Tagged With "great horned owl"
Comment
Re: November 24, 2016: Enger Tower, Duluth, Minnesota
Did you count the steps up ? Looks like an Olympian task !
Comment
Re: November 24, 2016: Enger Tower, Duluth, Minnesota
Hi Garry I never thought of counting the number of steps to the top of Enger Tower for I was too preoccupied with the beautiful scenery; However, thanks to your question I did some internet investigating and discovered that apparently there are 105 steps you must walk to get to the top of Enger Tower (therefore 210 steps in total to get up and down the tower). You really don't need to be an Olympian to get to the top of Enger Tower. Although the number of steps sounds like a lot, and the...
Comment
Re: November 24, 2016: Enger Tower, Duluth, Minnesota
Thanks Ottoman. Thanks for the reassurance. I did have a fear of a thousand tourists behind me - pushing to ascend the stairway - and all at the gallop. The intervals are all well spaced and welcomed. That's why older people carry a camera !
Comment
Re: Where in the World is TravelGumbo #187
Here are Friday's double clues...a guardian owl from a building long gone, and an unusual trove of treasures.
Reply
Re: Alfred the Great's bones found!
This seems to be a good year for royal discoveries; the remains of Richard III were found under a parking lot in Leicester last year. Now if only someone could locate Jimmy Hoffa...and Judge Crater!
Reply
Re: Alfred the Great's bones found!
I don't think we'll find Hoffa until they start tearing down some of these old ball stadiums... Somewhere deep in the concrete I think!
Comment
Re: It wasn't scary enough, so now...no floor!
This is becoming more common with some older coasters, and most fans enjoy it. I'm not crazy about it, but at least it's different.
Comment
Re: In Egypt: The Egyptian Museum
An item from the UK's Guardian comments on the timelessness & "place-less-ness" of Nefertiti's image. If she'd stayed in Egypt after her discovery at Amarna, she'd likely have a place near her image above with her family, in the photo titled " Scene of worship of the Aten ..." as that's a far more interesting historical context, rather than the following reign of Tutankhamun, in which to put her. I hope the book does her real life justice.
Comment
Re: Good news, bad news on UNESCO's world heritage
I enjoy traveling to UNESCO sites because most of them are very interesting destinations. I even know of some travelers whose goal it is to see "every" UNESCO listing. Good luck to them! I really think UNESCO is doing it's job by identifying important places and encouraging their conservation. I shudder at the thought of a global UNESCO police swooping in to "defend" these sites. It's up to the countries that govern them to do so. Some do a great job; others don't. Some citizens care, others...
Comment
Re: Endangered tourist destinations around the World
Excellent article, Felicty. Yes, whilst all these places are a must on most peoples' travel list, we do need to be aware of the environmental impact we as tourists make.
Comment
Re: Endangered tourist destinations around the World
Without the tourist would many of these places survive? Without the billions of euros spent on Venice to keep the water out would it still be walkable ? Would the Taj Mahal still be showing the scars of conflict if people didn't visit and contribute to its hunger for refurbishment ? Or maybe leave it to fall into ruin like the pyramids. Which do we remove? The tourists or the high heels ?
Comment
Re: Endangered tourist destinations around the World
I agree that these destinations are famous and must-sees for every tourist, but all of us have an obligation to not destory these beautiful corners of the World. Like for Venice, as mentioned in the article that so many Cruises pass through here (stops) each year, so they must have dig-up the area and hence the water level keeps rising?! If we don't take care, our future generations wouldn't be able to see these historic places.
Comment
Re: What to expect from Air Travel in 2015
The bar for new carriers is pretty high, though. They can't have full route systems, so they are forced to either try to horn in on high-volume routes, where others can easily drop prices low enough and long enough to push them out, or on low-volume connector routes where money can be made only with poverty-wage crew...which is why the majors have left those routes. We'll see, but I am skeptical.
