Here and There

Scott and Jackie's Travels – Thousand Trails Reviews, Campground Reviews, Fulltime RVing, European Travel

Tag: nature

2018 – Sightseeing Little Rock, AR and vicinity

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Sometimes in our travels we stay at a campground that is, in itself, an “attraction.” We’ll review Maumelle Corps of Engineers campground in a separate post, but it’s one of those campgrounds that’s so pretty with such great campsites that we enjoyed just hanging out at the campground rather than heading out to see the sights.

We did, though, spend the better part of a day at the Arkansas State Fair; our second big fair this year. We entered the fairgrounds through the midway but we quickly made our way back to the exhibit areas. We walked through a building with a wide variety of vendors and items for sale and then visited the cattle barn. My favorite building was arts and crafts. I’m always amazed the beautiful throws, pillows, clothes and quilts people make. In the same building the end wall was full of canned foods but it was the blue ribbon gigantic pumpkins and watermelons that got my attention. Our final stop of the day was at the arena where they were judging cattle and giving the ribbons. This was a new experience for me and very interesting.

Pinnacle Mountain State Park was very near our campground. We visited this park a couple of years ago and remembered that it is a terrific place to visit. As we arrived at the park near the Visitor’s Center we saw some beautiful early fall colors in the trees by the pond. We then climbed the stairs to the observation deck and were rewarded with a great view of the wetlands with the Arkansas River below us. There was no one else there and I enjoyed not only the view but also the quiet away from traffic and crowds. After a pleasant time there we went to the Visitor’s Center. I enjoyed seeing the wildlife dioramas and the live beehive behind glass. For those with with children there are interactive displays, color pages and other activities. This is a great place and surprisingly close to Little Rock.


See individual photos with captions here.

2018 – Sightseeing the Smoky Mountains of east Tennessee

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We always enjoy returning to the Smoky Mountains. This visit was just for a week, so we had a short but busy stay. A highlight for us was the opportunity to attend the Saturday afternoon sessions of the National Quartet Convention at the LeConte Center in Pigeon Forge. Thanks to some friends who were attending the convention, we got tickets for the Gerald Wolfe Hymn Sing. This was a fun “sing along” event with a full choir and several other southern gospel singers. Then, we attended a concert featuring several male quartets. As you can guess Scott was right in his element and I enjoyed my first NQC.

We spent one day enjoying the Great Smoky Mountain National Park. Years ago we spent some time camping at Cades Cove and we haven’t been back there since. It was as pretty as we remembered. We took the scenic loop drive, stopping at three historical spots along the way. Our first stop was at the Primitive Baptist Church. We could see the space where the heating stove sat and the roof vent where the stovepipe vented outside. There is a large cemetery in back and we could see some the names and dates of the people buried there. One thing that stuck me in both cemeteries was the amount of children’s graves; especially those that died on the day of their birth. I was surprised to see several more recent graves there, apparently family plots still being used by families to lay loved ones to rest.

We also stopped at a Methodist Church. The building has an old upright piano. As we arrived a young lady was playing the piano and after she left Scott played his trademark “When the Saints go Marching In.” Several came in as he played and they asked for an encore! Scott said this was his day of fame! It really did sound good in that old church.

We stopped at the visitors’ center to eat our picnic lunch and then walked around the historic farm there. Next month the National Park Service will be using the historic equipment on site to demonstrate how to make sorghum which they have on sale in the store. The house is large with several rooms on the main floor and an upstairs. We also saw an old barn, corn crib, and a working mill where a man was grinding corn into cornmeal. The mill wheel was turned by water from a nearby stream. We loved the drive through the park that follows a beautiful mountain stream that features many impressive rapids. We thoroughly enjoyed our day in the beauty of God’s Creation.

There’s so much to see in this area that it would take months to really do it justice. We enjoyed returning to the Apple Barn for a meal as well as exploring the shops there. We’ll look forward to future visits here.


See individual photos with captions here.

2018 – Sightseeing Wytheville, VA and area

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Our stay in the Wytheville, VA area was a brief one but we enjoyed looking around the area. We took a short drive to nearby Austinville, VA. This community has a strong Texas connection because it is the birthplace of Stephen F. Austin, the “Father of Texas.” There’s a small park there: the Stephen F. Austin Memorial Park. Austin led the group of families to Texas forming what is known as the “First 300” and he had a major role in Texas becoming a Republic.

