Month: August 2024

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ROSWELL UFO CRASH SITE Roswell, New Mexico

Expedition Team: Dave Miller, Rosie Miller

Date: May 12, 2024

While in Roswell, just a half block from the International UFO Museum and Research Center, we stopped in Invasion Station, a new and interesting alien gift store. I was captivated by a mural which also appeared on post cards (Photo#1). I spoke to Gina Dwyer who owns and manages the store with her husband Chuck. Gina stated that back in July 1947 her husband’s grandfather Dan Dwyer (Photo#2 far left) was a Lieutenant with the Roswell Fire Department and one of the firemen that responded to the crash site near Roswell at Corona. At the fire station a call came in that there had been an airship crash north of Roswell. The firemen along with the sheriff and a couple deputies responded. The mural depicts Dwyer’s story and what he saw when he arrived on the scene. He was threatened and warned by the military to tell no one what he saw. Near the end of his life Dan told the story of what he saw to his family.

Gina told me that her family visited the crash often as there was once a stone tower and marker identifying the crash site. Gina’s family would pick up trash when they visited as the site was a hangout spot for teens and young adults. Unfortunately, the tower got vandalized and was destroyed. Gina shared photos that she took of the tower & plaque (Photo#3, #4 &#5), the site where the UFO first hit (Photo#6) and the final resting site of the craft (Photo#7). Gina said the land and site is now fenced off by the forest service, but you can still go through a gate and access it. I hope to visit the crash site the next trip out west. As you all know, the crash debris and body(s) from the crash were transported to Wright Field in Dayton. I have a copy of the Tuesday, July 8, 1947, Roswell Daily Record newspaper hanging in my office with the bold headline, “RAAF Captures Flying Saucer on Ranch in Roswell Region” (Photo#8).

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HIKED DEVIL’S DEN GOOD SPUR LOOP TRAIL Fancy Gap, Virginia

Hiking Team: Dave Miller, Rosie Miller

Date: August 14, 2024

We did not tow the travel trailer on this trip, so we camped in a cabin overlooking a beautiful small pond at Fancy Gap Koa. We enjoyed a nice campfire and the next morning we drove on the Blue Ridge Parkway in the Blue Ridge Mountains to Devil’s Den Nature Preserve. The trail is privately owned and named after Devil’s Den, a 600-million-year-old cave comprised of several layers of rock and many large rooms. The cave is off limits unless you get a permit because it is considered unstable plus black bear, and snakes may be living in there. We parked by the trailhead and the Morris Family Graveyard and were greeted by the local farmer’s dog. The 1.6-mile loop trail rated moderate began with a lush pasture, lots of wildflowers and a scenic overlook of the distant mountains and valleys 2,000 feet below. A set of musical pipes were installed beside a bench, so we played a few tunes. We soon entered a mature hardwood forest and the trail winded down the ridge. Bear signs were posted in several places, so I enjoyed periodically tossing a rock in the woods to spook Rosie. We eventually came to a .1-mile spur trail that led to the cave. After climbing over a downed tree, bouldering several rocks we viewed the cave opening below. Rocks 40 to 50 feet high created the cave’s entrance. It was down in a crevasse (Photo#6). We then ascended the trail back up the ridge to the open meadow, the cemetery tombstones and saw our car. Although the trail was in the shade, it was a humid day, and my clothing was soaked. As I drove back past the old Appalachian Trail Road onto Skyline Drive towards the campground, I enjoyed the beautiful views, the lush forest. I highly recommend this fun hiking trail.

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WORLD’S LARGEST SEAHAWK Wilmington, North Carolina

Expedition Team: Dave Miller, Rosie Miller, Mike Clark, Jennifer Clark

Date: August 16, 2024

On the campus of the University of North Carolina-Wilmington is the university’s mascot, a giant osprey or seahawk. It is the world’s largest seahawk sculpture with a wingspan of over 20 feet and over 1,000 individual metal feathers. It weighs 2,000 pounds and was erected in 2009.  

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PRESIDENT’S WIFE BIRTHPLACE Wytheville, Virginia

Expedition Team: Dave Miller

Date: August 17, 2024

Well, one roadside attraction failed but a second one was successful. In this old building along Main Street on the historic Daniel Boone Trail Highway, was Skeeters World Famous Hot Dogs, unique creations (established in 1925 and ranked in the top 64 hot dogs in the USA) which I was going to go off the grid and eat. We had left Raleigh, North Carolina and I put off lunch an extra two hours to eat there and I was hungry. When we pulled up, the restaurant was closed. No Skeeterdogs today. However, next door and above was the birthplace of President Woodrow Wilson’s wife Edith, along with an historical marker out front. Edith Bolling Wilson was born here in 1872 and married the President in 1915.

