Category Archives: New Experiences

Enjoying the Hardy Lady Slippers

May 19, 2012 Troy 2 Comments

Now that spring is well on it’s way (even a few weeks ahead of normal) many of the flowers are in full bloom and lady slippers are no exception. I’ve been waiting since last fall to see some of my lady slippers bloom for the first time as well as get another look at the orchids that bloomed a year ago. I have not been disappointed as each flower is unique in color, size, and fragrance.

This past winter is the first one that I stored these hardy lady slippers and have been somewhat nervous if they would survive my over wintering techniques. This nervousness comes from the fact that these orchids are in containers which I buried into the ground. The purpose of planting them in containers is because they require the right soil conditions to thrive and my natural soil is less than ideal for orchids. The intention is to grow these orchids in containers until they get larger enough (hopefully in a few years ) so that I can split them apart. Then I can plant some in the ground, which I will amend heavily to accommodate the orchids, and still keep part of the plant in the container until I’m convinced they will do just fine in the ground.

Over time I have a grandiose plan to have a garden devoted to winter hardy orchids. The largest hurdle to this may be the availability of these orchids. Very few hardy orchids are available for sale and it is not legal to dig wild orchids. There are a couple of channels I can explore to try and locate some of these orchids which I have not attempted yet.

This interest in native orchids began while exploring the Rocky Mountains. Late on afternoon we came upon a moose grazing in the woods and wanted to try and get a picture of it. I was trying to slowly get a little closer for a full photo of the moose eating by walking as quietly as possible through the woods to position myself for a photo without getting to close to the moose. At one point I stopped and realized I was surrounded by wild orchids. When I returned home I spent some time researching this orchid in order to identify it and determine the possibility of adding it into my yard. If I’m willing to adjust the soil I have to fit this orchid it would most likely grow. Unfortunately obtaining the orchid through legal channels proves to be the challenge. So until I can acquire this orchid I will continue to practice on the orchids which are available – the lady slipper.

Florida Keys, New Experiences, Troy's Blog

Pennekamp State Park in Key Largo

April 14, 2012 Troy 2 Comments

This park first came up while researching things to do in the Florida Keys a couple of years ago but we ran out of time so were never able to visit. There is a trail or two to hike and a visitors center to explore but John Pennekamp State Park is all about the water. One trail meandering through the mangroves needs some maintenance with broken and rotting boards and an entire section of the trail closed. Unfortunately the section that is closed includes an observation tower where you could look over the mangroves out towards the ocean reefs. Once your focus turns to the water though this park shines.

While exploring Pennekamp we kept trying to decide if we wanted to go snorkeling and if so where. The water in Dry Tortugas National Park was cold and that was further south indicating that the water in Key Largo must be even colder. Enjoying the reefs is something we rarely get to do so when the opportunity arrives we try to take advantage. There was still plenty of hesitation do to a couple of factors. First, the water was cold as people continued to remind us as they were coming out of it. Secondly, in order to snorkel the reefs you need to purchase a snorkeling or scuba tour and we had already spent what is a lot of money to do this already on this trip. So if we weren’t going to snorkel why did we go to Pennekamp State Park?

There was never really the intention to go snorkeling with a paid tour however through researching this place there were reports of designated snorkeling areas right from the shore. Our hope was find some of the colorful reefs near shore however after arriving we found that the designated swimming/snorkeling areas where sea grass beds which tend not to be as colorful thus reducing the motivation even further to enter the water. Back to trying to justify spending more money on a snorkeling tour. While exploring the park and discussing our options to spend our last afternoon in the keys we went into the visitor center. This is a nice building with several aquariums to display the ocean habitats around this part of Florida. Yes, the motivation to go snorkeling increased while looking at these reef aquariums but not yet enough to get our gear.

Visitor Center

Walking around the visitor center and exploring the park on foot seeing the swimming areas and mangrove trail was a nice way to spend the day. Fortunately it was sunny and warm and we were content just enjoying the scenery and weather without getting our gear wet which would require us to wash and dry it so it could be packed for our flight home the next morning. After strolling around John Pennekamp for an hour or two we sat down on one of the beaches taking in the views and talking with a few people who had braved the cold water to snorkel. They mentioned seeing some fish but nothing really extraordinary and getting use to the water took some time. That about seals it, we’ll enjoy this place from the land for today.

And then we witnessed something I have never seen before…. Check out the next post for more on this story.

