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
Nevada State Fair Opens Today
By Linda Tancs
The Reno-Sparks Livestock Events Center hosts the Nevada State Fair today through 29 August. Admission is free on opening night; the grand procession begins at 7 p.m. As is the case with any state fair, the event will highlight the usual livestock shows, auctions, agricultural events, and exhibits, as well as carnival rides and live entertainment. However, in this and future years Nevada’s long and storied Wild West history will be featured during the annual attraction. That means you can expect to experience a mining camp, a frontier town, a Native American village, stage coach rides, and a host of other features defining the State’s history. That’s a lot to see in one day, so why not buy a 3-day passport and save $45!
Share this:
Feeling Blue Around the World
By Linda Tancs
Feeling blue? In some parts of the world, that’s not necessarily a bad thing. That is to say, if you live in a blue zone–areas of the world where the population regularly lives to the ripe old age of 100 or more. Places like Loma Linda, California, Nicoya Peninsula in Costa Rica, Sardinia, Italy and Okinawa, Japan. Don’t pack your bags just yet, though. Just being there won’t increase your chances for longevity. You gotta walk the walk, as they say. That means lots of whole grains, veggies, beans and fruits. Maybe Mama was right after all.
Share this:
Non Stop Fun in Iowa
By Linda Tancs
Attracting more than a million fans the world over each year, the Iowa State Fair kicks off now through 22 August at the Fairgrounds, located 10 minutes east of downtown Des Moines at East 30th Street and East University Avenue. Today’s opening day festivities are highlighted by a tribute to the armed forces, including a live Skype chat with Iowa military in Kosovo, Iraq and Missisippi, a performance by the Central Iowa Hooves horse drill team and an evening concert by country music star Lee Greenwood (free with your fair ticket admission). The grandstand lineup includes Keith Urban, Pat Benatar, REO Speedwagon, Darius Rucker, Sugarland and Sheryl Crow. The entertainment may change from year to year, but annual staples like the Butter Cow (sculpted from butter, you see), double ferris wheel, livestock judging and endless stalls of food will remain–all to keep you in “non stop fun,” as this year’s theme goes.
Share this:
World’s Fair of Money
By Linda Tancs
The American Numismatic Association’s World’s Fair of Money takes place in Boston today until 14 August. Sponsored by the nonprofit American Numismatic Association, the show’s theme espousing the locale as the birthplace of American money is an apt choice considering the story of American money began more than three centuries ago when the early settlers of New England relied heavily upon foreign coins for conducting their day to day business affairs in the New World. Featuring more than 1,000 of the nation’s best coin dealers at Hynes Convention Center, the show will also feature museum-quality exhibits from the Smithsonian Institution, the ANA Edward C. Rochette Money Museum and private collectors. As many as 20 mints from around the world will give visitors an opportunity to collect coins from five continents, recalling America’s reliance on foreign currency in early American history.
Share this:
Drawing Lines in the Sand in California
By Linda Tancs
In Imperial Beach, California they’ll be drawing lines galore in the sand at the 30th annual U.S. Open Sandcastle Competition. An event for pros and amateurs alike, the competition on 8 August includes a Masters contest for pros and cash prizes up to $21,000 for pro and amateur sand carvers in other categories. Works will be available for viewing until 4 p.m. due to the tides. Why wait until Sunday? Make it a beach weekend and enjoy the Sandcastle Dance on Friday and the street fair along Seacoast Drive on Saturday. Sounds beachy keen to me.
Share this:
The Legends Meet at Greenbrier
By Linda Tancs
The Greenbrier, an award-winning resort located in White Sulphur Springs, West Virginia, bills itself as “America’s resort.” An apt description, considering this National Historic Landmark is almost as old as the country. Known as the “Queen of the Southern Spas,” the complex of 6500 acres in the Alleghenies is a mix of sulphur springs, luxury accommodations, formal gardens, and golf courses. It’s the golf that takes center stage now through 1 August as the PGA hosts its newest event, the Greenbrier Classic, at the famed Old White Course, designed in 1914 by Charles Blair Macdonald, the reputed father of American golf course architecture. The festivities include a concert tonight by country music star Reba McEntire, followed by a performance tomorrow by Rascal Flatts and Saturday’s song fest with Brad Paisley and Carrie Underwood. The legends truly do meet at Greenbrier.
Share this:
Basque in the Festivities
By Linda Tancs
Treasure Valley includes all the lowland areas from Vale, Oregon to Boise, Idaho. With a moniker like that it should come as no surprise that the area attracted those in search of gold and other treasures. An unusually large number of Basques joined in that quest, ultimately homesteading in Boise where the ethnic group grew to its largest numbers outside its European base of northeastern Spain and southwestern France. Every five years Boise celebrates Basque culture at the Fairgrounds with Jaialdi, or “Big Festival.” Now through 1 August, experience Basque tradition through tasty croquettes, dances like the Flag Dance (Ikurrina), and ball games like pelota (a variant of which is jai alai) in the Fronton on Grove Street.
Share this:
The World at Your Feet
By Linda Tancs
The world at your feet—that is, under your feet—is a traveler’s mélange of sights and sounds of the earth and under the earth from Old World to New World. Consider Bolivia’s Salar de Uyuni, the world’s largest salt flat. Descending from a prehistoric lake, this snow-hued wasteland is punctuated with a series of cherry red trains bearing silent testimony to a once burgeoning rail system designed for the transport of the area’s rich mineral resources to Pacific Ocean ports. Although generally devoid of plant or animal life, a pink brigade of Andean flamingos breeds among the flats each November.
