The New River Gorge Bridge, West Virginia

Come see the longest single-span steel-arch bridge in the Western Hemisphere 

When you get here, make sure that you give a cheer 

For more information, visit: http://www.nps.gov/neri

Smith Rapids Covered Bridge, Price County, Wisconsin

Built in 1991, this lattice-work bridge is really great

It is one of the only two covered bridges remaining in the state

For more information, visit: http://www.pricecountywi.net/

PHOTO CREDIT: Price County Tourism Department

PHOTO CREDIT: The Crazy Loon

PHOTO CREDIT: Price County Tourism Department

Gilcrease Museum, Tulsa, Oklahoma

The fact about this museum needs to be unfurled

It is the most comprehensive collection of American Western Art in the world 

For more information, visit: http://gilcrease.utulsa.edu/

Belt, Montana

Whoever named this town sure had a lot of wit

For it was named after a nearby mountain that appears to have a belt around it

Settled as a coal camp by Finnish and Slavic immigrants, today Belt is better known for its beer than its coal. In the heart of Montana's grain country, and kept lush by wells and streams supplying some of the world's finest water, it comes as little surprise that Belt has attracted the attention of makers of fine craft beers. In their beers-especially the famous Pig Ass Porter, Charlie Russell Red and Beltian White-Harvest Moon Brewery has captured the pure, fresh essence of the Belt area. The Belt Museum captures another essence of Belt, the history. Housed in the old town jail, the Belt Museum includes a jail cell, a coal mine exhibit, records, photos, and the work of local artists. During the 1890s, Belt was home to several talented Finnish carpenters and architects, and their works dot the Belt Commercial Historic District, on the National Register of Historic Places. Belt hosts an annual rodeo spanning three days and attracting competitors from across the west.

Belt gets its unusual name from nearby Belt Butte, a mountain with a belt of rocks encircling it. The Highwood Mountains and Little Belt Mountains offer a number of hiking and biking opportunities, including Sluice Boxes State Park, where Belt Creek slices through Belt Creek Canyon. Check with the Belt Creek Ranger Station for recreation details.

For more information, visit: www.centralmontana.com

Atlantic City Boardwalk, Atlantic City, New Jersey

About this boardwalk, there is something that I just need to say

It was the world's first and remains the longest to this day

For more information, visit: http://www.doatlanticcity.com/

South Haven, Michigan

Welcome to South Haven, your own special haven. 

It’s where relaxation and connection to your true self begins.  Natural beauty awakens your senses at South Haven’s seven public beaches, abundant bike paths, scenic water trails, and fresh farm markets. Million dollar sunsets play backdrop to a majestic lighthouse. For over 100 years, she’s stood the test of time to welcome you back to her shores. In 2015, the Historical Association of South Haven asks for your help in restoring her to her original beauty. To ensure the lighthouse will be here for your children and grandchildren, consider making a donation at southhavenlight.org. 

History comes to life in South Haven’s historic Maritime District.  Whether you stroll across or sail beneath the newly renovated Dyckman Street Drawbridge, you’ll appreciate how it’s connected South Haven’s downtown to the historic north side for 150 years. The Michigan Maritime Museum is also in the heart of the maritime district, and is home to the replica tall ship, Friends Good Will and Lindy Lou. To buy tickets or plan a visit to the educational campus, exceptional exhibits, and multiple on-the-water experiences; check out michiganmaritimemuseum.org. 

Take a ride down memory lane along the Blue Star Highway. Once called the West Michigan Pike, this historic route meanders through Michigan’s Beachtowns. Go to beachtowns.org to uncover the allure of the West Michigan Pike, and get ready for the road trip of a lifetime. Discover cozy bed and breakfast inns, family resorts, farm markets, antique shops, and art galleries galore along this beautiful stretch of Americana.  You won’t want to miss Lakeshore Harvest County and the Blue Coast Artists, a collection of 23 farm markets and artist galleries located on or near Blue Star Highway between South Haven and Saugatuck. 

Venture inland to discover Van Buren County’s quaint villages, multiple wineries, craft breweries, and hundreds of inland lakes.  

Whatever your passion and whatever the season, making memories is the best reason to visit South Haven and Van Buren County, Michigan! Share your photos and vacation memories at southhaven.org.