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HIKING STORYBOOK TRAIL Rio Grande, Ohio

Expedition Team: Dave Miller, Rosie Miller

Date: August 14, 2024

Okay, this fourth of a mile trail is not a legitimate hiking trail but it tells the story of a book titled, “There’s a Hole in the Log on the Bottom of the Lake”. The trail is part of Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library of Ohio, and we have seen different books at a couple of other trails around the state. This storybook trail was at an Ohio Rest Area along State Route 35 so we walked and read the story. The only downside – I was wearing my new running shoes and stepped in a massive crater of dog poop. Still, this was one of my favorite children’s books that I read to our kids, and I enjoyed seeing the illustrations and reading it again. We must get a Storybook Trail in Moraine.

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HIKED UPPER ANTELOPE CANYON – Part 2 Page, Arizona

Hiking Team: Dave Miller, Rosie Miller

Date: May 21, 2024

Hiked this famous slot canyon, which was the most beautiful, colorful images that I have ever seen on planet Earth. There were so many outstanding photos, I decided to add a part two. Our Navaho guide Josh guided us through the tight slot canyon. The longer that we hiked this slot canyon, the lighter colors became darker in some areas. Totally outstanding as if God hand painted these canyon sites. Do you see the faces in the sandstone in Photo #3 & #5?

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HIKED UPPER ANTELOPE CANYON- PART 1 Page, Arizona

Hiking Team: Dave Miller, Rosie Miller

Date: May 21, 2024

Hiked this famous slot canyon, which was the most beautiful, colorful images that I have ever seen on planet Earth. Our Navaho guide Josh guided us through the tight slot canyon explaining Indian history and some of the few animals that might be seen here. Our group consisted of a family from Georgia and two men from Europe. The longer that we hiked this slot canyon, the lighter colors became darker in some areas. Totally outstanding as if God hand painted these canyon sites.

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BIKING LITTLE MIAMI SCENIC BIKE TRAIL MILFORD TO LUNKEN AIRPORT Newtown, Ohio

Biking Team: Dave Miller, Rosie Miller

Date: August 3, 2024

We did it! We completed the entire 78-mile length of the Little Miami Bike Trail from Springfield at the northern end to Lunken Airport at the south terminus only 1.75 miles from the Ohio River. We completed it biking a section of the trail each time. Today’s trek began at Miamiville just 3.2 miles north of Milford and ended at the Lunken Airport (Photo#4). One way total was about 11.3 miles or 22.6 miles round trip down and back. The bike route was very scenic, diverse and was covered with tree shade about half of the route which was great because it was a hot 85 degrees in the direct sun. We passed historic Camp Dennison, Milford, Terrace Park, Newtown, Bass Island (Photo#3), a golf course, several city parks, and an archeological site (once occupied by the Hopewell culture where I saw three large wild turkeys). We crossed over the Little Miami River three times on bridges. Several beautiful murals (Photo#5) were painted under overpasses along the trail. Since this is a “rail to trails” bike trail we passed an old Pennsylvania Railroad Signal Tower (Photo#6).

Milford is called “Trail Town, USA” because it has eight major long-distance trails representing over 22,000 miles traverse through the city (see Photo#8). This was a fun enjoyable ride. We want to return and eat at The School House Restaurant, once the Camp Denison School was built in 1864. It is located just off the bike trail.

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HIKED RATTLESNAKE CANYON & SNAKE CANYON Page, Arizona

Hiking Team: Dave Miller, Rosie Miller

Date: May 21, 2024

We thought Snake Canyon was the third and final slot canyon, but our guide Josh took us to a short fourth slot canyon called Rattlesnake Canyon. I found a small bird’s nest with eggs. Then I saw a formation called “Devil’s Face” (Photo#5). Beautiful canyons but not as fantastic as Upper Antelope Canyon. Exiting snake canyon Josh showed us some dinosaur tracks.

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CANYON DIABLO Two Guns, Arizona

Expedition Team: Dave Miller

Date: May 22, 2024

The name Diablo Canyon caught my eye and then I saw the ruins of several structures that made this roadside attraction look like a small ghost town. The Canyons great claim to fame is that its residents dug up a dead gunslinger, gave him a shot of whiskey, then posed for pictures with the dead man.  Another legend claims that 42 Apache Indians were killed in a cave, asphyxiated due to a fire lit at the caves entrance. A gas station, trading post store, restaurant, post office and a few other structures were built in the 1920’s to 1960’s but all are abandoned today.