Tagged With "Desert Camps"
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Re: Auschwitz Concentration Camp, Poland. The infamous 'Arbeit macht frei' sign at the entrance
I have not been to Auschwitz but have been to some in Western Europe such as Dachau, Bergen-Belsen and Buchenwald. It is an experience like no other. The atmosphere is oppressive and dark. It is almost like nature knows these are sites of unspeakable horror and you can sense it. When we went to Dachau it was a sunny day walking to the camp but once inside it seemed like everything clouded over and there was an absence of the birds singing that we heard outside the camp.
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Re: Art and Survival in the Tassili Plateau
Beautifully written - an absolute joy to read. Thanks!
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Re: Art and Survival in the Tassili Plateau
Excellent ! Like a fascinating novel I had to keep reading, then looking back and reading it again.
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Re: Art and Survival in the Tassili Plateau
Really glad it's gone down well with you George; I only do factual stuff though, I haven't got the deviousness of a good novelist 🤣
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Re: Gumbo's Pic of the Day, Jan, 21, 2014: Raccoon, Vancouver, British Columbia
And they are smart. When my kids were young, we used to camp every summer in Maine, at a site where raccoons came every night to feast at the cans. One year I decided I'd had enough, and brought chain tethers to keep the lids on. Worked fine, the lids stayed quiet all night. But in the morning, when we left our tents, we found that our two stryofoam coolers (which were not in use) had been shredded, all the implements from the table were on the ground, and the ropes securing our storage tarp...
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Re: Arches National Park — One of America’s Finest
I need to get to this Park. It is simply amazing! Besides Arches, what else can one do around the Moab area?
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Re: Arches National Park — One of America’s Finest
There's a ton of stuff to do around Moab, Travel Luver. There's also scenic Canyonlands National Park nearby, well worth exploring. Off-road biking (bicycle, not motorcycle) is extremely popular. Hiking in the cooler seasons. Whitewater rafting is excellent in the summer. And you're less than a day's drive from your next Utah destination, such as Bryce, Zion, or Monument Valley. One of my favorite spots in the US!
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Re: Where Gumbo was #22. Skull Rock, Joshua Tree National Park, California
Lesson learned! I should have Googled Skull Rock instead of speculating about animated films!
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Re: A Springtime Walk in the Desert
Great color and variety! Thanks...I'm going to have to get to the desert in spring, sometime. I visited the Sonora desert in December, and recognize some of these from seeing them without their brilliant display (click HERE for that blog) This is certainly a reminder of how little we know a place when we only know it "in season."
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Re: A Springtime Walk in the Desert
How many times do folks say "Why did you go there ? There's nothing to see !" That's why I love going the opposite way from the crowd. Beautiful selection of photo's ! Any little beasties on the loose ?
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Re: A Springtime Walk in the Desert
There were a lot of these little lizards around, GarryRF. Generally a good sign because if there's rattlesnakes about they hide. Except for birds, everything else was well hidden.
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Re: In Egypt: Philae Island
A fascinating (and detailed) look at a site that many visitors completely miss, even based in Aswan ! The rescue (as with Abu Simbel) is a story in itself, but the 19thC visitors take the biscuit for hubris - wasn't it Edward Lear who set up his camp in the temple ?
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Re: Kettering, Northamptonshire: Where Gumbo Was (#38)
When I was researching the history of the land my house is built on I opened up so much information. During WW1 the land was used for a temporary Army Camp. Many new soldiers were from Wales - 20 miles away - who spoke no English ! But on the 8th June 1917 Capt. (later General) Patton arrived in the Port of Liverpool England on his way to France. He took a train to Litherland Railway Station and stayed here in my garden until he left to catch a Train from Liverpool to London. I often find...
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Re: Route 66 - Pasadena to Needles
Thanks for the journey, JL. This one has been on my wish list for some time. I do intend to make it one day. Also love the Bagdad Cafe. I remember the movie, it was one of those cult classics that, like you said, went almost unnoticed. Good to know the buildings are still there.
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Re: Route 66 - Pasadena to Needles
I've only had the pleasure of a small part of the road (east of Flagstaff and yes, passing that corner in Winslow, Arizona, but Route 66 is pretty much the symbol of the feeling so many of us have, of wanting to discover a past still visible in the present, and worth holding onto. Another good book for "shunpikers" is George Cantor's "Where the Old Roads Go: Driving the First Federal Highways of the Northeast." It's an easy and rewarding read even if you're not setting out on Rte 6, Rte 20,...
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Re: Route 66 - Pasadena to Needles
The bottle tree ranch is so awesome! I love the whimsical western town charm - I hope I'll get to do a road trip like that one day.
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Re: Route 66 - Pasadena to Needles
I n the mid-90s the National Park Service sent a team of professionals to do a survey of surviving road and features of the entire route, Chicago to the Santa Monica Pier, with my husband as illustrator for the report. I don't know if it's generally available but it might be interesting reading for someone with more than a casual interest.
