Missouri and Montana

Posted on September 23, 2013September 23, 2013 by Dusty Roads | 1 Comment

There’s a photo blog I follow and his post yesterday was that he wants to take pictures in all 50 states before he’s 50. He’s been to 22 states so far. Check his blog out. For the most part its a photo blog. Not a lot of writing but some of his pictures are amazing http://placesunknown.com/2013/09/22/50-by-50/

But back to my quest to visit every state. For me, at my age it isn’t before 50, already passed that milestone. Talk about a bucket list!

Let’s see, we were running through the 8 states that start with “M” and we’ve reached the last 2. And sad to say, I haven’t been to either, Missouri or Montana.

Lets see what I’m missing in Missouri.

I know Missouri is the “Show Me ” State so I’m sure there must be lots to live up to that slogan, plus my time share has an exchange there in Branson. They describe Branson, Missouri, as your destination for good old-fashioned family fun where you can choose from over 70 live shows (head for the famous ’76 Strip Country Music Boulevard), 50 restaurants, amusement parks, whitewater rafting and premier trout fishing. Whew! And that’s just 1 place!

Missouri is another state that divides it’s area up into sections. There’s Central, Northeast, Northwest, Southeast and Southwest. One thing I did notice is that RT 61 seems to be a popular scenic drive right through the state.

Parts of the Ozark mountains are also in Missouri.

Missouri played a part in the civil war and there are monuments and attractions celebrating that role as well.

After Harry S. Truman grew up in Independence, leading the allied forces to victory in World War II seemed like the next logical step. And to think, the newspapers at first reported that he lost his election.

Samuel Clemens was born in Missouri.

Then, he penned under the name Mark Twain and changed Hannibal, Missouri into America’s Hometown with classic literary characters like Tom Sawyer and Huckleberry Finn.

And how about St. Louis…meet me in St Louis Louie.

I have to see the famous arch.

Sounds like a neat state to visit as long as I don’t have to paint any fences. 🙂

Last but not least is Montana.

This state is high on my list. With one of the most diverse geographies of any state in the union, as well as being the fourth largest in sheer size, Montana’s snow-peaked mountains, lush valleys and flowing rivers make it a popular tourist destination. Known as “Big Sky Country,” the state’s wide open spaces are home to national parks like Glacier and Yellowstone.

To me Montana means ranching and cowboys and the west. Billings, Montana comes to mind. When you visit Billings you visit the land where General Custer fought the Sioux and Cheyenne, where Sitting Bull and Crazy Horse led their people through struggles and to victories, where William Clark left his signature as the Lewis & Clark Expedition passed through and where Calamity Jane raised a ruckus. Learn about the old Railroad history that Billings was built on and about its namesake: Frederick Billings.

Well, I’m running out of space again. Time to post the tally of seen /to be seen states.

Of the 8 M states I’ve only been to 2, Maine and Massachusetts. That leaves 6 that still need a visit. So the count is 8 visited, 18 still to go. (24 states left to review)

Goodbye Summer Hello Fall

Posted on September 22, 2013September 22, 2013 by Dusty Roads | 2 Comments

It’s here. The calendar reads: Autumn Begins

The nights are getting cooler even though the days are still warm and pleasant but the air has a different feel. It’s raining buckets right now. A fitting start to a new season.

Leaf Peeping time is just about on us. Here in southeastern MA. it comes a little slower than in Maine, New Hampshire and Vermont but I spotted a little bit of color starting when I was outside yesterday.

I hope I get the chance to do some leaf peeping myself. Take the camera along for a work out. There are quite a few harvest festivals that roll around in the fall but I always miss them. They hold them on the weekends and I work. The cranberry harvest should be underway soon and the Cranberry Festivals. The bogs will be deep red. It’s a beautiful time of year in New England.

To me this is the best weather all year. The heat and humidity of the summer is gone but there is still enough warmth that we don’t have to deal with bulky coats and boots. Driving is still pavement…no ice and snow, which if we could just look at would be pretty. Unfortunately most of us have to go out in it and drive in it and shovel and…well I’m making myself depressed thinking about all that white stuff. Lets just get back to the lovely colors of fall.

Apples are fresh and apple picking is a wonderful pass time. Massachusetts has a number of wineries and they are bringing in the last of the grape harvest and pressing the wines. There is just a different feel this time of year.

Yes, fall is a nice time of year, a fleeting time of year. And the wheel of time keeps turning.

3 More M States

Posted on September 21, 2013September 21, 2013 by Dusty Roads | 4 Comments

We’ve covered Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, so we have 5 left. The 3 today are Michigan, Minnesota, and Mississippi.

Sad to say I have not been to any of them.

M is for Michigan…No.

