Tag: Great Fun For The Kids

The Flåm Railway – Norway

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By Cheryl L Hosman Dieter

One of the day trips you will not want to miss while in Norway is a ride on the Flåm Railway. Trips can begin/end in Oslo or Bergen with train transfers.

Train on the way to Myrdal Station to catch the Flåmbana

Most tourists take the Flåmbana to reach the town of Aurlandsfjord where they will board a ferry for a trip down the Sognefjord, one of Norways most famous fjords. This is an easy trip from the main train station in Bergen, past rolling hills and lakes galore straight into the town of Voss. From there the train will climb high into the mountains until you reach the Myrdal Station. Here you will exit the train and take a short jaunt over to the Flåm Railway. Keep in mind that this is one of the world’s steepest standard gauge lines in the entire world and with that comes some of the most spectacular scenery you will ever witness.

Entering the train you will be transported back to the golden days of train travel consisting of fine wooden interiors and seats reminiscent of the 1940’s. As you journey towards Aurlandsfjord you will pass through pristine valleys, climb majestic mountaintops, spy quaint villages, pass through twenty tunnels and witness stunning waterfalls too numerous to count. The train makes a short stop at the Kjosfossen Waterfall so the passengers can experience the thundering falls and see the fairy dancer magically appear.

The Flamsbana stopped at Kjosfossen Waterfall. When viewing the waterfall do not leave your personal items aboard the train as there are those who will rifle through your belongings.

Kjosfossen Waterfall

After arriving in Arslandsfjord you will have a chance to visit the Flam Railway Museum. Full of fun facts about the line and those who built it; you can expect to spend about 20 minutes viewing the exhibits. From there you can amble through one of the small tourist shops or catch a bite to eat before either returning the way you came or boarding the ferry for your trip down the fjord.

Aurlandsfjord Train Station

Flam Railway Museum… where there is never an entrance fee

A typical Norwegian lunch at Aurslandfjord

Boat houses at the start of the fjord in Aurslandfjord

The inky waters of the fjord

The guidebooks all recommended the Flam Railway paired with the trip down Sognefjord and I would have to agree that this is one of the best day trips for this part of Norway. Plan to shell out quite a bit of bread on a self-guided combo tour, but hey, it’s a small price for being a tourist in one of the prettiest places in the world.

Western Antique Airplane & Automobile Museum (WAAAM)

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Hidden outside the historic and charming town of Hood River, Oregon, is one of the most interesting museums I have been to in a long time. Consisting of over 3.5 indoor acres of automobiles, airplanes, motorcycles and military equipment; it is easy to spend a couple of hours looking at some of America’s most beloved machines. All the exhibits are in pristine shape and several times a year the doors open so that the autos can hit the road while the planes fly high. With volunteer docents who know all about each and every last vehicle and whom always have plenty of interesting and funny stories to tell; this place is a treasure looking to shine bright on the rainiest of Oregon days. Open 9am-5pm daily. Closed New Year’s Day, Thanksgiving and Christmas. WAAAM is located at 1600 Air Museum Road, Hood River, Oregon. Telephone (541) 308-1600.

WAAAM…This Mighty Museum Will Hit

You Right Between The Eyes

Railtown 1897-Jamestown, CA

Posted in California, Day Trips, Federal, State and City Parks, Great Fun For The Kids, Museums, Trains, Uncategorized, United StatesTagged , , , , , , , , , Leave a comment

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Okay, all you railroad buffs, today we are going on an adventure extraordinaire. It’s time to climb aboard the Railtown 1897 State Historic Park in Jamestown, California. This 26 acre site offers a freight depot with an incredible roundhouse which you can explore until your hearts content.The original turntable still works and there are many passenger cars along with other interesting and rare railroad equipment. But best of all there are several powerful steam engines, including the famous Engine #3, which has appeared in many movies and TV shows including Little House On The Prairie, Gunsmoke, Bonanza and Lassie.

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Railtown 1897 is a place to venture back to days gone by. It’s a place to bring young and old a like. Here you can climb onto steam locomotives, stroll vintage passenger cars, and walk the floors of the waiting room at the depot.  And if you are really lucky “Grandma Jean” will give you a personal tour of everything you need to know about this unique and exciting State Park including these tidbits:

  1. The drier the steam the more powerful the engine
  2. The taller the wheels the faster it goes

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But perhaps one of the most interesting things about this State Park is the fact that it has a fully functioning engine repair and restoration facility and you can actually watch as they fix the old engines that arrive for an overhaul. That is worth the price of admission alone!

