USA Archives - Page 39 of 68 - ETB Travel Photography

Fishing and Dining in Hilton Head

Westin Hilton Head Island Resort and Spa

I arrived in Hilton Head late on Thursday night. The town doesn’t seem to believe in street lights! I eventually made it to my hotel, The Westin Hilton Head Island Resort and Spa. I received a newly renovated room that still smelled like fresh carpet. The brand new room included a broken luggage rack…thought that was kind of funny. My balcony looked out on the pools that glowed dark blue in the black night. The following morning the balcony provided a lovely sunrise view of the beach.

Fishing with Bulldog Fishing Charters

After a mid-morning stroll on the beach checking out a few shells and lots of washed up jellyfish, I set off for an afternoon fishing charter with Bulldog Fishing Charters and a couple of guys from Memphis. We fished for sheepshead, a black and silver striped fish that live in shallow, grassy areas and feed on crab.

After thirty minute boat ride to an old wreck, we dropped our weighted lines baited with little crabs in eighteen feet of water until we felt the weight hit the bottom. Every five or ten seconds we slowly pulled up and reeled if we felt like we had hooked a fish. Without feeling a strike, they are tricky fish to catch as their incisor teeth crack right through the crab. I had quite a bit of bait stolen before I finally hooked one, but it ended up being the biggest one of the bunch…8 pounds or so. We all got robbed of our bait multiple times, but also reeled in some good fish. A great three hour charter!!

The Old Fort Pub in Hilton Head

After a day on the ocean I freshened up for dinner with lots of relatives at The Old Fort Pub. Roy and Szilvia, who came in from Ukraine, were the honorees. My aunts, uncles and cousins flew in from all over. Michael, Michael-Anne, and Joshua visited from Annapolis. Diane flew in from Arizona. Judy, Phil and Larry came in from Florida and Pittsburg. And the rest of the crew was from South Carolina.

michael, michael-anne, and joshua at old fort pub

The Old Fort Pub was opened in 1973 and built next to Fort Mitchel, constructed in 1862 by Union forces after their successful invasion of the island. The 1,000 Confederates didn’t have much of a chance in defending the island against some 13,000 Federal troops. They folded in a day to the largest amphibious landing prior at the mouth of Port Royal Sound prior to WWII.

The fort was built to protect against invasion from the mainland, though it never saw battle. The island was used to supply Union troops who were battling to block all southern ports, including Savannah and Charleston. As Hilton Head was centered between these two cities, and the troops never pressed inland to fight.

Now, the Fort and the restaurant are connected by walkways through lush gardens in the Hilton Head Plantation. As a result, guests may visit the fort and enjoy a nice meal and gorgeous sunset! It was a great day in Hilton Head. ETB

sunset at the old fort pub in hilton head

Shop

Check out the photographic note cards and key chains at my shop. Each card has a travel story associated with it. 20% of proceeds are donated to charity.

photographic note card, belize sunset — SERENITY

Happy Hiking: Abyss Lake Trail

Today I drove up toward Guanella Pass to join a Meetup Hiking Group at Abyss Lake Trail, also known as Scott Gomer Trail, to enjoy the Colorado fall colors which are peaking early this year due to the dry weather. I was already up in the area, and the group was coming from Denver, so I planned on meeting them at the trailhead at 8:45.

I ended up being fifteen minutes late, so with two cars in the parking area, I thought I missed them and jumped on the trail quickly. Starting up the path on this brisk morning, I met Karen, a lady from Boulder, who also planned on meeting the group from Denver. It turns out, we must have been ahead of them, so we hiked together.

HAPPY HIKING!

Happy Hiking: Buck Gulch Trail

On my way to Buck Gulch Trail, number 772 in Pike National Forest of Colorado’s foothills, I came across a sign “Shooters: Be Considerate. We Live Here. & Been Shot”. Hmmm I thought, I’m going on a hike just two miles away!?! My drive continued past a homemade shooting range in a burn area from the High Meadow Fire that raged out of control in 2000.

