Travel Archives - Lamoka Ledger

The New Scout on the Old Scout Trail Guide

Volkswagen obtained the trademark to the International Scout name a few years ago and, on October 24, the new Scout Motors will officially reveal an all-electric Scout vehicle. In the meantime, they have been leaning into International Harvester Scout history on their website.

Witness their recent post on the 1979 International Scout Four-Wheel-Drive Trail Guide, a thick (224 pages!) combination atlas and collection of essays on 4×4 trails across America, including, based on the photo below, at least one in New Jersey that may no longer be off-road.

Megafauna at the Cincinnati Airport

Megafauna skeletons on display at the Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky International Airport (CVG), just south of the Ohio River in Boone County, Kentucky). The famous paleontological site, Big Bone Lick, is only about 20 miles south of the airport.

Life After Baseball

John Jaso, former catcher/first baseman for the Pittsburgh Pirates, Tampa Bay Rays, and other teams, walked away from baseball and now sails a boat for about six months a year: No More Spring Trainings.

During his MLB career, Jaso had to deal with multiple concussions:

My initial reaction is that my life, as far as my career, is falling apart and kind of like ending,” Jaso said. “That this is how it ends.”
Tampa Bay Times 2015

In 2017 he bought a sailboat (he was a professional balllplayer, so it’s a nice boat) and retired from baseball:

there’s another level of peace and happiness for him when he’s on the boat. Even when there are issues — and something is always going wrong — he liked dealing with it.
New York Times 2023

Flash Flooding at Petra

Heavy rains in Jordan near the famous Nabataean city of Petra caused flooding and resulted in the evacuation of tourists from the UNESCO World Heritage Site.

Al-Khazneh (The Treasury) at Petra in drier times. Source: Wikimedia commons.

Manitou’s Springs

Just up the hill from Colorado Springs is Manitou Springs, which was built up around a series of natural mineral springs beginning in 1872. Eight free-flowing fountains are scattered around the town now. Most of the city is included in the Manitou Springs Historic District.

And now, a Canadian Analysis of the Holidome

Talking about Holiday Inn Holidomes: The Holidome was a one-stop vacation destination. Why couldn’t it keep up with the times?

Only two photos, of unidentified Holidomes, but includes this analysis:

At many Holidomes, the humidity from the indoor pools would damage the domed ceiling and make the inner-courtyard-facing rooms damp and stuffy… “While the maintenance of these domed structures is really costly, they’re very easy to demolish, and you still can keep the hotel”
David Israelson/Drew Sinclair

A Week in Southern Maine

Ferns galore at Wells Reserve at Laudholm

From the Pedestrian Drawbridge at Perkins Cove

The View, with clouds, from Mount Agamenticus

Featured image: Ogunquit Beach from the Marginal Way.

Topeka West Holidome

We talked about the Holidomes before. Now, the former Holiday Inn Holidome in Topeka, Kansas, will be torn down and replaced with apartments. This Holidome, located on the west side of town just off I-70, appears to have been built in the early 80s. It eventually became a Ramada Inn but kept much of the Holidome architecture, including the interior courtyard and pool. It permanently closed about four years ago. Photos of the shut-down hotel are at the Topeka Courier-Journal online. Some photos of the hotel in happier times (when it may have already transitioned into a Ramada) are below, by way of Google.