Category: Water

  • Little Sand Bay & Hokenson Brothers Fishery

    Apostle Islands National Lakeshore, Bayfield County, Wisconsin, USA (August 2007) Little Sand Bay hugged the northern edge of the Bayfield Peninsula. It fell between Point Detour and Sand Point, a gateway to the westernmost Apostle Islands. A National Park Service visitors center could be found there. It included a campground, a marina, and the historic…

  • New River Gorge

    Fayette County, West Virginia, USA (late 1990’s / early 2000’s) The momentous New River starts its journey in North Carolina’s Blue Ridge Mountains, a part of the Appalachian chain, as it gently winds its northerly way through forests, valleys and fields. It continues its rural journey into Virginia and occasionally past towns like Galax and…

  • Driving Up Puget Sound

    Tacoma to Snoqualmie Falls to La Conner to Bellingham, Washington (May 14, 1998) We stayed off I-5 to avoid spray coming off the trucks and followed a path through the town of Snoqualmie and its eponymous falls (map). A large inn sat aside wide cliffs of water. The cold, wind, and rain made us miss…

  • Tangier Island in the Chesapeake Bay

    Accomack County, Virginia (June 2000) For many years I’d wanted to visit Tangier Island in the middle of Chesapeake Bay (map). People have inhabited Tangier for more than three hundred years, making a living from the bounty of the Bay, mostly isolated from their neighbors on the eastern and western shores. This has resulted in…

  • Green Mountain Railroad – White River Flyer

    White River Junction to Thetford, Vermont (October 2010) A beautiful early fall day is a perfect time for a ride on the Green Mountain Railroad. They offer three routes for tourist excursions: Burlington to Charlotte (“Champlain Valley Flyer”); Bellows Falls to Chester Depot (“Green Mountain Flyer”) and White River Junction to Thetford (“White River Flyer”).…

  • Timpanogos Cave National Monument

    American Fork, Utah, USA (July 2011) We’d never heard of Timpanogos Cave National Monument prior to our trip to Utah. During our planning we’d asked people for suggestions for fun activities in or near the Salt Lake Valley. A family friend who lived in the area recommended Timpanogos (map). It sounded like something right down…

  • Rendezvous Beach

    Bear Lake State Park; Garden City, Utah, USA (July 2011) We drove east out of Logan, Utah on Highway 89, the Logan Canyon Scenic Byway through the Bear River Mountains, a branch of the Wasatch Range. We meandered for nearly forty miles along the winding road until we crested the summit and stopped at a…

  • Antelope Island State Park

    Davis County, Utah, USA (July 2011) Look at a map of the Great Salt Lake. It’s nearly cleaved through its eastern third by a mountain range, some of which is submerged below the waters. The northern section is a peninsula, the Promontory Point. The southern section is an island, Antelope Island, although it sometimes joins…

  • Finishing Pennsylvania, Part 4 (Western Loop)

    Only five of Pennsylvania’s sixty seven counties remained to be visited. They all aligned neatly to the west of our base in Clearfield. I felt pretty excited that morning. I knew I’d finish the statewide quest within the next few hours. Once again my older son decided to come along on the journey while the…

  • Finishing Pennsylvania, Part 3 (Northern Loop)

    The initial push to capture a dozen remaining unvisited counties in Pennsylvania took a decidedly northern turn. This loop led nearly to the New York border. It also reduced my punch list by half while taking only 4 ½ driving hours. New counties encountered: Elk; Cameron; Potter; McKean; Warren; and Forest. Roadside Aliens My older…