Photos courtesy of: Jamie Garvison

Alexandria, Minnesota

About this place, I have one thing to say

It considers itself to be the birthplace of the USA 

It’s hard to miss Alexandria’s giant Viking statue standing guard at the shores of Lake Agnes just north of downtown. Big Ole stands 28 feet tall and bears a shield which reads “Alexandria: Birthplace of America.” This claim is not unfounded as an artifact was discovered near Alexandria in 1898 that turned the American discovery story upside down.

The artifact, called the Kensington Runestone, was discovered by a farmer named Olof Ohman in the tangled roots of an aspen tree. The runic artifact suggested that a group of Scandinavian explorers visited the area in 1362, much earlier than the voyages of Columbus. The Kensington Runestone has led researchers from all around the world on many studies and investigations into the authenticity of the artifact. The controversy remains today and you can visit the actual artifact at the Runestone Museum, and visit the discovery site at Kensington Runestone Park. The reputation and impact of this discovery was widespread, including the influence of Minnesota’s professional football team, the Minnesota Vikings.

For more information, visit: http://www.explorealex.com/

Grand Rapids, Minnesota

This is a town that you can really love to embrace

For it is Judy Garland's birthplace

Grand Rapids was originally founded as a logging town, as the Mississippi River provided an optimal method of log shipment to population centers. The predecessor of the Blandin paper mill was opened in 1902.

Grand Rapids was the birthplace and early childhood home of legendary singer and actress Judy Garland, although her family moved to Lancaster, California, when she was four years old. The Itasca County Historical Society maintains a Judy Garland exhibit in their Heritage Museum and Judy's fully restored birthplace, in a home built in 1892, is open to the public as the Judy Garland Museum.

For more information, visit: http://www.visitgrandrapids.com/

North Lake Tahoe, Nevada

The Lake Tahoe North Shore is a stunning 180 degree panorama calling more than romantics and outdoor enthusiasts. Scientists journey to this place to understand its incredible blueness and ensure that it remains an icon of pure alpine perfection. Whether your trip to North Lake Tahoe is about academic study, or simply with the hope of taking a few well-deserved days to enjoy the radiant light, we recommend exploring our towns and reveling in the multiple variations of fun found only in North Lake Tahoe.

About North Lake Tahoe

Lake Tahoe is a crown jewel of the Sierra. Formed approximately two million years ago, it is the largest alpine lake in North America and the second deepest in the United States. North Lake Tahoe spans two states and boasts two dozen beaches, twelve ski resorts, hundreds of miles of biking trails, half a dozen communities, and a growing number of nationally recognized human-powered events, races and festivals. North Lake Tahoe is a 45-minute drive from the Reno Tahoe International Airport, two hours from Sacramento International Airport and just over three hours from San Francisco International Airport. Visitor information centers are located at 100 North Lake Boulevard in Tahoe City and 969 Tahoe Boulevard in Incline Village.

• There are over 126 miles of marked mountain bikingtrails around North Lake Tahoe offering fast, fluid singletrack and rocky descents. Tahoe’s most technical trails are at an elevation upwards of 8,740 feet.

• Aerial fabrics combine acrobatics, the artistry of dance, and the exhilaration of height to emphasize core conditioning, grace and creativity. Widely popular across the North Shore, this full body workout tests strength and balance.

• SUP yoga classes are offered throughout Lake Tahoe. Instead of rolling out the yoga mat in an enclosed studio, yogis are taking their practice to the waters, finding that balancing on paddleboards makes yoga more challenging and more rewarding. Beginning SUP yogis even find it easy to turn it into a dual sport activity, where a difficult yoga pose one minute effortlessly transitions into an unplanned swim in the waters of North Lake Tahoe the next.

• There are 8 disc golf courses in North Lake Tahoe.

• The highest peak in North Lake Tahoe is Mount Rose with an elevation of 10,776 feet.

• 1,713 people have completed the 165-mile Tahoe Rim Trail.

• There are 50 golf courses within one hour’s drive of North Lake Tahoe. Whether you are looking for mountainous, pine-studded fairways or open, desert-fringed doglegs; whether you want to tee off in front one of the world’s most majestic alpine lakes, or explore the up-and-coming courses north of Truckee, you can do it all from North Lake Tahoe.

For more information, visit: http://www.gotahoenorth.com

All photos courtesy of Go Tahoe North

South Lake Tahoe, California

Lake Tahoe is the largest and most beautiful alpine lake in North America, and lucky for us, we’ve got dibs on the entire southern half of it.

