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
The Great Wagon Road
By Linda Tancs
The Great Wagon Road, also known as the Great Philadelphia Wagon Road, is a historic path in the eastern United States that followed an ancient Native American trade route known as the Great Indian Warrior Trading Path. It enabled 18th-century travel from Philadelphia westward and then south into the backcountry of Maryland, Virginia and North Carolina. You’ll have to imagine that route via the interstate that exists today. Namely, Interstate 81 follows a significant portion of the wagon road from Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, south through the Shenandoah Valley.
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A North Shore Art Colony
By Linda Tancs
Located on Lake Superior’s North Shore, Grand Marais, Minnesota, is an artists’ paradise. In fact, this charming harbor village boasts the oldest art colony in the state. The Grand Marais Art Colony provides artists with independent work space in professional studios amidst the backdrop of a stunning landscape nestled between the Sawtooth Mountains and Lake Superior. Autumn is a great time to participate in Art Along the Lake, a 10-day, self-led art tour during peak fall colors that offers the unique opportunity to meet local artists in their home studios and gain insights into their creative processes.
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Loretta Lynn’s Ranch
By Linda Tancs
Loretta Lynn was a legendary American country music singer and songwriter. Her homestead in rural Tennessee is one of the state’s top tourist attractions. Located in Hurricane Mills, Loretta Lynn Ranch is a family-friendly destination featuring a full service RV Park, log cabin rentals and a swimming pool. You can tour her historic family home dating to the 1800s as well as an exact replica of her childhood home in Butcher Holler, Kentucky. The property also features numerous museums like the Coal Miner’s Daughter Museum, Native American Artifacts Museum and Grist Mill Museum. Full tour admission includes a guided tour of both homes as well as museum access.
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An Emblem of San Francisco
By Linda Tancs
An emblem of the skyline in San Francisco, California, Coit Tower is a fluted concrete column rising from the top of Telegraph Hill. Historically, Telegraph Hill was a visual landmark for sailors entering San Francisco Bay since its discovery in 1775. It takes its name from a semaphore telegraph erected on its summit in 1850 to alert residents to the arrival of ships. The tower is named for Lillie Hitchcock Coit, a wealthy eccentric who bequeathed funds for its construction, which was completed in 1933. The observation deck (accessible via elevator or 13 flights of steps) provides 360-degree views of the city and bay, including the world-famous Golden Gate Bridge. Tickets can be purchased at the tower up to one hour before closing time.
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The Heart of Aggieland
By Linda Tancs
An Aggie is a student at Texas A&M University in College Station. The term Aggie is used by many to reflect agricultural roots. In the early 1900s, students at the university were referred to as farmers. College Station was founded as a railroad town in the late 19th century before becoming the academic and entrepreneurial center that it is today. In addition to the renowned university, the town is home to the George H.W. Bush Presidential Library & Museum, where a new pavilion features a retired Marine One helicopter, the Union Pacific 4141 locomotive and the Bush family gravesite.
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Chalk Pyramids in Kansas
By Linda Tancs
The first landmark in Kansas chosen by the U.S. Department of the Interior as a National Natural Landmark, Monument Rocks are a series of large chalk formations in Gove County, Kansas. Voted one of the eight wonders of Kansas, these natural formations were created during the Late Cretaceous Period of geologic history and are rich in fossils. About 20 miles south of Oakley, they rise up to 50 feet above ground and descend 300 feet below. Note that this natural wonder is located on private property made accessible to the public.
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A Volcanic Neck in the Desert
By Linda Tancs
Agathla Peak is a peak south of Monument Valley, Arizona, which rises over 1,500 feet above the surrounding mesa. Visible from U.S. Route 163 in Navajo Nation, it’s a remnant of an ancient volcanic structure emplaced during the Oligocene about 25 million years ago. Also known as El Capitan, it’s considered sacred by the Navajo, who named it Agathlan (meaning “piles of wool”) after an ancient legend. Climbing hasn’t been allowed for decades, but you can take some spectacular photos.
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Utah’s Most Scenic Drive
By Linda Tancs
Pure driving bliss. That’s what they call Scenic Byway 12 in Utah, a federally-designated All-American Road spanning 122 miles. Only one-third of America’s scenic byways get this distinction, granted to those roads that are tourist destinations unto themselves due to their unique features. Highway 12 has plenty of those, like the breathtaking views of Bryce Canyon National Park, the hair-raising ascent and descent of the Hogsback and the overall views at the road’s summit nearing 9,000 feet. The road is open year-round but wintry weather might make for a white-knuckle ride.
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Cape Cod’s Oldest Town
By Linda Tancs
Founded in 1637, Sandwich, Massachusetts, is Cape Cod’s oldest town. The historical assets of this coastal haven include the Town Hall Square, 1847 First Church, the 1654 mill (that still grinds corn) and the boardwalk. The town might be better known, though, for the vital role it played in American glass production in the 1800s. You can learn all about that at the Sandwich Glass Museum, which features a wide range of rare glass, including Victorian-era glass manufactured by the now defunct local Boston & Sandwich Glass Factory.
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Salmon Runs in Washington
By Linda Tancs
The Sol Duc River in Washington’s Olympic National Park is one of the few places where salmon run in every season. That makes fishing a popular activity there. Chinook, coho, pink, chum and sockeye are all represented. In the late summer and early fall, visitors come to the viewing platform at Salmon Cascades to watch the determined coho salmon leap over the falls on their way to spawn upstream in the river. The Sol Duc is accessed by turning off Highway 101 onto the Sol Duc Road; the viewing platform (available year round to view the falls) is about 5 miles down the road.
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