An Iowa Marvel

Posted on October 10, 2013October 10, 2013 by Dusty Roads

When we covered the “I” states I wimped out on Iowa. I bumped into so many options for searching that I gave up. But today I ran into a really worthwhile attraction that I know I will put on my “Must See” list when I visit Iowa.

Located in Gladbrook, Iowa is a museum dedicated to matchbook art.

Iowa artist Patrick Acton has glued over 4 million ordinary wooden matchsticks into 65 incredibly detailed scale models of life-like sculptures, complex machines, and world renown architecture with more in the works.

http://www.matchstickmarvels.com/

Plan your visit at the right time of year and you can enjoy the simply a-maizing Corn Carnival of Gladbrook.

The Gladbrook Corn Carnival is an annual event well known for its Friday evening Grand Parade and free nightly entertainment.

As long as I’m revisiting Iowa, did you know that the Iowa State Fair was the inspiration for the 1931 Phil Stong novel State Fair that eventually caught the attention of Rogers and Hammerstein? It became a Broadway musical and 3 motion pictures and it continues to run today for 11 days in August.

Another story set in Iowa that gained fame on the big Screen is The Bridges of Madison County. The movie itself was shot on location in Winterest, Iowa. Madison County had 19 covered bridges but floods , arson and old age have taken their toll. There are just 5 left so if you have a hankering to photograph an original Madison County Covered Bridge, well you’d best not delay.

One last thing to mention are the “bear mounds” or Effigy Mounds.

It is located in Allamakee County and Clayton County, Iowa. According to the literature these mounds are best viewed from above if you want to see them as bears.

Information about the park, a National Monument is limited because of the government shutdown.

So there Iowa, I hope I have made it up to you for cutting corners on my first post. Wait until I actually get out to visit!

Ohio, The Buckeye State

Posted on October 7, 2013October 7, 2013 by Dusty Roads

We’ve reached the “O” states. The first of which is Ohio and another No for the count.

Ohio is called the Buckeye State after the Buckeye tree, one of the first to leaf in the spring and the official state tree. But I rather like the Buckeye Cookie, a peanut butter and chocolate delicacy.

Without even doing any research I know one place I want to go….The Columbus Zoo.

Why you ask? Well besides liking zoos I especially want to see this zoo. This is Jack Hanna’s zoo. Recognized around the country as America’s favorite zookeeper, Jack has made countless television appearances since 1983 on shows such as Good Morning America, CNN’s Larry King Live, The Ellen DeGeneres Show, The Talk, Fox News Programs, and the Late Show with David Letterman. Jungle Jack is Director Emeritus of the Columbus Zoo.

Columbus , Ohio also hosts one of the Premier Ballroom Dance Competitions, The Ohio Star Ball. This was very big when I was involved with Arthur Murray Dance Studios and although people went from the studios where I was either a student or working, I never managed to go. Sometimes it would be broadcast on PBS. This was long before “Dancing with the Stars”.

When I think of Amish Country I think of Pennsylvania but Ohio boasts a one of the largest concentration of Amish settlements in the US. Travelers can follow a 76 mile Amish Country Scenic Byway. On the eastern edge of Amish country is the picturesque village of Zoar. Many of the fine historic homes have been preserved as Zoar Village State Memorial, where visitors can take guided tours and costumed interpreters give craft and cooking demonstrations.

Not of interest to me but possibly to others is the Pro Football Hall of Fame located in Canton, Ohio. So plan to divert there for the football fans in your entourage or you’ll never hear the end of it!

Between Columbus and the Ohio River to the southeast is a scenic area that is not well known except in the Midwest. Known as Hocking Hills the area is made up of several state parks and reserves. Cliffs, gorges and caves were created here as glaciers retreated and water scoured the sandstone laid down on an ancient river delta. At the northern end is Rock House, a 300 foot tunnel along a sandstone cliff face with enormous window like openings carved out overtime by water erosion. And just outside the park is the 100 foot natural bridge at Rockbridge State Nature Reserve, a stunning 50 feet above the bottom of the gorge.

If you want to think you are seeing double, Twinsburg, Ohio is host to “Twin Days”. Started in 1976 this gathering of twins, triples and even Quads and Quints , has grown to attract the multiples from around the world. Over 3000 sets converge annually on this little town of 17,000! The festival is held the first full weekend in August.

