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In conjunction with his upcoming book, Here Is Where: In Search of America's Great Forgotten History, we're following historian and Legacy Project founder Andrew Carroll as he drives, flies, walks, boats, buses, bikes, and hikes to seek out little-known historic sites in all 50 states. Bookmark all of his posts here.


While researching hotels in Denver, however, I came across the Brown Palace Hotel & Spa in a terrific hotel guide put out by the National Trust for Historic Preservation (it was also featured in National Geographic Traveler's annual Stay List in 2008). Built by Henry Brown in the last 1800s, the name jumped out at me and I immediately made a reservation.

When I began preparing for this trip more than a year ago I did extensive reading on the Underground Railroad, and while its existence is hardly unknown--I think most of us have at least a vague awareness of its significance in our nation's past--the specific stories have been mostly forgotten.

One of the most extraordinary involves a crate shipped from Richmond, Virginia, to 131 Arch Street, Philadelphia, at 4:00 am on March 29, 1849. When the wooden box arrived at 6:00 am at the Pennsylvania Anti-Slavery Society more than a day later, members of the abolitionist Vigilance Committee were there to receive it but, knowing its supposed contents, dreaded opening it for fear of what they might find. One of the members tapped on the crate and  asked if everything was "all right within?" A muffled voice replied in the affirmative, and the members
quickly pried open the box and let an escaped slave named Henry Brown experience his first breath of freedom. Brown had survived an excruciating almost 27-hour journey, and despite bold lettering on the box directing that it be kept "This Side Up," the crate was repeatedly dropped upside down, putting almost fatal pressure on Brown's neck and head.

I had read that Brown became a successful businessman and moved to Colorado, where he opened one of the most elegant hotels in the city. After I made my reservation, I was shocked that although the hotel's own website repeatedly mentioned how historic the building was, there was no picture of Brown and no mention of his daring escape--just a brief description that he was a "Denver carpenter-turned-entrepreneur." Which is a little like referring to Beethoven as a piano tuner.

In conjunction with his upcoming book, Here Is Where: In Search of America's Great Forgotten History, we're following historian and Legacy Project founder Andrew Carroll as he drives, flies, walks, boats, buses, bikes, and hikes to seek out little-known historic sites in all 50 states. Bookmark all of his posts here.

Near the top of my "things to find" list for this 50-state journey are historic markers on major highways that come up out of nowhere and cannot possibly be read at 65 miles an hour. I've seen these plaques and signs on past trips, and I'm determined to locate one at some point so I can stop, back up along the shoulder (safely of course), and see what it says.

What brought this to mind was the faded brown and white sign I recently whizzed past on Highway 6 & 50 en route to Baker, Nevada, that simply states: "Historical Marker."

The sign gives no indication as to what site of historical significance awaits whomever ventures down the gravel road. Nor does it suggest how far one has to drive. I was running late, short of gas, and had no time for an open-ended adventure in the middle of a Utah desert.

But I knew I'd curse myself if I later found out I'd passed by some extraordinary site just a few hundred feet away, so off I went.

Having just spent a week in snow-covered Seattle, the thought of spending even more time in a winter wonderland is the furthest thing from my mind. But on January 10, 100 ski resorts are lifting their fees in celebration of Winter Trails Day. Twenty-two states from Washington to Maine are giving snow-goers the chance to try cross-country skiiing or snowshoeing for free, meaning that those who claim the only winter sport they enjoy is making snow angels have no excuse not to frolic in the white stuff. January is also "Learn a Winter Snow Sport Month" (betcha didn't know that), and other resorts across the country are hosting plenty of events straight on 'til Groundhog's Day.

Thanks to Gadling for the tip!

Photo: Vahid Jahed via the Intelligent Travel Flickr pool

In recognition of National Punctuation Day, we give you, IT readers, the latest news in travel and grammar: While good grammar is admirable, the Associated Press reports, it is possible to take your punctuation enthusiasm too far: under the name the Typo Eradication Advancement League, Jeff Deck and Benjamin Herson traveled across the country this spring as self-appointed typo vigilantes – “a pair of Kerouacs armed with Sharpies,” said The Chicago Tribune - when they came across a rather offensive sign at the Grand Canyon’s Desert View Watchtower.

