Happy Holiday

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I am taking this week off.  Enjoy your Holiday, I will be back next week with a new destination!

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Howe Caverns, New York

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  A recent trip through the Catskill Mountains in New York provided an opportunity to revisit one of the favorite tourist attractions of my youth. My family used to rent a bungalow in the Catskills, and Howe Caverns was a place we visited every year.  Howe Caverns Reception Center. CC BY 2.5, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=165578696 Howe Caverns is a limestone cave system, complete with a river passing through it that is named the River Styx. The caves were discovered in 1842, when Lester Howe noticed that, on hot days, his cows would gather in the same spot, near some bushes. When he investigated, he found cool air streaming out of a hole in the hillside. He dug out the entrance, and began leading tours in the caves in 1843. Unfortunately, over the years Howe ran into financial difficulties, and had to sell off his land. The area around the caves was bought by a quarry company, and they closed off public access. In 1927 an organization was formed to reopen t...
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Callicoon NY is a beautiful place to visit

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Delaware River near Narrowsburg NY   When I take a road trip, I love to travel on small roads, avoiding the major highways. It helps that I am retired, and rarely on a tight schedule. One of the things I look forward to is discovering the small towns that the interstate passes by. I am often surprised by what I find. A recent trip through the Catskill Mountains of New York brought me just such a find.  In the northwest corner of Sullivan county, where the Delaware river serves as the border between New York and Pennsylvania, is the town of Callicoon . The town sits in a valley along the river. It was founded in 1842, when the Erie Railroad came through this part of the state. This part of the Catskills was already a center of the timber industry. In 1849 a tannery was built, taking advantage of the local hemlock trees, whose bark played a key role in preparing leather for boots and industrial belts. The railroad allowed for an influx of farmers, offering them a reliable way to...
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Port Townsend, Washington

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You find them all across the United States. Small towns, about an hour outside of a major city, that have transformed themselves. They started as industrial or farm communities. Today, they have become havens for artists, antique shops and good food. Sometimes, playing to tourists, they have grown around a specific theme, like Solvang CA or Woodstock NY. Sometimes they have grown organically, over time, into a well-integrated community, making visitors welcome to a town that is more than just a bunch of stores. Port Townsend WA is this type of town. The settlement of Port Townsend by European-Americans began in 1851. By the 1870’s it was a major seaport, and home to the U.S. Customs House for the Pacific Northwest. It location, at the eastern end of the Strait of Juan de Fuca and the entrance to Admiralty Inlet gives Port Townsend a protected harbor. During this time period many people believed (or were promised) that the trans-continental railroads would...
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