Something Old, Something New–A Quickie Trip to West Virginia
It was less than two weeks before I was scheduled to leave for Hawaii, but I decided to get out of the DMV for a couple of days. I packed up the Silver Bullet and headed to West Virginia. New River Gorge National Park was only about a five-hour drive away and could have been a stop between Shenandoah and points south (in fact, I drove past that national park at two different exits heading to New River), but I was concerned about being in Florida on time. As I drove along, I saw a highway sign approaching Staunton, Virginia, indicating that the exit for the Woodrow Wilson Presidential Library and Museum was upcoming. I didn’t know there was a presidential library for a president earlier than Herbert Hoover’s, so I had to check it out. The downside to this decision was that I didn’t have time to do an…
More Southern Exposure–Three New National Parks
As many times as I have driven from my hometown in North Carolina to Florida State University in Tallahassee during my years as a music graduate student and then as a music cataloger for the university’s libraries, I thought I knew the route like the back of my hand, as they say. However, most of this drive from Atlanta to Tallytown reflected the creation of shorter, faster routes on interstates. I didn’t exit onto US-319 until just north of Tallahassee. It was much too late to catch former colleagues on campus when I arrived at nearly midnight, so I checked into a local motel with the plan to get an early enough start to hunt for the elusive parking spot near the music buildings. My start was later than I planned because an incident at the motel caused the electricity to be turned off. I didn’t learn what happened until…
More Southern Exposure–Shenandoah and Carter Presidential Library
This was my second visit to Shenandoah National Park. On my first trip in February 2024, I drove to the park’s southernmost entry and headed north on Skyline Drive. This time, I entered from the northernmost point at Point Royal and took the drive south. It was October 29th, late in the fall foliage season but still beautiful and yet less crowded than earlier in the month. As usual, I stopped at the visitors center and got the latest from the rangers on duty, plus the center had quite a scenic view of the park, too. Additionally, I had found and downloaded an audio description of scenes and historical information about the park and the native tribes that had once inhabited the area. Since much of the park is not WiFi accessible, the tracks didn’t always keep up with my location, but it was interesting anyway. I look my time…
36 Hours in Ohio
This was another short trip. I planned to revisit Cuyahoga Valley National Park, this time to actually see more of the park than I did when I visited for the total solar eclipse last April. The game plan was to arrive in that part of Ohio early enough to take advantage of the Tuesday-only senior discount at the NFL Hall of Fame, then spend Wednesday riding the park’s Scenic Railroad and exploring the featured parts of the park that were accessible by car. I had to purchase the ticket to the surprisingly popular train ride well in advance online to be sure I would get a seat on the day and time I wanted. Unfortunately, this limited my timing, which I jeopardized by leaving too late to get to the Hall of Fame on Tuesday, and forced me to condense my activities to that Wednesday. So, I started that morning…
Seein’ the DMV: African American Museum Redux 081324
So my “Seein’ the DMV” selection for August was a visit to the National Museum of African American History and Culture. As I mentioned in my earlier blog post, I’ve visited the museum twice previously in the eight years since it opened. The Metro subway system took me to within 4/10 of a mile of the museum, but that was a pretty long walk for me. Still, driving wasn’t really an option because finding parking was nearly impossible mid-day in that part of DC. Next time–and there needs to be a next time–I will see if there is a bus that would drop me off closer to the museum entrance. Anyway, I decided to go because their Afrofuturism exhibition was scheduled to close at the end of the week. As a fan of Star Trek–I’m debating whether to post a picture of my personal ST collection here, The Matrix, The…
Thoughts about My Latest Long Stretch and Upcoming Plans
So, I finally got that bucket list entry, Glacier National Park, taken care of! After so many aborted attempts, I just wasn’t letting my hopes get too high until I actually steered the Silver Bullet through the park entrance. Anyway, it was definitely a visit that didn’t disappoint, even with the winter storm that cut the trip short and the parts of the park I wasn’t able to see. Before I left for that trip, I acquired a set of National Park postcards that also include several memorials and other sites that are part of the US Parks System. I’ve started work on a display of the parks that I have visited in the order I was there, with lots of space for more cards. National Parks Planned and Those So Far Visited It’s already August, but I have several trips planned for the remainder of the year. This includes…
Business and Pleasure–Days Nine and Ten: Change in Plans
I had a very long drive ahead, though thankfully the route was almost entirely on the interstate, specifically I-90, with speed limits up to 80 miles per hour. The GPS indicated that I could stay on I-90 all the way to Maryland. Then, it displayed a message suggesting that I could save 1.5 hours by taking I-35 south. I-35?!? The original route would take me above Iowa, and I was disappointed but tiredly accepting on this ninth day of my trip. Then, with this suggested change, I would not only enter the state, but actually drive through Grinnell after taking I-80 from 35! I knew that on a Friday during summer break, many staff would be off work. Still, I called a friend to see if I could stay overnight, stopped by the Favoli’s in Des Moines since there aren’t any in the DMV (hint, hint), and I bought the…
Business and Pleasure–Days Five and Six: More Glacier
The forecast on Tuesday morning was, if anything, more ominous than the one from the night before. But even if I hadn’t been checking the forecast, I could see that darker clouds already beginning to form in the distance. My GPS routed me through a back road rather than the main roads between my hotel and the park. It was not crowded, so I could take my time and enjoyed the scenery. I went by the Apgar Visitor Center to get my usual walking stick medallion and magnet, as well as to talk to a ranger to get information about the best use of the time I had available. Even though I had looked at information on the website, the ranger’s info is always up-to-date, and they can answer specific questions I have. I learned that, not only was the middle portion of the Going-to-the-Sun Road completely closed due…
Business and Pleasure–Day One: Mammoth Cave National Park
This trip would allow me to combine a little business (receiving recognition for my second book, Recorded Solo Concert Spirituals, 1916-2022) and a lot of vacation. My initial plan was to visit two national parks, including finally getting to Montana’s Glacier National Park. I left home base before midnight on May 16th because I was scheduled to be at Mammoth Cave National Park in time to join a tour of the caves specifically organized for those with accessibility needs. Along the nearly 700-mile route, the Silver Bullet hit her 50,000th mile. I barely arrived in time, thanks to the park’s location within Central Daylight Time. We took the elevator down approximately a quarter mile to the Snowball Room. The caves were previously privately owned, and the spaces were treated as a commercial venture for the wealthy. The writings on the walls were left by visitors. The park ranger who…
Totally Eclipsed–Cuyahoga Valley National Park
I got up Sunday morning before the scheduled solar eclipse, feeling better than I had in several days, but I wasn’t convinced that I should make the approximately seven-hour drive to Cuyahoga National Park to observe the total eclipse. From my residence in Maryland, I could set up on the outside deck and get the 87% effect anticipated in that location. In fact, much of the United States would experience some level of eclipse, but the area of total eclipse would cover a specific line from Texas through Maine. But I wanted it all! The next total eclipse isn’t scheduled in the United States until 2044, and if the Lord keeps me here that long, there is no guarantee that I will be able to see it. So, I grabbed my new eclipse t-shirt, and a lunch box, my telescope, and cellphone and left Sunday evening, heading northwest. I try…