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Independent Travelers
50+ travelers who are accustomed to making their own travel/activity plans and reservations for interesting destinations such as: exploration cruises, cruise/tours, luxury rail travel, etc.
Recent Messages
Thailand
I am just dying to go to Thailand and I'm shooting for Feb or March or April next year. I travel a lot on my own but don't know if that would be the best in Thailand as I have no idea where to go. Has anyone heard of any good tours that are not real expensive? I also so tired of paying single supplements but that's just my cross to bear, I guess. I'd love to hear any/all recommendations. What gets me through my days is planning for my next trip. :-)
New Orleans
I will be going to N. O. for the first time next week. I will be taking intensive seminars but will have Sunday and Tues to tour. I'm an ealry riser, love gardens ghosts, art and Pirates.
The impressionist Degas has history here also.
Not really into the night life or beads, been there done that.
I heard there is a Spirits and Spirits tour, Ghosts and Rum?
Any ideas?.
The impressionist Degas has history here also.
Not really into the night life or beads, been there done that.
I heard there is a Spirits and Spirits tour, Ghosts and Rum?
Any ideas?.
looking for cruise roommate
hi folks, I haven't been here in a very long time, but I am trying all my options to find a female roommate for an amazing adventure cruise that I am drooling over. first off, it's over the holiday and secondly it's 21 days long, leaving Dec. 18. It's on a small ship, holding 280 people that was built as a 'college at sea'. Besides all of the normal cruise amenities, there will be professors and lecturers teaching about all of the sights and sounds along the way. It begins in Nassau and returns to Ft. Lauderdale, cruising Through much of South America including the Amazon River and also stopping at several exotic ports along the way like cities in Brazel, Uruguay, Trinidad, Dominica, etc. If this interests anyone, please send me a private message and I'll send you all the info. The total price includes airfare to/from your city.
So, what's in a name?
So, what’s in a name? Think about it, most sane individuals would say names typically denote individuality, ownership, personality, background, and respect. However, those qualities don’t always come to mind when traveling. My point being, and everybody’s seen them on maps and while traveling throughout the United States, those towns, communities, roads, and landmark names that catch your eye, make one gasp, initiate blushing giggles, or intensely tickle the funny bone. Regardless of traveling past, through, on, or selected as a unique destination, the first question that arises after the tears of laughter, the “Oh, my Goodness,” and “How stupid,” responses, are why the name was selected in the first place, and for whatever reason why the heck was it never changed?
I’m sure there are wonderfully ...CONTINUED IN REPLY...
Patrick Witz
Writer/Editor/Publisher/Photographer
Gold Country Families E-Magazine
A FREE Internet Travel, Entertainment, & Leisure Magazine
editor@goldcountryfamilies.com
view link
I’m sure there are wonderfully ...CONTINUED IN REPLY...
Patrick Witz
Writer/Editor/Publisher/Photographer
Gold Country Families E-Magazine
A FREE Internet Travel, Entertainment, & Leisure Magazine
editor@goldcountryfamilies.com
view link
Where to go?
When my father passed away about 5 years ago my sister, her husband and I deceided that we should take a vacation togeter at least once a year. I am divorced and live in Northern California and they live in Arlington Heights, ILL thus it would be the one time a year we would see each other. Over the past 5 years we have been on cruises to the Caribbean and Alaska, went on a land tour of Panama and Costa Rica, spent a week in Washington, D.C. and now I can't figure out where we should go next. I have been all over Europe, been to Hong Kong and Bangkok ( Thanks Army) and been to Hawaii.
My question is where to go and not on a cruise, I hate to pay the extra for being single.
Thenks for your suggestions
Janos
My question is where to go and not on a cruise, I hate to pay the extra for being single.
Thenks for your suggestions
Janos
Northern Rockies Photos Link
Several members of other groups weren't able to visit my Shutterfly Web page because the link that I included in my last message didn't work. I discovered why: OE (operator error-me!). I inadvertantly included an extra period in the Web address. Here's a link that should work:
view link
I apologize for the inconvenience.
view link
I apologize for the inconvenience.
Northern Rockies Photos
For anyone who's interested, my Northern Rockies slide show is now available for viewing at view link
Train Travel
I travel alone at least twice a year. I live in MS and travel to WY and OR by Amtrak. It's a long trip but like I tell everyone who says "FLY"!, I'm not in a hurry to get there or get back.
I have managed to take my trips and work full time. I am on the train anywhere from 2 - 3 days and nights. The views are remarkable. The first time I traveled through Colorado to go to WY (my first solotrip at age 47) I was just dumbfounded! I had never seen such beautiful scenery...mountains and rivers and trees and a moose! And the sunsets and early morning skies,,,!
