Category: Scenic Byways/Historic Routes
DO NOT visit Washington D.C…………..
September 14, 2011 by Professor95 · 9 Comments
… Unless you have a week or more to spend touring all of the museums and facilities. Seriously! We drove up to DC last week to meet three of our friends from out-of-town. Fran was from New York, Paul from southern California and Selena recently arrived in the USA from China. None of the three had ever visited our Nation’s Capitol. They were totally blown away by the sights – especially Selena! Cherry Hill Campground Office Entrance Nancy, Oscar and I parked the RV just north of the Capitol at Cherry Hill Park in Maryland. Our friends checked into a nearby motel. The best way for visitors to get into DC is to use the Metro system. DO NOT even think about trying to drive into the city. To board the Metro from Cherry Hill Park all you do is walk up to the bus stop in front of the park office. There you catch a bus for a very short ride to the College Park Metro Train Station on the green line. You should purchase your fare tickets at the campground office... [Read more...]
Foraging And Fishing in Cordova, Alaska
September 11, 2011 by Melissa A. Trainer · 1 Comment
I was very fortunate to visit Cordova, Alaska last week. The Copper River/Prince William Sound Marketing Association hosted a fall press trip so they invited me plus four other food writers/professionals to visit the area. The Copper River region is most well known for the ultra rich wild salmon that is pulled from the local waters. This Alaskan salmon is revered worldwide, and in Seattle there is always lots of hype when the season’s first catch arrives at the airport! While in Cordova, Amy, Shauna, Danny, Joelen and I toured the fishing village, met fishermen and artists, fished for coho, and foraged for wild cranberries. When we arrived on Tuesday afternoon, the winds were howling and the rain was falling in force. The second day wasn’t much better, but we all managed to grab a rod and fish off the shore for about an hour. We didn’t catch anything, but we certainly had a few nibbles. Without a doubt, we enjoyed the adventure with our guide from the Orca Adventure... [Read more...]
Chill-out on Utah’s Patchwork Parkway
August 23, 2011 by Rex Vogel · Leave a Comment
Weather alert: “A heat warning for daily high temperatures above 100 degrees has been extended for all desert areas.” At an elevation of 10,350 feet above sea level, Cedar Breaks National Monument is the highest national park in Utah. © Rex Vogel, all rights reserved Sweltering heat is typical for the Southwest desert region this time of year. With triple digit temperatures the Southwestern standard, how do you deal with this incessant heat? Load up the recreational vehicle and escape the scorching summer temperatures with a road trip to the cool mountain air of southwestern Utah. Utah’s Patchwork Parkway (Scenic Byway 143) beckons travelers to enjoy a change of scenery and a drop in temperature. This scenic byway serves as the western gateway from the arid Great Basin of western Utah to a breathtaking route across Utah’s high plateaus, connecting to Heritage Highway 89 and Scenic Byway 12, Utah’s first All American Road. This dramatic 55-mile scenic course links the historic... [Read more...]
KATY’S KITCHEN – A Piece of the Story about our Country’s WWII era “Secret City”
August 20, 2011 by Professor95 · 1 Comment
If you read the July 2011 issue of Highway’s, the official publication of the Good Sam Club, you most likely noted a short article near the back of the magazine about “The Secret City”, now incorporated as Oak Ridge, Tennessee. Current history books used in most of our public schools now tell some of the story about this secret city built almost 60 years ago. There is an increased awareness and interest about the role Oak Ridge played in bringing World War II to an end and how it propelled our nation into the “Atomic Age”.. If you can imagine for a moment our government building a city complete with houses, roads and services that no one outside of a circle of selected officials knew anything about or even where it was – a city to initially house 13,000 families and 30,000 permanent residents – a city costing millions and millions of government dollars – and citizens outside of this selected circle knew absolutely nothing about what the project was... [Read more...]
CAPE LOOKOUT NATIONAL SEASHORE – Home of one of North Carolina’s Historic Lighthouses
July 28, 2011 by Professor95 · 4 Comments
Monday was not a good beach day. The wind was blowing between 20 and 25 knots. Umbrellas were flying like kites and the fine, dry sand unaffected by the ocean’s waters cut into your body like thousands of little razors. We decided to hang around inside the camper. I finished my book by James Patterson, 4th of July, and started a second by Glenn Beck, The Overton Window. The first was an excellent paperback thriller with a surprise ending. The Overton Window is getting interesting but is more political than mysterious – both are great beach books. Tuesday was not much better weather wise. The wind had died down but the sky’s were overcast and numerous thunderboomers rolled overhead. We decided to hit an afternoon movie at the local cinema. We have not watched the first part of the current Harry Potter movie, so felt we should wait on viewing the second. The entire series has become way too complicated as it is. Zookeeper seemed like a good alternative. Boy was I ever... [Read more...]
Patti’s Saga of an RV Rookie: Whitefish, Montana: Come Now!
