Jason's Travel Blog

Another Update

2009-09-10T23:01:00.003-06:00

The new site is up and running and I'm liking it and the freedom it offers over Blogger. I still have to write up my posts here though since the html on there isn't ideal for photo placement. It's all going well though and I'm hope everyone enjoys the new site.

I'm still checking in here next to daily though to see your posts as well, so don't think for a minute that I've forgotten about anyone I'm following or who is following me. The one thing I do really like about Blogger is that it makes it super easy to follow other folks who post here, opposed to just doing it on an RSS feed, and I'll continue to check in on your posts. There's been a lot of good ones lately and I love reading 'em so please keep it up.

If you have any comments or questions though about the new site, please let me know. Feel free to post it here, since I'm still checking, or to send me a note through my website. Thanks!

New Site Update

2009-08-24T21:51:00.003-06:00

I just added a bunch of new features to my new travel site, including a page of links.

If I didn't get you on the list and you want to be on, I apologize for missing you. I tried to get all of the travel related blogs from folks here that follow me, but may've missed one or two. If I did, please leave me a comment here, or DM me on Twitter, and I'll add you to the list.

If I put you on and you don't want to be there, I also apologize. Again, just leave me a message here or DM me on Twitter and I'll take you off. No problem, no question...just let me know.

Thanks for checking out the new site though and thanks for all of the feedback thus far. I certainly do appreciate all of it. Hopefully I can continue to expand the site into something special that will help all travelers to some extent.

Viva la travel?

New Travel Site

2009-08-18T15:02:00.002-06:00

I have a new travel related website and will slowly be transitioning to solely posting there. I'll continue to post entries here as well until the site is fully up and running, but ultimately everything will be there. The new site is cleverly known as Jason's Travels.

Please check it out and let me know what you think. Any ideas are much appreciated. Unfortunately though, all of those thoughts and comments need to be posted here since I haven't worked out a comment section there yet. I'm open though to any ideas folks have, so don't be shy.

Other things I want to add are a list of blogs I follow, a message board or forum and a spot for guest posters from around the world on their travel experiences and recommendations. A page for my travel related photos is also in the very early stages, but it's something I'm looking at.

Thanks for reading and any comments you may have. ~ Jason

My Colorado: St. Mary's Glacier

2009-08-16T20:07:00.014-06:00

Idaho Springs is best known for such places as Tommyknocker Brewery and BeauJo's Pizza. A short drive north from town though, along I70 and Fall River Road, sits the St. Mary's Glacier; a beautiful trail and lake where time is well spent. The trail up to the lake and glacier seems to be more suitable for an ATV due to the rocky nature of the path, but it is primarily, and easily, used by hikers. And it may seem difficult at first, going up at a steep grade from about 10,300 feet in elevation, but it levels out and becomes easier closer to the top.

It's only a mile anyway, so no sweat! ...figuratively speaking of course.

When we made our way to the top, I found the mountain views stunning. And with the number of outdoor activities to enjoy, I could easily see spending all day there hiking, fishing and enjoying the scenery. Heck, I could've even brought a board up and gone for a ride down the glacier as some people who were too impatient for the resorts to open were doing.

On some well-worn paths my friend and I made our way around the lake to check out the glacier, sans snowboards. It's a beautiful area dotted with wildflowers and lots of brush that hid some small animals that peeked out at us on occasion. And the glacier itself, albeit tainted a bit brown, is quite nice with a couple of small flows issuing from its base that feed the lake.

The best part about all of this though is that it's totally and completely free. So many places in Colorado, like the state and national parks, require payment. But this gem of a spot has none of it. The only payment required is a $5 day fee for parking at the trailhead, but we were fortunate enough to get a free spot along the road.

And as any Coloradoan, or visitor to the Great American Beer Festival in Denver, knows, that $5 can be better spent on a brew and a burger in Idaho Springs.

My Colorado: The Beecher Island Battlefield

2009-08-13T14:01:00.005-06:00

Sometimes there are things listed on maps that sound interesting, but when you try to go there's not a single sign for it until you're already at the spot; such was the case with the Beecher Island Battlefield.

The name on the map sounded interesting enough to my friend and I, so we decided to head that way. After some good navigation on his part we arrived at the small site near the nice town of Wray, Colorado.

An obelisk marks the spot where for nine days in 1868 50 U.S. Scouts held their ground against a group of 600 Indians who were suspected of raiding frontier settlements on the Plains. The Indians attacked the scouts in their camps behind the leadership of Chief Roman Nose. He was killed in an initial charge though and the Indian's assaults became rather unorganized thereafter.

A small display near the obelisk explains the battle, as well as some of the events around it, but since it was put up in the 1960s it is a bit slanted. Just for this matter I threw in a few bucks to the donations box so hopefully they can fix a few things for future visitors. I find it troubling though that this cannot be done more easily than by donation since the spot is a National Historic Site. It would seem to me that a small amount of funds could help tell a better, and more balanced, story of the events.

Near the battlefield marker there is also a trail named after Chief Roman Nose. We were running out of time on the day so did not have a chance to take a hike. I'm sure though that it offered some interesting views, particularly over the battlefield, since this area is quite hilly in spots.

Despite the small difficulties we had in finding the location, almost missing it entirely, it was well worth the troubles. I gained a greater appreciation for eastern Colorado and its history. It also helped me to better understand what happened in the Plains between the settlers, the Indians and the U.S. soldiers in the area and the hatred and troubles that continued to spill over following the Sand Creek Massacre.

My Colorado: Bonny Lake State Park

2009-08-11T15:01:00.003-06:00

If boating and fishing are your types of things, then Bonny Lake State Park in eastern Colorado is a perfect place for you. But for me, ever since a weird incident with bullheads up in Alexandria, Minnesota, I can't say that it much interests me anymore. I'll save that story though for another time.

In case you were wondering, Bonny Lake is a 1,900 surface acre reservoir that sits at a paltry 3,700 feet in elevation. The lake is formed by a dam, built in 1951, along the Republican River. It is lined with trees and offers great opportunities for camping as well as fishing and boating.

There are a couple of hiking trails in the park as well, but the focus is definitely elsewhere. And because of this, it held little interest for me. My friend and I made a quick stop to check out the lake and then took the road back out and over the dam to head north again.

I'm not sure what I was hoping for with this stop since this is a lake orientated state park on the far reaches of the eastern plains. I guess I was expecting something more along the lines of Clayton Lake or Scott Lake, both of which I quite enjoyed.. But I was sadly disappointed since this was no where near as interesting as either of those. It was quite the opposite since we weren't there to fish or camp.

The welcome wagon didn't exactly come out for us here either. The ranger at the gate was quite rude as we made our grand arrival with a chipper hello. As my friend pointed out though, it appears we may've interrupted her afternoon television programs, thus upsetting her, since he thought he saw her watching TV in an adjoining room in the visitor's center before her glaring welcome.

I suppose that if I were torn away from a dramatic moment in my soap I'd be rather grouchy though too.

My Colorado: The Kit Carson County Carousel

2009-08-09T19:06:00.009-06:00

Even if for just five minutes, isn't it great to feel like a kid again? I mean, really feel like a kid again? And what about if, in those five minutes, it would only take a quarter? Would it be worth it to have all kinds of great childhood memories rush back on you for only two bits?

It certainly was for me when I visited the Kit Carson County Carousel in Burlington, Colorado.

I was never much for rollercoasters or the other wild rides at amusement parks as a child, just ask my brother if you don't believe me. He and my sister thought it'd be fun to take me on a crazy ride called the Octopus at Valleyfair in Minnesota, and I screamed so loud my brother had to slap his hand over my mouth to get me to shut up.

I'm pretty sure he still has a slight outline on his palm from where I bit him.

Yes, rides like the ferris wheel and carousel were always much more my speed. I loved just going around and around at a nice, even pace; relaxing and taking in the world was certainly the way to go for me. I guess it just feels like a nice life metaphor.

The Kit Carson County Carousel is well known in Colorado for it's great history, and I wanted to make it a priority stop. So of course, when my friend and I pulled up, I was like a kid in a candy store and on Christmas morning all rolled into one. I was electric with excitement.

Glued to the attendant's story about the history of the carousel I instantly knew which stationary figure I wanted to ride on; it would be none other than the lion! Yes, the king of the jungle, the beast of all beasts, and the one piece that proved to be impossible to steal in 1981 when antique thieves made off with four of the statues.

I wanted to ride on the historic animal as I felt that great flood of memories pass over me. I knew it was going to be a special moment for me and I wanted to make sure it was exactly how I wanted it to be. Heck, I even had to throw down the trump card on my friend, reminding him that I paid his quarter for the ride too, so I could lay claim to it.

It's too bad though that I was a bit busy holding on for dear life. This carousel cooked! I had to hold on and lean in out of fear of the centripitel force flinging me out on to some small, unknowing child waiting in line and ruining a whole slew of memories for the both of us.

Really though, what a ride it was. I laughed and enjoyed myself as I went around on the plains of Colorado. It was every bit as fun as I had hoped, making me want to go again and again. Yet, in an effort not to dilute things, I exhibited some self control and made my way into the museum.

The museum, which is also about carousels in general, was not nearly as enjoyable as the ride itself, but still worth the dollar admission. Although, now that I think about how that's four separate rides, I'm not so sure. After all, what museum did I ever enjoy as a kid? I don't recall a single one that brought me such great memories as the carousel.

Sigh. I got ripped off.

The High Plains Museum

2009-08-08T00:09:00.009-06:00

Landscapes, except where marred by some human maltreatment, show perfect harmony in all their parts, and I submit Kansas, without lofty mountains or awe-inspiring canyons, as a thing of beauty composed of placid forms. It was created less violently than some other parts of the world but by forces just as relentless and just as exciting. ~ John Mark Jewett, Kansan

So often I've seen the signs for little museums and other interesting, or not, tourist stops along major freeways but have never stopped. Freeways, in my opinion, seem to have ruined the great American roadtrip, making everything the same across the country. Sure, convenience is everywhere, but individuality is lost as there's a McDonald's, or the like, in every town across the country.

Regardless, as I saw the sign for the High Plains Museum in Goodland, Kansas, I decided to stop. After all, why not, it might be interesting to see a museum that so few stop for a respite from the freeway.

The museum is not well marked, but we ultimately found it behind the world's largest Van Gogh painting. I was surprised by this as well, but was certainly not one to question the logic of the citizens of great state of Kansas. Instead, I was happy to just go and enjoy their museum.

The High Plains Museum, which is by donation only, is a great place to enjoy. And, quite frankly, some of the items in the museum are quite astounding. For instance, I was totally surprised by the relics of the ice age. But, still more impressive, were the photos of the Dust Bowl and the storms that hit the small town at that time.

These pictures were incomprehensible for me; I could not believe that such clouds of sand and dust could actually hit, and bury in many cases, the communities of the plains. I learned about these things in school, but I guess they never really sunk in because my jaw dropped when I saw these amazing photographs.

I mean, people actually died in these storms, and not just in the short term; there were several long term effects, like asthma, that people had to suffer through. Some of these sand storms were even believed to be as high as 8,000 feet. One storm in 1935, spotted from Denver and communicated to the Kansas, was described by a homeowner:

All we could do about it was sit in our dusty chairs, gaze at each other through the fog that filled the room and watch that fog settle slowly and silently, covering everything...in a thick, brownish gray blanket.

I was just amazed to think of what the residents of the area went through.

Another exhibit that caught my attention was, oddly enough, a diorama. Normally I blow by these things since they're nothing more than small models, but this one caught my attention for some odd reason. Maybe it was because I saw the name on the same map that I saw the Monument Rocks, or maybe it was something else. But still, I was drawn in to read the events that unfolded in June of 1867.

The Kidder Massacre was a slaughter of small cavalry patrol, northeast of what is now Goodland, by an Indian war party. They were cornered and destroyed by the group of Indians and were all, save for a Sioux scout, scalped. Lt. Colonel George Custer discovered the site and that is now marked by a memorial marker and remembered through a display at the museum.

A little less on the horrific and controversial side of things, the museum also exhibits the first patented helicopter, or rather a replica of it. The item on display was built in 1976 from a photo and the original patent of the machine. Witnesses agree that it crashed, but some agree that it flew a short distance, possibly just picked up by the wind, before colliding with a nearby water tower.

The machine never flew again. Inventors William J. Purivs and Charles A. Wilson, with stock investors missing out on their investment, left town shortly after the debacle. The machine supposedly never flew again. Although, in truth, I'm not sure it ever truly flew at all from what I read on display.

Next to the museum is and old one-room school house that has its interiror replicated to look as it once did. The school is not totally open, but only visible through a pane of glass in a door. A small entry gives a history of the school as well as some interesting facts about education in the area around the turn of the century.

One of the most interesting things I read were the rules for the teachers in 1915. There was a list of twelve rules posted about how the teachers were required to live their lives. They included three items I found of particular interest:

1. You will not marry during the term of your contract
4. You may not loiter in downtown ice cream parlors
8. You may not dress in bright colors

The other nine were somewhat odd as well, like the rule about not dying your hair, but weren't as bizarre as these three in my mind. After all, as the man that I am, I couldn't ever imagine not allowing someone to hang out and have an ice cream with friends.

But, then again, maybe that's just how life was lived in Kansas away from the interstate freeways. It's difficult to say when so many things look the same off the huge thoroughfares that run across the country. And while we certainly can thank President Eisenhower for the ease of transportation and goods now, it also has made many parts of the country rather stale.

Well, that is unless you actually follow the brown signs and venture off the road to take a peak at what's around.

The Monument Rocks

2009-08-06T19:12:00.006-06:00

In 1968 the Monument Rocks of Kansas were designated the first National Natural Landmark, and it's easy to see why. These stunning chalk pillars, which some call pyramids, rise 70 feet above the surrounding fields. They were formed approximately 80 million years ago in what was once a huge inland see. Now they sit on private land and are generously free of charge.

Of course I knew none of this as I drove there from Scott Lake State Park. All I had was a name and a picture in a magazine that made it sound interesting. But, then again, anything that's listed in a magazine put out by Travel Kansas will sound interesting since they're trying to attract visitors.

Truthfully though, this one was totally justifiable.

I was surprised, as the rocks came into view, of the size and beauty of them. I'm not sure what I expected, maybe just some junky rocks laying about in a field, but whatever it was this wasn't it. I was definitely stunned that there was something this interesting in western Kansas.

On the other hand though, I was disappointed that there wasn't more information available on the rocks. We had very little to go on before driving over and there was nothing in the way of signs when we got there. And if this was a random stop for someone because of a highway billboard, they would've known nothing about it once they got there.

Of course, when we were there, we saw no one else save a mini-van family pulling up as we were pulling out. So maybe the lack of available information really isn't a problem as visitors can enjoy the beauty of the rocks as it is. Well, either that or it doesn't much matter since my friend and I may've been the first actual visitors to western Kansas since the pioneer days.

It's difficult to say.

The Monument Rocks are a short drive south from Oakley, Kansas on Highway 83. They are well sign posted and easy to find despite the lack of information on site. And, if there was any doubt, they're definitely worth the stop.

Scott Lake State Park in Kansas

2009-08-04T10:32:00.006-06:00

Just a short drive north of Garden City and the Arkansas River, the border with Mexico in the early 1800s, sits Scott Lake State Park, which is a great spot for fishing, camping, hiking and the like.

Driving through the vast plains and farm fields of western Kansas it's difficult to believe such a place exists. It seems totally and completely and in every other way inconceivable that a 100 acre lake, created from a dam in the 1930s, could sit here amongst the wooded bluffs. It's an a true oasis in the middle of nowhere.

Yet, while it's a great spot for a variety of outdoor activities, I was most captured by the history of the park.

In the 1600s the Taos Indians settled this area. Building the northernmost pueblo in the country they lived here for 20 years, according to the park brochure, in an attempt to flee Spanish rule in the south. Later the area was used by Picurie Indians as well as spot for French traders. The site, known as El Cuartelejo Indian Pueblo, was discovered by settler Herbert Steele.

Steele settled the area in the late 1880s and later built a home here for his wife, Eliza Landon. The house still stands and is now a museum for park visitors. The attendant told us that while some things have been added it is generally just as the Steele's kept it.

It was the Steele family wish that all 640 acres of their land become a public park and recreation area. And in 1928 it was made the first park of Kansas as the land was acquired, along with hundreds of surrounding acres, by the forerunner of the Kansas Department of Wildlife and Parks.

Today the area, just a short drive south of Oakley, Kansas, is used as a recreation and vacation destination by many. There are more than 200 campsites available, as well as shower facilities, making it a great place to spend a weekend away. And, surprisingly enough, it's in western Kansas.

My Colorado: Picture Canyon and the Comanche National Grasslands

2009-08-02T18:39:00.008-06:00

The Comanche National Grasslands in southeast Colorado is worth the drive to hike and enjoy one of the four canyons in the area. Historical markers from the Santa Fe Trail are also nearby.

After our trip to Oklahoma, my friend and I made our way up to Colorado on some dirt roads to check out the Picture Canyon, of which we only knew from a name on on map we were given at Clayton Lake State Park in New Mexico. But, the name piqued our interested enough to make the journey to Baca County, Colorado.

Located southwest of Springfield, Colorado, the canyon is not easy to find since it is not well sign posted. After a bit of wandering on dirt roads though we found the entrance off County Road 18 and made our way up to the trailhead, which we found deserted save for one other car.

We hiked most of the day and never once saw the owners of the Saab. And really, we felt like we had the whole canyon, which seemed rarely used, to ourselves. Never once did we see footprints in the dirt; only the occasional cow hoof or patty from a nearby ranch. It was practically deserted, which made it all the better on a nice, sunny day.

The trail, which is generally wheel ruts, is easily followed in most places. There are also smaller side trails that lead off to the namesake pictures on the canyon walls. The pictures, which are believed to be done by Plains Indians in the 17th or 18th century, are well preserved save for the stupidity of grafiti surrounding them and in a nearby cave that holds other interesting etchings (below).

The main trail, which is a four mile loop to the Arch Rock, opens a mile or so along into a small meadow where an old settler home may've once stood near Crack Cave. The cave, which is now gated, plays host to celebrations for the Spring and Fall equinox because of some markings inside that align with the sunrise. Sadly enough, they're not open except on those days or with prior group reservations.

The trail continues on through the canyon and is sometimes difficult to follow over the rocks. After a short rest though, and a bit of looking, we were able to pick it up thanks to some well placed rock markers. We followed them and scampered up to the rim for a nice view of the canyon and the surrounding area.

After another mile or so we came to a sign pointing off to the Homestead Trail, an eight mile loop that would've been conquered on any other day but this one. The current lack of water and energy, from our hikes on the previous day, made it glaringly obvious that we should just keep following the trail through the canyon and along it's rim on the way to the Arch Rock, which we found just a short distance away.

The arch is nothing overly special, but the hike as a whole was nice and worthwhile. Well, I should say it was worthwhile until we got lost at the end and added a couple of miles on to the loop. The trail was generally easy to follow until it passed the arch and opened up into the grasslands. Here the signs, markers and wheel ruts went off in several different directions. This made it difficult to distinguish which trail we were actually supposed to take to follow the loop back to the carpark, but we made it none the worse for wear.

The Picture Canyon and the surrounding Comanche National Grasslands really are beautiful areas in southeast Colorado. It's interesting to think back to the Dust Bowl days though when this was not so and the area was hit by massive dust storms. That's all a story for another stop on our roadtrip though.

As we left the Picture Canyon area we made our way into western Kansas and on to Garden City where we planned to spend the night to see some nearby sites. This was all, once again, based on some stuff we saw on the map that caught our interest.

Black Mesa State Park and Nature Preserve

2009-07-30T09:37:00.008-06:00

The Black Mesa State Park and Nature Preserve in the panhandle of Oklahoma is the highest point in elevation in the state, which is not nearly as interesting as it may sound.

I had anticipated spectacular views as I hiked along the mesas, likely an enjoyable way to spend an afternoon. I thought it'd offer great wildlife viewing and opportunities to relax and appreciate a great day in Oklahoma. I had expected so much from a spot that is actually lower in elevation than Denver at a whopping 4,973 feet above sea level.

I was wrong.

The nature preserve, where the Black Mesa actually sits just north of the state park, is a grueling, sun-exposed, 8.4 mile roundtrip hike to the top spot. Why the carpark isn't a bit closer to the bottom of the mesa, which wouldn't harm the habitat at all, I'm not quite sure. Instead we were offered great views of scrub brush and desert as we walked along a trail cut by a truck.

I also thought we had each brought enough water to drink, as the sign at the trailhead warned, with my two liters and my friend's camel back, but again I was wrong. We were totally out before the hike was over and racing to get to the nearest convenience store from the car park, which is about 35 miles away in Boise City, to get someting to drink because we were so dehydrated.

I think back to it, as we had both run out of water with about 1.5 miles left, if not sooner in my friend's case, and I'm not sure I would've stopped even if a cop had pulled up behind me as I flew at 80+ mph down the deserted highway. We were both so miserable from the sun exposure and lack of water that it just wouldn't have been worth stopping to appease an officer of the law.

We didn't wait for the gas station attendant to ring us up either before tearing into our water. Three liters each in hand, and we were chugging away as he checked us out. Hunger was a problem at this point too since it was nearly 9pm CT, so in desperation after 16 miles hiked in the day, we both chowed down on triple burgers with bacon and onion rings from the gas station's restaurant.

I won't lie and say it was the finest meal I've ever had, especially since they got my order wrong and I had to wait for them to remake it, but it was damn good. But, I think the point that made it so good was that I had a large refillable soda. I know I kept the poor waitress, who was absolutely enamoured with my friend's English accent so much so that she wanted him to repeat what I said to her, running to keep it filled.

As the day ended, relaxing in a nicely air conditioned room, I thought back wondering if that last 8.4 miles really was worth it. And truthfully, I really couldn't answer it. I was glad we did it so we wouldn't have to the next day, but it was such an anti-climactic finish with the final mile of the 4.2 across the top of the desert-like topped mesa to an obelisk in the middle of nowhere with absolutely no interesting views of which to speak.

Well, that is unless you really enjoy scrub brush and small cactus in gravely sand.

The next day we made our way through the state park. I wasn't really any more impressed with it as I was with the mesa, but at least there was shade and a nearby lake. The mesa was just total desolation and hot.