I'm leaving next week from OR to go home to MS and I am really looking forward to it. The trip is long, I'll be exhausted, but when I get home to my mama's house, I know I can lay down and sleep good with the a/c blowing on me,,,lol!
I'm glad I found this group. I love reading about others adventures!
I have managed to take my trips and work full time. I am on the train anywhere from 2 - 3 days and nights. The views are remarkable. The first time I traveled through Colorado to go to WY (my first solotrip at age 47) I was just dumbfounded! I had never seen such beautiful scenery...mountains and rivers and trees and a moose! And the sunsets and early morning skies,,,!
I'm leaving next week from OR to go home to MS and I am really looking forward to it. The trip is long, I'll be exhausted, but when I get home to my mama's house, I know I can lay down and sleep good with the a/c blowing on me,,,lol!
I'm glad I found this group. I love reading about others adventures!
Thistle
One of the natural arrivals to Spectacle island in Boston Harbor. The island was made from the dirt from the Big Dig. Its previous low profile had been leveled and all of its previous industrial remnants removed. Dirt from the Dig was barged, and spread, and shaped, and planted. Planned plantings and natural arrivals now cover this eyeglass shaped island. It is one of he stops for the Harbor cruises. jh
Trip Report - Northern Rockies
Here’s a report of a trip that my wife, Linda, and I recently made to Glacier, Banff, Jasper, Yoho, and Kootenay National Parks in the northern Rocky Mountains:
We left Baltimore at 6:15 a.m. on Monday, August 4, and flew to Detroit. The flight out of Detroit was a half hour late to leave, and since we had only a 40 minute layover in Minneapolis, we were concerned that we may miss our connecting flight to Kalispell, Montana. We made up some time in the air and caught our next flight with a little time to spare. We got into Kalispell around 1:00 p.m.
After picking up our rental car, we drove to Columbia Falls, MT and stopped at a supermarket to buy our breakfast (Pop-Tarts, granola bars) and lunch (bread, peanut butter, jelly, cookies, Doritos) groceries. Each day we bought bottled orange juice for breakfast and soft drinks for lunch. We ate all of our dinners in local restaurants, only two of which were fast food chains (A&W, KFC).
We spent our first four nights in Montana’s Glacier National Park, first at Fish Creek Campground on the western side of the park near Lake McDonald, and then at St. Mary Campground on the eastern side of the park near St. Mary Lake.
From Fish Creek we visited the Lake McDonald Lodge and the villages of Apgar and West Glacier, and we hiked the Trail of the Cedars nature trail. We also went to a park program called Native America Speaks that was presented by a local descendant of the Blackfeet Indians. He played a guitar and sang original compositions based on local Indian lore and traditions.
On Wednesday, August 6, we left Fish Creek and drove along the park’s Going-to-the-Sun Road across the Continental Divide to St. Mary. The road is an engineering marvel. It’s steep and winding, and it clings to the sides of the mountains, but there are a lot of fantastic views from pullout spots. At one of the pullouts there is a metal grate walkway that we took. From the walkway we saw our first Columbia ground squirrels and several mountain goats, one of which actually climbed up onto the walkway with us! It was close enough to touch, but we fought the urge.
We stopped at a nice visitors center along the Sun Road at Logan Pass. A nice man in the parking lot (another tourist) told us about some bighorn sheep that were right across the road, so we went to see and photograph them. Later Linda waited behind while I hiked up the Hidden Lake Trail that starts behind the visitors center. It goes up the side of a mountain and through several snow fields. I saw a few more mountain goats and several hoary marmots.
From the St. Mary Campground we took a boat tour of St. Mary Lake that included a short hike to Baring Falls. We also saw a park service program that featured a number of prize-winning Blackfeet Indian competition dancers performing traditional Blackfeet dances.
We left St. Mary on Friday, August 8, and drove north into Alberta, Canada. Our next stop was the Lake Louise Campground near the town of Lake Louise in Banff National Park, where we spent three nights. Here’s where we saw our first elk and black bears! We saw the first bear high up a mountainside as we were leaving Moraine Lake. Then a mother and two cubs crossed the road right in front of us as we were driving into Banff townsite to do our laundry.
While staying at Lake Louise we took a short trip into nearby Yoho National Park in British Columbia, where we visited Takkanaw Falls and Emerald Lake. We also drove along the picturesque Bow Valley Parkway from Lake Louise to Banff.
We next drove north along the Icefields Parkway to Jasper National Park and Whistlers Campground, where we camped for three nights. From there we visited Maligne Lake (pronounced mah-LEEN) and Miette Hot Springs (pronounced my-ETT). This is the first time that Linda and I ever visited a hot spring. There were four manmade tile-lined pools – two hot and two cool. The large hot pools were kept at 102° and 105°, and the much smaller cool pools were kept at 70° and 60°. The water in the hot pools had just a very slight sulfur odor from the natural hot spring water.
