Category Archives: travel

Road Trip – Part 1

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I just returned from another road trip, or should I say half of one. I was delivering an older van that’s been sitting in the driveway for a few years to my son and daughter-in-law who live in Reno, Nevada. In a straight shot, it’s just over 2000 miles from our home in Grand Rapids, Michigan. But I saw the drive as a chance to stop off and enjoy a couple of our magnificent national parks. Anyway, this was only a half of a road trip since I flew home after delivering the van.

I’ve taken to the road cross country dozens of times before so I know the routine. Waking at 4am, I leave Grand Rapids, point the van towards the West and go. Indiana, Illinois and Iowa are a breeze. And while I don’t mean to disparage any part of the trip, Interstate 80 through Nebraska is one of the least interesting 450 miles unless you like seeing corn and wheat fields galore. Afterwards, the slowly rising mountains of Wyoming are a welcome sight. By about 9pm, I pull into Rawlins, Wyoming for a late dinner and some sleep.

I’m up early the next morning and leave the interstate for the northern trek towards Moran Junction – the Tetons and Yellowstone. What a lovely part of the world with vast cattle ranches, scenic buttes, craggy overhangs, deep cut gorges, abundant wildlife. Without having to leave the vehicle, I’m thrilled to view the scenery.

My first order of business is to visit the Tetons where the mountains just pop up from the earth without any intervening foothills. This range across the valley known as Jackson Hole is simply breathtaking.

After driving 1600 miles, I’m more than ready for a hike and head for the trailhead at Taggert Lake. It’s early September and there are many other outdoor lovers enjoying the same sights along the trail.

Next on my agenda is a hop over to South Jenny Lake. Having visited this area several times before with my family, I have an emotional attachment to the lake and its energizing surroundings.

Then on to Oxbow Bend where the Snake River winds through the tree-lined valley. You’ll recognize the view from this iconic location – there’s a myriad of Oxbow Bend photographs that adorn walls and calendars everywhere. From this spot, just point your camera at the mountains, click and you’ll capture an unforgettable view for yourself.

Over to the Jackson Lake Dam. Here the water from the various rivers in Yellowstone collect and feed the Snake River. After the water passes through the dam, it serves the farms and citizens of Wyoming, Idaho, Oregon and Washington. And by the way, the white water rafting downstream is very exciting!

My last stop in the Tetons is at Colter Bay. This is not only a popular camping area, but its large marina handles water craft for the crowd that enjoys the amazing Jackson Lake surroundings and vistas.

At this point, I head north along the John D Rockefeller Jr Memorial Parkway which connects Grand Teton National Park with Yellowstone National Park.

If you’re still with me, you can continue with my visit to Yellowstone National Park in Part 2 of the road trip.

Not Afraid of the Water

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There’s a few weeks still left on the summer calendar so jump on in – the water’s fine.

After seeing a demo of this camera last January, I took the plunge and ordered this Nikon 1 AW1.

What’s unique about this camera is that it uses interchangeable lenses and can be submersed – the specs say down to 50 feet. But I’m not a diver so I haven’t used the camera that deep. Instead, I wanted a camera for snapping the family on the beach or in the water.

A sandy beach isn’t a problem – just dip the camera into the water to clean it off. Underwater shots are easy – especially if you’re wearing a pair of goggles – the LCD screen is very visible beneath the surface.

This camera is also built to be rugged. Nikon says that it can withstand a fall from 6 feet, but I didn’t test out this “feature”. When winter arrives it can withstand freezing temperatures down to 14 degrees.

The camera with an 11-27.5mm interchangeable lens sells for about $750. I bought the orange silicone protective sleeve which makes it easier to hold underwater.

The AW1 is mirrorless with a 14.2MB sensor. It’s very compact. Two lenses are submersible: the 11-27.5mm zoom and a fixed 10mm. You can mount other Nikon 1 lenses but they are not submersible. The built-in flash works underwater too so you can add light should you find the subsurface water dark. If you’re using the AW1 in an outdoor pool, the photos and videos are excellent.

This is a lightweight, compact camera that takes good quality photos and videos and as I’ve experienced is really a blast to use. And a lot of splashing won’t hurt a bit.

The Big Freeze

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Making My Way to CES

It’s early January – time for the Consumer Electronics Show.

I’m always excited to go to CES and see the new devices from hundreds of manufacturers – devices that are waiting to dazzle us. For the past 30+ years I’ve been attending this whiz-bang exhibition.

But this year it is very interesting getting to Las Vegas. Beginning on New Year’s Day the weather services warns us of heavy snow and frigid temperatures for the next week. Two days before my scheduled travel date, I receive a notice from United Airlines that my Monday flight is cancelled and that I should call to reschedule.

I spend six hours on hold to United’s reservations center and when I finally get through to an agent I make an alternative reservation for later in the day on Monday.

An hour later, I receive another United notice that this flight too is cancelled. Back on the phone, this time for more than four hours, and they reschedule my flight to Wednesday evening. This flight is not going to work since I would miss two full days of CES.

So I look for alternatives.

I know that Allegiant flies directly to Las Vegas so I check their schedule. To my surprise there is space available on Monday and so I immediately book the flight. Of course the weather will ultimately determine if the flight actually take place.

Driving to the airport is hazardous with the zero-degree temperature over snow and ice-covered roads.

As I view the airport gate assignments I see most of the other flights from Grand Rapids are cancelled. Most likely they fly to Detroit, Cleveland and Chicago – cities where the airports are shut down.

The incoming flight from Las Vegas is 30 minutes late. But despite the drastic weather my flight to Las Vegas departs an hour late. Here’s a vote for air service city-to-city rather than the hub and spoke service used by most airlines.

A short three and a half hours later, I’m in the desert without any snow and enjoying the 60 degree temperature. I am lucky to get out of the big freeze.

Today I hear that the temperature in Grand Rapids is -10.

I had to use my sunglasses in Las Vegas.