Sorted by date Results 76 - 100 of 192
Located on remote Baranof Island at the gateway to the Pacific Ocean, the city of Sitka is probably the last place one would expect to be at the forefront of the walking-biking movement. Yet this community of under 10,000 people is not only in front, it's fast becoming a leader among other walk and bicycle-friendly towns in the United States, winning accolades for its innovative approaches to human-powered advocacy and activities. From June 9-13, Sitka's walking and biking groups will play host...
Wild West, here we come; cowboy boots, big belt buckles, and a sense of adventure in tow. It's Golden time. Located just 20 minutes from downtown Denver, the small city of Golden packs a punch for visitors looking to become acquainted with Colorado's rich western history while also accessing the towering Rocky Mountain wilderness. Golden truly is "Where the mountains meet the plains," nestled in beautiful Clear Creek Valley. Surrounded by high points – North and South Table Mountains, and M...
Let's face it, the coronavirus has changed travel plans all over the planet. Where does a nervous Alaskan go to have fun and adventures? Your own back yard. Millions of tourists flock to The Last Frontier every year but residents have the envious cat seat to all the state has to offer – you just have to hit the road. A birder's delight Across the world and the Lower 48, birds fly north to breed and hatch their young. While not in the numbers of even 40 years ago that Elders in Utqiagvik told me...
As the new year moves swiftly forward, United States travelers over age 62 wanting to explore the nation's public lands should begin planning now. With the now-termed "America the Beautiful" National Parks and Federal Recreational Lands Pass, senior adventurers gain access to more than 2,000 federal lands, monuments and historical sites managed by six federal agencies. It also offers a substantial discount in some cases for camping, boat launches and other fees. When the formerly-$10 Golden Age...
It may seem macabre, but visiting graveyards is a time-honored activity. Other than our relatives, cemeteries can reveal the lives of famous people and the many who left the world they departed a better place. Living in New England now, I am struck by the old-time fire and brimstone on the gravestones in nearby cemeteries that go way back to 1644. And the quality of the carvings in the tight crystals of local granite have weathered the centuries well. While steam engine followers have earned...
The accounts and photographs from New Zealand’s White Island are grim. Tourists on day excursions to the country’s most popular attraction were one minute hiking to the rim of the active volcano, enjoying the landscape’s awe-inspiring sights; the next, they were fleeing for their lives as ash and rock came pouring from the cone. With nowhere to run but toward the shoreline, many were overcome by toxic sulfur dioxide and the intense heat, and were terribly burned. At least 14 died, and probably more who survived the initial explosion but suffere...
I once heard a story about an American couple, who traveled on a long-awaited vacation trip to India - they landed in Kolkata (once called Calcutta), took a taxi to the Hilton and never came out again until it was time for a taxi back to the airport. How do you manage disappointment, or in this case fear of crowds, on arrival at the place of your dreams, only to find it so overwhelming you want to leave? It's a combination of flexibility, turning on a dime and travel insurance. Recently, my...
If you’ve got adventures big or small planned next year, it’s important to travel with the right gear. And by “right,” I mean appropriate for the changing senior’s body, mind and soul. Let’s face it, seniors, the days of toting backpacks around Europe for months are mostly over. Still, more than 80% of all seniors place travel high atop their lists of things to do, according to a 2017 AARP study. Today’s seniors are also a financially stable demographic and able to afford accessories that make travel anywhere more manageable and comfortable....
If you're a "Game of Thrones" fan, Iceland calls to you. While you can do a self-guided tour of film locations, those all-too-familiar-to-Alaskans Gray Line buses will also take you there. Season two shifted to Iceland, and you will tour Gullfoss waterfall and the Bloody Gate at Pingvellir National Park, a UNESCO World Heritage site, where the Althing, the ages-old Icelandic parliament was seated. Iceland Air (www.icelandair.com) offers a reasonable round-ticket for two that takes you from Ancho...
We live in troubling times and that's an understatement. The world reels with refugees: In the Middle East and North Africa there are 2.74 million; Africa has 4.41 million; in Europe, 4.39 million; and Asia and the Pacific, 3.83 million, according to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees office. So where can an American travel safely? Prepare for your trip Before you go, take a look at the Overseas Security Advisory Council's website https://www.osac.gov/Content/Browse/Report. The OSAC is a joint venture between the Department of...
"What a beautiful sight that was. We could take our car, or walk on board, and GO SOMEWHERE! Our highway had arrived!" ~ Betty J. Marksheffel, describing her first view of the ferry as a historical note in celebration of the Alaska Marine Highway System's 50th anniversary in 2013. Living in coastal Alaska often means navigating life in places so remote that no road can be built to transport people or supplies. Everything from toilet paper to apples and oranges must be ordered and shipped on an a...
Civil War buffs Tom and Elaine Preston wander through reconstructed forts where a major battle of that conflict was fought. Betsy and Andy Cross follow a guide slogging through a dense rainforest. Lauren Davis and Jim Goodman enjoy an exciting Go-Kart track and exhilarating water slide. As inviting as these disparate experiences are, they have something in common. All take place during cruises that appeal to people who are seeking something a bit different. The Prestons are passengers on an...
Alaskans travel for pleasure and often for the necessity of seeing far-flung family, and so jet lag is our constant companion. But a recent study from the Sleep Cycle Institute in Gothenburg, Sweden, looked at more than 1.5 million nights’ worth of sleep data from people who traveled east, meaning forward in time, to the west, or backward in time, and without traversing any time zones (the control group) to take a look at how travel interferes with our sleep. Traveling east turns out to have the worst effect on sleep, according to the study, b...
