Photography, Fun, and Adventure in the U.S.
O-H-I-O, the 28th state we have visited on our adventures across the U.S. The state gets its name from the Ohio River (a 981-mile river; the largest tributary to the Mississippi River by volume) whose name originated with an interpretation of the Seneca Indian word ohiːyo’, meaning “great river.” Ohio
After a bit of a national park hiatus, we were extremely happy to arrive in northern Indiana so that we could visit our 39th national park on this great adventure: Indiana Dunes National Park, located along the shore of Lake Michigan, and the first and only national park in Indiana.
From Michigan, we did a counterclockwise circle of Indiana and Illinois, stopping first in Bluffton, just outside Fort Wayne, Indiana. Indiana, the 26th state we have visited, means Land of the Indians (though not anymore) and is known as the “Crossroads of America,” because of the importance of waterways, railroads,
We left Wisconsin and headed into Michigan — state #25 — via the Upper Peninsula, or U.P. as most folks call it… arriving in the Munising area for yet another look at Lake Superior, this time on the southern shores, which offer stunning sandstone cliffs, sand dunes, and waterfalls —
We left Duluth and immediately crossed over the St. Louis River into Superior, Wisconsin… on our way to Osseo for a quick layover before arriving at our official first stop in state #24 — Wisconsin Dells, “the Waterpark Capital of the World,” and most certainly a major tourist attraction (a
The second half of our adventures in Minnesota (state #23) took us to Bemidji, International Falls, and Duluth… to amazing natural areas with lots of history (some good, some bad)… and smack into the heart of mosquito and tick country! We also discovered northern Minnesota seems to be the land
We started our adventures in Minnesota, the 23rd state on our quest to see the continental 48 during this 2.5-year road trip, in the southwest part of the state in Rochester — better known for being the home of the Mayo Clinic than anything else. Fun facts: The state is
We hit Iowa (state #22 on our travel across the U.S.) almost immediately after leaving Nebraska City, Nebraska, as we crossed the Missouri River into a sea of flooded fields and farmland. In fact, the roads had just been partially reopened (after repairs from flooding); even the interstate was affected.
On our way through more of the Midwest, leaving Kansas on our way to Iowa, we had to make a several day stop in Nebraska City, home of Arbor Day Farm and the Arbor Day Foundation… which Ran has supported for decades, and which, as tree-lovers, we both had to
We spent about two weeks driving through Kansas — the Sunflower State — and of those two weeks, we had about two days without rain! Most of the time, it was cool and rainy, though toward the end it was hot and muggy. We are seeing crazy (and wet) weather