The Down Range Forum
Member Section => Down Range Cafe => Topic started by: BAC on June 22, 2022, 10:03:17 AM
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We have really stepped up our weekend tourism lately. 2 weekends ago the daughter was up for a visit with her beau and we took a trip up to the White Mountains and rode a train to the top of Mount Washington (the highest point in the northeast). The train has been in operation since the 1800s and pretty much goes straight up the mountain. At one point along the journey we were at a 45 degree angle. Wild. The view from the top was stunning. Not to mention the changing weather, high winds, and cold temps.
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The following day we went to Portsmouth to take a tour of the harbor lighthouse there.
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Nice. Very nice. With gas prices very smart as well.
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Nice. Very nice. With gas prices very smart as well.
Thanks. So much to do and see within 2 hours of home up here.
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We should all get to know our own states better. In April Miss Kitty and I visited Georgia's Jekyell Island. I was born and raised through 8th grade here. I've lived in state for almost 50 years as an adult and never knew the story of that island.
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It looks like a rack railway that uses a cogwheel in the engine to make it up and down the steep grades. There's no way friction between the wheels and tracks would keep traction. I've seen them on TV a couple times and wanted to ride one ever since. Many years ago I decided to see some of the sights here in Michigan. I bought a DeLorme Atlas & Gazetteer which to the best of my memory has 106 map pages that are so detailed it shows the driveway on my uncles' farm. Actually I think there are more pages of maps, about 133 of them but page 106 was the one with the farm on it. It's a 1/4 mile lane and shows up as well as a city street or highway. It has several pages listing the names and alpha-numeric grid locations and pages of many, many campgrounds, unusual natural features and the usual, lists 123 waterfalls and their locations and tells you there are 12,000 lakes and 30,000 miles IIRC of streams and rivers. It lists a LOT of stuff and tells you where a bunch of tourist destinations are, all the state historic sites and national historic sites in the state and way too much other stuff to remember. I haven't actually looked at it in years but I always take it with me when I go up north just in case I want to go see something. Being paper you can take it anywhere (except in the water), doesn't lose every file like my computer did this month, and it never needs batteries. Mine has routes I highlighted and a few brief notes from places I've been.
https://www.garmin.com/en-US/p/575993/pn/010-12957-00
DeLorme Atlas & Gazetteers Are the Outdoor Enthusiasts' Choice
Amazingly detailed and beautifully crafted, large-format paper maps for all 50 states
Topographic maps with elevation contours, major highways and roads, dirt roads, trails and land use data
Gazetteer section contains information essential for any outdoor enthusiast, such as points of interest, landmarks, state and national parks, campgrounds, boat launches, golf courses, historic sites, hunting zones, canoe trips, scenic drive recommendations and more (Note: available information varies by state)
Perfect for sightseeing, exploring back roads, outdoor recreation and trip planning
If anyone is interested in the DeLorme Atlas & Gazetteers I can look at mine and post what things are actually listed by section, like every city and town, lakes, campgrounds, etc. You can look at your local sporting goods store and probably see with your own eyes. Lots of stores used to sell them, but I don't know if they still do sell paper atlases in the digital age.
DeLorme built the the world's largest rotating and revolving globe, named Eartha. Eartha has a diameter of over 41 feet and weighs approximately 5,600 pounds. It took 2 years to build it. It's mounted at a 23.5 degree angle, the same axial tilt as the Earth, and simulates one day's revolution and rotation every 18 minutes. Garmin bought Delorme in 2016 and Eartha is still there in the former DeLorme corporation headquarters in Yarmouth, Maine. That's something I want to see some day but it's a long way to go to look at a globe.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eartha
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Yes, it’s the Mount Washington Cog Railway. First of its kind in the world.
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Wow. The first one and it's still running! That's impressive. I just copied the name of it and opened the page in Wikipedia. I know what I'll be doing while I eat.
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We should all get to know our own states better. In April Miss Kitty and I visited Georgia's Jekyell Island. I was born and raised through 8th grade here. I've lived in state for almost 50 years as an adult and never knew the story of that island.
Alf, did you see the mast on the buried shrimp boat Mary Ann?
It's an odd story. Back in 1996 the shrimp boat ran aground and sank on the south end of Jekyll Island. Over the years this 60' vessel has become completely buried in sand except for the top of the mast.