At Maligne Lake there was a short loop hike to Moose Lake that I took while Linda waited in the car. I actually saw a cow moose along the trail! At first I just heard something snort up ahead of me off of the trail to the left. I didn’t know then if it was a moose, a deer, or a bear! All I saw was a brown shape through the trees. Luckily it turned out to be a moose.
While staying in Jasper National Park, Linda and I drove back down the Icefields Parkway to the Icefields Center beside the Columbia Icefield. From there we took a tour of the Athabasca Glacier. We rode a regular bus from the Center along a road that went along the glacier’s lateral moraine until we came to a small transfer station. From there we got on board a bus-sized ATV called an Ice Explorer and rode onto the glacier. At the turnaround spot on the glacier, the Ice Explorer stopped and let us out so that we could walk on the ice. Not long after we got onto the ice, my right leg broke through the surface and I went into icy water all the way up to my knee! My hiking boot filled with water, but I was wearing wool socks with polypropylene liner socks, so my foot warmed up quickly.
We spent our last night camping in Kootenay National Park in British Columbia. We didn’t really do much there except check out two park visitors centers, relax in our campsite, and eat dinner in the nearby town of Radium Hot Springs.
The last night of our trip was spent at the EconoLodge Inn & Suites in Kalispell, MT. We got into town early, so we found a nice, new movie theater and caught a matinee showing of Tropic Thunder. It was very funny.
In case you’re wondering, gasoline prices in Montana ranged from $3.89-$3.96 per gallon. In Canada we paid from $1.309-$1.349 per liter (after converting liters to gallons and factoring in the monetary exchange rate that comes to about $4.95-$5.10 per gallon).
Our flight left Kalispell at 8:15 a.m. on Saturday, August 16. After a short layover in Minneapolis we landed back in Baltimore at 4:30 p.m. We stopped at Wendy’s for dinner on the way home, and got back to our house at 7:15 p.m.
Except for three rainy days, including two thunderstorms, we had very nice weather during the trip. The sun felt unusually hot to us (maybe because of the higher altitude), but it was comfortable in the shade. It got quite chilly during three or four nights. The lowest temperature I actually saw was 42° (our rental car had a thermometer in the dashboard).
The mountain scenery was gorgeous, with many rugged and snow-capped peaks and glaciers. The crystal clear mountain lakes were beautiful shades of royal blue, emerald green, and turquoise. The rivers were either clear or milky gray from the silt of the melting glaciers (glacial “flour”). The forests were mostly Douglas fir, sub-alpine fir, and lodgepole pine. We saw seven black bears, bighorn sheep, mountain goats, hoary marmots, Columbia ground squirrels, golden mantled ground squirrels, red squirrels, least chipmunks, elk, mule deer, white-tailed deer, and a moose.
It was a good trip.
We left Baltimore at 6:15 a.m. on Monday, August 4, and flew to Detroit. The flight out of Detroit was a half hour late to leave, and since we had only a 40 minute layover in Minneapolis, we were concerned that we may miss our connecting flight to Kalispell, Montana. We made up some time in the air and caught our next flight with a little time to spare. We got into Kalispell around 1:00 p.m.
After picking up our rental car, we drove to Columbia Falls, MT and stopped at a supermarket to buy our breakfast (Pop-Tarts, granola bars) and lunch (bread, peanut butter, jelly, cookies, Doritos) groceries. Each day we bought bottled orange juice for breakfast and soft drinks for lunch. We ate all of our dinners in local restaurants, only two of which were fast food chains (A&W, KFC).
We spent our first four nights in Montana’s Glacier National Park, first at Fish Creek Campground on the western side of the park near Lake McDonald, and then at St. Mary Campground on the eastern side of the park near St. Mary Lake.
From Fish Creek we visited the Lake McDonald Lodge and the villages of Apgar and West Glacier, and we hiked the Trail of the Cedars nature trail. We also went to a park program called Native America Speaks that was presented by a local descendant of the Blackfeet Indians. He played a guitar and sang original compositions based on local Indian lore and traditions.
On Wednesday, August 6, we left Fish Creek and drove along the park’s Going-to-the-Sun Road across the Continental Divide to St. Mary. The road is an engineering marvel. It’s steep and winding, and it clings to the sides of the mountains, but there are a lot of fantastic views from pullout spots. At one of the pullouts there is a metal grate walkway that we took. From the walkway we saw our first Columbia ground squirrels and several mountain goats, one of which actually climbed up onto the walkway with us! It was close enough to touch, but we fought the urge.
