Travelogue:
Our Story - Taking the Long Way

Welcoming you to Jim Thorpe are Michelle and Tom Loughery (pronounced "lock-ery"), who moved to town in 2002 specifically to create a wonderful place for travelers and visitors. After travelling much of North America in 2000-2001 (that story below), a career/life choice was made - 'we love travelling and want to stay in touch with that lifestyle, while also creating our own place in the world.' The solution was to find a place where people want to come to experience the wonders of nature, the thrill of adventure, the beauty of the world and the culture of mankind, then start our business there.
Jim Thorpe was an easy choice - it has it all! We give people a way to experience all that this area has to offer, and make it reasonably-priced. During our travels, we visited many unique lodging places, taking note of good practices and getting ideas for our lodge. Even now, when we travel, we try to make our dollars stretch as far as possible, especially when it comes to lodging. We'd rather spend money on activities than sleeping! Turning that attitude into a lodging business, we have carefully balanced the cost of our accommodations with the amenities and convenience provided. We try to give every guest a great value and a great experience!

Now, about that trip: we spent most of our lives in Southeastern Pennsylvania, all through school and college, and the first several years of our working lives. It was a normal and good life, doing all the things we were supposed to be doing, just like everyone else. In 1999, a career switch necessitated a location change, and we found ourselves moving to New York, into a town just above NYCity. We bought an overpriced house and got caught up in the 'rat-race.' Lots of people, lots of traffic, lots of noise, and lots of money. Too bad the money was usually going out, not coming in! After less than a year of that crazy lifestyle, we'd had it. The jobs weren't going like we had hoped and the area really wasn't for us, so we left… just packed up our Jeep Cherokee and filled a 5x8 cargo trailer with everything we though we'd need, and took off. A month or so to travel New England should clear our heads, then back home to PA and a normal life.

But it's not so easy: the Travel Bug bit us… Hard.

we jumped right in
After a few weeks on the road, we realized we could travel pretty cheaply, and besides, we were having a great experience in the beauty and history of New England. The old seaports were charming and enlightening, bike-touring Martha's Vineyard was a great way to see the island, and then we checked out Cape Cod and met some new friends. Inland we went through the Green Mountains of Vermont, seeing Lake Champlain, Ben & Jerry's and Rock of Ages all within a couple days. New Hampshire was next, and we headed straight for the White Mts, and specifically the Presidential range. A hike up Mt. Monroe was a highlight, as was spending time at a cool hostel in Conway. On to Maine, the beautiful seacoast and some incredible beers. Acadia NP was a wonderful two days of non-stop biking, hiking and car-touring, and a place we'll definitely re-visit sometime.

Back south through NH and into Massachusetts, we stepped back in time and biked the Minuteman trail and all of Cape Ann, plus went sailing with someone we'd met on Cape Cod. Inland again, west to the Berkshire mountains to scope out a possible town to settle in after the travels were done… but when would that be? Again, time and itinerary were changed, and pretty soon we'd seen much of the Northeast and were heading South. Through the mid-Atlantic states and all of their history and culture, we spent time in the mountains of southcentral PA around the Appalachian trail, and moved into western Maryland, an area that offers a lot of things we like. Hmmm… maybe we'll live here after all this…

great riding everywhere

Some time over by the Chesapeake was an ecological eye-opener, and a visit to Chincoteague was highlighted by a frisky, curious wild pony. Somewhere in here, a desperate situation forced us to sleep in the back of our Jeep Cherokee - which didn't turn out that bad, and set a precedent for much of our future traveling. Down the coast for a major focus on the ocean areas, we hugged the beaches all the way from Virginia Beach to Florida, learning local history all the way. The Outer Banks were great, except for the roaches, which they elegantly call Palmetto Bugs. The Wright Brothers historic flight was 100 years before our visit, and the National Landmark was a great memorial. Back on the mainland, we again went sailing with someone we met in a little port town, then continued to tour the coast.

Charleston and Savannah were wonderful cities that gave us a dose of man-made culture in between all things natural. Speaking of natural, we spent a couple days in a hippie compound in southern GA, seeing how things must have been in the 1960's. Onward to Florida, with the oldest town in America (St. Augustine), then Cape Canaveral for some technological history. Across the state to visit Grammy in Tampa, then south to where we figured to find work for the winter - then we'd continue travelling next Spring.

