The Indie Traveler

Edible Travels: Farmers Market Finds (even in Winter!)

2012-01-23T14:13:00.000-08:00

The more time I spend traveling, the more captivated I am just by experiencing everyday life wherever I roam. I used to plan trips around thrill-of-a-lifetime sights like Angkor Wat or Machu Picchu, but these days I get almost as wrapped up in local food culture. If you're craving a more authentic travel experience, just stop by a farmers market on your next road trip.

One afternoon in Culver City last fall became a culinary adventure when I stumbled across a farmers market and started gawking at the trumpet, lobster and other Dr. Seuss-like mushroom varieties stacked in overflowing boxes. Another 2011 trip to Humboldt County got sidetracked for an entire Saturday morning by the Arcata Plaza farmers market, where I bought the biggest mason jar of dark golden honey I'd ever seen. Other edible souvenirs I've packed home from recent travels include peaberry coffee from Kauai, olive oil from Napa Valley and wild berry jam from Colorado's Rocky Mountains. Now when I'm stuck at home, with cold winter rains pouring down outside, I can just step into my kitchen, open the pantry and start tasting those memories.

Even in winter, it's easy to work a farmers market into your travels if you're visiting California. Drop by San Francisco's Ferry Plaza and you have an almost 50/50 shot of hitting the farmers market taking place three days a week. The indoor Ferry Building Marketplace, open daily year-round, is a showcase for artisan foods made all around the San Francisco Bay Area. Or cruise down California's coast to San Luis Obispo County, where over 15 locavarian farmers markets happen each week.

Tip: If you're looking for local farmers markets on the go, download the free Locavore (iTunes App Store and Android Market) and California Farmers Market (iTunes only) mobile apps.

Have a favorite local farmers market that travelers shouldn't miss? Let us know by leaving a comment below!

Related posts:
Travel Essentials: Finding Indie Coffee Shops
Eating Sustainable Seafood Made Easy
Stacking Up the Strip's Best Burgers

Photo: San Luis Obispo Farmers Market (Michael Connolly, Jr.)

Insta-guide to Rocky Mountain National Park

2011-10-04T15:51:00.000-07:00

Planning your first trip to Rocky Mountain National Park? Or maybe you just want to make the most of your time in Colorado's most-visited parkland? Here's what you need to know first, but what the official NPS website won't tell you (or will make you frustratingly dig through dozens of pages to find!):

Rocky Mountain National Park (ROMO)

Why go? Rocky Mountains scenery doesn't get much more classic than this, from alpine tundra spackled with wildflowers to skyscraping peaks and gem-like lakes. Megafauna including moose, elk and bear all inhabit the park, which sits atop the spine of the Continental Divide. The park encompasses Longs Peak, one of Colorado's vaunted 14ers (summits over 14,000ft high).

Easiest access? The park's most popular eastern entrances are just over a 2-hour drive northwest of Denver, Colorado; Estes Park is the nearest gateway town. Far fewer people approach the park from the west, just over a 2-hour drive from the Winter Park ski resort area; the nearest gateway town is Grand Lake. The two sides of the park are connected by Trail Ridge Rd (peak elevation 12,183ft), which is only open from late May until mid-October, weather permitting.

How to beat the crowds? ROMO gets over 3 million visitors per year, ranking right behind the USA's three most popular national parks (Grand Canyon, Yellowstone and Yosemite). Most people visit ROMO during July and August, so plan your trip for the shoulder months of June or September. Check to be sure that Trail Ridge Road will be open - don't miss those dizzying alpine panoramas!

Best day hikes? If you've got limited time, short leg-stretcher hikes you won't regret taking include the Coyote Valley Trail alongside the Colorado River; the Tundra Communities Trailhead, near the Alpine Visitor Center; and the chain-of-lakes hike, connecting poetically named Dream, Nymph and Emerald Lakes. Tip: Trailhead parking for these lakes is extremely tight, so save yourself the trouble and instead hop on the free, ecofriendly park shuttle, which runs from late spring through early fall.

Best wildlife-watching spots? On the park's west side along the Colorado River, look out for moose. Marmots and pikas are common in the alpine tundra off Trail Ridge Rd, where you may also spot herds of elk in high-altitude meadows during summer (the elk move to lower elevations from autumn through spring). Bighorn sheep graze around Sheep Lakes (duh) on the park's east side.

Park highlights honestly worth making time for? Even if you have to wait in line for a parking space, stopping at the seasonal Alpine Visitor Center is memorable, if not just to take photos then at least to catch your breath and acclimate to the 11,800ft elevation. If you're driving back and forth across the park and the Old Falls River Rd is open, take the 11-mile backcountry ride over Falls Pass, navigating hairpin curves with no guardrails. The dirt road is so narrow that one-way traffic sometimes backs up for 20 minutes while gawkers take roadside photos.

Which campgrounds may have last-minute availability? NPS campgrounds on the park's east side fill up fast, and reservations are essential for most in summer. If you show up early in the day, you may find first-come, first-served sites still available at Glacier Basin Campground or tent-only Longs Peak Campground. Otherwise, head over to the park's west side and pitch your tent by the Colorado River at Timber Creek Campground, which is open year-round and doesn't take reservations. Otherwise, take a look at USFS campgrounds and free dispersed camping in nearby national forest areas.

Affordable alternative base camp outside the park? Estes Park is an overcrowded gateway town with traffic headaches and non-stop crowds in summer (and a very disappointing brewpub). You could day trip to the park from Denver or Boulder, but it'd be a really loooong day to drive over Trail Ridge Rd and back again. Although Grand Lake is the closest gateway town to the park's west entrance, save big bucks in summer by renting a ski condo in Granby instead. Bonus: staying on the park's west side puts you near Hot Sulphur Springs Resort for a long, very hot soak after a hard day's hiking in the mountains.

Any hazards? For safety tips on everything from lightning to black bears, click here.

Have more tips for visiting Rocky Mountains National Park? Let us know by posting a comment below. Thanks!

Photos: Rocky Mountains National Park (Michael Connolly, Jr.)

Tahoe Trails Without the Crowds, but with Dogs

2011-09-03T12:49:00.000-07:00

Last month I road tripped up to Lake Tahoe. I sat in the traffic jams on I-80 and idled bumper-to-bumper through South Lake Tahoe. I elbowed the crowds guzzling schooners of microbrewed beer on those irresistible lake-view decks at sunset. Then the next morning, all of those howling masses just disappeared.

Turns out that choosing to hike while everyone else is baking in the sun at the beach -- or alternatively, just setting off on foot somewhere other than the vaunted Rubicon Trail between Emerald Bay and DL Bliss State Parks -- will give you that Sierra Nevada meditation you crave.

Framed by wildflowers and jagged peaks, the Tahoe Meadows Trails border the Mt Rose Hwy, about 8 miles from Lake Tahoe's eastern shore and Incline Village, Nevada. Starting just a mile down the highway from Mt Rose Summit, these gentle boardwalk and dirt paths wind around a subalpine meadow and over a burbling stream. Even better: free parking, and leashed dogs allowed.

You won't pass many other folks besides shoreline fishers and a few picnicking families on the short nature loop around Spooner Lake, just north of the Hwy 89/50 intersection, south of Incline Village. To access this quiet trail, the $10 entry fee to Lake Tahoe-Nevada State Park is a bargain, because it includes same-day admission to Sand Harbor beach up the road for a cool post-hike dip. (No swimming at Spooner Lake, sorry -- too many leeches!)

Finally, if you're ready to flee from the plague of happy-hour crowds by the lake, Stateline Lookout is the hike you want to take. Full disclosure: there's actually no fire lookout here anymore. But the stone-walled observation platform at the top, which lets you survey the sparkling waves and watch the sun sink into the Desolation Wilderness over by the lake's western shore, is prize enough. The hike follows paved Forest Service Rd 1601, starting just east of the old-school casinos in Crystal Bay, a short drive west of Incline Village.

Have another favorite uncrowded trail in Tahoe? Let us know by leaving a comment below!

Related posts:
Catching the Firefall in Yosemite Valley
10 Steps to a Perfect Day in Big Sur
Welcome to Top Trails: Hiking on Maui!

Photos: Lake Tahoe (Jonathan Hayes)

Hiking & Backpacking in Hawaii: Free Eco-Travel Author Slideshow Talks at REI Stores

2011-06-07T18:33:00.000-07:00

Have you been dreaming of finally taking that Hawaii vacation, but are afraid it's too expensive? Or maybe you're worried about your carbon footprint and the eco-impact of yet another tourist at Hawaii's crowded beach resorts? Here's the ticket to planning a more sustainable and affordable Hawaii vacation: go camping.

The very first time I visited the Hawaiian Islands, I was a broke 20-year-old backpacker who could barely afford the round-trip plane ticket from California. With my travel buddy, I camped my way around Maui, spending my days hiking in cloud forests, atop volcanoes and along deserted beaches on ancient Hawaiian footpaths. We ate guava straight from the tree, and though we had ambitions to do our own spearfishing, we settled for plate lunches and poi from island markets.

Not only was this one of the best trips I ever took, it was also one of the cheapest and most eco-conscious. That's what keeps drawing me back to the islands time and again, to live, work, volunteer and most of all, hike.

If you want to learn more about hiking, backpacking and camping all across the Hawaiian Islands, join me when I take my eco-travel slideshow talk on the road in the San Francisco Bay Area at REI stores in June and July. All events are free, open to the public (advance sign-ups online recommended; just click the links below) and start at 7:00 p.m. Hope to see everyone there!

June 15: REI San Francisco

June 16: REI Mountain View

June 28: REI Berkeley

June 29: REI Corte Madera

July 25: REI Saratoga

July 26: REI Marina

Photo: Haleakala National Park (Michael Connolly, Jr.)

Stacking Up the Strip's Best Burgers

2011-02-03T14:08:00.000-08:00

Who builds the best burger in Las Vegas? That's a burning question, especially on the Strip, where competition among gourmet burger restaurants is fierce. Even some steakhouses and hotel room-service menus have jumped on the trend, offering prime sirloin patties paired with $5000 bottles of Bordeaux wine or rare French champagne.

Until recently, our faves for hand-crafted burgers, milkshakes and fries in Las Vegas were BLT Burger (what beats a burger fried in butter?), at the Mirage casino, and LBS: A Burger Joint (house-made everything!) at Red Rock casino way out in suburban Summerlin. But our carnivore's bleeding-red heart now belongs to Holstein's, at the brand-new Cosmopolitan casino on the Strip.

First, we were seduced by Holstein's free truffle-oil popcorn appetizer. Then, it was the liquored-up milkshakes, like the 'Black Cow' with chocolate-covered pop rocks and a shot of cherry vodka. But we didn't fall hard in love until we bit into the 'Rising Sun' burger made with teriyaki-glazed Kobe beef and topped with nori (seaweed) furikake, crispy yams and a perfectly tempura-fried avocado slice. One caveat: the duck-fat fries aren't all that tasty. Well, nobody's perfect.

If our love affair with Holstein's ever ends, you'll find us at Bachi Burger, an Asian fusion eatery south of the Strip, or running madly around town trying to track down the Slider Truck (self-explanatory) and Sloppi Jo's Roving Eatery (New Mexican-style green chile cheeseburgers, yum). Either that, or we'll be standing in line at the 'Takhomasak' take-out window inside the South Point casino's Steak 'n Shake 1950s-style diner, an Illinois chain that we've loved since our corn-fed childhood.

Have another favorite burger joint in Las Vegas? Let us know by leaving a comment below! Find out more about the city's cuisine scene in our iPhone, iPad and iPod Touch digital travel guide, Viva Las Vegas, Baby!.

Photo: Holstein's, Las Vegas (Michael Connolly, Jr.)

Las Vegas' Burlesque Hall of Fame

2011-01-24T22:19:00.000-08:00

Once upon a time, you had to drive Route 66 out into the Mojave Desert and find a ranch run by retired burlesque dancer Dixie Evans just to see this collection of historical memorabilia. Now you just have to take yourself to downtown Las Vegas and the Emergency Arts Collective, one long block east of the Fremont Street Experience.

The Burlesque Hall of Fame is full of black-and-white vintage photos from the mid-20th century heyday of burlesque club dancing, both in Vegas and around the world. If you're lucky, a retired dancer might even give you a tour. Definitely check Facebook or call ahead before making a trip here, because the exhibit may move in the near future and its hours are subject to change. Until then, viva Las Vegas, baby!

Related posts:
Viva Las Vegas, Baby! iPhone & iPad Travel App
7 Things to Do in Vegas Besides Gamble
Top 5 Free Seats on the Las Vegas Strip
CityCenter Now Open in Las Vegas

The 50 States Club

2010-10-27T13:53:00.000-07:00

I'm the kind of traveler who cringes at checklists. I don't feel the need, as a maniacal girl I met once did, to visit all 393 units of the National Park System. (Nor do I have the means, so American Samoa and the Virgin Islands' national parks will have to wait until after I win the lottery.)

But somehow over the past two decades, I've ended up visiting all 50 U.S. states. Alaska truly was my 'Last Frontier,' which I finally knocked off last month. Illinois, where I was born, was my first, followed by a trail of Western states zipped through during one summer vacation in a grand loop to Yellowstone National Park and back. Weekend trips to the lakeshores of Indiana and Michigan, the farmlands of Wisconsin and Iowa, and St. Louis for baseball, barbecue and rides high inside the rickety Gateway Arch made up my childhood travels.

It wasn't until after I graduated from college that I really got motoring. As I traipsed back and forth across the country, some moments stand out. Like gripping the steering wheel with white knuckles as I drove the Seven-Mile Bridge out to the Florida Keys. My car being searched for hours at a tiny border-crossing outpost in Maine. Sweating out a night in a stuffy hotel room in Janis Joplin's hometown in Texas. Cruising the Blue Ridge Parkway until the sun sank behind the Appalachian hills. I've driven around each of the Hawaiian Islands, too, getting stuck in Kauai's traffic jams and Lanai's 4WD jeep tracks and rattling around Maui's Haleakala volcano.

So, what's next? Like I said, I'm not a checklist traveler. But I need a new travel goal, to inspire my wanderlust. Any ideas?

Have you joined the 50 States Club yet? What are your favorite road-tripping states? Most miserable stops? Tell us by leaving a comment below.

Photo: Four Corners Region (Michael Connolly, Jr.)

Itty-Bitty Book Review: Shadow of the Bear by Brian Payton

2010-10-16T13:44:00.000-07:00

I recently suffered by reading what may be the most cowardly travel book written by a contemporary American woman. With the nauseating aftertaste of that insipid story in my mouth, I've decided to take time to blog about more satisfying travel books, focused on the outdoors.

Published in 2006, Shadow of the Bear: Travels in Vanishing Wilderness by Brian Payton is a thoughtful travelogue. As he travels to Asia, South America, Europe and arctic Canada, Payton introduces bear ecology and rare endangered bear populations to everyday readers. While some chapter narratives tend to wander, ending up more like travel journal entries, overall the book will keep wildlife watchers with wanderlust hooked from start to finish.

Want to know why polar bears end up in "jail" in Churchill, Manitoba? How moon bears are rescued from cruel bile farms in China? What's being done to save the spectacled bear in Peru? This author found out first-hand. It's an inspiring read, both as a traveler (have you faced down any human-killing sloth bears in India lately?) and as an animal lover (I was so moved by the book that I donated to Animals Asia, a small nonprofit group that works to rescue and rehabilitate moon and sun bears in China and Vietnam).

What are your favorite travel books about nature, wildlife and adventures outdoors? Tell me what to read next by leaving a comment below. If you'd like a free copy of this book, leave your email address.

Image courtesy of Bloomsbury USA.

Travels in Alaska: South to Seward's Glaciers

2010-10-05T15:21:00.000-07:00

We briefly boomerang back through Anchorage (consciously avoiding the Beck-Palin rally), then head off down the Kenai Peninsula. The road south of Anchorage snakes beside Cook Inlet and around poetically named Turnagain Arm, where a roadside BBQ shack smokes the best brisket I've gnawed on outside of Texas. Sunlight flashes on the waves and the permanent snow fields and glaciers that coat nearby peaks like dirty cake frosting.

On Hwy 9, the Sunday traffic dies out before Moose Pass, where the liquor store reminds passersby that it's 27 miles until the next chance to buy booze (apparently in either direction, because the sign faces both ways). Both the road and the railroad peter out at the water's edge in Seward, a fishing port named for the man who negotiated the purchase of Alaska from Russia (assumedly, with love) in 1867. Quickly nicknamed Seward's Folly and Seward's Icebox by political wags, the territory cost the USA just over $7 million, or about 2.3 cents per acre. Today, with our human population booming and wilderness shrinking at a precipitous rate, that seems like a bargain.

