Only In a Grocery Store!

Posted on January 31, 2017January 31, 2017 by Dusty Roads

I remember as a young single girl I was told that a great place to meet men was in the supermarket. I’m not sure I ever understood that but I think it had something to do with checking our the food in their carriage and you could tell from that if they were single.

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Whatever it was, it never worked for me. You can get frostbite hanging out in the frozen food section!

I mention this only because I’ve never found standing in a check out line a place to strike up a conversation of any depth but I have to eat my words now. (Along with a tasty muffin)

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Sunday morning I stopped in the local grocery store to pick up cat food and a lb of hamburger. I spent more on cat food than I did on my food but that;s not what I was getting to. What I wanted to share is that I got talking to this lovely lady that was in line behind me. I’m not even sure how it came about but before I knew it we were talking travel. She has a friend who just bought a home on the Big Island and she asked if I had ever been there. That led to a comparison of the various islands. She had been to Oahu and Maui.

We agreed that everyone should go to Oahu if for no other reason than to see Pearl Harbor but while you’re there visit the Polynesian Cultural Center too and I threw in a snorkel in Hanauma Bay.

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We both like Maui for just general pleasantness.

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Its more laid back than Oahu. But I think I still like the Big Island best. I love Volcano National Park and the excitement of an active volcano in the form of Kilauea.

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From Hawaii we made a brief stop in Houston because of the upcoming Superbowl (Go Pats) and then veered off to Kentucky.

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Neither of us had been there but one of her friends holds a Kentucky Derby Party every year with fancy hats and mint juleps.

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Then our conversation took a big jump to Alaska and the pros and cons of doing a cruise. Don’t miss Denali!

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By the time I finally reached the check out, we were well on the way to discussing international travel. I have to say it made standing in line go by really fast. I never even got the lady’s name but here’s to Happy Travels!

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” Flash Back” – South Dakota

Posted on January 30, 2017January 30, 2017 by Dusty Roads

To the Lakota Sioux it was the malo shika, “the bad lands”. To the French-Canadian fur trappers it was Les Mauvaises a traverser, ” bad lands to travel across”. In the book 1000 Places To See Before You Die, it’s “Nature’s High Drama”. Whatever you chose to call Badlands National Park in South Dakota it all comes back to spectacular.

Yes, I’ve been to South Dakota and I’m ashamed to say that when my sister suggested a vacation there my first response was “What’s in South Dakota”. Her answer was “Mount Rushmore”.

Although that’s true and Mount Rushmore is certainly awe inspiring, there was so much more to our South Dakota vacation and we only explored the area from Rapid City to Pine Ridge. That’s just the southwestern corner of the state.

This rates as one of the best vacations I’ve taken. We flew into Rapid City in the afternoon. After checking in and getting dinner it was still light out so I wanted to begin exploring right away. Yes we were tired but why waste good light? We turned our rental to interstate 90 and headed east about 80 miles to a turn off for Badlands National Park. What a way to start the vacation! In the golden light of the late afternoon we got our first look at the canyons and rock formations of the Bad Lands. It took my breath away. The amazing vistas are exceeded only by places like the Grand Canyon. And we saw animals!

Rabbits and Mule Deer and a glimpse of some pronghorn.

Over the rest of the week we explored Custer State Park where the buffalo, pronghorn, and prairie dogs are an everyday wonder. (Where the deer and the antelope roam.) The wild “begging” burros of the park had no shame in their quest for handouts!

After a critter jam of buffalo we entered Wind Cave National Park following a ranger to a depth of 200 ft. below the surface.

We drove the winding Iron Mountain Road from Custer State Park to Mount Rushmore, twisting and turning on the horse shoe turns and “pig tails”, not a road for the faint of heart.

We rode the 1880 train round trip from Hill City to Keystone and watched a family of Mountain sheep cross the road as we headed to the station. On the train ride we learned about the history of the black hills and saw “summer cows”…”Some are white, some are brown”….

I’m still following the Wild Horse Sanctuary.

What a day that was! But it didn’t end with wild horses, it ended with Mammoths at a dig in Hot Springs.

We went to the Pine Ridge Reservation but got lost on “the longest dirt road in the world” (our name for it) and never found the PowWow.