Comment
Re: Rose Hall Great House, Jamaica
Thanks Paul. A good story and some interesting photos to accompany it. In my visits to the various Caribbean Islands I have seen voodoo is still in practice. "my son had a stomach ache and the Doctor came to visit. He rubbed his legs with grass and the pain went away. He said the words too. He told me it was caused by not chewing his food enough before swollowing it" Going horse riding at first light I've seen burials on the beach. All ceremony gone home before the tourists arrive to sun...
Comment
Re: Where in the World is TravelGumbo? (#105)
Let me try to get the ball rolling. While they look like owl eyes at first glance, I think it's an aerial photo of a garden or park....or perhaps of a model of a garden or park. Where???? I don't have a clue at the moment.
Comment
Re: Airbnb's plans for business travelers
As an Airbnb user, and also a host, again I have the feeling that the company, while tooting their "community" horn, has again proceeded with changes to the site with no input from users, but rather as conceived by the designers working in their own little world. Particularly as a host, it regularly becomes a case of "you can't get there from here". This interview is an example, telling us that corporate users will be directed only to entire properties, rather than all properties available...
Comment
Re: Florida warned: take action against future flooding
Climate change "experts" are saying that: "Antarctica’s massive stores of ice are likely to melt as the planet warms and contribute ever greater amounts of water to the world’s oceans." But the facts are: "The winter ice around the southern continent has been growing relatively constantly since records began in 1979. The US National Snow and Ice Data Centre, which monitors sea ice using satellite data, say that the year’s maximum was 1.54m sq km (595,000 sq miles) above the 1981-2010...
Comment
Re: Our 3 Favorite Beaches on Philipsburg, St. Martin
Beautiful photos of Philipsburg, St. Martin beachs and great information!!! Thank you for sharing...I'd love to visit there.
Comment
Re: Our 3 Favorite Beaches on Philipsburg, St. Martin
Thanks Marilyn, they are absolutely beautiful. Hope you can make it someday. Little Divi Beach is nice too. Happy Travels.
Comment
Re: Our 3 Favorite Beaches on Philipsburg, St. Martin
There are few things more beautiful than watching the sunset on a tropical beach. Today I've found a few more worth exploring. Thanks, Samantha!
Comment
Re: Our 3 Favorite Beaches on Philipsburg, St. Martin
Thank you DrFumbleFinger I agree, there is nothing better than relaxing on the beach and watching the sunset. Amazing. Thanks for the comment.
Comment
Re: Our 3 Favorite Beaches on Philipsburg, St. Martin
We fell in love with St. Martin! The beaches and food on the beach were amazing. Great post. Love the pics!
Reply
Re: Why Spending a Business Conference in Cyprus Is a Great Idea
Cyprus sounds great, never actually considered the possibility of picking an excellent business conference venue, I'd often just look out for something functional.
Comment
Re: Town Hall, Manchester, England (Where Gumbo Was)
Manchester City Hall featured in the news last night, as it was there that the Brexit Referendum result was officially announced.
Comment
Re: Town Hall, Manchester, England (Where Gumbo Was)
Great piece! I loved Manchester. You showed some great details of Town Hall that I missed.
Comment
Re: Most of China's Wall in danger: Can it be saved?
I'm not sure it's even a good idea to rebuild the entire thing, but certainly significant sections should be restored and preserved. I think most of us agree this great human site should survive.
Comment
Re: Most of China's Wall in danger: Can it be saved?
This is old news. Very old. Villages in proximity to the wall have been built from it's bricks for eons and the parts that people love to visit and pretend are historical are nothing of the kind, but completely newly built and Disney-fied versions for the tourists, foreign & domestic. The Chinese government, in its (lack of) wisdom has no more interest in cultural preservation than it does in playing fair in any area of endeavor. History and its artifacts are tools having no value beyond...
Comment
Re: A visit to Great Basin National Park
Never been anywhere in Nevada except Vegas. Didn't know they had beautiful places like this. Can you get there from Vegas as a day trip? Was it hot?