Approximately 65 million years ago it was a swampy area that dinosaurs roamed. There's even an area where you can view dino prints like in New Mexico's Clayton Lake State Park, but at this point we just weren't interested any longer, both a bit bitter still from the previous day's hike to the top of the mesa.

Instead we did a short nature hike and checked out the very small petrified forest, if it can even be called a forest, off the main road through the park. It was certainly interesting enough to stop and take a look at, but the nature trail was really just a small lawn mowed path of grass through some small hills. And after the previous day's hikes, it just wasn't worth any more than we really gave it.

So, leaving an area once frequented by the Plains Indians, and supposedly the explorer Coronado in the 1500s, we headed back north and into the farthest southeast spot in Colorado in Baca County. We crossed paths once more with the historic Santa Fe Trail and came to another very anti-climactic spot: the state line between Oklahoma and Colorado certainly left something to be desired.

Clayton Lake State Park

2009-07-27T00:51:00.007-06:00

New Mexico's Clayton Lake State Park, just east of the Capulin Volcano, is well worth the visit south of state lines. But, I had very low expectations to start, thinking it'd just be a reservoir for boating and fishing. I must admit though, I was pleasantly surprised.

To start with, boating and fishing is offered at the 170 surface-acre lake. It's considered a popular spot for such activities in the northeast part of the state. And I can't say I blame anyone going there for such things. It's a peaceful and quite state park off the beaten path that can offer quite a bit along these lines.

For me though, it was about the hiking and the history.

There's one nature trail on the west side of the park that follows the south side of the lake going past ruins of a settler's sheep ranch as well as some beautiful rock formations. There's also opportunities for wildlife viewing. Unfortunately though, during our visit, we were not fortunate enough to see anything other than a large snake slither across the trail and up into a nearby tree.

The highlight of the visit for me was on the opposite side of the park anyway; just a short walk across the dam is a field of dinosaur tracks exposed after a flood cleared the area in 1982.

Over 100 million years ago the North American continent was split in two as the Gulf of Mexico extended up into Canada. This made New Mexico prime beach front property for the dinos in the area, both herbivores and carnivores. So as they roamed the area they left their footprints in the mud and clay in the area.

It is believed that at least eight different types of dinosaurs left over 500 prints including some made by the flying pterodactyl. On average the beasts were 15 feet tall and around 23 feet long; some even were as large as 30 feet according to a small display overlooking the main field of prints at the end of the dam.

A short boardwalk now surrounds a large sampling of the prints, making them more accessible as well as safe from damage. We were fortunate enough to see them a day after it rained, which helps pronounce the prints more than on dry days according to one of the park rangers. Really though, felt fortunate enough to see them regardless since I had no initial recollection that I had read about these when planning my trip south.

The area, many years after the dinosaurs became extinct, was also used for the Indian tribes in the area and as a stop for settlers heading west on the Santa Fe Trail. There's a small display that talks about the history of the area in the visitor's center, which is located near the entrance to the park. It's worth a stop in to pay park fees and learn a little about the area from the very knowledgeable staff before heading out to enjoy this wonderful park.

The Folsom Museum

2009-07-26T00:08:00.008-06:00

I'm a big fan of small town museums. I think it's great that they tell of such a colored past in a very small town; Everything about it is so personal and inviting. I get an inviting feeling of being offered to sit down for a cup of coffee or maybe some dinner at the table.

As we pulled out from the Capulin Volcano National Monument I instantly knew I wanted to go right, instead of left, to see the small town of Folsom and its museum.

Folsom was once a bustling down, like most towns along the Santa Fe Trail, that seemed destined to continue to grow once the railroad came along. It's hard to argue with why it would grow too, being that it's placed in such a beautiful area of New Mexico. Even today many signs point to it as it sits at a major crossroads in the northeast part of the state.

The museum now takes the place of what was once the town mercantile. It offers an excellent history of the area all the way back to the Folsom Man. The bulk of the museum deals with the pioneer days though as America expanded west. Items on display include old town photos, sheep branding tools and 19th century clothing, among many other things like mounted deer heads.

In many ways though, the museum is simply a large room full of junk that could be compared to many rural garage sales. It didn't appear to contain any items of great historical significance nor did it offer a sensical description of the displays or the order they were in. It was quite cluttered and unkempt in most every corner of the large main room.

But, this is also what makes it a charming respite after a tiring visit to the Capulin Volcano. It's hard to resist the urge to stop in for a quick look through the museum and take a gander at some of the items on display. And, if that's not reason enough, they also offer sodas and candy bars for sale.

The Capulin Volcano National Monument

2009-07-24T09:24:00.005-06:00

The Capulin Volcano National Monument is one of several volcanoes in northeastern New Mexico. It sits about a 30 minute drive east of Raton, New Mexico, where the only real chance for lodging, other than camping, is in the area.

Some of the brochures and trailside information list it as dormant and others as extinct. It's estimated that the last eruption occurred around 60,000 years ago. And now the lava fields surrounding the base from that eruption offer great opportunities for hiking and wildlife viewing, particularly deer.

With a friend I hiked all four trails, about 4.5 miles in total, around the volcano. All of them are relatively well marked, but we did manage to lose the backside of the Lava Flow Trail loop as we made to return to the car park to go to the crater of Capulin.

The other trail at the base is the Boca Trail. It is about two miles long, difficult in parts, and winds through the scrub on the west side of the volcano. A free booklet from the visitor's center explains different points of interest along the trail including a campground last used in the 1960s, some small hills, and rock formations that were a result of the eruption.

There are several great views from the Boca trail, but the best are from up above on the Crater Rim Trail. There it is possible to see as far away to Oklahoma's Black Mesa State Park. Many other volcanoes are easily spotted in the immediate area from the rim, including the massive Sierra Grande, which towers 2,200 feet from the plains below.

Only 500 feet down from the rim of Capulin is the base of its crater. The Crater Vent Trail is a short walk down, paved just like the rim, and stops where the volcano was blocked. It is an easy and enjoyable half mile walk that shouldn't be passed up after doing the more strenuous Crater Rim Trail.

The monument tells a great story of the land, both past and present. It is a disappointment though that more land isn't encompassed to make it a national park with the other surrounding volcanoes. A nice portion of the Santa Fe Trail would also the be included, offering a great historical opporunity for it as well.

Book Review: A Walk in the Woods

2009-07-20T09:11:00.005-06:00

Bill Bryson's A Walk in the Woods: Rediscovering America on the Appalachian Trail turned out to be a much better buy at the Denver Public Library used book sale than the Theroux sadness I recently read. Granted it was only a dollar as well, but what a great find, or gift rather. And that gift is what I want to talk about here.

Why not review the book I'm saying I'm going to review? Well, alright, I'll do that first. It's a Bill Bryson book, so everyone already knows it'll be a winner. And yeah, it's a bit slow in a spot (the start of part two), but it grabs you right from the start and has an excellent ending, which I sat up until 2am last night to get to from 100 pages out.

Yeah, I couldn't put it down.

Ok, now that that's out of the way, on to the story of how I got the book...

I was walking through the used book tents in downtown Denver for the library sale, several books craddled in my arms, looking to see if there was anything I had missed. I was in the children's section looking to see if there might be any novels along the lines of a Harry Potter, since I don't keep up on that scene too well, when I saw an older lady come walking down the aisle towards me.

All of the aisles were crowded in the tents, so I tried to be a gentleman and step out of the way while she passed. My jaw dropped as she smiled at me though; in her arms I saw a book that I had wanted to read for a very long time, Bryson's A Walk in the Woods.

I was so shocked I couldn't help but exclaiming how jealous I was and asking her, all in one breath, which table she found it on. She looked back over her shoulder at the rows of tables and shrugged and said she couldn't remember because there are just so many books out there, probably the travel section though.

Take note now because this is going to be the moment where my heart melts.

As I looked off down the rows of tables, knowing there'd be no way I could find another one in that mess, she gave me a kind smile and handed me the book and told me it was all mine since she had probably already read it.

And here I looked her in the face to thank her and realized she wasn't an older lady at all. Instead she was a middle aged woman who looked like she had been worn by stress, most likely due to the patterned turban she wore on her head. Yes, it took me only a mili-second to surmise that she was battling cancer and the cloth was there to help her keep her modesty because she was bald.

So here I was then, in this hot tent in downtown Denver with this woman, who I assumed was fighting cancer, offering me a book that I wanted to read for years. There was no way I could accept it. She should take it and read it since she found it, I'd just go look for another copy.

She shrugged again though and said she had most likely read it a few times, but just figured she'd pick up another copy while she was here. So really, I should go ahead and take it and enjoy it since, from what she could recall, it was a really good book.

In this exchange, based on her demeanor, I couldn't help but believe that she never really read it, but was giving it to me since maybe, just maybe, she thought she might not have enough time left in this world to make it to the end.

I know this is all a lot of surmising and assuming from just a momentary exchange, but I'm positive she was sick, but it's really only a guess though as to why she gave it up. I wish she hadn't turned so quickly to walk away as she handed me the book because I would've liked to have found out more about her - particularly her address or phone number so I could give her the book to read once I was done with it.

I've loved every Bill Bryson book I've ever read, and this one was no different with the exception that it'll hold a special place in my melted heart because of the way I received it. And yes, while I did pay for it, I still consider it a special gift from this kind lady.

Now, if you haven't read it before, head out to your library or local book shop and pick up a copy. The adventures of Bill Bryson and Stephen Katz, his childhood friend, on the Appalachian Trail is more than worth it from cover-to-cover.

Book Review: The Old Patagonian Express

2009-07-17T10:07:00.006-06:00

About a month ago I stopped at the Denver Public Library's used book sale and instantly made for the travel section. I didn't expect to find much more than some old travel guides, but was pleasantly surprised when I started going through the tables covered in books.

I grabbed my fair share of old travel guides, I won't deny, but I also found a few that I considered gems. One of those books was Paul Theroux's The Old Patagonian Express: By Train Through the Americas, which was published back in 1979.

Such a book isn't as difficult to talk about as Matsuo Basho's The Narrow Road to the Deep North and Other Travel Sketches, but it still has already made its mark and found its place in travel literature. Still though, after having just finished the book I picked up on sale for a thrifty dollar, I'd like to say a few words on it.

To start with, Theroux's writing is excellent. He could write in detail about a cardboard box and make it sound interesting. I admire him for that ability and can't help but acknowledge what a gift he possesses.

He's gone on some amazing adventures for which I can't help but be somewhat jealous. He's taken rail adventures throughout the world and has seen some amazing things. Many of the places he's traveled I know I'll probably only ever read or dream about. It's quite impressive and something I know I'll admire as a traveler for a very long time.

Theroux's writing style just isn't for me though. I believe he comes off as being arrogant, pompous and unappreciative, especially in The Old Patagonian Express. I wasn't impressed with his attitude in the three other books of his I've read, and this one is no different as he mocks all other travelers, particularly the tourist, as he makes his way from Boston in the U.S. to Esquel, Argentina in Patagonia.

There's one individual in particular who seems to be the embodiment of the tourist that Theroux seems to so despise: the American Thornberry. Despite giving Theroux shelter in Limon, Costa Rica when it could not be found, an annoying portrait is painted of Thornberry because he may only be a 10-day tourist there to see the sites instead of experiencing travel as Theroux sees fit.

Traveling isn't just taking a train from one country to another and stopping at the different stations and towns along the way for only a couple of days at a time though. Traveling is less than that and more than that at the same time. It can be a simple trip out the backdoor or it can be a long plane flight or train ride to somewhere else in the world. Travel is different and special for each person and there's no right or wrong way.

I'm bothered by Theroux's narrowness in traveling; if his reason for writing his books is to illicit feelings, he has succeeded. He has illicited feelings of digust and contempt from me. While he is an amazing writer, I no longer care to pick up another one of his books. They're just not pleasant reading for me.

For example, the Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde ending - discussed with Argentine writer Jorge Borges while in Buenos Aires - is a sad reach. I found it to be a poor attempt at backtracking about his intentions and views of others while still remaining negative about where he's at and how others live and travel:

"But I had known all along that I had no intention of writing about being
in a place - that took the skill of a manicurist. I was more interested in the
going and the getting there, in the poetry of departures. And I had got here
by boarding a subway train filled with Boston commuters, who had left me
and the train and had gone to work. I had stayed on, and now I was in San
Antonio Oeste in the Patagonian province of Rio Negro. The travel had been a
satisfaction; being in this station was a bore." ~page 383

Theroux though, who paints broad generalizations about places and the people that live there, while only spending a couple of days at most in any one location, forgets that earlier, on page 342, he admitted that, "It is not possible to see everything from a train." He sure does like to write to the contrary though, as though he knows everything about anything from one simple glimpse from a train platform.

Now I just hope that those travel guides I purchased are better reading.

My Colorado: The Rocky Mountain Arsenal

2009-07-14T20:02:00.011-06:00

The Rocky Mountain Arsenal National Wildlife Area is a refuge in the middle of Denver that offers opportunities for hiking, wildlife viewing and catch-and-release fishing. But, only a small part of it is available for exploring at the present time; most of the site is still being restored to how it looked before the middle of the 20th century when the Plains Indians inhabited the land or it was used for pioneer farming.

In 1942 the U.S. Army started producing mustard gas, and later nerve agents, on the site for use in World War II and the Korean War. For a time, Shell Chemical Company also used the facility to produce agriculture pesticides, but all production, both military and civilian, was terminated in 1982. Ten years later Congress designated the area a national wildlife refuge due to a roost of bald eagles that was discovered in 1986.

The huge rehabilitation and cleanup project could take until 2011, according to an estimate in a U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service brochure, as the area is cleaned from chemicals dumped on site. A small area in the middle of the refuge is now open though for visitors, but generally the hours don't work for me and my schedule. But, due to a quirk of fate, I finally was able to take advantage and check it out.

The terrain isn't difficult, rolling hills at best, but it does offer some nice views of the mountains and downtown Denver as the trails wind around a few lakes. Sometimes the trails are simply roads, which does detract from the feeling of being in a wild area, but since so much is still being restored and constructed, it's easy to look the other way and enjoy the area.

I saw a fair amount of wildlife, as I meandered my way around the lakes, including prairie dogs, lots of birds and a deer. But, the highlight for me was the coyote I almost hit with my car as I was leaving the visitor's center to head home. He darted out in front of me as I pulled down their driveway only to get spooked and turn and run right back in the bushes.

I was pleased though with my brief encounter, especially since I had really doubted I'd see anything more than a few small mammals, and generally enjoyed my visit. Since a lot of the area is still closed or under construction, it's difficult to give it a rave review though right now. But, from the plan I saw in the visitor's center, the future looks good for the area.

I look forward to returning in the future, once the cleanup is done, and taking a trolley tour to see the bison and to go farther out in the refuge and enjoy the nesting bald eagles. Until that point though, I'll just remain content in the knowledge that it's a nice escape, despite the planes from Denver International Airport flying overhead, that's right in the city and free for all visitors.

Traveling With Games

2009-07-13T00:08:00.004-06:00

This past weekend I was back home in the Twin Cities visiting family. It was a busy few days, but there's always time made to play some board games with my sister's two sons. They love playing me in strategy games like chess and Risk, both of which are favorites of mine as well.

As we played Risk into the wee hours of Saturday morning one of the topics of conversation that came up was traveling. The boys like to ask where I'm going to next and I like to ask them where they'd go if they could travel anywhere in the world. It's a fun little game in itself that we seem to play each time I'm home.

Well, during our conversation, I realized what a great tool games like Risk are when learning and thinking about the geographic world and traveling. It instantly clicked with me, thinking back to a conversation earlier in the day, why the eldest nephew knew where Peru was located and the shape of it. It was all because of Risk!

And during the game we had fun talking about my friend Stephen Mills and where he's from - England. Of course, in the game, it's listed as Great Britain, but as soon as the first game piece was played there, the boys were asking if that's where he lived and speculating how cool it'd be to go visit him there since he was in Minnesota this past March after our trip to Hawaii.

I couldn't have agreed more and told them that England is one of the four countries, along with Peru, I'm most interested in seeing at the present time. Russia and India seem to be two elusive mainstays on my list, but one day I'll get to both of them as well. For now though, it's just dreams and idle chatter with the nephews over a well played game of Risk.

If you have any good travel related board game suggestions, please post a quick comment about them here. I'd love to get some good ideas for upcoming birthday and Christmas gifts. Thanks!

The Hunchback at Notre Dame

2009-07-09T00:30:00.010-06:00

About 15 months ago my father and I made a trip to Paris followed by a roadtrip to Normandy, Belgium, Luxembourg and Germany. It was an amazing holiday and one I won't soon forget. It was a great time spent with my father doing something we both love: traveling.

One of the highlights of the trip for me was visiting Notre Dame Cathedral. When planning the trip I shrugged it off as something I'd like to see, but didn't think that it was exactly a vital part of the vacation. Needless to say, I was wrong.

We visited the cathedral three times in our four day visit to Paris and I know I could've easily spent more time. It certainly didn't hurt that our hotel was nearby, causing us to walk by the church as we left, but we would've made the stops regardless. It was a wonder that we both enjoyed. I absolutely loved the inside of the church as I wandered around looking in the nooks and the separate side museum. I was in awe in this building as I thought about the history that it has seen over the centuries. And as my father pointed out, the uneven floor stones we walked on inside could have a great history of their own to tell.

The best of the three visits to Notre Dame was when we went up the bell tower to see the gargoyles. It was definitely worth the couple of Euros it cost us and one of the best parts of the trip for me. I loved looking out on the sprawling city of Paris and imagining how it was when the cathedral was first built; or, even more so, how it must've looked for Quasimodo as he swung from the bell towers during his lonesome existence.

Yes, I'm fully aware that Victor Hugo's The Hunchback of Notre Dame is a fictional novel, but it's so well written that I can't help but wonder if there's any truth in it's tale. After all, legends are derived from some element of truth so why not this one too?

As we waited in line to go up for our visit with the gargoyles I pulled from my camera bag Hugo's novel and savored every page that I was able to read in the shadow of the giant cathedral. It's not often that such opportunities arise where it's possible to read a book at the place it was written about and I wanted to take full advantage. This was definitely one of the few times I was happy there was a lengthy line.

My father gabbed with some other Americans, and I tried to be polite and join in on the conversation on occasion, but reading Hugo's book at Notre Dame was something I had wanted to do since the first time I picked it up, and I did not want to be deprived. I just had to read the tale of Quasimodo, Esmeralda and Claude Frollo under the watchful eye of the gargoyles while I had the chance.

I've thought about this opportunity many times since having done this, and it's always brought joy to me. And I can't help but think how it would be to read other great novels, in their entirety especially, in the places that are depicted in them; Tolstoy's War and Peace in Moscow, or Joyce's Dubliners in Dublin, or maybe even Twain's Adventures of Huckleberry Finn on a lazy riverboat ride down the Mississippi.

For me, it'd be a great treat with any one of them because I don't know if there's a better way to enjoy traveling than by reading about such places in literature while immersed in the very surroundings the story is about. And if ever given the opportunity, I highly recommend snatching it while it's there, even if for only a few pages, and imagine what the author was thinking or looking at as they wrote their tale.

I don't think you'll regret it.

My Colorado: The CELL

2009-07-05T20:41:00.009-06:00

Educate. Empower. Engage.

The CELL, or the Center for Empowered Living & Learning, is located in the cultural district near the Denver Art Museum, the Colorado History Museum and the main branch of the Denver Public Library.

It is an ongoing exhibit drawing attention to the destructive forces of terrorism and how it can happen to "Anyone, Anytime, Anywhere," a theme that hangs like a dark cloud throughout the visit. I didn't leave feeling empowered and knowing that there are people and organizations out there battling terrorism; instead I felt that I just walked through a house of horrors that tried to scare the hell out of me.

I initially tried to visit The CELL during the 2008 Democratic National Convention. But, when I walked in, I was chased down by a curator telling the facility was not yet open to the general public; apparently only the big wigs in town were allowed in for preview parties.

So, almost a year later, I made my way back to the exhibit only to find myself disappointed. The scare tactics were just too over-the-top and I felt the message was lost in translation. All of the flashy television monitors with quickly edited videos seemed to try to throw everything in my face and just overpower me. But, it really didn't work.

And other exhibits just seemed like the belonged in a children's museum. I know that's hard to believe in an exhibit on terrorism, but it's what I was reminded of when coming across little wooden doors with questions written on them. It's great that I was given the answer when I opened the door, but it felt out of place. I felt too much like a child opening a panel that said "fish" on it to see a picture of a fish on the other side.

Finally, the message of constructivism and peace was so brief at the end that it just paled in comparison to everything that had just been thrust upon me moments before. In the whole exhibit, which spans 15 different areas, I only found two spots that attempted to make me feel empowered. And those two areas, the final spots in the exhibit, consisted of two videos about people working for good and a wall of leaflets for the taking.

The exhibit is only $6 for Colorado residents, $8 for non-residents, but it was more the time that wasn't worthwhile. It really never drew me in or inspired me. The curators work hard to do that, but it seems like it's just too hard with too much money and not enough thought.

My Colorado: The Molly Brown House

2009-07-03T20:10:00.009-06:00

Most know her as "The Unsinkable" Molly Brown from the Titanic voyage, but she actually preferred to go by Maggie or Margaret, at least according to my tour guide at the Molly Brown House in Denver.

Just a few short blocks from the Colorado State Capitol, along tree lined Pennsylvania Street, sits the Brown home. Margaret and her husband, James Joseph Brown, purchased the residence shortly after they struck it rich with a silver mine investment in Leadville, Colorado.

Due to some squabbling with the Brown's children and Margaret after J.J.'s death, the house was sold off in an auction. For many years it was used as a boarding home, but over time it was just left to rot. It was even scheduled to be torn down, but in the 1970s a group known as Historic Denver Inc. purchased the property and brought it back to its former glory.

Many of the decorations inside the house, in which photos aren't allowed, are the original that Maggie purchased herself. A lot of the items though, since the originals are missing from the auction, are replicas of what was in the home. The matches were all knowingly made thanks to pictures that the Browns had taken just after relocating.

The home is now a museum to remember the Unsinkable Molly Brown, a philanthropist and activist who is best known for her part in the Titanic. But, that's usually where the association ends since most don't know her role in that voyage.

According to our tour guide, who was so anxious it appeared she would've rather been at a dental appointment, Margaret was returning from a year long world vacation with her daughter, Catherine, when she found out there was a sickness in the family. Catherine decided to stay with some friends in Europe while Margaret arranged for the most immediate transportation home from Egypt.

