Travelrific® Travel Journal
Picture postcards in prose.™ Check out the blogroll on the front page for official merchandise and other resources!Going With the Flow in Scotland
By Linda Tancs
Stretching across Caithness and Sutherland in the far north of Scotland is Europe’s largest blanket bog, a morass of deep peat and bog pools. The region is known as Flow Country, a wildlife reserve of nearly 500,000 acres sheltering, among other things, birds with small populations there like the white-tailed sea eagle and hen harrier. The area has been growing for 10,000 years, and the peat is over 32 feet deep. Start your orientation at the Forsinard Flows Visitor Center, located in the former station building at Forsinard on the Wick-Inverness railway line. From there you can take a wooden walkway to the Flows Lookout Tower for amazing views. Another must-do is the Forsinain trail, a waymarked path across the peat bogs and forestry at the heart of Flow Country.
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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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Seclusion in Thailand
By Linda Tancs
Fans of Leonardo DiCaprio will remember the 2000 film The Beach. It was shot in the Phi Phi Archipelago, a secluded island chain in Thailand. Well, it wasn’t so secluded after word got out about its beauty. Many locales, like Maya Bay (the actual “beach”) were forced to close due to damage done by overzealous tourists. But 2021 promises a reopening of this lustrious location following the replanting of natural coral. The area is part of Hat Noppharat Thara-Mu Ko Phi Phi National Park.
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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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Bugs in British Columbia
By Linda Tancs
Known by many as “the Bugs,” the Bugaboos are a mountain range in the Purcell Mountains of British Columbia, Canada. Touted as North America’s answer to the French Alps, they’re prized for their granite spires. Not surprisingly, the region is a magnet for mountaineers. In fact, some refer to it as one of the world’s great alpine rock climbing centers. That doesn’t sound like much of a bugaboo, as North Americans understand the term. Apparently, the moniker was coined by disappointed prospectors following a failed gold rush. If you drive there, be prepared to surround the base of your vehicle with wire, logs and rocks (provided on site) to protect its underside from porcupines with an affinity for brake lines. The Bugs are located within Bugaboo Provincial Park.
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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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America’s Largest Glacial System
By Linda Tancs
America’s largest glacial system exists within park boundaries of Alaska’s Wrangell-St. Elias National Park and Preserve. Covering 35 percent of the parklands, glaciers are the headwaters for many of the river systems that flow through the park. One of the most stunning features of this area is Bagley Icefield. Touted as the largest nonpolar icefield in North America, it encompasses multiple glaciers and is 127 miles long, 6 miles wide and up to 3,000 feet thick in some places. In fact, it feeds many glaciers, including the Bering Glacier, the largest in North America. Both public and private lands exist in the park. Public lands are open year round; enjoy snowmobiling this time of year provided there’s adequate snow cover (at least one foot) and frozen ground.
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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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Maine’s Tallest Mountain
By Linda Tancs
Maine’s highest point (at 5,270 feet), Mount Katahdin is also the northern terminus of the Appalachian Trail. Named by the Penobscot Nation, the mountain’s moniker means “the greatest mountain.” You’ll find little quarrel with that amongst hikers, who regard it as one of the most difficult treks in the northeast. That’s especially true along Knife Edge Trail, a ridge with passageways as narrow as three feet in some places and steep drop-offs on both sides. Your diligence will be rewarded with awe-inspiring views across the Katahdin massif and down into the South Basin. Katahdin is the centerpiece of Baxter State Park.
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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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America’s Oldest Attraction
By Linda Tancs
First opening on August 8, 1861, the Auto Road is America’s oldest man-made attraction. It’s a steep, narrow mountain road without guardrails that leads to the summit of Mount Washington in New Hampshire. Called Agiocochook by some Native American tribes, Mount Washington is the highest peak in the northeastern United States at 6,288 feet. You can drive up the road yourself (in season) or take a guided tour with a “stage driver” for some history and insight into the area. The Auto Road tour company refers to their vans as stages because the first visitors to the road (known then as Carriage Road) traveled in horse-drawn stages. The mountain is notorious for having some of the strongest winds in the world; check for weather updates before you venture out.
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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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Springing Up in Burgundy
By Linda Tancs
Tonnerre is a small town in France’s Burgundy region. Its vines date back to Roman times. So does its seemingly bottomless spring, Fosse Dionne. Used by the Romans to supply water to a nearby palace, it morphed into a public laundry in the 1700s. Encased in stone and surrounded by an amphitheater, it’s a popular tourist attraction today. Springtime snow melts produce a copious gush of water from this karst spring, the source of which remains unknown to this 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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Magic in Oxford
By Linda Tancs
They say that springtime is magical at Oxford Botanic Garden & Arboretum. Part of the University of Oxford, it’s the oldest botanic garden in Great Britain and one of the oldest scientific gardens in the world. With winter in the rear view, the gardens are coming alive with hellebores, crocuses and some early scilla as well as some early daffodils in the Lower Garden. The conservatory beckons with citrus and hyacinth as well as bougainvillea and primula. And it doesn’t stop there. The arboretum (part of Oxford Botanic Garden since 1963) is awash in Darjeeling flowers, a scent you can’t miss along the Serpentine Ride, the oldest part of the arboretum. Originally a physic garden, today’s complex contains over 5,000 different plant species, a year-round oasis of biodiversity.
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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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Cherries in Brooklyn
By Linda Tancs
One of the highlights of Brooklyn Botanic Garden this time of year is the cherry blossom watch. Their flowering cherry collection sports dozens of species and cultivars. Among the earliest blooms are those along Cherry Walk, a meandering path east of Cherry Esplanade and its twin rows of towering blossoms. Another favored viewing area is the Japanese Hill-and-Pond Garden, where the weeping Higan cherry trees attract scores of shutterbugs. No one tree remains in flower for more than a week, and there is no moment when all are blooming at once. Because the different species and cultivars blossom in succession, you’ll find many opportunities to savor the season that generally lasts until mid-May.
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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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Disgusting Food
By Linda Tancs
One man’s meat is another man’s poison, the saying goes. Keep that in mind when you visit Sweden’s Disgusting Food Museum in Malmö. Boasting 80 exhibits, you’ll find specimens like roasted guinea pig from Peru, maggot-infested cheese from Sardinia and pungent bean curd from China. You can smell and taste some of them. Bon appétit!
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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 