Hilary Duff's Wake Up. Enjoy!
Thursday, May 11, 2006
Wednesday, May 10, 2006
Sunday, May 07, 2006
Saturday, May 06, 2006
Thursday, April 20, 2006
Saturday, April 15, 2006
Snowmobile Capital of the World
Eagle River, Wisconsin, the Snowmobile Capital of the World, hosts the World Championship Snowmobile Derby every year around the middle of January. The 2007 derby will be held January 18 to 21, 2007, at the Eagle River Derby Track, P.O. Box 1447, Eagle River, Wisconsin 54521; 715-479-4424; Fax: 715-479-9711. Web: http://www.derbytrack.com.
Address: Eagle River Chamber of Commerce, 201 N. Railroad Street, P.O. Box 1917, Eagle River, Wisconsin 54521; 715-479-6400; 800-359-6315. Email: info@eagleriver.org. Web: http://www.snowmobileEagleRiver.com and http://www.eagleriver.org.
Friday, April 14, 2006
Snowmobile Racing Hall of Fame
The Snowmobile Racing Hall of Fame is located in St. Germain, Wisconsin, just down the road from the Snowmobile Capital of the World (see next entry).
In 1983, Mike Trapp, C. J. Ramstad and Loren Anderson were talking about the great and exciting history of snowmobile racing. Mike was a two-time Eagle River World champion and Loren had been a number one bib in open and 650 classes. CJ talked of the fantastic photo library he had which told the thrilling history of racing. Before that day's riding was over, the three had decided that a museum and a hall of fame should be created to honor the race drivers and to display their unique and exciting sleds. The idea for the Hall of Fame and Museum was born.
Address: Snowmobile Racing Hall of Fame and Museum, 8481 Highway 70 West, P O Box 720, St. Germain, Wisconsin 54558; 715-542-4488; Fax: 715-542-4477. Email: hallfame@newnorth.net. Web: http://www.snowmobilehalloffame.com.
Wednesday, April 12, 2006
World's Largest Musky Shop
Rollie & Helen's Musky Shop in Minocqua, Wisconsin is the World's Largest Musky Shop. That's what their catalog says, and I don't doubt them. At their store, you can get anything you want having to do with catching, mounting, or displaying musky.
Address: Rollie & Helen's Musky Shop, 7542 Highway 51 South, Minocqua, Wisconsin 54548; 715-356-6011; 800-453-5224; Fax: 715-356-5719. Email: info@muskyshop.com. Web: http://www.muskyshop.com.
Friday, April 07, 2006
Rock Album Cover Locations
Chris Epting, author of Elvis Presley Passed Here and other cultural history travel books, has a wonderful page on his web site that features the actual locations that were used in the cover art of major rock albums by The Doors, Pink Floyd, Led Zeppelin, David Bowie, Bob Dylan, and Jackson Browne. You really have to visit this page: http://www.chrisepting.com/rockRoll.htm.
Led Zeppelin's Houses of the Holy album . . .
Saturday, March 25, 2006
Prescott, Arizona: A Special Place
Besides its natural beauty, Prescott, Arizona has three exceptional things about it.
1. Prescott sits amid the largest stand of ponderosa pines in the world.
2. Prescott was Arizona's first territorial capital.
3. Since 1888, Prescott has been home of the world's oldest, continuously running rodeo. This rodeo is still held around the 4th of July.
Address: The Prescott Chamber of Commerce, 117 W. Goodwin Street, Prescott, Arizona 86302; 928-445-2000; 800-266-7534. Email: chamber@prescott.org. Web: http://www.prescott.org or http://www.visit-prescott.com.
Friday, March 24, 2006
Cowboy Capital of the World
Bandera, Texas bills itself as the Cowboy Capital of the World.
Contact: Bandera Visitors Bureau, 1206 Hackberry, P O Box 171, Bandera TX 78003; 830-796-3045; 800-364-3833. Email: bandera@hctc.net. Web: http://www.banderacowboycapital.com.
Thursday, March 23, 2006
The Poor Man's Dante's Inferno
In this case, it's Hot Times, Very Hot Places!