This trip just so happened to be on the Titanic.

When the ship struck the iceberg, Maggie put on as much of her clothing so she'd stay warm in her life boat. But, the feminist that she was, she wouldn't go ahead of the men. Instead she worked with the crew to get everyone, men too, on board the life boats and to safety. A crew member became so annoyed by this though that he threw her into a boat as it was being lowered into the North Atlantic.

Once the Carpathia arrived for the rescue, Maggie made sure to collect donations for the third class passengers who lost everything. When the upper class passengers wouldn't help, she made sure to post a list of who did and didn't help each day on the ship; quickly donations came in for the passengers. And after they docked in New York City, Maggie made sure everyone had lodgings; she even went so far as to allow a Russian immigrant to stay with her at her hotel.

The Molly Brown House sits in the Capitol Hill Neighborhood southeast of Downtown Denver as a tribute to a lady with a wonderful story. It is definitely well worth a visit, which can only be done by guided tour. Plan a good 90 minutes for the tour, with an additional small museum in the rear of the home as well as a visit to the gift shop in the old carriage house.

My Colorado: The State Capitol

2009-07-02T17:37:00.012-06:00

The free guided tour of the Colorado State Capitol Building is free for a reason. Yet I, unlike many of the other people in my group, stayed on until the end. I just waited and hoped that there would be some interesting historical nugget the tour guide would throw us that I knew I wouldn't find in the pamphlet in my pocket.

Sadly no interesting piece of information was forthcoming. Nor was the tour interesting. In such places kids usually get restless and garner severe looks from adults, but in this case I could only give ones of pity as I was just as bored with our tour guide as they were. It is an interesting building with an interesting history, as is the state, but the tour guide did everything she could do to show us otherwise.

But, the tour was free after all so there's only so much legitimate complaining I can do. Although I am amazed that a tour guide of any kind can forget the information they're supposed to relay. Ours, a handful of times, just waved her hand absently as she couldn't recall a fact and would say, "whatever it is," as she shrugged and continued on.

Don't get me wrong though, I was still pleased with my visit. I just wish that I had grabbed the brochures at the tour desk and gone on my own way. It's a wonderful thing to have open government offices like these, and I should've taken advantage and explored them at my own pace, as I did the capitol's dome.

There was no one at the dome tour desk to ask, so the guide assumed that access to the dome wasn't available for several hours. Thankfully, by this point, I learned my lesson and just continued on my own and followed the signs and headed up to see if I could go up in the dome.

On my way I discovered the historical museum, which explains everything there is to know about the building, known as Mr. Brown's Attic.

In 1868 developer Henry C. Brown donated ten acres to be used as the site for the new territorial capitol building. Twenty-six years later, in 1894, most of the building was in use after having doubled the allotted budget during 15 years of construction under architect Elijah E. Myers.

Interestingly enough, on a side note, Brown is also known for having moved Denver to an east-west street grid system. When Denver was initially established as a mining community, the roads ran parallel to the South Platte River. Downtown Denver still sits on this diagonal, contrary to the rest of the city.

Just having entered Brown's Attic, I ran into an attendant who scoffed at the tour guide's naivete in regards to the dome access. He told me to head right on up and enjoy myself. Happy with my fortune I made my way up the metal staircase and to a great view of the city. It's unfortunate everyone else in the tour group was discouraged by the guide, because they missed the best parts of the building in my opinion.

Both the museum on the way and the view from the capitol dome were excellent. I thoroughly enjoyed it and was glad I went. After all, the opportunity to go up in the dome was what initially interested me in going to tour the capitol. I wanted to see if a recent article in the Denver Post about the dome being in disrepair was true.

Unfortunately it was.

Access to the outside part of the dome was restricted since parts of it were crumbling and a chunk of stone might fall off. There was fencing up covering evident problem spots, but there's concern more could come loose. And, as I was told by an attendant, there's also been past issues with people jumping from the building for either publicity or out of despair.

I was disappointed by this closure, but happy to be up in the dome nonetheless. It was worth the boring tour, the uncomfortably warm building temperatures and the climb up - which is never easy when you're a mile above sea level.

Also of note in the capitol right now: The Colorado Quilting Council is hosting a free exhibit until August 20th. And there are a ton of quilts on display. Due to the guided tour though, I didn't get a chance to do much more than glance at a few of them as we went by. There are brochures available at the tour desk though that give an explanation on each quilt.

Second Language

2009-06-28T15:50:00.002-06:00

I've debated about a second language for quite some time and just can't decide. So many different languages hold interest with me for so many different reasons. The reasons aren't really worth getting into here since they're all trivial and just about personal interests; the greatest one being future travel interests.

To end my debate, I ask for your help. I've put up a poll on the left side of this page with a handful of options. If there isn't an option that works for your choice, please just click on the "other" option and leave your comment with this entry. Any help is much appreciated.

I hope to decide in the next day or two and go ahead and get a Rosetta Stone program from which to learn. I've heard nothing but praise about the software, so I figure I should give it a try. But, if you have any other options or ideas, please let me know since I'm all ears...or eyes in the case of reading your comments here.

Thank you in advance for your vote and help!

My Thunderbolt Memories

2009-06-27T10:57:00.004-06:00

The Life and Times of the Thunderbolt Kid is a fantastic memoir of what life was like growing up in Des Moines, Iowa in the 1950s for Bill Bryson. And as far as I'm concerned, despite a 30 year difference, it's not much different than what it was like growing up for me just a bit farther up Interstate 35 in the Twin Cities.

With each page I turned I felt as though I swam a lap in my own memory. The book helped me recall so much of my own childhood that I found it quite difficult to put down. The recollections that came to me in the most vivid fashion were from the family vacations I enjoyed as a child.

Each summer my parents would take my sister, brother and myself somewhere different. When my sibilings were both old enough not to feel as though family vacations were cool any longer, my parents allowed me to bring a friend with instead. And so we would set out to wherever my parents had decided we would go, more often than not by car.

So many trips were decided by work for my parents. I recall one trip, in my teen years, where we, stopping at several places along the way, went to Detroit for my father's work. Many other trips coincided with the Jaycees conventions, whose pin trading kept me fascinated for whole months at a time.

Heck, I still have a towel that I used to display my collection covered in pins some where.

Unlike Bryson though, I cannot recall all of the details, nor make them up well enough to sound genuine, of all the places we traveled. Everything to me is just a quick and fleeting glimpse that makes me sigh in appreciation for the good ol' days. Trips to Branson, New York City, northern Minnesota and Wisconsin Dells are only a flicker now in my head.

I still find all of them absolutely fascinating though and love to recall them. For instance, with Branson, I love to think back to how, during one of the busiest times of the year there, my father didn't book our hotel in advance. He said it was because we had always complained that our vacations were too structured and we wanted to "wing it" more, but I would've never thought this meant not having a hotel; I always thought we'd just wake up each morning and decide what we'd do that day.

Or, in going to New York City, I love the memory of walking up in the crown of the Statue of Liberty, which is opening again this next week for tours, and thinking, "I walked all of this way up here and this is all it is?" But, then again, I was only a kid and was exhausted from this extremely frightening climb up the stairs that only had one hand rail and seemed to fall to infinity if you lost your balance.

And what about northern Minnesota and Wisconsin Dells? Well, those both local trips that I had every bit of fun on as I did the ones that were farther away. I know I'll never forget having a bat fly at my head as I exited an elevator shaft in an iron ore mine or winning a Yogi Bear doll in a contest at a campground at the Dells. But any part of the rest of those trips, like seeing where Bob Dylan grew up, I know I'll never recall.

They were all great times though with great and interesting memories, as were Bill Bryson's trips to Disneyland, Omaha and his grandparents farm in Iowa. Although, in truth, I'm not sure I could, even to this day, ever top his trip to New York City where his parents booked them into a hotel in Harlem, in the 1950s, because the price was right.

If you haven't read The Life and Times of the Thunderbolt Kid yet, I highly recommend you do. But, if you need more convincing than just my recommendation, here's an excerpt read by Bryson, put to some interesting animation:

Driving the Trail Ridge

2009-06-25T20:43:00.011-06:00

Since I moved to Colorado nine years ago, almost to the day, I've wanted to drive Trail Ridge Road, the highest continual road in the country at a maximum elevation of 12,183 feet. And finally, today, I did just that.

It was a long day with a lot of driving, but the views on Trail Ridge Road and the hikes we went on in Rocky Mountain National Park made up for all of the time in the car, much of which was raining anyway. We were sprinkled on a bit at the end of our first hike to Alberta Falls and around Bear Lake, but it was really no bother since we got in the car shortly after it started and made our way west across the mountains and the Continental Divide at Milner Pass.

The hike to and from Alberta Falls is one of my favorites in Colorado. It's not a difficult hike, except maybe the last half mile since it's up a good incline, but it ends at a very large and beautiful waterfall. The falls are surrounded by several huge boulders that are good for climbing on. And if the rocks are followed up high enough, it generally leads to some seclusion and waterfall tranquility; away from everyone at the spot where the main trail ends.

The 3,200 foot walk around Bear Lake, after returning from Alberta Falls, is as easy as they come with very little change in grade. It offers some very picturesque vantage points, but it's so crowded, even on a week day like this, that it's hardly worth it. There are much better ways to spend time in the park than in such crowded locations as Bear Lake and Alberta Falls, even though seclusion can be found here as I said.

Many less crowded spots can be found, as I discovered today, on the west side of the park. With my trip over Trail Ridge Road today the number of excellent, and apparently uncrowded, trailheads far exceeded my expectations. There were dozens of paths to take that were readily accessible from parking lots just off the road. And it was here that we saw the best wildlife today too.

We saw several little critters early in the trip, and only three elk, but nothing overly exciting. At the Alpine Visitor's Center though, there's a half-mile hike that goes up to the top of a nearby peak, literally taking your breath away as you climb, maxing out at 12,005 feet, or 2.3 miles, above sea level. And at the top of that trail we found a little marmot happily eating away at some grass in the rocks.

It was a welcome surprise since we had really not seen anything yet. But, once we started to head down into the west side of the park, we found two large herds of elk. We were hopeful to discover some moose since a ranger at the visitor's center mentioned they live on the west side of the park, but were delighted nonetheless with the elk find.

We got several great photos of two of them grazing near the Coyote Valley Trail picnic area. We tried to be careful and not disturb them, but it was obvious they were aware of our presence. Gradually we moved closer and closer to them, but with patience so as not to startle them and cause any problems. We moved slowly and paused several times to make sure they knew where we were by lifting their heads from grazing to look at us, at about the nearest point, 70 or so yards away.

It was a lot of fun to see the elk so close and to drive the road. It has such great curves as it stretches over the mountain tops, making it a road that needs to be driven. And yeah, that includes in cars like my little four cylinder. It's fun no matter what, and it offers spectacular views of the mountains, many of which still have a good snow covering in late June.

For anyone that doesn't live near Rocky Mountain National Park, like myself, I suggest taking several days to see the area and enjoy the trails and the views. Estes Park, Colorado, the east gateway to the park, is also worth a strong look.

Unlike many Colorado mountain towns, it's more popular in the sumer than the winter due to the lack of ski slopes. So, in the summer, Estes Park can be a crowded town with a multitude of festivals, souvenir shops and great eats along the main street in town, Highway 34, which ultimately winds up going over the mountains as Trail Ridge Road.

Knowing what I know now though, there's no way I'd center my Rocky Mountain National Park trip in Estes Park. It's worth a good visit, that's for sure, but I found the west side of the park to be just as beautiful and a lot less crowded. And when trying to enjoy nature, the fewer the crowds the better in my opinion.

San Diego in a Blur

2009-06-24T23:01:00.003-06:00

Judo traveling is none like any other that I've ever experienced. It really is in a blur. And there's no one that I've heard from in the judo community that has told me otherwise.

I hear of all of these great places that judo folks have been, but so often they never see the differing and interesting culture. Many times it's a fly in and a fly out situation. And after the last couple of days, I understand it better.

I had wondered so many times before about why they did that to themselves, but it's simply because of their dedication to such a wonderful art. There's really no time to do much else when you factor in the travel time, the coaching/fighting time, and any other judo related stuff you may do; in my case this was eating out and catching up with judo folks that I hadn't seen for quite some time, if at all before.

I loved every minute of my trip to San Diego, but other than the inside of the San Diego Judo Dojo, I didn't see anything other than a couple of restaurants and the inside of the mall across the street from my hotel, the Town and Country Inn, which seemed as big as any Las Vegas mega-resort.

I was astounded by the size of the hotel complex from the moment I was shown the map to my room. But, once I got there, the impressed feeling I had quickly flew out the window and right into the wall my room was facing. Yep, that's right, I was put in a room that was facing a brick wall. And when I called to complain, I was readily moved to a room with a great view of the pool...which was right next door to where I already was.

I was dumbfounded that I wasn't put in there originally. But, then again, I was also dumbfounded when the woman at the front desk, upon check out, said that she hoped that I'd give them a second chance when I told her I wasn't impressed with the place. She asked how my stay was, and I told her honestly that I wasn't impressed.

I was even less impressed when, after asking me about it, she seemed not to listen to my response. I cut it off short, only telling her a few things that I disliked, like the room placement, but I really could've gone on for a while. I don't think it would've mattered though since she seemed to be the cherry on the sundae to it all upon check out.

Heck, she never even asked me if I had a ride to the airport, like another lady did with my judo club mate when he checked out. I guess it just goes to show me, once again, how the lack of service has fallen off in this day despite the recession. No one really cares, especially in the case where they already have your money.

Despite the less-than-impressive hotel stay though, the trip to San Diego was impressive. But, that's really just because of the judo. In truth I have a difficult time telling anyone that I've actually been to San Diego. After all, I never really saw any part of the town other than the dojo, the hotel and the shopping mall nearby where we had a late night snack after the session.

It was still a fantastic time and a trip that I'll remember for a very long time.

Book Review: Long Way Down

2009-06-20T13:09:00.003-06:00

Ewan McGregor and Charley Boorman's Long Way Down was just every bit as good as their first trip by motorcycle, Long Way Round, which took them on an adventure around the world.

On this trip, much like going from London to New York, the duo went from the northernmost point in Scotland to the southernmost tip of South Africa by motorcycle. They covered some extremely treacherous roads, seemingly constantly needing to repair their bikes due to the wear and tear, and had some amazing adventures, encounters and moments throughout.

I was hooked on the first page and was rivted throughout the book. I loved every minute of it and truly hope they go on another adventure, as they joke at a couple of different points throughout the book. I have no doubt in my mind that it would be every bit as good as the first two. The only difference with it is that I wouldn't wait for it to come out on paperback.

The riders make several stops on their trip, which they discuss in detail throughout the book, that are for charity. They want to raise awareness for the difficulties that others experience throughout the world and that there is a way for others to help. The three main organizations they work with are UNICEF, Riders for Health, and Children's Hospice Association Scotland.

Please take a look at the sites and help if you can. The book has inspired me to do so.

It is truly an excellent story about their ride and their experiences along the way. I'm really quite amazed that they were able to condense it down to such few pages. It seems like there could be another whole book, at least, just from what was most likely left out.

For instance, McGregor and Boorman talk about some arguments they were having and how everything was settled after Addis Ababa. Yet, in the beginning, I never got a good sense as to what the differences were they were arguing about. It didn't bother me that I didn't know, especially after reading about it in the first book, but it makes me wonder about what didn't make the cut.

Long Way Down, as well as Long Way Round, are two of the best travel books I've ever read. I put them right at the top of my list with Bill Bryson as I am now definitely a fan for life. Thanks for sharing your great adventure guys!

My Colorado: Castlewood Canyon

2009-06-18T16:08:00.008-06:00

With the Cherry Creek running through it, Castlewood Canyon sits just south of Franktown, Colorado, a distant suburb of Denver. And while it's possible to hike from one end of the canyon to the other, the park is split into two separte areas, east and west, with their own entrances.

I found the views along the trails quite nice, especially as I decended into the canyon. The well kept paths were over large rocks many times, which I found I quite enjoyed. I loved the feeling of walking off the trails while always staying on them, something the park rangers request so as to help preserve the area.

My hike took me from the Bridge Canyon Overlook area down the Inner Canyon trail to the Lake Gulch trail, where you get great views of Pike's Peak, and then back up to the paved overlook paths. Totally by accident, I found this to be the best route to go since the decent into the canyon is a steep set of stairs, while it is quite a gentle path coming back out along the Lake Gulch.

I'm definitely glad I didn't go the other way considering that I feel I got an excellent workout by going the way I did. I had plenty of opportunities to hop along the boulders that litter the shallow creek as it winds its way to the Eastern Plains from Denver, where it branches off from the South Platte River.

Because the temperatures were up in the canyon during my midday hike, the wildlife seemed to stay away. Porcupines, coyotes, deer, rattlesnakes, and even the occasional mountain lion or black bear, are known to be spotted in the canyon. But, during my visit, all I saw were a bunch of different species of birds, largely crows though, and a small lizard of some kind. I can't say I can really count the numerous grasshoppers that popped across the trail all day as wildlife, but they were everywhere as well.

It took me about 90 minutes to cover the three trails, and I was ready for more. So, I thought I'd head out off from the Canyon Bridge Overlook and see the East Canyon Preservation Area. It's a four mile loop that goes into protected area where heading off the trail is strictly forbidden. I was intrigued by this, and thought it my best chance to see some wildlife.

The pathway took me towards Highway 83, which runs right through the park, with an arched bridge spanning the canyon. At times it was difficult to discerne the trail, generally because of all of the connecting rocks it ran over. Thankfully there was cleverly placed dead wood as well as the occasional pile of rocks to guide the way. It's just too bad though that when I got to the highway to head into the preservation area, I found this:

Heavy rains over the last couple of weeks ran the water levels up to nine feet, from the normal three, washing out some bridges in the canyon. Some I believe have been fixed, but apparently not in that part of the canyon.

There was a sign on the Overlook path warning of a washed out bridge, but I had assumed that it would've been farther up the trail, leaving me an opportunity to see some of the area and maybe get a few good photos.

Castlewood Canyon State Park is definitely worth a trip out from Denver for a day of hikes and picnicing. The scenery is beautiful and the trails aren't terribly challenging. It's a great place for hikers of all skill levels and ages; really for anyone looking to have some outdoor fun.

My Colorado: Bent's Old Fort

2009-06-16T17:54:00.014-06:00

"At a distance it presents a handsome

appearance, being castle-like with towers

at its angles...the design...answering all purposes

of protection, defense, and as a residence."

~ George R. Gibson, 1846, soldier

The last stop on our southeastern Colorado daytrip was the National Historic Site of Bent's Old Fort. Sitting on the north side of the Arkansas River, it is just a short drive east from La Junta, Colorado on Hwy 194.

The fort was built along the Santa Fe Trail in 1833 by traders and trappers Ceran St. Vrain and William and Charles Bent, who was killed in an uprising Taos, New Mexico in 1846 shortly after being named the New Mexico Provisional Governor.

For 16 years the fort was properous, finally dying when the gold rush brought a cholera epidemic and relations between the whites and Indians became strained. St. Vrain unsuccessfully tried to sell it to the military before it was abandoned in favor of Bent's New Fort, which was built in 1853, 40 miles downriver.

Today the fort that stands along the Arkansas is a reconstruction of what once was; it was built from drawings and written descriptions from visitors and archeological finds in the area. And while it does still have that new-fort-smell, the current fort helps offer a great understanding as to what life was like in the west in the mid-1800s.

All of the rooms are nicely furnished and decorated to look as they may have when the fort was a booming trade hub. The trade room and blacksmith's room were both quite interesting, but my personal favorite was the billiard room on the upper level. Unfortunately the large, old-fashioned billiards table was covered though, and no actors were in the room playing the part of bartender or patron.

There were actors are on hand though in period-style dress to answer questions and offer an idea of who lived in the fort. The only unfortunate point though is that there are not enough people to give it a good representation; during our day there were only two people there, one of which played shuttle driver to get people to and from the fort and the parking lot if they did not want to walk in the hot sun.

A short walk from the fort, towards the river, was a small encampment. A handful of tents and tipis are set up next to fire pits and sitting logs to give the idea of what a traders camp next to the fort might look like. During holidays and weekends I'm sure it's quite active with actors and tourists, but during our visit it was unfortunately empty and quite uninteresting.

I greatly enjoyed my visit to the fort and wish I had had more time to spend learning about it and the history surrounding it. I would recommend it to anyone passing through the area or for those looking for an alternative to the mountains, which sometimes can be quite expensive, for a weekend away.

My only regret was that we weren't able to stop and visit then Koshare Indian Museum in La Junta. I was told by the curator of the Kit Carson Museum that it was well worth a visit. We just unfortunately ran out of time on this trip with all of our entertaining stops, and even pushed close to the closing time at the fort.

But, there's always a next time.

My Colorado: Junkrassic Park

2009-06-14T23:11:00.009-06:00

Bob Pearce, my daytrip buddy, somehow found out about this place called Junkrassic Park, which sits just a bit northeast of Bent's Old Fort on County Road JJ in Cheraw, Colorado.

It's Johnnie Allen's private residence, but it's also a place of bizarre wonder that is definitely worth seeing. It's not only entertaining and intriguing, but it's also the life and hobby of an old man who has put his farming talents towards the good use of art.

You see, one day his wife asked him to make her a rooster statue out of scrap metal as she saw on a trip to the Western Slope of Colorado. And after his one art project was done, he's continued on making all kinds of other marvels out of the different scarps of junk found on his farm.

It truly is a marvel to see and one of the best road side stops I've ever made. Big kudos to Bob for finding what was probably the highlight of our daytrip to Southeastern Colorado. At first, as we pulled up, I was worried it was going to be as awkward as any scene from the movie Deliverance, but instead it gave me a good, deep belly laugh that I certainly needed.

There was everything there from the Maiden of Liberty to the Infidel Castro to John L. Weigh. They were all laid out in Allen's front yard, as well as a small field next to his garage. There are supposedly some 80 statues in total, although we didn't get a chance to ask Allen too many questions since we seemed to be disturbing him.

I think that out of all of the statues we saw, my favorite was probably the Awful Tier. Yes, it's a cheese spoof on the Eiffel Tower and an oil tower, but it still gave me a good chuckle nonetheless. Of course the Prime Time Slime Saddam, Oh Sa ya Bin over-Laden?, and the Lib's Berty Bell were also all quite amusing.