It's wildness that we're here to see, after all. In the luxuriously long daylight hours of Alaska's late summer, we take a sunset walk to the base of Exit Glacier in Kenai Fjords National Park. The mosquitoes are out for blood, but the breezes pick up as we clamber up the rocky trail to the base of the blue ice. Never before have I been so near a glacier, almost close enough to touch -- that is, if I didn't know the cracking ice might swallow me up if I stepped beyond the roped-off lookout. Two hikers with bear bells tinkling come loping down the trail from the Harding Ice Field atop the glacier, where nunataks -- solitary mountains peeking above the glacial ice like islands -- are lonely landmarks.

Early the next morning, we fill up on eggs benedict topped with snow crab from a diner inside a train car by the harbor. With zoom lenses around our necks, we board a boat to sail through the Kenai Peninsula's wind-whipped fjords, past rock outcroppings where Steller sea lions bask in the sun, every king of the mountain barking and pushing off lower-rung juveniles. Porpoises swim in the boat's wake. Although no whales are spotted, sea otters splash near shore and a bald eagle alights on an evergreen treetop in the distance.

Hours later, the boat's engines hum as the captain negotiates through a frosty bay filled with icebergs at the foot of mile-wide Aialik Glacier. The tidewater
glacier audibly groans, snaps and cracks as it calves ever more icebergs. It's hard to know where to look to catch the next falling blue ice, which you hear only after the dramatic drop of another icy chunk into the sea. Everyone on board is silent with awe, like John Muir was when he first paddled into Glacier Bay. Here, too, the giant glacier moves of its own will, utterly ignorant of ant-like humans floating beneath its seductively dangerous face. It's impossible to look away.

Related links:
Travels in Alaska: A is for Anchorage
Travels in Alaska: The Road North to Denali
10 Steps to a Perfect Day in Big Sur

Photos: Alaska (Michael Connolly, Jr.)

Travels in Alaska: The Road North to Denali

2010-09-26T14:06:00.000-07:00

We leave Anchorage in a light rain, driving on blacktop with our little rental Nissan wedged between SUVs and big rigs worthy of Ice Road Truckers. The suburbs don't linger, but stoplights do slow us down in Wasilla, where the banner outside a coffeeshop proclaims "Palin Fever!". We hit the liquor store inside the Fred Meyer early in the morning to pick up a bottle of whiskey for our relatives. You don't show up empty-handed in rural Alaska, where the nearest Costco may be over 100 miles away.

Getting off the highway, we snake around back roads and climb slowly toward Hatcher Pass. At Independence Mine State Historic Park, we're almost the only visitors walking along the wind-whipped trails through a ghostly settlement once gripped by gold fever. The road turns to crunchy gravel before summiting the pass, then sails down into the valley. Hunters in their pick-ups and RVs chew the fat by the roadside. A moose rockets across the road going 30mph, maybe sensing that hunting dogs might soon be hot on its hooves. That quick flash of wildlife is all we'll see of Alaska's megafauna for days.

Grizzlies? Forget about seeing 'em, though signposts in Chugatch State Park warn us off certain barricaded hiking trails along the Eagle River, where bears are chowing down on late salmon runs. Same thing goes for moose in Denali National Park: signs along the main park road tell us to stay out of certain areas of the wilderness, because the beasts are rutting now. (Apparently, they value their privacy.) Almost a week in Alaska, and our wildlife count is still laughably low: 4 fat squirrels, 2 bald eagles, 1 shy snowshoe hare, 1 moose on the run, and zero caribou, bears or Dall sheep.

But in no way is Denali disappointing, even if we can only drive the first 15 miles of the park's winding road into the wilderness. We tumble along the Savage Canyon Trail through a valley cloaked in a rustic palette of autumn colors. Summer has lasted longer than expected, with blue skies and strong sunshine that made putting on the Capilene base layer this morning pointless. None of the dozen straggling hikers on the trail talks very much. We all beam with beatific, even idiotic smiles.

It's mind-boggling how many millions of acres in Alaska are even more remote, remaining almost perfectly in their natural state, than this small river canyon. One human life is not enough to even get to know the Last Frontier. Even John Muir only explored a tiny corner of it, in an obsessive quest to finally prove that glaciers carved the Sierra Nevada. To see those blue-ice glaciers calve into the sea is where we're headed next.

But not before we stop by the park's sled dog kennels to give the canines a scritch (most prefer to just bark at us from atop their little log-cabin doghouses). Then we detour for a late-afternoon hike alongside the railroad tracks down to Horseshoe Lake to see the beaver dam. Oh yes, and grab microbrews at the hilltop Salmon Bake bar. Luckily, we still catch the alpenglow over Denali, the mighty mountain itself, before heading back to bed in Talkeetna, where the howling of a pack of Iditarod dogs rings out as regularly as church bells all night long.

Related links:
Travels in Alaska: A is for Anchorage
American Wilderness: Too Noisy for You?
National Parks in 2010: Looking Forward

Photos: Alaska (Michael Connolly, Jr.)

Travels in Alaska: A is for Anchorage

2010-09-18T15:05:00.001-07:00

After navigating the tight corkscrews of Anchorage's airport parking garage, we ease into traffic drifting toward downtown. The first thing we notice are the ancient Subarus turned into all-weather taxis. This is Alaska, and you need a road warrior's car to make it through the winter.

But we're here at the tail end of summer. Good-bye, cruise ship tourists, RV-driving retirees and Asian package tour groups. Hello, shaking yellow aspen trees, arctic winds and riled-up moose in rutting season. Anchorage is draped in a cloud blanket of fog and mist, bracing and salty as any other fishing town up or down the West Coast.

Reminders of winter are scattered about. A sign on the stairway leading down to the train tracks warns pedestrians not to wear high heels because, "You could be injured or, God forbid, die." Alaskans tell it like it us, without mercy. Nobody is sitting on the brewpub deck overlooking Cook Inlet. A rainbow arcs over the tidal flats at sunset, while skater teens trade money for drugs in Resolution Park below the monument to Captain Cook, who anchored here in the late 18th century.

First Nations were already on the scene for centuries before Europe stumbled across Alaska's chilly coastline. Inside the Anchorage Museum, Native Alaskans and the Smithsonian (the USA's benevolently imperialist cultural curator) put birdskin parkas, spirit masks and weapons on display. TV screens roll endless loops of oral history and sneak peeks of the landscapes in Alaska's wildest places, where most outsiders can't, won't or don't go.

In Alaska's biggest shopping mall, there's a post office so folks can mail back essential supplies to the bush. The cheerful postal clerk says he can't wait for his upcoming trip to Maui. Like most Alaskans, he makes an escape to Alaska's doppelganger, Hawaii, every winter. America's 49th and 50th states are bound together as tightly as siblings, though one proudly calls itself the Last Frontier -- a motto meant to drive folks away, especially "city sissies," as my uncle-in-law calls 'em -- while the other's nickname is the Aloha State, meaning they'll welcome just about anyone.

Anchorage (or, "Los Anchorage," as that same uncle disparagingly calls it, probably for its urban grit reminiscent of LA, my husband theorizes) is a frontier city. Don't believe that? Drive around Lake Hood seaplane base, the world's largest floatplane lake, and watch the planes with pontoons (or in winter, skis) come in for a landing or take off to soar back to the wild places their pilots call home. We stare wide-eyed at the crazy, but brave feats chronicled in the Alaska Aviation Heritage Museum, then scarf down a reindeer hot dog as we watch the short take-offs and landings on the lake. All the while day-dreaming of Denali, our next stop on the road north.

What are your fave spots in Alaska? Let us know by leaving a comment below.

Photos: Anchorage (Michael Connolly, Jr.)

Last-Minute Summer Road Trips in Your Hand

2010-08-27T20:01:00.000-07:00

Summer is drawing to a close, but that doesn't mean there isn't time for one last weekend (or week-long) getaway. You won't need a guidebook to do it. Digital travel apps are less expensive, often more up-to-date and ideal for spur-of-the-moment road trips when you just want the facts, ma'am, and not a lot of heavy reading.

If you've got an iPad, iPhone or iPod Touch, check out these travel apps hand-picked by Road Trips for Girlfriends. I was psyched to have my travel app, Viva Las Vegas, Baby!, featured in their round-up of top travel apps. Also check out the huge variety of apps written by my colleagues, from legendary watering holes in Chicago to discovering the flip side of Kansas City.

Speaking of road trips, I'm off to Alaska soon. Stay tuned!

Have a favorite digital travel app you can't live without? Tell us your recommendations by leaving a comment below.

Travel Unplugged: How TripAdvisor, Yelp, Etc., Just Might Ruin Your Next Vacation

2010-07-04T13:37:00.000-07:00

User reviews are inescapable these days, whether you're buying a book on Amazon, an app on iTunes or stocking movies in your Netflix queue. Everything, it seems, can be judged and summed up on a scale of 1 to 5 stars. And that's part of what is ruining independent travel these days, at least for me. Here are some reasons why you should consider planning (or just spontaneously taking) your next vacation without consulting TripAdvisor, Yelp or other online ranking sites for hotels, restaurants, etc.

>> MAINSTREAMING. Ever notice how user reviews tend to even out at an average of 3 stars? Sure, there are some that rise above and some that fall below. But overall, what sites like TripAdvisor and Yelp give you is a lot of random data (lotsa noise, little signal) about mostly average places. Places that do a good job of sort of pleasing everyone (ahem, hotel chains) rise to the top, while eclectic and idiosyncratic places get lost in the shuffle. Do you want every trip you take to be as predictably bland as a Motel 6 or Holiday Inn?

>> PROVINCIALISM. I always remind myself that the ranking of any hotel or restaurant online reflects the average American opinion about a place. Would I take the advice of the random assortment on people living on my own block at home about where I should stay or eat on vacation? No. When I travel, I'd like it to be as different from home as possible. Else, where's the surprising joy (and challenge) of being on the road?

Provincialism also gets to the heart of why reviews on TripAdvisor and Yelp are too often unreliable. I've noticed that small-town opinions about global food (let's say, Indian restaurants in Fresno, CA) can be notoriously inaccurate and over-hyped, while big-city travelers (e.g., LA denizens road-tripping up the California coast) believe no sushi bar can compare to back home. Either way, online users rate places based on their own experiences. Who's to say I'll agree?

>> CORRUPTIBILITY. I'm not only talking about the Yelp controversy and allegations about search results being doctored for advertisers. I'm talking about the sheer ease and frequency with which fake reviews are posted by businesses on TripAdvisor and Yelp, easily manipulating their star ratings to be more positive. TripAdvisor is noticeably full of reviews written by online users who have only made 1 contribution to the site, and often those reviews are gushing, 5-star self-promotional marketing ploys. You're not always getting honest traveler's experiences on these sites, obviously.

>> TIME WASTING. TripAdvisor and Yelp can be a colossal waste of time, especially when you're on the road. Many travelers let these online tools become a crutch, for example, if you won't try out a new restaurant without checking Yelp or hesitate to book a hotel without consulting dozens of TripAdvisor reviews. Sure, sometimes you'll end up somewhere not good that these sites could've pointed you away from. But by not sifting through hundreds of online reviews before or during your vacation, you'll experience more of the place you're visiting, first-hand and in the moment.

>> GIVING AWAY OUR POWER. Remember the days when travel agents planned our trips, and had all the power? Most people would understandably rather book their own travel these days. But if you blindly follow whatever TripAdvisor and Yelp recommend, then you're just following the digital crowds, making them your travel agent. The more people use these online rating sites, the more power they have to make or break a business, especially since small, local places often feel the brunt of having no reviews or unfairly poor ratings.

SO WHAT? Am I saying I'll never use TripAdvisor or Yelp again? No. My point is we should use these ratings sites more judiciously. It's time to untether ourselves from our electronic concierges. Spend less time browsing online and more time enjoying travel. Read reviews with a dose of skepticism, and don't be afraid to try a place that hasn't been recommended online. Use online rankings sites to be a voice in support of independent travel by reviewing local businesses, instead of just supporting the Starbucks status quo. Most of all, let yourself rediscover the serendipity of being on the road, with just a map (and not an iPhone) in hand.

What do you think about online ratings sites? Are they always a useful tool when you travel, or not? Let us know by leaving a comment below.

10 Steps to a Perfect Day in Big Sur

2010-06-17T20:20:00.001-07:00

On purpose, I didn't title this blog post "10 Steps to the Perfect Day in Big Sur." I'm suspicious of travel writers (or Yelp! reviewers, for that matter) who claim to know what the best of anything is, whether it's fish tacos or Asian art museums. So consider this just one idea among many of how to spend a soul-nourishing summer's day in Big Sur, that remote chunk of California coast that lies south of Monterey and north of well, my house.

Start off with a big ol' breakfast at First Awakenings, a little cafe with a big outdoor patio and a fire pit. It's around the corner from the Monterey Bay Aquarium, but tucked away from the dazed crowds wandering Cannery Row, wondering what John Steinbeck ever saw in the place.

Roll down to Carmel-by-the-Sea and stop into Bruno's Market. Head directly to the deli at the back and order a tri-tip sandwich and picnic salads to go. Why? You'll thank me later. Big Sur has notoriously overpriced, often underwhelming food. Besides, eating at the beach is more fun.

Swing by Point Lobos State Reserve (admission $10; open from 8 a.m. until 30 minutes after sunset daily). Stretch your legs on the coastal trails, or at least say hello to the barking sea lions (they're the ones with ears) and spotted harbor seals (no ears).

Where everyone else stops to take a photo of Big Sur's iconic Bixby Bridge, you can head inland to explore the original coast highway, now called the Old Coast Road, 11 ocean-view miles of satisfying 4WD and mountain-biking terrain.

Or just keep driving south with everyone else, past Point Sur's historic lighthouse (guided tours occasionally available), down to Andrew Molera State Park (near where the Old Coast Road also dumps you back out onto Hwy 1). Give $10 to California State Parks (they need the money!) and park in the lot, near gentle trails that lead to a windy, rocky beach and a grassy campground.

Save your parking receipt, because it'll also get you in free to Big Sur's other state parks on the same day. Drive south to Pfeiffer-Big Sur State Park (open 30 minutes before sunrise to 30 minutes after sunset daily). Hop out of the car and hug some redwood trees, then reward yourself with some ice cream from the store at the rustic Big Sur Lodge.

About a half-mile south of the Big Sur ranger station, look for a small turn-off on your right, labeled as 'Narrow Road.' And that's an understatement: be prepared to wind downhill for over 2 twisting miles to reach Pfeiffer Beach (admission $5; open 9 a.m. to 8 p.m. daily). It's famous for two things: a cinematic sea arch battered by pounding surf; and sand that's tinged with purple by manganese garnet that washes down from the hillsides.

If you didn't bring along a picnic lunch, then your next pit stop is Nepenthe, a restaurant hanging in the treetops by the sea. Otherwise, you can double back here later to sip wine and nibble appys as you huddle around the outdoor terrace fire pit and watch the sun get swallowed up by the sea.

Wondering where Big Sur's beatnik spirit has gone? Reconnect with it in the real bohemian grove (of redwoods, that is) at the Henry Miller Memorial Library. I never know what to expect when dropping by: outdoor movies, a musician's jam, or once, an impromptu wedding! Even when nothing special is happening, you can just chill, browse the books and have a cup o' community joe.

Still got your state parks entry receipt? Good, because you'll need it once more for Julia Pfeiffer Burns State Park (open 30 minutes before sunrise to 30 minutes after sunset daily). Get out of the car and walk through the tunnel underneath the highway, then hang a right. Keep looking off toward the ocean. You may literally gasp when you glimpse McWay Falls, coastal California's only waterfall that drops into the ocean (well, either that or onto the beach, depending on the tide).

There's a lot more I could tell you about Big Sur, from moonlight hot-springs soaks and beachcombing for jade to visiting the California condor bird-banding lab, but I'll have to save that for another day (and another blog post).

What are your fave spots in Big Sur? Tell us by leaving a comment below.

Photo: McWay Falls (Michael Connolly, Jr.)

Doh! Don't Miss the LA Donut Summit on Sunday

2010-06-10T15:21:00.001-07:00

What's better for Sunday brunch than a box of classic glazed donuts? How about apple fritters? Or old-fashioned bear claws? The mind boggles with the panoply of choices.

