Weaverville CA Gold Stamping Mill

Weaverville CA Stamp Mill
Originally uploaded by JoeDuck

Weaverville, California was home to a lot of gold miners back in the day, as the fast flowing rivers and streams of the gold-rich Trinity Alps gave up their bounty. More agressive mining techniques were used here at the stream behind the stamp mill, where "hydraulicking" water canons blasted aways tons of soil to uncover a the tiny flecks of gold dust that were then extracted via sluices.

Read more about the California Gold Rush at Online Highways.

Louisa May Alcott Home, Concord Mass

Louisa May Alcott Home, Concord Mass
Originally uploaded by JoeDuck

Louisa May Alcott's father, Bronson Alcott, was an educational reformer who believed in a broad education for all, including girls. Here at the Alcott family home in Concord Lousia spent much of her time learning from some of the great minds of early America. Ralph Waldo Emerson and Henry David Thoreau were among the network of American intellectuals that lived nearby.

Louisa penned "Little Women" in the upstairs room here.

California's Trinity Alps: Lower Canyon Creek Lake looking South

Above Lower Canyon Creek Lake looking South
Originally uploaded by JoeDuck

California's Trinity Alps offer one of my favorite hiking adventures. This photo is near the highest spot along the Canyon Creek Lakes trail, which follows the creek up the valley past a couple of waterfalls. The Trinity Alps are somewhat reminiscent of a mini-Yosemite with smooth granite and prominent peaks.

MinuteMan National Park Patriot Days

During Patriot Days MinuteMan National Park near Concord Massachusetts comes alive with the sound of musket fire and hearty "huzzahs" as hundreds of local residents reenact the events that led to the formation of the USA.

MinuteMan National Park Patriot Days
Originally uploaded by JoeDuck

Europe's unusual attractions

CNN's got a neat article featuring several European "unusual" attractions such as indoor skiing and city park kayaking in Germany.

Check out this CNN review of some cool European attractions like indoor skiing: CNN Reports

New Orleans Trolleys are Back

New Orleans is back as a great travel destination with the bonus that some flights there are now cheaper. New Orleans, or as the locals often say "nahlins", offers some of America's oldest and most splendid urban architecture as well as the fascinations of the French Quarter and the pretty ride through old New Orleans on the Charleston Street Trolley.

Here are some pictures I took of New Orleans while there in June of 2005, a few month before Katrina devastated much of the city and toolk out the Charleston line until it was restored this week.

Welcome to Travel and Highways and History

Welcome to Online Highways

We’ve got TWO (count them!) great companion websites for this blog. They are Online Highways and U-S-History.com Online Highways is a very comprehensive travel resource that covers almost every city in the USA plus much of France, England, and Uzbekistan (we hosted a travel publisher who covers the amazing Silk Road region and he put together a great travel reference for us.

Here at the blog the approach will be different from the website. Most of the entries will be by region and will feature information about attractions, travel tips, travel news, and more.
We’ll try to post something here almost every day, and hope you join in with comments. Feel very free to add information here via comments or at the website (by clicking on the “post a review” note we have at many pages).

Thanks for travelling with Online Highways!