Infolific » USA

Cass Scenic Railroad State Park, West Virginia

Allyson Haymaker — Wed, 22 Feb 2012 11:47:18 +0000

For an enjoyable ride through the West Virginia mountains, hop a train at Cass Scenic Railroad State Park. Once used for logging, rare geared Shay locomotives now pull open passenger cars through switchbacks, steep grades and unspoiled wilderness to Whittaker Station, a restored 1940s logging camp. A round-trip ride takes [...]

Ouray, Colorado

Allyson Haymaker — Wed, 15 Feb 2012 10:08:52 +0000

One visit and you'll see why this Colorado town is known as the "Switzerland of America". My husband, Myles, and I never really had a favorite vacation destination--until we visited Ouray, Colorado. Some friends introduced us to this quaint Old West town in 1992, and since then we've returned every [...]

Giant Springs State Park, Montana

Allyson Haymaker — Tue, 14 Feb 2012 21:55:35 +0000

My family always enjoys stopping at Giant Springs State Park in Great Falls, Montana. The park is named for the huge spring discovered in 1805 by the Lewis & Clark expedition. Giant Springs is one of the world's largest freshwater springs, with a daily flow of 338 million gallons of [...]

Bar J Chuckwagon Supper and Western Show, Wyoming

Allyson Haymaker — Tue, 14 Feb 2012 21:55:35 +0000

Against a backdrop of the stunning Teton Mountains near Jackson, Wyoming, our family enjoyed a wonderful evening filled with great food and wholesome, top-notch entertainment at the Bar J Chuckwagon Supper and Western Show. The rib-stickin' meal was first-rate. For $16 to $24, you get either barbecued beef, chicken, pork [...]

Fort Stanwix National Monument, New York

Allyson Haymaker — Sun, 12 Feb 2012 21:08:22 +0000

If you're driving through beautiful central New York, Fort Stanwix National Monument in Rome is definitely worth a stop. This reconstructed Revolutionary War fort, originally built in 1758, depicts what life was like on the frontier in the mid-1700s. In 1778, troops here withstood a 21-day siege, stopping an invasion [...]

German Heritage Days in Grand Island, Nebraska

Allyson Haymaker — Sat, 11 Feb 2012 08:29:23 +0000

The "running of the wieners" at German Heritage Days in Grand Island, Nebraska is safer than the running of the bulls in Pamplona, Spain, and more fun than a barrelful of monkeys. Every September, about 100 dachshunds speed down a special track in the Wiener Dog Race. Eight to 10 [...]

Sumpter Valley Dredge, Oregon

Allyson Haymaker — Tue, 07 Feb 2012 07:26:52 +0000

The dredges that once mined gold out West typically aren't open to the public. So my husband, Larry, and I jumped at a chance to board one of the biggest ever made--the venerable 1,240-ton Sumpter Valley Dredge (above) outside scenic Sumpter, Oregon. Built for $350,000 in 1935, the dredge produced [...]

Lawyers' Winterbrook Farm, Maryland

Allyson Haymaker — Mon, 23 Jan 2012 03:17:20 +0000

When we spotted a huge orange contraption outside a cornfield near Thurmont in Maryland's Catoctin Mountains, my husband, Doug, and I detoured to investigate. Doug was delighted to learn it was Lawyers' Winterbrook Farm's unique pumpkin cannon. A "cannonmaster" showed Doug how to load it...adjust aim for wind and elevation...and [...]

Round Church in Richmond, Vermont

Allyson Haymaker — Wed, 18 Jan 2012 13:33:43 +0000

The Old Round Church in Richmond, Vermont is a lovely landmark and may have been the first community church in the country. Representatives of five Protestant congregations built the structure as a community house of worship in 1812-13. Legend has it that 17 men worked on it--one for each of [...]

Visiting Georgetown, Tennessee

Allyson Haymaker — Tue, 17 Jan 2012 19:17:52 +0000

Looking to visit a peaceful town that's full of interesting attractions? Well, my husband, Jim, and I highly recommend Georgetown on the South Carolina coast. Originally established in 1729 as a shipping point for rice and indigo grown on area plantations, this cute little seaport on the Sampit River is [...]