If you want to ride the trains the best time to visit is in the summer for summer time brings wildflower train rides and steam train excursions. From April to October, trains operate every Saturday and Sunday, departing from the Railtown Depot at 10:30 a.m., noon, 1:30 p.m. and 3 p.m. Excursion tickets are $15 for adults, $10 for youth 6-17 and children 5 and under ride for free.

For further information go to:

http://www.parks.ca.gov/railtown

You are going to love this place!

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Best Zoo With A View

Posted in Colorado, Great Fun For The Kids, Uncategorized, United States, ZoosTagged , , , , , , , , , Leave a comment

This summer we traveled to Colorado Springs to visit with our eldest son and our granddaughter.  Colorado Springs is a fascinating place …the counterculture mixing with the nouve rich. It is a place with Jamba Juice and Starbucks on every corner battling it out for the oh-so-mighty dollar.

But it is also a amazing place full of wild untamed beauty and scenic vistas that stretch as far as the eye can see. So image my surprise when we ventured forth to the Cheyenne Mountain Zoo when we were able to combine two favorites into one…views for mom and cute cuddly animals for the kids. We hit the jackpot!

Of course, for a kid there is nothing to be beat when feeding a giraffe. Lettuce leaves are the food of choice as the long silky purple tongues reach out to take their favorite treats from your hands. Meeting a giraffe up close and personal is something that you never forget.

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The zoo also has a unique exhibit which showcases animals from the area in a natural setting. Here you will find grizzly bears, moose, mountain lions and many other animals that you might meet if you were hiking in the surrounding mountains. Yes, sometimes you have to look to find these magnificent creatures but that is part of the charm of the place.

Encounter Africa was another favorite giving the kids a chance to see elephants, rhino, and meerkats and a gigantic living termite mound. UGH! That left me itching all over for a few nights after that! The kids also loved the wind tunnel which demonstrated the strength of the winds as they cross the savannah.

For an extra cost you can also take the Mountaineer Sky ride which is essentially a ski-lift chair that rides to the top of the mountain as your travel over the animal exhibits.

This zoo was a big hit for all involved no matter what their age. While admission prices are a little steep it is worth it if you make a day of it. FYI-take along your own bottled water.

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The Cheyenne Mountain Zoo is open 9 a.m.-5 p.m. with the last admission at 4 p.m. Hours vary during holidays.

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Wyoming Territorial Prison…Laramie

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One of the more interesting and kid friendly places we visited this summer was the Wyoming Territorial Prison outside Laramie, Wyoming. Totally restored and sitting on 197 acres, it was built in 1872 as a federal prison and operated as such until 1890 when it became a Wyoming State Prison (1890-1903). It is one of the three territorial penitentiaries that still exist in the West and the only one that has survived intact. The most infamous convict to grace it’s interior was Butch Cassidy who served a sentence here for two years.

After arriving at the Visitors Center where friendly Wyoming Folk answer all your questions with smiles upon their faces you exit out a side door onto the immense grounds. After a short walk you arrive at the Warden’s House which was built by the convicts in 1875. Restored to that era there is a lot of the past for the kids to see and experience. including the clothes worn during that time period and how houses were set up.

The prison itself is amazing. Clean, fresh and fully restored; visitors can enter the cells, see the kitchen, and visit a very informative museum. My children learned a lot about the Old West and how people were treated while incarcerated back in the “Good Old Days” and each child was given a convict to look for and learn about. Murderers, horse rustlers, forgers, and con artists (both men and women) were all housed within the prison’s massive stone walls. The clanging shut of the old iron doors is one sound I won’t soon forget.

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My kids loved the Broom Factory which served as an industry for prison labor. Began in 1872 it supplied broom throughout the United States and had an amazing output of some 720 brooms per day. The machinery inside is interesting and you can even doing some making of your own.

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Throughout the grounds there are coaches and prison paddy wagons for kids to climb over and on. For youngsters who have been cooped up in a car it is the perfect way to burn up some energy. There is also an 1880s Ranch Building display with lovingly interprets ranching during that time in the Wyoming Territories. A huge nature preserve with walking trail can also be found on the grounds.

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This is one place you and your family will love. It’s worth the ride!

Open daily May 1 – October 31 from 7am-8pm