Did You Know ... ? America's first alpine ski tow was built on a Woodstock, Vt., farm (1934). In 1940, it cost 60 cents to ride the new chairlift at Stowe’s Mount Mansfield. Vermont boasts 885 miles of cross-country ski trails. The Baron and Baroness von Trapp, of “Sound of
Did You Know ... ? The Great Smoky Mountains National Park is America’s most visited park. The park is home to about 100 native tree species, more than all of northern Europe. In the highest areas, the Smokies average 85 inches of rain yearly, qualifying them as temperate rain forests.
Did You Know? Sixty percent of all U.S. grain exports are shipped on the Mississippi River. Actress and singer Judy Garland (“The Wizard of Oz”) was born in Grand Rapids, Minn. Waterskiing was invented at Lake Pepin in 1922 by a teenager who was sometimes towed by an airplane. Charles
Did You Know? The Grand Canyon has an average depth of 4,000 feet for its entire 277 miles. Traversing the climate zones in the canyon is like driving from Mexico to Canada. Much of the Grand Canyon Village Historic District was built by the Santa Fe Railroad. The canyon is
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Did You Know ... ? Glacier National Park and Canada’s Waterton Lakes National Park were the first International Peace Park (1932). The park’s Going-to-the-Sun Road is a National Historic Civil Engineering Landmark. Welcome messages on the lobby floor at Lake McDonald Lodge are written in the Blackfeet, Chippewa and Cree
Did You Know? In 1908, the Eagle Pencil Company paid $12,500 for Little St. Simons Island to cut its cedars for pencils; the wood was unsuitable. The U.S. hosted the G8 Summit at Sea Island (2004). Secret meetings on Jekyll in 1910 provided the framework for the Federal Reserve System.
Did You Know? Confederate soldiers escaped from Lookout Mountain at night under a full eclipse of the moon (Nov. 25, 1863). In 14 months, nearly 13,000 of the more than 45,000 Union soldiers incarcerated at the Andersonville POW camp died. The Atlanta Cyclorama, showing the Battle of Atlanta, is the
Did You Know ... ? The 100-plus wineries in the Finger Lakes region produce 40 million bottles a year. Angela Bloomer, for whom bloomers were named, was born in the village of Homer (1818). Syracuse is the site of America’s longest-running state fair, from 1841. The Finger Lake’s first wine
Did You Know? The original Everglades had a sheet of slow-moving water covering 11,000 square miles (7 million acres). Forty-four kinds of orchids have been identified in Fakahatchee Strand Preserve State Park, more than in any other U.S. spot. The Everglades ecosystem provides a home to more than 350 documented
