When I went up to Cleveland for my post-tax season escape in late April my brother and sister-in-law took me to a Guardians (nee Indians) game. They generally take me to at least one a year and I always enjoy it.
The team was renamed for the 8 Guardians, a series of much-larger-than-life carvings on the pillars of a huge bridge near the stadium. I will be making a future post about them once I get down there to take all of their photos.
The “Guards” play at Progressive Field. Progressive Insurance is based in Mayfield Village, a suburb of Cleveland. The game we attended was the third in a series against the New York Yankees. The Guards swept the first two games and we were hoping they’d make it three for three.
Spoiler alert – they didn’t.
Before the game started we went through an area with statues and plaques dedicated to former players, coaches and other notable figures in the team’s history. It was a sobering visit, as one of the memorials was to a gentleman who attended every home game since August 24, 1973. He was always way out in the bleachers under the scoreboard where he beat a huge bass drum (he bought for $25) to motivate the players and the fans. The sound reverberated through the entire stadium.
Sadly he passed away in late 2023. His name was John Adams. He was there for 3 World Series, 3 All-Star games, Len Parker’s “perfect game” and was even honored with a “Bobblehead Night” likeness!
A replica of his drum:
The section where he performed was dedicated in his honor.
I drove up to Cleveland in mid-April to visit my youngest brother and his family (my post-tax season escape). As we drove around the area to some of the city’s MetroParks (they have a GREAT network of parks, something that should inspire other cities around the US) I noticed a sign for the Zoo (also a MetroPark). I didn’t even know they had a zoo and my brother offered to take me the next day (to visit, not to leave me!!).
I will spare you the “normal” zoo animals and try to show the more unusual ones. But first, the entrance. An impressive display of tulips:
NOW the animals:
This stuffed animal was in the on-site veterinarian hospital suite. Better him than a live animal:
They build a viewing overlook at just the right height for kids and adults alike to feed the giraffes:
And speaking of unusual creatures… you are probably familiar with flying squirrels (which friends of mine in Pennsylvania have on their property!!).
How about the rare, elusive flying JohnBoy???
Yes, your afraid-of-heights hero agreed (actually PAID) to be pulled backwards above an alligator infested lake and then released to cheat death and laugh at their efforts to bite his shoes off.
As my friend Shawn, a frequent blog commentor, would say – HA!
But I digress….
Not MY shoes…
A reindeer (above)
A Takin (above)
A cuddly Sloth bear (well, the little one anyway).
A Snow Leopard:
And two Amur Leopards:
A “seems kind of small but I’m still NOT getting in there with him” Grizzly Bear:
This one was further away than it looks. I still haven’t seen one “up close” in the wild but I did see one from very far away near Yellowstone National Park in 2017 and I could tell it was enormous. It is what prompted me to get a digital camera with a zoom lens
And finally, a cuddly Koala:
Two days ago I went to the Cincinnati Zoo and will be posting those photos as soon as I get them off my iPhone 16. I recently upgraded but it is giving me fits trying to offload my photos to my Microsoft computer which is where I post the blog from.
I always try to appreciate the artists of this world. Some are meh but many more are VERY talented.
We saw these signs as we walked around Jim Thorpe during our 5-hour train layover. I didn’t follow them to their destination but will tell you in a minute what they are for:
As you may have noticed, they are all signed by Victor Stabin and evidently lead to his studio. I promise I will visit it when I return to Jim Thorpe sometime in the future.
No photos but they will be in an older post referenced below.
Upon my arrival in Cincinnati OH last evening I learned that the Visitor Center, and many other historic buildings, at the North Rim of the Grand Canyon were destroyed by an out of control wildfire on Sunday. Crews were trying to protect the Park from the fire, which was started by lightning, but it managed to get past them. Fortunately, all staff and guests at the Park were able to escape safely and no firefighters were injured. The North Rim will be closed for the rest of the season and probably beyond, as it will be a major undertaking to rebuild everything and make it safe for everyone to return.
I don’t have my photos from that far back on this computer but you may enter “Grand Canyon North Rim – Lodge” in the search box on the Home page to see my post from September 10, 2017 featuring the Lodge (and I believe there were others from that trip as well). Once on that 2017 post, a calendar for September 2017 will be on the right side of the screen to view all the posts from a particular date within that month.
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I am now on the road in earnest so my posts will soon increase in frequency. I am still working on some computer issues. My iPhone sometimes creates two files when I take a photo – a traditional .jpg and a mini-movie which takes up even more space. It wreaks havoc when I try to copy from my phone to my computer (not an Apple product) and it is taking me time to delete them, while keeping the real movies I take from time-to-time.
To quote Gilda Radner from SNL (whose photos and outfits I saw in the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in Cleveland last week) – “It’s always something….”
More of the beautifully maintained homes in Jim Thorpe, PA.
Wait a minute….. how did HE (or SHE) sneak in here???
And a few more buildings as we walked back down towards the train station. We thought five hours was a long time to fill but it went by very quickly. Some day I will drive up to the northern end of the Reading & Northern train line and ride south to revisit this beautiful little town again. I could spend all day here.
There are many historic buildings in Jim Thorpe and in addition to the buildings and businesses, many residents have gone to great lengths to freshen up and maintain their homes.
The town of Jim Thorpe used to be called Mauch Chunk. The name was changed as a tribute to the first Native American to win a Gold Medal for the United States in the Olympics (see previous post).
