Trails Lead to Wherever Your Interests Might Go

By Victor Block

If you love history, I have a trail for you. Are you more of an architecture admirer? Maybe your preference is following a path to favorite foods. You're also in luck.

An extensive choice of driving and hiking paths around the country delve into a variety of interests and hobbies. From architecture and art to waterfalls and zoos, the list includes sites and topics that can enhance the pleasure of visiting another place.

Do stories of the past have appeal? The National Park Service's Captain John Smith Chesapeake Trail traces routes followed by the English explorer in the early 17th century as he traveled through and mapped Virginia and the Chesapeake Bay.

The Lewis and Clark National Historic Trail winds nearly 4,900 miles along the route that those adventurers traversed from 1803 to 1806 from Pennsylvania to the Pacific Ocean. President Thomas Jefferson tasked them with exploring and describing the newly acquired western portion of the country after the Louisiana Purchase.

Architecture aficionados might like to check out the Frank Lloyd Wright Trail in Wisconsin to view some of that world-famous architect's iconic creations. The 200-mile route through his home state features nine sites that demonstrate his genius. They include his Taliesin home, designed to emulate the state's flat plains and limestone outcroppings, and the Unitarian Meeting House, which is characterized by a pitched copper roof and interlaced wood and glass prow.

If you fancy good food, the alternatives are equally inviting. Craving a morning wake-up cup and sweet? The Jax Coffee & Donuts Trail in Jacksonville, Florida, is devoted to that delicious duo and leads to 44 participating cafes.

If you love oysters, they may be enjoyed raw, steamed or fried and in recipes ranging from soup to spicy to Creole-style along the Oyster Trail in the Gulf Shores and Orange Beach area of Alabama.

Those who prefer freshly picked produce might follow the Hood River County Fruit Loop in Oregon, a 35-mile drive along scenic rural roads. It leads to farm fruit stands and fields of flowers that have defined that area since the mid-19th century.

Flowers are the main attraction along the Spacious Skies Campgrounds Spring Bloom Trail, which runs from Georgia to Maine. This 14-stop route connects sites when colorful wildflowers are at their peak. Many of the locations are close to charming towns, and an added bonus is themed events such as stargazing, bird-watching and celebrating Cinco de Mayo.

The beauty of bright blossoms is echoed in art at a number of places. The 81-mile Florida Keys Sculpture Trail includes a massive sundial piece titled "Wavehenge," a shell-like construction and other figures that relate to their surroundings. Farther north, the Maine Sculpture Trail stretches almost 400 miles along that state's Atlantic coastline. It consists of 34 granite figures made during gatherings of artists between 2007 and 2014.

Among attractions for which the small city of Greenville, South Carolina, is known is its world-class collection of public art. I enjoyed this display during my recent visit as I strolled through town to view many of the more than 120 murals, architectural elements, statues and historic pieces that grace the sidewalks.

The Civil Rights Movement is among historic events that have shaped the country's story, and major chapters of that account may be relived along the Civil Rights Trail. It leads to significant locales from Selma, Alabama, and Memphis, Tennessee, to Washington, D.C., and Topeka, Kansas, where the struggle for equality took place.

These sites include Little Rock Central High School in Arkansas, where the effort to integrate led to a showdown between segregationists and the federal government, and the Edmund Pettus Bridge in Selma, Alabama, which was the site of the beatings of civil rights marchers who galvanized supporters of their cause around the United States.

Folks with a variety of other interests also may find routes to their liking. Douglas County, Georgia, just outside of Atlanta, has been the location of more than 700 film and TV productions. The Douglas County Film Trail introduces movie fans to places where scenes for "The Walking Dead," "Avengers," "The Hunger Games" and other movies were shot.

Creative, weird and creepy are among words used to describe the Doll's Head Trail in Atlanta, Georgia's, Constitution Lakes Park. A boardwalk leads through wildlife-filled wetlands to a short loop that passes a display of toys, tiles and other objects that have been washed ashore from the South River. The whimsical collection occupies the former location of a 19th-century brick-making plant.

Earlier I mentioned waterfalls and zoos. One place to view six magnificent cascades -- six of the thousands tumbling down the Blue Ridge Mountains in North Carolina -- is during a drive around Asheville. Looking Glass Falls is one of the most photographed in the South, Toxaway Falls plummets 200 feet below the Lake Toxaway Dam bridge and Dry Falls is called that because people can walk behind it without getting wet.

Visitors to the Minnesota Zoo in Apple Valley can ride an elevator up to the tree canopy and stroll among the branches. While resident animals might not be visible, wildlife that lives outside the enclosures is likely to be.

Animals have not lived at the Cisco Zoo in Texas since it was closed and abandoned in the 1920s. Two Old Zoo Nature Trails lead past the remains of enclosures that once housed a wide variety of creatures and provide sweeping panoramas of the surrounding landscape.

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WHEN YOU GO

www.nps.gov

www.franklloydwrightrail.org

www.visitjacksonville.com

www.gulfshores.com

www.hoodriverfruitloop.com

www.spaciousskiescampgrounds.com

www.keysarts.com

www.visitmaine.com

www.visitgreenville.com

www.civilrightstrail.com

www.douglascountyfilmtrail.com

www.atlantatrails.com

www.nps.gov/blri

www.mnzoo.org

www.ciscochamberofcommerce.com

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Victor Block is a freelance writer. To read features by other Creators Syndicate writers and cartoonists, visit the Creators Syndicate website at www.creators.com.