Nashville

Nashville was founded on Christmas Day, 1779, and became the state capital of Tennessee in 1825. It’s the second largest city in the state, next to Memphis. If you don’t fly or take the train, reach the city from east or west via Interstate 40, or from north or south by Interstates 24 and 65.

The most visited structure visited in Nashville today, except possibly for the mansions of the current music moguls and the Ryman Auditorium, is The Hermitage, the Antebellum home of the seventh president of the United States, Andrew Jackson. The Hermitagewas built in1819, and was added-to in 1831. However, the interior was burned extensively in 1834, then repaired, reconstructed and the entire building painted white to cover the smoke stains on the portion that survived the fire. Most of the outbuildings remain, and the garden holds the tombs of Jackson and his wife.

Both The Hermitage and the adjacent home, Tulip Grove, are located about thirteen miles east from Nashville, on local highway 70, north of Interstate 40, near the intersection of local highway 45. Tulip Grove was built by Jackson for his nephew, Andrew Jackson Donelson. The mansions are open …

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Redwood Forest

Soon the kids will all be in school and soon after that, the older ones will be off to college. Ah, can you hear the pleasant silence? Don’t get me wrong, I love kids but they can be very loud, busy and time consuming. But once they are otherwise occupied, it is our turn to sit back and relax.

Wait long enough and prices for lodging and travel will go down too until the world heads into the Christmas season. But before that, your holiday can be the best ever. The weather will be more mild, depending on where you go, there will be plenty of room in restaurants and swimming pools.

Now all you have to do is find a pleasant place to go. For that, I have a few suggestions:

The City Under Seattle * Colossal Cave * Grauman’s Chinese Theater * A True Ghost Town*The Redwood Forest * Donnor Pass * Bryce Canyon,  UT * Custer’s Last Stand * Winthrop, Maine *The Biltmore * Boone Hall Plantation * The Cloud Gate * Real Little Animals*

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Pamlico Sound

Pamlico Sound in North Carolina is the largest lagoon along the U.S. East Coast. “Lagoon” is defined as shallow body of water separated from a sea by sandbars or coral reefs. In the case of Pamlico, the sea is the Atlantic Ocean. “Sound” is much the same as “Lagoon;” an inlet of the ocean, often parallel to the coast. With semantics class over concerning the conflicting, or complementary, descriptions, move on again to Pamlico.

Pamlico Sound is eighty miles long (129 km) with a width varying from fifteen to thirty miles (24-48 km). The Outer Banks, barrier islands that include Cape Hatteras, is the partition between the Sound and the sea. Pamlico Sound is part of a large, interconnected network of lagoon estuaries. An estuary is a partly cnclosed coastal body of water with one or more rivers flowing into it, and with a connection to the open sea. As a whole, Pamlico is the second largest estuary in the United  States; Chesapeake Bay is …

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Bitterroot Forest

If camping and/or hunting in America’s pristine wilderness is the perfect holiday for you, then you will have over a million acres to choose from in the Bitterroot National Forest. Located in west-central Montana and eastern Idaho, the forest includes the Sapphrie mountain ranges, a beautiful northern section of the Rocky Mountains.

There are three main wilderness areas, parts of which can only be reached on foot or on horseback. Who wouldn’t want to see this wilderness just as the first explorers did in 1805? A gold rush in the 1860s brought mining towns, some of which are now ghost towns. It is in this wilderness that you will find the Nez Perce National Historic Trail, a …

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Our Splendid Earth (South Africa Sampler)

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Stone Mountain

Travelers go to Atlanta, Georgia, for myriad reasons, and rightfully so. Atlanta is the financial, cultural, fashion, education, manufacturing and sports center of the state; but while it’s not the geographical center, all roads lead to and through Atlanta.

The first white settlement was a fort established in 1813. In the Civil War, Atlanta served as the Confederate arsenal throughout most of the war without being touched by it, except as a care center for some 60,000 wounded soldiers. War came down on Atlanta on May 7, 1864, under the hand of General William Tecumseh Sherman. He laid siege to the city, which finally was forced into surrender on September 2. Atlanta subsequently was burned with more than ninety percent of the city’s and surrounding structures destroyed.

By January the following year, Atlanta began to rise from the ashes. In 1868 it was designated capital of the reconstituted and readmitted state, and has steadily gone on to earn recognition as one of the most vital cities of the country, of the world. It could be said that the rock Atlanta is built on is Stone Mountain. Apologies to the town of Stone Mountain just east of Atlanta where the rock edifice actually is situated.