National Parks, New Experiences, Troy's Blog

Dry Tortugas Photo Essay

March 17, 2012 Troy

The Yankee Freedom II heading out to Garden Key where Fort Jefferson is built.

Inside of Dry Tortugas National Park Fort Jefferson is visible. Loggerhead Key can be seen in the background on the right with a tall lighthouse built on it. Loggerhead Key is not connected to Garden Key. For a map of Dry Tortugas National Park go here….

Loggerhead Key closer up. The only think on this island is the lighthouse.

As Fort Jefferson gets closer you can see the different in brick colors resulting from the different locations materials came from while this was being built. This beach is where we snorkeled from.

The Fort Jefferson Lighthouse. This is built inside the fort walls.

The Courtyard of the fort. Officers quarters are visible at the far end.

Fort Jefferson had many cannons. Here is an example of how they were set up. This fort was never fully armed due to the weight of the cannons which would cause Garden Key to sink even further.

Some of the many frigate birds that reside near Garden Key.

Bush Key is the closer island with Long Key further out. Long Key is where the frigate birds reside and is closed to public exploration in order to preserve the bird habitats.

As the Yankee Freedom II returned to Key West you can see the people beginning to gather to celebrate the sunset at Mallory Square.

New Experiences

Proof on Being a Monopoly Traveler

February 4, 2012 Troy

When we first decided to travel to everyplace on the National Parks Monopoly board we had a few objectives. First is to experience the diversity of this country and expose our children to the wide variety of landscapes, history, and cultures the exist or have existed. Second is the help all of us to learn first hand about the things taught in school. Things that we have read or heard about. Seeing the Grand Canyon and learning how it was formed or witnessing the exact location of the Boston Massacre while seeing it with your own eyes teaches us more than we could ever learn from a few lectures in school. It is possible that we could have accomplished this without the Monopoly Board but that would have likely restricted us to our past experiences and places we’ve either been to before or heard about and found intriguing. Using the board allows us to visit and learn about places we probably would have never thought about going to.

Each destination on the National Parks board serves as a catalyst to visit a particular area. Once we begin planning on traveling to a certain park we also do some research on what else is in that area that we would like to explore. This past summer we traveled to Maine to explore Acadia National Park. While in that area we also explored the Freedom Trail in Boston and other nearby places. A good portion of one day was spent touring the USS Constitution and learning about it’s place in history. Recently one of Lysa’s classes was learning about this time period in New England with Paul Revere, Samuel Adams, and “Old Ironsides” (the USS Constitution). Once this subject began her ears perked up and she began listening very intently to what was being discussed with more interest because she has witnessed these locations first hand.

What was even more amazing to me is because of this experience she found things being taught that were incorrect and was able to explain what she saw. Later she came home, copied some of our photos from that part of the trip, and gave a presentation from her firsthand account of the Freedom Trail. One of the items that she explained as incorrect was about the construction of the USS Constitution and how it got it’s name “Old Ironsides” (one of the oldest commissioned ships in the world). Apparently the book was teaching that the ship was made from iron and covered in a wood skin to convince other ships it was a wood ship. This is not true as the ship’s sides are made entirely out of wood. The name actually comes from a battle in which the opposing ships cannonballs were bouncing off of the USS Constitution because the sides were so thick and hard the cannonballs could not penetrate it. For a more complete recap visit http://www.history.navy.mil/ussconstitution/history.html.

She was so excited to be able to provide more accurate information to her fellow classmates and teacher. Imagine how much more she has learned about this Revolutionary time period than if she had only read and heard about it in school. Planning and paying for these trips is not the easiest thing to do. In addition, while we are on these trips they often become exhausting and the kids become a little complacent as we are constantly on the go to take in as much as possible. I really enjoy preparing and planning for each destination as it is unique and offers new experiences. We are fortunate to be able to do this and Lysa’s excitement and knowing that she learned a lot prove to me that being a Monopoly Traveler is worth what we give up to do this.

Adventures, New Experiences, Troy's Blog

Up Close With a Dolphin

November 20, 2011 Troy 1 Comment

One morning we were fortunate to interact with dolphins. We would do this again in a second! For more on this opportunity you can visit Dolphin Encounters.


