Travelrific® Travel Journal
Picture postcards in prose.™ Check out the blogroll on the front page for official merchandise and other resources!Archive for U.S. travel
Lincoln’s Logs
By Linda Tancs
The 42nd Annual Abraham Lincoln National Railsplitting Festival will take place in Lincoln, Illionois from 14 to 16 September. The event kicks off on Friday with a Civil War Ball from 7 to 10 p.m. at the Lincoln Park District Rec Center. For those who want to see how logs are split into beautiful rails, don’t miss the fierce competition on Saturday and Sunday at the Logan County Fairgrounds. Log splitting for rail fences was a way of life on the American frontier, and President Abraham Lincoln was a rail splitter in his youth. That activity led to his nickname, Rail Splitter, coined by the Republican Party to enhance his candidacy for President in 1860.
Share this:
Purple in Pennsy
By Linda Tancs
Just 90 minutes from New York City or 45 miles outside Philadelphia is a little bit of Provence. First established in 1748, the Carousel Farm in Mechanicsville, Pennsylvania is awash in lavender. In fact, eight of its 35 acres are dedicated to lavender production, harvested by hand. Group tours are available through 30 September.
Share this:
90 Million Years in 9 Minutes
By Linda Tancs
90 million years: that’s how many years are represented in the latest animatronic dinosaur park, located in Secaucus, New Jersey. Nine minutes: that’s how long it takes to get there from New York City. The dinosaur park recently unveiled 31 robotic dinosaurs for the exhibit, Field Station: Dinosaurs. Dinosaurs from the Triassic, Jurassic and Cretaceous periods hover over (and under) the tree line, including New Jersey’s own Hadrosaurus foulkii. Sounds like dino might to me.
2016 update: Field Station has relocated to Overpeck Park in Leonia, New Jersey.
Share this:
Ohio’s Crooked River
By Linda Tancs
The Cuyahoga River flows north and south, meandering along the way through Cuyahoga Valley National Park, the only national park in Ohio. The river’s trajectory prompted the Native Americans to name it Cuyahoga, or crooked river. The 65-foot Brandywine Falls are a major attraction, but don’t forget about its other charms, like the visitor center at the canal lock, the Everett Road Covered Bridge (evocative of The Bridges of Madison County), the towpath trail, the grist mill, or Beaver Marsh. That’s a lot of ground to cover. If you’re short on time, take the scenic rail ride through the heart of the park. Cuyahoga Valley Scenic Railroad operates regular excursions and special excursions from Rockside Station in Independence to Akron Northside Station and from Canton Lincoln Highway Station to Akron Northside Station. It’s one of the oldest, longest and most scenic train rides in the country. Buy your tickets now for the 40th anniversary celebration on 8 September.
Share this:
Asheboro’s Jurassic Park
By Linda Tancs
Dinosaur aficionados, take note. The North Carolina Zoo is offering a full complement of animatronic dinosaurs as part of a special exhibit running through October 2012. Now is your chance to experience Brachiosaurus, T-Rex, Dilophosaurus, Triceratops, Therizinosaurus and other amazing life-like dinosaurs in a deep forest full of ancient plants. For the best value, get the Combo Pass, which also includes admission to the Dino 4-D Theatre.
Share this:
Home On the Range
By Linda Tancs
This Saturday is National Day of the Cowboy, a day to celebrate pioneer heritage and cowboy culture. What better place to observe the day than Wild West City, a western heritage theme park in Netcong, New Jersey about an hour’s drive from New York City. The park’s faithful reproduction of period buildings circa 1880, along with the stagecoach and gold panning, will have you pining for the days of chuckwagons and the Pony Express. Your American frontier awaits.
Share this:
Linking Greensboro With the World
By Linda Tancs
It’s only been two years since the International Civil Rights Center & Museum opened in Greensboro, North Carolina, but ICRCM has already garnered a stellar reputation for promoting an understanding of the struggles for social justice and equality in the United States and around the world. Visitors experience some of America’s landmark events, including the Montgomery Bus Boycott, the Selma to Montgomery March, Freedom Summer, the Poor People’s Campaign and the March on Washington. Even the original Woolworth lunch counter is on display, memorializing the six-month long effort that successfully integrated the lunch counter in Greensboro during 1960. The counter retains its original footprint as the 1929 Woolworth building was preserved from demolition to act as an archival facility, housing the museum complex.
Share this:
A Tour of the Universe
By Linda Tancs
Seventy-five miles east of Rapid City, South Dakota lies Badlands National Park, a treasure in the southwest part of the state consisting of 244,000 mixed acres of badlands formations and prairie. The fossil beds are a big draw, a protected resource and the largest assemblage of known late Eocene and Oligocene mammal fossils. But don’t spend all your time looking down at paleontologic wonders. Now’s the time to look up. During the summer from Friday to Monday nights, the park offers The Night Sky Program at the Cedar Pass Campground Amphitheater. Join a park ranger for a Tour of the Universe, punctuated by telescopic viewings of more than 7,500 stars in the night sky, including the Milky Way, star clusters, nebulae, planets and moons. Visitors are also treated to fly-overs by numerous satellites. Your cosmos awaits.
Share this:
Gateway to the Pines
By Linda Tancs
The small township of Tabernacle, New Jersey, bills itself as the Gateway to the Pines, referring to the Pine Barrens, an expanse of coastal plain in the southern part of the state. That said, there’s more to the Pine Barrens (or Pinelands) than pines (namely, Pitch Pine and Shortleaf Pine). You’ll find Sassafras, Sour Gum, Atlantic White Cedar and Gray Birch, just to name a few. Did you know that wild orchids and carnivorous plants thrive there? The area offers bicycling, kayaking, walking, hiking camping, and ghost towns. Now through July 28 you can celebrate the magic of the Pinelands at the annual Pinelands Festival at Church of the Holy Eucharist. While you’re in the area, be sure to stop by the Pinelands Visitors Center in Southampton for maps and information on the people, life and culture of this ecological gem.
Share this:
Vacation Deal of the Week
By Linda Tancs
Book two 2012 Summertime voyages back-to-back on American Queen Steamboat Co. and receive 50% off the second voyage of equal or lesser value. The offer is good on all voyages now through August 30, 2012 when you book by July 31, 2012. Contact me at Wanderful Cruises for suggestions on excursions!
Travelrific® Travel Journal 