Mountain is a rock dome, and as noted, is in Stone Mountain, Georgia (but practically in Atlanta). At its summit, the elevation is 1686 feet (513 m) above sea-level, and 825 feet (251 m) above the surrounding area. Stone Mountain granite extends underground nine miles (14 km) at its longest point into Gwinnett County. In spite of some …

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Baltimore, Maryland * The Bloodiest Day * Niagara Falls * Martha’s Vineyard

Alien Homestead and Psychic Sanctuary * Newport, RI * Statue of Liberty

The Biltmore * Boone Hall Plantation * The Cloud Gate * Real Little Animals

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Our Splendid Earth (South Africa Sampler)

Our Splendid Earth II (Random America)*

Our Splendid Earth III (The American West)

Salt Lake

The landlocked Great Salt Lake in Utah is the largest lake between the Great Lakes and the Pacific Ocean, the largest saltwater lake in the Western Hemisphere, and the thirty-seventh largest lake in the world. It’s a popular recreation spot for locals and visitors, for swimming and beach fun in general, The water is more salty than the oceans, creating a condition that allows more buoyancy for people in the water, making floating almost effortless. Other than swimming and sunbathing, the lake and facilities attract boaters, from those piloting kayaks to those driving motor launches. Recreational facilities of note are Antelope Island State park, and the Great Salt Lake State Marina, both of which provide visitor centers for information and comforts. Bicycling, hiking, camping and picnicking occupy those visitors who prefer not to go in the water.

Even though the main attraction to this region is the lake itself, it is not a fishing spot. Fish can’t survive in the salinity of the lake but some of the feeder streams do provide limited …

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Jim Woods    Author and Editor

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Abraham Lincoln

For history buffs, one of the most fascinating events in American history is the attempted theft of President Abraham Lincoln’s body.

After Lincoln (the 16th President of the United States) was assassinated in Washington, D.C. his son Robert Todd Lincoln had his father’s remains and the body of his little brother, William Wallace Lincoln. boarded on a train bound for a final resting place in Springfield, Illinois. The train left on April 21, 1865, traveled 1,654 miles and arrived on May 3 making multiple stops along the way for mourners to view his well preserved body.

However, Lincoln’s rest was destined to be anything but peaceful. His remains were moved seventeen times, often to secret locations over the years. The last reconstruction of his deteriorating resting place was done in 1930 under the watchful eyes of President Herbert Hoover.

Before his first burial, an argument ensued between authorities and Lincoln’s wife, Mary Todd who eventually won out. After his funeral on May 4, 1865 he was interred in a public receiving vault at Oak Ridge Cemetery until a permanent place could be built. Then his remains were placed in a crypt in 1871 and moved again when his tomb was completed in 1874.

In 1876, two counterfeiters met in a Chicago tavern and plotted a way to get the man who supplied them with counterfeit bills out of prison. Their plan was to steal Lincoln’s body, hold it for ransom and hide it in the Indiana Dunes. However, riding on the same train was a group of lawmen interested in what an informant had to say. The lawmen allowed the plan to go forward waiting instead until the thieves entered the tomb. They managed to move the coffin four inches before outside noise alerted the criminals and made them run away. They were later captured.

In 1900, faulty soil and construction negated reconstruction of the tomb which was completed in 1901. However, Lincoln’s son, Robert Todd was not pleased. To prevent future attempts to steal his father’s body, Robert Todd decided a new crypt should be built, the body placed in a steel cage ten feet down and encased in cement.

Yet the question remained in the minds of the 23 people present on the day the body was again scheduled to be moved – had anyone managed to steal his body. After thirty-six years, the coffin was opened. Indeed he was still there and his body had been so well preserved, it was still recognizable. It was the sixth time the casket had been opened since his death. A thirteen-year-old saw the body and confirmed the condition before he died in 1963.

Today, visitors who come to see the current resting place will find a 117-foot-tall granite obelisk and several bronze statues of Lincoln. Mary Todd Lincoln and three of his four sons are also buried there. Robert Todd Lincoln is buried in Arlington National Cemetery at Arlington, Virginia.

Read more original travel articles like this one at Visit Our America.

The City Under Seattle * Colossal Cave * The Grand Canyon * Alcatraz

The Wild and the Wild blue * Chiricahua Monument * Tombstone

Sedona – Red Rock Country * Knott’s Berry Farm * Flagstaff, Arizona

Grauman’s Chinese Theater * SeaWorld, Sand Diego * A True Ghost Town

The Redwood Forest * Donnor Pass * California Coastal Trips *Los Vegas

Ancient Bristlecone Pines * Bryce Canyon,  UT * Custer’s Last Stand

Mt. Rainier *Dinosaur National Park * Pikes Peak Hill Climb * The Cliff Palace

Grand Teton National Park * The Oregon Vortex * Old Faithful

by Marti Talbott

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The Cliff Palace

Mesa Verde National Park

In my travels, nothing has fascinated me more than The Cliff Palace in Mesa Verde National Park. Hollywood and books of all sorts make us think the American Indians were large and fearsome warriors, but the people who lived in these cliffs were tiny by today‘s standards. An average man was about 5′4″(163cm) tall, while an average woman was 5′ or less (152cm). It is estimated they lived an average of 32 years.