Happy Hiking!

Happy Hiking: Rolling Creek Trail

I looked through my guide book for a short hike. Something that would be four hours or less at a slow pace. I found a four miler (one-way) located on off County Road 68 in Pike National Forest. Trail number 663, also known as Rolling Creek, begins at an elevation of 8,200 feet. According to the guide book and map at the trailhead, Rolling Creek Trail gains 1,400 feet in four miles and terminates at the Wigwam Trail.

HAPPY HIKING!

Bike MS150 – Colorado, sponsored by Newmont

A weekend of cycling and raising money for Multiple Sclerosis….

I awoke at 4:45a.m., left the house shortly after 5 a.m. and arrived at Front Range Community college around 5:45 a.m. to participate in the 2-day, 150 mile bike ride from Westminster, CO to Fort Collins, CO and back.

After airing up my tires and dropping off my over-night bag at FedEx truck for transport to Fort Collins, I seeked out my brother and sister-in-law, her two sisters, as well as 52 other team members. Our team, Ain’t Too Proud To Sag, is led by energetic, captain Steve. Our riders range from advanced to inexperienced. Some have MS. Some have relatives with MS. And some simply ride for the cause. Our team, which is made up of a variety of individuals and is not sponsored by a large corporation, has been able to raise several hundred thousand dollars over the last 10 years, and this year we have topped $62,000 and rank 7th in team fundraising.

Of the last 6 years, I have ridden the Dallas to Fort Worth ride once, the Denver to Fort Collins ride four times, and participated virtually when I took my year long trip around the USA. I have had many supporters who have helped me be a high roller since the second ride. To ride with high roller status in the current year, a rider must raise $2,000 the previous year. My supporters have been so generous, I’ve even made the top 100 club a time or two which generally takes $4,000 to $5,000. One year I ranked #69 and rode with the corresponding number. One can imagine the comments I got as I pedaled along the course that year.

Outside of raising money for a cure for MS, the biggest incentive for being a high roller for me is the short port-o-let lines. Every rest stop has two port-o-lets designated strictly for the 300 hundred or so high rollers and the other 2,700 riders have to wait in line for the eight other potties! That alone is worth five bucks!! It is also nice to hear a few congrats on high roller status from fellow riders, especially during the 4th hour in the saddle when every body part is aching.

Single guy is in the High Roller bathroom line…the line to the right is the other bathroom line…

the line continued…

….and continued….isn’t that worth a $5 donation?

The ride meanders along country highways, past barns and farmlands, and continues on main streets of the cities as hot air balloons float above. It is so well organized. Volunteers or police officers stand at every intersection holding directional signs, pushing the walk button, and directing traffic. SAG wagons cruise around the course in case a rider needs a lift to the next rest stop or the finish.

The rest stops, every ten to fifteen miles along the route are loaded with volunteers filling gatorade and water jugs, setting out a variety of snacks, and manning first aid tents with sunscreen and ibuprofen. The ever coveted snow cone is at the last rest stop on the first day. In addition to volunteers, bike techs are on hand to fix any issues with our mode of transportation. If only they could fix my knees and back!

Due to the High Park fire in Fort Collins, the route was changed this year. The prettiest, yet hardest part of the route, a 1,000 foot climb over a short distance around Horsetooth Reservoir was removed. This area was affected by the fire and out of respect for those who lost their home and for the protection of the riders from inhaling smoke, the course was rerouted and shortened to 68 miles the first day. The second day the route again excluded the reservoir and was shortened to 65 miles. While I feel for all those who have lost so much, selfishly I was happy for an easier and shortened course. Even being from Texas, I must admit it was extremely HOT! The sun is very intense a mile high.

Upon finishing up around noon the first day, we checked our bikes into the bike corral, picked up our overnite bags, and hung out at our team tent at Colorado State University. We enjoyed a second lunch (our first lunch was at 9:30 am), before finally riding a shuttle our hotel for a shower, a pasta dinner, and an early bedtime.

