This years summer vacation
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Really nice pics. Please post more!
Oh, and definitely a rattlesnake. It has a rattle. And that’s the 1st defining feature with your pic. Gopher snakes (aka bull snakes) don’t have rattles on their tails. Their tails taper to a point. I’m more familiar with prairie rattlers. They aren’t as pretty as the ones down south. -
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Great photos, Mr. B.
There's nothing like the US for just jaw-dropping canyons and what-not. We went to the Grand Canyon and Sedona a couple of years ago, and I was really just struck dumb by the experience. I'm hoping it's reversible.
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My contact in Calgary got back to me and said that it was a beautiful example of a Southern Pacific Rattlesnake (Crotalus helleri )
What really impressed him was the perfect condition of his tail for a snake that has undergone twelve sheddings.
Good call blondie.
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So, currently in Grand Island Nebraska.
As I said going fast over the plains. Here there be…basically just cornfields.
Some catch up
The south west deserts are just beyond spectacular. Every turn was a new canyon, a new mesa, colors unbelievable.
But fraught with danger.
Four corners
Joshua trees
Ouray Colorado
Scottsbluff Nebraska.
Tomorrow booked a hotel overlooking the Mississippi in Iowa.
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No sorry. Swinging fast in abit more southerly route across Indiana and ultimately toward Pennsylvania and New York, I’d like to visit the hallowed ground of Gettysburg. And maybe Amish Pennsylvania.
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Gettysburg is fantastic. Enjoy!
And again, take Route 40 if you can, though 30’s nice as well and will take you past the Flight 93 monument.
Me/rry/Christmas
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@LuFins-Dad I see 30 running through Gettysburg towards Lancaster but I don’t see 40, what towns does it run through?
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New update from Muscatine Iowa on the Mississippi.
First some thoughts on Nebraska vs Iowa.
Western Nebraska was very much like Colorado east of the Rockies, lots of prairie grass, and grazing herds of cattle. Eastern Nebraska was just plain boring and not particularly beautiful.
On the other hand, crossing into Iowa I was struck on how simply beautiful the landscape was. Sure, lots of corn fields but just stunningly green, verdant. Also not flat pancake like Nebraska but rolling hills.
This doesn’t do it justice but really a very relaxing drive. Stayed off the interstate and drove the small country roads through the fields. Also Mennonite country.
Eventually ended up at Iowa border on the Mississippi.
Signs of recent flooding.
Ol’ man river
Huge barge being pushed upstream
Another huge barge just sitting askew I guess waiting to be also moved.
(For those with long memories, barges will now always remind me of an unpleasant exchange about “the barge” with a certain former forumite. )
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For those with long memories, barges will now always remind me of an unpleasant exchange about “the barge” with a certain former forumite.
I see too many, as my apartment overlooks the hudson. When I see the word written out, though, it’s another story.
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@bachophile said in This years summer vacation:
@LuFins-Dad I see 30 running through Gettysburg towards Lancaster but I don’t see 40, what towns does it run through?
40 is tricky as it blends in with a couple of major highways like 70 and 68, but typically there will be Alternate 40 routes that are a little more interesting.
In West Virginia through Western PA, you’ll go through some small industrial cities like Wheeling, WV and Washington, PA. There’s a lot of history in those towns, then it cuts south along the Mongahela river through some smaller little towns like Brownsville and California. These are primarily mining towns, with a University being built in California.
It gets a lot better when you get to Uniontown. From there, it will take you up into the mountains. It’s a fun ride driving up to the summit, with several nice inns and the Nemacolin resort. From there you have Ohiopyle, Lural Caverns, and more. If you’re interested in biking or trains, you can visit the Great Allegheny Passage. The train ride to the Continental Divide is nice. I’ve always wanted to do the Ohiopyle White Water Rafying trip for a day, then do the bike trip from there, travel the gap, then coast all the way down to Cumberland, MD.
From there, there are a number of alternate paths to take depending on what interests you. You can easily get to @Aqua-Letifer s old stomping grounds at Deep Creek Lake, or start heading NE towards Gettysburg. Alternate 40 through Hagerstown and Frederick is nice…