Upon “fixing” the sign (which involved moving an apostrophe and adding a comma, although they left the word “emense” alone) the two were arrested and charged with defacing historic property. As it turns out, the sign was a grammatically incorrect National Historic Landmark, hand-painted in the 1930s by Mary Elizabeth Jane Colter, designer of several desert structures (including the tower). In addition to paying a hefty fine of $3,035 and getting sentenced to probation, the two are now banned from national parks for a year.

Yikes. Authenticity 1, grammar 0.

Grammar mistakes can be particularly entertaining in new places. What grammar mistakes drive you crazy? Have you seen any good ones in your travels? Provide us with some entertaining stories or links in the comments below.

Read More: We blogged about Beijing's attempts to clean up their signage before the Olympics began. And the "Blog" of "Unnecessary" Quotation Marks has a great collection of signs from around the world.

Photo: The "Blog" of "Unnecessary" Quotation Marks.

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For me, the famed Going-to-the-Sun Road in Glacier National Park leads to so much more than breathtaking vistas and exhilarating hikes–it leads to pie. More specifically, it leads to strawberry-rhubarb pie with a big scoop of vanilla ice-cream at the Park Café in St. Mary, Montana.

I have been visiting Glacier with my family for as long as I can remember, and though we usually spend most of our time in the park’s less crowded Canadian sister Waterton Lakes National Park, we always make it a point to head down to Montana for a few hikes and a piece of pie…or two.

One of three restaurants in the tiny town of St. Mary, the Park Café has been motivating hungry hikers to hustle those last few miles since opening its doors in the 1960s. The doors where different back then–the café used operate out of a school bus–but these days, the café is a quaint house with a wrap-around porch and a gift shop next door.

Now that the Democratic Convention is in full swing, Denver, the mile-high city, is in the spotlight. So we're going back through our archives to offer up the city's best bets. In our July/August issue of Traveler, contributing writer Andrew Nelson offered a selection of local picks in each of the convention cities. But since many of you may not have brought your old issues with you to the convention, we re-purpose his list here, free of charge. Check back next week for more tips on Minneapolis/St. Paul.

Square Meal Deal
Pick up political gossip and tamales at La Casita. The Mexican restaurant is owned by local mover and shaker Paul Sandoval. “People hold political meetings here to strategize on who should run for what,” says Rocky Mountain News political reporter Lynn Bartels. “The food’s great, and it’s got a New Mexico flair, with more emphasis on chilis and less on cheese.”

Dome Alone
Colorado’s State Capitol is one of five in the country that allow visitors to go into its dome. The rest of the building can be seen on a free 45-minute tour. Two-week advance reservations recommended.

Endorsing a Party
LoDo, short for Lower Downtown Historic District, is the spot for fun. Filled with “everything from fancy restaurants to beer joints,” says Bartels, the 23-square-block neighborhood is the home of urban professionals and hip shopping. Landmarks include Union Station and Coors Baseball Field.

The People’s House
Like some candidates, Molly Brown proved “unsinkable.” A survivor of the Titanic, Brown had a sumptuous Victorian mansion in the Capitol Hill neighborhood. Today, it’s a museum devoted to her life.

Art Now
The Denver Art Museum is known for its Native American art collection. An edgy addition opened in 2006. Says Bartels of the Daniel Libeskind–designed annex: “It looks like a tornado hit it and they glued the pieces back together.” The museum is next to Civic Center Park, which may be the focal point for protesters during the convention.

Mayor’s Choice
“The Cruise Room is where Denverites celebrated the end of Prohibition and is said to be modeled after one of the lounges on the Queen Mary, so it’s got this amazing vibe,” says Mayor John W. Hickenlooper. “And it’s the perfect spot for a pre- or post-game toast to the Colorado Rockies team.”

Read More: For more advice on navigating Denver, check out our Destination Guide. And for reader picks on what to do in Denver (and in nearby Boulder) look to a recent IT "Plan My Trip!" post. IT editor Janelle Nanos followed reader's advice and checked out one fantastic Denver restaurant, and writes about it here.

Photo: Joanna B. Pinneo

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Sometimes, when you're searching for gold, you stumble upon bacon.