Still can't decide? Well, get yourself to the LA Donut Summit in Griffith Park this Sunday, June 13. It's like a Christmas cookie swap party, except it's ginormous and held outdoors in the sunshine. All you have to do is show up by 1PM at the park's Vermont Avenue picnic area with a box of a dozen donuts from a local shop (for suggestions, click here). Public tasting and judging begins around 1:30PM, with Donut Marshalls (hey, how do I get that job?) supervising the cutting up of donuts so that everyone gets a taste of more than just 12 flavors.

Confused about exactly how all this deliciousness works? Check out the 2010 Donut Summit FAQ or follow 'em on Twitter to get all the late-breaking news.

Photo credit: Michael Connolly, Jr.

Get Outside! National Parks Free This Weekend (& Later This Summer, Too)

2010-06-04T09:48:00.000-07:00

Recently, I've been outside, hiking all over southern Utah and making the most of that glorious weather window between spring and summer. You know, when it's not too unbearably hot in the desert badlands, yet the mountainous high country is just starting to open after snow melt. Now here's your excuse to get out there and do the same.

All US national parks are free-free this weekend. About 75% of NPS sites usually don't charge admission anyway. But for the 100 or so that do (including top-tier parks such as Yosemite, Yellowstone, the Grand Canyon or Zion), you'll be saving yourself $20 to $25 a carload. Who can resist the call of the wild when it's free?

If you miss this fee-free weekend, don't worry. Just plan your national parks trip for August 14 & 15, the next weekend when admission fees will be waived. (Or September 25, National Public Lands Day, by which time the crushing summer crowds will have left.)

Photo credit: Bryce Canyon NP (Michael Connolly, Jr.)

Do Travel Writers Have 9 Lives? I've Used Mine

2010-05-13T17:10:00.000-07:00

On the Coconut Radio blog from Tahiti, I was reading another Lonely Planet author's stories about bad, bad border crossings and getting kidnapped (or not) in Costa Rica. It made me think about the close brushes with death that all travel writers and photographers I know have had, including myself. There's something about searching out the next off-the-beaten path destination, or going to that way-out place that maybe no other travelers ever visit just to update a guidebook, that always seems to lead to trouble.

I've been writing travel guides on and off for 10 years. So far, I've had a few close calls with the afterlife:

Missing the bus when I got off the ferry in Indonesia. Doesn't sound fatal, does it? Well, I dallied too long getting my backpack off the boat, the next onward bus filled up and I couldn't push my way onto it -- you know how it goes in Southeast Asia. So, I sat down and waited an hour for the next bus. Funny thing is, as we trundled our way across the island, I saw the bus I'd tried to catch earlier overturned and smashed up on the side of the road, with dozens of people hurt. One of those dead bodies could have easily have been me. I resolved right there to get more medical training.

(Almost not) landing at Lukla airport in Nepal. The Gear Junkie recently did a great write-up of why this airport really isn't one of the world's most dangerous, although it certainly feels like it when you find out your pilot has never really logged any serious hours in a STOL (short take-off and landing) aircraft before. Did I mention we were attempting to land in the middle of a snowstorm, too? It took us 3 fly-bys before wheels touched down on tarmac. I resolved to get back to Kathmandu overland, the old-fashioned hippie way, even if I had to walk all the way from Everest Base Camp.

Somewhere on the China-Vietnam border. It's a gimme that this might be a dicey place to be, but I didn't expect to get woken up in the middle of the night and marched off the bus at gunpoint by Chinese soldiers. It did not help being the only obvious foreigner on the bus. But once I agreed to let my backpack, passport and money go, everything was copacetic. (And this in no way compares as a hair-raising experience with a documentary filmmaker friend who was held at gunpoint by Burmese border guards, and saved her own life by flashing a medal of a Buddhist monk.)

And this doesn't begin to cover the taxi drivers worldwide who have tried to trick me into going to out-of-the-way places, hoping that American girls really were that easy. Or getting groped by drunk businessmen on trains in Japan (I always shoved back, ill-mannered gaijin that I am). Or that Malaysian scooter driver who somehow copped a feel while I was riding a bicycle (I drove him off by pelting him with stones.)

Travel is risky, and sometimes the Venn diagram intersection of being a woman and a travel writer makes that risk triple. But I don't regret most of the travel misadventures I've had, because I couldn't have foreseen the majority of them. And at the end of the day, they're the price you sometimes have to pay for the privilege of epic travel experiences, like trekking high into the Himalayas or visiting ancient ruins in Sicily.

There's only one travel accident that I wish I had a do-over for. Patagonia, you and I have a major score to settle. But that's a travel noir story for another day.

Had your own near-miss travel escapade? Tell us all about it by commenting below.

Photo credit: Lukla Airport, Nepal

http://www.flickr.com/photos/ilker/ / CC BY 2.0

Do You Still Love Riding the Rails? Then All Aboard Amtrak's National Train Day

2010-05-07T12:11:00.000-07:00

About 2 weeks ago, the Washington Post came out with a scathing in-depth look at Amtrak. The article asserted that although ridership is up, "the romance went out of it a long time ago" and that our national rail system is "freighted with problems," most notoriously delays. While the Post's staff writers make some valid points, I have to disagree that our nation's love affair with trains is over, at least not for me and not in California.

Maybe the negativity resulted from the Post's focus on the Eastern seaboard, while on the West Coast trains are less about commuting than a scenic vacation. Sure, the Coast Starlight train can run late (although last month, its on-time record was an impressive 96.7%). In fact, it once took me 16+ hours to get from Oakland to LA, a 12-hour scheduled trip! But the gorgeous coastal scenery, some of it inaccessible by road and only visible when riding the rails, made it worth it.

My partner and I still ride Amtrak whenever we can. We live near the northern terminus of the Pacific Surfliner route, which connects us to Santa Barbara, LA, Orange County and San Diego. Not only is it a greener way to travel than driving ourselves, we love not getting stuck on the I-405 for hours as we head down south. Instead, we can kick it with Wi-Fi in business-class seats, or just lazily stare out the window for hours and dream.

Which brings me to Amtrak's National Train Day tomorrow, May 8. Get out there and show your support for this eco-friendly and yes, romantic way to travel. Celebrations at LA's historic Union Station include exhibits on railroad braceros (Mexican laborers) and Amtrak's 'Trails & Rails' national parks initiative (and new online trip planner, Amtraktoparks.com), model trains and more fun stuff for kids. There are festivities happening at Amtrak stations all around California, and across the country, too. Check the website for details, then go have fun!

Are you a fan of railway travel? What's your favorite train trip that you've ever taken, either in the USA or abroad? Tell us by leaving a comment below.

Arizona Travel Boycott? Let's Not Blame the Grand Canyon, for Starters

2010-05-02T21:11:00.000-07:00

In the wake of Arizona's legislative crackdown on illegal immigration last week, Mexico has issued a travel alert for its citizens, while some US cities, businesses and organizations are calling for an Arizona travel boycott. Meanwhile, the US Travel Association and others in the tourism industry are asking travelers not to boycott Arizona, especially since the state's tourism economy is already suffering high unemployment.

Whether you're politically for or against traveling to Arizona right now, can we agree not to take it out on US federal recreational lands, such as the Grand Canyon, or the Navajo Nation, whose sovereign tribal council has not come out in support of Arizona's recent legislation?

May is an especially great month for visiting the Grand Canyon, before massive summer vacation crowds arrive. The park's South Rim is always open, and this year you've got a more eco-friendly way to tour it. Look for brand-new Bright Angel Bicycle Rentals, open for business at Canyon Visitor Information Plaza, near Mather Point. A half-day bicycle rental costs $25/15 per adult/child.

The Grand Canyon's more remote North Rim will be opening for the 2010 season on May 15. Get there early on opening day, and you may have some of the famous viewpoints all to yourself. (If you'd rather minimize your Arizona travel, you can access the North Rim via southern Utah, passing through Zion National Park.)

How do you feel about the proposed Arizona travel boycotts? Let us know by leaving a comment below.

Related links:
Arizona Travel & Adventure
Digging Up History at the Grand Canyon
American Wilderness: Too Noisy for You?

Photo credit: Grand Canyon NP, North Rim (Michael Connolly, Jr.)

Freebies! Utah State Parks Passes and iPhone App

2010-04-28T09:27:00.000-07:00

US National Park Week is over, which means no more free trips to the Zion or Bryce Canyon National Parks for you. The good news is, you can still get free-entry to Utah's state parks, if you're a local library card holder. Neighborhood libraries, including in the Salt Lake City metro area, will let you check out an annual Utah State Parks pass (normally $75), which gets you free entry to any state park you choose. (For a list of participating libraries in Utah, click here.)

As if that's not enough of a good deal, Utah State Parks has also released a free iPhone / iPod Touch app. True, there's not a lot of descriptive detail provided in this mobile field guide, but the photo galleries are gorgeous. The app loads quickly and it gives you contact details, addresses and basic maps of each park that you can access offline (which is helpful, given spotty cellphone coverage and non-existent Wi-Fi in Utah's wilderness). I'm crossing my fingers that future updates of this handy app will get more in-depth about what activities and features each park has, including hiking trails.

Keep up the good work, Beehive State! Find out more by following Utah State Parks on Twitter or Facebook.

Update (4/30/2010): An update for the Utah State Parks' iPhone app is now available (version 2.0), which includes videos from YouTube, Google maps interactivity for park locations and a current events/news feed.

Photo credit: Anasazi State Park (Michael Connolly, Jr.)

Twitter #traveltuesday Trivia Contest

2010-04-27T11:27:00.001-07:00

Hey folks! If you're on Twitter, log on right now and tweet @indie_traveler to tell me where you think this photo was taken, or just add a comment below. The first correct answer to today's trivia question wins a free guidebook to the region that this photo was taken in. (Yup, I'm actually going to ride my bike to the post office and send you a free autographed copy!) Good luck!

Photo credit: Michael Connolly, Jr. & Sara Benson

SoCal Desert Blooms: Poppies, Cacti & More

2010-04-21T09:15:00.000-07:00

Somtimes back luck can turn good. After having to give up our Coachella tickets (it's a long story), we wandered down to the Mojave Desert this past weekend anyway. Things couldn't have turned out better if we'd planned the trip months ago.

By accident, we hit the peak California poppy bloom in the Antelope Valley. If you're wondering if it's worth heading up to the Palmdale-Lancaster area, about two hour's drive from LA, to see the spectacular display, the answer is yes. I've seen some impressive SoCal desert wildflower blooms this decade (e.g., in 2005, when prehistoric Lake Manly reappeared in Death Valley), and this year is superb.

There were so many people out tramping about the poppy fields this weekend, we couldn't even get into the official California Poppy State Natural Reserve. So we just pulled off on a 4WD side road and went ambling beside the fields, which always reminds me of that scene in the Wizard of Oz. Just imagine when hundreds of hillsides across California were covered in these bright orange poppies. Early Spanish explorers were so gobsmacked that they nicknamed 'em montaña de oro, or mountains of gold.

Thanks to National Parks Week, our visit to Joshua Tree National Park was totally free, too. We hiked he Mastodon Peak Trail, starting from Cottonwood Spring. The beavertail cactus, yucca plants and creosote bushes were all alive with color. On the drive down through the park, we passed through the Ocotillo Patch, where those strange octopus-like succulents were sending forth their showy red flowers. Even a few of the Joshua trees were still blooming, with their creamy white blossoms.

If you've got time this week or next weekend, head to the desert. The wildflowers are putting on an amazing show!

Related posts:
Freebies! National Park Week, April 17-25
Free Online Coastal California Trip Planner
American Wilderness: Too Noisy for You?

Photo credits: Michael Connolly, Jr. & Sara Benson

Freebies! National Park Week, April 17-25

2010-04-16T09:16:00.000-07:00

I know, I know. Everyone is going to the Coachella music festival today. But if you're not one of those lucky ticket holders, why not take some time off this weekend or next week to get outdoors and visit a national park?

From April 17 through April 25, national parks are waiving entry fees. That's right: every single national park will be free. So, whether you're dreaming of heading to California's Yosemite or Arizona's Grand Canyon, you won't pay a cent. (Of course, some parks are free year-round, like Nevada's epic Great Basin, but that's another story.)

Visit this National Park Week companion site, and you'll find out about special events happening at parks across the country. Courtesy of the National Parks Foundation, parents can download a PDF activity guide with 35 national parks vacation ideas to keep you going all summer long. April 24 is National Junior Ranger Day, too. (Kids can earn their badges at almost any national park year-round, or even online at home).

And since the national parks are letting you in for free, why not give back by helping them out with a volunteer project, either on Earth Day (April 22) or anytime during the week? To find an opportunity near you, just search the database.

Photo credit: Kings Canyon National Park (Michael Connolly, Jr.)

DIY Sunset Tours of Hearst Castle

2010-04-12T09:20:00.000-07:00

It's spring, and everything's blooming. Now's the perfect time to visit Hearst Castle, with its decadent gardens, on California's Central Coast. (Unless you have pollen allergies like I do, in which case not even Claritin will stop you from sneezing your head off once you get up on the hilltop.) Like the elaborate mansion itself, these gardens were designed in collaboration between William Randolph Hearst and architect Julia Morgan.

No time or patience for taking a guided tour, or maybe you just want to peek at the gardens without going inside the castle? No problem. Hearst Castle is now offering self-guided tours of the castle's grounds and gardens on most Friday and Saturday afternoons until mid-June, then almost daily through Labor Day. Tours, which include a documentary movie screening at the visitor center's theater, cost $24 per adult ($12 for each child aged 6-17, kids 5 & under are free).

You'll still need a reservation for these self-guided Gardens & Vistas Tours, available online or by calling (800) 444-4445. But once you check in, pick up your tickets and take the bus ride up to the hilltop, you'll be able to wander around by yourself. Self-guided tour map in hand, you can amble the garden's pathways as you admire the Neptune Pool and the historical buildings (from the outside, at least). Luckily, you'll be able to stay until just after sunset for the most memorable views.

Photo credit:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/jimg944/ / CC BY 2.0

Free Online Coastal California Trip Planner

2010-04-07T08:41:00.000-07:00

Spring is here, which means its road trip time. If you're heading out to coastal California, which is my neck of the woods, consider picking up Lonely Planet's brand-new Coastal California guidebook, which I co-wrote.

Want a free sneak peek before you buy? Start dreaming about your coastal California road trip by downloading the free "Getting Started" chapter PDF here. Peruse our top 8 expert itineraries, including coastal California for kids, kitsch lovers, outdoor enthusiasts and yes, freaks & weirdos (we love 'em here!).

You'll also get top 10 lists for California's best parties and parades and hidden beaches, a round-up of the best travel literature about the Golden State and tips for greener, more sustainable eco-travel, plus our recommendations for the best months to go (hint: it's not June through August).

Eager to take a cross-country road trip or itching for a tropical island getaway ? Check out these free trip-planning guides to the USA, Hawaii and Oahu, excerpted from other Lonely Planet guides I co-wrote.

Top 5 Free Seats on the Las Vegas Strip

2010-04-04T09:45:00.000-07:00

When you're walking along the Las Vegas Strip, your feet will hurt. That's just a rule. And it's doubly true when you're researching a travel guide, clocking in over 6 miles in one day. Suddenly, finding a free place to sit seems like a miracle when it's not in front of a ding-ding-dinging slot machine. Here are my top 5 fave places to escape and kick up my heels on the Strip:

Planet Hollywood's mezzanine (aka 'The Mezz') hovering above the casino floor, at the top of the escalators in front of Koi and Strip House restaurants. Mod black seating, but no wi-fi.
The Venetian's chaise longues next to the poolside windows just down the hall from Bouchon restaurant. Free wi-fi, and classy Italianate art all around you.
Caesars Palace on the 2nd floor of the spa tower, just down the hall from Restaurant Guy Savoy. Richly upholstered French empire-style seating, plus free wi-fi.
The faux Brooklyn Bridge at NYNY casino hotel. The NYC-style park benches just outside the ESPN Zone let you sniff out free wi-fi and enjoy some fresh(ish) air.
Imperial Palace's La-Z-Boy-style leather recliner massage chairs (yup, they're coin-op) upstairs from the casino floor, just below Ginseng 3 restaurant.

But my very favorite new place to sit (and sip) on the Strip is the 23rd-floor tea lounge next to the Mandarin Oriental's sky lobby at CityCenter. Technically, it's not a free seat, since you'll have to pay for a drink to enjoy the divinely comfy couches. Anyone can come gawk at the Strip view for free, as long as you don't sit down (the management is politely firm about this). But to really soak up the nighttime panoramas, the $20 champagne cocktail seemed worth its weight in gold.