Comment
Re: A visit to Great Basin National Park
Well, for a start, make sure you visit Reno, Travel Luver. It's a much small town than Vegas but still has all the casinos, restaurants, etc that you'd expect from a Nevada City. From here it's easy to do a day trip to Lake Tahoe and the Sierra Nevada Mountains, or down to Carson City. Reno is actually the closest major city to Great Basin National Park, say about a 3-4 hour drive. Vegas is 6-7 hour drive away. Salt Lake City is closer to Great Basin than Vegas. But you really can't do it as...
Comment
Re: A visit to Great Basin National Park
A friend who was a park planner for the National Park Service said his favorite park was Big Bend in Texas. He's a lover of desert landscapes, wide-open spaces and, in the case of this park too, almost no visitors. Another orphan, no doubt. http://www.nps.gov/bibe/index.htm
Comment
Re: A visit to Great Basin National Park
Thanks for the note, PortMoresby. I've visited a lot of the US parks, but Big Bend is still on my "to do" list. They do white water rafting trips there, which appeals to me. One of the things that a lot of folks enjoy about these "orphans" is that they are so sparsely peopled, with few tourists. I think the US Parks system is the USA's biggest tourist asset. I'm certainly a huge fan. Seems whenever I'm in a US Park, more German is spoken than English. The German folks certainly are aware of...
Comment
Re: A visit to Great Basin National Park
The comments on "orphan parks" made for some interesting thoughts. How do we (as a society) choose what to save for parks? When you consider urban parkland, the point is obvious: people who have no land of their own need areas for public recreation. In other cases, individuals with wealth and influence have created parks in areas important to them personally (think of Acadia and the Rockefellers, Palisades Interstate Park and Morgan partners). But setting aside and maintaining areas like...
Comment
Re: A visit to Great Basin National Park
Pheymont, you speak as if budget cuts are in the future when in fact the Park Service has been functioning with less and less for years now. The Service has a mission to which they're dedicated but less funding has meant "deferred" maintenance on buildings, trails, you name it. And when features of a park are deemed unsafe or there isn't personnel to oversee visitors then parts are closed. I've experienced that myself recently when a trail I've visited in years past was closed. I have no...
Comment
Re: A visit to Great Basin National Park
Costs for the existing parks is mostly maintenance and salary. In the face of a broke federal government, I would favor increased user fees. $10-20 for a family to visit a national park for a week is the greatest bargain out there. People who love the parks would happily pay twice as much and I don't think the extra cost would be a deterent. Also, it's reasonable for those with concessions to pay up more than they are. They are given a monopoly and some of those profits should go back to the...
Comment
Re: A visit to Great Basin National Park
No, I'm painfully aware of the past and present cuts...but I see more ahead. My concern is that there are loud voices (my own included) to speak out against cuts to parks that have a big "fan base," including Gateway here in the NY area. Because so many speak out for those parks, I fear that NPS will increasingly "hide the damage" by even more drastic cuts to others--perhaps even outright abandonment. And that's not so far-fetched an idea. For some 20 or more years here in New York, Prospect...
Comment
Re: A visit to Great Basin National Park
PHeymont, I don't believe we disagree. I think the problem is that the park system relies on "federal handouts" and when a government is broke, there's less to hand out. As I said, I sort of favor them being self-funded by their user and concession fees. That's a lot of money already (if it was all kept in the parks) and people would be willing to pay more IF they knew the money stayed in the parks and didn't get diverted back into the Washington's general budget. Orphan parks would be...
Comment
Re: A Visit to Ireland: Part 6) Slea Head. A Tour of the Dingle Peninsula
Beautiful landscapes DrF. I especially like the stone walls and dwellings. There are similar ones in Malta except they are made of limestone
Comment
Re: A Visit to Ireland: Part 6) Slea Head. A Tour of the Dingle Peninsula
The landscapes of the Dingle Peninsula are truly beautiful and memorable. What will especially stick with me are the many rocks and stones and how they were used -- fences, beehive huts, even a grand old church (Gallarus Oratory). I become more and more intrigued by Malta ever day, IslandMan. It is quickly moving up my travel list!
