way it looked during its heydey in the 1830s and 1840s.
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America’s Best Bike Tour
By Linda Tancs
Ernest Hemingway said, “It is by riding a bicycle that you learn the contours of a country best, since you have to sweat up the hills and coast down them.” So what could be better than a nearly level bike path along 150 scenic miles? That’s what you get on the Great Allegheny Passage (the GAP), a holy grail for bicyclists. Winding its way between Cumberland, Maryland, and Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, the trail comprises a series of retired rail corridors—the longest rail trail east of the Mississippi. Aided by interpretive signage, the path crosses the Cumberland Narrows, the Mason-Dixon Line and the Eastern Continental Divide and is dotted with a chain of cyclist-friendly trail towns.
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The Spirit of Things in Pennsylvania
By Linda Tancs
Ephrata began in 1732 as a monastic settlement in Pennsylvania labeled a cloister, a retreat from worldly distractions where devoted members followed a disciplined life designed to prepare them for a heavenly existence. Their labors included farming, papermaking, carpentry, milling and textile production. The site became known for the development of the German calligraphic art of Frakturscriften (considered the first of this folk art produced in America), hundreds of compositions of a cappella music and the translation and publication of the 1,500-page Martyrs Mirror for the Mennonites, the largest book printed in colonial America. It also served as a hospital for nearly 260 American soldiers during the Revolutionary War. Administered today by the Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission, Historic Ephrata Cloister boasts historic buildings, collections and programming exhibiting the community’s spiritual, creative and intellectual accomplishments.
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Colonial Splendor in Pennsylvania
By Linda Tancs
A National Historic Landmark, Graeme Park is a 42-acre historic park featuring the Keith House, the only surviving residence of a colonial Pennsylvania governor, Sir William Keith. Originally called “Fountain Low” because of its many natural springs, the manor is distinctive for its stone construction and remains virtually intact since the late 18th century. It was renamed Graeme Park following its purchase by Dr. Thomas Graeme, a respected judge and doctor. Its location in Horsham affords visitors a quiet retreat amidst the property’s stream, pond and trails through the woods. Admission is charged for a tour of the mansion, but entrance to the grounds is free.
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Pennsylvania’s Grand Canyon
By Linda Tancs
As you might expect of a “grand canyon,” Pennsylvania’s version boasts of steep canyon walls and waterfalls. Part of Tioga State Forest, it stretches for nearly 50 miles with depths over 1,000 feet. Carved into the Allegheny Plateau, one of its most popular attractions is the Pine Creek Rail Trail, a converted railroad bed at the canyon floor. The gentle grade of this meandering route is great for bikers, promising not only spectacular views but also abundant wildlife.
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Georgian Roots in Pennsylvania
By Linda Tancs
Historic Hope Lodge is a historic building built by Quaker merchant Samuel Morris. Located in Fort Washington, Pennsylvania, it was used by Continental troops during the 1777 Philadelphia Campaign of the American Revolution. An excellent example of early Georgian architecture, historians speculate that the architect of Independence Hall might have had a say in its design. House tours are available from April to October in addition to an annual re-enactment in November to commemorate the time from November 2 to December 11, 1777, when General George Washington and the Continental Army encamped in the Whitemarsh Hills.
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Daniel Boone’s Homestead
By Linda Tancs
Daniel Boone may be best remembered as the man who settled Kentucky, but he also served in the Virginia Legislature, the French and Indian War and the American Revolution. Boone was also a blacksmith and wagoneer and operated a tavern. He grew up in Pennsylvania’s Oley Valley in a one-room log cabin and spring house, where he lived until moving to North Carolina in 1750. Located in Birdsboro, the Daniel Boone Homestead is a historical site that explores Boone’s youth and the everyday life of 18th century settlers. Guided and self-guided tours are both available.
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Seclusion at Blue Knob
By Linda Tancs
Located in the northwestern tip of Bedford County, Pennsylvania, Blue Knob State Park has the distinctive advantage of seclusion. The park is named for its dome-shaped mountain, the second highest mountain in the state (after Mount Davis) at 3,146 feet above sea level. Open year round, its 18 miles of trails on 6,128 acres of woodland are ideal for viewing the scenic Ridge and Valley Province to the east of its location on a spur of the Allegheny Front.
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