It was my first morning in Boulder, Colorado, the city of superlatives, known as the best place in the U.S. for just about...everything. Its residents have been called the smartest, thinnest, and most athletic in the country, and it ranks high on where-to-retire lists, "dream" city lists, and pretty much every other list that's out there. So while I was anticipating a full day of exploring this colony of super-humans, ("we're mutants," one resident ventured), it was early and I was hungry. Which meant one thing: breakfast, and preferably one of champions, which I assume is pretty standard around these parts.

I arrived in Boulder late the night before, so I didn't have time to scope out prime breakfast hubs. I asked the guys at the front desk of my hotel for some nearby recommendations. They suggested a place called "The Golden Pancake," and I was intrigued. The name inspired visions of fluffy stacks of flapjacks, haloed in rings of syrup. I got the directions, and after bypassing an IHOP on the way, I came across an Original Pancake House (I can only imagine the "International" and "Original" houses of pancakes like to rumble on the weekends). Still searching for the elusive Golden Pancake, I wandered on, and into a yarn store, knowing that I can always trust knitters for good advice. Bursting my bubble, they claimed not to have heard of the alleged "Golden Pancake" and directed me back across the street for the "best breakfast in Boulder." Starving and ready to eat, I let my golden dreams subside and walked into the Original Pancake House, where I struck bacon.

Can I just pause for a moment to say how much I love you readers? Because I can honestly say that your insightful tips made my trip to Colorado terrific in so many ways. First off, you nailed the restaurant suggestions: I booked a table at the Vesta Dipping Grill before I left for the airport, and eight hours later, I was sitting before a roast duck with dried berry chutney sauce that was fit for the gods. My friends, including a Denver resident who had yet to try the joint, each were thrilled with their pork, scallops, and tuna (and the selection of dipping sauces that accompanied them—the restaurant has 37 to choose from), and I was more than happy to report that they had the readers of IT to thank. Service was excellent, and the space had a cozy, yet modern feel. And did I mention the food was fantastic?

My one evening in Denver gave me the chance to explore the neighborhood of LoDo, or Lower Downtown, the historic district which was the original Denver settlement site. It's now home to a collection of restaurants, bars, and galleries, and sits in the shadow of Coors Field (D.C.'s Nationals had just won their third game against the Rockies the night I arrived and dejected fans were spilling out onto the street, much to my boyfriend's delight). We didn't have a ton of time to explore, but we enjoyed wandering up the 16th Street Mall and seeing how things were shaping up for the Democratic National Convention (more on that in a later post). After dinner, we popped over (literally) to Corridor 44, a champagne bar in Larimer Square, and got a taste of their bubbly offerings. The small bar's ceiling glimmered with chandeliers, and the walls were decorated with terrific quotes espousing the benefits of booze:

I drink champagne when I'm happy and when I'm sad. Sometimes I drink it when I'm alone. When I have company I consider it obligatory. I trifle with it if I'm not hungry and drink it when I am. Otherwise I never touch it—unless I'm thirsty. —Madame Lilly Bollinger

I was with a several friends who all happened to be in Denver for a short time, and it was fortuitous that we were able to be together. So we toasted the readers of Intelligent Travel for their help, and I set off to explore the best of Boulder over the weekend. More on that soon.

For more on Denver, check out our Destination Guide from our May/June issue.

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IT Editor Janelle Nanos is still putting the finishing touches on her posts from her West Coast trip (more SF tips await!), but she's getting ready to go on the road again. This time, she's off to Colorado and looking for your suggestions for what to do this weekend.

I have to admit that I've only just finally unpacked my bags from my West Coast adventure (I'm terrible about that) but I'm getting ready to lug them back to the airport this weekend to check out Colorado. This will be my first time visiting the area, and I'm looking forward to making the most of the hiking, biking, and other outdoor activities that Denver and Boulder are known for. But since I'm a Colorado newbie, I'd love to get some reader suggestions on where I should go.

Here's my plan: I'll be flying into Denver and spending the evening in the city, then heading down to Boulder for the rest of the weekend. This smaller city about 30 miles outside of Denver has been called the smartest and the thinnest city in America, the best place for runners and singles, and the number one green and clean and “dream” city in United States. You're tempted to wonder: what is this perfect place? I'm looking forward to finding out (and getting your help).