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If you can afford to be a tourist outside your own state, visit Lake Mead. See where the Vegas mob disposed of their bodies. You may even find a few before anyone else does. Okay, that may not be 100% accurate.
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I just found out last night about this Michigan Activity Pass that's been around for 15 years. All I need is a library card to get it, and it provides free or discounted passes to hundreds of natural attractions and cultural destinations all over the state. Now it really sounds like a good time to be a tourist in my own state. Getting the pass sounds a lot like checking out a book for a week. Then you can get another one after a week. Or try to. I think I saw where each library has 5 of them, so it actually is like checking out a book and the next person has to wait until you return it before they can get it. The search page and application lets you decide how far you want to travel and what type of activities you're interested in. I checked off ALL and 750 MILES, and came up with 472 travel destinations to use the Michigan Activity Pass at. They range from under 2 miles away to a 10 hour drive round-trip. Here are pics of the search page from the Michigan Activity Pass, and the longest screenshot I could get of the results page when I searched for everything, everywhere. I cropped the length down to get as much as I could on 4 pages. It shows what's closest to me.
The activities in the Flint Cultural Center where the main branch of the library is is about a 10 minute drive from here. That's not bad on the ol' gas guzzler. I haven't been to the Sloan Museum for years and really should go. I have an artifact I found in my basement to give to the Buick Gallery too. Maybe now they can figure out where it came from. And I haven't been to the planetarium in so long I don't even know if it's still open. I didn't look to see if it was on the list either.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flint_Cultural_Center
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Here are where all 472 locations are on the map. I tried to zoom in to get the most detail I could but had to shrink to fit the allowed file size. Between this list, the DeLorme Atlas and some other resources online, there are thousands of sites, and sights to see in Michigan if I would just do it. I just found out I drive by a short hiking trail every time I go up north to ride my ATV. It's part of the Jack Pine Wildlife Viewing Tour. It's a self-guided, 58-mile auto-tour through jack pine ecosystems that are home to a variety of wildlife, including the endangered Kirtland's warbler. I've been to a lot of the stops on the tour before but didn't even know there was a tour. Every year the Kirtland's warblers fly away and spend the winters in The Bahamas and the Turks and Caicos Islands. I think that's a fine idea but I don't have wings so I'm stuck here.
And it was just recently I found out Fort Wayne in the city of Detroit, built 1842–51 is still standing and they have guided tours. How am I just finding this out after living here for 60 years? It's only 75 miles away and and I'm almost positive no one's been hiding it from me the whole time. It's not like I've never been in, around, or through Detroit.
Have you heard of the famous experiments where a guy who was gut shot didn't heal right, so an army doctor hung chunks of meat by a piece of string into his stomach? That's how he learned about gastric juices and digestion on the man who was his virtual prisoner. It was this year or last year I found out it all happened at Fort Mackinac, built 1782, former British and American military outpost garrisoned from the late 18th century to the late 19th century on Mackinac Island. William Beaumont (November 21, 1785 – April 25, 1853) became known as the "Father of Gastric Physiology". They have some sort of monument to him at the fort where it all happened. William Beaumont Hospital in Royal Oak, Michigan, William Beaumont Hospital in Troy, Michigan, William Beaumont Hospital in Grosse Pointe, Michigan, Oakland University William Beaumont School of Medicine in the cities of Auburn Hills and Rochester Hills, MIm and several other hospitals and schools were named after him. When his poor victim, or patient if you prefer to call him that, Alexis Bidagan dit St-Martin died, his family waited until his body started to decompose before they buried him, so doctors wouldn't have grave-robbers dig him up for further examination.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fort_Mackinac
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_Beaumont
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alexis_St._Martin
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Flume Gorge in Franconia Notch State Park. Gorge-ous! We also finally saw a moose. Like chupacabra, they’re real!
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That's beautiful BAC. Now I want to be a tourist in your state too. I'm sure the picture doesn't do it justice.
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That's beautiful BAC. Now I want to be a tourist in your state too. I'm sure the picture doesn't do it justice.
Thanks! There's still so much more to see here. Here are a couple more from Flume Gorge:
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I try to post a photo a day to Flickr. Here's a link to my New Hampshire album, if anyone's interested: https://www.flickr.com/photos/brianchiaravalle/albums/72157716823314962 (https://www.flickr.com/photos/brianchiaravalle/albums/72157716823314962)