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
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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A Treat in Newark
By Linda Tancs
The Robert Treat Hotel in Newark, New Jersey, is named for Captain Robert Treat, a colonial leader who was the governor of Connecticut and also is known as the founder of Newark. The first hotel in the city listed on both the State and National Registers of Historic Places, it was completed in 1916 and now celebrates 100 years. It’s also the first luxury hotel in Newark, no doubt the draw for the likes of four U.S. presidents, Martin Luther King Jr. and Albert Einstein. Thanks to premier area attractions like the New Jersey Performing Arts Center, the Newark Museum (the state’s largest museum) and the Prudential Center arena, the Park Place jewel is poised to remain a stalwart in the city’s ongoing development and revitalization.
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The Birthplace of Los Angeles
By Linda Tancs
The oldest section in Los Angeles is the plaza area known as Olvera Street. Also known as El Pueblo de Los Angeles Historical Monument, Calle Olvera and La Placita Olvera, it’s located two blocks from Los Angeles City Hall. A popular attraction for both tourists and locals, it’s home to the oldest house (now a museum and visitors’ center), Avila Adobe, saved from demolition in the 1920s by Christine Sterling. She later realized her dream of creating a market plaza that would celebrate the area’s Spanish and Mexican heritage. Today, Olvera Street remains a bustling marketplace with music, food, crafts and folklore celebrations. Free guided tours of El Pueblo are conducted by volunteer docents, Las Angelitas del Pueblo, Tuesday through Saturday at 10:00 a.m., 11:00 a.m. and 12:00 p.m. The tours start at the Las Angelitas del Pueblo office, located next to the Old Plaza Firehouse.
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A Wild Dam
By Linda Tancs
Named for famed Wild West figure William “Buffalo Bill” Cody, the Buffalo Bill Dam in Wyoming is a concrete arch-gravity dam on the Shoshone River. Listed on the National Register of Historic Places, it’s located six miles west of Cody (founded by the man himself) on the Yellowstone Highway. When completed in 1910 it was the tallest dam in the world. Visitors may stroll to the top of the dam, view exhibits and a short movie in the visitor center or rent a self-guided audio tour. The site is open seasonally through September.
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Old Money in Morris County
By Linda Tancs
During The Gilded Age, a series of grandiose mansions owned by the wealthiest Americans found their place among pastoral settings in Morris County, New Jersey. One famous couple, in fact, built dueling mansions owing to their inability to warm up to one dwelling or the other. That duo was Marcellus Hartley Dodge (heir to the Phelps Dodge fortune) and Geraldine Rockefeller (niece of Standard Oil magnate John D. Rockefeller), the richest couple in the nation. Her property, Giralda Farms, was a private estate when she purchased it in 1916 and represents one of the largest remaining tracts of open space in southeastern Morris County. Once a corporate park, it’s now preserved for public use through funding as the new 136-acre Giralda Farms Preserve at Loantaka Brook Reservation. The site includes a 1.2 mile network of hiking and off-road biking trails, meadows and hardwood wetlands and uplands, carriage trails, specimen trees and a pond. This weekend brings a music and arts festival to the site on Sunday featuring the New Jersey Symphony Orchestra.
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North Carolina’s First Park
By Linda Tancs
It’s a banner year for North Carolina’s Mount Mitchell State Park, its first state park created 100 years ago, marking the centennial of the state’s parks system that has grown to nearly 250,000 acres set aside for conservation, recreation and education. The locale also enjoys the distinction of hosting the highest point east of the Mississippi, the dramatic summit of Mount Mitchell. Rangers hold regularly scheduled educational and interpretive programs about the park.
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Juneteenth
By Linda Tancs
The liberation of black American slaves in Texas occurred on June 19, 1865, and an annual celebration of the end of slavery is held on the day. Known as Juneteenth, the first celebration in Texas came in 1867, and it became a state holiday in 1980. Like any Texas occasion, food is plentiful. A typical celebration includes barbecue, smothered chicken, collard greens and red desserts and beverages (such as red velvet cake and strawberry soda).
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A View From the Top in Pittsburgh
By Linda Tancs
Voted one of the top 10 sites in the world for viewing a cityscape, the Duquesne Incline in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, is one of the few remaining inclines in the country. Opened to the public in 1877, it closely follows the tracks of an early coal hoist. The upper station houses a museum of Pittsburgh history, including information on inclines from around the world. Enjoy a spectacular panorama of Pittsburgh and its three rivers!
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Cliff Notes
By Linda Tancs
Boasting dual status as a Natural Historic Landmark and National Natural Landmark, New Jersey’s Palisades is a park system on the western shore of the Hudson River in Bergen County. Twelve miles long and encompassing 2,500 acres of wild shorefront, uplands and cliffs, its Long Path and Shore Trail are National Recreation Trails that meet at the cliff top. In addition to hiking trails, there are ski trails, a boat launching ramp, a scenic riverside drive, a cliff-top parkway and overlooks, riverfront picnic areas and playgrounds, and a nature sanctuary — all just minutes from midtown Manhattan’s concrete jungle.