	
	
	


    
    
    
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New Experiences, Troy's Blog

Being Chased by Irene

September 3, 2011 Troy 4 Comments

The itinerary for the last part of our trip to New England was to drive from Bangor, Maine to Montpelier, Vermont. We just finished seeing the areas of Acadia National Park and Bar Harbor on Mount Desert Island in Maine and decided it was time to move away from the coast as Hurricane Irene was expected to move in within the next 24 hours. The day was growing long with any remaining light fleeting. It was about an hours’ drive to Bangor where we decided to find a place to sleep and weather Irene. Forecasts called for the Hurricane to diminish by morning giving us hope that we could still travel. Before falling asleep the girls were a little nervous and scared of being in a hurricane as this was a new experience for all of us. I assured them that they would be alright because this hurricane was losing strength and we have been in storms with a lot of rain and wind before.

During the night we could hear the rain falling, heavily at times forcing the realization that this was it, Irene was here! I wondered on occasion if we would wake to find a lot of trees blown down or other storm related casualties. Once the morning light began entering our room we turned on the weather and began discussing what to do for the day. Hurricane Irene had been downgraded to a tropical storm with winds gusting to 65 miles per hour and periods of heavy rain. We have driven in these conditions before and what else was there to do if we stayed put? At the very least we wanted to get to a hotel that has a pool for the kids to swim in. Our decision was to head for Vermont. The drive time should be about 6 hours and then we could relax for the rest of the day in the hotel.

After breakfast we packed up and headed out. Driving was as expected with rainy conditions and the occasional compensation for wind gusts. There were occasional downpours which required traffic to slow down but all in all we made it to New Hampshire without any problems. After getting a ways into New Hampshire our first detour was encountered due to a tree which had fallen over power lines and onto the road. This was only a 10-15 minute delay in our overall trip and we were back on our way. This detour was actually quite a nice drive going onto gravel roads by a couple of small waterfalls and swerving for the occasional small tree in the road. It felt like we were going to a cabin on a lake -a very comfortable and serene feeling. Little did we know that this was going to be the easiest detour to take.

To Be Continued…

Exploring, New Experiences, Troy's Blog, Twin Cities Adventures

Twin Cities Edition of Monopoly

July 23, 2011 Troy 1 Comment

This edition of Monopoly has been completed and provided a fun and interesting adventure. There are many memories with a number of discoveries to last us a lifetime confirming why we are Monopoly Travelers.

Why did we choose the Twin Cities Edition of Monopoly?

The twin cities is an area that we are somewhat familiar with as we have been in that area several times. We wanted to experience how difficult or easy it is to be a monopoly traveler in an area that we are familiar with and let us know how familiar we actually were with this area. Another reason for traveling the Twin Cities Edition was to help us find out what is required to travel other editions of monopoly in areas that we are not familiar with.

While I knew of virtually every location on the board, I have not been to many of these destinations and this provided an opportunity for us to experience places that were new to us. We had a great time exploring these areas along with revisiting places that we have not been to in awhile such as the Minnesota Zoo, Minneapolis Sculpture Garden, the new Twins Stadium, and the new Guthrie Theater.

Board Surprises

The Twin Cities Edition of Monopoly is obviously a promotional tool used to highlight some of the better known local businesses at least for 1997 when this edition was created. It was amazing to discover how many changes there have been in the Twin Cities since 1997. There were six properties that have changed names due to mergers or acquisitions and one property that has since gone out of business. These are the situations were research is essential in order to complete a board. In my opinion, deciding to skip a property because of a name change for some reason or other is not an option when traveling a board. Figuring out what happened and adapting to these changes are what makes being a Monopoly Traveler more of an adventure.

Some of the name changes were relatively easy to figure out such as Northwest Airlines and the Pillsbury Company. There have been numerous news stories highlighting Northwest’s merger with Delta Airlines and the Pillsbury Company being purchased by General Mills. Even finding out where to go for Dayton’s was not very difficult but deciding among a few different options took a few minutes. Dayton’s Corporation has become Target Corporation and the Dayton’s brand was ultimately changed to Macy’s so we had to decide if we wanted to find Target Corporation or Macy’s. As it turns out we visited both but took our picture in front of Target Corp’s Minneapolis headquarters since it is a Minnesota based business and the traveling adventure we were on was highlighting the twin cities. We walked by the old Dayton’s Minneapolis landmark retail store which is now a Macy’s landmark retail store.

