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
What’s Hot in Idaho
By Linda Tancs
Numerous natural hot springs pools can be found along Idaho’s Highway 21, also known as the Ponderosa Pine Scenic Byway. One of those sites is Kirkham Hot Springs outside Lowman. Nestled on the South Fork of the Payette River below a highway campground, a staircase leads adventurers down to the soaking pools. What distinguishes this locale from other geothermal pools are the small, steaming waterfalls as well. The site is open for day use only. You can enjoy the warm water this time of year without the summer crowds when the site is swarming with tourists and the lack of shade heats up the place.
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A Giant Hydrant in Beaumont
By Linda Tancs
For centuries, Dalmatians have been the unofficial mascot for firefighters in the United States. Due to their expertise as carriage dogs, they were reliable accompaniments to fire carriages of the 1700s, clearing the way for the horses. Their vital role in firefighting is commemorated with a Dalmatian-spotted fire hydrant that stands 24 feet tall next to the Fire Museum of Texas in Beaumont. The structure was donated to the city in 1999 by The Walt Disney Company to celebrate the re-release of the animated movie “101 Dalmatians.” It weighs a whopping 4,500 pounds and it works, capable of spewing 1,500 gallons of water per minute.
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An Outpost on the Texas Frontier
By Linda Tancs
Fort Martin Scott in Fredericksburg, Texas, was the first U.S. Army outpost built on the Texas Frontier. Used by the Army from 1848 to 1853, it also served as a camp for the Texas Rangers and as a fort for the Confederate States Army during the Civil War. The historic site contains one original garrison building, one late 1800s old farm shed and three reproduction garrison buildings. Although the buildings are closed to the public, the grounds are open daily from dawn until dusk for self-guided tours.
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Nebraska’s Version of Stonehenge
By Linda Tancs
There’s only one Stonehenge in England. Not so in America, where the love of Britain’s prehistoric, megalithic structure finds expression across the country in media like foam, granite, concrete and other materials. In Alliance, Nebraska, the scale replica takes it up a notch to Carhenge. As you might have guessed, this tribute comprises automobiles (39 of them) arranged in the familiar circular pattern. Some are held upright in pits 5 feet deep, trunk end down, and arches have been formed by welding automobiles atop the supporting models. The site, located at 2151 County Road 59, is open year round from dawn until dusk.
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A Blockbuster in Bend
By Linda Tancs
Bend, Oregon, boasts a budding tourism industry. Part of the credit goes to the last remaining Blockbuster video rental store. Nothing short of a miracle in an era of streaming, the lone franchise is as much a tourist destination for nostalgia seekers as it is a store. It’s even the subject of a documentary. You’ll find it on Revere Avenue.
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Art and Architecture in Portland
By Linda Tancs
The McLellan-Sweat Mansion is a historic house museum on High Street in Portland, Maine. It forms the rear component of the Portland Museum of Art complex, the state’s oldest and largest public art institution. The Federal-style, three-story mansion was completed in 1801 for Major Hugh McLellan, a wealthy merchant who owned Maine’s largest shipping fleet. The house was thereafter owned by Margaret Jane Mussey Sweat, a writer and philanthropist who bequeathed the home to a society now known as the Portland Museum of Art. Admission to the museum is free to the public every Friday from 4 to 8 p.m.
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Arts and Crafts in Woodstock
By Linda Tancs
One of the most iconic landmarks in Woodstock, New York, is Byrdcliffe Arts Colony. It was founded in 1902 by Ralph Radcliffe Whitehead and his wife Jane Byrd McCall out of an ideal to form a “brotherhood of artists.” It’s the oldest operating Arts and Crafts colony in America and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. The organization continues to be a thriving year-round home to an ever expanding community of artists. Private tours can be booked by appointment. You can also take a self-guided walking tour of the grounds or a guided tour of White Pines, the original home of Byrdcliffe’s founders.
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A Phone for the Birds
By Linda Tancs
In Takoma Park, Maryland, there’s a phone fit for the birds. Known as The Bird Calls Phone, it’s an old payphone rewired by a local artist to play bird calls. The dial tone is replaced with the sound of a mourning dove, and each number corresponds to the call of a local bird. The phone’s buttons also play facts about the bird species. Instructions on use of the phone are provided in English, Spanish and Amharic (to accommodate Takoma Park’s sizable Ethiopian community).
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Halloween in NYC
By Linda Tancs
One of the most iconic events in New York City is the annual Halloween parade in Greenwich Village. Now in its 51st year, the parade starts at 7 p.m. with participants lined up on Canal Street and 6th Avenue. The procession can be viewed on 6th Avenue from King Street to 15th Street. Anyone can march in the parade, provided that you’re wearing a costume. You’ll be joined by hundreds of giant puppets, dancers and bands.
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Rhode Island’s Flagship Vessel
By Linda Tancs
The official flagship and tall ship ambassador of Rhode Island, SSV Oliver Hazard Perry is the largest civilian sailing school vessel in the United States and the first ocean-going, full-rigged ship to be built in the U.S. in over 100 years. The ship is named after Commodore Oliver Hazard Perry, a native of Rhode Island and the hero of the Battle of Lake Erie in the War of 1812. Its educational programming includes introductions to marine navigation and engineering. Public tours are also available. During the summer season (June to October), the ship is docked at Fort Adams State Park and thereafter relocates to Bowens Wharf, both in Newport.
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