Related posts:
Viva Las Vegas, Baby! New iPhone Travel App
CityCenter Now Open in Las Vegas
Las Vegas: Escape from the Strip!

Photo credit: Las Vegas Strip after dark (Sara J. Benson)

4 Tips for Buying Cooler Souvenirs

2010-03-29T09:12:00.000-07:00

I admit it, I'm a travel cheapskate. Not hard-core, but I like to save a buck or 20. Especially when it comes to souvenirs. Over 15 years of traveling around the world has taught me that rarely, if ever do souvenirs look as cool or seem as interesting once you get them home. If you're tired of buying souvenirs you never use, read on.

Tip #1: Buy only one or just a few big-ticket items during your trip. That way, you're not filling up your bags with knickknacks that you're just going to stick on a shelf and let get dusty or put in a drawer and forget about at home. I've never regretted the antique woven rug (US$250) that I bought in Africa, the hand-carved Buddha statue ($40) from Laos, or a ceremonial tea bowl ($110) from Kyoto, Japan.

Tip #2: Get creative with free stuff that you can craftily turn into souvenirs. Some of my favorite freebies are atypical 'Do Not Disturb' signs from hotel rooms (Las Vegas is an especially fruitful source), which I hang on my office door to let folks know when I'm seriously writing. I also take tickets from sports games and music festivals and turn them into laminated bookmarks for my bedside reading pile. They sky (or really, your imagination) is the limit here.

Tip #3: Hit the thrift shops and look for whatever that place is famous for. Recently, I bought gently used golf clubs for just a few bucks each at a Goodwill store in Scottsdale, AZ, a retiree and resort mecca. I found some awesome mid-century modern decor in Palm Springs, CA (too bad that sexy couch just wouldn't fit on top of my car, because its was practically priced to steal).

Tip #4: Buy everyday stuff that you'll actually use at home. Wherever I go around the world, I often pick up a cooking tool or some unusual-looking dishes that I can use at home on an everyday basis, instead of a souvenir I'd hardly ever look at. Lately, I've been buying micro-roasted coffee from indie coffee shops in whatever towns I visit. That way, when I get home, I've got at least a few week's worth of morning brew, and while I'm making it I can dream about my last trip...and of course, the next one I'm going to take, too.

What are your tips for buying cooler souvenirs (i.e., ones that you'll actually use and not just end up recycling, re-gifting, donating or throwing away)? What's the most expensive souvenir you're still glad you bought? Leave a comment below.

Digging Up History at the Grand Canyon

2010-03-24T10:39:00.000-07:00

This is your kids' chance to channel their inner Indiana Jones or Lara Croft (without stealing precious artifacts or shooting up and destroying the ancient ruins, of course). Grand Canyon National Park is hosting an Archaeology Day this Saturday, March 27. Arizona's most-visited national p ark is already known to be the home of over 4000 archaeological sites, and the total number may actually be 50,000 or more. Some of the ancient Native American sites date back 12,000 years.

While most of the day's activities, like sifting through simulated dig sites for artifacts or making clay pinch pots, are aimed at kids, the evening programs are enough to make curious adults sit up and take notice. On Friday, archaeologist Ian Hough will give you a sneak peek of exciting recent finds in the park. On Saturday, ranger Jennifer Onufer will virtually take you on an archaeology rafting trip down the Colorado River. Both programs start at 7:30pm at the Shrine of the Ages Auditorium in Grand Canyon Village on the park's South Rim, about 80 miles northwest of Flagstaff, AZ.

Photo credit: Grand Canyon NP (Sara J. Benson)

Marine Life Cameos at Monterey Bay Aquarium

2010-03-22T08:29:00.000-07:00

I recently wrote an article for Matador Travel, "Close Encounters with Marine Mammals: At What Price?". If you have time, click to join the conversation about what the Oscar-winning documentary The Cove, the killing of a human trainer by an orca at Orlando's SeaWorld, and captive dolphin encounters and wild dolphin swim tours may all have in common. But I'm still left wondering about what ethical criteria should be used when determining which animals can be kept in captivity and which shouldn't.

Looking at the issue closer to home, take California's Monterey Bay Aquarium as an example. Already a leader in vetting sustainable seafood, the aquarium maintains a conservation focus throughout its exhibits. Animals on display that exhibit high intelligence, such as sea otters and sharks, are part of species research and recovery efforts. The work that human trainers do with captive animals is meant to keep them healthy and their minds stimulated, with only positive reinforcement techniques used. Some animals are even released back in the wild, as is the case with white sharks who have been tagged for scientific research.

So, if you're looking for an aquarium experience that you can support with a clean conscience, head up to Monterey. Go now, and you'll get to see the baby sea otter Kit that was rescued right in my own backyard of Morro Bay, as well as a new sunfish. The sunfish will only be in the Outer Bay exhibit for as long as it stays healthy, continues to feed and does not show signs of stress, so go see it while you can.

If you want to learn more about behind-the-scenes work at Monterey Bay Aquarium, I highly recommend subscribing to their always interesting, educational Sea Notes blog.

Photo credit:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/mikebaird/ / CC BY 2.0

Travel Essentials: Finding Indie Coffee Shops

2010-03-16T11:53:00.000-07:00

When I travel, I'm a big fan of guidebooks, both print and digital. (But I love pouring over detailed topographic recreational maps even more.) Sure, I'll check Yelp! and TripAdvisor for recent reviews and recommendations, too. But at the start of any given day on the road in North America, all I really need is for someone to point me toward a good indie coffee shop.

I mean, what can't you find out about a new town while you're just standing in line waiting for your daily dose of caffeine? Check the bulletin boards for happening festivals and events. Pick up the local alt-weekly tabloid paper and peruse its picks for eats, bars and clubs. Chat with the person next to you in line to find out where they love to go hiking, or which museums they take out-of-towners to. Tip big, and the barista/baristo might just give you the best insider travel info of all.

So why isn't there a great online directory for indie coffee shops? Yelp! often falls short (for example, every cafe in my town gets four stars, and lemme tell you, only one or two are actually good, especially for travelers). A look at indiecoffeeshops.com showed zero coffee shops nearby.

OK, then. I'm going to get the ball rolling by randomly nominating 10 of my fave indie coffee shops in small towns and cities around California and the US Southwest:

Macy's, Flagstaff, AZ
Raging Sage, Tucson, AZ
Robber's Roost Bookstore, Torrey, UT
Willow Canyon Outdoors, Kanab, UT
Mean Bean, Springdale, UT
Satellite Coffee, Albuquerque, NM
Cafe Mokka, Arcata, CA
Linnaea's Cafe, San Luis Obispo, CA
Koffi, Palm Springs, CA
East Village Coffee Lounge, Monterey, CA

Know of equally great coffee shops, maybe right in your own backyard? Or java joints that you found serendipitously while traveling? Rave about 'em by leaving a comment below.

Photo credit:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/omaromar/ / CC BY 2.0

Five Florida Escapes from Spring Break(ers)

2010-03-08T09:11:00.001-08:00

I live out West, so writing about the East Coast is stepping outside the zone for me. But hey, I drove 2850 miles around the Sunshine State last November, so let's put all that exploring to good use: escaping the madness of spring break. Even in March, you can have an amazing time getting back to nature or finding your own private island (well, what feels like it anyway) in Florida. Here are 5 alternative spots:

1. Everglades National Park On the water (yes, Florida Bay counts, and so do all of those swamps), this park is surprisingly bewitching, even for outdoors fanatics who think they've seen it all before. Let me tell you: If you haven't been to the Everglades, then you really haven't done it all yet. Rivers of grass, kayaking with manatees, abundant bird life, a safari-style tram loop open to mountain bikers...and that's just off the main park roads.

2. Orlando Now, before you go casting stones at Mickey Mouse, I'm definitely not recommending a Disneyified spring break. But Orlando is where you can go to see major-league baseball teams the Atlanta Braves and the Houston Astros play for peanuts during spring training. Check out Florida's Grapefruit League for other teams (e.g., NY Yankees, LA Dodgers) also warming up in the Sunshine State this month.

3. Cedar Key Float away on the Old Florida vibes of this boondocks island, about a 90-minute drive southwest of Gainesville. Zip around town in a little electric 'gulf' (i.e., golf) cart, or hop aboard a boat tour of the nearby national wildlife refuge. Shame on you if you miss out on eating the fresh Gulf clams, shrimp and fish (apologetic nod to my vegetarian and vegan readers, though).

4. Canaveral National Seashore Happily stranded between the Kennedy Space Center and Cocoa Beach to the south, and Daytona Beach to the north, this pristine stretch of beach is an antidote to spring break partying. Quiet, windswept dunes, family-friendly beaches, lagoons for kayaking, and offshore islands (empty!) where you can boat in to primitive campsites. Got manatees? Yup, right next door at Merritt Island NWR.

5. Fort George Island This spookily jungle-like cultural park outside Jacksonville lets you loose on a self-guided driving tour along a bumpy, swampy dirt road. Imagine scenes from The Great Gatsby at the Ribault Club, a restored Gilded Age mansion, then visit the 19th-century cotton, citrus and sugarcane plantation of Zephaniah Kingsley and his wife Anna Jai, a former slave.

What's your favorite place to escape the crowds in Florida? Or any other beachy destination, like Hawaii? Share your top picks by leaving a comment below.

Photo credit: Everglades National Park (Michael Connolly, Jr.)

Free Online USA Vacation Planner

2010-03-04T09:07:00.000-08:00

A quick birth announcement. The brand-new edition of Lonely Planet's USA guide has just been released. Over two dozen travel writing all-stars wrote this guide, which I wrangled together as the lead author. Whoah, Nellie!

For all of you keen road trippers, I wrote a new chapter covering Route 66, the Pacific Coast Highway, the Great River Road and more. I also created a full-color feature chapter about US national parks, which includes an interview with a former ranger colleague, Ken Hires.

Wanna a sneak peek for free? Start dreaming about your next road trip by downloading the free "Getting Started" chapter as a PDF here. You'll get 35 itineraries sprawling all across the country, including themed trips like Blues & BBQ (Chicago to New Orleans) and the Continental Divide (Albuquerque to Glacier National Park, the latter celebrating its NPS centennial in 2010).

Itching for an island getaway instead? Check out these free trip-planning guides to Hawaii and Honolulu, Waikiki and Oahu, excerpted from other Lonely Planet guides that I also co-authored.

Catching the Firefall in Yosemite Valley

2010-02-26T09:08:00.000-08:00

No, I'm not talking about that misguided late-19th and early-20th-century phenomenon of folks who dumped burning embers off Glacier Point into Yosemite Valley just for the heck of it. I mean the rare occasion when the light of the setting sun turns Yosemite's Horsetail Fall into a shimmering river of gold.

We were lucky enough to be in Yosemite National Park this past Monday afternoon, and saw this ethereal sight for ourselves. (Not to diminish such all-natural glories, but it really did look for all the world like an elvish land set from a Lord of the Rings movie.) The firefall effect, which is only visible from mid- to late-February, is created by the angle of the setting sun as it hits this graceful cascade on the east side of El Capitan, one of the valley's famous granite formations.

Want to see the firefall for yourself next year? Surprisingly, the best observation points are not on the valley's Northside Drive, but off of Southside Drive between Cathedral and Sentinel Beach picnic areas. As the park ranger at the Arch Rock entrance station advised us, Southside Drive gives you the widest-angle landscape shots of the waterfall. Just look for all the cars pulled off on the side of the road, and armies of tripod-toting photographers walking toward the Merced River, braving snow and ice to snap an unforgettable scene.

Local photographer Michael Frye has a detailed online article with everything else you'll need to know about photographing this impressive phenomenon.

Related posts:
Where to Find Rare Ansel Adams Prints
Freeze and Stay Cheap (or Even Free!) in Yosemite
National Parks in 2010: Looking Forward

Photo credit: Horsetail Fall, Yosemite Valley (Michael Connolly, Jr.)

Viva Las Vegas, Baby! New iPhone Travel App

2010-02-18T14:36:00.000-08:00

Heading to Sin City soon? Tired of wandering lost through a maze of casinos and spending way too much on a dinner, a show or a nightclub that was entirely forgettable? Buy my new iPhone / iPod Touch travel app, Viva Las Vegas, Baby!, now available on iTunes for the low, low price of $1.99.

So, what exactly do you get for your two bucks? Over 150 reviews of casinos, bars, clubs, hotels, shops, out-of-town trips and more. Whether you're looking for vintage Vegas or hidden gems such as tiki bars or the Atomic Testing Museum, this app will lead you by the hand. Plus, it includes over 900 full-color photos (many taken by yours truly), interactive GPS mapping capability, and one-touch telephone dialing and website linking.

Buy the app and get free updates for life. That way, you'll never be confused again about what happens in Vegas. Promise.

P.S. The publishing company, Sutro Media, also offers many other cool iPhone / iPod Touch travel apps, all bargain-priced. Check out Cheap Eats Chicago, written by Karla Zimmerman, or Boston Essential Guide by Kim Grant, both expert travelers that I'd follow anywhere.

Lovelorn Elephant Seals at Piedras Blancas

2010-02-12T09:01:00.000-08:00

Valentine's Day isn't just a human celebration. It also coincides with the peak mating and birthing season for northern elephant seals on the Pacific coast. Right now, our local elephant seal colony at Piedras Blancas, just north of Hearst Castle, is reaching the peak of its winter activity. Every year, thousands of these gigantic, smelly and noisy marine mammals migrate down from their summer feeding grounds in Alaska to spend their winters on the beach in balmier southern climes.

Large male bulls with their harems of pregnant and nursing females and fatty pups are crowding the beaches of the Central Coast right now as I write this post. What makes it worth driving all the way down here, south of Big Sur, to see these ginormous wild animals? Unlike at Año Nuevo State Park, you don't need to pay an admission fee or make reservations weeks in advance to join a guided tour just to observe the seals on our beaches. The prime boardwalk viewing point is 4.8 miles north of Hearst Castle, where blue-jacketed docents are on hand to answer all your questions. Because the seals can move faster on the sand than humans can, always keep a safe distance back while viewing the colony.

What happens to those unvictorious male seals who are too young or small to win any female companionship after battling for mates? They gather together on out-of-the-way bachelor beaches, where they're unlikely to raise the ire of any granddaddy bulls. Sometimes those lovelorn young males apparently get a little bored, and they occasionally try to cross Highway 1 to go join the Hearst Ranch cows grazing on the other side. For these lonely seals, it seems that having some cows placidly chewing their cud for company is better than having no one at all on Valentine's Day. Better luck next year, boys!

Photo: Piedras Blancas northern elephant seal colony (Michael Connolly, Jr.)

American Wilderness: Too Noisy for You?

2010-02-05T07:54:00.000-08:00

Thanks to a Matador blog post, I found this recent Newsweek article "An Unquiet Nation" about America's vanishing silent spaces. According to audio ecologist Gordon Hempton, there are alarmingly only a dozen truly quiet spaces left in the whole country. As he defines it, that means areas "where natural silence reigns over many square miles." (Hint: One is hidden in the rain forest inside Olympic National Park.)

Hempton's book One Square Inch of Silence: One Man's Search for Natural Silence in a Noisy World documents the author's cross-country road trip in a VW bus, during which he took measurements of noisiness in various places, including national parks. He mentions "snowmobiles roaring through Yellowstone, helicopters flying over Hawaii volcanoes, and air tours over the Grand Canyon." I agree that all of those are annoying disruptions to the experience of wilderness. Too many times my serenity while hiking around the summit of Maui's Haleakala or on backcountry trails in the Sierra Nevada was spoiled by noise pollution.

However, one of Hempton's recommendations is "to prohibit all aircraft from flying over our pristine national parks." Yet what national park can claim to be pristine? Recreational tourist development means that all parks by definition already are not pristine, though there are often large swathes of wilderness mandated by law to be protected in near-pristine condition. Plus, prohibiting all aircraft from flying over the parks is not feasible. When I worked as a seasonal ranger in Kings Canyon National Park, I learned military overflights were simply unavoidable in that area of the Sierra Nevada. A bummer, but necessary for now.

Where Hempton and I agree is that tourist overflights and other noise-making leisure pursuits should be severely curtailed in our national parks. In Haleakala National Park, for example, helicopters are allowed too near the summit area. At Grand Canyon National Park, air tours are a nuisance to hikers and anyone else wishing to experience the solitude of the canyon. Air tours also make a sizable carbon footprint on the environment.

Until more national parks start to restrict noise-polluting air and overland tours inside their boundaries, each one of us can help preserve America's last quiet places by voting with our tourist dollars. Skip the noise-making group tours next time you visit a national park, and strike out on foot instead. The wilderness, and your fellow explorers, will thank you.