In truth though, I'm not sure if there wasn't a good one among the bunch. It was completely worth the stop while on our way to Bent's Old Fort, and something I would do again if I'm ever in the area. Just make sure, if you decide to go, that you pick up a copy of Pam Grout's Colorado Curiosities so you can find your way.

A Town on the Santa Fe Trail

2009-06-13T21:03:00.011-06:00

"Now the Santa Fe Trail belongs to the keening wind. It belongs

to summer rains and to the fearful snows of winter. It is owned

by the prairie dog, the jackrabbit, the rattlesnake... And for a

brief interval it is mine, by adoption, since I choose to stake my

claim on a tiny fragment of its shining history."

~ Marc Simmons, 1986, On the Santa Fe Trail

When Mexico won its independence from Spain in 1821 the Santa Fe Trail began to boom. Used, in parts, for many years previous by many different people, it was now a highway of international commerce between the United States and Mexico, which held Santa Fe, New Mexico.

As travel increased, conflict between traders and settlers began to increase with the many Indian tribes that hunted in the area. Most negotiations with the Plains Indians were peaceful though. But in 1846 the Mexican-American War began and the 900 mile trail was used as a supply line for the United States military and the forts along the route.

One of the stops on the line for the Santa Fe Trail, a National Historic Trail since 1987, was in Lamar, Colorado. And it was a stop for me on a recent daytrip to see southeast Colorado, something I had been interested in doing since I moved to Colorado nine years ago.

The moment I pulled into town, Lamar grabbed me. And although I was only there for an hour, I am now a big fan and am excited to go back and see more of this classic American small town.

There were two things that initially caught my attention. The first was a former World War II Japanese Internment Camp, Camp Amache, that sat just east of town on Highway 50. We didn't stop since nothing now remains of the camp, which is now an empty field. But, I was extremely interested in the history of it, as I am with most things, and instantly wanted to know more as I drove on by.

The second stop, which definitely caused me to raise an eyebrow, was at a petrified wood gas

station. It now stands as an empty building for tourists like me to snap a photo and go, but it offered a certain amount of charm and history for the city, and the trail, that I reveled in. I got a big kick out of it was happy I stopped, even if it was just for a moment, to check it out.

But really, it was the look of the town that excited me the most. It really was one of those great John Updike Main Street towns that had a personality that so many places now lack. And, unlike many of the deserted and crumbling towns I saw on my daytrip, it seemed to be vibrant and alive.

As I headed back to Denver, from Lamar via Bent's Old Fort, I followed a few of the roads west that comprised what is now a driving route for the Santa Fe Trail. Unfortunately I didn't have more time or otherwise I would've followed the roads straight on in to Santa Fe. Still though, I think the only way to do it right would be to start in Missouri at the trailhead, just west of Columbia.

My Colorado: The Kit Carson Museum

2009-06-12T16:56:00.006-06:00

The Kit Carson Museum, in Kit Carson, Colorado, is one of those museums that you've blown by so many times before in the car, but always thought it'd be nice to stop just to see something most people don't.

Well, on my way to the Sand Creek Massacre site yesterday, I stopped with Bob Pearce to check it out, and I'm glad we did. It was a worthwhile little stop that was quite interesting and well worth the price of admission...which was by donation only.

It may initially be assumed that the Kit Carson Museum is about the man, Kit Carson, but in truth it really isn't. There are plenty of pictures of him there, but the place is more about the history of the town that bears his name, even though it's highly likely that he was never in that part of Colorado.

The trapper and scout traveled through many parts of Colorado, New Mexico, California and the like, but the museum caretaker gave it a 50/50 chance of him actually ever having been in the area where the town was founded two years after his death.

Truthfully though, despite his autobiography, there's no way of knowing for sure.

The museum gives a good display of the town's history as well as that of southeast Colorado. There are displays from both world wars as well as that of life on the prairie during the frontier times. Even a Japanese Peso (yes, a Japanese Peso), found it's way into the display cases.

The museum is housed in an old Union Pacific railroad depot building, which was actually moved, along with the lightman's family home, two blocks north from it's original position to avoid demolition.

Also located at the museum is an old railroad caboose, which is fitting since the museum is in a train depot, and a lot across the street with, among other things, the Aroya Lighthouse. Also known as the Lighthouse of the Plains, it was made from scrap metal by a submarine welder, and a late area resident, from World War II. And, in truth, the interesting piece of art that is the lighthouse, doesn't actually even have a light.

The caboose is also open to the public, but is little more than a hollow metal train car. It's worth taking the twenty seconds to see the inside of it, but any more time than that and you'd be missing out on the main part of the museum - the depot. It's too bad though too, since with a little extra money, I'm sure the car could be spruced up a bit inside to make it an excellent compliment to the museum.

The Kit Carson Museum, although small and not really about the man it's named after, is a great spot to stop and stretch the legs on a long roadtrip. It contains an interesting chronology and has a very friendly staff that is more than willing to answer any questions. It's a fun little stop that I highly recommend.

My Colorado: The Sand Creek Massacre

2009-06-11T22:16:00.006-06:00

"Treat the Earth well: it was not given to you

by your parents, it was loaned to you by your

children. We do not inherit the Earth from

our Ancestors, we borrow it from our Children."

- Indian Proverb, posted at Sand Creek

The Sand Creek Massacre National Historic Site is about a three hours drive southeast from Denver, near the Kansas border, in Kiowa County.

T he National Historic Site is the place where, on November 29, 1864, more than 650 United States troops attacked a group of Cheyenne and Arapho Indians. An American and white flag were raised by Chief Black Kettle to indicate they were peaceful as the soldiders approached. They had also, previously, reported to Ft. Lyon, as instructed, to declare themselves as a peaceful people.

What ensued though was a five mile northward path of murder on the Plains Indians by Colonel John Chivington and his men. No one was punished for this, after three hearings, even though wrong-doing was found.

Today the site is an open field, approached from dirt roads on private land, with only a handful of U.S. Ranger buildings. A half-mile path leads from the buildings to a memorial hill. And since this is one of the newest National Park Service sites, much work still needs to be done.

Some information is displayed upon the path, but nothing goes terribly in depth about the history of the conflict and what went happened at Sand Creek on that day. So, I highly recommend that, when planning a trip to the site, you do some research first and print out some information to read while there.

There are a few benches on top of the hill, where the main memorial marker sits, but there is little more than a tombstone to remember those that were killed and mutilated.

Also, since it's so new and things are still being organized, there are no Rangers collecting entrance fees at this time. But, there are boxes to collect donations. So please, help out the National Parks Service to keep doing what it's doing, and throw a few dollars in the boxes. It's the least any of us can do to help support this great and historical places throughout our country.

Finally, a trip to Bent's Old Fort is a perfect companion stop to go with the Sand Creek Massacre site. It is only about an hours drive away, just east of La Junta, and also well worth a stop. I will blog more about that this weekend.

Matsuo Basho by Flashlight

2009-06-10T09:20:00.006-06:00

How does one review travel writings and poems that were written in the late 1600s? Well, truthfully, you don't. They've successfully shown the test of time and demonstrated why they are considered to be classics.

The Narrow Road to the Deep North and Other Travel Sketches by Matsuo Basho really is a prototype for top notch travel writing.

No matter where I fall

On the road,

Fall will I to be buried

Among flowering bush-clovers.

Haiku is prominently, and masterfully, used in all of four travel stories by Basho. The descriptions and accounts he gives in his poems draw a very vivid picture of what he is seeing and feeling and where he is on his journey.

Determined to fall

A weather-exposed skeleton

I cannot help the sore wind

Blowing through my heart.

The Narrow Road to the Deep North was by far my favorite story, but The Records of a Weather-Exposed Skeleton, above, was also quite good. I also enjoyed The Records of a Travel-Worn Satchel and A Visit to Sarashina Village, but on a lesser extent.

In my mind, Narrow Road, had the best start of any of the stories:

"Days and months are travellers of eternity. So are the years that pass by. Those who steer a boat across the sea, or drive a horse over the earth till they succumb to the weight of years, spend every minute of their lives travelling. There are a great number of ancients, too, who died on the road. I myself have been tempted for a long time by the cloud-moving wind -- filled with a strong desire to wander."

Really, when it comes to travel writing, I'm not sure it gets much better than that.

And so, I endeavored to find a new way to talk about this superb collection. It's really quite difficult to critique such fine writings and talk about how Basho should've done this or didn't do that or whatever. It's simple that this is top notch literature and a template that should be used for writers to come.

As I read the stories and thought to myself what could possibly be different about what I'd say about them, I realized that I was reading them at night by flashlight while I slept on my couch.

It isn't normal for me to be kicked out to sleep on the sofa, particularly since I live by myself, but it was where I was most comfortable as of late, and I felt a certain sense of contentness as I lay there are read my Matsuo Basho by flashlight since I had no bed side lamp with which to use.

I was quite please with this arrangement and thought it a novel way to enjoy my book, especially considering Basho had much less than that many nights as he made his way on his travels. I really did quite enjoy it, but it was moreso due to the writings than my own surroundings.

Basho's prose and poetry are some of the best travel writing I've ever read. But, to fully appreciate it, I know I need to read through the stories a few more times. And this is a prospect for which I am greatly excited.

As firmly cemented clam-shells

Fall apart in autumn,

So I must take to the road again,

Farewell, my friends.

A Guide to the National Parks

2009-06-05T17:17:00.009-06:00

I recently purchased, with my girlfriend Amy, the National Geographic sixth edition Guide to National Parks of the United
States. I thought it'd be a great companion for the American the Beau tiful annual National Parks pass I planned on purchasing this year.

There are just so many national parks I plan on visiting this year that it only seemed logical. And with one national monument, the Florissant Fossil Beds, below, already under my belt I've already started getting my money's worth.

In regards to the guide, I believe it will be very useful. I'm willing to go out on a limb even before actually using it and recommend it to anyone planning on a trip to some of our national parks this year. And I have no fear in giving this recommendation.

It's a National Geographic guidebook, so of course it's littered with superb photography, great tips on what to see and how to see it best, and notes on side excursions to nearby state parks, national monuments, national wildlife refuges, and more.

I plan to put this book to good use this summer with a bunch of different trips. Many are going to be to national monuments and state parks that aren't talked about in great detail in the book, but there are several national parks that I hope to take full advantage of with both the book and my pass.

Some of the parks I plan to visit this summer are Rocky Mountain NP, Arches NP, Grand Teton and Yellowstone NP, and the Wind Cave NP. And that's on top of all of the national monuments, like Mt. Rushmore, and Colorado State Parks that I hope to get to as well.

All these great places are here around us, and many within a short drive from home, so it only seems right to take advantage of our National Parks system and learn about the world around us. And with the help of the National Geographic Guide to the National Parks of the United States, I'm not sure I could be any better prepared.

Now the only tough decision is to decide where to go first...

My Colorado: Mueller State Park

2009-06-05T00:28:00.011-06:00

Mueller State Park, just south of Divide, Colorado, is my new favorite spot in Colorado. For a very long time that spot was held by Rocky Mountain National Park, but in my visit yesterday the beauty of Mueller trumped it.

My only disappointment is that we only had a limited period of time to visit the dozens of interconnecting trails in the park. I really wish my friend and I had more time to see more of the park. But, in order to do that properly, I think it would've required a long weekend's worth of camping.

Our visit consisted of a hike along the Outlook Ridge Trail to the Raven Ridge and Red Tail Ridge Overlooks. Both of these spots really offered great 360 views of the mountains, and of a valley below, that are second to none. It was truly spectacular and well worth a relaxing moment of Zen, below.

I particularly enjoyed the lack of fellow hikers along what is considered one of the more popular trails in the park. The trailhead is accessible from a parking lot just past the visitor's center on the left, or west, side of the road.

Now, granted, the lack of hikers was largely due to our trip being on a Thursday instead of a weekend day, but I think the key to the park, as it is with so many things in life, was location, location, location. It is really only a short drive from Colorado Springs, but with so much to do there it isn't always easy to justify a drive up to the mountains, especially as gas prices continue to rise once again.

And with all to do in and around Denver, it's difficult to make the 90 minute ride to Divide for a weekend of camping and hiking. There's already so much of that available in and around the metro area.

But really, it's totally worth it...just don't tell anyone else. The less crowded it is, the better in my opinion. And that's largely because it increases the chances of wildlife sightings.

Unfortunately though, as was the case with the Florissant Fossil Beds hikes earlier in the day, we didn't see any animals save a handful of birds. I believe though, had we arrived closer to dawn, we would've seen some wildlife at both spots with a bit of luck.

The hiking trails, which sit on about 5,000 acres of park land, are very well maintained and easy to walk on. And with nearly 50 miles worth to choose from, it's both a difficult and fun decision where you can't really go wrong no matter what you choose from what I saw. It really is all quite beautiful.

My Colorado: Florissant Fossil Beds

2009-06-04T23:57:00.006-06:00

I've lived in Colorado for nine years and just today finally went to see the Florissant Fossil Beds National Monument. I've been wanting to go for so long, but just never really took the time to do so until now.

I picked up a friend early this morning and we made the two hour drive, which was only due to the morning rush hour traffic, to the park, which sits just a few minutes drive south of the small town of Florissant, Colorado.

Besides a handful of petrified tree stumps, there's not much left there above ground in the way of fossils. But through the years over 50,000 fossils from over 1,700 species have been collected in the area. The most prominently mentioned fossil in the brochure is that of a tsetse fly, now only found in Africa.

The fossil I found most interesting, of the few that are visible out in the park, was the petrified redwood stump that had a ponderosa pine growing out of it. It was really quite amazing to see the present grow from the past in such a fashion. It sits just a short walk south of the visitor's center on the Ponderosa Loop Trail, and definitely worth a stop.

It was interesting to wander the Petrified Forest Loop Trail and learn what happened to the area to create so many fossilized creatures. The best part of the day though was the long hike we went on on the Sawmill and Boulder Creek Trails and the unsuccessful hunt we had for wildlife viewing. We saw plenty of elk tracks, but unfortunately no animals at all. It seemed as though it was just too late in the morning and too hot out for that to happen.

The trails were well maintained though and not overly difficult. There was a bit of up-and-down, but since we started at about 8,400 feet in elevation at the visitor's center, it was not a disappointment to remain on relatively flat terrain throughout the day.

I believe the park is definitely worth a visit, particularly if you're enjoying the area anyway, since the price of admission is a tiny $3 per person. It's really hard to beat such a price right now for what could be a full day of entertainment. It really is a great time for a great value.

There is also the historic Hornbek Homestead on site. It's unfortunate that we ran out of time to stop for a tour since it did appear to be worth a visit, especially since it's all included as a part of the park, but just with it's own parking lot. There did not appear to be a ranger on site there, so please continue on to the main visitor's center to pay the required National Park Service admission for the national monument.

Weekend in Los Angeles

2009-06-02T20:47:00.008-06:00

I spent this past weekend in the Los Angeles area visiting my girlfriend and seeing the sights. It was my second time in L.A., but my first being able to get out an do anything since my first trip was for a day for a judo competition. This time I wanted to be able to see a bit of what the town was about and what it was like out there.

On our first day we went to Disneyland. As a Disney employee, Amy was able to get us into the park for free, which was a big bonus considering I was trying to be economical after already having gone to Hawaii and New York City in the past two months. But, truthfully enough, I'm sure it's worth the price of admission.

We had a blast walking through the different areas of the park, going on some rides, and just relaxing with each other after having been a part, doing the long distance thing, for two weeks.

My favorite part of the visit was getting my picture taken with Mickey Mouse, number 40 on my personal bucket list. But I also enjoyed many other parts of the park, like the rides, as I soaked in the atmosphere and reminisced of the days of my childhood and when I'd watch the classic Disney cartoons on the Disney Channel.

We were exhausted with all of the walking and sun that we called it an early day at the park and got some rest for our big next day when we'd check out the Disney studio lot, which is closed to public tours.

I was particularly excited about this as well and not just because touring a movie studio takes the 101st spot on my bucket list. For me it was more of a point of being able to go some place most other folks weren't allowed. I reveled in the opportunity.

Little did I know, as we drove through security, that there was a big premiere party for the new Disney-Pixar movie UP. Checking out the party we wandered the grounds of the lot, taking in all of the cool movie memoribilia and the interesting art on the buildings, including the very Romanesque Seven Dwarf pillars holding up the main headquarters building for Disney.

We spent a good deal of time though at the base of the building in the Legends Plaza. In the plaza there's a statue of Walt Disney and Mickey Mouse, identical to the one at Disneyland, as well as hand molds from several Disney icons. My favorite of all were Kurt Russell, from the Disney movie Miracle, and Mary Poppins herself, Julie Andrews.

From here Amy drove me to see her office, which I found equally as fascinating. I know seeing someone's place of employment isn't always the most exciting of ventures, but to see where they make video games was a pretty cool thing to me. I was also quite jealous that everyone there had an Xbox 360 on their desk.

Something about that just screams "unfair."

On our third day together Amy took me to see Hollywood, which I found incredibly unholy and not at all like I had hoped. It was just a throng of tourists, much like Times Square is in New York, just milling around a shopping mall, the Kodak Theatre, where the Academy Awards are held annually, and Grauman's Chinese Theater.

And while the movie theater was roped off and red carpeted for some big event, the only sort of celebrities we saw were on the previous day when we passed by Edward James Olmos and Mario Lopez. On Hollywood Blvd all it was were freaks dressed up as their favorite celebrity or movie character. Unfortunately enough one was Marilyn Monroe played by a woman who was about 70-years-old and had no business having a vent blow her skirt up.

After a quick lunch at the Disney Soda Fountain, immediately across the street from all of the chaos, we made for one of Amy's favorite spots in Los Angeles. A permenant farmer's market, right next door to a lovely pedestrian mall, offered an excellent respite to the day allowing us to shop and wander in what is the real Los Angeles.

I really enjoyed this and could easily picture going there every week. Unfortunately enough, I got so turned around as we drove through Hollywood and down Santa Monica Blvd that I have no idea where it's located. It's good thing Amy knows.

When we had purchased all we desired there we made for home, where we relaxed the rest of the weekend away, via the famed Hollywood sign. Amy had googled this in the morning and found a hidden spot where we could take in the sign after driving through several residential streets. It was the perfect location and gave us an opportunity to get a great shot of famous landmark...which oddly enough sits on the hill just above a dog park.

Mobile: The Real L.A.

2009-05-30T19:28:00.000-06:00

It's not as if I've been hanging out in a fake and mythical Los Angeles thus far, but it's been relatively touristy and not really what the average citizen of the city sees on a regular basis. Yeah, sure, I know they go to Disneyland and the movies just like I have, but they also avoid the main touristy strip in Hollywood about as much as New Yorkers avoid Times Square.

Well, after going to that touristy part of town today, and loathing it, we headed to a lovely little pedestrian shopping district with a farmers market...what appeared to be true, everyday L.A.

And I loved it.

I can see why people enjoy living here now, very generally speaking with a bit of truth mixed in for good measure, despite the earthquakes. There are cool things to do like this all over town. Iy's all very quaint, lovely, friendly, inviting and really any other sort of pleasant adjective you can imagine.

It's really a nice area with a great and interesting mix of people...and yes, that includes the incredibily bizarre cross dresser we saw today on Santa Monica Blvd...just below the giant Transformers billboard with Bumblebee on it.

Now there's irony at it's finest.

Mobile: Disney Perversion

2009-05-29T17:38:00.000-06:00

Long ago, I'm not exactly sure when or where, I heard about an odd thing with the Walt Disney and Mickey Mouse statue that is so prominently displayed in Disneyland and on the Disney studio lots...or at least I think I did.

Today I was reminded about that odd, or maybe more appropriately said, perverse, thing while in the Legends Plaza at the Disney studios lot. And, in truth, I had to even have it pointed out to me because, try as I might, I couldn't recall nor recognize what was so wrong with this lovely ans wholesome statue of a man and his mouse.

So, what's wrong with it already?

Well, let's just say that Mr. Disney, when approached from a certain angle can look, errm, rather happily well endowed due to no fault of his own. And while I understood that they were aware of the problem, and had possibly even fixed it, it appears that the statue has, well, gone rather unmolested at this time.

Happy times Walt and Mickey, happy times!

Mobile: Old School Disney

2009-05-28T20:15:00.000-06:00

I've always been a fan of the older Disney. I grew up when the Disney Channel first started up and it was all old Mickey Mouse cartoons and the such.

This new influx of Hannah Montana and the such just has me baffled and is definitely showing me the generation gap that's already there.

My niece is nuts about such things, and I just don't get how or why since it was so different back in the day.

God bless her though, and God bless Disneyland for being more about old school Disney, with a good mix of the new cartoons, since that's totally what I was hoping and looking for.

The good that was Disney in my youth is still there and I was totally reminded of it today and loved every minute of it.

My Colorado: Cherry Creek State Park

2009-05-22T17:41:00.010-06:00

I've lived in the Denver metropolitan area for nine years and had not set foot in Cherry Creek State Park until today.

The park, which is popular with water sports enthusiasts, hikers and bikers, sits right in the middle of the greater metro area, and I've drive by it tons of times, but it's always been a bit elusive for me.

Maybe it's because, when I've been in the mood for a hike, I've always gone up to Rocky Mountain National Park or down to the Garden of the Gods in Colorado Springs, I'm not sure.

Today though, I finally did it. I finally bought my Colorado Parks pass and went for a nice two hour hike through the park. And really, I think I could've spent a whole weekend walking through the park, cooking out, and doing a bit of camping and never once got bored with it.

Too bad I'm on a one-day-weekend.

Some of the trails in the park are paved and others are more of a gravel mixture, but nothing that I walked on today with a friend was terribly difficult. Everything is quite flat and easy to handle. There's very little stress involved at all.

And while it's obvious you're not in the mountains due to the ease of the trails, it's also hard to believe that you're in the middle of the city.

Sure, I heard a few planes flying overhead today, and saw an occasional car as we got near a road, but not once to I ever really hear the hustle and bustle of the city...and I loved it. I loved being able to take a quick walk through the park and have my everyday cares and worries easily fade away. I always thought I had to go to the mountains for that to happen, so shame on me for not knowing better the previous nine years.

I'm glad I bought my annual pass for the Colorado State Parks system now, especially since I was a bit hesitant at first, and will definitely be taking full advantage of it over the next twelve months.

A Week and Counting

2009-05-20T22:30:00.005-06:00

I leave for Los Angeles to visit my girlfriend, Amy, who lives in Burbank a week from today.