Like we said, the Travel Bug bit Hard! But instead of finding work in Florida, we found high costs of living in their high season. Calling everyone we knew from home and from our journey, we looked for a situation to get us through until Spring. Managers of the Hostel we'd stayed at in Conway, New Hampshire offered us a deal, and we headed back to snowy New England for a great fewmonths as assistant managers at that wonderful lodge. So many great people, so many memories, and so much advice for our planned cross-country journey of 2001.

Easter came quickly, and it was time to roll. Home to SE PA for a quick visit, then we again packed up our Cherokee and trailer for a trip across the continent! The curtains that Michelle made for the back windows helped turn the rig into a mini-RV (we slept in the Jeep often). Another quick tour of the mid-Atlantic, but this time farther inland, and soon we were in Appalachia and then the amazing scenery of the Blue Ridge Parkway and Great Smokies of VA and NC. Lots of biking and hiking in these areas. Across TN (Jack Daniels distillery is a must-see!) and toured the Corvette factory in KY, Graceland of course, then jumping off river bluffs in AR and up to the natural springs and wine country of MO, all the while meeting great people and experiencing all kinds of Americana.


all kinds of attractions

From small towns to big cities, we tried to see it all. A large part of our focus was on historical and natural attractions, not just man-made scenery or culture - we tried for a good mix. Chicago with its great hot dogs, lakefront and Jazz festival, Madison's bike culture and beers, playing ball on Field of Dreams in IA, and MN's Twin cities and Mississippi headwaters, then an amazing expanse of cornfields, and finally we hit the big sky country and our first taste of the West.



Teddy Roosevelt Nat'l Park was an eye opener, with huge scenery and alien landscapes - we'd never seen anything like it. Badlands and Indian reservations (ND & SD) haunted us, landmarks along the Oregon trail took us back in time (WY), and soon the CO Rockies made us feel so insignificant. Hiking Rocky Mt NP for a few days gave us exposure to some high altitudes and we met some new friends. Western CO's Dinosaur bones showed us another epoch, and camping in a canyon by the Green River was an unforgettable morning.


watch your step!


Park City was a great town (if only it were closer to home…), but UT's interesting laws made us uncomfortable. Well, at least they had a place that replaced a broken windshield in our Jeep. ID was an unexpected treat (a real hometown rodeo and Craters of the Moon NP), then the Tetons & Yellowstone just blew our minds. There is so much there, from the jagged peaks of the Grand Tetons rising up from the flat plains, to the varied geological formations of Yellowstone - waterfalls, geysers, mineral pools, etc. A hard act to follow - but MT's big sky, small towns and Glacier NP did a good job.


on top of the world



nature's majesty

 

 

 




glacier hike - August

Lots of hiking and biking through the upper Rockies, then on into Canada for a month - so much to see and not nearly enough time. Banff and Jasper are outstanding places for many outdoor pursuits, with incredible mountain views and beautiful lakes (and the risk of Grizzly bears on every trek!). The Okanagan valley was an eye-opener: very similar to Napa valley, CA but 1000 miles north. We were just amazed at the variety found in British Columbia, and Canadians are so friendly! A college friend met us in Vancouver and we ferried out and bike-toured the islands, where we swam (?) in the coldest water ever and enjoyed late summer days, especially without driving. Except for an auto accident in the middle of BC, Canada was a huge highlight (even the accident turned out okay).

Canadian Rockies

Back into the USA, a tour of the Boeing plant proved frightening when the very next day two of the huge planes were used as bombs on the other side of the continent. We were as far away as possible on September 11, 2001, when people we knew lost their lives because of hatred and ignorance. We spent the morning watching TV in a Radio Shack - shocked and stunned, crying and confused. People on the Olympic Peninsula could not grasp the magnitude of the event, and we questioned our motives and plans. But we pressed on, enjoying the freedom that they tried to take away. WA and OR have spectacular coastlines, which we detoured from for Mt. St. Helens - wow!
- and Portland (hippie-town, USA), then later for Bend (what a cool vibe!) and Crater Lake.