Coming in the year of the 100th anniversary of World War I, the "War to End All Wars," it is only fitting to consider a trip to this often overlooked European country. For those of us of a certain age who learned to recite poetry at school, cemented in our memory is the haunting "In Flanders Field," by Canadian physician Lieutenant-Colonel John McCrae, who wrote it after the Second Battle of Ypres and which was the inspiration for the remembrance red poppies sold to this day on Veterans Day. Bel...
Alaskans who head to Washington state for a shopping trip won’t be able to enjoy the easy sales tax break they have gotten for more than 50 years. A new law enacted by Washington legislators now requires Alaska residents to save their receipts and apply post-journey for a sales tax exemption from the state’s Department of Revenue. A move likely to increase sales tax dollars by the millions, the new system is banking upon the inaction of Alaskans and other residents from tax-exempt states like Oregon, Montana, New Hampshire, and Delaware. Cas...
In mid-July Alaska Airlines announced completion of the first phase of the Sea-Tac’s North Satellite Modernization Project. As part of the $658.3 million project, the Port and Alaska Airlines unveiled eight new gates, expanded locally-based dining and retail options and the brand-new, flagship Alaska Airlines Lounge. “The old North Satellite worked for 45 years and worked well, but it’s become a living time capsule. We are now headed into the future with a stunning facility that improves the passenger experience with more space, light and s...
We've all seen people who remind us of animals, like turtles or owls, but I once saw an elderly lady in a bank and she looked just like a snow monkey. I couldn't stop staring and decided that some day I'd go to Japan to see them. Snow monkeys live in Jigokudani, which means "Hell's Valley" in Japanese, in Yamanouchi, Nagano Prefecture along the Yokoyu River, downstream from Shiga Kogen. Shiga Kogen is a ski resort and hiking spot, located in the Jōshin'etsu-kōgen National Park in the highlands o...
We travel for many reasons-to see friends and family, relax and get a tan to escape winter, but why not improve your artwork with a trip to someplace you've never been for a workshop? Retirement can be a difficult time for those aging out of jobs that once consumed our daily lives. The space that opens up in our time seems to be a pit that must be filled or we are left to fritter away the rest of our lives bored in front of a TV set. It doesn't have to be so. Cindi Lagoudakis, a retired U.S....
A (usually) wonderful occupational hazard of travel writer life is setting out to explore Alaska's lesser-known sights. I've just returned from a four-night journey to do just that, swinging around the loop from Anchorage to Fairbanks and back along the Glenn, Richardson and Parks Highways, tracing Last Frontier history, culture and recreation as a solo 50-something roadtripper. I camped by turn in my favorite backpacking tent and a selection of Alaska State Parks public use cabins, and all...
From north to south, Alaska has some great festivals for you to attend, so get out and meet the rest of your state. Fairbanks stays up late The 38th Midnight Sun festival in downtown Fairbanks brings you the best of Alaska -with food trucks from across the state, Made in Alaska crafts such as pottery, jewelry, art and clothing. Along with the car smash, an Alaska-style junker derby, events include pony rides, a gold panning booth, a skate park and a midway on 4th Avenue. Just Google 2019...
Most Alaskans who hop on an airplane and fly south aren't typically looking to land in Oregon for a dose of sunshine and dry heat. After all, the beaver state is among the rainiest on the west coast, right? Well, yes and no. Oregon does have rainforests, lush greenery and access to the Pacific Ocean within a few hours of hub city Portland. But also in reach is the vast Columbia River Gorge, a natural wonder to the east boasting fantastic scenery and a wealth of outdoor recreation. The river...
I was reading a travel article recently and noticed a photograph the writer took of a local in the country he was covering. They were not smiling. In fact, they were scowling. It reminded me of the time I watched a visitor to Utqiagvik take a photo of three Inupiat women elders in the MarkAir terminal. They were dressed in the latest fashion of exotic Hawaiian prints for the covers of their traditional parkas and rhinestone pins on their wolverine ruffs that seemed to be a friendly contest...
Cruising in 2019? Don't expect the usual from scheduled onboard entertainment, say cruise lines. Instead, how about the chance to rub shoulders with a feature film makeup artist, or perhaps sitting in on a panel discussion with an award-winning composer? Maybe you'd like the opportunity to test your brain power as part of a quiz show or learn more about Italian wines. Once seen as a weak part of an otherwise stellar seafaring vacation experience, evening entertainment aboard large cruise ships...
The first time I traveled to Switzerland I felt like I was in a postcard and any moment I'd step through it. I felt the same about Alaska. Places so mind-bogglingly beautiful cause one to go around with your mouth open - it's just "wow, wow, wow" all the time. And the Swiss are very nice, very polite and very, very clean. From the quaint villages and farms pitched on a 45-degree mountainous angle to cosmopolitan towns like Geneva, Lucerne and Zurich, your experience in this tiny country is sure...
As if the logistics of travel weren’t murky enough, the Dept. of Homeland Security’s (DHS) Real ID program will be enforced in Alaska beginning Oct. 1, 2020. On that date, Alaska residents will need to present a Real ID-compliant license or ID, or other accepted form of identification in order to access any federal facility, including boarding commercial aircraft. The DHS announced on Dec. 20, 2013 a phased enforcement plan for the REAL ID Act as passed by Congress, that will implement the Act “in a measured, fair, and responsible way....