So please give me your suggestions for your favorite restaurants, hikes, and things to do in the comments, and if you're up for showing me around (as Pam did so well in West Seattle) let me know there as well. Thanks!

Photo: A boot display at Rockmount Ranch Wear in downtown Denver, by Joanna B. Pinneo

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Well folks, we're now into the month of August, and the long-awaited Beijing Olympics are upon us. But don't let the hoopla of the opening ceremonies overshadow another great tradition, the Iowa Fair, which runs August 7-17. And while sports such as swimming and track take center stage at the Olympics, the Iowa State Fair sports a popular attraction all its own: butter sculpting.

The famous "Butter Cow" (pictured) has been an icon of the Iowa Fair since 1911. These days, there's a freshly carved cow each year, along with original sculptures of international and regional icons (read: Tiger Woods, Elvis Presley, and Harry Potter). The figures were all sculpted from 1960 to 2005 by the buttery hands of Norma Lyon, better known hereabouts as the "Butter Cow Lady." The star of her sport has since passed the tradition down to her apprentice Sarah Pratt, who became the fair's fourth official butter sculptor.

Butter sculptures (even butter cows!) have spread to other state fairs in past decades (the REAL "Butter Cow Lady" has even been known to cross state lines to create butter udders for them), but this tradition can hardly claim its roots in the Midwest. Butter sculpting originated in Tibet (hey, a quasi-Olympic connection), where Tibetan monks used yak butter to create animals and deities for worship.

And in another Olympic connection, this year's butter sculpture specialty will be of Olympic gymnastics team member Shawn Johnson from Des Moines, who may be able to churn butter into gold.

Photo: The Iowa State Fair

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This month, Rainer Jenss and his family started their trip around the world, and they'll be sending us dispatches from the road over the course of the next year. Check back each week to keep up with the Jensses and see where they're headed next.

“Jeez Dad . . . It’s not Americana, it’s American!” Tyler barks at me with his typical 11-year-old sarcasm and "know-it-all" attitude.  “Why do you keep saying it wrong?” Looks like we both will be learning a thing or two about the true meaning of this word during the first – and longest – leg of our round-the-world tour.

I can’t seem to remember which incident sparked this reaction during the first half of our seven-week drive across the country, there were so many occasions to have uttered it. Ever since we passed through the border patrol in Port Huron, Michigan after our brief stint in Canada, we’ve encountered one uniquely American experience after another, starting with the food.

Carol will tell you that the biggest adjustment so far to life on the road is the almost incessant need to eat out. When we were offered the opportunity to stay in a house in northern Michigan by a colleague of mine (thank you Karen), little did we realize that perhaps its biggest draw would be the chance to eat home-cooked meals for a few days. Never have I seen my wife more excited to go to a grocery store! 

To deal with the constant quest for appropriate family-friendly dining, our investment in the book Roadfood proved fruitful. Far from a Zagat’s, this book highlights some of the best local eateries along our nation’s most traveled roads, according to Jane and Michael Stern, a husband-and-wife pair who have traversed the country writing about food for 30 years.  If nothing spells America more than M-c-D-o-n-a-l-d-s, perhaps we are doing this country a disservice by not recognizing the likes of Thompson’s Restaurant in Bingham, Maine; Lou Malnati’s Pizzeria in Chicago; Bob’s Café in Sioux Falls, South Dakota; and the Sundance Café in Dubois, Wyoming.  For me, these are the places that serve up real "American" cuisine. Sure, most of them offer regular menu of burgers, pizza, and greasy fried food we normally try to avoid, but it’s the atmosphere in which they are served that makes them oh so Americana.

John Ur hits the halfway mark for our journey together on the Cinematic Road Trip. And where best to do it but Ohio...

The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in Cleveland

Here we are halfway through our journey together. It seems like just yesterday we set off from the desert in West Texas and circled our way across the Southwest and up the Pacific Coast. We hiked through Canyon Country and Rocky Mountains and danced our way across the Great Plains, nibbling as much corn as our stomachs could hold, as we pulled up to the Great Lakes region. Mark this date. Today is the point of no return. It would be just as long a journey to turn around and go back as it would be to continue on and complete the task. Burn the ships, men! Onward we march!

