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
A Chateau in North Dakota
By Linda Tancs
French nobleman and entrepreneur Marquis de Morès was a key player on the western edge of North Dakota. There he founded the town of Medora (named for his wife) in 1883 and pursued his legacy as a meat packing industry baron. In keeping with his station in life, he built a 26-room home just southwest of town. Now a museum, the Chateau de Morès State Historic Site contains many of the original furnishings and personal effects of the family. It’s open from May to September.
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The Last School Standing
By Linda Tancs
Fourth Ward School in Virginia City, Nevada, is the last Second Empire-style school building standing in the United States. Named for the ward in which it is situated, the school opened in 1876 to alleviate overcrowding in the heart of the Comstock Mining District. The distinctive four-story school with a mansard roof was a combination grammar and high school, designed to accommodate 1,025 students. It remained in use until a new school was completed in 1936. The Fourth Ward School Museum showcases the town’s history as one of the largest mining camps west of Denver. The venue is open from May through October.
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A Wetland of International Importance
By Linda Tancs
Located along the Delaware River estuary in Pennsville, New Jersey, Supawna Meadows National Wildlife Refuge is designated a Wetland of International Importance. Vastly comprising slightly brackish tidal marsh, this unique habitat contains a mixture of fresh and saltwater plants and wildlife and is an important resting and feeding area for waterfowl, shorebirds and other wildlife. In fact, it has been identified as the most important habitat for wintering American black ducks. Two foot trails through the refuge’s varied habitats provide excellent opportunities for wildlife observation. This time of year the Forest Habitat Trail offers choruses of spring peepers and southern leopard frogs.
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The Mercer Mile
By Linda Tancs
In the heart of Bucks County, Pennsylvania, is a tribute to archaeologist Henry Chapman Mercer. Known as the Mercer Mile in Doylestown, it’s an area comprising his three concrete landmarks: Fonthill Castle, Moravian Pottery & Tile Works and the Mercer Museum. Fonthill, a 44-room castle, was Mercer’s home, a National Historic Landmark with 32 stairwells, 18 fireplaces and 21 chimneys. An avid tile designer, he also founded Moravian Pottery & Tile Works, another historic landmark that functions as a “working history” museum and produces handmade tiles and mosaics in the same style as Mercer’s original designs. His love of early American craftworks is also evident at the Mercer Museum, housing artifacts representing 60 early American trades as well as large objects including a whale boat, stage coach and Conestoga wagon.
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The History of Susquehanna
By Linda Tancs
The Susquehanna River, named for the Susquehannock Indian tribe, is the Chesapeake Bay’s main tributary river, stretching from Upstate New York to Havre de Grace. The Indians depended upon the river for food and transportation for thousands of years, leaving their mark among the petroglyphs visible at landmarks such as Rock Run Gristmill. The mill is just one of many attractions located within Susquehanna State Park in the Rock Run Historic Area along the river valley. You’ll also find the Carter-Archer Mansion (a 14-room stone structure), Jersey Toll House and the remains of the Susquehanna & Tidewater Canal. You can take a self-guided walking tour. When you’re finished, head for the biking trails. The park is home to some of the most popular mountain biking trails in the state.
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New Jersey’s Last Mill
By Linda Tancs
Ralston Cider Mill is New Jersey’s last remaining cider mill. Located in Mendham just minutes from historic Morristown, it’s the site of the state’s once thriving cider and applejack industry, where millions of gallons of apple cider, applejack and bootleg New Jersey Lightning were produced until 1938. Still evident is a hidden still that allowed the mill to operate through Prohibition. It’s the only operational cider mill functioning as a privately funded museum and educational experience for students of all ages. Volunteers lead tours, explaining the production process and history of the mill.
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Tulip Time
By Linda Tancs
It’s tulip time in Holland. No, not that Holland—Holland, Michigan. That’s not to imply that they don’t have anything in common with their European counterpart. Indeed, the city, located on the shores of beautiful Lake Macatawa and Lake Michigan, has a rich Dutch heritage arising from its founders from Rotterdam. The annual Tulip Time Festival is taking place through May 14, a celebration of Dutch cuisine, crafts, dancing and costumes. And, of course, the tulips—nearly 4.5 million of them. Don’t miss the parades, some of the largest and most spectacular in Michigan.
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A Festival of Film Conservation
By Linda Tancs
George Eastman, the pioneer of popular photography, completed his Colonial Revival mansion on East Avenue in Rochester, New York, in 1905 and resided there until his death. The historic mansion and its beautiful gardens are now part of the Eastman Museum. At the museum’s opening in 1949, it was one of only two American museums with a photography department and a film department. In 1951, the museum opened the Dryden Theatre to exhibit films. The Nitrate Picture Show, the world’s festival of film conservation, will return there for the third time from May 5–7. The festival features screenings of vintage nitrate prints from international archives—including the Eastman Museum’s own collection—as well as lectures, workshops and other opportunities to experience the art and science of film preservation.
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Small Wonders in NYC
By Linda Tancs
The Cloisters is the branch of New York City’s Metropolitan Museum of Art dedicated to the art, architecture and gardens of medieval Europe. Deriving its name from the medieval cloisters that form the core of the building, it’s located in Upper Manhattan’s Fort Tryon Park overlooking the Hudson River. Some of its more famous collections include the unicorn tapestries (among the most beautiful and complex works of art from the late Middle Ages), the 12th-century Fuentidueña apse and the Annunciation Triptych by Robert Campin. Don’t miss the special exhibition of miniature Gothic boxwood carvings of biblical stories on display until May 21. Among the highlights of these tiny treasures is a complete carved boxwood rosary made for King Henry VIII of England and his first wife, Catherine (or Katherine) of Aragon.
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Guardhouse of the Great Lakes
By Linda Tancs
During its heyday, Old Fort Niagara controlled access to the Great Lakes. It was a strategic stronghold during the colonial wars. Over its more than 300 year history, the site has been controlled by France, Britain and the United States. The French established the first post here, Fort Conti, in 1679, followed later by an elaborate, permanent fortification known as the “French Castle.” Britain gained control of Fort Niagara in 1759 during the French & Indian War and held the post throughout the American Revolution. They were forced, by treaty, to yield it to the United States in 1796 and, after recapturing it in a later conflict, ceded it to the United States a second time in 1815 at the end of the War of 1812. An original flag from that war is displayed in the Visitor Center, where you’ll find introductory exhibits filled with original artifacts and an award-winning, 16-minute orientation film. From May to October the Discover Niagara shuttle operates from Niagara Falls to the fort, connecting to over 12 destination sites along the way. The fort is open year round.
