Travel Blog # 1. - First month on the road

After nearly five years of planning, changing our minds again and again, saving money, spending money, we finally did it; we are on the road for the next year. Calgary is in our rearview mirror and our road to adventure is in front of us.

We are now just over a month into our travels and I think our minds want to explode with the amount of the unique and sometimes crazy people and things we have had the opportunity to discover and see so far.

Our first destination was The Narcisse Snake Dens in Manitoba. We had gone a few years ago in September but there was very little activity to be seen. We thought we would try again and made our way there at the end of April. Lucky for us the snakes were just starting to come out! It’s an amazing thing to see. Thousand of snakes make their way out of their dens. The males waiting to mate with one of the females.

Winnipeg was memorable. I ended up having a tooth extracted so we stayed on for a few extra days. Not the worst as it gave us the opportunity to visit Valor Road, The Bear Statue (Winnie the Pooh), Louis Riel Grave site, Museum of Human Rights, and the Zoohky Mural ( A mural in the West End, in honour of Walter Zielke Ruesch also known as ‘Zoohky’. He was known to fix and donate things to families in need and also took care of many of the neighborhood cats). Along the way to Winnipeg, on #1 highway, we saw a small park with the sign for Centre of Canada; here we used our selfie stick for the first time - whoohoo!

Zoohky Mural

First time using our Selfie Stick

We then traveled south towards Chicago to see the Teskey Brothers (a band from Australia). Man they did not disappoint, what a voice. While in Chicago we also managed to get a picture of the Iconic  Route 66 highway sign and a visit to the Hemingway Museum Birthplace in Oak Park. There is a book written by Bernice Kert called The Hemingway Women, which is about his 4 wives. It comes highly recommended and I have put this on my to read list.

Historic Route 66 sign - Downtown Chicago

Hemingway birthplace

Waiting for the Teskey brothers to come on stage - Salt Shed Chicago

Harvest Host has been a real gem. It’s an app we purchased for a one year membership that gives access to many different types of accommodations in the USA and more limited in Canada.  From brewery’s, wineries, farms, churches, and the list goes on. It has given us the opportunity to meet many interesting, kind, and unique people along the road. So far we have stayed at an Alpaca farm, pub parking lots, a bison farm with two llamas and two miniature horses, two horse breeding farms, maple syrup farms and so many more.  Each stay has been unique, quiet, scenic, and most important, safe. We’ve not stayed at a Walmart yet but we did try one stay at a Loves Travel Stop in New York State which actually wasn’t too bad.

Harvest Host Stop for the night

Harvest Host Stop for the night

Harvest Host Stop for the night

Harvest Host Stop for the night

Harvest Host Stop for the night

Harvest Host Stop for the night

Harvest Host Stop for the night

Harvest Host Stop for the night

Along the way we also visited a few quirky and unique places thanks in part to my Atlas Obscura:

In Altona Manitoba, Sunflower Capital, has the Largest Easel displaying the Van Gogh’s Sunflowers painting.  In Fargo ND, the Fargo Wood Chipper from the original Movie Fargo signed by the Cohen Brothers and the Murals of Fargo. One of our favourites was a Bob Dylan painted mural.

Largest Easel - Van Gogh’s Sunflowers

Original Woodchipper from the movie Fargo

Bob Dylan Mural - Fargo ND

We have managed to see a few of the ‘World’s Largest’ along the way. Rothsay MI - World’s Largest Prairie Chicken, Fergus Falls MI - World’s Largest Otter where we stopped for lunch with the otter and were greeted with an array of different birds. Canada Geese, Ring-billed Gulls, Common Crackle, Yellow-rumped Warbler, Red- winged Blackbird, Robins and Egrets nesting in trees. In Belgrade MI we saw the World’s Largest Crow. And last but not least, for now, The Largest Ball of Twine in Darwin MI. This was a bit of a detour but such a quirky story.  Francis A Johnson made this ball of twine between 1950 - 1979 that’s 29 years!  The ball of twine weighs 17,400 lbs and Circumference approximately 40 feet. At one point he had actually chained it to a tree in his front yard ‘to prevent some one from walking off with it 🤔. What compels a person to take on such a unique hobby? The ball was even displayed in New-York City.