On Sunday, we were up again before 5 a.m., hopped the bus around 5:15, grabbed some powdered eggs, cereal, fruit and yogurt provided by the event, enjoyed the sunrise and crossed the start line around 6:30 a.m. One rest stop at a time, we pedaled our way back toward Westminster.

Just before lunch I came about half a second from wiping out. It was at a busy intersection with cars, volunteers, and riders. As I made a right hand turn, my front tire slipped into a crack in the pavement the exact width of my rim. My momentum slowed and direction changed as my tire scraped through the crack. Please don’t wreck, please don’t wreck, I thought to myself just before somehow I ended upright and in control. I found out 30 minutes later, four riders in a row crashed at that corner…one slid into a light pole! Whew, I’m glad I finished the day without a roadrash.

We finished around noon again, hung with the team at the finish line for a while, and then dispersed to our respective home towns: Denver, Fort Collins, Steamboat, and Colorado Springs just to name a few. Thanks everyone for your support…hopefully one day there will be a cure for MS.

ETB

http://main.nationalmssociety.org/site/TR/Bike/COCBikeEvents?px=4628235&pg=personal&fr_id=17994

Fallbrook, California

Well, after an 8 month hiatus from blogging, I am back! I almost don’t remember how to do this, despite positing every day for a year!

I just recently took a weekend trip to Fallbrook, California to celebrate my dad’s cousin’s 60 1/2 surprise birthday. Many of my dad’s cousins, who I met for the first time on my trip around the USA, came for Bill’s birthday as well, so it was like a family reunion! We enjoyed a nice dinner outside in Bill and Pam’s backyard with beautiful weather.

Continue reading →

Day 295 – Home Sweet Home

After 56,381 miles; 15 bears; a wolverine; a mountain lion; a shaggy mountain goat; 5 moose; countless turkey, deer, and elk; a fox; a handful of coyotes and marmots; several big horn sheep; numerous waterfalls; fascinating people; and an amazing experience, I am home! Thanks for reading…ETB

Day 294 – National Museum of Nuclear Science and History

Before I began a long drive from Albuquerque to Wichita
Falls on an extremely windy day;
tumbleweeds bounced across the highway as dust filled the sky; I stopped
at the National Museum of Nuclear Science and History. The museum included exhibits on WWII, the
Manhattan Project, nuclear scientists, the cold war, the Cuban Missile Crisis,
the falling of the Berlin Wall, and a variety of weapons, some still in use
today.

Not having been interested in history as a teenager, the
exhibit on the atomic bomb, the Manhattan Project, and World War II were truly
mindboggling, especially the numbers of people in multi-millions who were
killed. It’s hard to imagine everyone in
the Dallas/Ft. Worth metroplex plus millions more being murdered by a government.

The exhibits included information on how nuclear fission and
fusion was discovered, the names of the scientists from all over the world who
recognized the power, and how the decision was made to drop the atomic
bomb. It also included prototypes of the
bomb and it casing as well as the Packard limousine that transported the
scientists.

The Cold War area of the museum included a list of Broken
Arrows which is the military code name for nuclear weapons accidents. There have been 32 accidents involving
nuclear weapons owned by the United States since 1950, all of them occurring prior
to 1970 except one. The weapons are
designed with safety features, thus none of the weapons detonated. Two of the accidents occurred in New Mexico…the
state in which this museum presides.

It was interesting to see the difference in the size of the
missiles that are launched from a nuclear submarine versus the size of missiles
launched from planes. I’m told it is
because the missiles from the submarines are designed to be launched from
anywhere in the world while the ones launched from a plane are flown to a
nearby area. Another thing I learned is
the missiles launched from a plane (perhaps others as well but I don’t know)
are designed with a parachute. The
parachute slows the missile from 1,000 mph to 150 mph in two seconds!! The parachute is made of Kevlar.