Minnegasco has now become Center Point Energy and U.S. West is now Qwest and again these were not terribly difficult to research but without looking up these board properties, we would have not been able to complete this edition of Monopoly. The last business to change names was National City Bank. M& I Banks acquired National City Bank in Minneapolis which provided a little more of a challenge because upon first discovering National City was no longer in business I found PNC Banks had acquired National City Bank late in 2009. PNC Bank has no current presence in the twin cities so further research was needed. After looking a little harder I found that M & I Bank had acquired the Minneapolis location providing an opportunity to seek out that board property.

To read more click here….

New Experiences, Priorities, Troy's Blog

When Plans to Travel Change

July 10, 2011 Troy 2 Comments

There are many different levels and commitments of travel from those who travel around the world 365 days a year to those who take a leisurely trip every couple of years just to take a break from work. We are a family with two children, pets, a house, and many of the same priorities as other families. Our priority of travel has been elevated since we made the decision to complete the National Parks Edition of Monopoly before our children graduate from high school. In order to accomplish this, our travel plans have been made through 2018 requiring one to two trips a year depending on the proximity of destinations to each other. The summer of 2011 brought plans to go to Acadia National Park. Upon returning from our winter adventure to Everglades National Park we discovered one of our dogs ailing from an unknown cause which would affect these plans.

After several visits to the Vet, it was determined that our dog – Shadow had either suffered a stroke or there was a brain tumor causing her medical issues. Only time or an expensive MRI would be able to confirm which of these was most likely. We opted for time since the MRI would only confirm one of these diagnoses and still would not give us an opportunity to correct any problems. I’m sure there are a number of people that are reading this and saying to themselves it’s only a dog. For many others it is understood that some pets become family members and provide similar emotional ties. This dog has been with us a year after Karen and I were married and moved into our house with us the day we bought it. We have known her longer than our children meaning that our children have known her all of their lives. We definitely had an emotional connection to this dog and wanted the best we could provide for her knowing that she will not be around forever.

As summer grew closer we were pretty sure Shadow’s medical problems were a result of a brain tumor as issues from a stroke would not likely worsen and her difficulties became more severe. How long this would persist was an unknown. Do we go ahead and plan our summer adventure? Who would be able to take care of our dog is she was still with us? Originally we began going through some preliminary plans which including going to the Statue of Liberty for the Independence Day celebration and then driving to Acadia National Park to explore another destination on our Monopoly Board. In order for this to work out we wanted to start making arrangements by the middle of May. As this date came we had to shift our priorities and the possibility of a summer trip dwindled because we were not willing to burden someone else with taking care of our sick dog and we were not willing to put her down just for our convenience. I was very frustrated because of the uncertainty surrounding our dog and knew that canceling this trip made the goal of visiting each national park on our board more challenging. Besides, what would the point of this site be if no one was traveling around a Monopoly Board?

Apparently there were other plans for us this 4^th of July. We spent it at our house with the kids and dogs and as it turned out, this was the last day we got to spend with Shadow. She has passed now leaving us with only memories of her 13 years as our devoted pet. She is severely missed and we are learning to adapt to a life without her. Our other dog is also adapting to being the only dog now which she has never experienced. However, now we are able to travel again so the preliminary planning for Acadia National Park has begun. We’re looking at going on this adventure near the end of August. I’m really looking forward to experiencing another national park! I expect there will be several other challenges causing us to evaluate how high of a priority completing this Monopoly Board is as many other people need to do when unforeseen events interfere with already made plans to travel. These are the times when we get to find out how important certain things are to us.

Exploring, Mesa Verde National Park, New Experiences, Troy's Blog

Winter in Mesa Verde (continued)

April 6, 2011 Troy 3 Comments

What a great experience with so much to learn during such a short period of time. This tour only lasted an hour but provided enough information to last several hours. We saw how their structures were built using surrounding resources including logs, stones, and a special mud to hold it all together. Kivas were built underground and used as ceremonial gathering places. The Puebloans that lived here carved holes into the side of the cliff in order to ascend to the top of the mesa where they farmed and hunted for food. As we continued to explore this community built into a cliff, the advantages of living here became apparent. Protection from many of the elements and even potential enemies was a great benefit. During rain or snow they were able to stay dry and on a hot summers day there was plenty of refreshing shade in cool locations to stay comfortable. The placement of many of these communities allowed for the rising or setting sun to warm the cave and I’m sure provided magnificent sunrises or sunsets. As we continued to explore this community built into a cliff, the darkened ceiling continues to give proof of the fires that were used inside the cave. After wondering in and out of accessible parts of Spruce Tree House and satisfying our curiosities while at the same time creating more, it was time to ascend back to the museum.