World’s largest Ball of Twine

The SPAM Museum in Austin MN, (that’s Austin Minnesota not Texas), displays the important role SPAM has played in our history, including food for the army during WW11. There are 36 different flavours of SPAM, who knew? Workers at the museum come along with trays of different flavours of SPAM to taste. The museum is free and well worth the stop. I remember eating fried SPAM as a kid. Guy also remembers a few childhood SPAM meals.

In Iowa Clear Lake we visited The Day the Music Died Memorial (Big Black Glasses in the Field) where Buddy Holly’s plane crashed.  Madison Wisconsin there is a Memorial Plaque (located on a rooftop garden; we didn’t get that part of the direction so it was difficult to locate) where Ottis Redding’s plane crashed in to Lake Monona.

Buddy Holly Memorial

Buddy Holly Memorical

One of our most popular quirky stops so far has been ‘The Most Artistic Urinals’ in the world located at the John Michael Kohler Arts Centre in Sheboygan WI - makes peeing “special” 😁.

Most Artistic Urinals

Most Artistic Urinals

The James Tellan Woodland Sculpture Garden in Sheboygan WI was also interesting. James Tellan was a former furniture painter and a woodcarver. When recovering  from an illness he saw concrete sculptures out his hospital window. After returning home, he began carving his own wooden sculpture garden.

The Tellan Woodland Sculpture Garden

The Tellan Woodland Sculpture Garden

The Bobrowitz Sculpture in Colgate WI is a whimsical, quirky and somewhat crazy sculpture garden. There are so many sculptures made out of any type of metal scraps you can imagine. It’s free to wander around the grounds, but a small donation in the donation box is appreciated.

The Bobrowitz Sculpture

The Bobrowitz Sculpture

The Bobrowitz Sculpture

The Bobrowitz Sculpture

A few others have included Worden’s Ledger in Hinckley Ohio. Herman Worden owned the land. Originally it was believed his son Hiram had done the cravings in the sandstone cliffs but latter is was revealed that Stuart Noble whom had married Nettie Worden in the 1940’s (Herman’s daughter) had done the carvings. It was an interesting hike in the woods.

Worden’s Ledger

Worden’s Ledger

Worden’s Ledger

Worden’s Ledger

The American Gothic Barn in Mount Veron Iowa (painted by a local Art Teacher) is an interesting stop. Great photo opportunity. The barn is on private property so you need to be careful when taking a picture from the side of the road.

The American Gothic Barn

The Dickyville Grotto & Shrines in Dickyville WI. Was built by Father Mathias between 1924 and  1930 from objects and stones from all over the world. Henry Ford donated all the round Gear Shift Knobs. On the grounds a fountain is adorned with 70 flowers, for the amount of days it took Christopher Columbus to arrive in America. The purpose of the shrine is for the ‘Love of God/Love of Country’.

The Dickyville Grotto & Shrines

The Dickyville Grotto & Shrines

The Dickyville Grotto & Shrines - Flowers

The Grasshopper Chapel in Cold Springs MI was quite a winding drive to get to, but the elevated location gives you a sense of peace and serenity.  The small church itself, still being used today, was built to stop the Plague of Rocky Mountain Grasshopper in 1876 & 1877. On August 15,1877 Father Leo dedicated the Chapel and mass was held every Saturday during the plague and a vow was made binding in conscience to have mass every Saturday for 15 years. Mysteriously around the time the chapel was being built the grasshoppers disappeared. As the grasshoppers did not remain long enough to lay any eggs that summer they did not return the next year. Furthermore they did not return any other year and the species went on to become extinct less than 30 years later.

Grasshopper Chapel

The Grave with a window in New Haven Vermont is another one of those eccentric stops we made. Dr. Timothy Clark Smith back in the 19th century suffered from Taphophobia -a fear of being buried alive. He designed his own tomb with a window centered squarely on his face. He installed a set of stairs and also included a breathing tube and a bell. There is not much visibility in the window now as it is full of moisture - a bit creepy.

The Grave with a window

The Grave with a window

Pittsburgh PA for me (Pamela) was to have an Andy Warhol kind of day.  Visits included the Andy Warhol Museum, Walk across the Andy Warhol Bridge and a visit to his grave in Castle Shannon, he is buried there with his parents. We were not long in Pittsburgh but driving there the roads are very narrow with lots of hills. Seemed like everything was on top of each other. We had lunch at the edge of the graveyard.

