U.S.A. – The Chicken Scratches

Wendover, Utah (8-10 November 2021)

by Pat & Ray WhydeNovember 15, 2021October 5, 2022

For my approaching birthday, Pat suggested we head to the Wendover, UT/West Wendover, NV area. Most of our time was actually spent in Utah, where there are several sites worth a visit including the Bonneville Salt Flats and race course, Danger Cave and Jukebox Cave, Wendover Airbase, Sun Tunnels and the site of the original Transcontinental Railroad. The Bonneville Salt Flats are 120 miles west of Salt Lake City and are approximately 5 miles wide and 12 miles long. The race course is 7 mile long and was first used for racing in 1914. Anyone can drive on the salt …

2021 Wasatch Wildflower Festival (Alta Ski Area)

by Pat & Ray WhydeJuly 24, 2021October 6, 2022

On July 18, 2021, we drove up Little Cottonwood Canyon to attend the Wasatch Wildflower Festival at the Alta Ski Resort. The last time we were up here there was a lot of snow, no flowers and it was cold. This time it looked completely different! We signed in for a guided walk, picking the “moderate walk”, led by David T., a volunteer with the Cottonwood Canyons Foundation. This moderate walk went from the Albion Base Area to the Albion Basin Campground, 2.8 miles, round trip, from the base and 1,100 feet higher. We went further (4.2 miles, round trip, …

Golden Spike National Historic Site (23 January 2021)

by Ray WhydeJanuary 25, 2021October 6, 2022

Since moving to Salt Lake City, this is one of the places I wanted to visit. Sometime, over the last 10 years, I read Stephen E. Ambrose’s Nothing Like It In The World, about building the transcontinental railroad between 1863 and 1869. This year, we decide to drive the 1.5 hours for a visit. Even with the bad weather on the way and the cold, blustery winds at the site, it was well worth the trip. We will go back in better weather, but this time we almost had the entire site to ourselves. The Golden Spike National Historic Site …

Around Salt Lake City (January 2021)

by Pat & Ray WhydeJanuary 12, 2021October 8, 2022

Pat and I moved to Salt Lake City in November, 2020. Although we have done several hikes at the end of 2020, I’m starting the New Year documenting some of the places we have visited in January, 2021. We love this area for hiking and enjoying the outdoors. City Creek Park, Memory Grove Park and the Freedom Trail On January 1, we decided on an urban hike, starting near the Utah State Capitol. This hike was found using AllTrails, a phone app describing trails around the world. The start was only a few miles from our new home. City Creek …

Red Butte Skyline Trail Hike (11/15/2020)

by Pat & Ray WhydeNovember 16, 2020November 2, 2022

Our Utah family decided to take us for a hike in the nearby mountains. This was our first hike since moving to Salt Lake City on November 2, 2020. The day was overcast, but there was no threat of rain or snow. We parked near the Museum of Natural History and hiked the Red Butte Skyline Trail. We weren’t sure how far we would go, considering whether Pat and I had acclimatized to the new altitude (we now live above 4,500 feet – the previous 2 years we lived near sea level). The hike took us 3.45 miles in 2 …

St. Simons Island, Titusville and Kansas City (February – March, 2020)

by Pat & Ray WhydeMay 14, 2020November 2, 2022

Saint Simons Island (February 25-28, 2020) We had not seen Woody and Susan Hunter since meeting them in Budapest in November, 2019. Woody grew up in this part of Georgia and it is always enjoyable to learn more about the area from a local and learning more about him and his family. One of the first things I wanted to know more about, since I had first seen it back in November, was the wreck of the Golden Ray (if you search on “golden ray” and look at the images, you should be amazed). It was raining but we went …

Post Thanksgiving Holiday V2.0 & a Whole Lot More…

by Pat WhydeDecember 30, 2019November 8, 2022

Patti Paolella and I have been planning our second version of a post Thanksgiving dinner party and my week long visit to Richfield, MN for the past two years. V1.0 was in 2017 and the 2018 version just never quite got off the ground (my fault entirely). I regret now not having posted the V1.0 visit on this blog. I would if my memory could handle the variety of activities that visit entailed. Suffice it to say V1.0 was worth a repeat. My Minnesota visit was from December 3rd through the 7th. Yes, to the cold and snowy MN. I …

Nevada-Utah (July 2019)

by Ray WhydeJuly 24, 2019September 10, 2022

We got the call – I’ve got to go! It’s kind of what we do. Jenny had an extra ticket for the Penn & Teller show at the Rio in Las Vegas and didn’t want to waste it (Tom had to leave because of filming in Chicago). Lucky me! I immediately booked a flight to Las Vegas for the next day. The plan was to stay in Las Vegas for a few days, then drive to Utah, with a destination east of Park City. Saturday, July 13 I arrived at the Luxor Las Vegas Hotel. After checking in, I met …

Everglades National Park (23 March 2019)

by Pat & Ray WhydeMarch 23, 2019September 10, 2022

We now live in South Florida and the Everglades National Park is only a couple of hours away (map). Although we had been to parts of the park that is accessible off the Tamiami Trail (the southern-most portion of US Route 41), back when my parents lived in Naples, we had never actually been to the park headquarters, near Miami. When we got to the Visitor Center, the first thing I noticed was a sign listing events happening that day. The event that stood out was an open house at a Nike Missile Base within the park boundaries. After picking …

Western U.S.A (01-30 Sep 2017)

by Pat & Ray WhydeOctober 1, 2017October 7, 20220

We’ve been traveling the world for the last several years (England, Singapore, Argentina, Chile, Australia, Japan, Vietnam, Cambodia, Thailand, Indonesia, Denmark, Germany and France), so it was time to see more of the U.S.A. and some National Parks. Pat’s cousin Susan lives in La Conner, WA (an hour north of Seattle), we set out for there on the first day of September; but first a long, Labor Day weekend in Franklin, TN, visiting friends we had met in Singapore. When we moved to Singapore in 2014, Susan and Woody took us under their wings to introduce us to life out …