For some reason, the falling of the Berlin Wall struck
me. I think it is because it is one of
the view events I lived through that was included in the museum, yet seems so
long ago, and it wasn’t. With all due
respect to those who suffered under these conditions and probably feel like it
was just yesterday, it was an event that I had forgotten about, and I even have
a piece of the wall. I felt bad having
to be reminded of it.

In addition to the exhibits on war and weapons, the museum
also included old hospital equipment, archaic TV’s, and an ancient 1984 MAC computer
complete with a floppy disk drive! After
an hour or so in the museum, I crossed the entryway that was designed like a
periodic table and spent the rest of the day driving 600 miles to my home state
just as my book on CD is getting very gripping.
I’ll be reaching Dallas before it is over. I might have to go find the paperback to
finish it. Only a couple hundred more in
the morning! ETB

Days 292 – 293: Petrified Forest National Park

Days 292 and 293 of Year Long Roadtrip Following Scenic Byways in the USA

Day 292

Well, I didn’t see anything of interest yesterday except road construction taking place in the rain. Most the time the road was just blocked off with no one there. I couldn’t believe when I saw a crew was working in the rain!

I did forget to mention that while in Kings Canyon I parked behind a car with a Hawaii license plate, and I recall an Alaska one from Washington. While I didn’t concentrate on the other 48 states or for that matter consciously look for Hawaii and Alaska plates, I believe I can say I succeeded at the license plate game!

Continue reading →

Day 291 – Sequoia National Park

So this morning I left Kings Canyon National Park and headed
south to Sequoia National Park. On the
way, we passed by the world’s largest Sequoia Grove. The grove covers five square miles and contains
over 2,100 sequoias larger than ten feet in diameter. I wonder who counted that.

As we continued on through the forest, we eventually reached
the General Sherman Tree which is the largest tree in the world in terms of
volume, 52,500 cubic feet. There might
be taller, wider, or older trees, but no other tree in the world has more wood
in its trunk than the Sherman Tree. Its
top is dead, thus the trunk no longer grows taller, but it still grows wider
adding wood equal to another good sized tree every year.

Its girth is 103 feet, it weighs 1,385 tons and it is
approximately 2,200 years old. Its first
branch is 180 feet from the ground and its largest branch is 6.8 feet in
diameter. If its trunk were filled with
water, it would provide for 9,844 baths or one every day for 27 years. Looking up at the tree for a six-foot human
is about the equivalent of a mouse looking up at a six-foot human. The General Sherman tree is about 1,000 years
younger than the oldest known sequoia, but is larger simply due to its location
and ideal growing conditions.

After taking the mile roundtrip to the tree, we moved on to
Hospital Rock. Hospital Rock is
decorated with painted designs by the Patwisha Indians. Their meaning is unknown. Hospital Rock was given its name in 1873, 10
years after the Indian village was abandoned.
Alfred Everton was hunting with George Cahoon, when Everton was shot in
the leg upon stumbling over the rifle-set they were preparing for bear. A doctor treated Everton at this village
site, thus the rocks namesake.

Nearby Hospital Rock is another large rock full of mortar
holes. Indian women ground acorns with
five to ten pound pestles in these holes.
The tribes in this area depended on acorns as their primary source of
food. Each family collected one or more
tons of acorns each year. Before the
acorns could be safely eaten, they had to be leached to get rid of the poisonous
tannin. Hot water was poured over the
acorn meal in a leaf-lined sand pit until the meal no longer tasted
bitter.

Since 1865, no Patwishas have lived in this village. They seemed to have vanished with their
past. Causes other than war such as
small pox, measles, scarlet fever, loss of hunting territory, and broken spirit
killed or dispersed the Indians. In fact,
the impact of civilization on Indian cultures and most tribes was
disastrous. From 1770 to 1910, the
Indian population of central California declined from 32,500 to 3,125.

After our morning in the park, we headed south to
Bakersfield, took advantage of the showers at 24 Hour Fitness, and then turned
east toward Barstow…on my way home. Many thanks to all my followers…I will be sure to make a
final post upon arriving in Texas…ETB

Category: USA