PRESENTED BY:
Roy Heron
 Madison, IN

Our Story:
In the summer of 1995, Carol and I went on a trip to Sault Ste. Marie in Canada. This is about 600 miles north of Madison, IN: a two day drive by our standards. I used to live in Michigan and I always wanted to ride the "Snow Train" in Sault Ste. Marie, but never got the chance. Well it's not a snow train in July, but at least it is the same train and it goes to the same places, so we went up there to go on this long train ride. You have to plan your trip so that you arrive early in the morning. The guard at the Canadian border gave us easy directions to the train station. We bought our tickets with a credit card and this insured that we would get the best currency exchange rate. The trip lasts about eight hours, traveling about ninety miles north, then turning around and coming back by the same route. Well really, the train doesn't turn. They just take the engine off to a side track and move it to the other end of the train. The train goes through many miles of pretty scenery, but then it also goes through many miles of rather boring wilderness also. Binoculars and cameras are very useful on this trip. You can spend part of your time eating lunch in the dinning car. The food was good and not really too expensive. You can bring your own lunch if you want to, but I wouldn't pass up the opportunity to eat in the moving dinning car. It's a very unique and fun experience. When you get to the turning point in Agawa Canyon, you will have about one hour to walk around and explore the park. They have a lookout you can climb up to which has 372 steps. This is not for the faint of heart. There are other trails around also and a small gift shop and picnic tables. Just don't miss the train ride out. There are no other roads into this wilderness park. To summarize the trip, it was a long but relaxing day. I enjoyed the experience very much but Carol seemed to get bored with the long ride.

More Info:Snow Train Homepage

Our Story:
Our family has taken three trips to Mammoth Cave, Kentucky. This National Park is only about 140 miles from Madison, about a 2 hour drive. Just take route 62 south to I65 and I65 south to exit 53. From this point it's 10 miles west on routes 70 and 255. You can follow the signs. But their are some signs for other local attractions that seem to be designed to confuse people, like the signs for Mammoth Onyx Cave. The real Mammoth Cave has over 300 miles of connecting cave passages and they are still finding more. This is the longest cave system in the world. The caves have a rich history that goes back to prehistoric times. You can learn all about it by going on the tours or reading some of the books and other literature at their gift shop. They have several walking guided tours that start at about 8:00 a.m. and the last one leaves about 1:30 p.m.. So you need to get there early to buy tickets and remember, they are on CENTRAL time. If you plan it right, you can go on two or three tours in the same day. We suggest that you start with the "Historical Tour". Some of the rooms they go through are amazingly huge. You could fit our super Wal Mart store inside of one. It would be a good idea for you to call ahead and have them send you a brochure, call (502) 758-2328. Tours last about 2 hours and cost between $2.00 and $7.00. There is one tour that costs a lot more, lasts about 6 hours, and you have to be prepared to crawl. The rest of the tours can be handled by most adults very easily. They have special rules for children and handicapped. There are other things to do at the park also, like camping, canoeing, and hiking above ground trails. They also have cottages to rent, a hotel, a restaurant, and a hotel gift shop.

More Info: Mammoth Cave Online

Our Story:
One of the weekend trips that we enjoyed very much was just up the river in Vevay, Indiana. Vevay is a quiet little river town except during the annual Wine Festival. We went during one of the quiet weeks. We stayed in one of the suites at the Ogle Haus Inn. The bedroom was very large with a vaulted, wood beam ceiling over the sitting area and a gas fireplace. There was a microwave and refrigerator in the kitchenette, and a whirlpool tub in the bath room. Wooden glass doors opened out to the deck which ran the length of the building on the river side. They have a nice restaurant and lounge inside, so you don't have to go outside if you don't want to. We found it to be a very nice, quiet, and romantic weekend. No distractions. We just enjoyed the tub and the fireplace, set on the deck, and watched the river boats go by. The Ogle Haus address is 1013 W. Main St., Vevay IN 47043-9459 and their phone # is (812) 427-2020.

More Info: Distance from Madison is about 20 miles east.

Name: Ron Schunk
From: Aurora Ind
Destination: Sault St. Marie, Ontario, Canada
When: Aug 10-12
Duration: 2 nights
Homepage: http://www.seidata.com/~rschunk/
E-mail: rschunk@seidata.com

Our Story:
We drove to the "Soo" on a Sunday. Driving time was about 9.5 hours, almost 600 miles. Stayed at the Quality Inn Bayfront, which is right across the road from the Algoma Central Railroad station. Monday morning at 7:30, we boarded the Algoma Central train for a one day trip to Agawa Canyon. The trip there took 3.5 hours and went through very pretty country. Lots of trees, lakes and a great view of Lake Superior.

There was a 2 hour layover in the Park, and then a 3.5 hour return trip. The train has box lunches available, and dining car service as well, or you can get a box lunch from your hotel to tote along. They also have a nice gift shop at the Park as well as the Terminal.

On Tuesday, before leaving, we visited the Canadian Bush Plane Museum on the waterfront..(you also want to check out the BIG wooden MOOSE statue!)...There is a nice walk along the waterfront where you can view freighters, the Locks and the International Bridge to Michigan....

Name Ron Schunk
From: Aurora Ind
Destination: New River Gorge, West Virgina
When: June 1997
Duration: 1 night
Homepage: http://www.seidata.com/~rschunk
E-mail: rschunk@seidata.com

Our Story:
Our Boy Scout Troop takes a trip every summer. The past three years, we have gone to New River Gorge in West Virginia. The boys mountain bike, take raft trips and rapel and rock climb. This year I could not go for the whole trip, by did manage to make the Sunday morning rapelling/rock climb.

This is the greatest thrill (next to jumping out of a plane) that you can get! Our guide was Hard Rock Climbing Services. They provide all the equipment you need and transportation. All you need is a sense of adventure and a pair of gloves!

We were taken from their office by van to a place in the Gorge about 1/2 way down the cliff face. This spot is near the Bridge abutment on the North side of the Gorge. The bridge itself is supposed to be the longest single span bridge in the World! For those of you who don't know, Rapelling is the sport of "reverse climbing" or basically letting yourself down from an elevated place using a rope and nylon harness. It's GREAT fun!

Anyway, the guide found out that one of our party had never done this before so they went and started out on a small cliff, only 40' high. The rest of us climbed for awhile and came out on a cliff overlooking the Gorge. Below was the New River, and above was the gracefully arching bridge substructure, disappearing into the mist hanging in the distance. It was beautiful.

The guide rigged both lines, one that we would descend, and the other a safety line that he controlled. Each climber is given a helmet to wear, and puts on a seat harness. The harness is inspected by the guide. I was second to go down the cliff.

The guide ties you onto the rope using a carabiner (a device that connects ropes together) and a figure eight descender (a device that allows you to control your rate of descent). Then you have to turn your back to the cliff, grab the descender, and BACK out over the cliff! Now, that is the hardest part of the whold thing. That FIRST time, trusting your life to a piece of rope! By the second trip down, I was stopping along the way to admire the view, kicking out and freefalling and just having a great time! Later that day , we moved on down the road and did some roped and free rock climbing.

I am returning to China in January 2001 with a group.   Has
anybody got any information on the Harbin Ice Festival.
Especially what clothing we will need.