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
Maine’s Largest Lake
By Linda Tancs
Maine’s largest lake is Moosehead Lake. Spanning 74,890 acres, it’s one of the largest freshwater lakes in the country and the second-largest lake in New England after Lake Champlain. Just three hours north of Portland in the Highlands region, it’s great for fishing with plenty of landlocked salmon, brook trout and lake trout. If a leisurely cruise is more your speed, then rent a boat or take a narrated cruise on the steamboat Katahdin. As you might imagine, the area is known for moose. In fact, moose outnumber people three to one. Take a moose safari and spot the elusive creature with a guide. The best time of day to see moose is early in the morning or at dusk, from mid-spring through late June.
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Boudin Festival
By Linda Tancs
Boudin is a popular Cajun sausage featuring rice, spices and pork (or some other meat, filling or even fish). You can try multiple varieties at the Boudin Festival in Scott, Louisiana, where they’re proud to celebrate this staple of Cajun culture. Held in April, the festivities include food vendors, arts and crafts, Cajun music, a pageant and a boudin-eating contest. This year’s event runs from April 10 to April 12 in front of City Hall.
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Treasure Hunting in Connecticut
By Linda Tancs
Open every Sunday from April to December, Elephant’s Trunk is the largest weekly flea market in New England. Located in New Milford, Connecticut, the venue is chock-full of treasures for every kind of buyer. In addition to antiques and collectibles, you’ll find plants and food products, too. The mix of food and merchandise varies every week, with vendors from all over the East Coast making their way to the pre-dawn lineup at the field; many of the vendors have been attending since the very start of this market in the 1970s. Buyers can enter via early admission (before 7 a.m.) or general admission (from 7 a.m. to 2 p.m.) by paying on-site. Enter at Candlewood Lake Road South.
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Headwater of the Mississippi
By Linda Tancs
The mighty Mississippi River ends in the Gulf of Mexico (or, if you prefer, the Gulf of America). As for where it begins, you might be surprised to learn that the answer is Lake Itasca in Minnesota, a small glacial lake. It’s located in Itasca State Park, where taking your picture next to the iconic headwaters post is a must! The park is open daily.
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Hells Canyon
By Linda Tancs
Part of the Hells Canyon National Recreation Area, Hells Canyon is the deepest river gorge in North America. Located on the border of Idaho and Oregon, it’s been carved by the Snake River, plunging 8,000 feet deep. Not surprisingly, river-based activities like fishing and rafting abound. It’s also known for its dramatic landscapes, like basalt cliffs and stunning vistas. Look for a variety of wildlife, including bald eagles, mountain goats, elk, deer and bighorn sheep in this area traditionally known as Nez Perce territory.
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Lowrider Culture in New Mexico
By Linda Tancs
A popular pastime in many American communities, lowriders are customized cars with a lowered body. Considered an art form among aficionados, lowrider culture is especially prevalent in New Mexico, so much so that the city of Española declared itself the Lowrider Capital of the World. The city holds special events year-round to celebrate the culture, community, style and art of these cars.
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Gatekeeping in Maryland
By Linda Tancs
Maryland’s first (and last standing) toll house on America’s first federally-funded road (the National Road) established Cumberland as the “Gateway to the West.” There the road cuts through the Narrows in LaVale, a spectacular 1,000-foot breach between Will’s and Haystack Mountains. LaVale’s Toll Gate House is a two-story brick structure built in the 1800s with seven sides, including a columned porch extending around the five outer sides of the polygonal portion. At the top is a small, non-functional cupola. Now on the National Register of Historic Places, you can peer inside the toll house. A historic plaque outside indicates fees for wagons, animals and pedestrians to use the road.
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Gettysburg National Military Park
By Linda Tancs
Established just months following the battle, the Soldiers’ National Cemetery in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, interred the remains of over 3,500 Union soldiers. During its dedication on November 19, 1863, President Abraham Lincoln delivered his iconic Gettysburg Address, commemorated today at the Lincoln Address Memorial. Nearby is the Soldiers’ National Monument, a figure of Liberty atop a pedestal, holding a sword in one hand and a wreath of peace in the other. Between 1898 and 1968, the government added sections to accommodate the graves of veterans from the Spanish-American War, World Wars I and II, the Korean War and the Vietnam War.
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Whittling in Ohio
By Linda Tancs
For many, whittling is a casual pastime, a form of wood carving that involves using a knife to shape wood, typically by shaving off small pieces to create a desired form. Not so for Ernest Warther. He hand-sculpted over 60 works focusing on the steam engine, earning him the title World’s Master Carver. You can see his works of genius at the Ernest Warther Museum & Gardens in Dover, Ohio. His workshop is left untouched since his death in 1973. General admission also includes the family home as well as the Button House, featuring over 73,000 buttons in various quilt and geometric patterns hanging on the walls. Guided and self-guided tours are available.
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Treasures From a Golden Age
By Linda Tancs
The Allan Herschell Company, founded in North Tonawanda, New York in the early 1900s, was the fourth in a series of companies in the community which manufactured carousels and other amusement park rides. The company produced over 3,000 hand-carved wooden carousels and outproduced all of its rivals in the carousel industry. Of the 148 antique, hand-carved wooden carousels still in existence in the United States and Canada today, 71 were manufactured in North Tonawanda in one of the four Herschell companies. That makes the Herschell Carrousel Factory Museum a beautifully preserved piece of history, showcasing the craftsmanship of elaborate Herschell carousels in their original factory setting. A highlight is a ride on one of the first carousels built by company, the 1916 “big” carousel, featuring 35 hand-carved jumping horses and two chariots.
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