Known as the poor man's Dante's Inferno because of an underground fire that has been burning for more than 40 years, the coal mining town of Centralia, Pennsylvania has been the setting for the film Silent Hill, starring Radha Mitchell, as well as bestselling novelist Lisa Scottoline's new book Dirty Blonde.
The story of Centralia's fire began sometime in 1962 along the outskirts of town when trash was burned in the pit of an abandoned strip mine, which connected to a coal vein running near the surface. The burning trash set fire to the exposed vein of coal. Thought to be extinguished, the first began burning underground. For two decades, the government battled the fire in a number of ways: flushing water down the mine, excavating burning material, cutting ditches, etc., but all attempts to put the fire out were fruitless. By the early 1980s, when much of the town was abandoned, the fire had encompassed 200 acres. The fire continues to this day and is expected to continue for many years to come.
Note: It is very dangerous to walk or drive in the area near the fire. As the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental protection notes: "Walking and/or driving in the immediate area could result in serious injury or death. There are dangerous gases present, and the ground is prone to sudden and unexpected collapse. DEP strongly discourages anyone from visiting the immediate area."
The best resource for more information about the on-going fire is the offroaders.com web site at http://www.offroaders.com/album/centralia/centralia.htm.
Known as the poor man's Dante's Inferno because of an underground fire that has been burning for more than 40 years, the coal mining town of Centralia, Pennsylvania has been the setting for the film Silent Hill, starring Radha Mitchell, as well as bestselling novelist Lisa Scottoline's new book Dirty Blonde.
The story of Centralia's fire began sometime in 1962 along the outskirts of town when trash was burned in the pit of an abandoned strip mine, which connected to a coal vein running near the surface. The burning trash set fire to the exposed vein of coal. Thought to be extinguished, the first began burning underground. For two decades, the government battled the fire in a number of ways: flushing water down the mine, excavating burning material, cutting ditches, etc., but all attempts to put the fire out were fruitless. By the early 1980s, when much of the town was abandoned, the fire had encompassed 200 acres. The fire continues to this day and is expected to continue for many years to come.
Note: It is very dangerous to walk or drive in the area near the fire. As the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental protection notes: "Walking and/or driving in the immediate area could result in serious injury or death. There are dangerous gases present, and the ground is prone to sudden and unexpected collapse. DEP strongly discourages anyone from visiting the immediate area."
The best resource for more information about the on-going fire is the offroaders.com web site at http://www.offroaders.com/album/centralia/centralia.htm.
Saturday, February 25, 2006
Oldest Wooden Merry-Go-Round in the U.S.
In 1905, the Kit Carson County Carousel, the oldest wooden merry-go-round in the U.S., opened at Elitch Gardens in Denver, Colorado. It was later moved to Burlington, Colorado in 1928. It is the only antique carousel in America that still has the original paint on the scenery and animals.
Address: Kit Carson County Carousel Association, P O Box 28, Stratton, Colorado 80836; 719-348-5562. Web: http://www.kitcarsoncountycarousel.com.
Friday, February 24, 2006
Pinto Bean Capital of the World
Dove Creek, Colorado is the Pinto Bean Capital of the World. Pinto Beans are the most widely produced bean in the United States and is one of the most popular in the Americas.
Address: Dove Creek Chamber of Commerce, P O Box 613, Dove Creek, Colorado 81324-0613; 970-677-2272; Fax: 970-677-2271.
Thursday, February 23, 2006
World's First Rodeo
The world's first rodeo was held on July 4, 1869 in Deer Trail, Colorado.
Address: Town of Deer Trail, P O Box 217, Deer Trail, Colorado 80105; 303-769-4464; Fax: 303-769-4466. Email: dttownhall@aol.com. Web: http://www.deertrailcolorado.org.
Wednesday, February 22, 2006
Movie Star: Durango & Silverton Railroad
Established in 1881, the Durango and Silverton Narrow Gauge Railroad has appeared in more than a dozen movies including Colorado Territory (1949), Ticket to Tomahawk (1950), Denver & Rio Grande (1952), Viva Zapata (1952), Three Young Texans (1954), Run for Cover (1955), Maverick Queen (1956), Around the World in 80 Days (1956), Night Passage (1957), How the West Was Won (1963), Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid (1969), Support Your Local Gunfighter (1970), Durango & Silverton Narrow Gauge Railroad (1984), The Tracker (1987), Rebirth of a Locomotive (1992), Tracks Through Time (1999), Durango Kids (1999), Golden Dreams (2000), and The Claim (2000).
