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Texas Rodeo

10 Awesome Things to Do in Southwest Texas

Southwest Texas has a lot of fun things to do and see – probably more than you suspect. Here are 10 ideas for classic Texas fun. 1. Wildseed Farms Flower Fields The most well-known Southwest Texas Flower Fields are at Wildseed Farms in Fredericksburg, Texas. They have over 200 acres of flower fields that they happily open to visitors and Instagram aficionados. When I visited, it was primarily poppies and daisies, but as the seasons change, so do the plants,...

woman painting at an easel in a field

Explore Weir Farm: A National Park for Art

Most people are familiar with the popular National parks, but have you heard of Weir Farm? It’s a national park just for art. The National Park Service manages more than 400 sites dedicated to history, people, and events and this one isn’t to be missed. Weir National Park in Connecticut is the only national park for art dedicated to American Impressionism. It was once the home of American Impressionist J. Alden Weir. I visited the park during my two-year road...

blue and multicolored stained glass ceiling in a marble room with a circle fountain and statues in the middle

Experience a Traditional Romanesque Bathhouse

The bathhouses at Hot Springs National Park are the perfect, maybe only, place in North America where you can still experience a Romanesque Bathhouse. Hot Springs, Arkansas, offers a unique blend of natural beauty, history, and therapeutic geothermal waters you won’t find many places. It’s a great destination for a relaxing weekend getaway or a girl’s trip. There are 47 natural hot springs in Hot Springs National Park that filter into historic 19th and 20th-century bathhouses. Today, two bathhouses on...

A natural hot spring

Recharge in the Healing Waters of Hot Springs National Park

If you’re looking for a rare and restorative national park experience, Hot Springs National Park should be on your shortlist. Nestled in the Ouachita Mountains of Arkansas, Hot Springs National Park offers a unique blend of natural beauty, history, and therapeutic geothermal waters you won’t find anywhere else in North America. It’s the perfect destination for a relaxing weekend getaway. I traveled solo to the park because I needed a long, hot soak and lacked an excellent bathtub or natural...

A white marble bust of Poe
landscape view down a long cell block filled with light and doors

Is it Haunted? Let’s Go Inside Eastern State Penitentiary

Some say Eastern State Penitentiary is haunted. I don’t know if that’s true but it is haunting. Strong energy lingers and clings, calling for notice as you walk past empty, ruined cells. Block after block; these small, featureless rooms now hold only impressions of those who once dwelled there, locked in perpetual isolation. There’s a heaviness in those cell blocks; though hundreds walk through them daily, an eerie silence permeates everything. Like the people who used to be locked inside,...

A large waterfall cascades over a brown and green granite cliff. Green trees surround

Cuyahoga Valley National Park is a hidden gem in the Midwest

Cuyahoga Valley National Park is a hidden gem in Ohio worth visiting. Located 30 minutes south of Cleveland and Akron, this park has a diverse landscape of forests, meadows, wetlands, and rivers and a rich history and culture. Being an urban park, it’s not entirely like other big national parks because it’s intersected by small towns and somewhat disbursed. However, that means cell service is plentiful, roads are paved, and locations are easier to navigate. Visitors find waterfalls, a spectacular...

A three level beige clay house seems to spring out of a waterfall that appears to come out of its lower section. green and yellow trees surround it.

Roadtrip in Pennsylvania Wilds and the Highlands to see Fallingwater

This season, take a weekend getaway to visit the Pennsylvania Wilds, the Laurel Highlands, and Frank Lloyd Wright’s Fallingwater. I drove through Pennsylvania to Fallingwater in the fall while the leaves were changing from green to gold, orange and red. Still, the drive in any season would be spectacular, whether it’s green leaves and summer sunshine, white and snow-covered, or the cheerful blooms and rushing waters of springtime. Fallingwater is the masterpiece house built by architect Frank Lloyd Wright in...

A costumed man stands in front of Lake Superior give a demonstration of boat making a canoe.

Five Highlights to See at Fort Michilimackinac

The past comes to life at Fort Michilimackinac in Mackinaw City, next to the Mackinaw Bridge. Technically known as  Colonial Michilimackinac, this historic gem is an 18th-century French and British fur trading and military outpost on the Straits of Mackinac. Historians have reconstructed the fort using maps and 60+ years of archaeological excavations. Today, it’s a fascinating look into the history of the seldom-traveled Mackinac area. If you’ve reached the top of Michigan, you’ve come a long way, no matter...

A field of blooming purple lavendar bordered by tall pine trees

4 Rare Things to Do in Quebec City

There are plenty of things to do in Quebec City as it’s known for its European-style architecture, cobblestone streets, and fortified walls making it the only walled city in North America north of Mexico.  This French-speaking city is the closest you’ll get to a European city in North America and a must-see for any Canadian traveler. This fortified historic city is on a high hill with a brick wall around it, sloping down to the ocean. That means there were...