And there was more but I’m running out of room. We never got to Deadwood, or Sturgis , and only saw Crazy Horse from the road. The Corn Palace is farther to the east in Mitchell, but we did go to Wall Drug Store where we had dinner and bought some mementos. And South Dakota is where I “met” Scout..my little prairie dog with the flower. Totally unexpected and so sweet looking. Glad I caught this moment in time.

Yes, I can count South Dakota as a YES on the countdown, but I’d like to go back again. The count now stands at 16 / 25

I Was Just Thinking…

Posted on January 28, 2017January 28, 2017 by Dusty Roads

Awww, you know what that means. I was stumped for a subject to write about. But seriously I do think sometimes.

I read a post from a fellow travel blogger titled 7 Questions all Long Term Travelers Hate.http://girlvsglobe.com/2014/05/7-questions-all-long-term-travellers-hate.html

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This is a very humorous blog but it did get me thinking. First of all she refers to eighty-year old adventurers and twenty something homebodies.

(We’re not 80 yet but we are getting up there)

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When I was twenty something I never went on vacation unless it was to sit at my mother’s house usually with a book or two. I was convinced I couldn’t afford to travel. I soothed my wanderlust by moving my whole house every 2 years or so.

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Back in the day (yes I said that on purpose) young women didn’t pack up and move on their own but I did. First I left my folks home in New York and moved to Massachusetts. Then I proceeded to move from town to town every 2-3 years. My family claimed they couldn’t keep up with all the address changes. Looking back it would have been cheaper to just travel a little and keep the same apartment.

She goes on to say that Wanderlust is for life and I really think that’s true. The older I get the more things I want to see. I go through my “bucket” list all the time. It doesn’t get shorter with each vacation, it gets longer! In my mind I have vacations for the next 2 years all planned out! I just have to keep healthy and the money coming in to cover the trips. I don’t think I’m cut out for “roughing it” anymore.

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I’m always looking for ways to increase my freedom and flexibility while developing multiple ways to pay for my travel addiction.

What about you? Are you an arm chair traveler or do you have a touch of that wanderlust too?

Into The Harbor on a Wildlife Cruise

Posted on January 25, 2017January 25, 2017 by Dusty Roads

The cruise was a “sell out”. Many of the people I spoke with had been on the cruise in previous years. They only run it one day a year and they go out rain or shine or snow. There were National Park Rangers, Aquarium naturalists, DCR (Department of Conservation and Recreation) employees and volunteers to answer questions. The boat was well stocked with food and beverages in the snack bar. two decks were heated if the outdoor space got too cold. They really went all out to make it a special day.

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At 10:35 the loading began and by 11 am we were all ready to head out to the harbor.

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Our first destination was Logan Airport. Logan Airport is home to some migratory snowy owls. Because of the damage they can do to a jet, the Audubon Society has a trap and release program. Snowys are trapped at Logan and released elsewhere, often at Duxbury beach.

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I was on the 2nd deck when the cry went up that a snowy owl had been spotted. Unfortunately it was too far away. I couldn’t see it with my 300 mm lens. A photographer standing next to me with a gigantic lens on his camera said he couldn’t see it either. It looked like a snow pile or a white plastic jug, just a spot against the dark gravel.

That pretty much set the tone for the trip. It would have been more accurate to call it a bird watching cruise. We saw lots of birds but they were mostly fast and small. I soon got tired of trying to photograph them and settled for just watching them.

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The only “wildlife” we saw were some seals hauled out on the rocks. Since it was low tide they were a good distance away from us and the sun was at the wrong angle to see much. It was more the silhouette of their “banana pose” that gave them away.

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It had warmed up a great deal and the sun going in and out behind the clouds. The harbor was amazingly calm for a winter day. We cruised past Boston Light into the outer harbor.

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One of the volunteers explained that they almost never get to go into the outer harbor in winter. It’s just too rough but we made it all the way out to Graves Light and even there the waves were only gentle, rolling swells.

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Graves was the end of the trip. We did our turn around right in front of the light house. The return trip was leisurely as we passed the various harbor Islands, Georges Island with it’s fort, Peddocks Island with it’s 4 headlands to name only 2.