I'm quite excited to get out there and visit her and see the city of Angels. I've only been once before, and that was just a quick overnight trip for a judo tournament. The only part of the city I really saw was downtown as we drove from the airport to Rancho Cucamonga.

This time around I'm going to play more the role of the casual tourist and see some sites while hanging out and seeing where Amy lives.

The place it seems as though Amy wants to take me to the most is the Getty since we're both art lovers. I'm certainly interested in visiting the museum, but my sights are set on a date with Mickey Mouse.

I grew up watching the Disney Channel when they actually played Disney cartoons and movies, which has thus built an interest in me to go to the magical kingdom and get my picture taken with Mickey.

I'm so interested in it that I even put it at number 40 on my bucket list eight years ago when I first wrote it up. Other items on my list that are possible to cross off in L.A. are two of the final three items on my list:

99) Watch a TV Show in Person

101) Tour a Movie Studio

Don't let their low standing on my list fool you though, I'd be incredibly interested in doing both. I think it'd be a hoot to sit in the audience at the Price Is Right, even though I wouldn't be eligible due to my employment, or to tour a movie studio.

But, who knows, we'll have to see what time allows. I don't want to push it too much and try to cram too much in, especially after my trips to New York City and Hawaii. Those were busy times. Here I'd like to just see a few sites and relax and spend some time with my girl.

BeFunky.com Manipulated Pictures

2009-05-17T20:39:00.009-06:00

My friend that showed me around New York City gave me a tip a week or so ago about a website called befunky.com.

I've played around on it for a bit since then, but really sat down tonight to take a look at it and run some of my old photos through some manipulations, and I definitely like what came out.

Here's a sampling of what I did...

Athenian Acropolis

Arc de Triomphe

A protest at Denver's Democratic National Convention

Fremont Street in Las Vegas

Sydney Harbor

Green Day's Billy Joe Armstrong

The site offers nine different options for manipulating photos, of which all of the above were taken by me, as well as several sub options and other adjustments thereafter of photos. It's quite an excellent little site that I recommend checking out.

I cannot speak in terms of their order reliability since I have not placed an order of any kind.

Space Travel

2009-05-12T15:51:00.004-06:00

Like so many kids, I dreamed of being an astronaut when I grew up. Now, at 33-years-old, I can see that it's not in the stars for me. Hope and dream as I might as a child, it just didn't happen for me.

But, with the advent of space tourism, I still hold out hope that one day it'll be affordable for me to make it up to the great unknown and look down on this lovely home we call Earth.

Yesterday's Atlantis launch by NASA to do a Hubble fix has me looking to the stars even more, and wondering if this will ever be possible. I certainly hope so, but right now it's so unbelievably expensive that only the obnoxiously rich, not even the filthy rich, can afford a trip to infinity and beyond.

Virgin Galactic seems to be the most likely option for me to be able to fulfill this dream. I know it's not something that's going to be easily done, but I will continue to hope and dream in the meantime and further pursue my interests in astronomy.

For updates on the Atlantis mission, follow NASA on Twitter.

My Travels: Luxembourg

2009-05-07T16:52:00.005-06:00

My European vacation with my father last year took us through Luxembourg, a speck of a country on the European continent.

I was excited to get to Luxembourg as we we drove across northern France and into Belgium, but wasn't totally sure why. I had no idea of what there was to do or see there, but was still excited to get there and see it.

We paged through an old travel guide my father had in order to get an idea of something that we could stop off at to see or tour, particularly since our time was limited as we needed to continue on to Germany to meet some distant relatives, but really couldn't find anything.

The only thing I really took note of was some sort of driving tour to see seven famous castles.

We tried to follow the directions in the book, as well as the street signs, but had very little luck. It seemed that our time spent in Luxembourg would really be nothing more than just a means of getting from point A to B.

But then, as we drove through a small town, my father spotted this tree growing on the side of a building and pointed out how cool it was and said that I should take a picture.

I was sick of hearing what I should take a picture of by this point since we had been traveling together for a strong week and his camera broke on the first day. But, since I was the only one with a camera, I told him that I'd take a picture of it if he wanted to turn around and go back to it.

A moment later I found myself in front of this tree that was tied down to the side of a house so its branches could be prevented from growing out into the road.

I didn't think much of it at first as I snapped a few photos, but once I got home and printed some pictures I realized how much I liked looking at the photo and the memories it brought back from our trip. It's just one photo, but it reminds me of so many great times we had together across the pond.

Unfortunately, in terms of Luxembourg, we couldn't find a nice place, with accessible parking, easily enough in the city, so we kept going to Trier, Germany, where we decided to spend the night instead enjoying some beer and schnitzel.

I'll always remember this one moment in Luxembourg though, and would very much like to go back and see more of the country, just like Belgium.

Book Review: Long Way Round

2009-04-30T13:58:00.002-06:00

It's a bit delayed since it's publishing in 2004, but I just finished reading Long Way Round: Chasing Shadows Across the World by actors Ewan McGregor and Charley Boorman.

I had heard about the book a while ago, but had never picked it up until I heard about them publishing the next one, Long Way Down, where they ride their motorcycles from Scotland to South Africa.

According to Amazon.com, that second book is supposed to be released on paperback on June 9.

Long Way Round was such an excellent read that I can't even stop looking forward to Long Way Down. I highly recommend it to anyone interested in traveling, whether or not you're interested in motorcyle rides.

It's an excellent book about camaraderie, perseverence and the friendship that can be found in the most odd places, like the middle of nowhere in Mongolia.

The book is extremely well written, offering an excellent exchange of storytelling and viewpoints between Boorman and McGregor. I loved every minute of the exchange and how they each offered their thoughts and impressions as their own opposed to it being written by the two of them together.

The thoughts of their support crew for the trip are not offered like theirs since this it was supposed to a trip around the world between two friends. But, since they decided to fund the ride by making a television show of it, I'm now curious about what else went on behind the scenes and will have to try to find a copy.

I'm sure it's every bit as good as the book, which I highly recommend to anyone interested in traveling or learning about what other parts of the world is like.

Los Angeles Plans

2009-04-28T13:17:00.002-06:00

I'm heading to Los Angeles at the end of May to see a girl I just started seeing. We met at the wedding in New Jersey a couple of weeks ago and hit it off instantly. So, now I'm heading to L.A. to see her and check out what the place is like.

I was in Los Angeles once before a couple of years ago for a judo tournament, but it was a really quick trip. I flew in one night, checked into my hotel, coached the next day at the tournament in Rancho Cucamonga and then flew out that night.

So there really wasn't a whole lot of time available for sightseeing or personal enjoyment of any kind. It was all judo business related.

My flight out of Denver will arrive at the Burbank airport, which is closest to her house, and then we'll spend a few days around town so I can see the area. If anyone has suggestions on what to do or see, please let me know. It'd be great to have ideas even though I have someone that lives there showing me around.

And yes, just like I did with New York City, I will be posting mobile blog entries while there.

Taking a Bite Out of the Big Apple

2009-04-23T10:56:00.027-06:00

New York City was amazing and I think I did as much of it as possible in a week with my friend turned tour guide Lisa.

I had some time Friday morning, before the wedding rehearsal and dinner that night, so I took the hour long train ride into Penn Station where we met up to head uptown a bit to see the Metropolitan Museum of Art.

We only had a few hours to run through the hundreds upon hundreds of pieces of art, but I'm really happy we did it and can definitely put it down as one of my favorite New York City spots. I loved every minute of it and could've spent days in this massive museum.

I know we missed things too, like the Egyptian exhibit, but I'm alright with that too since it gives me a plenty good reason to go back now.

The dress rehearsal that night was a lot of fun; interrupted by a fire in the basement of the Madison Hotel in Convent Station, New Jersey, where the wedding was to be held the next day.

The wedding the next day was just as much fun. It was a lovely ceremony that was followed by an excellent reception. And once that was done, since it was a day time ceremony, everyone moved on to various bars for more good times.

Instead of staying at the Madison another night I opted to move to the Holiday Inn at Newark International Airport. It was a lot less expensive and much closer to the city. And even though I had to make one more trip back into down to the wedding area for a brunch the next day, I was happy for the move for convenience purposes for the rest of the week.

The Holiday Inn was just like any other Holiday Inn I've stayed at, but I wasn't terribly happy with my stay either. I kept having room key issues, which they blamed on the security machines at different sites, and the shuttle to and from the airport was never terribly punctual.

The rooms were fine, but not nearly as nice as the Madison, and I overall wouldn't really have a problem staying there again. Given the option though, I think I'd probably stay in the city next time though for the sake of convenience and experience.

That day next day, after the brunch, I had arranged to meet Lisa again at Penn Station. So after her race volunteering, and chance meeting with Kevin Bacon in the morning, we met up again for another day of sightseeing.

We first went to the Empire State Building where we found absolutely no lines. We made it straight to the top without having to stop.

The views from up the 86th floor were amazing and well worth the $20 admission. Although, I wouldn't say the same for the extra $15 it costs you if you want to go to the 102nd floor. It's not much different up there, other than that it's enclosed by glass, and not really worth the extra money.

The Empire State Building was definitely a favorite stop of mine and I could've spent a lot longer up there walking around and checking out the views. But since there's so much to see and do in NYC, we had to limit it to the strong hour we had on top of the deck and, probably, the two hours total we spent with everything there.

Lisa suggested that we go check out Little Italy and Chinatown (right) from there, so we hopped the train towards downtown to find a couple of nice neighborhoods where we were able to sample some great food. And sample several slices of pizza I did.

We had a nice walk through of the neighborhoods, but decided to head back up to Times Square to meet up with a couple of the bridesmaids from the wedding to hang out for some drinks for a bit.

Times Square was very underwhelming, and I was no where near becoming a fan by hanging out there any longer, so Lisa took me over to one of her favorite local bars, Rudy's, where they severe some nasty beer called Pork Slap Ale and give you free hot dogs to boot. I was an immediate fan, but the girls were calling so we headed back to Times Square, where we found a slice of home in Famous Dave's for a couple of drinks.

The next day started out quite interestingly with my cabbie encounter, but in the long run was a pretty good day. I had a lot of fun seeing the Statue of Liberty (above) and Ellis Island (below), even though the rain was whipping up around us with some pretty heavy winds.

We made it through both places though none-the-worse-for-ware, and had a great time seeing the exhibit at Ellis Island. We could've spent a great deal more time there, but we were quite pushed back on time due to the cabbie encounter I had in the morning, so we had to head out after a couple of hours in order to get the the Museum of Modern Art before Lisa had to head to work.

I liked some of the art at the MoMA. It's hard not to when there's so many Picasso's (left), Rothko's, Pollock's and the such. There's lots of great works there. I think I would've appreciated it more though had we done it before going to the Met. The Met has so many amazing works that it really overshadowed everything we saw in the MoMA.

Unfortunately we were able to spend only a small amount of time there together since Lisa had to leave for work about an hour after our arrival. I stayed for another hour or so and strolled through the halls before catching a cab to head down to Madison Square Garden for the NY Rangers playoff hockey game against the Washington Capitals.

It was the first home playoff game for the team this year and the place was electric. And it was quite exciting to be there for it all. I had amazing seats, about a dozen rows up in the corner, and loved every minute of it. Unfortunately for the hometeam though, they got smoked 4-0.

Both Lisa and I needed a bit of a delayed wake up call the next day, my final full day in New York, since we were both quite tired and sore from all of the walking we had done.

So after sleeping in a bit we met up again and headed over to tour the United Nations. I really can't recommend this tour enough. The price was just right, the guide was unbelievably knowledgeable, and it was an overall great experience to be some place that I've seen on television so many times...the UN's general assembly chambers.

This is definitely an underrated experience from what I read in the guidebooks and I would recommend it hands down to anyone. Be forewarned though that the ticket line could be quite slow, and long, since there's only spots for a couple of ticket agents at the desk. Thankfully though, as it so happened through the whole trip, we lucked out and didn't run into anything too seriously long or tedious.

We grabbed a dog and a knish on our way to the Guggenheim and spent about as much time eating them as we did inside the museum itself. All but two of the floors were closed because of renovations, and since the display on each floor is limited anyway, it took us all of about 30 minutes to breeze through there.

I was quite disappointed by my experience at the Guggenheim. There wasn't much on exhibit to the public, and what was on display was nowhere near as good as the Met, once again. Thankfully there was a reduced admission due to all of the problems, otherwise I would've truly been upset by my experience. It was already bad enough that we couldn't take pictures inside like we could at all of the other museums.

There was one really big benefit of spending so little time in the Guggenheim, and that was that we had more time to spend strolling through Central Park.

If given the opportunity to only do one thing in all of New York on a visit, I'd say that I'd spend it walking through Central Park for hours on end. I absolutely loved the contrast that it offered to the city and had an amazing time exploring the paths of the park, both with Lisa and on my own once she had to leave for work.

It really was something else. And if I were a New Yorker myself, I'd make it a point to go there at least weekly, if not more. It's the perfect place to get away from everything and just relax as though you're in a totally different world from everything else around you. I really can't speak highly enough of it and would go back in a heart beat to do it again.

In between strolls through the park, I headed over to see the American Museum of Natural History. Yes, the one from the Ben Stiller movie Night at the Museum. After recalling the movie, and that there's a second one coming out, I couldn't really help but go over there for a quick run through of the place to see if any of the exhibits were as they showed in the movie.

I didn't have time to really do the museum justice, that would've taken all day, but I got a good feel for it and saw some of the exhibits that were shown in the movie. A lot weren't there, or acurately portrayed, especially since there isn't a T-Rex in the lobby of the museum as shown in the movie, but it was all fairly right on...especially in the land of Hollywood.

In terms of the museum itself, I can definitely see why the guidebook gave it top marks. It's a great place to spend a day, especially if it's raining outside, and even moreso if kids are along. They can spend hours in there with so many hands on exhibits that it's insane.

And the dinosaur hall on the top floor? Well, don't even get me going on that. I could've spent a whole day up there on my own it was so amazing...and I'm not even a dino buff.

Mobile: A Message of Peace

2009-04-21T20:38:00.000-06:00

I came to New York with a preconceived idea that 0new Yorkers were rude and intollerant of tourists.

I am now leaving New York with the exact opposite frame of mind, and today was a good representation of such.

No, so you are aware, I didn't have a polar opposite experience as I did with the cabbie the day before. Instead I learned today that New York carries with it a message of peace.

From this morning's trip to the United Nations, where peace and equality are the prevelant messages, to the John Lennon "Imagine" mosaic in Central Park, most everything revolved around the message of peace.

And so, after today, I have come to realize that New York is not just the world's capitol, but also the capitol of acceptance, understanding and most everything else along such a parallel line.

On another note, I would like to say that I have had such an amazing trip, which I will blog more thoroughly about later, having met many wonderful people, largely New Yorkers, and having shared many great experiences with a coworker, now also a friend, Lisa.

She has been a great ambassador of New York and it was a pleasure meeting her and spending the week seeing the sites with her. Thanks Lisa!

Mobile: Food Find

2009-04-20T15:31:00.000-06:00

It's not often you find a pace that has good eats that really surprises you because of it.

Normally I'm disappointed by those that should be good opposed to wowed by those that should be average at best. But, today, I hit the jackpot.

It was lunch time when Lisa and I arrived at Liberty Island to see the big lady herself. We were bot hungry and the smell of french fries hung in the air, so we decided to duck into the cafe for a quick bite, and boy were we surprised.

The fish n' chips was amazing. Neither of us could believe our taste buds, but both our mouths couldn't be lying. This was actually really good.

The good tasted great, the presentation was nice and the price was right...what a great surprise and find!

Mobile: Stupid Cabbies

2009-04-20T07:51:00.000-06:00

I've had no problem getting around town, or from Jersey to the city, until this morning.

The most idiotic cabbie picked me up at the hotel this morningto go to Liberty State Park for my cruise to the Statue of Liberty (right side of photo from atop the Empire State Building)...or so I thought. In his mind I was going to Liberty Airport, to which the hotel offers a free shuttle service like any other airport hotel.

After the destination confusion subsided I was then scolded and lectured for not knowing which city the park was in or how to get there!

The cabbie couldn't quite accept that I, being from out of town, didn't have directions for him. And granted, he was from a French speaking African country, but he should've still known how to get to one of the largest tourist attractions in all of Jersey!

I got us directions through the wonderful use of the internet, but then noticed he didn't have a meter.

After another lecture, this one short since I rudely interrupted him to get him to tell me the cost, I found out it was going to run me $50 to get there because of some inter city crap he was trying to pull.

Enough was enough, so as he slowed down on a cloverleaf-style ramp to the highway I opened the cab door and jumped at what was probably 15mph...politely giving him the finger, with a few kind words, as I went.

Thankfully it hasn't started raining yet since it was about a mile pissed off walk back to the hotel.

Now on to the city, as plans change, to go meet Lisa for a tour of the UN, before going to the MoMA and the Rangers game tonight!

Mobile: Suburban Trains

2009-04-19T08:24:00.000-06:00

It's been really easy finding my way around on the suburban train lines. Or, I guess I should rather say: it's been easy using the one line that ran outside my hotel to New York City.

I've used the train in the city once to get around, and will be using it much more in the coming days, and I'm not overly concerned about finding my way.

Yeah, sure, I have Lisa, a local friend who is helping me find my way, but it really isn't all that hard. And, thus far, I'm finding New Yorkers very friendly and interested in giving their city a good image...unlike other big cities I've been in.

So far I do like it here and am interested in seeing more, and particulaly using the train lines. I know that sounds odd, but It's a great novelty for me having lived in both Minneapolis and Denver, where there is only minimal pblic transportation trains, and those all being relatively new, to speak of.

Mobile: NYC Hot Dogs

2009-04-17T11:17:00.000-06:00

Today I spent the day at the Met, which I'll blog about when I return. For now I'd like to keep the mobile blogging to some side items of New York...like hot dogs. A complete NYC blog will be up when I'm back.

After my museum visit I had my first New York City hot dog. It tasted just like any other hot dog I've had with sweet onions, but the matter of having it in NYC made it that much better.

It's a great, albeit overpriced, tourist treat that I enjoyed and plan on having more of. I mean, if I don't, who will? No one. The locals know better. And if you don't believe me, go back and watch Crocodile Dundee 2 again.

My Colorado: Eldorado Canyon State Park

2009-04-14T10:32:00.005-06:00

I'm going to make it a point to get back up to Eldorado Canyon State Park this summer to do another couple of hikes.

I was there just this past week with a friend and a visiting journalist from Germany to do a hike and I really enjoyed it. But one hike in there seemed to be just the tip of the iceberg. The road in the canyon went back so far that I know there were several other trails in there to go on.

And really, we never even totally finished the trail we were on to a Continental Divide overlook or on up still on the Rattlesnake Gulch trail. The farthest we made it was an additional 600 feet up in elevation to the ruins of the Crags Hotel, which was built in the canyon in 1908.

The website says that the hotel was accessed by an inclined railway until 1913, when it burned down, but my friend read on the trail that there was a paved road that lead people up to the hotel from the canyon floor. Either way, it must've been a great place to stay.

The trail itself was moderately difficult, requiring me to stop for a breather a few times since it just kept going up, with really no flat points to catch my breath, but it wasn't bad at all.

The views on the trail were very nice, offering a bit of the canyon and a lookout to the eastern plains. The hikes deeper in the canyon, near the visitor's center, I'm guessing are quite different though, which creates my desire to go back and experience a few more this summer.

Thankfully it's a quick and easy drive from Denver for me, making it a great day getaway for a few hours of fresh air, exercise and possibly even a picnic.

Raining On My Parade

2009-04-12T10:05:00.004-06:00

I can certainly appreciate how difficult it is to accurately forecast the weather for more than a day or two in advance.

Heck, I'm sure it's even difficult to do that in some cases. It seems as though the weather so often takes a wild turn here in Denver, as the system comes off the mountains, that it always moves one way or another that wasn't predicted. So often the forecasts are off, but that's just how it is.

So right now, based on that, I'm taking my New York City forecast with a grain of salt when I see that there's at least a 40% chance of rain on three days next week.

Interestingly enough though, I can count the number of times it's rained on me on one of my trips on two fingers. And considering how many places I've been, that's really a pretty good average. I mean, not many people can say they've traveled to Ireland and not had it rain on them, once, in a weeks time...not once.

With all of the luck I've had in terms of weather, and with the possibility of jinxing myself here, I wonder at times if the good weather really follows me on vacation. And if it does, can my going to New York City just clear up any possibility of it raining on my parade while I'm there.

Hopefully so.

My Travels: Belgium

2009-04-11T10:21:00.004-06:00

My friend Briand took a trip to the Benelux (Belgium, Netherlands, Luxembourg) with his wife, Erin, a few years ago and talked it up big. They really enjoyed their time there, particularly in Belgium, so I was excited to get there and see a bit of the country myself.

My father and I were keeping a pretty open schedule on our trip, but needed to get to Saarbrucken, Germany in a few days time to meet some distant relatives. This meant we had a bit of driving ahead of us to do this since we were up in the Normandy area.

We discussed this a bit and decided to head over to Belgium to see the Waterloo area since we had already learned so much of Napoleon while in Paris. It seemed like a no-brainer, to me, to continue on and see the spot of the famed battle.

Brian hadn't recommended this, I'm not even sure he made it there, and I can see why.

The hotel we stayed at in Waterloo was less than impressive, the visitor's center at the battle site was built around the idea that you were well informed and had a good understanding of the players in the fight, and it was all incredibly tacky, touristy and quite boring.

Normally I like touristy, in a kitschy sense of the word, but this was nothing like that. This was great-big-senior-citizen-tour-bus touristy. It was nothing like I had hoped by reading a guidebook description and was less than pleased with the wasted time we spent there.

The film was poorly done, the museum was lacking, and the panoramic painting of the battle was being renovated, so the only thing really to do was to climb to the top of Lion Hill.

Lion Hill commemorates the spot where the prince of Orange was injured during the battle. It offers a nice view of the surrounding fields, which is worth the climb to the top, but know that it's not an easy climb if you're out of shape or have issues with heights.

My father and I had a brief discussion after seeing the museum and the hill and decided that we just wouldn't be doing Belgium any justice if we stayed here for another day. It deserved more of our attention, especially after Brian's recommendation, and we thought it a good idea just to continue on to Germany, via Luxembourg.

My Travels: France

2009-04-09T10:27:00.007-06:00

It's about one year to-the-day since I was in France on holiday with my father. It is a trip of which I have such fond memories. One of them occurred within our first few days in Paris.

