Travelrific® Travel Journal
Picture postcards in prose.™ Check out the blogroll on the front page for official merchandise and other resources!Three Giants in Bulgaria
By Linda Tancs
The natural range of the giant sequoia is a narrow band along the western slopes of the Sierra Nevada mountain range in California. All the more astonishing, then, that three of these majestic trees should be thriving in a small village outside Kyustendil, Bulgaria. You can thank renowned forester Yordan Mitrev, who brought sequoia seeds to the region in the 19th century. It’s about four miles from Kyustendil to the tree site at Yuchbunar.
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A Rocky Show in Australia
By Linda Tancs
You might say Australia’s Murujuga National Park really rocks. Designated the 100th national park in western Australia, the park lies within a larger National Heritage Listed place, created in July 2007 over the Burrup Peninsula and the Dampier Archipelago. The area is renowned for its extensive rock art collection, comprising shell middens, stone artifact scatters, quarries, stone arrangements, ceremonial and mythological sites, graves and petroglyphs. In fact, the site is thought to contain the highest concentration of petroglyphs of any known site in the world. The rock art has deep meaning for the local Aboriginal people; avoid taking photographs of humanoid rock art figures.
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The Last Ocean
By Linda Tancs
Named for British explorer James Ross, the Ross Sea in Antarctica has been nicknamed “the last ocean.” Located between Victoria Land and Marie Byrd Land, it’s the southernmost sea on Earth, quite literally the last sea. Perhaps not surprisingly, this remote ocean is deemed one of the most pristine environments left in the world, the perfect locale for a marine reserve (the world’s largest) twice the size of Texas. It’s also home to the Ross Ice Shelf, the largest in the world at around 193,000 square miles. And it even sings (well, sort of), making a didgeridoo-like sound as the wind blows across the landscape causing the outer snow layer to vibrate.
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Byway Explores Underground Railroad
By Linda Tancs
Former slave Harriet Tubman is the most widely recognized symbol of the Underground Railroad movement, leading hundreds of slaves to freedom. You can learn more about her legacy along the Harriet Tubman Underground Railroad Byway, a 125-mile, scenic road linking historic sites and areas associated with Tubman. Meandering through Maryland’s Eastern Shore, it’s the only place in the world that preserves and interprets the places where Harriet Tubman was born, lived and labored and from which she fled. In addition to the visitor center, the lands associated with the area are part of Harriet Tubman Underground Railroad National Historical Park, affording visitors opportunities to hike, bike, paddle, shop, dine and attend events.
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A Rarity at Yale
By Linda Tancs
The Beinecke Rare Book & Manuscript Library at Yale University is one of the world’s largest libraries devoted entirely to rare books and manuscripts. Just 90 minutes from New York in the city of New Haven, Connecticut, its lobby and mezzanine public exhibition areas are open to the public. That’s where you’ll find such gems as the Gutenberg Bible (the first Western book printed from movable type) and John James Audubon’s Birds of America, a series of hand-colored, life-size prints first published as a series in sections between 1827 and 1838. The building itself is a conversation piece. Built of Vermont marble and granite, bronze and glass, its exterior marble panels filter light so that rare materials can be displayed without damage.
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Kingdom of Crystal
By Linda Tancs
The world revolves around glass in Sweden’s southern province of Småland, so much so that the area is known as the Kingdom of Crystal. Indeed, handblown glass has been made in the region since 1742. Spread across four municipalities and 13 glassworks and studios, the kingdom welcomes over 1 million visitors a year who watch and learn the basics of glassblowing. You can even partake in glass-themed accommodation at the Kosta Boda Art Hotel.
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Swamped in Florida
By Linda Tancs
Located just a few miles west of Daytona Beach, Florida, Tiger Bay State Forest comprises large areas of swamp with embedded pine islands and a large pine ridge area. It’s located among several publicly owned lands that create wildlife corridors for species listed as endangered, threatened or of special concern. Named for its largest feature, Tiger Bay, this extensive hydric swamp forest is dominated by pine islands. It also contains two lakes and several ponds ideal for fishing. Other recreational activities include hiking, bicycling, horseback riding, picnicking, boating, hunting and photography.
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Minerals of New York
By Linda Tancs
Gems and minerals are just one of the many ongoing exhibitions at the New York State Museum in Albany, New York. Its collection includes specimens from several notable sites throughout the state, including 93 mineral species from the Balmat-Edwards mining district in St. Lawrence County (the only locale where tremolite is found), super garnets (the official state gemstone) from the Barton Mine in the Adirondack Mountains and Herkimer diamonds from Herkimer County, New York. In fact, the state museum has the world’s largest and most complete collection of New York minerals. Established in 1836, the facility also boasts the distinction of being the oldest and largest state museum in the country. Admission is free.
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A Revitalized River in California
By Linda Tancs
The Los Angeles River is a 51-mile waterway, meandering from the San Fernando Valley to the Pacific Ocean in Long Beach. For more than 20 years various groups have been working to transform this California treasure into a continuous 51-mile recreational zone. Two recreation zones, Elysian Valley River Recreation Zone and Sepulveda Basin River Recreation Zone, benefit nature lovers with flourishing wildlife and natural habitats. Any member of the public is welcome to walk, fish, canoe and kayak in the recreation zones free of charge. You do not need a permit unless you are part of an organized group. Private vendors also offer guided trips at each of the locations as well as kayaks for rental.
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Georgia’s Civil War Capital
By Linda Tancs
The city of Milledgeville, Georgia, takes its name from John Milledge, governor of Georgia from 1802 to 1806. It’s one of five capitals in the history of the state, the others being Savannah, Augusta, Louisville and the present capital, Atlanta. Besides Washington, D.C., it’s the only city actually designed to be a capital city, a decision that was made in 1804. Beginning in 1839 and ending in 1868, the Old Governor’s Mansion served as home to 10 governors and their families, including during the tumultuous Civil War period. Other attractions include the Old Capital Museum, located in the building where Georgia legislators voted to secede from the Union, and Andalusia Farm, a former cotton plantation and the home of celebrated author Flannery O’Connor.
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