Before we rush off into the forest and get ourselves lost, maybe we should figure out where we are. We are here, of course, and here happens to be Ohio. According to the US Census Bureau, Ohio is in the East North Central States Division of the Midwest. Say what? Leave it to a government agency to use more words than necessary to make something as confusing as possible. But one thing is certain, or at least widely assumed, and that's the fact that Ohio is the swingiest of swing states. When it comes to presidential politics, the phrase most often proffered by pundits is "as Ohio goes, so goes the nation." (It also cropped up as the title of a documentary about the 2004 election ...So Goes the Nation.) We'll see how it swings come November.

I haven’t spent all that much time in Ohio but I do know that much of the state has been through the same economic downturn felt by other steel manufacturing locations throughout the Rust Belt. Despite that, Ohio has many economic advantages for its various industries, including being within a day’s drive of over 50% of the nation’s population. And being home to King (Lebron) James.

Back in September, I blogged about the concept of the Buffalo Commons, whose goal was to revert the Great Plains to its pristine condition by creating a nature preserve for free-roaming bison. So when I read a recent article in the New York Times about this very topic, I was delighted to discover the eco-initiative has continued to gather momentum over the past several months.

The NYT reports:

The lions won’t be arriving anytime soon, but travel operators have already come, to take advantage of the return of the wild. “When my wife and I first started, two decades ago, we were one of only two operators in the state,” said John Hanson, owner of the Logging Camp Ranch in Bowman, N.D. “Now there are thousands.”

NYT suggests some highlights among the "thousands" of eco-operators, like Off the Beaten Path. Based in Bozeman, Montana, the outfitter offers guided, seven-day trips through the Dakotas, where travelers visit a working bison ranch to learn from bison rancher and author Dan O'Brien (in addition to indulging in a can't-get-fresher-than-this barbecue).

Mississippi Rising

Photographer: Scott Rodenburg of Bettendorf, Iowa

Getting the Shot: This photo was taken from the Davenport, Iowa, Skybridge overlooking 2008 flood waters of the Mississippi River. In an effort to save the natural view of the Mississippi River, Davenport has yet to build a flood wall to protect the city. Each time the river floods, it cost the city hundreds of thousands of dollars. This flood will be in the forefront of future city council meetings. The perspective of this shot truly shows both beauty and devastation. The stillness of the water has a surreal feel to it.

The Details: This shot was taken on a tripod with the camera set at 200 ISO. I took five individual shots adjusting the shutter speed after each shot, starting from 1/2 a second all the way to 15 seconds for the last exposure. Then the images were layered in the Photomatix HDR program.

Born and bred in Davenport, I know all too well the complex issue the area grapples with each time the Big Muddy rises. Flooding causes millions of dollars of damage, yes, but can you monetize the beauty of an unobstructed view of the Mighty Mississippi? Sound off in the comments below, or add your photos to our Flickr pool.

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One of the best parts about planning a road trip is the strategizing. After Illinois, do we head into Indiana or Kentucky? We would be painting ourselves into a corner if we went into Indiana, because then we’d have to go south to Kentucky, and then north through Ohio to Michigan… and then what? We’d be stuck. We’ve hit all the other states that border Michigan. (Yes I realize Maine is going to present a problem.) So we’re going south to Kentucky.

The Bluegrass State is unlike most other states that we’ve looked at so far. We started in the Southwest and ventured through the Pacific Northwest, the Rocky Mountain region, the Midwest cornfield states and then most of the states bordering the Mississippi River. With the exception of the southwest tongue of Kentucky that touches the Mississippi, the state seems to begin a new region—the Mid-Midwest? The Central Southeast? This tricky area, along with Tennessee, sits in its own space known sometimes as the Upland South.

Kentucky is known for bourbon and mint juleps, tobacco and Mammoth Cave National Park (the longest cave system known in the world). It's famed for its college basketball in the memories of sports fans, and bluegrass music in the ears of audiophiles. And then there’s horse racing. One of the most famous horse races in the world, The Kentucky Derby, takes place on the first Saturday of May in Louisville. If you’re into horse racing and want the authentic-look-and-feel experience, you can check out Seabiscuit. I snobbishly refuse to recommend any movie with Tobey Maguire in it, so remember to just look at the horses and try to block him out of your mind. The movie itself shot in California, New York, and Kentucky, with Keeneland Racetrack in Lexington sitting in for the Pimlico course. You can set yourself on a nice two-day visit to Lexington with this guide from the Lexington Convention and Visitors Bureau.