Also near Austinville along I77 is Shot Tower Historical State Park. The park itself is small and tours are made by appointment only. According to records it was the first factory to mass produce shot on American soil. The tower is 75 feet tall with a shaft beneath it adding another 75 feet to the structure. Melted lead was pulled to the top of the tower using block and tackle. It was then poured through giant sieves. As it fell it cooled, forming musket “shot.” A tunnel at the bottom of the shaft connected to the nearby river and water from the river cushioned the newly formed lead balls as they fell into a large pot. The musket balls were retrieved by workmen from the bottom, dried and polished either on site or at a nearby town. It operated from 1807-1839.

This area is lush and green from all the rain this summer. We drove one of the many scenic byways, enjoying the forest and winding roads all the way up to the top of Big Walker Mountain, just north of Wytheville. There we looked around a long time tourist attraction, the BW Country Store. It is full of handcrafted items, tourist stuff, and tasty looking food items like jams, salsas, fudge, ice cream and more. On the weekends, the store hosts music performances. There’s a lookout tower but we chose to not go up this one. Really, tower or not, the views were spectacular: we could see for miles down the valleys on either side of the peak of the mountain. It was a great afternoon drive.


See individual photos with captions here.

2018 – Sightseeing Wells-Kennebunkport, Maine

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Our final week in Maine on this year’s adventure brought us to the Wells-Kennebunkport area. My best memories of this area are enjoying fish and chips at an area restaurant, eating some great ice cream, and taking a very nice (but congested) coastal drive to Kennebunkport. While there we enjoyed a few quiet moments at Saint Anne’s By The Sea which is a historical Episcopal Church with a wonderful view of the ocean. Nearby we also saw the summer home of President G.H.W. Bush (from a distance, of course!). Honestly, although our campground was in town and only a few minutes from the beach the August traffic and parking issues made it a major effort to go anywhere. Even if we did find a parking spot that would accommodate our truck the charge for parking made it prohibitive for us. There’s a local shuttle that can be ridden for a nominal cost of just $1 a ride, but it battles the same traffic. The result for us was that we just hung around the campground a bit more where we could avoid the traffic in this very popular tourist area.


See individual photos with captions here.

2018 – Schoodic Woods Campground – Acadia National Park, Maine

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As we began thinking about our 2018 Adventure we decided that Maine’s Acadia National Park would be our primary destination. I started researching the area and began seeing rave reviews of the NPS Schoodic Woods Campground, located on the Schoodic Peninsula section of the National Park. This is considered the “quiet side” of the park with Mt Desert Island containing all the famous landmarks and Schoodic being more laid back. The campground receives universally high marks. Ultimately, we decided to spend a week in the middle of the action on Mt Desert and then spend a week enjoying the serenity of the Peninsula. The booking window is 6 months and I got online the earliest day I could book for the dates of our stay. At that time there were only a few remaining available sites.

It was a great choice. We certainly wouldn’t have wanted to miss the famous side of the park, but this campground is just great. It is located just outside the small town of Winter Harbor. The pull-through sites of Loop B are some of the longest we’ve ever seen. Spacing between the sites is also more than generous. We can see our neighbors through the trees but there’s a great feeling of privacy throughout the campground. The sites in this loop all offer 50 amp electric and water. There’s even free campground WiFi. Here’s a tip for WiFi – book sites nearer the restrooms for the strongest WiFi signals. My Verizon worked okay, ranging from 1 to 3 bars of 4G and I had no problem getting satellite TV.

The campground has a “dark skies” policy. That means there are no strings of LED lights, bug zappers, etc. It also means that you can sit out at night and count the shooting stars and watch satellites gliding across the sky with the backdrop of the Milky Way clearly visible.

The roads are paved and the sites are gravel. The restrooms were always clean. You want to know that there are no showers at the campground. A few businesses in town offer showers for a price.

There’s a NPS shuttle bus that serves the Peninsula, including stops in the two nearby small communities where there are restaurants, a small grocery, and a few shops – all can be visited without starting your own vehicle.

If the campsites here were full hookup, or if, at least, showers were offered, I’d give Schoodic Woods a perfect score. As it is, though, it ranks as one of our favorite campgrounds of all time.


See individual photos with captions here.