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Re: Gumbo's Pic of the Day, November 25, 2014: Fall colors at Upper Kananaskis Lake, Alberta
Hi GarryRF, Yes, this part of the world includes vaste stretches of wilderness. Lots and lots of unspoiled mountains, valleys, forests, rivers and lakes. It is only an hour's drive from west Calgary, so lots of those of us who live here spend our weekends in the Rockies. Much like those in Denver. Camping is wonderful in the summertime, as the weather is mild and the days very long. It's also great to hike here at that time. Camping in the winter is only for the brave of heart. You need to...
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Re: Gumbo's Pic of the Day, November 25, 2014: Fall colors at Upper Kananaskis Lake, Alberta
My Wife - she who must be obeyed - loves a single Kayak and the open sea. So I presume this would be on a lake. Much safer I think. Sounds like you have the perfect location for a wilderness family like ours ! When we camp in summer you'd mistake some of the tents for aircraft hangers. But the kids and babies come too. Canoes and Fishing rods. Wet suits and waders. We go to Shell Island in Wales - but only when the tides out. Need to plan your journey ahead. They only have Grizzly Sheep.
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Re: Gumbo's Pic of the Day, February 10, 2015: Arizona – The sunshine, the red rock desert and the survival of the fittest
We always think of lifeless deserts but when you get in there its amazing what you find. Some wonderful cactus pictures too. I enjoy getting close to those layers of rock. The colours and the shells. A million years of history. And no one saying "Don't touch"
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Re: Colorado National Monument
Thanks for the beautiful pics. One of these summers I'm going to start touring the U. S. of A.
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Re: Colorado National Monument
Excellent idea, rbciao! Although I'd recommend visiting the desert regions of the southwest in the shoulder seasons, rather than during the heat of summer. No question in my mind that some of the best scenery in the world is in North America. Ciao!
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Re: Gumbo's Pic of the Day, February 12, 2015: Desert Bighorn Sheep, Valley of Fire State Park, Nevada
This must have been a rare treat, Ottoman. It's always interesting to see wildlife in their natural habitat
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Re: Gumbo's Pic of the Day, February 12, 2015: Desert Bighorn Sheep, Valley of Fire State Park, Nevada
Hi IslandMan You are so right. I could've sat there and watched these two lovely animals all day, but unfortunately the amount of daylight we had was rapidly dwindling. Oh well, there's more traveling to be done and more "Wow!" moments to capture. Thanks for the feedback. Take care and best wishes to you.
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Re: The Cabins, Valley of Fire State Park, Nevada (Where Gumbo Was #107)
That night shot is great! Thanks!
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Re: Death Valley National Park
travelgumbo hit another home run today. This is a fantastic post!! Awesome photos and interesting narrative. Well done!
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Re: Death Valley National Park
That's about as thorough a write up of Death Valley as I've ever seen. It is a very desolate place and the temperature extremes are amazing. In one late winter day we went from snow to 115 F. The heat, especially in the summer, is dangerous. Don't visit in the summer. Visit it in the winter. The scenery is beautiful and it's definitely worth seeing.
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Re: Death Valley National Park
I came across this piece on Death Valley which, while not as interesting as Tom's blog, has some interesting facts. You can read it at this link !
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Re: Life in the Sonora Desert
For sure you have to watch where you walk, because if you brush up against a cactus, it seems to latch on to you.
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Re: Walking the Burgundy Canal
Every walk is different, of course, so planning, for someone like me who isn't a distance walker, is essential. I can walk comfortably up to about 10 miles with my little pack, more if I must but try to avoid it, so there's no rush in the morning to be out early. I enjoy a leisurely breakfast and head out mid-morning. I'm never in the position of looking for a place to overnight because I've reserved in advance, either well in advance or at least a day or 2, knowing where I'll be. In France...
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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?
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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...
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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
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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...
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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...
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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...
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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...
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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...
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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...
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Re: A Visit to the “Spine Garden:”Cactus in Arizona’s Sonora Desert
As it snows and storms outside, a welcome diversion! I find all cacti interesting but there's something captivating about the saguaro forest around Tucson. While visiting Saguaro National Park (years ago, before it was a national park), I remember a newspaper clipping tacked onto the park's information board. The headline read something like "Saguaro cactus involved in double homocide". Seems a drunk yahoo with a shotgun drove out to the desert to kill himself a giant saguaro. He did, the...
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Re: A Visit to the “Spine Garden:”Cactus in Arizona’s Sonora Desert
I love to travel in the winter to hot countries - who doesn't ? But apart from the obvious reasons you get access to rare and strange fruit that just doesn't travel well. Star fruit, Custard apples, Salak and Prickly pears ! PRICKLY PEARS Delicious !!
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Re: A Visit to the “Spine Garden:”Cactus in Arizona’s Sonora Desert
You actually can eat those fruits?
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Re: A Visit to the “Spine Garden:”Cactus in Arizona’s Sonora Desert
It may seem a little surprising, but yes…it’s food! I always wonder about things like this: Who was the first human desperate enough to try eating a spiny thistle (the one we call an artichoike!)
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Re: A Visit to the “Spine Garden:”Cactus in Arizona’s Sonora Desert
Spending time in the Tucson area, I've learned to appreciate cacti even more. What amazes me is how many tall saguaro there are because it takes so long for them to grow.
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Re: A Visit to the “Spine Garden:”Cactus in Arizona’s Sonora Desert
I love the Saguaro forest around Tucson. Especially in the spring when the cacti are in bloom!