Comment
Re: A Visit to Ireland: Part 6) Slea Head. A Tour of the Dingle Peninsula
Slea Head on The Dingle Peninsula is one of my favorite places in the world, even though it is not in Italy. The Slea Head Cafe is also one of my favorite places for a latte, a brownie, and the VIEW. The coffee and dessert. Between Sea Head and Dingle Town is the Stonehouse Restaurant, which overlooks the Dingle Bay. The crabmeat sandwich on brown bread was really good along with the view.
Comment
Re: A Visit to Ireland: Part 6) Slea Head. A Tour of the Dingle Peninsula
Thanks for those very helpful comments, rbciao! I definitely need to try that crabmeat sandwich at the StoneHouse restaurant next time we're there. I was extremely pleased with how helpful and pleasant the StoneHouse staff were!
Comment
Re: A Visit to Ireland: Part 6) Slea Head. A Tour of the Dingle Peninsula
IslandMan. Those limestone megalithic stones in Malta got me. I heard a passing tour guide telling folks "Where that man is standing is a fertility temple" Whoooa ! Too late .. first kid 9 months later - to the day !
Comment
Re: A Visit to Ireland: Part 6) Slea Head. A Tour of the Dingle Peninsula
Originally Posted by GarryRF: IslandMan. Those limestone megalithic stones in Malta got me. I heard a passing tour guide telling folks "Where that man is standing is a fertility temple" Whoooa ! Too late .. first kid 9 months later - to the day ! GarryRF. Any megalithic stone that can make a man carry and deliver a child for 9 months has earned my respect -- and a place in medical history!
Comment
Re: A Visit to Ireland: Part 6) Slea Head. A Tour of the Dingle Peninsula
As any Woman will tell you DrF. It is the male of the species that does all the hard work. Like popping snow peas !
Comment
Re: Sri Lanka: A Land Like No Other (Part 11). On safari in Yala Park, with a stop in Kirinda
Thanks, TravelandNature! And how about that Junglefowl. Looks like a fancy chicken but apparently a wild species.
Reply
Re: ONE IN A MILLION – THE CAMPAIGN KEEPING RHINOS HORNY!
I love rhinos and spotting one in the wild is a very special treat. I've only ever seen 3 wild rhinos, all in the Ngorongoro Crater (where poachers are killed by snipers -- no questions asked). Of the many senseless things happening in the world, their slaughter for just their horn makes about the least sense for me. It's sad that ancient pre-medieval traditions are driving these animals to the point of extinction. This seems like a very worthy cause, Tammy, and it's a small thing for us all...
Comment
Re: "Cruise Night", Thunder Bay, Ontario: The 1920's
Love that onomatopoeic license plate: "Ah Ooga!" Blows my horn, for sure!
Comment
Re: Gumbo's Pic of the Day, July 15, 2014: Deck Chairs Aboard QM2
Your photo reminds me of a cruise we just did a few months ago in the Chilean fjordland. When we approached cape Horn, famous for its stormy seas, we were in constant winds of 100 knots, with gusts of 160 knots. The deck was even emptier than your photo above would indicate! Nice photos, Islandman. Thanks for taking all of us aboard the Queen Mary.
Comment
Re: The (Long and Winding) Great Ocean Road, Victoria, Australia
Some wonderful pix of Australia that bring back so many memories of my visits Islandman I could look at those rock formations for hours. Looking into a million years of history. Australia is certainly like nowhere else on Earth and every day is a fascinating adventure. Certainly is a well written comprehensive Blog you've presented. I've enjoyed it. Thanks.
Comment
Re: The (Long and Winding) Great Ocean Road, Victoria, Australia
Thanks for sharing this interesting and most beautiful roadtrip with us, Islandman! Another one for my bucketlist.