2018 – Sightseeing Schoodic Peninsula Maine and area

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After our active week at Bar Harbor this has been a wonderfully quiet week. We have been on the “quiet side” of Acadia National Park, on the Schoodic Peninsula of Maine. Our campsite is just a few minutes walk from the visitors station and Island Explorer Bus stop. This bus goes around the Island stopping at several points to allow visitors to get off, stay awhile, and then catch another bus to continue exploring. We enjoyed the scenery, especially at Schoodic Point. The route includes a stop in the small village of Winter Harbor where we looked in the five and dime store and a had a sundae at the local restaurant. The local event of the week was the town’s Lobster Festival which included craft booths, food trucks, a lobster dinner that we enjoyed, and lobster boat races. The lobster boats used in the races are the real deal, although I think the engines are souped up a bit. I loved seeing the waves crash on the rocks at the coast but my best memories will will be the times we sat out at night seeing the shooting stars on the clear nights we had here.



See individual photos with captions here.

2018 – Sightseeing Acadia National Park and area

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We enjoyed our week near Bar Harbor, Maine where we focused on seeing the Mount Desert Island section of Acadia National Park. The Island Explorer bus stopped at our campground so we had easy access to Bar Harbor and the National Park. There are many shops and eating places of all kinds around Bar Harbor. Mount Desert Island is full of history and the scenery is amazing. Again, our focus was on the national park. Sand Beach is beautiful and I loved seeing and hearing the waves crashing in the rocks. At Jordan Pond restaurant we dined on their famous popovers with butter and jam. After eating we walked down to the pond. The water is very clear and the view of Jordan Lake was great. The Bubble Rocks out across the Lake complete the beautiful scenery. We took one half day to drive up Cadillac Mountain to see the views that include the outer islands off in the distance. We wanted to get there early as this this a major attraction in the park and parking is limited. We arrived about nine am and not many people were there because of the fog and no view whatsoever. We looked around the gift shop and then walked on out to the ledge trail, found a comfortable spot and waited for the fog to lift. As the fog cleared the islands off in the distance and far below us came in to view. During the winter months Cadillac Mountain is the first United States real estate to see the sun rise. Later we drove a scenic route, exploring portions of Mount Desert that are outside of the national park. We found a beautiful spot along Somes Sound where we enjoyed some quiet time, soaking in the beauty. Not too far from our campground we visited a L.L. Bean Store and enjoyed looking around, even though it wasn’t the main store. We enjoyed our experience here and can see why it has been a vacation spot for all ages through the years. I’ll have more to write about Arcadia next week as we are going to spend the week on the Schoodic Peninsula, which some people call the “unvisited” part of Acadia National Park.


See individual photos with captions here.

2018 – Sightseeing Portland, ME and area

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We had a wonderful time sightseeing Portland, Maine and south along the coast. We started by visiting Lenny, a life-sized chocolate Moose at Lenny Libby Chocolatier. There was also a bear and two cubs made of chocolate in the diorama. This candy shop has a wide variety of chocolate, salt water taffy, fudge, ice cream and gift items. Of course I bought some chocolate to take with me. From there we went to the Holy Donut shop for a unique experience. We bought a maple bacon and a potato donut with chocolate icing topped with coconut flakes. A tasty treat!

We then caught the city bus and enjoyed seeing the historic homes and buildings we passed on the way to the wharf. There we caught the Casco Bay Ferry Mail boat and rode along on a three hour mail run to several of the islands in Casco Bay. During the summer there are two of these runs a day and many people buy tickets to ride along. We heard a description of the historic lighthouses and other features along the route. It was interesting to see the crew load and unload the cargo and watch the people meet the boat to pick up their items as they were unloaded. Much more than mail was included in the cargo. For instance there were several mattresses and box springs that were loaded into the back of a pickup on delivery as well as a golf cart. A couple of times the sea fog rolled in adding to the adventure.

We also spent a fun afternoon seeing the beautiful coastline and visiting a few lighthouses just south of Portland, Maine. They are all historic but one that stands out is Portland Head Lighthouse. It’s construction was begun in 1787 at the direction of George Washington. We thoroughly enjoyed seeing the parks and beautiful homes in the area.


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2018 – Sightseeing the Hudson River Valley of New York

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This is such a beautiful and interesting area with many things to see with the scenic backdrop of the Catskill Mountains and the Hudson River Valley. There are waterfalls, dramatic landscapes, and also many farms and historic homes in the area.