A young Andy Warhol

Andy Warhol Museum

Andy Warhol Museum

Andy Warhol Museum

Andy Warhol Bridge

Grave Andy Warhol

Grave Andy Warhol

We had a nice visit with my sister and her family in Buffalo for a few days. Celebrated our nephew Owen, turning 9 years old.  Afterwards we headed to the Corning Museum of Glass in Corning NY. Some of the work from the contestants from the Netflix series Blown Away Season 4 were on display. Then, on to Buttermilk Falls State Park for a couple nights. We hiked the falls which seemed like it would never end. Every time we came to a turn and a set of stairs, and thought it was the top, there was yet another climb. Well worth the hike.

Eating Sushi for Owens 9th birthday

Corning Museum of Glass

Corning Museum of Glass

Corning Museum of Glass

Buttermilk Falls

Buttermilk Falls

Buttermilk Falls

The First Shaker Village in Albany NY was interesting. Ann Lee was the founder of Shakers a religion based on pacifism, equality of men and women, celibacy, and a personal relationship with God. They do ecstatic, trance like dancing or ‘shaking’ hence the name Shakers.

Shaker Village

The Shakers

Shaker Village

Massachusetts Scenic Byway Drive (Jacobs Ladder Scenic Byway) in the Berkenshires was beautiful many small towns along the way. Beckett has Jacobs Pillow Dance Festival in the summer and from Chester you can hike the Arch Bridges Trail. I can’t imagine how beautiful it must be in the fall. We stopped in Stockbridge MA (Norman Rockwell lived here from 1958 until his death). We had breakfast at Theresa’s Stockbridge Cafe for breakfast. The original location of Alice’s Restaurant from the Arlo Guthrie song.

Alice’s Restaurant

Arch Bridges Trail

We did not go into the Dr. Seuss Museum in Springfield MA but we did visit the Sculpture Garden (which is free). It was fun and quirky, who doesn’t know and love Dr. Seuss.

Dr Suess Garden

Dr Seuss Gardens

Dr Seuss Gardens

We ended up traveling Rhode Island in the rain. We traveled over a few spectacular bridges, as Guy calls them ‘Highways to the Sky’. We did manage to visit the Towers of Narragansett and drive out to Point Judith Lighthouse. We walked along the famous Bellevue Avenue in Portsmouth to see some of the beautiful homes there but the rain was a bit of a damper.

Highway to the sky

Towers of Narragansett

We spent a few nights on Cape Cod. Our first 2 nights were at the northern tip just outside Provincetown. There, we devoured fresh scallops at John’s Foot Long. Had delicious pastry at the famous Portuguese Bakery, got to see a baby seal on the roadway and eventually be rescued, bought yummy salt water taffy, and got my head buzz cut. Beautiful beaches and sceneries were memorable.

Guy taking a break

Lost Baby Seal on the road

We then spent 2 nights on Cape Ann considered ‘the other Cape’ near Gloucester MA.  We visited Plymouth Rock and saw the Mayflower II.  We also visited the Paper House in Rockport. This is an 80 year old house whose walls, doors and furniture are all made of varnished newspapers, approximately 10,000 newspaper. The Grandfather clock has newspaper from each of the 48 states at the time.

Plymouth Rock

Plymouth

Plymouth

Outside walls

Grandfather clock

Walls in the Paper House

In Gloucester to Guy’s delightment, we got to see a few of the boats from the series Wicked Tuna. The FV-Tuna.Com, the Wicked Pissah, and others. You could literally walk right up to the boats at the dock. This is one of Guy’s favourite TV shows, he was very happy. We also saw the Gloucester Fishermen Memorial and the Fishermen’s Wife memorial. Visited a quirky store called Ducks in the Window, there are any kind of rubber ducky your hearts desire you will find here and shared a $40 usd lobster roll.