A quick hit on Michigan’s travel page reveals something I should have guessed…Fall is big business here. Any northern state must have a fall as the cool nights and warm days practically guarantee lovely colors. It certainly seems that Michigan is blessed with the phenomenon.

The web site has a fall color’s map and the first link is to the many scenic drives along the coastline of Lake Michigan. From apple orchards and farms to Wine and Beer trails, Michigan looks like a fall vacation destination extraordinaire.

For Cities we have Detroit, the Motor city. (I’ve flown into the Detroit Airport many times), Ann Arbor and Grand Rapids to name only a few.

Speaking of coastal drives , did you know Michigan borders 4 of the Great Lakes? Yup, Lake Erie, Lake Huron, Lake Michigan and Lake Superior. Here’s another intriguing fact, Michigan has more lighthouses than any other state! That was a shocker for me as I would have expected the most lighthouses to be on an ocean coast. I think I heard the are 115 Lighthouses in Michigan. Amazing!

M is for Minnesota…another No 🙁

So I’m searching for fun things to do in Minnesota and what do I find? The SPAM Museum. I’m surprised it’s in Minnesota. I know Hawaiian’s have a love affair with Spam so I thought that’s where it would be.

But no, Just as every Elvis fan longs to visit Graceland, SPAM fans worldwide now have their own pilgrimage to make. In Austin, Minnesota a 16,500 square-foot SPAM Museum opened in September 2001. Museum visitors will be welcomed to the world of SPAM luncheon meat. Now if we move it to Atlanta, GA we can put it next to the World of Coco Cola and then we can eat and drink. Maybe we should suggest that.

Minnesota also has a rich outdoor heritage. There are 5 national Parks or Monuments. One is Grand Portage National Monument – Located on the magnificent shore and boreal forest of Lake Superior in northeastern Minnesota, Grand Portage National Monument preserves a vital headquarters of 18th, 19th and 20th century fur trade activity and Ojibwe heritage. The monument is enclosed within Grand Portage Indian Reservation, for centuries home to Ojibwe Indian families.

The last “M ” State for today is Mississippi…No, have not yet been there

Does anyone else remember the spelling rhyme . M, I, crooked letter, crooked letter, I, crooked letter , crooked letter, I , Hump back, Hump back, I ? For the longest time it was the only way I could spell Mississippi.

Once again I turn to the search engines of the internet. One of the first things that comes up to visit is the Hurricane Katrina Memorial located in Biloxi. Also in Biloxi is a little lighthouse we could tour.

A must do scenic route is the Natchez Trace Parkway. The Natchez Trace Parkway follows an old Indian trail and a route used during the American revolution. In 1796 Natchez Trace was a mail route. Today it is a scenic parkway that travels from Natchez, Mississippi (a beautiful small city on the Mississippi River in the southwest part of the state) to Nashville (passing through Jackson and Tupelo on the way). There is a small park on the river in Natchez with a stone monument to the beginning of the route.

I’ve run out of space and time so we may have to revisit Mississippi in some future post.

Only 2 more “M ” states to go. Have you got all 8? We’ll tally up the count in the next post.

Don’t forget…If you live in or have visited any of these states, chime in. We want to know your recommendations.

Maryland and Massachusestts

Posted on September 20, 2013September 20, 2013 by Dusty Roads | 2 Comments

Maryland is the 2nd “M” state and Massachusetts is the 3rd.

Let’s start with Maryland first.

No… Not really. Maryland is part of what I think of as the political area…It’s close to Washington DC and Annapolis is in Maryland and I can remember going to the Naval Academy with my family to visit my brother.

That’s what I remember the most, that and how impressive it was to see all of the young cadets marching past. I can’t even begin to put into words what I was feeling but I can remember it to this day and it was about 40 years ago, maybe 42. I really don’t remember much else about the visit except seeing my brother and being so proud of him. It was a very emotional visit. So I suppose I could cross it off but I think it needs another visit to be official. 🙂

M is for Massachusetts

Yes..I better say yes. I’ve been living here since 1974. Hard to believe it. I originally came out for company training for 6 months. Once the training ended the only openeing was right here in Malden, MA so I stayed.

Massachusetts has everything you could want; mountains, ocean, cities, rural area, summer sun and winter snow.

We’ve got National Parks and history. My word, we have history galore from Minuteman National Park with it’s Patriots Day Reenactments to Boston’s Freedom Trail. There’s Salem, MA of the historic witch trials, Old Ironsides, Bunker Hill, Faneuil Hall.

As if that wasn’t enough we have nature! We have Whale Watches and Deep Sea Fishing, we’ve got seals and zoos and aquariums.

And we’ve got Old Cape Cod with a scenic train and the National Sea Shore and the annual scallop festival. We can even boast great white sharks now!

And we have Lighthouses.

Maine does not have a monopoly there! I believe there are 63 in all.