We took a day trip to visit two Historic Homes in the famous Hyde Park area of New York. We started with Springwood, the Home of Franklin D. Roosevelt, our 32nd President and the only one elected to office four times. We started our tour at the gardens and saw where he and Eleanor are buried. We went in the front door and into the large entryway. I was impressed by the huge grandfather clock and beautiful wooden furniture. FDR was especially fascinated with birds and sailing ships. The entry way had some of the many birds he collected as well as some of the navel paintings that he acquired across the years. We walked down the hallway to the library-living room on a clear glass floor that allowed us to see the ramp used by FDR with his chair on wheels. The room is filled with books, beautiful carpets, and items collected around the world. There were also board games for family and friends. We were unable to see the 2nd floor because the air conditioning was not working and there is no ventilation. We exited through the kitchen area where we were reminded of how much manual labor was need to serve this household. The servants did everything from grinding the coffee beans to washing up after the meals. The nearby stable has the stalls with names of the horses and a display of the various ribbons won by his prize horses across the years.

We also visited the FDR Presidential Museum. The USA was in the Great Depression when he was first elected President. The museum shows some of his childhood but focuses on his election, his work to bring the US through the depression, efforts to improve the lives of the American people, and leadership through World War 2. As you might guess, considerable attention is given to World War 2. There is also information about Eleanor’s work as a reformer and her appointment to the United Nations after FDR’s death.

A short distance from FDR’s house and museum is the Vanderbilt home which was completed in 1899. It is considered a prime example of the “Gilded Age.” We entered through huge doors and stepped into a grand entry hall filled with marble statues and heavy furnishings. Amazing tapestries adorn the hall walls. On one end of the main level is a huge dining room where the family could entertain a large number of guests. On the opposite end of the main floor is a large library and living room. The master bedrooms are on the second floor. The lady of the house had an impressive, French inspired bedroom with an attached setting room where she met with the housekeeper and took care of her letter writing etc. Guest rooms for married couples and single women were on the opposite end of the house and there was a door leading to a servants’ stairs that allowed them access to the rooms.

We had fun visiting the Rosendale, NY Street Festival. Some of the local shops were open and there were vendors of all kinds: commercial, crafts, face painting and henna art along with booths offering a wide variety of food. Of course I had to have a funnel cake! The main feature of the festival is music and there are multiple stages and wide variety music be heard at all times. According to the advertising there are 100 bands performing during the two day festival – truly something for everyone. We really liked the woodwind and horn orchestra we heard immediately on arriving and the smooth jazz group performing as we were leaving. We enjoyed this local event.

See individual photos with captions here.

2018 – Sightseeing the Poconos of PA

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We are spent a week in the Pocono’s of Pennsylvania; an area I’ve heard of all my life. We especially enjoy exploring areas that are new to us and this was new territory for both of us. Near our campground was Bushkill Falls. It’s advertised as the Niagara of Pennsylvania. This is a commercial park with other things to do but we came for the main attraction: the waterfalls. There are four trails and hiking these trails takes from 15 minutes for the easiest one to two and a half hours for the longest. We took the 2nd level trail that focuses on the main falls. Our path was well kept and included several steps and viewing platforms. The falls are quite impressive and well worth the effort and expense to see them. There are many other activities available for families including a Native American exhibit, a wildlife exhibit, gift and snack bar, a fudge kitchen, and ice cream bar. Near the entrance is a pond with paddle boats and fishing gear, a playground with picnic tables, and a mini golf course.

We also enjoyed touring Grey Towers National Historic Site. This palatial summer home was planned and built by James Pinchot who was not only the first Chief of the National Forest Service but also was twice elected governor of Pennsylvania. Grey Towers was also used by his son Gifford and his wife Cornelia and her touch is evident throughout the home and across the property. The home was modeled after the Marquis de LaFayette’s home. The grounds are open and free of charge. We paid to take the guided tour and saw several rooms on the main floor. The rooms are filled with family heirlooms and items brought home from their vast travels. Our guide also talked about the landscaping and the gardens created by Cornelia. There is a long narrow pool built in such a way as to make it seem longer than it really is. The one area I found especially interesting was “The Finger Bowl.” This outdoor dining area is beautifully shaded by a wisteria covered arbor. The “bowl” is a raised pool surrounded by a flat ledge that served as a sort of counter or table top. People were seated around the pool on comfortable chairs and food was served from wooden bowls floating on the water. The diners would “pass” the food by floating it across to one another. The entire property is a beautiful, quiet place with many benches and gazebos where a person can enjoy the landscaping and scenery.

We ate at a couple of good places, but no place with a “finger bowl.” Our favorite was Philly Steaks in Stroudsburg. We split a cheesesteak and fries and were glad we did! The portions were huge.

There’s enjoyed driving around this area, seeing the beautiful Pocono’s and lush forests. It is easy to see why this area has drawn people from the nearby big cities for many decades.


See individual photos and captions here.