Address: Durango and Silverton Narrow Gauge Railroad, 479 Main Street, Durango, Colorado 81301; 970-247-2733; 877-TRAIN-07. Email: info@durangotrain.com. Web: http://www.durangotrain.com.
Tuesday, February 21, 2006
World's Largest Natural Hot Springs Pool
The world's largest natural hot springs pool, over two blocks long, is located in Glenwood Springs, Colorado.
Address: Hot Springs Lodge and Pool, P O Box 308, Glenwood Springs, Colorado 81602; 970-945-6571; 800-537-SWIM; Fax: 970-947-2950. Web: http://www.hotspringspool.com.
Monday, February 20, 2006
Oldest State-Funded Archival Agency in the U.S.
The Alabama Department of Archives is the oldest state-funded archival agency in the U.S.
Address: Alabama Department of Archives, 624 Washington Avenue, Montgomery, Alabama 36130-0100; 334-242-4435. Web: http://www.archives.state.al.us.
Sunday, February 19, 2006
World's Only Monument Dedicated to an Insect Pest
The Boll Weevil Monument was dedicated on December 11, 1919, at Enterprise, Alabama. It is the world's only monument dedicated to an insect pest.
Address: Boll Weevil Monument, Intersection of Main and College, Enterprise, Alabama 36331-0577; 334-347-0581; 800-235-4730; Fax: 334-393-8204. Web: http://www.enterprisealabama.com.
Saturday, February 18, 2006
Even More Pennsylvania Firsts
1831: The Oxford Provident, the first building and loan association in America, was established at Frankford, Pennsylvania on January 31, 1831.
1831: On April 25, 1831, Matthias Baldwin tested the first locomotive which established the largest locomotive building works in the world.
1834: The Franklin Institute of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, began the first systematic study of meteorology in the aid of agriculture.
Address: The Franklin Institute, 220 North 20th Street, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 19103; 212-448-1200. Web: http://www.fi.edu.
1835: The city of Philadelphia began laying the first gas pipes in the U.S.
1848: The first regularly published comic paper, the John-Donkey, was published in Philadelphia.
1852: The Female Medical College of Philadelphia (later Woman's Medical College) granted the first medical degree for women in America. In recent years, the college has joined with Drexel University's college of medicine.
"Drexel University College of Medicine ... is the consolidation of two venerable medical schools with rich and intertwined histories: Hahnemann Medical College and Woman's Medical College of Pennsylvania. Established in 1848 and 1850, respectively, they were two of the earliest medical colleges in the United States, and Woman's was the very first medical school for women in the nation."
Address: Drexel University College of Medicine, Queen Lane Medical Campus, 2900 W. Queen Lane, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 19129; 215-991-8100. Web: http://www.drexelmed.edu.
1831: On April 25, 1831, Matthias Baldwin tested the first locomotive which established the largest locomotive building works in the world.
1834: The Franklin Institute of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, began the first systematic study of meteorology in the aid of agriculture.
Address: The Franklin Institute, 220 North 20th Street, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 19103; 212-448-1200. Web: http://www.fi.edu.
1835: The city of Philadelphia began laying the first gas pipes in the U.S.
1848: The first regularly published comic paper, the John-Donkey, was published in Philadelphia.
1852: The Female Medical College of Philadelphia (later Woman's Medical College) granted the first medical degree for women in America. In recent years, the college has joined with Drexel University's college of medicine.
"Drexel University College of Medicine ... is the consolidation of two venerable medical schools with rich and intertwined histories: Hahnemann Medical College and Woman's Medical College of Pennsylvania. Established in 1848 and 1850, respectively, they were two of the earliest medical colleges in the United States, and Woman's was the very first medical school for women in the nation."
Address: Drexel University College of Medicine, Queen Lane Medical Campus, 2900 W. Queen Lane, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 19129; 215-991-8100. Web: http://www.drexelmed.edu.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)