Other notable attractions are the Lake Erie Islands in northern Ohio, an archipelago that stretches north from Marblehead Peninsula across the placid water of Lake Erie and the Serpent Mound in Peebles, Ohio; a remnant from the ancient mound -building cultures. This mound has been estimated to have been constructed around 1070.

So Ohio has a lot to offer a curious vacationer.

The score now 12 to 23

North Dakota

Posted on October 4, 2013October 4, 2013 by Dusty Roads

I’ve been to the southern cousin, South Dakota, but not North Dakota. Lets see what I’ve been missing here.

The big thing that comes to mind is prairies.

North and South Dakota have always made me think of those rolling plains and herds of buffalo. After the Homestead Act opened the prairie lands to farming and the prairie grasses were uprooted for agriculture, the dry winds began to blow leading to the Dust Bowl years of the 1930’s. By then the sea of grass and the great buffalo herds that sustained the Plains Indians were almost completely gone.

In 1933 the federal government stepped in and began buying and restoring the damaged prairie lands. But it wasn’t until 1960 that a system of national grasslands was implemented.

As bad as the damage to the grasslands was, what was done to the buffalo was even worse. Those great herds were gone not just because of the destruction of the prairie but because the white men went on a planned campaign of extermination. Sorry folks, I just get very upset over the way humans handle themselves sometimes. (Between you and me, not much has changed in my opinion) But I’m getting off track here. My point is that The Little Missouri National Grassland is a part of that network of national Grasslands. One million acres of ecologically diverse mixed-grass, prairie, canyon and forest surround Theodore Roosevelt National Park. Antelope, deer, coyotes, bighorn sheep and buffalo make their home here and I want to see it!

And Speaking of Native Americans, the largest Native American Powwow takes place in September in Bismarck, North Dakota. The United Tribes International Powwow attracts thousands of dancers and drummers from many tribes. The Native Americans compete in 22 dance categories for upwards of 15,000 visitors. We missed a Powwow in South Dakota when we got lost on the Pine Ridge Reservation but that would have been small compared to this. I’ll have to plan my visit to see this!

Another historic site that would be good to see is Fort Mandan and the Lewis and Clark Trail. Near by to the restored fort is the Knife River Indian Villages Historic Site. Ruins of several villages including Sacajawea’s are preserved here.

And the last thing on my North Dakota list is the International Peace Garden. The brain child of Canadian horticulturist Henry J Moore, became reality in 1932. Moore had envisioned a grand garden the would straddle the U.S. – Canadian border, dedicated to our two nations friendship and peaceful coexistence. Many of the roads , bridges and shelters were built in the 1930s by the CCC, Civilian Conservation Corp. Today the Peace garden has 2,339 acres of gardens, forests, manicured landscapes, fountain and walking paths. Its only 200 miles north of Bismarck. I should be able to squeeze that in don’t you think?

That concludes the states starting with “N”, and my grand total now is 12 seen / 22 to go.

Coming up next …the “O” states. There’s only 3 of them.

A Couple of Norths

Posted on October 3, 2013October 3, 2013 by Dusty Roads

Rounding out the states that start with N are North Carolina and North Dakota. I’m afraid that’s 2 more no’s but what is there to see and do in these two states?

North Carolina

Lots to see and do in this state. I can’t wait to get there! The top 7 things on my wish list are:

The Town of Cherokee. It includes the Cherokee Reservation and the Museum of the Cherokee Indian. Reviews of the town and the events are great. If you like Native American History, then this sounds like a place to check out. Many Cherokee from North Carolina were rounded up and made to march to Indian Territory on the “Trail of Tears”, not one of the white man’s finer moments.
Cape Hatteras and the National Seashore and Lighthouse. You’d think I’d be happy to skip this when I have the Cape Cod National Seashore in my own back yard but if it’s undeveloped and wild, count me in.
Pea Island National Wildlife Refuge. Same as above. I want to see the migrating birds and any other wildlife that might be lingering about.
And the #4 spot on my list goes to the Wild Horses of The Crystal Coast. The nice thing…we can go see them! Tourists are welcome to ferry over to Shackleford Banks to see the horses. “While it is not in the best interest of either horse or person to get too close, people should look, photograph, and enjoy the wild horses for the unique part of North Carolina that they are.” .Read more: http://www.budgettravel.com/blog/the-amazing-wild-horses-of-north-carolina,12054/#ixzz2gIsMhOmg
The Blue Ridge Mountains. I want to drive the Blue Ridge Mountain parkway for the scenic views and a taste of Appalachian Culture.
Nantahala National Forest holds Nantahala Gorge, a crevasse that’s 1800 feet at it’s deepest and 100 yards wide at it’s narrowest. The scenic drive is known as the Nantahala By way. There’s even a Nantahala Gorge Train ride.The 4 ½ hour round trip Nantahala River Gorge Excursion departs from the historic town of Bryson City and travels 44 miles to the scenic Nantahala River Gorge. This tour travels along a stretch of the Tuckaseegee River, goes through charming countryside, crosses Fontana Lake on a 100 foot high trestle bridge that spans almost 800 feet across the Lake, winds through the scenic Western North Carolina mountains and into the legendary Nantahala River Gorge. Oh my! A Must See if there ever was one!
Roanoke Island is home to the first settlement established by Sir Walter Raleigh more than 30 years before the Mayflower dropped anchor in Plymouth, Ma.

There’s lots more besides these 7 places but I bet it would take the whole vacation to do 1/2 of it partly because I’d be all over the state! In fact I’ve gone on so long about North Carolina that I’ll have to save North Dakota for another post.

So adding North Carolina to the “Must See” side of the ledger brings my tally to 12 visited 21 to go!

I Love NY

Posted on September 30, 2013September 30, 2013 by Dusty Roads | 2 Comments

Meanwhile Back at the countdown of the states…

Yes! New York State, not the city although I have been to New York City several times.

I have to check off New York State because that’s where I grew up. The old homestead is right in the heart of the Adirondacks.

When I was growing up the town of Bolton was a little place with only one stop light. We joked that there were more bars than churches and for a little town we had a lot of churches, Catholic, Episcopal, Methodist, Baptist.

Our school wasn’t a one room but it was a one building, kindergarten through 12. The size of my class changed a little through the years but most of the folks I graduated with had been in my class from the day I started in kindergarten. Final count of graduates…27.

I didn’t learn to ride a bike until I moved to Massachusetts as an adult. I grew up in the country and I had a horse. Why would I want to pedal up and down those hills when my horse could do the work?

We also had cows and pigs, sheep and goats and chickens as well as my horse. I learned to feed the animals, groom them and muck out stalls. In the fall we butchered some of the animals and my father, and eventually my brothers, went hunting for deer. We all loved venison. Once Lake George froze over we had lake perch to eat. Ice fishing was popular and to this day yellow perch is a favorite dish.

We went tubing on the Schroon River before tubing was popular.

We cut the tall grass in the field…haying we called it….first with teams of draft horses and then later with a tractor. We loaded the hay into wagons with pitchforks.

We didn’t sit inside watching TV. We went outside to play and roamed the fields and woods using our imaginations to avoid the “Indians” or search for “fairy rings “.

I rode the Ticonderoga and the Mini Ha Ha, cruise ships on beautiful Lake George.

I worked with the photographer for the Sagamore Hotel where I witnessed elaborate dinners and dance lessons on the portico.

Eventually I had to grow up (as much as I ever have…I have a strong streak of Peter Pan Syndrome) and headed to Albany, NY to attend college at SUNY Albany. That was at the end of the 60’s and beginning of the 70’s. The “Free Love” Movement and Hippies predominated. Then the Kent State tragedy cast a pall over the riotous college atmosphere and I headed back to the country.

My visits to New York City have been short. It isn’t my favorite place. I’ve been to stage shows on Broadway and stood in Times Square. I’ve been in Grand Central Station and some of the museums but most of the time my trips are quick hits…run in, do what I must, leave.

Heading off to the west I’ve made it to Buffalo and Niagara Falls. I’ve been there twice but it was many years ago. I’d like to go back again.

Recently I was at a travel show and met a group of travel agents pushing Lake George. I picked up the brochures and by the time I finished reading them I was ready to take my next vacation right back where I grew up.

Glens Falls hosts a Balloon Festival every Fall. I went in 2012.

Missed it this year but am planning for 2014. I haven’t even touched on all there is to do. New York is a big state. There’s a wine section in the Finger Lakes Region and caves to explore.