By the way, who's going to tackle the issue of visual pollution in our parks and the wilderness? I'll start with the Grand Canyon Skywalk. Anybody with me?

Tell me about your pet noise-pollution peeves and most hated eyesores in wilderness areas by leaving a comment below.

Photo: Haleakala National Park (Michael Connolly, Jr.)

National Parks in 2010: Looking Forward

2010-01-31T19:02:00.000-08:00

While state parks struggle to stay open in California and elsewhere, things are looking up for the National Park Service (NPS), which plans to expand in 2010. Among the proposed expansion sites are California's Death Valley National Park, Joshua Tree National Park and Mojave National Preserve, as well as the creation of two brand-new desert parklands: the Sand to Snow National Monument and the Mojave Trails National Monument. The former would cover 134,000 acres north of Palm Springs and west of Big Morongo Canyon Preserve, while the latter would connect Joshua Tree National Park with the Mojave National Preserve, including historic Route 66.

The federal legislation involved, called the California Desert Protection Act of 2010, has been introduced by Senator Dianne Feinstein. It was also Feinstein who introduced the original California Desert Protection Act of 1994, which created the Mojave National Preserve and promoted Joshua Tree from a national monument to a national park. Both acts have proved controversial, as several competing interests (e.g, miners, OHVers, hunters, environmental activists) fight over who has the right to do exactly what down in the SoCal desert. But this time around, conservationists are finding themselves unusually at odds with solar-energy developers. Also at stake is the critical long-term survival of the endangered Mojave desert tortoise.

Over on the East Coast, there are rumors that Delaware will finally get its own national park. Currently it's the only state without its own NPS site. Is 2010 the magic year that will finally change that? Stay tuned.

Related posts:
State of the Parks 2010: Going Backward
MLK, Jr. Memorial Being Built in Washington, DC
National & California State Parks: Save Money, Show Your Support

Photo: Teutonia Peak Trail, Mojave National Preserve (Sara Benson)

State of the Parks 2010: Going Backward

2010-01-25T08:49:00.000-08:00

2010 is not shaping up to be an easy year for our state parks. In California, Governor Schwarzenegger has once again proposed pulling out the proverbial rug from under the feet of California State Parks by eliminating all funding for parks from the state operating budget's general fund. Instead, he wants to make them financially rely on offshore oil drilling that hasn't even been approved yet. (If you want to take action and express your discontent to politicians with this plan, click here to join the California State Park Foundation's campaign.) Is it any wonder that California's state parks have been placed on the America's 11 Most Endangered Places list by the National Trust for Historic Preservation?

Of course, California isn't the only state-park system facing huge challenges, given the current economic situation. Dramatically, Arizona State Parks has decided to close all but 9 of its parks by June 2010, after it received additional funding cuts from its state legislature. Wave good-bye to Sedona's Red Rock State Park, Flagstaff's Riordan Mansion, Winslow's Homolovi Ruins and Tombstone's historic courthouse. Up north in Washington state, Governor Christine Gregoire has proposed closing 13 state parks. Some of Idaho's state parks are also on deck for closure later this year, due to that state's budget crunch.

Why can't we all live in Oregon, whose parks are partly funded by a state lottery? That makes Oregon state parks immune to drastic budget cuts by state legislators. At least until 2014, when the parks' special-funding law comes up for renewal. Start crossing your fingers now, folks.

Related posts:
California State Parks: Open or Closed?
National & California State Parks: Save Money, Show Your Support
NorCal: HI Redwood National Park Hostel Closing

Photo: William Randolph Hearst Memorial State Beach (Michael Connolly, Jr.)

MLK, Jr. Memorial Being Built in Washington, DC

2010-01-18T13:57:00.000-08:00

Looking for a meaningful way to celebrate Martin Luther King, Jr. Day? Consider donating to a brand-new memorial to honor the Civil Rights leader in Washington, DC. After more than a decade of grassroots efforts to place a fitting tribute on the National Mall, construction of this national memorial finally began earlier this month. Over $100 million of the $120 million needed has already been raised. Click here or call (888) 484-3373 to help out. Or donate $5 using your cell or smart phone just by texting MLK to 20222 (this works for U.S. subscribers only).

Scheduled to open in 2011, this four-acre memorial would be the first on the National Mall to honor an African American. For a virtual fly-by tour of the inscription wall, parklands and giant statue of MLK, Jr., click here. The nonprofit memorial foundation's website also has a thoughtful description of the memorial's design (by San Francisco's inter-disciplinary ROMA Design Group) and mission. Its position along the axis of the Jefferson and Lincoln memorials pointedly places King in a larger context of U.S. democracy and social progress.

Can't wait until the memorial opens next year? You can visit the Martin Luther King, Jr. National Historic Site in Atlanta, GA anytime.

Image courtesy of Washington, D.C. Martin Luther King, Jr. National Memorial Project Foundation

Top Unfinished Adventures for the '10s

2010-01-10T21:11:00.000-08:00

Never too late for New Year's resolutions, right? In 2009, I finally climbed Half Dome. This year, I'm going to walk across the Grand Canyon from rim to rim. I'm toying with this route: on the South Rim, hike down to the Colorado River from Hermit's Rest, then head east on the Tonto Trail (is it dangerously unmaintained or just a little unkempt?) and then up the North Kaibab Trail (here's a trail description from Backpacker via my friend Shelli's website, www.mygrandcanyonpark.com) to the North Rim. That's about 45 miles of trekking. Whew!

In 2010 I'm also going to hike across the Sierra Nevada Mountains. Of course, I could be super hard-core and do the 70-mile-plus High Sierra Trail, which runs from Sequoia National Park all the way to Mt. Whitney. It's a beautiful route, but I want to wait until I'm strong enough to summit Mt. Whitney, too. This year, I'm going to cheat and scoot across the Sierras at one of the range's narrowest points. From Cedar Grove in Kings Canyon National Park, I'll hike up the Bubbs Creek Trail to Junction Meadow, then head east over Kearsarge Pass down to Onion Valley, outside the small town of Independence. It's less than 20 miles that way.

I've also got some unfinished adventures from the past decade that I'm moving to the front burner for the '10s:

Mauna Kea, the Big Island of Hawaii -- I came so close to summiting on foot in 2002, but ran out of daylight and couldn't safely finish. I've driven up near the summit since then, but the footpath, which runs by a permafrost lake and an ancient Hawaiian adze quarry, is like walking atop clouds.
Mauna Loa, the Big Island of Hawaii -- I mean, how can you summit one of the Big Island's big ol' beautiful volcanoes and not the other? But I still haven't solved the pesky problem of car break-ins at the trailhead. Ideas, anyone?
Rainbow Bridge, Navajo Nation -- Yes, you can take a boat there. But it's a lot cooler to hike there by going around sacred Navajo Mountain. We tried before, but flash flooding stopped us in 2007. Get permits from Navajo Parks & Recreation.
Torres del Paine National Park, Patagonia -- When I tried to hike the circuit in 2006, I had a backcountry emergency that was almost fatal. Now, I'm determined to get back there and show those mountains that they can't keep me down.
Everest Base Camp, Nepal -- My trekking partner had an emergency evacuation by helicopter from near Namche Bazaar (totally his fault, due to some mind-altering substances I hadn't known were in his pack), so I never got here back in 1999. Grrr.

What are your outdoor adventure goals for 2010 and beyond? I'd love to hear 'em!

Photo: Summit of Half Dome, August 2009 (Michael Connolly, Jr.)

Year-End Donations: Help Make a Better Planet

2009-12-30T19:24:00.000-08:00

It's not too late, folks. Did you just realize that you need (or simply want) to contribute more to charity before the imminent end of the tax year 2009? Do it today. Of course, there are tons of nonprofit organizations out there that could use your help, especially in these tough economic times. So, why not put your money where you know your heart really is, and donate some moolah -- and maybe some of your volunteer time in 2010 -- to great outdoors, wildlife and environmental organizations? Charity Navigator can help you find some of the best. For the record, here are a few faves close to where I live in California that I really believe in:

For social justice and environmental organizations with more global reach:

And don't forget to sign up for your local Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) farm-share program in 2010! We heart San Luis Obispo's CalPoly Organic Farm, which keeps our kitchen abundantly stocked with veggies and fruit year-round. Happy new year, everyone!

Photo: San Luis Obispo County (Michael Connolly, Jr.)

Free e-Guide for US National Parks

2009-12-26T16:35:00.000-08:00

If you're a die-hard national parks fan, or have been just recently inspired to get out and explore by Ken Burns' documentary series The National Parks: America's Best Idea, then the National Park Foundation (NPF) has a freebie you'll want to download today. The America's National Parks Owners Guide 2009 overflows with good stuff, including pointers toward visiting little-known National Park Service (NPS) sites (for example, war memorials, maritime history sites and literary homes in the San Francisco Bay area).

The owners' guide, which you can download as a free PDF or browse through online, is organized into 20-plus regions, including Alaska and even Caribbean and Pacific Islands. Whether you're looking for new parks in your own backyard or maybe you're a planning an epic cross-country trip for next summer, check out the "Don't Miss" boxed texts. For more trip-planning advice, the NPF website also has a handful of short, snappy travel ideas.

Of course, if you're going to knock a few dozen more NPS sites off your life list in 2010, you're going to need an America the Beautiful annual pass ($80), valid at every national park and most federal recreation lands (a lifetime pass costs $10 for seniors, free for those with disabilities). Buy passes online or at any national park. While you're at it, consider making a donation to the National Parks Foundation. Anyone who contributes at least $50 gets a subscription to Parks magazine, which offers behind-the-scenes looks at what's happening in your parks right now.

Which national park is first on your list for 2010? Inspire us by posting a comment below.

Related posts:
Freeze and Stay Cheap (or Even Free!) in Yosemite
Free Online Vacation Planner for Hawaii
National Park Service Spotlights Route 66

Hidden Hiking Trails in West Maui

2009-12-21T08:14:00.000-08:00

As winter clenches us in its icy fist, it's time to dream about making the trip over Hawaii. Peak tourist season for the islands is just now getting underway. That makes it key to find places where you can escape the hoards -- a lonely but beautiful beach, a remote rainforest waterfall pool or a hiking trail with no one on it.

On the west side of Maui, you don't have to be a guest of the high-end Kapalua resort just to set foot in its groomed hiking trails. Kapalua's Coastal Trail, which stretches for 2 miles along prime beachfront, is always busy with walkers, runners and cavorting kids. But newer trails let you get away from all those crowds. High in the hills above the golf course, the historical Maunalei Arboretum is practically deserted. Here gentle footpaths wind through shady groves planted with native and non-native arboreal species. Even kids will enjoy the 0.5-mile Lower Loop, or the 1-mile Banyan Loop that passes by those exotic gargantuan trees.

More of a cardio workout, the 1.25-mile Honolua Ridge Trail climbs from the arboretum's tangled maze of shorter trails to an impressive forest lookout. If you want a real adventure, follow the epic Mahana Ridge Trail another 6 miles downhill to the ocean, treating yourself to gorgeous views of Lanai along the way. When I hiked this trail in October, I didn't see another soul. The side loop through a sugi pine grove was a cool relief from the hot sun, but the spur through overgrown pineapple fields was a bush-whacking waste of time, because none of the plants were flowering or fruiting. Still, it was one of the most memorable hikes I've done on Maui.

If you plan to do the entire 7-mile Honolua & Mahana Ridges route, wear shoes with good traction and bring plenty of water. Surprisingly, you'll stumble across chilled drinking water and flush toilets about 2 miles from the end of the trail, at its intersection with a paved access road. When you get to the end of the trail at D.T. Fleming Beach Park, you'll need to march your muddy, sweaty self for another 10 or 15 minutes uphill through the grounds of the Ritz-Carlton hotel to get back to the Kapalua Adventure Center. Prepare yourself for disapproving looks from snooty resort guests.

The Kapalua resort provides a free shuttle service from the Kapalua Adventure Center, near the driving range and golf course, uphill to the arboretum several times daily. Currently, the shuttle picks up at the center at 8 a.m., 9:30 a.m., 11 a.m., 12:30 p.m., 2 p.m. and 3:30 p.m., returning from the arboretum at 9:50 a.m., 11:20 a.m, 12:50 p.m., 2:20 p.m., 3:50 p.m. and 5:50 p.m. Make sure you sign a liability waiver and pick up a free hiking guide booklet at the check-in desk inside the Kapalua Adventure Center before hitting the trail. Note that private vehicles are not allowed to access the arboretum or its trailheads.

Related Posts:
Free Online Vacation Planner for Hawaii
How Not to Be an Idiot While Hiking
Our National Parks: So Wild That You Should Sue?

Photo: Puu Kukui Watershed Reserve, Maui (Michael Connolly, Jr.)

Eating Sustainable Seafood Made Easy

2009-12-16T07:36:00.000-08:00

Making sure that you eat sustainably harvested seafood has just gotten even easier, thanks to the eco-conscious folks over at the Monterey Bay Aquarium who run the Seafood Watch program. For years, they've been publishing those handy pocket-sized "Seafood Watch" cards to help you pick the most sustainable seafood, whether you're buying fish at the market or dining out. Those pocket guides are available for six U.S. regions, as well as in a specialty sushi edition (all available as PDFs here). But now you can skip the paper altogether, and just download the free iPhone or iPod touch application. It's customizable to whatever U.S. region you happen to be traveling in, which is a lot more convenient than carrying around all of those paper guides.

If you live in California, or even if you just buy seafood caught offshore here, buying sustainable seafood at the grocery store will soon get easier, too. Two months ago, Assembly Bill 1217 was signed into law by Governor Schwarzenegger. The bill was sponsored by Democratic Assembly Member Bill Monning from Carmel, just down the road from the fishing port of Monterey. AB 1217 will develop a voluntary program for labeling seafood caught by California fisheries that have been certified as sustainable by the California Ocean Protection Council, also using the Seafood Watch program standards.

That's good news for consumers who want to make more informed seafood buying choices. But it's probably not such good news for Trader Joe's, which earlier this year received the worst scores of any national supermarket chain when it comes to selling sustainable seafood, as rated by Greenpeace (again, using the Seafood Watch list standards). Even mega-retailers such as Walmart ranked better than TJ's in a mid-2009 evaluation. (Whole Foods, incidentally, came in third.) For the full nationwide scorecard results, click here.

Tip: When you're shopping for seafood, you can also look for the blue sticker of sustainability as certified by the international Marine Stewardship Council.

CityCenter Now Open in Las Vegas

2009-12-11T06:00:00.000-08:00

So, this is it. The moment has finally arrived on the Strip. No, I'm not talking about New Year's Eve insanity in Las Vegas. I'm talking about the much ballyhooed CityCenter, a massive hotel, condo, shopping and entertainment complex that some predicted would never be finished. Despite the economy and this MGM Mirage project's ups and downs, CityCenter is now open for business just off Las Vegas Boulevard.

Well, kind of. When I visited CityCenter this week, there was still a lot of work left to be done. Hand-written signs said "Elevator This Way" and the hulking complex was still half empty. Curious tourists were poking around the boutique shops and hotel lobbies, a bit perplexed as to where they could and couldn't go (omnipresent security staff were quick to educate them about the latter). As I drove around the confusing maze of access roads and driveways, valet parking attendants hungry for tips enthusiastically waved me toward them. Apparently, the party hasn't really started yet.

But that's not unusual for mega-hotel and casino openings on the Strip, at least not in the 21st century. Construction delays and half-baked "soft" openings are par for the course. Here's a thumbnail guide to what's open now at CityCenter:

The free monorail between the Monte Carlo and Bellagio casino hotels is back in service, after years of sitting unused. This is fantastic news for everyone who was tired of battling the crowded sidewalks between Tropicana, Harmon and Flamingo Avenues. Now, you can skip all that by riding the monorail for free.

Las Vegas' sleek, brand-new Mandarin Oriental hotel truly is a "nongaming oasis." The petite ground-floor entryway with its impressive Asian artwork is nothing compared to the 23rd-floor sky lobby with its tea lounge and Eurasian fusion restaurant Twist by three-star Michelin French chef Pierre Gagnaire. Don't miss salivating over the window displays at street-level Amore Patisserie. If you book now, you can get a complimentary night with one night's paid stay (hotel rooms from $545, excluding taxes and fees).