We stopped at a nice visitors center along the Sun Road at Logan Pass. A nice man in the parking lot (another tourist) told us about some bighorn sheep that were right across the road, so we went to see and photograph them. Later Linda waited behind while I hiked up the Hidden Lake Trail that starts behind the visitors center. It goes up the side of a mountain and through several snow fields. I saw a few more mountain goats and several hoary marmots.
From the St. Mary Campground we took a boat tour of St. Mary Lake that included a short hike to Baring Falls. We also saw a park service program that featured a number of prize-winning Blackfeet Indian competition dancers performing traditional Blackfeet dances.
We left St. Mary on Friday, August 8, and drove north into Alberta, Canada. Our next stop was the Lake Louise Campground near the town of Lake Louise in Banff National Park, where we spent three nights. Here’s where we saw our first elk and black bears! We saw the first bear high up a mountainside as we were leaving Moraine Lake. Then a mother and two cubs crossed the road right in front of us as we were driving into Banff townsite to do our laundry.
While staying at Lake Louise we took a short trip into nearby Yoho National Park in British Columbia, where we visited Takkanaw Falls and Emerald Lake. We also drove along the picturesque Bow Valley Parkway from Lake Louise to Banff.
We next drove north along the Icefields Parkway to Jasper National Park and Whistlers Campground, where we camped for three nights. From there we visited Maligne Lake (pronounced mah-LEEN) and Miette Hot Springs (pronounced my-ETT). This is the first time that Linda and I ever visited a hot spring. There were four manmade tile-lined pools – two hot and two cool. The large hot pools were kept at 102° and 105°, and the much smaller cool pools were kept at 70° and 60°. The water in the hot pools had just a very slight sulfur odor from the natural hot spring water.
At Maligne Lake there was a short loop hike to Moose Lake that I took while Linda waited in the car. I actually saw a cow moose along the trail! At first I just heard something snort up ahead of me off of the trail to the left. I didn’t know then if it was a moose, a deer, or a bear! All I saw was a brown shape through the trees. Luckily it turned out to be a moose.
While staying in Jasper National Park, Linda and I drove back down the Icefields Parkway to the Icefields Center beside the Columbia Icefield. From there we took a tour of the Athabasca Glacier. We rode a regular bus from the Center along a road that went along the glacier’s lateral moraine until we came to a small transfer station. From there we got on board a bus-sized ATV called an Ice Explorer and rode onto the glacier. At the turnaround spot on the glacier, the Ice Explorer stopped and let us out so that we could walk on the ice. Not long after we got onto the ice, my right leg broke through the surface and I went into icy water all the way up to my knee! My hiking boot filled with water, but I was wearing wool socks with polypropylene liner socks, so my foot warmed up quickly.
We spent our last night camping in Kootenay National Park in British Columbia. We didn’t really do much there except check out two park visitors centers, relax in our campsite, and eat dinner in the nearby town of Radium Hot Springs.
The last night of our trip was spent at the EconoLodge Inn & Suites in Kalispell, MT. We got into town early, so we found a nice, new movie theater and caught a matinee showing of Tropic Thunder. It was very funny.
In case you’re wondering, gasoline prices in Montana ranged from $3.89-$3.96 per gallon. In Canada we paid from $1.309-$1.349 per liter (after converting liters to gallons and factoring in the monetary exchange rate that comes to about $4.95-$5.10 per gallon).
Our flight left Kalispell at 8:15 a.m. on Saturday, August 16. After a short layover in Minneapolis we landed back in Baltimore at 4:30 p.m. We stopped at Wendy’s for dinner on the way home, and got back to our house at 7:15 p.m.
Except for three rainy days, including two thunderstorms, we had very nice weather during the trip. The sun felt unusually hot to us (maybe because of the higher altitude), but it was comfortable in the shade. It got quite chilly during three or four nights. The lowest temperature I actually saw was 42° (our rental car had a thermometer in the dashboard).
The mountain scenery was gorgeous, with many rugged and snow-capped peaks and glaciers. The crystal clear mountain lakes were beautiful shades of royal blue, emerald green, and turquoise. The rivers were either clear or milky gray from the silt of the melting glaciers (glacial “flour”). The forests were mostly Douglas fir, sub-alpine fir, and lodgepole pine. We saw seven black bears, bighorn sheep, mountain goats, hoary marmots, Columbia ground squirrels, golden mantled ground squirrels, red squirrels, least chipmunks, elk, mule deer, white-tailed deer, and a moose.
It was a good trip.
Photos
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In York, UK
3 months ago
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Dog in a pub.
3 months ago
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Sitting on a...
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Maria Worth ...
3 months ago
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Pillnitz Pal...
3 months ago
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Parliament B...
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