For more information, visit: http://www.tahoesouth.com/

Photo credit: Rafal Bogowolski

Photo credit: Mark Sgambati

Photo credit: Arlene Tsang 

Photo credit: Media West 

Photo credit: First Tracks Productions

The Cincinnati Reds Hall of Fame, Cincinnati, Ohio

Come learn about baseball's first professional team

Your visit will be really supreme

What do Reds legends Ernie Lombardi, Frank McCormick, Paul Derringer, Bucky Walters and Johnny Vander Meer have in common?

Besides playing for the 1939 and 1940 championship Reds, these five players were the first Reds to be selected to the Reds Hall of Fame. They were inducted in grand ceremonies at Crosley Field on July 18, 1958. Lombardi, McCormick, Walters and Vander Meer wore uniforms, but not the rotund Derringer, whose 300-pound frame must have challenged the equipment managers.

Since that first ceremony over 50 years ago, the Reds Hall of Fame has experienced something of a rollercoaster ride, sometimes up, sometimes down, and sometimes not working at all. But with the opening of the new Cincinnati Reds Hall of Fame and Museum, the future looks promising for the glorious past of Reds baseball and its legendary players.

The Reds were the second baseball team to form a Hall of Fame; the Cleveland Indians Hall started in 1951, but it soon went defunct, making the Reds Hall of Fame the oldest team Hall of Fame in baseball. It is also the largest with 71 members (including the 2006 inductees: Tom Browning, Lee May and Tom Seaver).

The idea for the Reds Hall of Fame was promoted by the Sports Committee of the Cincinnati Chamber of Commerce, in cooperation with the Reds and owner Powel Crosley. For many years the Chamber of Commerce ran the election and hosted the induction ceremonies at the ballpark with the chair of the Chamber's Sports Committee, Art Radtke, serving as emcee.

The first ballot included 25 names, and fans could vote for up to five players. Ballots were printed in area newspapers, and nearly 20,000 votes were cast, mailed on official ballots, postcards and in personal letters. Of the 25 players appearing on the first ballot, 20 were eventually elected into the Reds Hall of Fame.

With so much club history to cover in the early years of the Reds Hall of Fame, each class of inductees usually had three or four members. Thirty players were inducted in the first 10 years. Beginning in 1969, the Reds reduced the number of inductees to just one each year. The ballot shrunk to around 10 names, and fans were allowed to vote for just one player.

In the early 1980s, the Reds took over the sponsorship of the Reds Hall of Fame from the Chamber of Commerce and moved the induction ceremonies to the offseason. They were held in conjunction with the Ballplayers of Yesterday organization at their annual banquet. This pattern continued until 1985, when the focus on Pete Rose and the chase for 4,192 cancelled the 1985 vote.

Voting resumed in 1986, but then after a ballot-box stuffing episode in 1989, the election was canceled, and the Reds Hall of Fame was dormant for 10 years. In 1998 the local chapter of the Baseball Writers' Association of America (BBWAA) asked the Reds to resume the Reds Hall of Fame elections, and the Reds agreed, placing the writers in charge of the nominating and election process. The writers agreed to select one current player and a veteran player from the pre-1920 era since those players were underrepresented in the Reds Hall of Fame.

The Reds Hall of Fame vote was again postponed in 1999 but resumed in 2000 and has been held ever since. With the opening of the Cincinnati Reds Hall of Fame and Museum in 2004, the vote was returned to the fans, with the writers responsible for preparing the ballot and making a selection from a list of veterans.

Beginning in 2007, the Hall of Fame shifted to a biennial election cycle, with fan voting and Veterans Committee selections taking place in odd-numbered years and inductions in even numbered years. In 2009, a revamped and expanded Veterans Committee was created that includes writers, broadcasters, historians and Reds Hall of Famers.

Although the Reds never had a permanent place to exhibit the plaques at Crosley Field or Riverfront/Cinergy, the club continued to make the bronzes every year, giving one to the player and keeping an identical second plaque in storage. Beginning in the late 1990s, the plaques were occasionally put on public display at Redsfest and on certain home weekends. When the Cincinnati Reds Hall of Fame and Museum opened in 2004, the plaques were taken out of storage, polished and hung in the Reds Hall of Fame gallery.

Probably the people most pleased about the display have been the players themselves. Thrilled that their plaques now have a permanent home, our visiting Reds Hall of Famers always ask about their plaques and have been delighted to find them on display. We have watched Jim Maloney, Leo Cardenas, Gary Nolan and many others stand by their plaques, posing with family members for photographs. Just like their fans!

Driven by a mission to celebrate greatness, preserve history and provide inspiration, the Cincinnati Reds Hall of Fame and Museum is the place where the story of Reds baseball comes alive each day. I look forward to seeing you there.