We had just landed and were standing on the bus on the tarmac, waiting to be shuttled to the terminal to get our bags, when this man walks on and stands, holding on to the pole, right in front of me.

He surely looked familiar, but I wasn't positive at first so I waited for him to turn around again. And when he did, just a moment later, I was positive that it was an old coworker of mine from nearly eight years ago in Minneapolis.

What a small world!

Neither of us could believe it, nor could my father, and we laughed about the chances of running into someone like that in Paris of all places. It was hard to believe, but certainly a pleasant surprise.

The next day, after a full night's rest, we woke up with the idea of taking the train down to see Napoleon's tomb. It wasn't an item necessarily high on our list, but we saw Notre Dame and part of the Louvre the day before, and thought we should see something else today since we had the Eiffel Tower planned for the next day.

Over our stay in Paris we found the Metro, their subway system, quite easy to use, but for some reason we couldn't find the proper train on this day. It was probably a blessing in disguise though since it was such a nice day, thus prompting us to walk along the Seine for a couple of miles instead of taking the train.

We had walked no more than five blocks when I saw another couple of people coming towards us that also looked familiar. And as they got closer, I couldn't believe it. It was a coworker of mine and his wife!

I knew they were going to be in Paris at the same time, and we had even talked about getting together for dinner one night, but I couldn't believe that I had just randomly run into them on our first full day in town.

Unfortunately our cell phones never quite worked on the European system so we were never able to get together for dinner, but it was still a pleasant surprise to run into each other.

My father and I planned to see the Eiffel Tower on on second full day in town, but decided to have a nice rest in the Luxembourg Gardens in the morning before heading down that way.

My friend from London, Stephen, had said he'd meet us there for lunch after coming over to France that morning in the Chunnel. It was something we had planned months in advance, but I never really believed our lunch date would work out until we were really there together in the shadow of the tower.

The lunch was horrible, as it generally is near any major tourist site, but it was fun meeting up with him and spending a few hours together at the Eiffel Tower. Unfortunately he had to get back home right away, so it could be nothing more than a day trip.

On our fourth day in Paris, third full day though, we woke up in our hotel room, which was only a few blocks from Notre Dame, and got ready for a day trip down to the Palace of Versailles.

As we sat at breakfast enjoying our chocolate croissants and sipping our juice, my father looked at me and said, "so, who are we going to run into today that you know?"

I suppose that after three people in three days, it was a worth while question and one that we certainly got a good laugh over. It wasn't meant to be though, and we didn't run into anyone else we knew for the rest of our time in France.

While it's not as if we were in some place as far away as Uzbekistan, this memory still makes me appreciate how small of a world we really live in. After flying for ten hours I still ran into three people I knew, two randomly, in three days.

Visiting the MoMA

2009-04-08T10:34:00.002-06:00

A coworker of mine keeps pestering me to go to the Museum of Modern Art during my upcoming trip to New York City. He knows that I love wandering through museums on my travels, but he also knows that my time is limited.

I believe I'll have enough time to have the opportunity to see it, along with the Guggenheim and The Met, but if I only have time to see one it's a bit of a difficult decision. There's just so much great art in all three museums, as well as the countless other museums in New York City, that I'm unsure how to really narrow it down.

I know I don't want to over do it and not take quality time to do each museum justice, particularly since I know at some point in my life I'll go back to New York City, but it's hard to pick and choose. How can you really even decide?

Part of what will be a deciding factor for me, if it comes to that, will be location too. Both the Guggenheim and The Met are right by Central Park, which is also something I'd like to see, while the MoMA is off a bit on it's own. So if it comes to it, the MoMA just may be pushed off to the next visit.

But, as I said, I believe I can do them all justice and hit all three museums on this trip...at least for a few hours each. Suggestions, particularly on where to go in each museum, are much appreciated.

Tweeting Tweeple

2009-04-06T14:00:00.002-06:00

I've picked up on Twitter for work purposes and am now expanding it to my personal life as well, with a focus on my thoughts on travel.

I was put on the "Twitter Team" for work to tweet updates on different news stories that we're covering. And because of this, I've begun to appreciate the usefulness and purpose of such a site.

A site like Twitter makes it easy to stay in touch with what's going on in the world without sitting down at a predetermined time to watch a newscast. It's easy to get updates on breaking stories, particularly ones that can be helpful, like traffic updates. And really, it's just a great way to stay in touch.

In reality though, I believe it's really quite insane and that it's only for those that are highly ADHD. If you want to stay in touch, pick up a newspaper, call your friends and family or look through the various news sites, reading the full articles, on the internet. Twitter just makes it so you only get the headlines, and no real concrete information.

But, as is the case with most anything, you take the good with the bad. Overall I think the site is useful, which is why I've expanded it now to my personal life.

I want to not just tweet about what I'm doing, like "hey, I'm out having a soda right now...yum." But, instead I want to put updates on there about when my blog is updated, where I'm planning trips to, or other such larger things in my life.

If you're interested in following along, search for me as "JasonHussong." And, if you're interested in following the news in Denver, look for "CBS4Denver."

Hawaii With The Judo Guys

2009-04-04T11:34:00.010-06:00

I really now do understand why there are huge guidebooks that are printed just for travel to Hawaii. We saw so much on O'ahu that I can honestly say it'd be easy to take a week or more for each of the islands. There's just so much to do and see it's really quite insane.

The first day Stephen and I arrived in Hawaii we decided to skip all of that though, instead opting to hit the grocery store and have a major cook out feast at our friend Dan's place in Kaneohe (overlook pic of the city is to the right) and just kick back and take it easy.

And while I expected groceries to cost a bit more in Hawaii due to shipping costs, I certainly felt the sticker shock of the $230 bill for one meal and breakfast for the following couple of days.

But, oh my friends, it was oh so worth it.

We gorged ourselves and just sat back on the veranda and relaxed the night away with some great local brews from the Kona Brewery. And this quickly became a favorite way to end each day, and even start some mornings, minus the beers, since the temp always hovered between 70 and 80F.

We also enjoyed cruising many beaches, including Kailua, Waikiki and Hanauma. Stephen and Dan braved the waves and jumped in a few times, but since I'm not much of a swimmer I just opted to lay on the towel in the shade and check out the beach eye candy.

Probably the biggest tourist attraction on O'ahu is Pearl Harbor.

The Bowfin Submarine (aka The Pearl Harbor Avenger), the U.S.S. Missouri, and the U.S.S. Arizona Memorial, as well as a few museums, are all right in one place and easily visited with one ticket, or none at all in the case of the Arizona.

It seemed to me that we went pretty quickly through the museums and the Bowfin, but we still spent a good half day at Pearl Harbor. If you were truly a history buff then it'd be no problem to spend a solid day, if not even two, visiting all of the sites, watching the movies, and touring the museums.

And while I wish we would've slowed down a bit at points and seen more, like the museum at the Bowfin and the Arizona a bit more too, I was happy with the time we spent visiting the site.

My favorite part of our tour was the U.S.S. Missouri. I was totally surprised by this, since I initially thought it'd be the Arizona Memorial, but was absolutely enthralled with being on a battleship and seeing the spot on the deck where the Japanese surrendered to the Allies to end World War II.

Don't get me wrong though, I thought everything we saw in the harbor was incredibly interesting, but the Missouri really overwhelmed me. The U.S.S. Arizona was something I had seen in pictures for so long, totally prepared for what I saw there, and it really wasn't too different in person.

And I still felt a great sense of patriotism and pride in the sacrifice the men on board unfortunately made. It was a great honor to visit the site, as well as the Punchbowl Cemetery, and am happy I did it. I highly recommend the whole Pearl Harbor tour for anyone visiting Hawaii.

The Polynesian Cultural Center, which we toured on our first full day on the island, was also quite interesting. We were able to learn about all of the different Polynesian cultures, from New Zealand to Hawaii and what differentiates them from each other.

We took in a luau dinner, earth roasted pig and all, along with the dance performance that followed. And while I certainly enjoyed my fair share of the buffet dinner, the show is what transfixed me. The dancing was amazing, despite a few noticeable mistakes and drops here and there, and it was really well done by the students of BYU Hawaii.

I would say this is a must do for anyone visiting the Hawaiian islands as well. After all, you can visit a beach, and probably for much cheaper, in so many other places in the United States. While you're in Hawaii you should at least learn a bit about the culture and what differentiates them from us mainlanders.

On our final full day on the island we did quite a bit of driving, seeing different spots on the island that we hadn't seen yet, and visited the Dole Pineapple Plantation up in the mountains.

It was really quite touristy, with a very lame garden tour and train ride, but well worth the long drive just to get some pineapple flavored soft serve ice cream with fresh cut pineapple. It was absolutely delicious and a great way to spend an afternoon relaxing in the Hawaiian sun.

I know I'll do a lot of things differently the next time I visit Hawaii after doing this trip. For one, I'll go to a different island. I understand that, although similar in many ways, each island is very different and has so much to offer. So I'd like to go to another one, more than likely the big island, and see what's there.

I'll also make it a point to take in more wildlife, a favorite travel hobby of mine. We saw some sea turtles on the north shore on this trip, but I wished we had done more, like whale watching, but unfortunately there just wasn't enough time.

Really though, I could go on and on with the list of what else I'd do next time. We saw so much and had such a great time, but there's just so much more to see and do and I'd love to get back over and do as much as possible.

But, right now, New York City is up next on the agenda, so I can't plan another Hawaiian escape quite yet. I just hope in NYC I can find such great friends to share good BBQ with as a send off to the holiday.

Book Review: Ghost Train to the Eastern Star

2009-03-10T13:32:00.005-06:00

I'm beginning to believe that it's just not possible for me to be a fan of Paul Theroux. I've now read three of his books and have only enjoyed one, and that one only mildly.

Ghost Train to the Eastern Star is the third book of his I've read, and it comes on the tails of reading The Great Railway Bazaar. And really the only different in the two books is a few countries and about 30 years.

In Ghost train to the Eastern Star Theroux attempts to retrace his route through Europe and Asia. Due to some visa problems he has to skip certain countries, like Iran, and go through others he didn't before, like Turkmenistan, but he essentially follows the same route he did before as he chronicles the changes in the countries that he notices.

I certainly enjoyed reading about the new places Theroux went, particularly Turkmenistan. I found it extremely interesting to learn more about a country that seems so distant. I was even inspired to go read a little about the history of the country and to learn more about it, beyond what I already knew from studying Soviet history in college.

But, on the other than, I found Theroux to be overly obsessed with the sexual culture of every place he visited, constantly pointing out all of the pimps, madams and prostitutes that solicited him.

To a point those things are interesting, but Theroux excessively dwelled on them. It became redundant and I quickly lost interest when it seemed like that's all every chapter was about.

And if he wasn't being solicited, then he was going into porn shops, like in Japan. Or instead he was commenting on the sexual manga comics, that the Japanese bought and read, making it sound like a national obsession that had gone wild.

It really all became too much and too redundant, thus making me lose interest half way through the book. And at that point, I had to stop and pick up something else to read instead since this book was just flat out boring.

It's really too bad that I found the first book of his I read, Dark Star Safari, interesting. Had I not, I would've never bought these last two books. But I fell in the trap of thinking that his other books would be just as enjoyable as the first I read, so I bought them as a pair since they seemed to go together.

Unfortunately now I feel as though I wasted my money on a pair of books I would've done better reading about in a summary somewhere on the internet.

On the other hand, I still am looking forward to reading another of Theroux's books. My brother purchased The Kingdom by the Sea for me for Christmas this last year, and I still am looking forward to reading it before I head off to England, one of these years, to visit my friend Stephen.

I just think, when I do, I must pick up a couple of Bill Bryson books as well about the country across the pond. I've found Bryson to be a much more enjoyable travel author than Theroux. He seems to be a lot less arrogant and pompous, and a lot better at expressing the same travel thoughts and experiences I have had and still do have than Theroux.

In reference to Ghost Train to the Eastern Star though, I highly recommend you just skip it and The Great Railway Bazaar. In such tough economic times, your hard earned money could be much better spent than paying for a man to live in Hawaii and Cape Cod.

Santa Fe Art Walk

2009-03-07T11:10:00.002-07:00

Last night I went with some friends to do the First Friday Art Walk along Santa Fe Drive in Denver. Apparently the first Friday of each month this happens in different spots with different galleries around town.

This was something I had heard of before, but never really took advantage of until a friend texted me yesterday asking if I wanted to go.

I was particularly impressed with a lot of the art, especially the Kanon Collective (right), although there certainly was a fair amount of bad art there as well.

Truthfully though, what I may consider to be bad art, others may consider it a masterpiece. But there was only so many landscapes I could take last night before I needed to just totally and completely avoid the galleries with that type of art in favor of enjoying the beautiful night by people watching, which was excellent.

There were all kinds of people out enjoying the night and the art. Everyone from goths to yuppie grandparents were strolling along having a good time, making it that much more interesting of a time for me.

And while I seemed to hit an art overdose after about three hours, I would most certainly do this again. It was a great time on a beautiful night with a fun atmosphere and, most importantly, free booze at many of the galleries.

Of course, when you're selling paintings for $2,500+, I think you can afford a few bottles of wine.

My Travel Projects

2009-01-23T13:41:00.002-07:00

I recently finished redoing many of my old scrapbooks on Shutterfly. After doing my France '08 photo album on there, I've become a huge fan of the site and wanted to redo many of my old scrapbooks there too so I had backups to the ones I have at home, and in case I get a hankering just to print them off and have a collection of books like the France one.

I posted the albums I did on a Shutterfly share site so anyone can go look at them. The password to get on the site, since you have to be invited, is "Hussong."

It's all very rough and I haven't filled in most of the spaces yet, but you can at least check out the photo books on there from my past trips.

Check it out and let me know what you think.

Book Review: I'm a Stranger Here Myself

2009-01-15T12:42:00.004-07:00

I read my first Bill Bryson book about 16 months ago before I took my vacation to Australia and New Zealand. In a Sunburned Country seemed like the perfect book to read before heading downunder, and it came highly recommended to me by several friends.

Since then I have not had an opportunity to pick up another one of Bryson's books, which I regret, until I was given I'm a Stranger Here Myself: Notes on Returning to America After Twenty Years Away by my father for Christmas.

When I first picked the book up I expected it to be much like the one I read, but it was totally different, yet never lacked in enjoyment. I'm a Stranger Here Myself is an excellent book comprised of articles he wrote for a supplement magazine for a Sunday newspaper about his observations of life in America after living in England for twenty years.

It's downright hilarious and perfect for bedtime reading. And no, that's not because it'll put you to sleep. It's a very engaging book with short, four page, chapters that make it easy to buzz through a couple before bed.

I also liked how each chapter was it's own individual story, making it unnecessary to follow some grand story where you have to keep track of all of the characters, so you never have to worry about where you left off in the book and the plot.

Too often I read books like that, like a War and Peace or a Harry Potter where it's incredibly long and everything is so connected that you really have to pay attention to things. I really enjoy such books, but I enjoyed this one just as much for all of the opposite reasons.

I loved that I could pick up I'm a Stranger Here Myself on my lunch break and read a couple of chapters and not have to worry about where I left off the week before.

I loved how I could read it before bed and not have to count ahead in the book to see how many pages the next chapter was and wonder to myself if I could get through it before I needed to turn off the lights.

I loved Bryson's humor and observations and continually found myself laughing through his book, especially in the chapter "Your Tax Form Explained."

This is, for me, the highlight of the book because it simply encompasses why I pay someone else to do my taxes for me each year. A quick excerpt from this chapter may give you a good idea:

Under "Personal Expenditures," itemize all cash expeditures of more than $1, and include verification. If you have had dental work and you are not claiming a refund on the federal oil spill allowance, enter your shoe sizes since birth and enclose specimen shoes (right foot only). Multiply by 1.5 or 1,319, whichever is larger, and divide line 3f by 3d. Under Section 912g, enteral federal income support grants for the production of alfalfa, barley (but not sorghum, unless for home consumption), and okra WHETHER OR NOT you received any. Failure to do so may result in a fine of $3,750,000 and death by lethal injection. (page 173)

I could not stop laughing throughout this chapter, and had to put the book down several times to wipe tears from my eyes. It was just that funny.

The rest of the book is just as humorous. I believe it's a must buy. So, if you don't have it already, since it's been out already for quite sometime, put it on your list for the next time you go to the store. And heck, if you haven't already bought In a Sunburned Country, you may as well put that down too and get it while you're at the store.

And now, if you'll excuse me, I have to go add the rest of Bryson's books to my shopping list and head out to the store.

Travel Quotes

2009-01-13T21:31:00.002-07:00

I recently created a new Travel Pics group on Facebook. If I didn't invite you to join, I apologize, but I only sent the invitiation to folks I knew were sure to join. If you'd like to check it out and post some travel pics and stories, there's a link on the left side of this page to that one.

Just now I also posted a thread on there with favorite travel quotes. I have collected a bunch of them, all of which I have posted there, and would like to share them here as well. Read through them and post your favorites, or discuss them further, on the Facebook Travel Pics group page I started up.

The World is a book and those who do not travel read only a page. - St. Augustine

There ain't no surer way to find out whether you like people or hate them than to travel with them. - Mark Twain

If you look like your passport photo, in all probability you need the journey. - Earl Wilson (1907 - 1987), American Journalist

The right to travel is a part of the 'liberty' of which the citizen cannot be deprived without due process of law under the Fifth Ammendment...Freedom of movement across frontiers in either direction [is] a part of our heritage. Travel abroad...may be as close to the heart of the individual as the choice of what he eats, or wears, or reads. Freedom of movement is basic in our scheme of values. - Supreme Court Justice Douglas in Kent v. Dulles

Quotes from the bottom of pages in "Don't Let the World Pass You By!"

It's my right to travel, right?
A passport can be my fortune teller.
I want to discover my inner Van Gogh.
Not just another ugly American, you know.
One world, one people, one human family.
No risks, no rewards.
I want to shake hands with the whole world.
Ah, the smells of travel.
I need stories to tell my grandkids someday.

Accepting the Nobel Peace Prize, the Dalai Lama said, “When I meet people in different parts of the world, I am always reminded that we are all basically alike: we are all human beings. Maybe we have different clothes, our skin is of a different color, or we speak different languages. That is on the surface. But basically, we are the same human beings. That is what binds us to each other. That is what makes it possible for us to understand each other and to develop friendship and closeness.

Once you come into contact with another culture, you’ll feel like you have a stake in it. Because it’s somewhere you’ve walked, breathed and tasted, and whether your sojourn lasted five days or 50, that place is now somehow a part of you. ~ Regis St. Louis, traveler

Paul Theroux, author (from Dark Star Safari, Overland from Cairo to Cape Town) -
“…all travel is a lesson in self-preservation.” p1

“The wish to disappear sends many travelers away. If you are thoroughly sick of being kept waiting at home or at work, travel is perfect: let other people wait for a change. Travel is sort of a revenge for having been put on hold, having to leave messages on answering machines, not knowing your party’s extension, being kept waiting all your working life - the homebound writer’s irritants. Being kept waiting is the human condition.” p3

“The greatest justification for travel is not self-improvement but rather performing a vanishing act, disappearing without a trace.” p4

“Photography’s spoiling the visual pleasure of places is nothing compared to the way the internet and our age of information have destroyed the pleasure of discovery in travel.” p11

“The travelers conceit is that he is heading into the unknown. The best travel is a leap in the dark.” p18

“Mountain and sea, never travel alone.” p37

“Traveling makes one modest - you see what a tiny place you occupy in the world.” p45

“Travel at its best is accidental, and you can’t explain improvisation.” p52

Ralph Waldo Emerson, author -
“What lies behind us and what lies before us are tiny matters compared to what lies within us.”

“I pack my trunk, embrace my friends, embark on the sea, and at last wake up in Naples, and there beside me is the Stern Fact, the Sad Self, unrelenting, identical, that I fled from.”

“Do not go where the path may lead, go instead where there is no path and leave a trail.”

Yasuhiro Yamashita, Judo Champion -
“Twenty-four hours a day are given to everybody equally. Progress depends on how you use your time.”

Ralph Waldo Emerson -
“Travelling is a fool's paradise.”

Unknown -
“When before us there is no road, we should make a road behind us.”
“Life is a journey, make sure to pack an open mind.”

Oscar Wilde, The Picture of Dorian Gray -
The only way to get rid of a temptation is to yield to it. (Ch. 2, Lord Henry)

Mark Twain, author -
Travel is fatal to prejudice, bigotry and narrow-mindedness.

Paul Theroux, author, from The Great Railway Bazaar -
…sightseeing, an activity that delights the truly idle because it seems so much like scholarship, gawping and eavesdropping on antiquity, flattering oneself with the notion that one is discovering the past when really one is inventing it, using a guidebook as a scenario of swift notions.

T.S. Eliot, author, from Rudyard Kipling -
…the first condition of right thought is right sensation -- the first condition of understanding a foreign country is to smell it…

Walt Whitman, author -
Strong and content, I travel the open roads.

Tim “Pops” Frisby, 39-year-old South Carolina freshman football receiver -
In life it’s easy to say these are the things I could have done. It’s harder to say I did them.

Mel White, National Geographic magazine -
When people dismiss a part of the country as boring, they’re passing judgment more on their curiosity and ambition than on the place in question.

Mohammed, prophet -
Don’t tell me how educated you are - tell me how much you have traveled.

Horace, ancient philosopher -
They change their sky but not their soul who cross the ocean.

Paul Gauguin, French artist -
Life is merely a fraction of a second. An infinitely small amount of time to fulfill our desires, our dreams, our passions.

Robert Louis Stevenson, author -
The first experience can never be repeated. The first love, the first sunrise, the first South Sea island, are memories apart.

Gandalf, Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring, the movie by Peter Jackson -
All you have to decide is what to do with the time that is given to you.

Bilbo Baggins, Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring, book by JRR Tolkien -
The Road goes ever on and on
Down from the door where it began.
Now far ahead the Road has gone,
And I must follow, if I can,
Pursuing it with eager feet,
Until it joins some larger way
Where many paths and errands meet.
And wither then? I cannot say.
-- Page 62 (Bilbo saying goodbye to Gandalf)

Bilbo Baggins, Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring, book by JRR Tolkien -
It's a dangerous business, going out of your door. You step into the Road, and if you don't keep your feet, there is no knowing where you might be swept off to.
-- Page 11 (Frodo quoting Bilbo)

Bilbo Baggins, Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King, book by JRR Tolkien -
The Road goes ever on and on
Out from the door where it began.
Now far ahead the Road has gone,
Let others follow it who can!
Let them a journey new begin,
But I at last with weary feet
Will turn towards the lighted inn,
My evening-rest and sleep to meet.
-- Page 329 (Bilbo poem)

Mark Twain, author -
Travel has no longer any charm for me. I have seen all the foreign countries I want to except heaven & hell & I have only a vague curiosity about one of those.