You can't miss the geometric facade of the shopping mall Crystals angling out into Las Vegas Boulevard. There is no catwalk fashion label too haute for this place -- think Yves Saint Laurent, Louis Vuitton and the like -- but the most talked-about shop open so far is boudoir-ready Kiki de Montparnasse. Perfectly positioned is Eva Longoria's restaurant Beso, to be followed up on New Year's Eve by Eve Nightclub. Look for Wolfgang Puck's mod French brasserie and Mastro's Ocean Club for steaks, seafood and stiff martinis opening soon.

Vdara hotel and spa, tucked away from the Strip on the far west side of CityCenter, is a nongaming, nonsmoking all-suites hotel with a spa, sky pool and lounge. The Silk Road Restaurant has outrageous sculptural interior design alone worth a look. Suites currently start at $129/night, excluding taxes and fees. Although they're not stand-outs compared with other luxury boutique hotels on and off the Strip, the views and handy location do measure up.

So, what's next to be unwrapped at CityCenter? Aria, a hotel that is LEED Gold Certified by the U.S. Green Building Council, expects to open on Wednesday, December 16. Smack in the heart of CityCenter, Aria will ultimately have 16 restaurants, 10 bars and lounges, three pools with cabanas (including an adults-only pool, Liquid) and a deluxe spa. Rooms right now start at $149/night, excluding taxes and fees. There will also be a quirky new Cirque du Soleil production, Viva ELVIS (preview tickets cost $87 to $150). Yes, that's right folks. Flying acrobatics in blue suede shoes. Whatever will they dream up next?

Photo: Crystals at CityCenter (Michael Connolly, Jr.)

Binion's Hotel Closes, Vintage Vegas Lives On

2009-12-04T11:40:00.000-08:00

Did you hear the news that troubled Binion's hotel in downtown Las Vegas is closing? Of course, Binion's poker room -- where the World Series of Poker was born in 1971 -- will remain open, and so will the casino. But you won't be able to get a cheap steak-and-eggs deal in the coffee shop anymore, and there will be no keno (well, who cares about that, really). A favorite of real-live Nevada cowboys, Binion's 24th-floor steakhouse will close on Monday, December 14, after the NFR rodeo leaves town, but should reopen by December 28 in time for New Year's. I'm just crossing my fingers that the casino-level snack bar, with its hand-made burgers and sweet cherry pie, doesn't go anywhere soon.

I'm a die-hard fan of all things classic Las Vegas, but I've got to admit those hotel rooms at Binion's were just not up to snuff the last time I stayed there. Stiff competition, including from the glittering Golden Nugget and its brand-new Rush Tower across the street, was just too much. Even the basic rooms at Main Street Station are better value than Binion's. Still, it's hard not to get nostalgic about the downfall of a Fremont Street legend like Binion's, which has already changed owners more times in the 21st century than it did in the 20th.

Thankfully, there are still plenty of places downtown, on or off Fremont Street, to get that vintage Vegas vibe:

Play Texas hold 'em in the swankly redesigned "Hall of Fame" poker room at Binion's.
Check out the outdoor exhibits of the Neon Museum, stretching from the eerily half-empty Neonopolis to the 3rd Street cul-de-sac, just north of Fremont St.
Grab a shrimp cocktail (still just 99 cents for players club members) from the 1906 Golden Gate Casino and Hotel.
Catch a performance of The Rat Pack is Back! at the Plaza Hotel and Casino, then check out the glass-dome restaurant Firefly for its cockpit-views of the Fremont Street Experience.
Cruise Main Street south during daylight hours for cool retro shops, like Main Street Antiques (awesome casino memorabilia), Rainbow Feather Dyeing Co (authentic showgirl boas!) or The Attic (outrageous vintage clothing and furniture).

Related Posts:
Las Vegas: Save Money, Escape the Strip
Las Vegas: Mad Dash to the Rodeo

Photo: Fremont Street, Downtown Las Vegas (Michael Connolly, Jr.)

Zion's Angels Landing Hike: So Popular, It's a Killer

2009-11-30T16:38:00.000-08:00

Recently, there has been some interesting debate on the National Parks Traveler website about the hike to Angels Landing in Utah's Zion National Park. On Black Friday, Tammy Grunig fell to her death while hiking up the trail. This was the second fatality on this trail in 2009. The previous accident occurred in early August, when Nancy Maltez died after she also slipped and fell en route.

Now, how dangerous is it really to hike to Angels Landing? There's a huge range of opinion out there -- just scroll through all of the comments on National Parks Traveler's original news post about the most recent fatality, and you'll see what I mean. I've hiked the trail myself, and can testify that the last narrow section from Scout Lookout (aka "Chicken-Out Point") to the tip of Angels Landing, which overlooks the Virgin River from an uneasy height of almost 5800 feet, is a white-knuckler. You've got to scramble over slickrock, grab onto chains that NPS has installed and take care with every single footfall. For a virtual look at this infamous trail, check out Zion's Angels Landing eHike.

But Angels Landing is not the most dangerous hike in Zion National Park, let alone the entire national park system. So why all the fuss? The same reason that deaths on Yosemite's Half Dome get plenty of media attention. Both are insanely popular trails with park visitors, not all of whom are experienced or well-prepared enough. I've seen people in tennis shoes with no tread and only one small water bottle to sustain them on both hikes. Perhaps what makes each of these trails a killer is the sheer volume of day hikers. Rush hour on either trail can be a dangerous scenario. Not only is it too crowded to be safe, but also there is the psychological effect of, "Well, since everyone else is doing it, I will, too."

So what's the solution? Being an avid hiker, but also having worked as a seasonal national park ranger, I can see both sides of the story. Requiring hiking permits would be too costly, in terms of the time required for rangers to give safety talks, write permits and enforce regulations. So, what about closing these classic trails? Unthinkable, to outdoor enthusiasts. Taking risks in the wilderness is what many of us love to do. Of course, hikers who get in trouble don't end up paying the bills for costly search-and-rescue operations, so that's easy to say.

Ultimately, the possibly fatal cost of hiking these trails is a choice we all make, every time we pull on our hiking boots in any national park. I still vote that we get to take reasonable risks, as long as we're honest with ourselves about how experienced we are in the wilderness and come prepared with more than just a bottle of water, a few peanut butter cookies and a banana, like my mom packed for us when we hiked in the Grand Tetons when I was eight years old. We never made it to that summit lake (though, thankfully, we all survived to tell the tale).

How Not to Be an Idiot While Hiking
Our National Parks: So Wild That You Should Sue?
Yosemite's Half Dome Through the Back Door

Photo: Zion Canyon (Sara J. Benson)

Freeze and Stay Cheap (or Even Free!) in Yosemite

2009-11-28T20:39:00.000-08:00

During summer in Yosemite National Park, Curry Village -- a family-oriented complex of cabins and tents dating from 1899 -- is a buzzing hive of activity. But did you know that you can stay there more cheaply during winter? Depending on how cold it is, your stay might be free. And if the temperature dips below zero, they'll actually pay you to sleep there. No kidding!

Just check out the Temp-RATE-ure deal being offered this winter at Curry Village. If you stay in an unheated tent cabin midweek between January 22 and March 27, 2010, the rate you'll be charged will be equal to the previous night's low temperature in degrees Fahrenheit inside the park. Their promise: you'll never pay more than $39, based on double occupancy, not including taxes. If the overnight low reaches zero, your stay will be free. For every degree the overnight low drops below zero, you'll actually get paid to stay there.

Does an unheated canvas-covered tent cabin sound too chilly? Curry Village's All U Can Heat special offer lets you stay in a heated tent cabin for just $10 more per night. Using the same rules as the Temp-RATE-ure deal, the nightly rate maxes out at $49 per double occupancy, excluding taxes. Of course, there are far fewer heated than unheated tent cabins in Curry Village, so book early. Cold sleepers will want to bring their own sleeping bags, no matter which type of cabin they end up staying in.

To book either of these winter packages at Yosemite's Curry Village, call (801) 559-4884 or go online for Temp-RATE-ure reservations or All U Can Heat reservations. These special rates are not available on weekends, holidays or from February 12 to 14, 2010.

Photo: Yosemite Valley (Michael Connolly, Jr.)

Thanksgiving Dinner Cheat: Your National Parks

2009-11-24T10:29:00.000-08:00

Not feeling up to cooking Thanksgiving Day dinner this year? No problem. Load up the family and head to one of the West's national parks for an unforgettable day outside, followed by a pretty darn good holiday meal at one of the parks' justifiably famous lodges.

Several years ago, I took a friend to the south rim of the Grand Canyon on Thanksgiving Day. We hiked in the snow near Hermits Rest, then bellied up to the no-reservations Bright Angel Restaurant for cranberry sauce, mashed potatoes, stuffing, turkey -- basically, the Thanksgiving works. The canyon-view window table didn't hurt either.

After all, doesn't food always taste better after you've been playing outside all day? Especially when you don't have to cook it yourself. And just maybe this is the right year to start a healthier family tradition of exercise, not overeating. So, take a look at these scenic national park dining rooms, most of which don't require reservations:

Grand Canyon National Park, AZ: Arizona Room and Bright Angel Restaurant, both at the Bright Angel Lodge (South Rim)
Mesa Verde National Park, CO: Metate Room at Far View Lodge
Yosemite National Park, CA: Mountain Room at Yosemite Lodge at the Falls (Yosemite Valley); Wawona Dining Room at the Wawona Hotel

Do you have another favorite national park restaurant? Recommend it by posting a comment below.

Photo: Grand Canyon National Park (Michael Connolly, Jr. & Sara Benson)

Santa Cruz Mountain Wineries: Open Tomorrow

2009-11-20T10:13:00.000-08:00

Forget Napa and Sonoma this weekend. The Santa Cruz Mountains, ranking among California's oldest wine-growing regions, are beautifully untrammeled. With vineyards spread beneath old-growth redwood forests, many of these winemakers have achieved cult status, especially for their estate Pinot Noir bottlings.

The trouble is, some top Santa Cruz Mountain wineries are only open to the public four times each year on quarterly Passport days. Your next chance to visit some of these hidden vineyards is Saturday, November 21. Participating wineries will be open from 11 a.m. until 5 p.m. (click here for a map). Even wineries that are normally open to the public often celebrate Passport day by pouring special vintages and offering barrel samples.

To buy a Passport ticket ($40), which can only be used once at each winery but conveniently has no expiration date, call (831) 685-8463 or pick one up at any participating winery. You can use that same ticket again on future Passport days, usually held on the third Saturday of January, April, July and November.

After all, there's much more amazing wine to dig up in these mountains than anyone could possibly tipple on just one Saturday afternoon. And don't worry if you can't make it tomorrow, because chic Vinocruz wine store in downtown Santa Cruz pours rare and outstanding local vintages every day of the year, no passport required.

Do you have a fave winery in the Santa Cruz Mountains? Or another under-the-radar California wine country you'd recommend? Let me know by posting a comment below.

Photo: California vineyards (Michael Connolly, Jr.)

California State Parks: Open or Closed?

2009-10-29T11:53:00.000-07:00

It has been a tough couple of months for California State Parks. First came the much-debated budget cuts, which totaled $14.2 million for this fiscal year. (Over half that amount was courtesy of Gov. Schwarzenegger's line-item veto power over the state budget, by the way.) Then, it was proposed that over 100 state parks would have to close completely. Although that didn't happen, it's still a confusing situation if you want to find out whether a state park is open or not on any given day.

Even though park entry and camping fees went up in mid-August, that additional revenue alone hasn't been enough to keep all 279 parks across the state open. This week California State Parks started announcing partial closures and service reductions for state parks on a region-by-region basis. Cost-cutting measures so far have included closing visitor centers, restrooms, campgrounds and even entire parks for a few days per week, plus reducing educational programs and school tours. And what about infrastructure repairs and improvements? Forget about that until at least mid-2010.

For details about ongoing state park closures, including at beaches, forests, historic sites and campgrounds, check out state parks' 2009 news releases online, including for:

More regional closure lists are expected in the next few days. Or, like the old TV ad says, phone first.

Have you experienced state park closures where you live? Tell us about it by posting a comment below.

Photo: Humboldt Redwoods State Park (Michael Connolly, Jr.)

Where to Find Rare Ansel Adams Prints

2009-10-26T11:38:00.000-07:00

Are you a fan of Ansel Adams' iconic black-and-white Western landscape photography? Right now, you have a chance to see dozens of his vintage prints dating from the 1920s to the '50s. The San Jose Museum of Art will be the only West Coast stop on the Ansel Adams: Early Works exhibition tour. Most of the prints are held by private collectors. These include the earliest known extant version of Clearing Winter Storm and two contrasting prints of Monolith, the Face of Half Dome. They will be on view in San Jose through February 28, 2010. Admission is $8 per adult, $5 for students or seniors; children under 6 are free. You can also catch the exhibition in Park City, UT at the Kimball Art Center from November 5, 2010 through January 5, 2011.

Wanna know a secret? You can also see rare original Ansel Adams prints year-round at the Ansel Adams Gallery in Yosemite Valley. Call (209) 372-4413 in advance to arrange for a curator to escort you into the gallery's back room on the 'Fine Print' tour. The tour is limited to 5 people -- and it's totally free. The gallery also sponsors free guided photography walks (max. 15 people), but only during summer, usually starting around 8:30 a.m. on Tuesday, Thursday, Saturday and Sunday mornings. For details and up-to-date schedules, check the gallery website or the national park's free seasonal newspaper, the Yosemite Guide, which is also downloadable online.

Photo: Half Dome, from Clouds Rest (Michael Connolly, Jr.)

Backpacking the Sierra High Route -- for just $6495

2009-10-21T08:02:00.000-07:00

Recently I've started letting my travel magazine subscriptions lapse. It's not just economics, the backload of past issues I may never get around to reading, or the wish to waste less paper, even if I do end up recycling everything. No, it's just that travel magazine journalism rarely applies to the real world.

Travel + Leisure was once my favorite version of travel porn. But I got tired of salivating over African safari resorts I'll never be able to visit on my freelancer's paycheck. Next I stopped subscribing to Outside, whose inveterate sexism just doesn't come off as cool in that bad-boy way anymore. Now, I'm down to just National Geographic Adventure. After their November 2009 issue's article on the supposed 25 best new trips in the world, I'm done with them, too. (Full disclosure: I once wrote an article for NGA several years ago, but have had no contact since.)

Among the trips that NGA highlights is Southern Yosemite Mountain Guides (SYMG) Sierra High Route, a guided 26-day backpacking trip. The 195-mile route itself was pioneered by Steve Roper in his 1982 book, and it connects many of the high points in the Sierra Nevada Mountains by little-traveled routes. When I was a trailhead ranger at Kings Canyon National Park, I met hard-core thru-hikers who said it was the best trip they'd ever done, exploring remote areas of Kings Canyon NP and Yosemite NP and the John Muir and Ansel Adams Wilderenesses.

So far, so good. The Sierra High Route is admittedly a hard trip that requires logistical planning, plus brute strength, endurance and some mountaineering skills. I can see where some backpackers might elect to take along a guide instead of making this an epic DIY adventure. But this is not a new adventure, and I'd hesitate to call it one of the 25 best trips in the world, never mind what NGA claims. More importantly, though, I was slack-jawed at the price of SYMG's guided trip: at least $6495 per person.

Now, you'd think for that price that perhaps you'd get someone to carry your pack for you, but no, you've got to carry your own (it'll weigh up to 35 lbs, with food drops en route). The group size is small (3-6 hikers, plus 2 guides), so that's a bonus. But apart from that, what are clients really paying for? Oh, that's right: a shared hotel room for one night in Fresyes, van shuttles to/from the start/end points of the hike, rental backpacking gear and a wilderness permit ($15 per group when issued by Kings Canyon NP). And don't forget to tip your guides 10-20%, of course!

That's what has ended my subscription to NGA. I know how these magazine articles are written by committee, and how the emphasis is on content that merely looks and sounds interesting, rather than exhaustively researched information with significant value added. But if paying someone over $250/day to accompany me on a long-distance hike in California's mountains constitutes one of the world's 25 best trips, what is the world coming to? Seriously.

By the way, if any of you would like to trek the Sierra High Route, I'll charge you half as much to be your guide. (Just kidding. And anyway, you'd still have to carry your own pack.)

Yosemite's Half Dome Through the Back Door
How Not to Be an Idiot While Hiking
Free Online Mini-Guides to Offbeat National Parks

Photo: Yosemite National Park (Michael Connolly, Jr.)

Our National Parks: So Wild That You Should Sue?

2009-10-12T09:00:00.000-07:00

I've worked a few seasons as a national park ranger, and I can tell you that a lot of visitors seem to leave their brains in the iron ranger (i.e., that old-style fee-collection canister) when they arrive in a national park. There is a persistent public perception that national parks should be, as one ranger friend of mine put it, "Nerf World." Forget that wilderness is truly wild. What many visitors want is a safely insulated experience, in which they can admire the scenery but be protected from all the kick-ass forces of nature.