Greg Rhodes is the Cincinnati Reds' Team Historian and was the inaugural Executive Director of the Cincinnati Reds Hall of Fame and Museum. He can be reached at grhodes@reds.com

The above information and additional information can be found at: http://cincinnati.reds.mlb.com/cin/hof/

Barwick's Onward Store, Onward, Mississippi

This community has got a lot of heart
For this is where the teddy bear got its start

Onward store is more than a convenience stop on a lonely stretch of U.S. 61.
Practically all Americans are aware that Theodore Roosevelt, 26th President of the United States, was an outdoorsman and a naturalist. After all he was responsible for the founding of 52 National Wildlife Refuges during his Presidency, protecting for future generations 230 million acres of American wilderness. Immediately after leaving office in 1909 he went on an African safari and collected thousands of specimens for the Smithsonian National Museum. Roosevelti, the Latin translation, appears in the scientific names of many species of plants, fish, reptiles and mammals native to several different continents.

Asked to remember a particular Roosevelt big game hunt, though, and the vast majority of the population can only recall one, an otherwise unnoteworthy expedition, except for the fact that the President didn't shoot anything.

In the Fall of 1902, during his second year in the White House, T. R. received an invitation from Govenor Andrew Longino of Mississippi to go bear hunting. Eager to do some polliticking as well (Longino was up for re-election), he arrived in Mississippi a month later.

In the interim a locally famous bear hunter and guide, Holt Collier, had been enlisted, sworn to secrecy, and sent out to find a suitable bear camp for the hunt. Collier was an interesting enough fellow in his own right. Though born into slavery, he had served as a Confederate scout under Nathan Bedford Forrest during the Civil War. His exceptional skills as a horseman and marksman were well known. He would later kill over 2000 black bears, hunt grizzlies in Alaska, and tend race horses in Texas.

Collier was arrested and exonerated more than once for murder. He outgunned an outlaw in a close-quarters gunfight in one case, and it was never quite proven he was the person who intervened in a fight between a young Union soldier and Holt's beloved old master Colonel Howell Hinds. The soldier was killed, and likely Collier would have hanged except for the intervention of some of the landed gentry among Colonel Hinds' friends.

He also hunted again with Roosevelt in 1907 in Northeastern Louisiana. The President killed a bear this time, describing the exploits in the January, 1908 edition of Scribner's Magazine, which featured an artcle "In the Louisiana Canebrakes" by Theodore Roosevelt, illustrated with the four period photos seen on this page. Despite all this publicity, the event is largely forgotten.

The President's 1902 bear hunt started on the morning of November 14th, attended by not a few local and national dignitaries. The future governor of Louisiana, John Parker, Huger Foote, whose grandson Shelby would become a noted Civil War author, John McIlhenny, heir to the Tabasco sauce fortune, and President of the Illinois Central Railroad, Stuyvesant Fish formed part of the hunting party. A local trapper named John Bobo brought a seasoned pack of 50 bear dogs, but Holt's pack of hounds picked up the first scent. His dogs ran their prey into a slough and began to suffer a terrible mauling from the bear, a 235 pound male. Holt is reported to have knocked the animal unconscious to save his beloved bear dogs and then tied the bear by the neck to a tree.

He later recalled President Roosevelt had insisted that he "must see a live bear the first day." Collier claimed to have told him he would tie one up and bring it to him if he had to, but "he would see that bear". Since the bear wasn't fit for travel, Holt did the next best thing. He blew his hunting horn for the rest of the party to join him.

When Roosevelt and the others arrived, the President was offered the opportunity to claim his trophy, but he refused to shoot the tethered, wounded animal. Roosevelt was the product of an aristcratic hunting tradition. Under this "true sportsmen's code", the taking of young animals or any animal which did not have a sporting chance is forbidden. Collier claims to have led John Parker into the water to stab the bear and put it out of its misery. Though not uneventful, the hunt was unsuccessful from Roosevelt's point of view, and he saw no reason to document it in writing as he did so many others.

The press went wild over the story of President Theodore Roosevelt, Holt Collier and the bear, and it soon traveled across the country in news stories and cartoons. Roosevelt's refusal to kill this defenseless animal was seen as far more newsworthy than if he had killed a state record! It was widely reported, prompting Washington Post cartoonist Clifford Berryman to produce a cartoon entitled "Drawing the Line in Mississippi".

For more information, visit: theonwardstore.com