$40 usd Lobster Roll

Salem was a bit of a disappointment for me. I was hoping to capture the history of the Witch Trials and the rest of the story in a historical and somewhat factual way. What we discovered was an over tourist industry catering to want a be witches and goblins. We did somehow still manage to spend almost the entire day there visiting a few memorials and graveyards of the  victims of the Witch Trials.  We also watched a half hour documentary put on by the Visitor Centre that did present the facts of the Witch Trials. I managed to have my picture taken with Elizabeth Montgomery Statue. I loved the Bewitched TV show as a kid. Danvers was interesting as this was formally Salem Village and where the Salem Witch Trials began. We did visit the Village Witchcraft Memorial but had difficulty locating the Salem Village Parsonage (where it all began) and eventually gave up.

Bewitched Statue

Lowell MA the birthplace of Jack Kerouac and Bette Davis. Both homes are still around and have plaques to acknowledge them but not well maintained which is quite unfortunate.

Jack Kerouac Mural

Jack Kerouac Grave

Bette Davis house

In Ripton Vermont we walked the Robert Frost Interpretive Trail. It’s an easy walk and they have his poetry to read along the way.

My favorite Robert Frost poem

Robert Frost Trail

Danville Vermont has been the headquarters for The American Society of Dowsers since 1961.

Dowsing is the practice of using a willow branch, rod, or pendulum to locate water and mineral sources in the ground. When we stopped by the lady was very helpful and gave us a huge amount of information. I’m guessing she probably does not get many tourists.

In St Johnsbury Vermont we visited  The Dog Chapel on Dog Mountian. Folk artist Stephan Huneck died for five minutes and came back to life suffering from a major illness. When he returned home to his wife and 3 dogs he had an idea to build a chapel one that celebrated the spiritual bond people have with their dogs. People come from all over to visit and place pictures and notes for animals they have lost. It is a beautiful place, very peaceful with trails all over the property to walk with your dogs. Our Treme really did seem content, peaceful, and enjoyed herself there - lots of

Dog Chapel

Dog Chapel Pews

Dog Chapel - Treme and me

Dog Chapel

Traveling in Vermont we did manage to spot a few of Vermonts famous Witches Windows also known as Coffin Doors, supposedly to confuse witches so they don’t fly into your house. Or as some believe to assist in getting the coffin out if you pass away in your house as the stairwells were narrow. Two stops along the roadside, we had to turn around on small country roads much to Guy’s dismay, but he is a very patient and safe driver.

Witches window

Witches window

Flume Gorge New Hampshire is a beautiful easy hike. The gorge and water falls are mesmerizing. With the exception of Guy getting stuck in the Wolf Den (he went through the exit not the entrance) but he did manage to get out (great opportunity for a video) all ended well - good laugh.

Flume Gorge

Flume Gorge

Flume Gorge

Guy exiting the wolf den

Mount Washington Clog Railway.(Railway to the Moon and is a 150 years old). We slept overnight in the parking lot, as they are signed up with Harvest Host. We went up Mount Washington on the Steam Cog Railway the following morning. What an experience. It takes about 1 hour to reach the top at the amazing speed of 4 mph. The average rising grade is 25% and at one point it is almost 38%. There’s one stop along the way to fill up with more water for the steam. We spent about an hour at the top at 6,288.2 feet it was very cold and windy. Spectacular views, well worth it. The downward trip is also interesting. The carriage is actually not connected to the steam motor, just bumpers, so the carriage brake man has a lot of work synchronizing the speeds. The chairs in the carriage switch, when going up they are angled downwards which become level on the grade. On the way down the seat backs are flipped so they angle upwards so we don’t slide off, engineering at it’s best.

Mount Washington Clog Railway

Mount Washington Clog Railway

Mount Washington Clog Railway

Mount Washington Clog Railway

Mount Washington Clog Railway

Mount Washington Clog Railway

Acadia National Park is stunning. Unfortunately we did not allot ourselves enough time to enjoy it fully. We ate live lobster in Bar Harbor and enjoyed the views from the pier.  In Bangor Maine I took my picture with, if not the “Largest”  definitely the most ‘Handsome’ Paul Bunyan Statue in the World. We also took pictures of Stephen Kings house, recently I learnt that he sold the house last year and he and his wife have moved to Florida. I feel a bit bad for the people who bought it as there is an ongoing flow of tourists taking photos of their home.

Bar Harbour - fresh lobster

Acadian National Park

Acadian National Park

The Handsome Paul Bunyan

Stephen Kings “former” house