If you've been watching Ken Burns' documentary The National Parks: America's Best Idea (free episodes are still viewable online), then you'll know that some of the biggest proponents of national parks would heartily disagree. Take, for example, John Muir. That mountain man rode down an avalanche and almost got blown over a waterfall in Yosemite. Do you think he'd ever agree that park visitors should be able to forget their common sense in the wild? Or take Edward Abbey, who argued in his classic rant Desert Solitaire that national parks shouldn't be "improved" to the point where visitors can simply drive along paved roads and never truly encounter nature. As Abbey wrote in The Journey Home, "To those who see our land in that manner, the best reply is, yes, you are right, it is a dangerous and terrible place. Enter at your own risk. Carry water. Avoid the noonday sun. Try to ignore the vultures. Pray frequently."

But as a nation, perhaps we've lost this wilderness ethic. Case in point: the National Park Service (NPS) just paid $5 million dollars to the surviving family members of two hikers who died in Haleakala National Park on Maui in 2003. A USA Today article about the case seemed sympathetic to the family, focusing on the tragedy of the deaths. But was the park really to blame? Consider:

The family was irresponsibly hiking off-trail in Haleakala NP. If you do something that a national park advises against, you clearly do so at your own risk. If I break the rules, should I then hold the park rangers responsible for my foolishness? The USA Today article stated that "Makahiku Falls, off an established trail in the park, is considered a destination for tourists." That's just not true. And besides, considered by who? Travel guidebook authors who often encourage trespassing and damaging off-trail exploration? (Yes, I'm talking about you, Maui Revealed -- or as some locals are now calling it, "Maui Reviled.")
The trail-of-use that the family chose to hike was obviously dangerous. I've been to Haleakala NP at least a dozen times over the last 15 years, and never once have I been tempted to hike down to Makahiku Falls, because it's clearly dangerous. (See photo above.) Do you really need a park ranger to remind you that hiking on these crumbling cliffs or in the rushing stream near these falls might be fatal? No. The family's lawyer said, "They [the family] had no reason to think that walking across these rocks was dangerous." Really? Even though there were dark clouds already threatening rain overhead? And the water was flowing quickly? Which brings me to my next point.
Hawaii is known for its flash floods, especially in this area of Maui. If you've been to the Kipahulu section of Haleakala NP, you'll know that it's impossible not to notice the several, and now dozens, of signs warning about the hazardous potential for flash floods. In fact, this applies to almost every mountain stream and waterfall pool on the island. Any tourist who goes for a waterfall swim or stream hike has to take responsibility for her or his own safety. The family's lawsuit claimed an electronic warning sign was not working on the day they visited the park. Having been to the park many times both before and after this fatal incident, I can testify that there are plenty of other non-electronic warning signs indicating the dangers of hiking off-trail and swimming in the stream. You just have to take time to stop and read them.
Visitors who cause search-and-rescues (SARs) cost parks money. Lawsuits are even more debilitating to park operations, and do little, if anything to improve visitor safety. Haleakala NP rangers spent four days looking for the bodies of the two hikers who died in the flash flood. SAR operations are incredibly costly, and if I were to ever cause one as a result of my own foolish actions, I would feel guilty about it. (In fact, visitors who get into trouble in national parks rarely donate money back to the park, to help defray the cost of their own rescue.) I certainly wouldn't sue the park, whether out of greed or grief, if a family member died while hiking. National parks have enough issues with budget shortfalls and maintenance backlogs that million-dollar lawsuits will only impede their ability to do their jobs.

I think this case is most remarkable for the attitude of the Brown family, who blamed their unfortunate wilderness encounter on national park staff. Perhaps it's symptomatic not only of the heedless culture of national park tourism, but also common tourist attitudes in Hawaii. People often come to these islands expecting paradise, and they typically behave however they want to, regardless of the effects on Hawaii's natural environment (hello, water-wasting golf courses!) or cultural heritage (trespassing on sacred Native Hawaiian sites just to get a photograph). As more people visit Hawaii and its national parklands, it's time for each of us to take responsibility for our actions. Show some aloha 'aina (respect, care and love for the land). And don't blame park rangers when you get into trouble and it's clearly, if also tragically, your own fault.

How Not to Be an Idiot While Hiking

2009-10-09T09:00:00.000-07:00

I'm a big fan of Backpacker magazine's blogs because they're topical, timely and give you news about the Great Outdoors that is hard to find elsewhere on the web. Steve Howe's recent post Smarten Up had me yelling "Yes, yes!" as I read it. His outdoor-savvy post offers a "checklist of 8 steps that would prevent most searches, rescues and deaths in the woods." My favorite recommendation might be "Take some freakin' gear." How many times have I seen naive folks head out for a long-distance hike on a hot summer day with oh, 12 ounces of water, no sunscreen and flip-flops without any traction?

I'd just like to add two more items to Steve Howes' list, to round it out as a Top Ten list of ways to smarten up:

Let someone know where you're going, and when you plan to be back. We all know the story of Aron Ralston and other unlucky hikers who might've had a less terrifying experience if they'd let someone know about their plans. After all, how much time does it take to send a friend a text message with your planned hiking route and ETA back at the trailhead? (Or when cell-phone reception fails, rely on that quaintly retro piece of technology, a pay phone.)
Be aware of flash floods, and don't cross streams that aren't safe. Maybe I'm saying this because I often hike in the Southwest deserts, Sierra Nevada mountains and Hawaii, all places where flash floods and/or tricky stream crossings are a real concern for hikers. But when you're hiking, you need to know the weather report and resist the temptation to cross streams that are rushing too quickly or flowing too high to be truly safe. Especially when conditions could be even worse later in the day or whenever you may be retracing your steps. Remember what happened to Chris McCandless, as retold by Jon Krakauer in Into the Wild.

Stay tuned for my next posting, about why irresponsible hikers shouldn't be rewarded with a $5 million dollar settlement from the National Park Service. That recently happened here on Maui, where I'm currently researching a new hiking guide. And yes, I'm doing it without crossing any dangerously high streams in flash-flood warning zones. And I always let someone know where I'm going.

Photo: Sequoia National Park (Michael Connolly, Jr.)

Santa Barbara: Life in Lotusland

2009-10-05T08:30:00.000-07:00

California is full of hidden gardens that are open for public tours. In Santa Barbara (actually, it's in the posh eastern suburb of Montecito), Lotusland is the former estate of the eccentric, artistic Madame Ganna Walska. This is no ordinary botanic garden, as I found out when I took a tour last week.

Although the garden does have its formal aspects -- parterre hedging, topiary of animals and chess pieces, and a Moorish mosaic-tile fountain -- mostly left over from the family that owned the property in the early 20th century, there's no riot of flowering bowers here. What you've come to see are the obsessive gardens planned by Madame Walska herself, an operatic singer, spiritualist and serial monogamist in the style of Elizabeth Taylor. Madame Walska was not a fan of nurturing flowers as much as she was of planting several dozen of the strangest-looking, most exotic plants you can imagine altogether, sometimes whimsically themed by color. Look for misty ferns, scores of aloe and cactus varieties, ancient cycads and even a rare dawn redwood from China.

The best time to visit the garden is when the lotus pond is in full bloom, usually between late June and late August. Another colorful time is after winter rains in early spring, when everything is lush. But if you go now, you can take advantage of a special rate ($25) for a two-hour guided tour, which normally costs $35. Tours are currently offered at 10:30 a.m. and 1:30 p.m. Wednesday through Saturday from mid-February through mid-November. For reservations (which are required), call (805) 969-9990 between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m. Monday to Friday, or 9 a.m. and 1 p.m. Saturday.

Photo: Montecito, California (Sara J. Benson)

Off-the-Beaten-Path Travel Tips for Peru

2009-09-30T11:17:00.000-07:00

Thinking of traveling to the land of the Incas? Or just dreaming about a South American sojourn? Check out my latest interview about Peru with Latin America for Less. I've got the 'Gringo Trail' from Lima to Cuzco covered, plus alternative treks to Machu Picchu, what to see if you've only got two weeks in-country, and where to find Peru's best travel bargains and luxury hotels. Even better, the Latin America for Less blog post also has a discount code for 20% off ordering Lonely Planet travel guides online.

Photo: Inca ruins of Moray, Sacred Valley (courtesy of Matthew Barker, Latin America for Less)

Free Online Vacation Planner for Hawaii

2009-09-28T19:14:00.000-07:00

It seems like a lot of my travel-writing chickens have been coming home to roost recently. The new edition of Lonely Planet's Hawaii guide, which I co-authored, is now available. I researched and wrote up most of the Oahu chapter, while a few of my talented colleagues covered the Neighbor Islands.

You can get a jump-start on your next Hawaii vacation planning by downloading the book's 'Getting Started' chapter for free (for the PDF, click here ). If you don't want to buy the entire guidebook, you might want to just purchase and download PDFs of individual chapters (starting at $2.40) via Lonely Planet's Pick & Mix online shop feature.

Only going to 'The Gathering Place' (i.e., Oahu) and not any other islands? See my earlier post for a free excerpt from the brand-new, full-color edition of Lonely Planet's Honolulu, Waikiki and Oahu travel guide, which I also co-authored.

Later this week, I'll be heading to Maui to research, take photographs and do GPS mapping for a new island hiking guide. If you have any tips for places to explore on the Valley Isle, of if you'd like to recommend your favorite hiking trails, let me know by posting a comment below.

National Park Service Spotlights Route 66

2009-09-25T12:30:00.000-07:00

This week, the National Park Service (NPS) launched an intriguing new Route 66 mini-site. Now, this isn't the same NPS Route 66 Corridor Preservation Program site that has been around for several years, and which doesn't offer much in the way of useful free travel info. The new site, co-funded by American Express and the World Monuments Fund's sustainable tourism initiative, is more user-friendly, especially for armchair historians and curious travelers who haven't gotten their kicks on Route 66 before. It's part of a larger nationwide project of free history-themed travel itineraries designed to connect the dots between National Register of Historic Places sites, anywhere from Shaker settlements to Underground Railroad stops to Florida shipwrecks.

The new NPS Route 66 mini-site, subtitled 'Discover Our Shared Heritage Travel Itinerary,' offers historical essays; abbreviated state-by-state lists of historic motels, diners and other attractions; and links to local tourism agencies and nonprofit Route 66 preservation associations. While the mini-site will give first-time travelers a basic orientation to the Mother Road, it isn't as detailed or comprehensive as some other free Route 66 travel websites. That said, the background information on select Route 66 gems is refreshingly in-depth. For example, check out this history of Lou Mitchell's, an iconic coffee shop in Chicago's downtown Loop neighborhood. I happened to visit Lou's earlier this month -- you can't beat the free donuts, ice cream and Milk Duds (although I could've lived without the prune)!

If you're planning a cross-country road trip on Route 66, also check out my recommendations gleaned from years of driving back and forth between Chicago and LA in this free online mini-guide to Route 66.

Photo: Lou Mitchell's, Chicago (Michael Connolly, Jr.)

NorCal: HI Redwood National Park Hostel Closing

2009-09-23T19:25:00.000-07:00

If you've ever driven the Del Norte County coast along US Hwy. 101, you'll remember the wild, wind-battered beaches that lie north of the riverside hamlet of Klamath. You may have even passed by Hostelling International (HI) Redwood National Park, huddled against a backdrop of giant coast redwoods opposite a practically private cove. If you didn't stop to stay overnight, you may have missed your chance, though.

January 18, 2010 is the date that this youth hostel, crafted out of a historic pioneer homestead, is set to close its doors. Why? The century-old, weather-worn buildings need repairs, as well as seismic retrofitting and renovations to meet the standards of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). The National Park Service estimates that it all might cost around $1.5 million.

Why not take a road trip this fall or winter to visit the hostel before it closes? It's conveniently near the beaches and hiking trails of Del Norte Coast Redwoods State Park, which claims 50 percent old-growth redwood forest. The hostel has all the cozy amenities you'd expect, including a shared kitchen, fireplace lounge and a 'snack-quoia' shop selling locally made gourmet chocolate bars and bark. Special festivities are planned for the hostel's closing weekend. Dorm beds cost from $21/10.50 per adult/child, while the two private rooms start at $59 each; all have shared bathrooms. Make reservations online or by calling (707) 482-8265 or (800) 295-1905.

You can also support future fundraising efforts by the HI-USA Golden Gate Council, which hopes to one day reopen the hostel's doors. The council oversees nine other Northern California hostels, including the historic lighthouse hostels at Point Montara and Pigeon Point, south of San Francisco; the off-the-beaten path Point Reyes and Marin Headlands hostels, north of San Francisco; and the little-known Hidden Villa, on a working organic farm tucked into the Santa Cruz Mountains. All have dorm beds costing from $22-25/night.

Photo: Coast redwoods (Michael Connolly, Jr.)

Free Online Mini-Guide to Oahu's Best Experiences

2009-09-07T12:12:00.000-07:00

Do you ever get tired of free travel tips? Nope, me neither.

I recently co-wrote the brand-new, full-color edition of Lonely Planet's Honolulu, Waikiki and Oahu travel guide. An excerpt, covering island highlights and recommended vacation itineraries, is available for free download online. Here's a sneak peek of what you'll find inside it:

Hitting Oahu's best all-around beach, for its kid-friendly waves or adrenaline-charged water sports.
Shopping for vintage aloha shirts and catching traditional Hawaiian music and hula shows.
Discovering tropical forest hiking trails, just minutes from downtown Honolulu.
Viewing ancient Hawaiian artifacts, like priceless feather capes once worn by royalty.
Driving Oahu's most scenic highway (no, it's not on the North Shore!)

At the end of the PDF, you'll also find 3-, 5-, 7- and 8-day vacation planners, plus more trips for surfers, hikers, families with kids and ecoconscious nature lovers.

Share your favorite spots on Oahu by posting a comment below.

Free Online Mini-Guide to Route 66

2009-09-04T10:56:00.000-07:00

Ever wondered what it'd be like to travel all 2400 or so miles of Route 66? You'll just have to hit the road to find out, because it's more amazing than I could ever describe: time-warped motor courts and railway whistle stops, 1950s mom-and-pop diners, kitschy roadside attractions and other retro Americana, and so much more.

If you want a preview, I've written an online Route 66 travel itinerary that gives you a bite-sized sampling of highlights of my many trips along the Mother Road, stopping at such classic places as Funk's Grove for maple "sirup" in Illinois, the Devil's Rope Museum in Texas, Tucumcari's Blue Swallow Motel in New Mexico and the genuine Old West mining town of Oatman, Arizona, where wild burros still run amok in the dusty streets.

You can read about all these places, along with dozens of other quirky pit stops between Chicago and Los Angeles, at Route 66: Finding America's Mother Road.

Photo: Cool Springs, Arizona (Sara Benson & Mike Connolly Jr.)

Last-Minute Labor Day Outdoor Escapes in California

2009-08-31T10:39:00.000-07:00

Are you scrambling to plan a last-minute Labor Day camping trip? California's state parks have some tools to help, and you've still got pretty incredible national park options, too.

First, there's a special California State Parks web page dedicated to updating Labor Day campground availability. As of today, over 40 state parks still have campsites available for reservations. But you've got to act fast. For campground arrivals on Friday, Sept. 4, you must book your site before 5 p.m. (PST) on Wednesday, Sept. 2, either online or by calling (800) 444-7275 .

If you can't get a camping reservation for Labor Day, check out this lengthy list of first-come, first-served California State Park campgrounds, which typically fill very early on holiday weekends (e.g., you'd better get there bright and early on Friday morning, or even late Thursday night). Some of my faves:

Andrew Molera State Park in Big Sur
Mt. Tamalpais State Park, north of San Francisco
Indian Grinding Rock State Historic Park in the Gold Country, east of Sacramento
Navarro River Redwoods State Park, near the Anderson Valley wine country
Humboldt Lagoons State Park, north of Eureka/Arcata

California's national parks and monuments also offer some primo campsites, not all of which are booked out in advance, like Yosemite Valley always is! For example, you can try your luck at Yosemite's Tuolumne Meadows, where half the sites are unreserved, or at smaller Yosemite Creek, Tamarack Flat and Porcupine Flat campgrounds, all off Tioga Rd. (Hwy. 120). In Sequoia & Kings Canyon National Parks, most campgrounds are first-come, first-served, including near the end of the Kings Canyon Scenic Byway at Cedar Grove, hidden deep down inside the canyon, where you can splash around and cool off in the Kings River next to your tent.

