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
Life on the Farm
By Linda Tancs
Deanna Rose Children’s Farmstead in Overland Park, Kansas depicts a bygone era. The 12-acre property, designed to depict a turn-of-the-century family farm, has almost 200 animals, vegetable and flower gardens, a one-room schoolhouse and more. Re-named in 1985 in honor of a police officer killed in the line of duty, the aim of the farmstead is to preserve the traditions of the Kansas family farm, a way of life fast disappearing. Children can enjoy the experience of bottle feeding baby goats, milking a cow and taking a horse drawn wagon ride through the woods. The facility opens for the season on 1 April. Reservations are accepted for parties and tours.
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Something is Brewing in Fort Collins
By Linda Tancs
Fort Collins, Colorado is the second largest producer of beer in Colorado, the state ranked first in the country in volume produced by breweries. Here you can hit the ale trail–or, as the locals call it, the foam on the range tour–and vist CB & Potts, Coopersmith’s, Fort Collins Brewery, New Belgium Brewing Company and Odell. Anheuser-Busch has a brewery here, too. The first Saturday of the month is camera day for those wishing to pose with the famous Clydesdale horses.
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The McKinney Experiment
By Linda Tancs
The folks of McKinney, Texas want you to know that they’re unique by nature. Consider, for instance, the McKinney Experiment, a Wal-Mart test store for environmentally friendly processes and technologies. One of only two such experimental Wal-Mart stores in the world, the goal is to make the best use of renewable and alternate sources like wind and solar energy to generate electricity to supplement the power needs of the store. Environmental consciousness runs deep in this town 30 miles from Dallas. This is home to the world’s first environmentally friendly, LEED-certified (Leadership in Energy & Environmental Design) automobile dealership as well as the country’s first privately developed LEED platinum building. That should make any town green with envy.
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Open House in Charleston
By Linda Tancs
Calhoun Mansion is an 1876 manor house of italianate design and the largest residence in Charleston, South Carolina. It boasts Tiffany lighting, a 75 foot domed ceiling, 35 rooms and 23 fireplaces. For a fee you can tour this house, which happens to be a private residence. The gardens are free to tour, however, and they are spectacular. During Historic Charleston Foundation’s 64th Annual Spring Festival of Houses & Gardens today through 16 April, you can tour stately homes like Calhoun. Tours and events vary daily.
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South by Southwest
By Linda Tancs
South by Southwest is more than just direction. It’s an event in Austin, Texas beginning tomorrow where original music, independent films, and emerging technologies converge. Celebrating its 25th anniversary this year, the conferences and festivals through 20 March offer invaluable networking opportunities. Bring lots of business cards.
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Opera in a Ghost Town
By Linda Tancs
Death Valley Junction is an unincorporated community in the Mojave Desert in California. Formerly known as Amargosa, its sole claim to fame these days is the Amargosa Opera House and Hotel run by a former New York City Radio City Music Hall dancer, Marta Becket. Performing faithfully on weekends for an audience of none or some, Marta’s House is a previously abandoned recreation hall built by the Pacific Coast Borax Company. The marker in town explains that the community, with a population high of 300, is a historic crossroad used by Indians, ranchers, farmers, settlers and tourists. At this junction, the Tonopah & Tidewater Railroad connected with the Las Vegas-Tonopah Railroad to service the Ryan and Lila C. borax mines near Ryan during the years 1914-28. The town is on the National Register of Historic Places.
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Tater City
By Linda Tancs
Blackfoot, Idaho was known as Grove City, a tribute to its abundance of trees and parks. Don’t forget the potatoes, though. Blackfoot is the agricultural epicenter of Idaho’s revered potato industry. Known as the Potato Capital of the World, it hosts–what else–the Idaho Potato Museum. With each paid adult admission,
you will receive a box of hash browns to take home with you. Welcome to tater heaven.
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Crossroads of the West
By Linda Tancs
Salt Lake City, Utah claims to be different by nature. So what’s so different? You can join their real-time chat and find out. Maybe it’s the Great Salt Lake, the largest lake west of the Mississippi, covering 2,100 square miles. Did you know that only the Dead Sea has a higher salt content than the Great Salt Lake? Another distinguishing feature of the city is its world-renowned genealogical center. Located downtown at the Joseph Smith Memorial Building, computers at the FamilySearch Center access millions of worldwide records. Best of all, admission is free. Of course, there’s also the skiing. Snowbird Ski & Summer Resort has the longest ski season in Utah (through the month of May). You want to see it all, don’t you? Get the Connect Pass and save on 13 of Utah’s best attractions. It’s what nature intended, after all.
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The Fur Flies in Alaska
By Linda Tancs
An event celebrating winter’s transition is Alaska’s Fur Rendezvous, also known as Fur Rondy. Fur in this instance refers to fur swappers, who would meet at winter’s end and exchange their pelts. Held in Anchorage since the 1930s, the event includes sled dog rides, craft shows, a carnival, reindeer runs and a blanket toss. Of particular note are the Rondy pins (as in lapel pins) commemorating each year’s festival, a popular collector’s item. This is also home to the World Championship Sled Dog Races. Enjoy it through 6 March.
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A Hare-Raising Experience in San Francisco
By Linda Tancs
The rabbit, or hare, is the fourth animal in the 12-year cycle of the Chinese zodiac. Welcome to the year of the rabbit. San Francisco’s Chinese New Year Festival will culminate on 19 February with an evening parade from Market and Second Street to Kearny and Jackson. Named one of the top ten parades in the world by the International Festivals and Events Association (IFEA), the San Francisco march is one of the grandest night illuminated parades in the country (think: Disney), not to mention one of the largest celebrations of Asian culture outside of Asia. Parade highlights include elaborate floats, lion dancers, folk dancers, Chinese acrobats and a 250 foot long Golden Dragon (“Gum Lung”) flowing along the parade route. Happy Year 4709.
Travelrific® Travel Journal 