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It turned out to be a beautiful day for a boat ride. I may not have seen much Wildlife but I had fun all the same. I’ll watch for this next year. I wouldn’t mind a repeat.

7 Wonders of the United States

Posted on January 23, 2017January 23, 2017 by Dusty Roads

I love traveling but so far I’ve stuck to US travel. I figure as much as I would like to see some of the sights in Europe and Asia and South America or go on a Safari in Africa, I want to know my own country first.

So I was tooling around the internet and stumbled on the Seven Wonders of the United States so I wondered if I’d seen any of them.

Well, here’s the list:

1. Brooklyn Bridge – Crosses the east river at Park Row, Manhattan to Adams St, Brooklyn. Work started in 1870 and the bridge officially opened in 1883. It still has the 44^th longest main span among the world’s suspension bridges. Today the bridge is a National Historic Landmark.-–I’ve driven over it but did not know it was a “wonder”. I need to go back again and appreciate it.

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2. Empire State Building – 350 5^th Ave. NY,NY. The iconic building has seen its share of cinematic fame , from King Cong to Ghostbusters. It was a marvel of depression era building, a work of determination and pride. Construction began in March of 1930. This is also a National Historic Landmark. —I’ve been there too but so long agao that I don’t remember much about it. I think it was a high school trip. Will have to make a day of it and go back again.

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3. Golden Gate Bridge – Located on US highway 101 in San Francisco, CA. One of the most photographed landmarks in America I have yet to visit San Francisco or see the Golden Gate Bridge. Construction began in 1933 and the Golden gate bridge welcomed its first visitor in 1937. To everyone’s surprise it opened under budget and ahead of schedule.—Once I finally take my California vacation this will be on my bucket list.

4. Hoover Dam—Located 30 miles south east of Las Vegas on US Highway 93. (Nevada-Arizona Border) t took over 60 years from the time Maj. John Wesley Powell began to conduct geological studies of the Colorado River in 1869, to the concrete being poured in 1933, for Hoover Dam to be materialized. During this time the 7 basin states had to go through lengthy negotiations on how the water would be distributed, and of course, there were bidding wars on what construction company would get the job. In the end, a group called Six Companies was awarded the contract — the winning bid was over $48 million. Despite the long years of bids, planning, site inspections and more, it took just five years to complete the mammoth structure. Today, the dam is a testament to the dedication of the country’s ability to construct such a structure, especially during the years of the Depression. Hoover Dam is also a National Historic Landmark.—Been there, been there, been there. Great Experience. I highly recommend it.

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5. Mount Rushmore- Located in the Black Hills of South Dakota along Highway 244-Mount Rushmore has a truly interesting history. Sculptor Gutzon Borglum designed the enormous sculpture after he abandoned the Stone Mountain, GA relief under a cloud of suspicion and accusations of fiscal mismanagement. Sculptor Borglum arrived in 1925 to begin carving. The monument was officially completed on Oct. 31, 1941. Today, Mount Rushmore sees over 2.6 million visitors per year….I’ve been there. Amazing monument.

6. Seattle Space Needle- located 219 4th Avenue N, Seattle, WA
Designed for the 1962 World’s Fair by Edward E. Carlson, this 605-foot-tall structure was to represent the future but quickly became a symbol for the city of Seattle. The structure is designed to withstand winds of 200 miles per hour, but earth tremors and storms have caused the structure to sway occasionally and close for a day or two. Today, the Space Needle is getting a face-lift as the city of Seattle begins to revitalize the entire centerpiece, including the observation deck, restaurant and surrounding grounds.—I was there in 2013 and it quickly became my favorite place to photograph the city of Seattle and Mount Rainier.

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7. Washington Monument – 15^th St SW Washington DC… It doesn’t matter what part of the world people come from, one sight of this obelisk design and they know they’re in America. Similar to other memorials such as the Taj Mahal or the Great Pyramids, the Washington Monument is a celebration of 1 person’s life or legacy — in this case, the life of America’s first president, George Washington. Work on the monument began in 1843, and was completed in 1884. It is 555 feet tall and contains over 36,000 blocks. …I was there a long time ago. I want to go back during the cherry blossoms in the spring.