The exhibits back at the museum had a much larger impact after seeing the actual living conditions presented in Spruce Tree House. We were eager to continue this adventure in Mesa Verde National Park by exploring more cliff dwellings and even witnessing how the Puebloans existed before building in the caves of these cliffs. Driving the Mesa Top Loop brought us to a number of different stopping points to look at other cliff dwellings and pit houses. These pit houses were built on top of the cliffs before the Puebloan people began building in the caves. Pit houses are partially dug into the ground with timbers and mud used for the roofs. Pit houses eventually evolved into stone and mud buildings bringing the necessary skills to build in the caves. There are several cliff dwellings along this loop with the largest be Cliff Palace. Cliff Palace is a beautiful compilation of buildings all contained in this large cavernous cliff. Why some of the structures are square while others are round still captivates my curiosity. Why are some buildings several stories tall with many others containing only a floor or two?

As we started nearing the end of Mesa Top Loop the temperature was beginning to cool and the daylight weaning signaling the end of our day. We were all tiring from this adventure and had been fighting hunger for a couple of hours eating every snack available in the car. It was time for the 21 mile drive towards the exit and another few miles to our place of rest for the night. As we found our way to the exit the entrance sign appeared which had been missed earlier in the day. The reason for missing the sign became apparent once we saw the mound of snow surrounding it. We stopped and attempted several pictures but there just wasn’t enough light to accomplish the task. Another trip the next day was in order to capture this final photo.

What a great adventure with so many new discoveries!

To See More Photos of Mesa Vere Click Here …

Mesa Verde National Park, National Parks, New Experiences, Troy's Blog

Winter in Mesa Verde

April 3, 2011 Troy 3 Comments

It was a beautiful mid-March morning in Albuquerque New Mexico as we packed up the car and headed north towards Colorado. A quick stop at Petroglyph National Monument on the way so that we could capture a last picture or two and get our National Parks Monopoly board signed and then we were on our way to Mesa Verde National Park. With Albuquerque in our rear view mirror we turned on to US-550 for our 5 hour drive into the southwest corner of Colorado. Along the way we enjoyed the amazing rock sculptures showing off the many layers and colors. It wasn’t long before we could see snow covered mountains in the distance giving us a pre-view of where we were heading. Time continued to tick by as we were immersed in the ever changing scenery when we arrived at the Colorado border. It was time to stop the car and stretch our legs and take the requisite photo by the Colorado sign and then quick dart across the road to take a picture with the New Mexico sign proving we were in both states. Back in the car, we entered the last portion of our road trip. Now instead of green grass with the promise of spring, there were ski resorts and plenty of melting snow. Finally! Our destination of Mesa Verde National Park was in front of us.

Having completed a little research we were prepared for a scaled back tour of this park due to road closures as a result of unplowed roads during the winter and early spring months. We accepted this in light of the fact that this could be our only visit to the vast park as there were many sights to see on this 10 day adventure into the desert southwest. As has become typical of our visits to national parks, we attempt to take in as much as possible and usually end up racing the setting sun to catch one more glimpse and gain one more new experiences. Mesa Verde proved to be no different. The first objective as we enter a national park is to take our picture next to the entrance sign. Before we knew it we were paying our entrance fee and never saw an entrance sign. After inquiring about this, the gentleman told us we passed it already. That means we’ll have to stop on our way back out. On to the visitor center for more information.

Hiking trails, scenic routes to drive, and ranger programs are all reduced this time of year but so are the number of visitors allowing for easier and quicker drives as well as more personal ranger programs. I was eager to see a cliff dwelling as I had only heard of them before but didn’t have much information about them. To imagine people building their homes in the side of a cliff was intriguing. The only dwelling structure available to experience up close was Spruce Tree House. The first piece of information we looked for in the visitor center was the time and meeting location of the ranger program to this dwelling. Once gaining that information we explored the exhibits in the Chapin Mesa Museum until the time arrived for our ranger program. It’s a short distance from the museum to Spruce Tree House which involves walking down into a valley and back up a short distance to the well preserved cliff dwelling.

To Continue this story…..

For more photos of Mesa Verde click here….

Gaining Life Experience