Williams Reindeer Farm, Alaska

Allyson Haymaker — Tue, 17 Jan 2012 00:58:10 +0000

Near Palmer, Alaska, I discovered a very unique attraction--the Williams Reindeer Farm. I thoroughly enjoyed letting friendly reindeer eat out of my hand--a gooey experience that was an adventure in itself--as well as learning all about these interesting animals. For instance, I found out that reindeer can't kick their feet [...]

Eugene T. Mahoney State Park, Nebraska

Allyson Haymaker — Sun, 15 Jan 2012 18:16:57 +0000

Where can you find a picturesque state park, a drive-through safari and an enormous air museum--all at the same freeway exit? They're clustered at I-80's Exit 426, located between Omaha and Lincoln, Nebraska. Eugene T. Mahoney State Park offers family-friendly activities and beautiful scenery year-round. Its 70-foot observation tower offers [...]

Prairie Rose Chuckwagon Supper, Kansas

Allyson Haymaker — Tue, 10 Jan 2012 09:36:21 +0000

It's fun to experience the Prairie Rose Chuckwagon Supper and Hopalong Cassidy Cowboy Museum in tiny Benton, Kansas, any time of year. But it's extra special around the holidays. As a Christmas gift, friends took my husband, Boyd, and me to the Prairie Rose, run by Thomas and Cheryl Etheredge [...]

Ted Williams Museum, Florida

Allyson Haymaker — Sun, 08 Jan 2012 20:55:23 +0000

Entering the Ted Williams Museum and Hitters Hall of Fame in Hernando, Florida made me feel like a kid again, listening to Boston Red Sox games on my grandmother's Philco radio and hearing the crowd go wild as "The Splendid Splinter" steps to the plate. Shaped like a baseball diamond, [...]

Women's Rights National Historical Park

Allyson Haymaker — Sun, 08 Jan 2012 14:46:30 +0000

At the Women's Rights National Historical Park in Seneca Falls, I got a fascinating look at the women's suffrage movement, which was born here in the mid-1800s. The visitor's center features an outstanding orientation film and adjoins Wesleyan Chapel, site of the pivotal 1848 women's rights convention--the first event of [...]

Augusta Canal National Heritage Area, Georgia

Allyson Haymaker — Fri, 06 Jan 2012 01:14:41 +0000

Augusta, Georgia is probably best known for the Masters Golf Tournament. But a recent trip to the Augusta Canal National Heritage Area revealed its less-known history as a manufacturing center. In an interpretive center housed in a cavernous old cotton mill, I learned how the city's 8-mile canal was built [...]

Azalea Garden Inn, North Carolina

Allyson Haymaker — Sun, 25 Dec 2011 00:00:22 +0000

I found this charming log cabin on the lushly landscaped grounds of the Azalea Garden Inn in Blowing Rock, North Carolina. Among the state's oldest resorts, the town dates back to the 1800s and is full of small galleries, specialty shops and quaint restaurants. Most are within easy walking distance [...]

Kumback Lunch in Perry, Oklahoma

Allyson Haymaker — Fri, 23 Dec 2011 23:30:49 +0000

When we travel between our summer home in Minnesota and our winter home in Arizona, we always stop at the homey Kumback Lunch in Perry, Oklahoma. Established in 1926 by a big-hearted soul named Eddie Parker, the Kumback is a fixture in this pretty prairie town, founded literally overnight during [...]

Bishop Hill, Illinois

Allyson Haymaker — Tue, 20 Dec 2011 15:57:16 +0000

I first visited tiny Bishop Hill, nestled in the heart of northwestern Illinois farmland, about 35 years ago. Totally charmed by its story, historic buildings and quaint shops, I eventually moved here. Swedish immigrants seeking religious freedom walked here--160 miles--from Chicago in fall 1846. Along with more than 1,000 Swedes [...]

Boone Hall Plantation, South Carolina

Allyson Haymaker — Sun, 18 Dec 2011 14:58:04 +0000

I thoroughly enjoyed a recent visit to stately Boone Hall Plantation near Charleston, South Carolina. Established in the 1680s by Major John Boone (no relation to Daniel!), it's one of America's oldest working plantations. My cousins and I were impressed by the long driveway lined with Spanish moss-draped live oaks. [...]