Here at IT, we love a good tale of chicken grit. No, we don’t mean chicken and grits, but rather the industrious and absurd tale of Mike, the headless chicken of Fruita, Colorado.

Legend goes that on Sept. 10, 1945, an almost six-month-old Wyandotte rooster was looking especially delicious to his owners, the Olsens. Lloyd Olsen swung his ax just so as to leave a “generous neck bone” in the hopes of pleasing his mother-in-law, who would be joining the family for the bird feast. But for whatever reason (perhaps the water in Fruita is extra-fortified?), the chicken shrugged off the assault and “returned to his job of being a chicken,” albeit a bit shorter and with two fewer eyes for navigating the barnyard.

Besides officially ruining dinner that evening, “Mike” persevered to live for another 18 months, growing from a paltry 2.5 pounds to a plump eight. After about a week of feeding Mike grain and water with an eyedropper, Lloyd Olsen drove him to the University of Utah in Salt Lake City to be scrutinized by some skeptical scientists, who determined that the ax blade “had missed the jugular vein and a clot had prevented Mike from bleeding to death. Although most of his head was in a jar, most of his brain stem and one ear was left on his body. Since most of a chicken's reflex actions are controlled by the brain stem, Mike was able to remain quite healthy.”

Mike went on to achieve fowl fame, appearing in sideshows from New York to Los Angeles and features in Life and Time magazines, not to mention an obligatory Guinness World Record (you can watch a video about his life here). Today, the “Headless Wonder Chicken” is celebrated with an annual festival each third week in May (that's this Friday and Saturday!). Hightail it to Fruita for all the trappings of a kitschy small-town festival you could ask for, from a car show and eating contests (of, no doubt, a few of Mike’s less-fortunate relatives) to a chicken dance contest and the 5K “Run Like a Headless Chicken” race.

Photo: A sculpture tribute to Mike on Fruita's Main Street, by Andy Orr

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For the past few weeks John Ur has been heading on a course due south through the Dakotas, Nebraska, Kansas and Oklahoma. This week he takes a sharp left turn and heads into Arkansas before turning another ninety degrees and heading back north through the remainder of the Midwestern states.

Let me be frank: The film industry in Arkansas is not exactly booming. The state’s largest city and capital, Little Rock, does not hold many famous landmarks except its capitol building. However, because of its resemblance to the U.S. Capitol building in Washington DC, the Arkansas capitol has served as the stunt double for its more famous counterpart in several films, most notably in the television movie Under Siege (1986), when a group of suicide bombers attacked. John Grisham, one of Arkansas' most famous sons, has had several of his stories converted into movies, and his first hit book, The Firm, was directed by Sydney Pollack with scenes shot in West Memphis, Arkansas (as well as Memphis, Tennessee and Washington DC).

But the state also has a few stars-of-screen natives, including Joey Lauren Adams, Wes Bentley, Mary Steenburgen and Billy Bob Thornton. Early in his career, Thornton was able to pull off an Orson Welles trifecta – to write, direct and star in a film (see Welles in Citizen Kane) using Arkansas as his setting. Thornton wrote Sling Blade, a story of a mentally handicapped man who was released from a psychiatric hospital after serving 25 years for the murder of his mother and her lover at the age of 12. This man, Karl Childers (played by Thornton), became an iconic character in popular culture – his gruff bass voice and rudimentary language oft-repeated in satire for comedic effect: Mmhmm, I reckon. Alright then. I used a Kaiser blade. Some folks call it a sling blade, I call it a Kaiser blade.

John Ur introduces us to the "trigger word" and challenges you not to break into song during his visit to Oklahoma.

On my mother’s side of the family, we have trigger words. It's a running joke between my grandmother, aunt, and my mother and I that has been carried down the line. At any random point in conversation, if you were to say a trigger word, the other person will launch into at least one line of song. So, if you were to say, mention the word “spoonful” around mom, she will immediately jump in with: “A spoon full of sugar helps the medicine go down." At that point, I usually shake my head in disappointment at myself for not seeing it coming.

