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
Vermont’s Lincoln Legacy
By Linda Tancs
Robert Lincoln was the only child of President Abraham Lincoln and his wife Mary Todd Lincoln to survive to maturity. Together with his wife, Robert built a summer home in Manchester, Vermont, a Georgian Revival mansion that would become a home to only Lincoln descendants until 1975, longer than any other Lincoln residence. They named the estate Hildene, formed from two Old English words: “Hil” meaning “hill” and “dene” meaning “valley with stream.” The description is an apt one, considering that the property is perched on a hill overlooking the Taconic Mountains to the west, the Green Mountains to the east, and the Battenkill River flowing through the valley below. In addition to the home and formal garden, the 412-acre estate boasts 12 miles of walking trails, a farm and a number of historic buildings. Wintertime is especially scenic at the estate and is a popular time to experience the trails.
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A Snow Globe Stroll
By Linda Tancs
Main Street in Park City, Utah, is a magical place during this festive season. Even more so thanks to the life-size snow globes decorated by local artists comprising the Snow Globe Stroll. Each globe is themed around a different holiday song. Every globe also includes hidden objects that are part of a scavenger hunt. Enjoy this free, family-friendly event!
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Jingle Rails
By Linda Tancs
An annual holiday tradition, Jingle Rails is a model train display featuring nine G-scale trains traveling through spectacular landscapes and past famous landmarks of Indianapolis and the American West. The scenes are masterfully crafted from natural materials and adorned with festive holiday decorations and twinkling lights. You’ll find this locomotive wonderland at The Eiteljorg Museum of American Indians and Western Art in downtown Indianapolis, Indiana.
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Winter Aglow in Idaho
By Linda Tancs
Looking for a winter wonderland in Boise? Then head for the Idaho Botanical Garden for their Winter aGlow event. As the name implies, there will be a mesmerizing display of lights. The family-friendly fest includes Santa meetups, holiday vendors, a gingerbread house exhibit and a candy cane forest. Parking is free; you can also park and ride from downtown Boise.
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Woodland Wonder in Arkansas
By Linda Tancs
Garvan Woodland Gardens is the botanical garden of the University of Arkansas. A gift from local industrialist and philanthropist Verna Cook Garvan, the site is nestled in the picturesque Ouachita Mountains of southwest Arkansas in Hot Springs. The big draw in December is the Holiday Lights event, a visual extravaganza. Golf cart rentals are available on a daily basis for those unable to walk the path. Purchase your tickets in advance and be sure to leave plenty of time to arrive before the nightly display starts.
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The House With the Eye
By Linda Tancs
Although it sounds like the title of a mystery novel, The House With the Eye is a red, wooden house-turned-museum in Leadville, Colorado. Built in 1879 by architect Eugene Robitaille, the eye refers to an eye in a stained-glass window tucked under an arched eve. Using the house as a model home, it was later turned into a museum, featuring contents donated by locals. Artifacts include a Studebaker horse-drawn hearse from 1890 and a whiskey still from the Prohibition era. The museum is located on West Fourth Street.
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Avenue of the Giants
By Linda Tancs
Touted as the finest forest drive in the world, Avenue of the Giants is the most scenic drive along California’s Redwood Coast. Lined by those titan redwoods, the 31-mile road parallels Highway 101 and runs through Humboldt Redwoods State Park. It offers access to hiking trails, memorial groves and the Eel River, part of the federally-designated Wild and Scenic Rivers System with idyllic swimming, fishing and paddling spots. The area is also characterized by its standing, living drive-through redwoods, a treat for motorists.
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Human History in Zion
By Linda Tancs
Utah’s Zion Human History Museum displays artifacts and archival materials from the permanent collections of Zion National Park. Visitors can learn about human history in the area, from the Southern Paiute from thousands of years ago to the Mormon pioneers of the 1800s. Once the park’s main visitor center, the facility is prized as much for what’s outside as for what’s inside. Check out the back patio for a dramatic view of the West Temple and the Towers of the Virgin. In front of the building you’ll enjoy views of Bridge Mountain. When the canyon shuttle is running, the museum is stop #2. Otherwise, you’ll find it one half mile north of the park’s south entrance on the main park road or 11 miles west from the east entrance.
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Rock Concerts in Tennessee
By Linda Tancs
The Caverns in Pelham, Tennessee, give new meaning to the term “rock concert.” It’s both a subterranean music venue offering expectedly good acoustics and a spelunking destination. The cave system covers over 8,000 linear feet of known cave passages. Underground shows are hosted in a section of The Caverns historically known to locals and cavers as Big Mouth Cave. Daily guided tours explore the wider expanse of the cave system, spanning three football fields in length. Cave tours for thrill seekers take guests even deeper inside and include the adventurous “Tombstone Pass.”
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A Man-Made Wonder of the West
By Linda Tancs
A man-made reservoir covering an impressive 186 miles in length and nearly 2,000 miles of shoreline (longer than the west coast of the U.S.), Lake Powell is a popular vacation destination for boating, waterskiing, fishing, camping, hiking and exploring the Glen Canyon National Recreation Area. Located on the Colorado River and straddling the border between Utah and Arizona, it features the Glen Canyon Dam Bridge, once the highest arch bridge in the world. It also boasts 96 major canyons, some of which are up to 20 miles long. Antelope Canyon is reportedly the most photographed. Other popular canyons include Gunsight Canyon and Navajo Canyon, which offers views of Navajo Tapestries, the multi-colored streaks of iron oxide and manganese residue that have “draped” down the sides of the canyon wall.
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