There was vehicular traffic gridlock (and it gets even worse when there are festivals in town, or in nearby Allentown/Bethlehem/Easton or Scranton/Wilkes Barre). We were very happy we had arrived by train and didn’t have to sit in traffic or find a place to park!
We enjoyed a fabulous lunch on the left side of the building above, in an old firehouse! There are LOTS of great restaurants in Jim Thorpe.
I was glad our restaurant wasn’t adjacent to THIS building!
And another building in JT where we enjoyed a beer while waiting to catch the train back to Reading.
I have been staying with friends in southern Pennsylvania for a few days and they discovered a great train ride for us to take on Sunday. We drove to Reading PA, not far from where they live, and boarded a diesel-engine propelled train which would take us north to Jim Thorpe, PA which, coincidentally, is about 20 minutes from where my older brother used to live!
We literally took a “Ride on the Reading!” (a Monopoly board game reference for those of you not familiar with it).
We left Reading (at the bottom center of the map) and rode about two hours up to Jim Thorpe, just left of the word CARBON on the right side of the map. The town of Jim Thorpe used to be called Mauch Chunk but was renamed for the Olympic athlete who was the first Native American to win a Gold Medal for the United States. He played professional football, baseball and basketball and was considered one of the most versatile athletes in modern sports (source: Wikipedia). He won two Gold Medals in the 1912 Summer Olympics (pentathlon and decathlon). A statue of Jim Thorpe is located in another part of town.
But I digress…
It was a gorgeous, relaxing ride through wooded areas, small towns and some beautiful countryside. Several rivers and streams ran alongside my side of the train as we went north. We made two quick stops to pick up more passengers, and when we arrived in Jim Thorpe we were given 5 hours to walk around, have lunch, and enjoy the beauty of this small town. I have driven through Jim Thorpe several time over the years but don’t think I ever got out of my car. It was a beautiful day and we had a great time.
Not a word you want to think about while riding a train! There were several of these along our route, in areas where the train could move gracefully to adjacent tracks.
We finally arrived at our destination and set out to enjoy our time there.
This is a rare real-time post as a heads-up to those of you thinking of taking the “recently-reduced-to-one-lane-each-way” I-40 through the western NC mountains in the next week or two. (This was originally posted June 25)
UPDATE on 6/27/25 PERMISSION GRANTED!! The road has reopened earlier than expected. They had said it would be closed two weeks from June 18, or until July 3, but announced today that is open. Now we just have to hope they don’t get much rain, and if they do, I might consider going another way…
One week ago today, on June 18, 2025, the highway experienced another closure due to a rock/mudslide which flooded the lanes on both the east and west-bound side.
(Photo credit: ABC News)
(Photo credit: Asheville Citizen Times)
For those of you not from these parts, I-40 through the mountains is a narrow 4-lane highway with tight turns, tunnels, and LOTS of truck traffic. It is arguably the shortest distance between two points BUT is prone to many problems. Rockslides, mudslides, accident closures, icing problems and snow drifts in the winter months, etc.
This existing problem was compounded exponentially on September 27, 2024 when excessive rains from Hurricane Helene (on ground already saturated by rains from back-to-back “normal” storms the week before which, because of the mountains, often result in nature squeezing even MORE moisture than normal out of the air) caused exceptionally high water levels in the Pigeon River, which runs adjacent to the westbound lanes of I-40, causing them to collapse, literally, into the river.
Think I’m kidding?
(Photo credit: Raleigh News & Observer)
(Photo credit: WRAL TV)
The highway was closed, obviously, and traffic both ways was rerouted. No small task. This became a priority repair project and after giving the matter some thought, NC Department of Transportation announced plans to have the highway reopened by New Year’s Day.
FAIL (but not their fault)
On December 20 (and I don’t know if they were on schedule or not but that is now moot) parts of the westbound lanes collapsed AGAIN.
So now the priority became changing the eastbound lanes to one-lane each direction, at 35mph, big rigs allowed but NO WIDE LOADS!! That idea finally became a reality on March 20, 2025, and worked quite well until last week.
A subsidiary problem which has developed is that truckers, who are notoriously on a tight schedule and are always trying to find a new way to skin a cat (sorry, PETA, just using a common phrase. No ill-intent here…) are taking shortcuts on small mountain roads not designed for the size or weight of such vehicles.
Helpful hint to truckers – when the police and other authorities tell you not to use small mountain roads to transport your precious cargo – DON’T.
(Photo credit: Raleigh News & Observer)
(Photo credit: CBS17)
(Photo credit: Yahoo News)
Fortunately, our hero is not going west to start his next trip. I will be heading north to Pennsylvania and Ohio next Tuesday and will be well north of this dilemma when I start working my way west to Seattle.
And as a final cautionary warning to be mindful of in similar situations – several years ago, during one of the hurricanes which passed over North Carolina (I live in Durham) and flooded long sections of I-95, a MAJOR north/south corridor (used by truckers hauling their precious cargo, parents hauling their precious cargo to/from Disney World, and drug pushers and arms dealers hauling their precious cargo to Lord knows where), when a local TV newsperson interviewed a State Trooper and asked “what’s the best advice you can give people trying to get around this mess?” the Trooper replied, “Two things – one, LISTEN to local authorities who are standing out in the elements for that reason, and two, DON’T TRUST YOUR GPS. It’s going to direct you to the next highway which runs parallel to the interstate. Well guess what, the next THREE highways are flooded, too.”
I hadn’t really thought about that before but he’s right. As I have learned over the years with my GPS units 1.o through 4.0, trust but verify.
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