Robert Frost, poet -
I shall be telling this with a sigh somewhere ages and ages hence: Two roads diverged in a wood, and I - I took the one less traveled by, and that has made all the difference.

Robert Louis Stevenson, author -
We are all travelers in the wilderness of this world, and the best we can find in our travels is an honest friend.

Franklin Delano Roosevelt, President -
"There is much to be said against the climate on the coast of British Columbia and Alaska; yet, I believe that the scenery of one good day will compensate the tourists who will go there in increasing numbers. -- Fodor's Alaska guidebook, 2006 edition

Again, check out the Facebook page and join up and post some pics and share your travel stories. The more folks we have, the smaller and friendlier the world becomes.

Happy travels.

My Colorado: RMNP Snowshoeing

2009-01-02T23:49:00.008-07:00

I finally went snowshoeing, something that I had been wanting to do for the last several years I've lived in Colorado.

It was a difficult trek, taking us to about 10,000 feet about sea level, to Mills Lake in Rocky Mountain National Park. But, once there, the view did not disappoint.

Mike, our guide, was Mr. Colorado in 1977 and seemed to have not lost a step since he held his title. He was in excellent shape and trudged ahead of us, leading the way, with such enthusiasm that we were unable to keep up at many times due to several necessary breather breaks.

His humor, understanding and help made it a great trip though and he got us to our final destination, complimented us on our abilities for beginner's on an intermediate trek, and even offered us an alternate, and longer, way back to the trailhead.

But, unfortunately due to our tiredness, we had to decline and head back the way we came, which was thankfully all downhill.

My friend Scott and I had a great time though and loved every minute of the trip. It was a great experience that we booked through Kirk's Flyshop in Estes Park, Colorado, and something I'm sure I'll do again.

Next time I may not take a guide, and instead just rent or buy my own snowshoes, but a hike like that in the winter is something I'd definitely like to do again. It's a great way to see a beautiful countryside without all of the people climbing everywhere and making noise, as can happen in the summer months in the park.

Instead, the winter was refreshing, quiet and pristine. We only saw a handful of people in our trek, and were always happy to say hello and ask about the trail ahead, or give information on where we've been. It was simply wonderful and something I'd recommend for most anyone.

I say most anyone because it was quite difficult. The trek was hard with an elevation change, from the parking lot to the lake, of almost 1,000 feet. And, from Denver to Mills Lake, it was near double in elevation. And, with only another 1,000 feet to the tree line, the air is definitely thin and hard to breath at times.

During our hike I had to take several stops on the way up catch my breath. I know Mike didn't mind, as nice as he was, nor did Scott. I believe he was as thankful for the stops to breath as I was since, on one stop, I saw he was breaking a good sweat.

The hike back down was much easier for me, but for Scott it was definitely much more difficult, having said he prefered the uphill climb instead. A few times he lost his footing and took a spill, as did I, but thankfully neither of us got hurt from it and were able to laugh about it all in good fun since we had a great time on the day.

The hike up through the trees was nice, the walk through the Glacier Gorge on a bunch of snow, which was covering the frozen creek, was great, and the view that we appreciated while standing on the frozen Mills Lake was truly spectacular. It was really something I won't forget anytime soon.

Feel free to checkout my Facebook page for more photos.

Book Review: The Great Railway Bazaar

2008-12-08T20:25:00.007-07:00

Paul Theroux's The Great Railway Bazaar: By Train Through Asia has been said to be, by some, the quintessential travel novel. If ever there were one travel book to read, this is supposed to be the one.

So, on the heals of the release of Theroux's Ghost Train to the Eastern Star: On the Tracks of the Great Railway Bazaar, a book that is essentially a sequel to The Great Railway Bazaar, I decided to pick up the first and give it a read before I got in the second.

I felt secure in my purchases since I love another of his books, Dark Star Safari: Overland from Cairo to Capetown, but unfortunately was let down in this one.

The book seemed incomplete, lacking in substance in most places, and essentially being too short. His descriptions of the different places he visted all came off as unfinished, thus making it very difficult for me to put myself in the different places he was describing.

About the only chapter I found engrossing was the last one on the Trans-Siberian railroad, and that's simply because I've been fascinated by Soviet history, and particularly the railroad, for a very long time.

My interest in the line has been so deep as a matter of fact that I've looked into planning my own trip across Russia on the rail line. Unfortunately, at this time, I don't have the time to devote to such a trip, but since my interest still holds I'm sure it'll be one I'll do at some point.

Still though, the rest of Theroux's book was unable to campture my interest. Halfway through I was so bored with the book that I put it aside to reread the final Harry Potter book one more time in hopes that my curiosity on Theroux's rail travel would be rekindled and that I'd pick up the book again with a renewed vigor.

Unfortunately, despite having finished the book, that never happened, and now I'm regretting purchasing Ghost Train to the Eastern Star. I worry that it will be much the same as the first and that I will struggle with it due to a lack of interest.

Thankfully my reading time on my Christmas vacation won't be in vain though since I'm also bringing a couple of favorite novels that I know are sure to keep me avidly occupied...War and Peace, The Picture of Dorian Gray, and The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy.

It ought to be an interesting time on Christmas break rereading some of my favorite classics if Theroux lets me down again. I hope that's not the case though.

I'll be sure to let you know.

The Amazing Race Finale

2008-12-07T20:11:00.002-07:00

I was happy to watch the finale of The Amazing Race on television tonight, especially seeing as that it's the only TV show I make it a point to watch.

I was disappointed that my morons, team Dandrew, didn't win, thus keeping me from getting back my entrance in the station's Amazing Race pool, but I am happy that Nick and Starr won opposed to Ken and Tina.

Ken came off as a very nice guy, but Tina was just a constant nag and bitch towards him in my opinion. But, on the other hand, I wasn't a fan of Nick either due to some of his tactics in the beginning of the race, and the fact that Starr can be a spaz when they're not far in the lead.

Out of the two though, they're definitely the lesser of the evils in my eye.

I think, given a choice in the beginning of the race, I would've chosen the two "nerds" to have won the race. Unfortunately they went by the wayside rather early on, but, as always, the race stayed interesting for me all the way through.

I'm definitely now looking forward to Sunday, February 15th, when the next season starts. Unfortunately though, due to my employment with CBS, I won't be on the race as I'd love.

But hey, I have a job so it's not like I can complain!!!

Book Review: Reading Lolita in Tehran

2008-10-28T10:33:00.006-06:00

I suppose the title Reading The Great Gatsby in Tehran, or Reading Jane Austen in Tehran, is no where near as sexy as Reading Lolita in Tehran, but either certainly would've been more accurate.

Reading Lolita in Tehran had very little to do with the actual Vladimir Nabokov novel Lolita. It was certainly incorporated in the book, right from the start even, but it was never the focal point of the book, or even one that was revisted throughout.

Reading Lolita in Tehran is an interesting novel overall, but I certainly wasn't impressed with the mislabeled title nor the writing style of author Azar Nafisi.

It is a difficult book to follow, particularly during conversational exchanges, since Nafisi doesn't generally use quotations. More often than not she writes the conversations in block paragraph form with every other sentence being from one person with the others from another.

This makes it difficult to follow, sometimes requiring retracing to make sure it was read properly.

What the book was successful in doing though was increasing my interest in Iran, and traveling there some day.

I'm someone that's interested in going anywhere and everywhere. And that anywhere and everywhere would certainly include Iran.

I believe that there's always something of interest that we can all learn from in any country in the world...even Iran. I find the current political isolation it's receiving quite interesting, and this why I initially picked up this book.

I wanted to learn more about what life in Iran was like and whether it was some place I'd actually like to visit someday. Reading Lolita in Tehran satisfied my hunger for that information, painting a brutal society, especially for women, while also showing me that it's a place unlike any I've ever seen.

Now, I'm not going to be running out and booking a flight this moment, but someday maybe it'd be possible for Americans to more easily travel to Iran and see what this faraway country is all about.

But, back in regards to Reading Lolita in Tehran, I was overall disappointed with the novel and the writing style of Nafisi. It was difficult to follow at times, had very little to do with Lolita, as the title would suggest, and is really requires one to be extremely well read in order to enjoy it completely.

I have been told by others they believe me to be well read, and a bit of a bookie, but Nafisi discusses so many books that it pulled away from the enjoyment of this one for me since I had not read all of them. And for the ones I had read, other than Lolita, it had been several years so I was certainly not recalling many of the details of them.

I guess it was a poor assumption on my part that Reading Lolita in Tehran would be specifically about that, reading Lolita in Tehran, but I nonetheless picked up that novel first to give it a read through before I read this one.

Unfortunately one didn't really have as large of an involvement in the other as the titles would suggest. Lolita was still an incredibly interesting novel, that I got some crap over reading due to it's content, and it greatly overshadowed Nafisi's attempt.

Generally though, I would say Reading Lolita in Tehran is a good book, but just not one for most. If you're going to do it, make sure you're already quite well read in the classics, like Nabokov, Pnin, Austen, Fitzgerald, and so on, or that you have time to get into all of those novels before jumping into this book.

Had I known that more of a background was required, I would've gone in depth further, but instead I find myself rather disappointed. I certainly ended up falling on the side of the line where it's not for most.

It wasn't for me, and it hasn't been for others that told me they put it down less than 100 pages in because they didn't like it, but it might be for you if you're a bookie and call follow the several nuances of the book.

My Travels: New Zealand

2008-10-19T23:00:00.008-06:00

My favorite television show, the Amazing Race, was on tonight and they visited New Zealand for this leg of the race.

As I watched the show intermittently while at work, which is all I really can watch it there, I thought back to the time I spent in this wonderful country just over a year ago now.

Next to Antarctica I would say that New Zealand was the best country I've ever visited. It was absolutely gorgeous, the people were friendly, and it was quite unlike anything I had ever seen before...well, with the exception of Queenstown that is. That really just reminded me of Vail, Colorado.

Really though, the wildlife viewing was spectacular on so many levels. Seeing the yellow-eyed penguins (above), the fur seals and the sperm whales was really something special for me. The same can be said for the nights I spent in the local pubs having dinner and a few pints and being invited by the locals to play some stick with them as if I was an old friend.

The best experience though I had in my short visit on the south island, hands down, was my overnight cruise on Milford Sound in Fiordland National Park.

The scenery was spectacular, my shipmates were extremely friendly, and the accomodations were just what I had hoped for...although I must say I was surprised by the cold weather.

I'm not normally one to get the shivers, or sleep with three comforters on my bed in spring, the time of year I was in New Zealand, but on this cruise it was a necessity. Heck, I was so cold overnight that I even had to leave on my wool socks and throw on a stocking cap.

I wouldn't have complained for anything in the world at this point though because what I was experiencing was truly spectacular.

The high fiords of the national park were absolutely spectacular and something I've dreamed about seeing again in the not-so-distant-future. And while I'm there, I'd like to do the park a bit more justice opposed to just the drive through I was able to give, with one short hike, while I was on my way to Milford Sound for my cruise.

There are a bunch of sounds in the park and tons of trails, including many that take several days to hike, and I'd like to take further advantage of the beautiful scenery.

Although, come to think of it, I think it might be best to do it in the summer this time instead. That way I'll have less of a chance of getting stranded in the park by an avalanche.

That's right, an avalanche.

After we landed and were disembarking we were told an avalanche closed the Homer Tunnel and had filled it up part way with snow.

The tunnel, which is a scary enough drive on its own, needed to be cleared before any traffic could get through. This could take hours, which was something I didn't really care to spare since I had a nearly ten hour drive ahead of me to get up to Christchurch, where I would be spending my last few days abroad.

So, instead of waiting for the all clear at the docks, I headed out in my car. I figured that I'd at least be that much more close to the tunnel when it actually did open, and would be able to be one of the first out then. Thankfully this worked to my advantage since it was cleared by the time I got there and I was able to make Christchurch in what must be a record seven hours.

A few days later, after seeing the seals and whales in Kaikoura and touring the International Antarctic Center (right) right next to my hotel in Christchurch, I was headed back home. But, not without one last surprise...

As I sat at the gate waiting for my flight to Auckland, which would later take me back to the States via Fiji, I ran into two Canadian women I met on the Milford Sound cruise.

On the cruise we became quick friends playing board games, eating together and taking a boat cruise out to look at the wildlife. So when I saw them again I was quite happy for one last parting conversation with my new friends.

Well, they told me that the very next day, they heard on the news, the Homer Tunnel was filled with snow by another avalanche. This one was so big though that it was going to take several days to clean out. And since it happened in the afternoon there were several hundred day cruise tourists stuck in the little town of Milford, with it's one hotel.

The hotel was surely filled up quickly and many of the people probably had to spend the nights on the ships waiting for the word that the tunnel was cleared so they could get out. And with Milford being a little town that turns off the power at 9pm, and not having much in the way of restaurants, I'm sure it had to be a trying stay.

As I thought about this all it reminded me how lucky I've been in my travels. Not only have I been incredibly fortunate to be able to go to all of these places, but not once in all of my travels has it ever rained on me, save for my night on Milford Sound that is...which made it that much more beautiful I believe.

And heck, I even spent a rainless week in Ireland, and that's not something many folks can say.

Anyway, as I said, this made me think of how thankful I've been. I could've had major problems in each one of the trips I've been on, but have only had a few minor glitches in my wonderful times.

And now if they'd only let CBS employees on the Amazing Race...

The Great American Beer Festival

2008-10-12T23:03:00.010-06:00

Saturday was a day for beer as I went to the Great American Beer Festival with my friend Duncan, right.

We scored free tickets through work to attend the Saturday afternoon session, which is more of a connoisseur type session as it's generally for Brewer's Association members only.

It's really a great time to go since it's not nearly as crowded as the other sessions, the awards happen (if you're in to that type of thing), and you actually get a real glass to drink beer from. Plastic glasses are handed out at the rest of the sessions since the chance of dropping and breaking them is much greater at those times based on the crowds.

After a quick lunch we arrived at the Colorado Convention Center, right in downtown Denver, about 30 minutes before the doors were scheduled to open at 12:30pm. And, as would have it, the line was already unbelievably obscene at several blocks long with five across in the line.

Once the doors opened though, we made it through the line in a quick 15 minutes and headed off in search of the two beers I wanted to try the most: Anheuser-Busch's Wild Blue and New Glarus Brewing Company's Spotted Cow.

Much to my dismay though, neither beer was being offered at this year's festival. I was quite disappointed since I was looking forward to trying each again. I took this as an opportunity to try several new brews though, and see if I could find another gem out there.

After waiting for quite some time in the New Glarus Brewing line, the longest anywhere in the building by far, I found several new beers I liked, particularly their Wisconsin Belgian Red (right), Raspberry Tart, and Dancing Man Wheat.

All three of these, providing the Dancing Man is around that is since it's a seasonal brew, I will be picking up in large quantities when I'm home for Christmas. But, since they're only for sale in Wisconsin, I'll be forced to make a most necessary road trip (awww shucks!) to the land of the cheese head the very next day after arriving in Minnesota. Heck, I may even have to do a tour, or three, of the brewery!

I mean, why wouldn't I when I have a whole week in which to do nothing but watch movies, read, hang out with the family, and drink?

Anyway, back to the beer fest...

It was a great time walking through all of the aisles full of beer, drinking all of it I could, checking out the hilarious tshirts for sale (of which I bought three), and just relaxing for the afternoon with nothing else on my mind other than what brew I'm going to drink next.

And most every beer that came next was as good as any other, although no where near as good as the New Glarus brews. I very rarely found a beer I did not like. There certainly were a few that were not terribly noteworthy by any means, but there were very few that left a bad taste in my mouth.

So just like in years past, the Great American Beer Festival was an excellent time that left a tasty hoppy flavor in my mouth, of course mixed with a little bit of barley and the such too...but that's only for good coloring really.

Hurray beer!

My Colorado: The Denver Zoo

2008-10-07T23:34:00.008-06:00

The other day I had a discussion with a friend about zoos when I told him that I was going to go to a free day offered by the Denver Zoo, which so happened to be today.

My friend believes that zoos are inhumane and essentially take the animal out of the animal. They become reliant on humans to feed them and lose any sort of animal instinct that they had in the wild.

I, on the other hand, believe that zoos help protect animals and promote species and conservation awareness. Through zoos people may learn about animals and their importance in the world and thus help protect their natural habitat.

To my friend's point, I did see some animals today that seemed to have lost it a bit in their captivity, namely a pair of pacing cheetahs. These two cheetahs walked up and down this fence line, instantly turning around when they hit the end to go back the other way.

I only stopped a brief moment to watch these two since it really was quite sad to see. It reminded me of the crazy polar bear that used to just bob from side-to-side at the Como Zoo in St. Paul, Minnesota because he too probably lost it a bit being locked in a cage all his life.

But, on the other hand, I took note of several parents reading the posted signs to their little kids to educate them on the different animals. I also noticed several different school groups carrying around notebooks and writing down different facts on the animals, surely for a quiz or a paper down the road.

I also, and I think more importantly for the present moment anyway, not necessarily the future, picked up on some conversations parents were having about the animals and how they found a certain point interesting at different exhibits. The one I picked up on the most was at the bear exhibit.

As I was watching the bears I heard a handful of different adults say, in surprise, that it was interesting that the the two bear species on hand, Asiatic (right) and Grizzly, were largely vegeterian and would only really eat meat if it was easily or already killed.

I too was surprised to read it and found it quite interesting.

While I understand, and can appreciate my friend's perspective on this, I still believe, after my visit to the zoo today, that they do do more good than harm. Some animals may suffer, and some may grow up, having been born at the zoo, like the baby snow leopard to the left, never knowing learning about their true animal instincts, but I believe that it does largely help raise conservation interests, particularly with people that may not have the opportunity to travel to far away countries to witness animals in their true and natural habitat.

At the risk of sounding unappreciative of my visit today, I'd say that my one true problem with zoos, and cultural facilities, like museums, in general is that they're not typically free to the public. Today was a special free day at the zoo, but general admission can run as high as $12.

I personally believe that there should be a cultural tax for all metro area residents so that different places like the zoo, art museum and history museum are free and open to the public. That way everyone can afford to go and learn about the world around us at anytime.

And I say metro area residents since someone in the far southwest corner of the state wouldn't necessarily see it fair to pay the same tax when it's not something readily accessible for them. But, in turn, they would pay a local cultural tax for their different museums.

This way, when they came to Denver, any museum they visited would be free, just as it would be free for any Denver resident to visit their museums when they were in that area.

I know this is all a pipe dream, and that no one would really ever go for such a tax, but it's something I'm a believer in and believe that it could, speaking long term, improve our knowledge of the world around us.

Here's to learning and dreaming.

My Colorado: Aspen Hunting

2008-10-04T16:32:00.007-06:00

This past week the Rocky Mountain News ran a special section on good spots to see Colorado's golden Aspen trees by driving, hiking and biking. I was interested in getting out to see the colors already, so this was all the extra incentive I needed.

I had never driven on the Peak-to-Peak Highway (Colorado Highway 119) outside of Blackhawk, but had done it from Lyons to Estes Park before. So, seeing as this was uncharted territory for me, I figured I'd take the day to drive the part I hadn't been on before and head on up to Estes Park for a quick walk around in town or maybe an even quicker hike in Rocky Mountain National Park.

No sooner though did I head out of the metro area and up into Clear Creek Canyon than I started to see the Aspens changing. It was quite a lovely drive, but something told me there'd be better colors awaiting me once I got out of the canyon and past Blackhawk.

And, sure enough, once I made my way out of town I was greeted with all kinds of colors, not just the typical gold.

The trees in the area were predominantly green, thanks to the pine trees in the mountains, but there was a lot of great color from the Aspens and small mixture of other trees.

With my quick lesson learned in Yellowstone National Park, I made a stop along the highway when I noticed a bunch of other cars pulled over on the side of the road. Was it to be for some elk or something that I'd see in Yellowstone? No, not exactly. Instead it was for a beautiful bunch of trees whose colors were just right.

I took a quick hike in the area, but didn't go far since my car was essentially double parked on the side of the road. It was nice though to get out and take a few quick shots and just enjoy the scenery. It's easy to lose sight of the beauty to be found in the mountains when you live here, as it is when you live anywhere, since you're around it each day, so it was nice to take a moment to soak it in.

I continued on my drive, making a couple of other stops on my way to admire the trees, and then I pulled on into the little mountain town of Nederland, where I ended up making a wrong turn in a roundabout.

My intent, as I mentioned, was to head up to Estes Park, but I accidentally got off on the turn for Golden Gate Canyon, which took me into Boulder.

I made a couple of stops along the way to check out the Boulder Creek, but didn't really stop and admire it until I was actually in Boulder.

Once in Boulder I picked up some lunch and went back to Central Park, off of Arapahoe, where I settled down on some creekside rocks and enjoyed my lunch while listening to the sound of the water running swiftly in the creek.

I was having such a nice time just sitting there that I decided to walk the creek for a bit and check out more of what it had to offer. As I did this, noticing the kayak course that's used when the water is higher, I came across other walkers, as well as many bicyclists enjoying the day, and this fisherman.

His net was empty when I saw him, and passed him on the walk back, so I'm not so sure this is the place to try to catch anything good, but it was obvious he was having a nice time enjoying the day despite the occasional rain shower.

I had some more time to kill once I was done walking along the creek so I decided to head down to Chautauqua Park and do a quick hike by the famous Flatirons of Boulder.

Living in Colorado for eight years I had heard so much about the Flatirons, and driven by them several times myself, but have never taken the opportunity to hike around the park.

The wrong turn in Nederland turned out to create a great opportunity that I was happy to take advantage of, despite the trail actually being quite steep and difficult at times. Heck, at one point (left) I wasn't even sure I was on a trail as I had to climb over a bunch of fallen rocks!

Unfortunately enough though, as much as I would've liked to keep hiking, I had to return to my car after about 90 minutes so I could head on into work at the Bluebird for the night. I have plenty of incentive though for a return trip, where I can spend much more time hiking and exploring the park, which I'll hopefully do soon before the snow sets in.