In some places, the building looked to be carved out of the soft sandstone while in others the people used sandstone blocks, mortar and wooden beams. The mortar is a mixture of soil, water and ash.

Located in the southwest corner of  Colorado, a loop drive takes the visitor to the Cliff dwellings and allows a good look into the canyon below from eight a.m. until sunset.

The cliff dwellings are an intricate, multi-level housing development in the side of a cliff with paths leading up canyon walls. It served as a nearly impenetrable fortress against other tribes, but it was confining as well. Once surrounded, there does not appear to be a way to go for provisions. It is guessed the people who lived in these dwellings farmed the land on the plateau above the cliff.

Other like dwellings can be found in the canyons of Arizona, New Mexico, Utah and Chihuahua in Mexico.

Tree ring dating indicates construction of the Cliff Palace may have begun as long ago as AD 1190 but was abandoned by the 1300s.

Forest Ranger tours and access to the cliff dwellings are available every day of the year. Don’t miss the fascinating museum filled with artifacts from inside the dwellings.

Learn more about the Cliff Palace.

by Marti Talbott

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Little Animals

You’ve heard of them but have you actually seen a pig not much taller than a cup of tea?  The tiny animals at Tanglewood Farm in Northern Georgia will astound you.  Their caretakers boast of a ten acre wild west town where nearly a hundred people live year around. And naturally, kids are more than welcome to come visit.
For the kids (the human kind, not the tiny goats) they offer petting, feeding, pony rides, hay rides and panning for gold. Located on what was once Cherokee land, the lucky visitor might even discover an arrowhead. And oh yes, some couples choose to hold their wedding at this farm.
More than 100 tiny animals live on the farm including horses, cows, sheep, goats, pigs, cats, dogs, and let us not forget the little turkeys. The town offers a wild west bank, saloon, jail, school and a trading post where snacks and souvenirs are sold. All the animals are purebred and registered. Some of the animals are for sale, so if you are looking for that very unusual gift, you might want to put Tanglewood Farm on your shopping list. They are open year around but not on Monday’s and Tuesdays. However, they do not offer formal places to eat and visitors are encouraged to bring a lunch and enjoy one of the picnic tables they provide.
Be sure to check tour times. The nearest place to stay is at Canton, Georgia.
Drive further south and you’re in Atlanta. Take the kids to see Six Flags Over Georgia, a wonderful theme park with roller coasters and an abundance of other rides. Or try Six Flags White Water with still more attractions and one of the world’s tallest free-falls. Or maybe Fayetteville will be more to your liking with museums and historical buildings.

by Marti Talbott

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Cloud Gate

One thing all US cities have in common is their sometimes great and sometimes very strange art displays. Perhaps none are as fascinating as the Cloud Gate in Chicago, Illinois and it‘s greatness completely depends on the viewer. It is shaped like a bean, is 33 x 66 x 42 feet and weighs approximately 200 tons.

Built between 2004 and 2006, the outside is made up of 168 stainless steel plates that reflect and distort the city’s skyline. Naturally, as you move around the structure, the distortions change. Some say it is impossible to tell where the sky ends and the sculpture begins when the light is right. Others claim the sculpture warps time by distorting the moving of the clouds in the sky. Tourists come from all over the world to see buildings that look like they might fall as well as their own reflections viewed in the under belly.

First estimated to cost six million dollars, the final total reached $11.5 million paid for by donations. While it is open to the public most of the time, twice a year the dome is washed and occasionally it is closed for such things as photo shoots and Hollywood movies. The lower six feet are wiped down twice a day by hand and in case you are curious, the inside of Cloud Gate is hollow.

Millennium Park, where the art is erected, was once rail yards and parking lots. Now it has become a center for art, music and architecture located in the larger Grant Park. Among other attractions in the park are an ice skating rink, a theater for music and dance and a promenade. Other works of art displayed in the park are Crown Fountain, Lurie Garden and Jay Pritzker Pavilion.

Naturally, there are plenty of places to stay in Chicago and the park has its own parking garage. While there, why not visit the tallest building in America — The Willis (Sears) Tower‘s and don’t miss the Sky Deck where the view will take your breath away.

If you are thinking of seeing America this year, give the Cloud Gate and Chicago some serious consideration.

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By Marti Talbott

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