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
New Jersey’s High Point
By Linda Tancs
New Jersey’s highest point is 1,803 feet above sea level. You can capture the panoramic view from that vantage point at High Point Monument in High Point State Park. What awaits you at the tower are farmland and forest, soft hills and lush valleys in three states, punctuated by the Delaware River. The park is no less spectacular. After all, the landscaping was conceived by the sons of Frederick Olmsted, who designed New York City’s Central Park. The park is located 7 miles north of the town of Sussex.
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To limit the spread of COVID-19, attractions may be closed or have partial closures. Please keep those affected by the virus in your thoughts and be sure to follow the safety practices advocated by the Centers for Disease Control. Stay safe, and be well.
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Sunrise Mountain
By Linda Tancs
The crest of Sunrise Mountain lies along the Appalachian Trail in New Jersey’s Stokes State Forest. It’s a popular destination for panoramic views of the state’s pastoral farmland as well as mountain ridges and undeveloped forests. At 1,650 feet, it’s one of the highest points in the state. If you’re not up for a hike, you can drive up to the pavilion at the top of the mountain. Entrance fees are charged per vehicle from Memorial Day weekend to Labor Day.
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To limit the spread of COVID-19, attractions may be closed or have partial closures. Please keep those affected by the virus in your thoughts and be sure to follow the safety practices advocated by the Centers for Disease Control. Stay safe, and be well.
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Vertical Splendor in Colorado
By Linda Tancs
Colorado’s Black Canyon National Park is divided by the canyon into a North Rim and South Rim. Formidable in scope, only the rims (not the gorge) show evidence of human occupation since written history began. The more primitive side is North Rim, offering sweeping views of Black Canyon. You’ll get equally magnificent views of the canyon from South Rim, especially at Gunnison Point, one of 12 overlooks. It’s located near the Visitor Center, where three hiking trails are also accessible. One of the most astounding formations visible from many of the overlooks is Painted Wall, the highest cliff in Colorado. From river to rim it stands at 2,250 feet. That’s just a few hundred feet less than Burj Khalifa in Dubai, one of the tallest buildings in the world at 2,717 feet. The rims are not connected. Both rim drives have one access point from the highway; driving from one rim to the other involves driving along non-park roads and can take over two hours.
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To limit the spread of COVID-19, attractions may be closed or have partial closures. Please keep those affected by the virus in your thoughts and be sure to follow the safety practices advocated by the Centers for Disease Control. Stay safe, and be well.
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Chasing the Trace
By Linda Tancs
The Old Natchez Trace is a travel corridor used by American Indians and others, representing over 10,000 years of history. Today it’s known as Natchez Trace Parkway, a 444-mile recreational road and scenic drive through Alabama, Mississippi and Tennessee. It’s so much more than a drive, though. It’s also a designated cycling route as well as a place for hiking, biking, horseback riding and camping. You’ll have the opportunity to see prehistoric mound sites, gorgeous waterfalls, imprints of Old Natchez at places like Sunken Trace and the hills of Mississippi at Jeff Busby Little Mountain. You’ll even find The Meriwether Lewis monument, marking the burial site of famed explorer Meriwether Lewis, near present-day Hohenwald, Tennessee.
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To limit the spread of COVID-19, attractions may be closed or have partial closures. Please keep those affected by the virus in your thoughts and be sure to follow the safety practices advocated by the Centers for Disease Control. Stay safe, and be well.
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3D Art in New Jersey
By Linda Tancs
New Jersey’s American Dream entertainment complex in East Rutherford has a flagship art museum thanks to renowned urban artist Tracy Stum. The facility is named TiLT, an apt moniker for the illusionist exhibits created by Stacy and her 3D team. Best of all, it’s immersive, so you can participate in the mind-bending works of art. Imagine climbing a rope at the top of the Statue of Liberty, experiencing zero gravity in a space station, sitting in the mouth of a dog or soaring through the air on a flying hot dog. Don’t forget your camera.
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To limit the spread of COVID-19, attractions may be closed or have partial closures. Please keep those affected by the virus in your thoughts and be sure to follow the safety practices advocated by the Centers for Disease Control. Stay safe, and be well.