Photo: Yosemite National Park (Mike Connolly Jr.)

New HI Hostel Open in Seattle

2009-08-23T10:50:00.000-07:00

Open only since July 31, Hostelling International (HI) Seattle is giving budget and youth travelers an affordable option close to the city's waterfront, just a block from the Amtrak station. Inhabiting a newly renovated four-story building, this spic-and-span hostel has all the amenities you'd expect, from self-service laundry and bicycle rental to a common kitchen and TV and game room. It's also open 24 hours a day. Rates start at $35/night for a dorm bed or $86 for a private room, all with shared bath including breakfast. Nonmembers pay an extra $3/night. For reservations, call (206) 622-5443 or click here. The hostel is located at 520 S. King Street.

Have you stayed at this new hostel? Tell me about your experience, good or bad, by leaving a comment below.

Photo: Courtesy of Seattle's Convention and Visitors Bureau

Tribal Tourism: More or Less Like Las Vegas?

2009-08-17T08:10:00.000-07:00

If you've been traveling around the Southwest recently, you'll have already heard about the Grand Canyon Skywalk which opened back in 2007 on the Hualapai Nation. This glass-bottomed cantilevered bridge juts out over the Grand Canyon at a head-spinning 4000ft above the Colorado River. Costing over $30 million to build, the project was bankrolled by a Las Vegas businessman, reported NPR.

Even today, tribal members don't agree on whether the Skywalk is a step forward for their nation or a disturbance of sacred ground. And if you want to visit yourself (as more than 700,000 people have already done), it's going to cost you over $70 per person. What's more, it's not as if the Hualapai Nation didn't already offer myriad (and relatively pricey) tourism opportunities for thrill-seekers, from whitewater rafting to airplane, helicopter and Hummer trips.

But building Las Vegas-style attractions in wilderness areas isn't the only answer for Southwestern tribal nations seeking to create new economic opportunities. Take, for example, the new View Hotel at Monument Valley, a Navajo tribal park. On a hilltop overlooking the valley's famous sandstone buttes and pinnacles, this low-lying structure blends harmoniously with the colors of the landscape. Ecoconscious practices that have been put into place include xeriscaping and low-flow water fixtures to conserve water, biodegradable cleaning solutions, and energy-efficient appliances, lighting, heating and cooling technology. Simple hotel rooms start at $149 per night, plus tax.

So, what's next for Native American tribal tourism in the region? More or less attractions that imitate the Strip? Don't get me wrong: I love Las Vegas, but do we need more of it all across the Southwest? Let's hope that more Native American nations find ways to preserve the natural beauty of their tribal lands while making sure that much-needed tourism dollars keep flowing into their rural communities.

Photo: Grand Canyon National Park (Michael Connolly Jr. & Sara Benson)

National & California State Parks: Save Money, Show Your Support

2009-08-14T10:59:00.000-07:00

Have you heard the hoopla about the Obamas visiting Yellowstone and the Grand Canyon this weekend? Admittedly, this may not be the best time to visit those national parks. But it's still an excellent weekend to visit the USA's other 56 national parks, because August 15-16 is the summer's last free-entry weekend to NPS sites. You can save up to $25 if you visit a top-tier park.

Monday isn't looking so good for California State Parks, though, which announced in a press release that day-use parking and campground fees will increase on August 17. Day-use parking will now cost a minimum of $5 (up from $2) and overnight fees at campgrounds will range as high as $65, for example, for a prime oceanfront site at Bolsa Chica State Beach in Orange County. That's more than a Motel 6 room! (Note: If you have a pre-existing state park campground reservation, the rate quoted when you made the reservation will still be honored.)

Now, I fully support California State Parks. But raising fees is not a catch-all solution for preventing the closure of 100 state parks following Governor Schwarzenegger's line-item veto budget cuts of an extra $8 million. You know who else is to blame, suggests the L.A. Times? Everyone who regularly cheats by parking their cars just outside the entrance station and walking into the park, instead of paying the day-use parking fee. Next time you visit our state parks, why not do your part and pay?

Here are three more ways that you can support California State Parks during the current fiscal crisis:

Buy an annual day-use parking pass ($125). The price of the pass has not gone up since last year, and it still gets you free admission to all state parks that charge a day-use parking fee for one year from the date of purchase. Buy it online here.
Join the California State Parks Foundation. If you become a member at the 'Parks Sampler' level ($25), you'll get 7 free day-use parking passes. Join as a 'Frequent Visitor' ($125), and you'll not only get an annual day-use parking pass, but also a day hiker's guidebook to state parks.
Buy Knudsen's cottage cheese and sour cream. No, seriously. For every Knudsen's product sold between now and September 6, the company is donating a portion of the proceeds (up to $100,000) to California State Parks.

Photo: William Randolph Hearst Memorial State Beach (Mike Connolly Jr.)

Standin' on the Four Corners, Really

2009-08-07T08:57:00.000-07:00

If you think you've been to the Four Corners, you may want to think again. Then again, maybe that vacation snapshot of yourself standing with one limb in each of four states -- Utah, Arizona, New Mexico and Colorado -- really is legit.

Since April there has been a lot of media hubbub about the Four Corners Monument being in the wrong place. The idea continues to float through the blogosphere (much like Birther conspiracies). Specifically, it keeps being 'reported' that the actual Four Corners intersection point is 2.5 miles east of where the Navajo Nation's tribal park is located. An article published by Salt Lake City's Deseret News got picked up by MSNBC and Backpacker, among other major media outlets, and so the rumors spread.

Well, if you've now been thinking that the Four Corners Monument is in the wrong place, you're wrong. For the most part, that is. Confused? While it's true that the 1875 survey of the Four Corners didn't have the technical equipment to place the monument exactly where it was intended to go, the surveyor was only off by 1800 feet (quite a technical feat, considering the terrain and the time period) and in the opposite direction, west of where the current monument sits.

But all that doesn't matter, according to not only the Navajo Nation and the Colorado Bureau of Land Management, but also NOAA's National Geodetic Survey (NGS). That's because once a monument is accepted by the federal government and all parties involved, that's the end of the story, at least legally speaking. If you want to delve into the science behind the surveying, read this in-depth NGS article or better yet, listen to their 12-minute podcast (click here for the MP3).

So, hold your horses. The Four Corners Monument really is where the Navajo National says it is. Now you can keep those digital photos of yourself standing on the Four Corners on your virtual bookshelf. Relax, you've really been there.

Photo: Sunset near Lake Powell (Sara Benson)

California State Parks Budget Slashed, Again

2009-08-02T12:23:00.000-07:00

Just when Californians thought they could breathe easy again, Governor Schwarzenegger decided to cut another whopping $6.2 million from the annual budget that funds California State Parks. That's on top of the $8 million that state legislators had already agreed to take away.

As reported by San Luis Obispo's Tribune, California State Parks won't announce its list of closures until after Labor Day. But the California State Parks Foundation speculates that as many as 100 state parks will close -- that's over one third of the entire system. So, what's the good news? Absolutely nothing. In fact, state park budget cuts could be even bigger next year.

To sign the petition to stop the closures, click here. For updates, click to Save Our State Parks. And of course, get out and visit those parks -- while you still can.

Photo: Hearst San Simeon State Park (Michael Connolly Jr.)

Arizona: Route 66 Gem -- Wigwam Motel

2009-07-28T17:25:00.000-07:00

I've got a soft spot for all those mom-and-pop retro motor courts along ol' Route 66. The Wigwam Motel in eastern Arizona, just outside Petrified Forest National Park and its scenic detour through the Painted Desert, is a time-tested fave.

By the railroad tracks in the small town of Holbrook, these 1940s concrete tipis all have classic cars parked out front. Inside, you'll find some handcrafted furnishings, simple beds and challengingly small bathrooms. It's all embarrassingly endearing, especially once you find out that this humble motel is actually on the National Register of Historic Places.

Holbrook's Wigwam Motel is one of the last three remaining wigwam-style tourist villages built across the US between the 1930s and the '50s. You'll find the other cool wigwam motels in Cave City, Kentucky, and Rialto, CA. (The latter was once a down-and-out, no-tell motel with the infamous sign beckoning motorists to "Do It in a Tee-Pee," but new owners have cleaned up its act.)

And if you happened to catch last night's episode of NBC's The Great American Road Trip, a reality-TV show that I consulted for about Route 66, you'll have already gotten a glimpse of this charmer. One of the contestants said that he thought a night at Holbrook's Wigwam Motel was better than staying at a four-star spa resort in Phoenix. That made my retro Americana-loving heart sing, especially since Oprah had unfairly poo-poohed this place during her cross-country road trip in 2006.

For all you retro motel lovers out there, the last page of this month's Sunset magazine features another classic Route 66 motel, the Blue Swallow Motel in Tucumcari, New Mexico. Beautiful!

Photo: Wigwam Motel (Sara Benson & Michael Connolly Jr.)

Las Vegas: Save Money, Escape the Strip

2009-07-23T12:21:00.000-07:00

As the mercury skyrockets over 100 degrees in Las Vegas, hotel rates on the Strip are dipping ever lower. Only $59 for splashy Planet Hollywood, $39 at the reimagined Luxor, $22 at the vintage Sahara - it's madness in my email inbox. Too bad everything else still costs more than it should, especially cocktails, dining and entertainment.

Here are 5 of my fave off-Strip escapes that'll save you serious cash:

Pinball Hall of Fame - East of the Strip along Tropicana Ave., go wild playing over 200 vintage pinball, carnival-style and video arcade games, all gorgeously restored. (Yes, they've got Asteroids, Space Invaders, Tetris and Ms. Pacman, too.) Most games cost just a quarter, and all the profits go to charity. Ka-ching! And for more cheap thrills, there's a second-run discount cinema next door.
Luv-It Frozen Custard - It's thicker than ice cream, and it melts more slowly, too. This old-fashioned summertime gathering spot is just off the Strip, north of the Stratosphere. Fresh flavors of the day are posted online, or just show up and order the classic Western Special Sundae with vanilla custard, pecans and hot fudge and caramel sauces.
Freakin' Frog - Although microbrew and wine bars are a growing trend at casinos (think: the Hostile Grape and 32 Draft at the brand-new M Resort, Pour 24 at New York-New York), nothing beats the biggest beer bar in town. East of the Strip, near the UNLV campus, this strip-mall gem has all the microbrews you know and love (and many others you haven't tried yet) on their 7oo-plus beer menu. Swing by for free jazz shows on Tuesday nights.
Noodle Exchange - West of the Strip, not too many blocks from Las Vegas' Chinatown strip malls, this Gold Coast casino eatery won't break the bank. Show up for massive $6.99 lunch specials of Chinese-American standards, or spend a little more and pick something more authentic from the pan-Asian menu, like Shanghai-style ban ban noodles, miso ramen or Hawaii-style saimin.
South Point - To save money while avoiding hectic, overpriced megahotels, look south of the Strip. Rooms here are oversized, beds are heavenly, and the pool is not as mobbed (meaning you can actually swim in it, as opposed to just standing around in the water like at the MGM Grand or Mandalay Bay). Sign up for the email list to get the best discounts, like stay 1 night, get 1 free deals.

Photo: Pinball Hall of Fame (Michael Connolly Jr.)

Big Sur: Visiting California Condors, Even Virtually

2009-07-17T16:58:00.000-07:00

Chances are, the last time you heard news about Big Sur's Ventana Wilderness, it was during the wildfires of 2008, which caused landslides across Hwy. 1 and damaged critical habitat for California condors.

Not only has the Ventana Wildlife Society (VWS) rebuilt its bird banding and tracking operations on the Big Sur coast, it has also opened a brand-new visitor center at Andrew Molera State Park. At the Big Sur Discovery Center, you can learn all about the efforts of wildlife biologists and volunteers to save this endangered species. The center is open on Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m., and admission is free.

Can't make it to Big Sur in person? The new website, MyCondor.org, lets you virtually meet wild condors, follow their life stories on the web (or Facebook, if you prefer) and get news from the MyCondor blog. Our favorite wild condor is #171, aka "Traveler" -- a feisty, independent female who can be spotted soaring over an amazing 300 square miles of rugged coastal territory.

Photo: California condor (courtesy of Ventana Wildlife Society)

Chasing Butterflies in California

2009-07-13T12:01:00.000-07:00

If you're passing through the San Francisco Bay area or Santa Barbara, you've got amazing chances to get up close and personal with exotic butterfly species, guaranteed to bring out your inner child.

The reimagined California Academy of Sciences, which reopened in San Francisco's Golden Gate Park in September 2008, gets all the hype. Its LEED platinum-certified building design includes an energy-efficient "Living Roof" of native plant species. Inside, the longest lines of visitors are found waiting to enter the four-story living rain forest, home to over 600 birds and butterflies. The terrascape impressively recreates ecosystems from Borneo to Madagascar and Costa Rica. But the jostling crowds and sky-high admission price ($25 per adult, $20 for children aged 7 to 17) are turnoffs. If you go, get there early so you can take advantage of absolutely everything the museum offers, including planetarium shows, which can sell out before lunchtime.

Far more humble, the somewhat outdated, old-school Santa Barbara Museum of Natural History actually may have its big-city competitor beat when it comes to viewing butterflies. Its "Butterflies Alive!" exhibit may be pint-sized, but you're immediately immersed in a world of flowering gardens and dozens of butterfly species, all easily identified with the interpretive field guide cards available inside the open-air exhibit. Kudos to the docents who teach everyone how to walk carefully and avoid smooshing any of the 1000 free-flying butterflies, all raised in the on-site nursery. Sure, it's not as flashy as the SF museum, but the price of admission ($10 per adult, $6 for children aged 3-12) is easier to swallow.

Photo: Zebra heliconian (Sara Benson)

Quintessential Berries: Pick 'Em Yourself

2009-06-29T22:36:00.000-07:00

Have you tasted a real raspberry lately? I mean, a berry whose ruby color isn't fake or artificially enhanced, and whose sweet juices coat your tongue like jammy syrup, completely unlike that anemic, cardboard-tasting fruit from your typical chain grocery store?

All-natural berryliciousness might be closer to home than you think. PickYourOwn.org is an online directory of organic fruit orchards and vegetable gardens across the U.S. It can help you find an organic farm in your own backyard that you didn't even know existed. The website also has information on harvest seasons and u-pick tips for beginners. Did you know that you only need about 15 minutes to pick a quart of fresh strawberries in peak season? So, now you've got no excuse not to try it.

Our local farm, the Avila Valley Barn, always has an incredible spread of fresh berries and veggies in its store, and lets you pick your own in season. If you're passing through San Luis Obispo County, CA, it's an easy stop just off U.S. Hwy. 101 at the main exit for Avila Beach. Once you're good and dirty (and sticky!) from picking berries all afternoon, head just up the road to Sycamore Mineral Springs. Reservations for private hot tubs ($12.50-$15 per person/hour) are highly recommended (call 805-595-7302); they're open till midnight daily (last reservation 10:45 p.m.).

Don't forget to take along your u-pick harvest when you climb the stone stairs to your hillside hot tub, so you can nibble berries while soaking away sore muscles and stargazing up through the trees. Now, that's a sweet ending.

Photo: Avila Valley Barn (Michael Connolly Jr.)

Action Alert: Support Funding for California State Parks

2009-06-18T12:20:00.001-07:00

As the California State Parks Foundation has reported:

"On Monday, June 15th, the Budget Conference Committee voted to eliminate $70 million in General Fund support for the state park system for the 2009-2010 fiscal year. As an additional action, the committee also voted to adopt the State Park Access Pass and develop a dedicated funding source to keep California's state parks open. The State Park Access Pass would institute a $15 surcharge on vehicle license fees of non-commercial vehicles, in order to provide Californians with free day-use access to state parks, and generate much-needed revenues for the state park system."

The legislature has yet to approve the State Park Access Pass program. Aren't the more than 270 state parks in California, protecting over 1.4 million acres of land for outdoor recreation, endangered species habitat and more, easily worth 15 bucks a year?

Take a minute today to tell Governor Schwarzenegger and politicians in Sacramento that you support the new California State Parks funding initiative: http://ga3.org/campaign/budget_spap09. Thank you!

Photo: Elephant seals near Hearst San Simeon State Park (Michael Connolly Jr.)

Free Online Mini-Guides to Offbeat National Parks

2009-06-16T13:07:00.001-07:00

Who wants crushing crowds when you take your summer national parks trip? Not me. Here are quick "crash course" guides to four of my favorite (mostly remote, often less crowded) parks:

Photo: Sequoia National Park (Michael Connolly Jr.)