Annisquam	Baker’s Island	Bass River (West Dennis)
Bird Island	Bishop and Clerks	Borden Flats
Boston Harbor	Brant Point	Brant Point (Old)
Butler Flats	Cape Ann (Thacher Island)	Cape Cod (Highland)
Cape Poge	Chatham	Clark’s Point
Cleveland Ledge	Cuttyhunk	Deer Island
Derby Wharf	Dog Bar Breakwater	Duxbury Pier
East Chop	Eastern Point	Edgartown Harbor
Fort Pickering (Winter Island)	Gay Head	Graves
Great Point	Hospital Point Range Front	Hospital Point Range Rear
Hyannis	Lightship Nantucket I WLV-612	Lightship Nantucket II WLV 613
Lightship Nantucket LV 112/WAL 534	Lightship New Bedford LV 114/WAL 536	Long Island Head
Long Point	Marblehead	Mayo’s Beach
Minot’s Ledge	Monomoy Point	Nantucket Cliff Range
Nauset	Ned’s Point	Newburyport Harbor (Plum Island)
Newburyport Harbor Range Front	Newburyport Harbor Range Rear	Nobska Point
Palmer Island	Plymouth (Gurnet)	Point Gammon
Race Point	Sandy Neck	Sankaty Head
Scituate	Stage Harbor	Straitsmouth Island
Tarpaulin Cove	Ten Pound Island	Three Sisters
West Chop	Wings Neck	Wood End

Head west on RT 90, from Boston and you’ll find Springfield, home to Dr. Seuss and The “Big E” (Eastern States exposition) and the Basket Ball Hall of Fame.

Speaking of sports, Massachusetts is a pro sports kind of place. We have the Boston Bruins, The Red Sox, Fenway Park and Red Sox Nation. Out in Foxboro we have the New England Patriots and we’ve got the Revolution..not the 1776 revolution but the pro soccer team.

We host golf tournaments like the Deutsche Bank PGA tournament.

Heading back to Western Massachusetts Rt 90 rises upward to the Berkshire Mountains. The Appalachia Trail winds it’s way through here and we have Tanglewood and Jacobs Pillow for culture.

There’s still more. Massachusetts loves politics. You can find a political discussion almost anywhere and everyone has an opinion. 🙂 And we have higher education, Colleges and Universities abound.

Harvard Yard

There are too many to list.

Don’t get me wrong, Massachusetts is not all peaches and cream. After all, we had the “Big Dig” too and are still dealing with the consequences.

Talk about a major screw up! Traffic is worse now than ever. And we’re starting to head back to the bad old days of “Taxachusetts”…just when we thought it was safe to take our hands out of our pockets good old Governor Deval Patrick put his hands right in!

But even with all that I still am pretty pleased with my adopted state. It’s a great place to visit and not too bad a place to live.

M is for…

Posted on September 19, 2013September 19, 2013 by Dusty Roads

Wow, Did you realize there are 8 states that start with the letter M? I am not going to do all 8 in one post, especially since a couple of them are going to be crossed off as visited. So before I start can you name all 8 states?

Alphabetically Maine is first. So while you’re thinking about the other 7 states I’ll tell you a little bit about my neighbor to the north. I fell in love with Maine last year when I had the chance to take 2 “mini” vacations.

Maine

YES.

First thing that come to mind when I think of Maine is the gorgeous, rugged coastline. And if you have a rugged coast you need lighthouses. More than 60 lighthouses dot the Maine coast from the well known Nubble Light in York to West Quoddy Head, the easternmost lighthouse in the United States. I’ve seen and photographed a bunch of them, Nubble, Spring Ledge, Portland Head, Pemaquid and more but I’m a long way from all 60!+

Maine is for “Lobsta” or lobster if you want to be accurate. Everyone’s either heard of or eaten Maine Lobster, those feisty crustaceans that are so good boiled, fried, rolled, baked, in salad, well just about any way you want to eat them. Did you know that lobster were once so plentiful that they were used as fertilizer! Native Americans used them as bait to catch more appealing fish. They were considered poverty food and fed to servants and prisoners. You’ve come a long way , baby!

Maine is for wildlife.

I saw a big bull moose there while walking a nature trail.

I braved the sea to get a glimpse of puffins, crazy little clowns. I never realized how tiny they are until I saw them riding those crashing waves.

Maine has the first National Park east of the Mississippi, Acadia National Park. The park includes Mount Desert Island and Cadillac Mountain.

I still want to try a train ride from Boston to Portland. It’s called the “Downeaster”. It can be done in 1 day but it might be nicer to stay over in Portland a night to see a bit more.

By the way, I wrote a lot of posts on Maine last year. Here’s a link to just one of the many :https://aroundustyroads.com/2012/08/29/day-is-done-gone-the-sun/