Travelrific® Travel Journal
Picture postcards in prose.™ Check out the blogroll on the front page for official merchandise and other resources!Archive for road travel
World’s Largest Truckstop
By Linda Tancs
Along Interstate 80 in Walcott, Iowa, you’ll find the world’s largest truckstop. Known as Iowa 80, the stop opened in 1964 and currently serves 5,000 customers per day with parking spaces for 900 tractor-trailers, 250 cars and 20 buses. The amenities include a 300-seat restaurant, a gift store, a dentist, a barber shop, a chiropractor, a workout room, laundry facilities, a 60-seat movie theatre, a trucker’s TV lounge, 24 private showers, a food court, a convenience store, 10 gas islands, 16 diesel lanes, a fuel center, a seven-bay truck service center, a truck wash and the Iowa 80 Trucking Museum. Each year in July, the Iowa 80 hosts the Walcott Truckers Jamboree, a three-day event dedicated to celebrating America’s truckers. This year’s event begins on July 9.
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A Thousand Miles
By Linda Tancs
Affectionately referred to as the most beautiful race in the world, Italy’s Mille Miglia (thousand miles) is a race limited to classic and vintage cars. In fact, participation is limited to those cars produced no later than 1957, which had attended (or were registered) to the original races from 1927 to 1957. Like the original races, the route is a round-trip jaunt between Brescia and Rome. This year’s event starts today in Brescia and ends on 17 May.
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The Trail of Tears
By Linda Tancs
Following the passage of the Indian Removal Act of 1830, President Andrew Jackson engineered the forced relocation of the Cherokee nation east of the Mississippi River to lands west of the Mississippi. Forced to flee their homeland with little more than the clothes on their back, the exodus across nine states, marked by disease and death, came to be known as the trail of tears. This somber journey is commemorated in the Trail of Tears National Historic Trail. One of 19 national historic trails, it passes through the present-day states of Alabama, Arkansas, Georgia, Illinois, Kentucky, Missouri, North Carolina, Oklahoma, and Tennessee. A series of signs throughout the region alerts travelers to important markers such as documented original trails and historic sites or segments.
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Arizona’s First All-American Road
By Linda Tancs
Short on miles but long on views. That’s what you can expect from Arizona’s Red Rock Scenic Byway, winding its way through the iconic red rock region of Sedona as well as the Village of Oak Creek. The road’s designation as an All-American Road means that it is a destination unto itself. Just a mere 7.5 miles long, the scenes include the juniper and pine-rich environment of Coconino National Forest, rock formations like Castle Rock, Bell Rock and Courthouse Butte, three golf courses and ample terrain for hikers and mountain bikers.
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America’s First Moving Historical Landmark
By Linda Tancs
Did you know that San Francisco’s iconic cable car is America’s first moving historical landmark? An official ceremony at Hyde and Beach on 1 October 1964 designated San Francisco’s cable car system a special “moving” National Historic Landmark. This and other fun facts about the city’s beloved transport system are found at the San Francisco Cable Car Museum located on Mason Street in the Nob Hill neighborhood.
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America’s Stonehenge
By Linda Tancs
In Natural Bridge, Virginia, Britain’s Stonehenge meets its astronomically correct rival. Made entirely of Styrofoam to Stonehenge’s exact measurements, the creation is dubbed Foamhenge. The “stones” are even painted to appear ancient. Unlike its more famous counterpart, admission is free.
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Ferry Cross the Cut
By Linda Tancs
In Vermont, the scenic Colchester Causeway is a four-mile long, 10-foot-wide gravel path popular with cyclists. It extends across Lake Champlain and connects to the original Rutland Railroad bed, courtesy of a 200-foot ferry ride to “the Cut,” site of the railroad swing bridge removed in the 1960s. That’s not much of a ferry ride (five minutes from start to finish), but it is, after all, the state’s only bike ferry service and arguably one of the world’s most scenic. What better way to take in those incredible waterfront views from Colchester to Burlington than by bike. After the dramatic 2011 flooding of the lake, the trail re-opened last spring. Daily ferry service runs until 1 September.
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Year of the Bus
By Linda Tancs
Sixty years ago, the iconic Routemaster bus was unveiled at the Commercial Motor Show in London, England. That was in September 1954. Why wait to celebrate? Mayor Boris Johnson has declared 2014 as the Year of the Bus. And rightly so. Did you know that London’s road network carries more bus passengers than New York and Paris combined? Approximately 2.3 billion passenger journeys were made between 2012 and 2013 on around 700 routes on London’s bus network, over 100 of which operate around the clock. The double decker has captured the hearts of travelers worldwide. You can learn more about its impact at a lecture tonight in Covent Garden. Other events taking place during the year include a festival at Finsbury Park in July and symposia on the history and cultural significance of the London bus. Routemaster, we salute you!
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A Fowl Creation in Flanders
By Linda Tancs
Things are just ducky in the eastern end of Long Island, New York–specifically in Flanders, where you’ll find The Big Duck. Created in 1931 by Riverhead duck farmer Martin Maurer as a shop for the sale of ducks and eggs, this 20 foot tall and 30 foot long duck-shaped structure sports eyes made from the tail lights of a Model T Ford and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Today marks the annual holiday lighting of the duck, a tradition observed on the first Wednesday following Thanksgiving. And yes, duck memorabilia is available for sale.
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America’s First Transcontinental Highway
By Linda Tancs
Lincoln Highway, the first road across America, celebrated its 100th anniversary this year. Winding its way from New York to San Francisco, the transcontinental route comprises a patchwork of roads in New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Ohio, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Nebraska, Wyoming, Utah, Nevada and California. Explore every mile of this historic route using the Lincoln Highway Association’s interactive map. Happy trails to you!
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