Pink also characterizes a shallow lake in Senegal, West Africa known as Lac Rose (Pink Lake), so named for the gentle pinkish tint owing to the reflection of mineral deposits in the water. This basin is popular with tourists because its salinity allows for floating. However, it is hope that floats for the locals in this area some 20 miles from the capital city of Dakar; the huge stores of salt extracted from the lake bed are a vital source of income.
The hue turns to blue in Belize, where an underwater sinkhole near Ambergris Caye attracts divers the world over. The Great Blue Hole is about 1000 feet in diameter and 412 feet deep, formed from the collapse of a roof of an underwater cave system formed during the last ice age ending over 12,000 years ago. Not for the faint of heart, the 100-plus-feet dive to a panoply of parrot fish, sponges, grunt fish, elkhorn coral and sea turtles requires advanced skills.
Nature’s fury finds a different mode of expression in Argentine Patagonia at Glaciers National Park. There you might experience a thunderous roar beneath your feet thanks to Perito Moreno glacier. Known as the White Giant, the iceberg’s steady advance creates a spectacular collapse, usually in summer, when the warmer waters of Lago Argentino drill a tunnel through the glacier so powerful that its trademark archway ruptures into the waters below. Be prepared to view a stunning white haze of ice, mist and froth from the observation deck.
Water is an equally powerful part of history in Rome, Italy. In particular, the 2000-year-old aqueduct, Aqua Virgo, is a miles-long labyrinth still channeling water to many of the city’s fountains, including the legendary Fontana di Trevi. Running beneath the ground like many aqueducts to protect its precious resource, it is occasionally visible above ground at such locations as beside the Spanish Steps—just minutes away from Trevi fountain. Another ancient artifact outside the city proper is the Appian Way, the longest and most significant ancient Roman road. Along this path you can explore the catacombs, underground burial places for ancient Christians (as well as Jews and pagans), such as the catacombs of Saint Sebastian.
Underground exploration also thrives among the dark, mineral-clad chambers of show caves in the United States. For instance, Tennessee sports over 8700 caves for spelunkers and casual tourists alike, more than any other state. Manganese, iron, calcium and copper are in abundant supply along the walkways at Appalachian Caverns in Blountville. Its most popular natural resource, however, may be the colonies of grey, big brown and eastern pipistrelle bats lurking around the higher ceilings. Ruby Falls cave in the Chattanooga area is the deepest commercial cave in the country, earning a listing on the National Register of Historic Places as well as the awe of visitors who are drawn to the waterfall gliding 145 feet through its depths. One of the earliest visitors to the eastern Tennessee attraction of Craighead Caverns in Sweetwater was a Pleistocene-era jaguar, the remains of which are now on display at the American Museum of Natural History in New York. Today’s visitors flock to an underwater lake covering over four acres, recognized by Guinness World Records as the World’s Largest Underground Sea.
Another kind of commercialism rules in Canada at Montreal’s Underground City (officially known as RÉSO), reputedly the largest underground city in the world. This subterranean universe comprises 20 miles of tunnels spread over an area of nearly five square miles linking shopping malls, hotels, offices, cultural attractions, entertainment, universities, and transportion stations. Often referred to as a city within a city, the shopping and entertainment mecca is a convenient respite from both cold and snowy winters as well as year-round traffic.
As poet Henry David Thoreau observed, heaven is under our feet as well as over our heads. Whether buoyed by ancient Roman craftsmanship, modern day urban masterpieces or natural phenomena, a world of enlightenment awaits you underfoot.
Share this:
Meet the Weather Experts
By Linda Tancs
Weather is an unavoidable variable when it comes to travel. Ever wonder about the folks who provide aviation weather services? Although their role has come sharply into focus recently as a result of the eruption of Eyjafjallajokull, Iceland’s volcano, there is actually an international volcanic ash program to provide worldwide warnings and advisories to aviation interests regarding volcanic ash hazards. Comprising Volcanic Ash Advisory Centers, these experts provide ash movement and dispersion guidance to Meteorological Watch Offices and neighboring advisory centers. These centers are located in London, Toulouse, Washington, D.C., Montreal, Tokyo, Darwin, Wellington, Buenos Aires and Anchorage. Though the area of the Anchorage Volcanic Ash Advisory Center is one of the smallest areas, it covers air routes over some of the most active volcanic areas in the world. So the next time you see a weather expert, give ’em a smile. After all, they’ve got your best interests at heart.
Share this:
Big Wheels in California
By Linda Tancs
Mountain bikers will find nirvana at northern California’s Northstar-at-Tahoe Resort, where they offer over 100 miles of trails and a season bike pass for $279. Best of all, if you don’t want to use the lifts, you can bike the trails for free. You can get your rental at the Village at Northstar. Once you’ve conquered the hills, why not entertain yourself at the Village? Through the end of August you can enjoy your favorite tunes from the 70s and 80s on Tuesdays at the roller rink, or watch a movie there after sundown. You’ve got 21 open shops and 12 places to dine, too. A good day, as they say at Tahoe.