Although, on that thought, I have been meaning to pick up a pair of snowshoes to see what that's all about.

For more on scenic drives in your area, like the Peak-to-Peak Highway, check out ByWays.org online. It's definitely a great resource for great drives.

Travel Blog Recommendation

2008-09-28T21:01:00.004-06:00

A while back my sister-in-law recommend a National Geographic travel blog to me, and I've had it bookmarked on the left side of my blog ever since.

It's an excellent blog that's updated several times a day, with the exception of weekends unfortunately, and has lots of great stories from around the world. It's so good actually, and updated so frequently, that I find myself checking in several times a day to see if it's been updated.

Heck, I've even printed several articles off from the site and saved them in my lovely travel folders.

Yes, the planner that I am keeps folders, with articles and information from all kinds of sources, on different places I'd like to visit. It pretty much takes up the whole bottom drawer of my filing cabinet.

But, for a while now, I've been searching for other travel blog sites and just haven't been able to come up with anything that remotely compares to this one.

Generally, the problem seems to be, they're just not updated often enough. Such sites could have real potential, but posts are left to be stale over several days times, which seems to be the case with TravelBlogs, TravelBlog, and Lonely Planet.

Now, before I go on, I know that my blog, which has more or less turned into a travel blog over the last few months, isn't updated as often as I like, but for one man I would say it's not too bad. I post at least once a week and try to have a good variety of entries on places I've been, pictures I've taken and things I'd like to see.

Granted, I'll admit, there could be too much of a good thing, and there could be post overload if too many people are posting on one site, but I just don't see that with National Geographic's blog site. I also don't see it with TravelPod, a travel site that has pretty much everything and anything you could want when it comes to traveling.

They do have what seems to be constant blogging updates, but there's just so much great information available on the site that it's hard to look another way. I definitely recommend it.

I'd also like to recommend other sites, but since I haven't found any I really can't. So, if you've come across a great travel site, please let me know so I can check them out, create a link, and share the good word of travel.

My Travels: Australia

2008-09-21T23:13:00.007-06:00

Australia, my last continent, was someting I was never quite sure I'd ever see. It's not like I lounged around day dreaming about it all of my days, but it just seemed so far away that I was never quite sure if it'd be possible.

After a bit of finagling I found a way by getting frequent flier miles through different business promotions, credit card miles and gifts from friends. It was a bit expensive to do it that way, but I did it nonetheless and was on my way to Oz in style...business class style that is.

I arrived in Sydney just shortly after 7am exactly one year ago today. I'll never forget flying in over Sydney Harbor and seeing the Sydney Opera House and Harbor Bridge. It was an unbelievable site and one I shall not soon forget.

I transfered to my hotel by cab, which I was recommended against doing because of traffic jams, and disregarded the cost in favor of arriving earlier, checking in, and getting out to see some of the sites. I was able to easily justify this since I knew there was no way I'd easily be able to get back to Sydney in the near future, so why not spend the $50 and just get everything going.

Oddly enough, and part of why I'm writing about this now too, on top of the anniversary of my arrival, is because there is an air/hotel package currently being advertised in Frommer's Budget Travel magazine for the same hotel I stayed at, the Sydney Travelodge.

It certainly wasn't anything fancy, but it had a kitchenette and was in a perfect location in the heart of Sydney's business district...not even a mile from the Opera House.

Anyway, I'm digressing...

Upon setting foot in Sydney's Botanic Gardens, after checking in at the Travelodge, I felt a distinct sense of accomplishment. I am now one of only a handful of people in the history of the world to have set foot on all seven continents.

Think about that now for a moment. Think about just how many people have walked this earth over it's short history. That's quite a lot of people really.

And now, now think about how many people out of all of those have been on all seven continents. It's a pretty small ratio really.

Of course, I don't discount that it's certainly easier to do now, especially with jet planes, than back in the days when explorers like Shackleton and Scott may have done it, but it certainly is still quite an accomplisment.

As I stood in the gardens looking at all of the different flowers and taking in the sunshine I truly felt as though I had done something great. I have done something that none of my ancestors before me have done. I have set foot on all seven continents, taking in their beauty in turn and in varying degrees.

My one regret in visiting Australia, and it really is my only regret, is that I didn't have enough time or money to see more of the continent. When I was planning this trip I had thought about spending it all in Australia with stops in a couple different spots, but instead I opted to spend the last week of my holiday in New Zealand.

I certainly don't regret visiting New Zealand by any means though, and I don't want it to sound like that here in the least. New Zealand is a spectacular country and I had an amazing time there. I just simply wish that I had more time available to me where I could've seen more of Australia.

Australia is such an amazing country and there's so much to see and do there. I really only can only imagine everything I missed and look forward to a time when I'll be able to go back and do a visit that's a bit more than a sampler in size.

I'll always fondly remember my trip to Australia, and my visit with my judo friends Steve and Ian (among others), as a time where I was really able to understand and appreciate how vast and great this world really is. There's so much to see and do and so many great people to experience it with along the way.

Don't let a moment or an opportunity pass you by...even if it may be a little hard on the pocket book. After all, if you do, won't you just always wonder "what if"?

Roadtrip Games

2008-09-17T00:19:00.006-06:00

Here I sound old, I know, but back in the day, when we went on roadtrips, our parents weren't able to entertain us with such things as DVDs, they had to work at keeping us distracted.

Two games that I remember playing the most with my mother, when I was a kid on a family roadtrip, were the alphabet game and the license plate game.

And now, as an adult, I still find myself playing both games when I'm on roadtrips. Granted there's no pressure in the alphabet game since I'm really just playing against myself, but it is a good way still to pass the time and keep my mind active through such places as Nebraska.

The license plate game though, I'll always play since it's not really a game you need to play against someone, but just one for fun to see how many plates you can collect, virtually speaking, from different States.

On this past roadtrip I decided to find a printable list that I could print off and just use to check off the plates instead of trying to write them down. And after a bit of Googling I found a site that had exactly what I need, and more, with Mom's Minivan.

Now, of course, the challenge would be to find all of these plates. I wondered though if I might just get all 50 of them, plus a few Canadian territories and provinces, on this trip since I'd be leaving Colorado just after the Democratic National Convention, getting into Minnesota during the Republican National Convention, and traveling all through a highly visited spot like Yellowstone National Park...not to mention all of the other places I'd be driving through, especially North Dakota and Montana for those Canadian plates.

It took me over 3,100 miles in eight days, but I think I had the best sightings I ever have had on one trip...heck, I even caught Georgia, above, driving in the snow for what appeared to be the first time, at about 5 mph in Yellowstone.

I picked up 46 States, along with Washington D.C., and five of the 13 Canadian plates. Of course, in terms of the Canadian ones, I never expected to get a place like Nunavut, but I should say I was rather surprised, and disappointed at the stubbornness of some of the lower 48.

I never expected to get Hawaii, I've only seen a handful of those in my travels, but I'm rather disappointed in the residents of Delaware, Kentucky, Rhode Island and South Carolina for not being a little bit more adventureous with their summer travels.

Come on people, get out and see the big wide world! It may just be your own country, and not somewhere exotic like India, but get out there and see the place and what it has to offer!

Sigh.

I was nonetheless pleased with my results. And the lethargy of some of my fellow Americans has only given me fuel for the fire to make a few more roadtrips and see if I can't just get all 50 in one fell swoop.

The license plate game is a fun challenge, and something that helps keep me alert to the other cars on the road and as to what's going on around me. For anyone that goes on roadtrips I highly recommend you check out Mom's Minivan for the checklist as well as other games...and get back to the basics of vacations. And yes, that means leaving the DVDs at home and enjoying each other's company, no matter how trying it may be at times.

My Colorado: Colorado History Museum

2008-09-14T14:33:00.009-06:00

This summer I've tried to make a better effort to

visit some of the local museums and sites and try to further my knowledge of Denver and Colorado. I figure I have no excuse not to with three day weekends.

This past Thursday I made my second trip to the Colorado History Museum.

A few years back I was playing host to a visiting journalist on a fellowship from Romania and took him the museum so he could learn a bit more about the state. After all, it's not as though most people from outside the country, if inside even, know anything about Colorado other than mountains and cowboys.

Since my previous visit a lot of the museum has been renovated and updated, particularly the plains Indians and Mesa Verde sections.

While my interest in local history doesn't particularly lie in these areas, I did still find it fascinating because of the way they have organized everything. For instance, walking through the Mesa Verde section was like walking along the cliff dwellings in the four corners area. All of the exhibits were placed in the area with information so you could learn about it as you walked through the ancient structure.
The section for the plains Indians was laid out in a different manner, but still very well and thoughtfully done. There were lots of excellent models, including a cross section of a teepee, as well as information on how their trade routes worked.

I found it incredibly fascinating, particularly since it's something I had never heard of or contemplated before, that the Comanche Indians traded with people as far away as the Pacific Ocean and France. Yes, France. They had trade set up with people as far away as Paris.

There were many other exhibits, such as one on mining, that were also interesting, but what fascinated me the most was the giant timeline.

A Colorado timeline runs parallel to a United States one, on the top of the display, along with several biographies and pictures, in between the timelines, of different people that had a prominent role in shaping Colorado.

The person I read about that I was most interested in was Benjamin Stapleton. There wasn't a complete biography written on him that was on display, but he was referenced in a small display on the Ku Klux Klan.

In the early 1900s Stapleton was mayor of Denver, and a member of the KKK. During that time the Klan had a strong membership in the Denver area and were able to influence elections and decisions, and thus get Stapleton elected.

But, it wasn't publicly known, until after he left office, that Stapleton was a member of the KKK.

What makes this particularly interesting for me is that the international airport in Denver, until it moved to the northeast side of the metro area, was named for Stapleton. And now that the area has been redeveloped, the neighborhood there still holds his name.

I'm not sure if I'll ever be able to understand why this is since it seems more of an honor to have something named after you than anything, but I guess it's just the way it is here.

Back in regards to the museum though, all in all I should say I was impressed with the exhibits. It had been updated since I was there last and is now a much better expereience and worth the low $7 admission...especially when you spend five hours in there like I did.

In truth though, I felt as though I rushed through much of it and should've given it a lot more time, particularly the exhibit on the 10th Mountain Division. The display was rather compact, but there was a lot of multi media features that I did not have time to get to that I would've liked to have seen.

If you get a chance, check it out sometime. I definitely recommend it for anyone, particularly those interested in history, but suggest you give it a good chunk of your day to get the most out of the museum.

Yellowstone & Grand Teton National Parks

2008-09-10T23:26:00.018-06:00

Out of all of the drives I've done in the mountains, and even some on the wrong side of the road on international trips, I've never been nervous about the road...that is until now.

U.S. Highway 212 runs into Yellowstone National Park from Montana, starting just west of Billings, via Beartooth Pass.

Beartooth Pass, at just a touch under 11,000 feet elevation, is the scariest drive I've ever done in my life. It was snowing so hard at the top of the pass, and around it, that I really couldn't tell where the road was save from the help from the drivers in front of me.

I trucked along through it in shorts and a tshirt wondering when, not if, I'd hit an icy spot and slide over the edge and down the side of the mountain since there were no guard rails to be found on the road.

Thankfully, by taking it extremely slow, I finally made it to the little town of Red Lodge and on into Yellowstone, my final destination on this trip, via the northeast entrance.

No sooner had I paid my national park entrance fee and pulled into the park than I saw several different heards of bison near the roadway. But, more on all of the wildlife, the most impressive part of the trip, later.

I made my way to my cabin, which was near the Lake Lodge, and finally checked in after what was much more driving, thanks to Beartooth Pass, than I had initially anticipated for the day.

I liked the rustic look of the main lodge, but particularly of my cabin. It was exactly what I had hoped...a private room with private bathroom facilities with running water and absolutely NO television. I was able to stay there without the temptation of turning on any sort of electronics and just relax.

Heck, even if I wanted to turn on something, like my cell phone or radio, it wouldn't have mattered since there's no service in most of the park. The only spot that I was able to get cell reception from was near Old Faithful, and I only did that once to call some family so I could wave to them with the help of the Old Faithful webcam.
Anyway, the scenery of the park, from what I saw on my initial impression and throughout the trip, wasn't nearly what I had hoped for or anticipated. Several people that had recently been to the park that I spoke with made it sound like it was one of the most beautiful places on earth.

Now, for someone not used to seeing mountains on a regular basis, I'm sure it is quite spectacular. The mountain views in Colorado easily trump those in Yellowstone though without a question.

Yellowstone is beautiful, and it does have it's uniqueness to it, such as the geysers, but in terms of sheer mountain beauty, Colorado one ups it with no problem.

But, not to be disappointed by the scenery, like I said, the geysers were pretty spectacular.

The only geyser I really saw go off was Old Faithful (let), but the others were constantly smoking and sputtering, so there was really no loss of effect there...particularly if you're interested in feeling as though you're walking on another planet. After all, that's really how I felt when I walked amongst the geysers.

All of the hot springs and different pools in the area were quite something. The first one I noticed, or rather smelled though, was the mud volcano area, just south of the Canyon Village, thanks to the rotten egg smell from the sulphur caldrons.

None of the rest of the park thankfully smelled like this, just this one area, or I would've really started to have second thoughts...particularly if my cabin was near it. Nothing really was around this area though, not even wildlife. But, in either direction you'd take from the mud volcano you'd quickly spot something.

The most prevelant animal in the park seemed to be the bison. I saw them everywhere, and began to wonder, on my last day, why people kept stopping, and particularly getting out of their cars, to take pictures of them. The bison are really everywhere in the park, even on the road many times. Heck, I saw this one, as I was driving towards my cabin, walking up the mountain looking as though he had just got in a fight with a tree.

The next most populous animal, at least from my what I could tell from my brief time in the park, was elk. A lot of people stopped to take pictures of elk too, and I can't really blame them. They're nice looking animals and rather interesting to photograph.

The first elk I saw was because I pulled over where I saw a bunch of other cars parked along side the road, which is a good quick lesson to pick up on; if there are a bunch of cars parked somewhere, odds are there's wildlife around so get out and take a look.

I pulled up on one group, got out and walked up a small hill, and sure enough there was a 16-point buck grazing in a small meadow. After a short while, maybe 30 minutes, he decided he had had enough and just plopped down in the middle of the grass. I walked around a bit, trying to get a different angle on him since he didn't seem to want to cooperate with the rest of the group, and I was thankfully able to get a nice shot of him looking right at me from the grass.

And now if only the rest of the animals would be so easy and willing!

On my second day in the park, my first full day, I went in search of some bears on the road between Tower and Mammoth. I had been told, by some coworkers and a park ranger, that this would be the spot to see bears, particularly in the Tower Junction area.

I drove the stretch of road several times though and never saw a bear. Heck, I didn't even see anything but more bison that afternoon and was beginning to worry, with only another full day left, that I'd see a single bear in the park if I didn't see them in the one area they're supposed to frequent the most.

Later that night, back at the Lake Lodge for dinner, I ran into a coworker of mine who just so happened to be in the park on a solo holiday the same time I was. After eating we sat in the bar talking about a great many things, but ended on an agreement to get up early at 5:15am to go find some bears.

If there was ever a time to find them, it'd be at dawn or dusk and I wanted to make sure I took advantage of both opportunities.

After just over four hours of sleep, 4:30am came quick. But, I needed to get up earlier than my colleague so I could meet him at his campsite up in Canyon and then off to find the bears. Unfortunatley though, when I got to him, somewhere in the night he changed his mind and decided he wanted to sleep in and leave me on a solo journey to find my elusive bear.

I drove the Mammoth - Tower road several more times that morning, not seeing a thing, and wondering if maybe my friend made the right decision and I should've slept in too. Finally at about 8:30am though I made the decision to drive the six mile stretch of gravel road known as the Blacktail Plateau.

I was a bit worried my little car could handle the Blacktail, thinking maybe it'd be a really rough road, but overall it did alright. It was a rough road, and I probably shouldn't have driven it as many times as I did, but this is where I felt like I would ultimately find something.

So did I finally find my bears? In short, no.

I drove the road twice seeing absolutely nothing, but finally, on my third try, I came across a bull moose sitting the trees relaxing and have a bit of a snack.

Some cars behind me though wanted to get by so I drove along ahead as well, feeling the pressure from them, instead of thinking about it and pulling along off the road a bit to keep watching the moose.

But, I think this was meant to be since, as I drove back around to get on the road again, I came across a couple that seemed to be looking at something through binoculars. I stopped to ask what they were seeing, unfortunately though it was nothing. When I told them what I had seen, and was going to see again though, they were absolutely delighted.

The woman said that she had wanted to see a bull moose for as long as she could remember, only having seen a female before, so they followed me off into the woods some more, coming to the moose, which sat about 20 feet off the road, and pulling off to watch for a bit.

And, lucky for them, just as they started to pull out, the moose decided to get up.

Let the photo fest begin!

We all snapped a bunch of photos, as well as some other people that pulled up behind us, from the safety of our cars. We had all heard the stories about moose attacks and knew better than to get out, so just sat in the seats and snapped away.

Well, one by one the cars pulled away leaving me alone with my friend Bullwinkle. And, just after they left, he decided to grace me a bit more with his presence by walking up roadside, less than 10 feet from my car, to have more of a snack. I backed my car up a bit so I could get a better angle on him, and he didn't mind me one bit.

He looked at me in between bites, and knew I was there taking pictures, but he also knew I was no harm to him...or maybe that he was no match for me in my car, which was only slightly larger than him.

After letting me take dozens of pictures of him he finally decided to trot off into the woods. I had some great shots though, and had plenty of time to just sit and watch him as well, with my camera in the seat next to me, and admire the wildlife for how beautiful it really is.

But, that really just made me hungry for more. I wasn't satisfied with that, I wanted to find one of those bears. So, after getting off the road, I made a quick loop around and got on the trail again in search of the bears.

Again though my efforst were thwarted...to an extent. About halfway along I noticed a small critter, at least compared to the moose, up on the hillside and stopped to have a better look through my lense. And, sure enough, there was a pronghorn grazing up on the hillside.

A few other cars pulled up behind me once again, so, after a few quick shots, I decided to head on out. After all, it was the bear I was truly looking for and not the pronghorn. Although, I should admit, that it was nice to see one, the only one I saw on the trip, and be able to check it out a bit.

By now it was getting on lunch time so I headed over to Mammoth Hot Springs for a sandwhich and some fuel. While in the little village I decided to hit the vistor's center, which had several nice displays, and check out some of the history of the park. While I was in the park I overheard someone asking a ranger about wildlife sightings, to which he responded by handing out maps of where different wildlife generally were found.

I jumped at the chance to get one of these maps, hoping it would point me to where I could finally see some bears.

As I looked over the map I had realized I had really been in all of the spots where the bears were listed to be. The one spot, from what I could tell, that I hadn't been was up on top of Mt. Washburn.

So, off to Mt. Washburn I headed to go find some bears, and go for a bit of a hike...something else I had been looking forward to doing while in Yellowstone and had only had a limited opportunity to do thus far.

The top of Mt. Washburn is about 10,500 feet, so I knew it'd be cold and I'd need to have a few things with me. So as I pulled into the parking lot, I made sure I had plenty of water, some snacks, and my coat and hat for the hike up to the top, where I would hopefully aslo see some bighorn sheep.

I walked up the trail, which is also a gravel road for the ranger to get to their station on the top of the mountain, I remembered that bears hate being suprised by people and it's a good habit to make noise so they know you're coming. And, since I didn't have any bells to ring or anyone to talk with on my hike, I resorted to the only way I could think to make noise...singing.

I had just started a random tune about meeting a bear on the trail and making sure he knew I was coming so I wouldn't get eaten when I ran into a couple, coming down the trail, who told me of a black bear in some woods just off the road having a snack.

I nervously approached the woods, still singing, and sure enough found the little guy in the trees having a snack out of a log. As I snapped some photos I realized there was no real need to sing anymore since he really didn't care that I was there. He was way too absorbed in his lunch and had no need to bother with me, 50 feet up the hill, since I was no where near him or his food.

Once I snapped a few quick photos I started on my way again to try to find some bighorns. As I made my way up the trail I rememberd the couple I met on the road that told me they had also seen a grizzley bear up ahead too...time to start singing again!

Unfortunately, or maybe fortunately, I did not run into the grizzley. I guess my singing was just too much for him to take and he trotted off on the hillside to leave me with my miserable tune.

I guess it was also too much for the sheep since everyone coming down from the top of the mountain had said they didn't see any bighorns up top.

By this point the weather had begun to change for the worse so I thought it best for me to head back down to the parking lot and my car, particularly since I didn't have good winter clothing in case it started to snow. Upon reaching my car I realized I made the right decision to turn around since a few rain drops had started to hit me in the face.

Satisfied at seeing my bear I climbed back in my car and decided to set off and drive the whole grand loop of the park. And while that may not look like much on the little map above, realize that Yellowstone National Park is as large as the States of Rhode Island and Delaware...combined!

I saw a bunch of cool waterfalls, as well as some more geysers, on my drive and had a nice relaxing time to some tunes on my MP3 player. And actually, on the drive, this was the first time I had turned it on since entering the park. Otherwise, for all of the driving I did, I never once turned it, or the CD player, on while driving. Instead I decided to go for the natural approach and just listen to the road.

I had a big meal of fried chicken and roast turkey breast, with all the fixings, later that night in the lodge and called it an early night. I had a long drive back to Denver the next day and was tired from the early wake up call this morning, so a 9pm bedtime it was!

As I waved goodbye to Yellowstone I immediately entered the Grand Teton National Park. And here I finally saw the scenery that was oh so impressive that I immediately understood this will need to be another roadtrip in the not-so-distant future.

I also, before even catching a glimpse of the Tetons, saw another moose down in a creek having some breakfast by taking note of a bunch of stopped cars. She was with her calf, but seemed perfectly content to be photographed from the road, about 50 feet away and up a bit of a hill.

Seeing the moose here, while cool, wasn't unexpected though. I had run into someone in the park that said they live in the city of West Yellowstone and that the Tetons are the place to see moose. You never see them, after the fires of 1988, in Yellowstone, particularly the northern part, anymore.

And that is what made my trip; I could not have asked for anything more than knowing that I had what was probably a unique experience with some wildlife in a spot that they're normally not supposed to be...a moose in the northern side of the park.

Thanks Yellowstone for a great stay.