Farther down the coast into CA, which ate up 3 whole weeks and we only saw a fraction of, but contained some major highlights (Redwoods - wanna feel small?, Yosemite - a must see, San Fran - a great city , Death Valley - although smaller than we thought). Losing our brakes while on a 5 mile downhill on the back of the Sierra Madre's was unnerving, especially with our trailer pushing behind the Jeep. Vegas was a downer after so much natural wonder, but southern UT was another amazing experience. Could have stayed for a month, but only had a couple weeks. The National Parks there are some of the most spectacular things we've ever seen: Bryce is overwhelming, Zion's size is spectacular, Canyonlands so vast, Natural Bridges inspires wonder, Lake Powell a shrinking oasis, and Arches awe-inspiring at every turn. Riding the famed Moab mountain bike trails was a long-time goal for Tom, but were they really better than trails back east? Back to CO for a bit, then down to NM and AZ - we loved these areas, but missed the green of trees and foliage that we're used to. The Four Corners was 'closed' - how do you close a geographic area and tourist draw?! We were really mad, it was a little after 5 when we got there, and the gates had signs that said only open certain hours… damn! On to Albuquerque to visit friends from Rocky Mt NP, plus a side trip to Taos, then across old Route 66 into Arizona.

haunting landscapes

Canyon de Chelly gave us more insight to Native American culture, and the Painted Desert and Petrified Forest NP's were quite beautiful. Rolling along, we'll never forget when the Eagles' song "Take it Easy" came on the radio (which we rarely used) as we were crossing eastern AZ. It goes like this: "Well, I'm a-standin' on a corner in Winslow Arizona, such a fine sight to see…" Within minutes, we were in Winslow, AZ - how perfectly timed was that? Grand Canyon is something everyone should see (Teddy Roosevelt said that, and he was right!), it is absolutely overwhelming - almost incomprehensible, but if you can get over that, it's great for hiking and sightseeing. The Diamondbacks won the World Series when we were there, and their parade in Phoenix with Tom's cousin was cool, then we visited more friends (met in Chicago, Rocky Mts and Jasper, Can.) in the southern part of the state for some local hiking and biking.

Native American monuments and parks in this region serve to educate and enlighten, telling sides of the story not often heard in history class, and there are whole parks dedicated to cactus. Across the Mexican border a couple times, but just for an afternoon each time… heard too many bad stories, or maybe it was just our imaginations. Was that taco guy lying when he said the meat used is called 'cabeza' ('head' in English)? Well, it tasted good…

Southern NM was quite a nice surprise, especially with the advice of people we stayed with for good hiking and sightseeing, and at the same time we were investigating a challenge from a cousin who lives in Hawaii. If we could get there, we have a place to stay and a car to use. A bit of internet time and we found a reasonable flight…from Atlanta… in 2 weeks. After White Sands, Carlsbad and the Guadalupe Mts, we sped across Texas, then enjoyed the eastern part of the state: San Antonio is great (the Alamo and other missions) , Austin is cool (lots of music), and a Galveston Thanksgiving on the beach was unique for us. Exploring the Louisiana bayou for a bit preceded a gluttonous visit to New Orleans - oh, if we'd had more time! (Probably good, though, as we would quickly be obese for all the wonderful food there.)

Shooting across Mississippi's little coast, running on Po'Boy sandwiches, and up through Alabama's southern half with stops to see the capital and the Tuskegee Institute, we made it to Atlanta with a day to get ready. At an old friend's house, we stayed up all night organizing, and took to the skies for a long flight to Honolulu. 11 days was a great teaser for the islands - it would take a year to do it all. But from the beauty of the oceans and tropical forests to the creation of new land by an active volcano, HI was an amazing cap to our trip.

the Mississippi - from end to end

Visiting two of Tom's cousins on different islands, we got a good sample of island life, history and the natural aspects of the wonderful landscape. Watching a north shore sunset by the waves while enjoying freshly cut coconut and sliced pineapple just couldn't be beat. After a dangerous lava field hike, we were within feet of molten lava spilling into the ocean - what a spectacle. Visiting Pearl Harbor for it's 60th anniversary ceremony added to the impact of our short stay. Before we knew it, it was back to Atlanta and we were heading North, home to PA in time for the Holidays of 2001. A whirlwind tour, a life-changing experience. America is an absolutely amazing place - experience it if you can.

By the way, we have maps and many, many pictures of our travels, as well as a collection of interpretive journals (from at least the first 2/3 of the trip) and will gladly relate our impressions of a certain area if you are interested. Just ask!