July 11, 2011 by Patti F. · 3 Comments
Whitefish, Montana. Even Hollywood stars love it, “discovering” it in the early ‘90’s, with most eventually moving on to wilder pastures. Tom Cruise came to our front door at the family’s Whitefish lake house, looking for Emilio Estevez’ place near by. Ask me how thrilled we were and how very cool we acted, like we didn’t know who he was or anything. I was the Queen of Casual. Oh…that grin…I’m sure Tom was equally impressed with us. Whitefish, where Julia Roberts dumped Kiefer Sutherland three days before they were to marry, while Sutherland was building their home-to-be in Whitefish. We sat next to Kevin Bacon and Kyra Sedgwick more than once at a local Whitefish café. Again, we exhausted ourselves projecting disdainful cool. Tons more famous people called Whitefish their second (or third, for fourth, or fifth) home back then, but I can’t remember the names…oh yea, something about Steve McQueen getting kicked out of town on his motorcycle a long,... [Read more...]
Mountain Monograms
July 6, 2011 by Traveler8343 · 2 Comments
While driving eastward on I-70 through southern Utah, we noticed something interesting. Giant letters. One letter at a time, on one mountain at a time, all along the interstate. Why? Who? What? When? Alien guideposts, left behind by ancient navigators? Could they be easily seen markers for little green tourists to follow: “Turn left at mountain ‘M,’ proceed 1.7 glicks SSE to mountain ‘U,’ bear right for .04 glicks to Wooly Mammoth Intergalactic Amusement Park entrance, follow entrance ramp past visitors’ center. You have arrived at your destination: Starbucks.” Hmmm, maybe… But maybe the monograms were left by Paleolithic frat boys… Actually and, more realistically, we’re getting close. It seems that the giant letters began being constructed in the early 1900s by college and high school students as a way to bring fame to their schools and sidetrack any testosterone-fed interschool rivalries that had led to violence in the past. See the “Deuce of Clubs” website’s... [Read more...]
Make Your Destination a Journey: Shenandoah National Park
June 20, 2011 by Rex Vogel · 2 Comments
Visiting national parks tops the list of reasons why many of us chose the RV lifestyle. What better way to tour these national treasures, to experience with all our senses the wondrous glacier-carved mountains, sweeping evergreen and deciduous forests, unimpeded rivers, tumbling mountain streams and waterfalls, glaciated valleys, wildflower-covered meadows, and free-roaming wildlife. Skyline Drive, the 105-mile road that bisects the length of the park winding along the crest of the Blue Ridge Mountains, may be Shenandoah’s predominant feature, since it provides stunning views of the park’s mountains, valleys, and forests. © Rex Vogel, all rights reserved Tennessee’s Great Smoky Mountains National Park is the most-visited park in the National Park System. The twisting, scenic mountain road that leads out of the eastern edge of Great Smoky—the 469-mile Blue Ridge Parkway—is a destination unto itself. The north end of this vista-filled parkway ends in Virginia’s Shenandoah National... [Read more...]
Our Own Pilgrimage to Chimayo
May 22, 2011 by Diane Berry · Leave a Comment
Upon learning of the remarkable tradition of making a pilgrimage to Chimayo during Holy Week each year to visit the Santuario de Chimayo, the site of a miracle in the 1800s, we made the decision on Holy Saturday to drive to Chimayo to check it out for ourselves. Motorists warned to "Watch for Walkers" We left Taos about 1 pm on this cloudy day. Temperatures hovered comfortably in the 50’s but there was a strong wind that caused it to feel quite a bit cooler when outside for any length of time. While traveling, we continued to listen to Taos Solar Radio and learned that State Patrol officers would be out in force to protect and assist the walkers. This journey is justifiably well supported by the community. Port-a-potties were available at several locations along the way and a flashing sign warned motorists to “Watch for walkers” along one particularly narrow stretch of road. Out of respect for their spiritual journey and quest for healing,we chose not to photograph any of... [Read more...]
Trail of the Ancients: A Journey worth Taking
May 16, 2011 by Rex Vogel · Leave a Comment
Spring is here. No really, it is (don’t pay attention to the weather on this one). And that means that thoughts of a spring road trip are probably popping into the forefront of your mind. Some of the most striking and recognizable landscapes of sandstone buttes, mesas, and spires in the entire Southwest are found in Monument Valley. © Rex Vogel, all rights reserved Far too often we see the roads we traverse purely as a means to get from point A to point B. Most spend far more hours in their cars commuting and running errands than truly enjoying what lies beyond the edge of the asphalt or concrete. But once you hit the road in your recreational vehicle, why not get off the roads most traveled and take in the breath-taking splendor of America’s system of scenic byways? The National Scenic Byways Program recognizes over 100 outstanding byways that celebrate the pride and diversity of our communities as well as the stunning landscapes that have shaped our lives. Trail of the... [Read more...]