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A Grand Prospect in Oregon
By Linda Tancs
Nestled between Seaside and Cannon Beach is Oregon’s Ecola State Park, a protected coastal area 9 miles long with scenic views so striking that explorer William Clark of the Lewis and Clark Expedition described it as the “grandest and most pleasing prospect” he had ever surveyed. He was speaking of the view from the north slope of Tillamook Head, a high point on the trail between Seaside and Indian Beach, a popular surfing locale. Named for the Tillamook tribes in whose ancestral territory the headland is located, the trail follows the coastal exploration route used by Captain Clark in the winter of 1806. But the grand views begin at the entrance road itself, which follows an old growth Sitka spruce forest, eventually opening up to a grassy bluff offering breathtaking views of the Pacific Ocean where the historic Tillamook Rock Lighthouse stands just offshore on a lone basalt rock. Take advantage of the numerous paved trails for panoramic views.
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To limit the spread of COVID-19, attractions may be closed or have partial closures. Please keep those affected by the virus in your thoughts and be sure to follow the safety practices advocated by the Centers for Disease Control. Stay safe, and be well.
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Hoodoos at the Four Corners
By Linda Tancs
Weathered sandstone often forms otherworldly rock formations known as hoodoos that take the shape of pinnacles, spires and cap rocks. You’ll find plenty of examples of this at the Bisti/De-Na-Zin Wilderness (Bisti badlands), a 45,000-acre wilderness area in New Mexico. The badlands’ name is as unusual as its landscape. Taken from the Navajo language, “bisti” means “a large area of shale hills.” De-Na-Zin is taken from the Navajo words for “cranes.” Just south of Farmington, the area is one of the most extraordinary attractions in the Four Corners region, where the states of Arizona, Colorado, New Mexico and Utah meet.
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To limit the spread of COVID-19, attractions may be closed or have partial closures. Please keep those affected by the virus in your thoughts and be sure to follow the safety practices advocated by the Centers for Disease Control. Stay safe, and be well.
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Old Vines in New York
By Linda Tancs
Benmarl Winery is America’s oldest vineyard and the owner of the very first New York Farm Winery license. Located in Marlboro (about 70 miles north of New York City), the 37-acre estate overlooks the Hudson River. In 300 years, only four different families have owned the winery property; its first grapes were planted there in the 1700s. In addition to estate wines (including some of the country’s oldest vines of Baco Noir), they source from Seneca Lake and the north fork of Long Island. Enjoy the stunning views of the Hudson River Valley.
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To limit the spread of COVID-19, attractions may be closed or have partial closures. Please keep those affected by the virus in your thoughts and be sure to follow the safety practices advocated by the Centers for Disease Control. Stay safe, and be well.
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Stewards of Mount Rainier
By Linda Tancs
Washington’s Mount Rainier stands sentinel over the landscape at 14,410 feet. It’s not only an active volcano but also the most glaciated peak in the contiguous U.S., spawning five major rivers. The Cowlitz, Muckleshoot, Nisqually, Puyallup, Squaxin Island and Yakama people are the original stewards of the land, with archaeological evidence tracing Native use of the area back 9,000 years. Now a bustling national park, 97% of its area has been designated as wilderness by Congress. Stretching for 378 square miles, the park has five developed areas, with three visitor centers, a museum and several wilderness and climbing centers and ranger stations. Its features include subalpine meadows, the temperate rainforest environment at Carbon River and Mowich Lake, the largest and deepest lake in the park. Wherever you roam, take advantage of the numerous day hikes offered along 260 miles of maintained trails.
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To limit the spread of COVID-19, attractions may be closed or have partial closures. Please keep those affected by the virus in your thoughts and be sure to follow the safety practices advocated by the Centers for Disease Control. Stay safe, and be well.
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Buggy Capital of the South
By Linda Tancs
Barnesville, Georgia, was once known as the “Buggy Capital of the South.” And, no, that has nothing to do with those pesky mosquitoes arriving around now. The buggy in this case refers to the horse and buggy, and Barnesville produced more buggies than any other location south of Cincinnati, Ohio. By 1900, nearly 9,000 were produced there annually. The locals celebrate their commercial heritage with a festival in September. The city is about 50 miles from Atlanta.
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To limit the spread of COVID-19, attractions may be closed or have partial closures. Please keep those affected by the virus in your thoughts and be sure to follow the safety practices advocated by the Centers for Disease Control. Stay safe, and be well.
Travelrific® Travel Journal 