I can thank Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein for writing the musical, Oklahoma! We collectively can thank former governor George Nigh for making the title tune Oklahoma’s state song. And I can thank my mother for giving me a life with the trigger word, “Oklahoma.” As soon as the state is mentioned, she will round her lips and raise her eyebrows and proceed into the song and a little two-step dance:

“OOOOOOOOooooooklahoma where the wind comes sweepin’ down the plain."

The classic image of Oklahoma, besides the Broadway cowboys with gleaming teeth and bandannas around their necks, can be derived from John Steinbeck’s Grapes of Wrath—a family of Okies in their overloaded truck driving off through the dust looking for work in California. John Ford adapted this image of Tom Joad and his family to screen back in 1940. Some scenes were shot in Sayre and McAlester, OK, but much of the rest of the film was shot in New Mexico, California, and on sets built on studio lots. (Tom Joad is also a trigger word for Bruce Springsteen’s “Ghost of Tom Joad” in my book.)

But the dustbowl depicted in the film is a bit dated. Right now Oklahoma is in the midst of promoting the geographic diversity in its ten different land regions: the Ozark Plateau, the Prairie Plains, Ouachita Mountains, Sandstone Hills, Arbuckle Mountains, Wichita Mountains, Red River Valley, Red Beds Plains, Gypsum Hills, and the High Plains. It's also working to promote it's Native American history (modern day OK was where the infamous Trail of Tears began) as well as it’s burgeoning wine industry—according to a friend who recently took a vineyard tour while visiting.

For history buffs out there (you know who you are), the Adventure Cycling Association has a great tour that combines U.S. history lessons with plenty of exercise.

The 48-day, 2,100-mile Undergound Railroad tour takes 14 cyclists from Mobile, Alabama, through the Deep South and the Tennessee River Valley, across the Ohio River, and up through Buffalo, New York, all the way to Owen Sound, Ontario, just like escaped slaves would have done in the 19th century (minus the bicycle, of course). Along the way, cyclists will stop at historic sites, share cooking responsibilities, and camp.

The Adventure Cycling Association is partners with the University of Pittsburgh's Center for Minority Health, which helped create the UGRR route. To get an idea of what the tour is like, check out Joan and Mike's entry on the Review the Ride Registry, who also have a very detailed blog with lots of photos from last year's trip.

The Association has heaps of other multiweek tours, like the brand-new, 79-day Great Western Loop, as well as shorter trips, like the 7-day Cycle Montana route.

For more information about the group's self-contained bicycling trips (you carry your own stuff) and supported tours (they transport your luggage for you), check out their website.

Photo: Adventure Cycling Association/Dennis Coello

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Pop quiz: What U.S. state has a population smaller than that of the city of Washington, DC? The answer is John Ur's latest installment of Cinematic Road Trip: Wyoming.

Let me give you a tip about driving through Wyoming. When you have a vehicle loaded up with camping equipment, clothes, and accessories for traveling across the country, it’s probably a good idea to take it easy going up through the Bighorn Mountains between Buffalo and Worland. Though you may be tempted to floor the gas so your car can creep up the mountains at 60 or 70 mph, you’re likely to overheat the transmission and cause the fluid to expand and leak out onto your engine and smoke to come out of your hood.

If this happens to you, especially in the middle of a night without a moon, where there is only endless darkness in each direction, you may have to stop at Ten Sleep. The town got its name from Native American traders who used the number of days walking between trading-post villages as a unit of measurement. There’s only one gas station and if you order pizza at the bar across the street, the bartender will tell you to walk back to the freezer next to the pool table and pick out the frozen pizza that you want her to heat up in the toaster oven.

Fortunately, once you get out of Ten Sleep, Wyoming has a few unique locations that you won't want to miss: the spooky Devils Tower National Monument, Grand Tetons National Park's regal mountains, and the granddaddy of national parks, Yellowstone, with its signature geysers and rainbow-colored hot springs. You may think that you already have an idea of what Wyoming looks like. This is cowboy country. This is the landscape made famous by Brokeback Mountain. But hold on just a moment.  Though Brokeback Mountain was set in Wyoming, it was actually shot in southern Alberta, Canada.