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
Legendary Guitars in Pennsylvania
By Linda Tancs
Through six generations, Martin Guitar‘s legendary heritage has helped create music history. Located in Nazareth, Pennsylvania, their museum boasts a treasure trove of over 170 exquisitely crafted guitars that parallel the company’s history. A guided factory tour starts in the lobby of the Visitors Center, which houses the entrance to the museum. Their one-hour tours follow a guitar from rough lumber to a finished product, an endeavor requiring more than 300 steps to complete. Public and group tours are available Monday through Friday.
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A Model of Conservation
By Linda Tancs
On February 15, 1911, the United States Congress passed the Weeks Act, a law enabling the federal government to purchase private lands for the purpose of creating a forest reserve. Thanks to this act, New Hampshire’s White Mountain National Forest was officially established with the preservation of 7,000 acres. Today, this national forest is nearly 800,000 acres large. You can explore the area’s vast heritage via the Weeks Act Legacy Trail, a driving tour exploring 40 sites of interest along a scenic 100-mile loop. You can take the tour using the trail map on the forest’s website (with an optimized mobile version) or download an audio tour and printable guides.
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The Great Guide
By Linda Tancs
To the Saura Indians, North Carolina’s Pilot Mountain was known as Jomeokee, the “Great Guide” or “Pilot.” It guided both Native Americans and early European hunters along a north-south path through the area. A quartzite monadnock, this rugged mountain rock has survived for millions of years while the elements have eroded surrounding peaks to a rolling plain. Comprising two pinnacles, Big Pinnacle is the iconic knob of bare rock topped with vegetation. It’s connected to Little Pinnacle, easily accessed by visitors for views of hundreds of square miles of the Piedmont and the nearby mountains of North Carolina and Virginia. Pilot Mountain State Park is located in Surry and Yadkin counties, 16 miles north of Winston-Salem.
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Air Adventure in Oshkosh
By Linda Tancs
AirVenture Oshkosh in Wisconsin is the largest annual gathering of aviation enthusiasts. A summer staple, this year’s festival kicks off today through July 31. Some of the world’s top air show performers, including national aerobatic champions, longtime favorites and some talented Oshkosh first-timers are coming to this year’s event. One notable (returning after 30 years) is the Canadian Forces Snowbirds, one of the most popular military aerial demonstration teams in the world. A favorite reunion spot for aircraft clubs, the festival also spotlights milestone anniversaries (30 to 75 years) of aircraft types from across the spectrum, including homebuilts, vintage aircraft, warbirds, aerobatic aircraft and ultralights. More than 10,000 planes will descend on the runways of Wittman Regional Airport, giving much anticipated bragging rights to both national and international pilots. For spectators, several airports served by major carriers are a short drive to all the fun.
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Pioneering in Utah
By Linda Tancs
Utah is gearing up for Pioneer Day, a state holiday celebrated on July 24 to commemorate the entry of Brigham Young and the first group of Mormon pioneers into Utah’s Salt Lake Valley in 1847 to escape religious persecution. Their trek now forms the Mormon Pioneer National Historic Trail, a route spanning five states where 70,000 Mormons traveled from 1846 to 1869. The Pioneer Company of 1846-1847 established the first route from Nauvoo, Illinois, to Salt Lake City, Utah, covering about 1,300 miles.
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Palace of the South
By Linda Tancs
Hay House (Johnston-Felton-Hay) in Macon, Georgia, is designed in the Italian Renaissance Revival style, unusual for residential architecture, particularly considering the conventions of the antebellum South. Lived in by two families over three generations, it earned the moniker “Palace of the South” during the tenure of the Feltons (extended family of the Johnstons). A private house museum and National Historic Landmark, it spans four levels and is crowned by a three-story cupola. A model of wealth and good taste, most of the furnishings date from the Hay family’s occupancy, highlighted by the 1857 marble statue “Ruth Gleaning” by American expatriate sculptor Randolph Rogers.
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Art Colony of the Midwest
By Linda Tancs
Impressionist painter Theodore Clement Steele found artistic inspiration in the scenic hillsides of southern Indiana in Brown County over a century ago. Others followed, creating an art colony in the Midwest. Steele’s life and works (not to mention five hiking trails on 211 acres) make for an interesting visit at T.C. Steele State Historic Site. Enjoy guided tours of Steele’s studio (where early morning light filters through floor-to-ceiling windows) and home, hike one of his well-trodden trails or stroll through Selma Steele’s restored gardens. The property is located in Belmont, midway between Bloomington and Nashville, Indiana.
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World’s Largest Tree
By Linda Tancs
A giant among giants, the General Sherman in the Giant Forest in California’s Sequoia National Park is not only the largest living tree in the world, but the largest living organism, by volume, on the planet. A giant sequoia (sequoiadendron giganteum), General Sherman is over 100 feet at its trunk, nearly 3 million pounds in weight and 275 feet in height. Needless to say, it draws quite a crowd, which is why the park runs free summer shuttle buses to two separate stops, one above and one below this amazing tree.
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World’s Largest Talking Cow
By Linda Tancs
Larger than your average Holstein, Wisconsin’s Chatty Belle in Neillsville is the world’s largest talking cow. Sixteen feet high and 20 feet long, the fiberglass replica is equipped with a voice box, the operation of which has been leaving Belle much less chatty these days. So much for the dairy lecture. Her much smaller son Bullet (at a size befitting an actual Holstein) was also removed from the premises due to vandalism. What does remain nearby is the Wisconsin Pavilion from the 1964/1965 New York World’s Fair, used today as a radio broadcasting center.
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Lumber Queen of the World
By Linda Tancs
The commencement of the lumber industry in 1837 set Muskegon, Michigan, on a course to become fondly known as the “Lumber Queen of the World.” Indeed, by the time the local lumber industry had reached its peak in the mid-1880s, 47 sawmills surrounded Muskegon Lake, and another 16 dotted the shores of White Lake to the north. The name “Muskegon” is derived from the Ottawa Indian term “Masquigon” meaning “marshy river” or “swamp.” Bordering the shores of Lake Michigan, Muskegon County offers visitors plenty of activities this time of year. With the ferry in season, visitors can easily travel between Milwaukee and Muskegon. Another favorite is the Musketawa Trail, a 25-mile paved, multi-use recreation trail between Marne and Muskegon that passes through farmlands, villages and wetlands and over creeks.
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