Counseling for the Daring Traveler
It all begins when you decide to break away without the “group of tourists” surrounding you. You may be planning to go it alone, with a companion or with a few friends that share your enthusiasm for adventure; and it’s not that difficult! Perhaps this site will offer some helpful advice to motivate you into action, to decide where to go, when to go and how to plan to get there. There may be even a thought or two on what to do when you arrive at your destination. This advice comes from a well seasoned traveler that rarely uses a travel agent or travel agency to plan for me and my traveling companions.
Blue Ridges
This is why they are called the Blue Ridge Mountains…
Fort Lewis Mountain shines “blue” from Green Hill Park in Salem Virginia
Lots of great hiking trails, including the famous Appalachian Trail, can be found right here in the Roanoke Valley. Or, if you are into biking, there are awesome green-ways along the Roanoke River or challenging mountain rides on the Blue Ridge Parkway!
This Roanoke Valley needs to be on your travel “bucket list”.
Wild Wonderful
West Virginia is famous for being “Wild and Wonderful” particularly in the New River Gorge area. Come for a long weekend here and you will go back home refreshed and aware of how beautiful this part of the USA can be!
Start off with a trip to the New River Gorge Bridge visitors center and hike the overlook…looking up at an engineering marvel. Get here from Highway 19 just north of Fayetteville, WV.
There’s a bridge at the bottom of the gorge too! That’s how high up the famous bridge is over the gorge…be sure to drive the route down to the bottom and cross that old bridge.
Stop at Fayette Station in the (new) New River Gorge National River park and look back up at the bridge while listening to the rapid flowing river over the rocks and boulders…making this river one of the best white water rafting rivers in the US and maybe the world! In this area are the Gauley and New River that converge as they roar through the mountains and valleys of WV. Each of these two rivers offers an “upper and lower” section of rapids to carry adventurous people on thrilling wet rides before they merge creating a tamer Kanawha River.
My trip this weekend was on the Upper New River as it is the tamest and family oriented river due to my 9 and 10 year old grandsons were with us. There are still 3 class III rapids to negotiate, making it very exciting, especially if you choose to kayak it on the rubber duckies as we did.
For another great day in the area, spend it in the Ace Adventures Resort water park! Massive rubber obstacles await you all throughout the water park! It was one of the best isometric workouts I have had in a long time, trying to keep my balance while climbing, sliding and crawing along the paths trying to keep up with the young ones of the family…
You can even Zip through the air above the water, only to splash down before running out of cable! Awesome ride!
The most aggressive BLOB in the park sent many participants sailing high above as they were shot off the rubber by fellow jumpers!
This area is suitable for all ages, but being “young at heart” is a must and being somewhat mobile for sure!
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Time Speeds By…
Two months since my last post and a lot to cover…
April: Two weeks of travel to Florida (the Keys, the beautiful Blue Spring State Park, Cape Canaveral and finally back home after briefly visiting family members in Georgia.
The natural beauty of Florida in the Keys is unlike any other part of the USA and should be on your travel “bucket list”. There are numerous state parks to visit, lots of water activity to participate in and plenty of sunshine to warm your soul while taking time to relax.
But… do not overlook inland Florida either…and I am not talking Disney World. Travel to Blue Spring State Park (https://www.floridastateparks.org/parks-and-trails/blue-spring-state-park) and stay in DeLand while there. This quaint town will capture your heart as a wonderful place to visit. And a couple of days at the state park will generate awesome memories! The St. James River is flooded with millions of gallons of fresh spring water daily which attracts the manatees; making sightseeing by boat a “must do”.
And…not too far from the park on the east coast is Cape Canaveral. It has been many years since my first visit, but returning was extremely worth the visit. The center has grown into a great attraction with plenty of “space stuff” for everyone to enjoy. I highly recommend a visit here and if you’re lucky you will catch a rocket launch…I did!
My favorite attraction…
May: And most recently…a week in Missouri. Branson gets a “touristy” label and it is a whole lot of that! But there are absolutely fun and awesome things to see and do beyond that town…Going there I had plenty of low expectations that were completely unfounded! We did the in-town shows like good tourists should (only 3 of them). The Sight & Sound Theatre was showing Queen Esther and it was the most spectacular production I have ever experienced; to include Broadway productions I have seen. There are multiple ways to experience this company’s offerings, but in person at the theater belongs on your “bucket list”.
Bass Pro Shops has a great deal of influence in this part of the state…Johnny Morris started the company in Springfield and has created multiple conservation efforts in the area. Not to miss on this list are 2 remarkable and memorable places: Top of the Rock and Wonders of Wildlife National Museum & Aquarium.
These photos are from Top of the Rock
These photos are from Wonders of Wildlife National Museum and Aquarium
In closing this short blog…not enough words to describe the wonders found in and around Branson and Springfield MO…from kayaking the White River, e biking trails along Table Rock Lake, enjoying the theaters at night and visiting the Bass Pro sponsored attractions; surely belong on your future travel list.
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Backyards…
Look no further that your backyard for some sunny outside time!
Here near home, is a park along the Roanoke River with trails that lead down to the water -
But up along the mountain base, you may find local company enjoying the sunshine as much as you are!
Virginia Opossum in a tree
AND: On a very recent trip to Denver CO while staying in the outlying Aurora, we discovered this gem in our backyard…
This is Rocky Mountain Arsenal National Wildlife Refuge where you can hike through the park, drive around the park - enjoying buffalo roaming, prairie dogs popping in and out of their holes, geese flying over lakes and lots of surrounding mountain caps covered in snow…just be aware of the planned burns as it does impact the air quality!
This refuge has 15,000 acres, 20 miles of trails…right in Denver’s backyard: RMA National Wildlife Refuge
So what’s keeping you from visiting your backyard?
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