Travelrific® Travel Journal
Picture postcards in prose.™ Check out the blogroll on the front page for official merchandise and other resources!Archive for short reads
A Step Back in Time
By Linda Tancs
On the south bank of the Columbia River in the foothills of the Cascades is a step back in time where pioneers, adventurers, gold miners, mountain men and soldiers once convened. Called The Dalles, it’s framed by Mt. Hood and is home to Fort Dalles Museum (one of Oregon’s oldest history museums) as well as the site where Lewis and Clark camped during their expedition to the land acquired in the Louisiana Purchase. The city’s unusual moniker derives from a French reference for gutters lined with large tiles. The area’s French traders bestowed the name in the 1800s because of the long, gutter-like formation of the rapids known as the “grande dalles” of the Columbia River. The rapids were later submerged when The Dalles Dam went into operation in 1957.
Share this:
Rose of the North
By Linda Tancs
Affectionately known as the “Rose of the North” for its pristine natural resources, Chiang Mai was built in the 1200s as a walled city surrounded by a moat. Established as a center of Buddhism in northern Thailand, its centuries-old pagodas and temples belie the city’s ethnic diversity as the home of several hill tribes. Each hill tribe has its own customs, language, dress and spiritual beliefs, drawing the interest of tourists from around the world. In fact, the hill tribe trekking industry is booming, a welcome development for tribes interested in promoting native arts and handicrafts.
Share this:
Gateway to the Loire
By Linda Tancs
What do Amboise, Azay-le-Rideau, Chenonceau, Chinon, Langeais and Villandry have in common? They’re all just a stone’s throw away from Tours, a gateway city to the Loire Valley in France. Notwithstanding the splendor of these chateaux, the city is full of its own charms, like Place Plumereau. At the heart of the historic center, this small square is studded with eye-catching half-timbered houses. Now through September the place to see and be seen is La Guinguette de Tours sur Loire, a café at the docks offering a mix of dancing, film nights, food and drink and entertainment.
Share this:
The Spirit of Things in Arizona
By Linda Tancs
The Heard Museum in Phoenix, Arizona, has one of the most outstanding collections of American Indian artwork in the country. It was founded in 1929 by Dwight and Maie Heard as a museum to house the family’s private collection of native artwork. Over the years it has become particularly known for its broad collection of about 1,200 katsina dolls donated by the late Senator Barry M. Goldwater and the Fred Harvey Company. In Hopi culture, katsina dolls are the carved representations of the Katsinam, the spirit messengers of the universe. Made from the root of the cottonwood tree, the dolls are distributed to young girls to teach them about their role in the tribal community. This art form enjoys commercial success as well, and the dolls are treasured by collectors worldwide.
Share this:
Sunset Capital of Alabama
By Linda Tancs
Alabama’s Dauphin Island is so proud of its sunsets that it fancies itself the sunset capital of the state. It’s also one of the “birdiest.” In fact, the island is one of the top four birding areas in the U.S., visited by around 400 species. No wonder, then, that the spring migration is bringing flocks of tourists and birders to the coastal area these days.
Share this:
Bright Lights in Center City
By Linda Tancs
Center City includes the central business district and central neighborhoods of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. One of its jewels is Franklin Square, one of the five original public squares conceived by William Penn, the founder of the state. A year-round destination, it boasts a carousel, mini-golf course (featuring 18 holes designed after favorite Philly spots like Elfreth’s Alley, the Ben Franklin Bridge and the Liberty Bell) and two playgrounds. Now through June 12 add a Chinese lantern festival to the list—the first in the Northeast. Get ready to be bedazzled by LED-illuminated peacocks, lions, swans, a dragon and even a pagoda. The event will celebrate not only light but also culture in the nature of performances, culinary treats and craftworks.
Share this:
Amazing Grapes
By Linda Tancs
Amazing Grapes is an annual wine auction event in New Orleans benefiting the Hermann-Grima and Gallier historic houses. These Victorian homes are two of the oldest in NOLA’s French Quarter. Taking place this Saturday at the Hermann-Grima house, the event will feature a wine tasting from Bizou Wines, a buffet by Broussard’s Restaurant and auctions featuring rare and hard-to-find wines as well as luxurious vacations and art.
Share this:
Sweets and Savories in Laramie
By Linda Tancs
Late April marks the time when invitations are sent for summer Victorian tea at Wyoming’s Laramie Plains Museum. The event is appropriate enough, considering that the museum is housed at the historic Ivinson Mansion, a Victorian-era home boasting nearly 12,000 square feet. It was the home of Edward and Jane Ivinson, early leaders of Laramie’s thriving community in the Wyoming Territory as the West expanded with the development of the Union Pacific Railroad in the late 1800s. Wyoming would later join the Union in 1890. Museum tours are regularly offered from March through December.
Share this:
Dangerous Water in Minnesota
By Linda Tancs
One of the most recognized and photographed icons in Minnesota, Split Rock Lighthouse in Two Harbors is a National Historic Landmark. Completed in 1910, it addressed the disastrous loss of 29 ships in a 1905 storm, two of which foundered in this area dubbed “the most dangerous piece of water in the world” by an American novelist. Its compelling location on the top of a sheer cliff that plunges 130 feet made it the most visited lighthouse in the United States in its heyday. Today, it’s still a favorite among visitors to the Lake Superior shoreline.
Share this:
In the Heart of Horse Country
By Linda Tancs
In the heart of horse and bourbon country in Lexington, Kentucky, is Gratz Park. One of the city’s oldest neighborhoods and a historic district, it’s named after early Lexington businessman Benjamin Gratz. Other luminaries who once graced this area north of Main Street include Mary Todd Lincoln, Horace Holley and horseman John Gaines. Colorful houses from the 1800s join stately dwellings like the Hunt-Morgan House, built for millionaire businessman John Wesley Hunt. His great-grandson Thomas Hunt Morgan was the first Kentuckian to win a Nobel Prize for medicine. The home is also the site of the Alexander T. Hunt Civil War Museum, a great resource for Civil War researchers and enthusiasts.
Travelrific® Travel Journal 