Like many lush Caribbean nations, Jamaica is awash is brilliantly colored flowers. On a recent bloggers trip, I slipped away from the crowd with my new camera in hand and managed to snap a few pictures of some of the country’s vegetation.
July29
Images: Flowers of Jamaica
When we pulled up to Chukka Caribbean, an adventure outfitter in Jamaica, I admit to being a little bit skeptical. Though I love adventure activities, I always feel a little put off by companies that offer a menu of offerings that are fun but don’t do much to actually showcase an authentic destination. I love an afternoon of zip lining, white water rafting and ropes courses, but what do we learn from them? So many of these companies could be picked up and placed anywhere else on the planet and nothing would change.
That was my fear with Chukka, which actually operates in a number of different Caribbean locations. How did this company differ from anything else that had a colorful marketing brochure at the hotel concierge?
I met Cherie Ve Ard at Burning Man in 2009. After some snafus with the camp I was originally supposed to stay in, Cherie and her partner, Chris Dunphy, invited me to stay in theirs. Their Burning Man community, Camp Nomadia, is very much in tune with their lifestyle: minimal, interactive and drama-free.
You see, Cherie and Chris, known jointly at Technomadia, travel, work, play and live full-time in a small solar-powered RV. They go when and where they choose, traversing the United States with their cat, Kiki. Cherie and I have remained in close contact since meeting nearly a year ago, and she was kind enough to answer a few questions about the life she and Chris lead as nomadic ambassadors.
1. Tell me a little bit about your nomadic lifestyle.
I’ve been on the road full time since May 2007 in a small, solar-powered, geeked out travel trailer roaming around the USA with my life and business partner, Chris, and our cat, Kiki. We run a software development and technology consulting firm, doing a variety of remote and onsite work … embracing nomadic serendipity at every turn. We have no physical home anywhere else.
July19
Hicksville Trailer Palace
At the end of May, a funky creative enclave in the Mojave Desert near Joshua Tree National Park opened its doors to artists and wayward travelers who needed a place to stay outside of Los Angeles. Hicksville Trailer Palace is a kitschy, fun place, one where old trailers have been gutted and redesigned by theme. Set around a small saltwater pool, these trailers make up the lodging at Hicksville.
I had the opportunity to visit Hicksville in June on assignment for Matador Trips, and you can read the complete account of my stay here, but I wanted to let the readers of Kaleidoscopic Wandering know what a truly cool retreat it is. Here are a few photos, which provide only a glimpse into the nature of Hicksville Trailer Palace.
Navajo National Monument is tucked off a small road in northern Arizona, about a 90-minute drive from Page. It encompasses a sprawling canyon, which, in its own right, is quite beautiful with the reds and oranges seeping from the canyon walls. An ancient, overgrown forest with gamble oaks, Douglas firs and quaking aspens fills the canyon.
But in this corner of the Southwest, where Zion and Bryce set up shop near the Grand Canyon, it takes something truly magnificent to impress potential visitors (Cedar Breaks is a prime example).
That’s why it’s the ruins at Navajo National Monument that set this site apart from others. Betatakin, which can be viewed from the overlook of Sandal Trail, consists of the remains from an ancient village in an oversized, gaping alcove. These cave dwellings, which were occupied between 1250 and 1300, are the most accessible to visitors; in addition to being able to view them from the rim, there are free guided hikes offered by the National Park Service into the canyon.
Located on historic Route 66, Winslow, Arizona, is just like any other sleepy southwest town on the road: Kitschy, quiet, cute and, in some respects, crumbling in disrepair. The city was once the largest town in northern Arizona, but the creation of I-40 in the late 1970s literally drove traffic out of the town and many of the city’s businesses faded into history.
In 1972, the Eagles immortalized the city in their song, “Take it Easy.” The lyrics:
Well, I’m a standing on a corner
in Winslow, Arizona
and such a fine sight to see
It’s a girl, my Lord, in a flatbed
Ford slowin’ down to take a look at me
Come on, baby, don’t say maybe
I gotta know if your sweet love is
gonna save me
We may lose and we may win though
we will never be here again
so open up, I’m climbin’ in,
so take it easy
In 1994, the Standin’ On The Corner Foundation, a non-profit organization dedicated to the rebirth of the city, sprang into action to revitalize the downtown area of Winslow. In 1997, a committee of volunteers designed a park, which commemorates the corner that made its debut in the Eagles song so many years ago.
It’s a shame that for more than 20 years the city of Winslow nearly faded from existence, and though it’s no happening place now, there is a revitalization and reason for people to visit. In addition to the park, a historic hotel and restaurant have been renovated and several investors have made efforts to kick start the economy in this sleepy southwest town.
I’m sitting on the very top floor of Rockefeller Center, 70 stories from ground level. There is a shallow shelf facing south, and I’ve claimed it as my own, my legs cross-legged and out of the way of passersby who walk from one end of the viewing area to the other.
The sun is unrelenting and hot on my shoulders; I have no doubt that I’m being sunburned. The humidity has covered me like a sticky flannel blanket since I arrived in New York City, and this afternoon is no different, especially now that I don’t have the towering buildings to shade me from the glare. Sitting on top of one of the city’s highest buildings, I have little choice but to embrace the sun rather than cower from it.
Below me, the buildings are lined up in straight rows. The maze of streets between them isn’t a maze at all; just a perfectly symmetrical grid with toy-sized cars vying for the right-of-way. I can’t see people on the street from where I am, but I know they’re rushing from subway stops to buildings and packed into the cabs.
One building blends into the next into the next, but each has a distinct personality, trying to create its own creative sphere in an otherwise uniform space. They are different heights and colors, have different window shapes and signage, but there are so many they simply become one jumbled mess of busy city.
I may be a seasoned traveler according to some measurements, but the truth is that I’ve barely dipped my toes into the ocean of travel. When people found out that I was visiting New York City for the first time last week, people came out in droves to provide advice, insight and words of encouragement and caution. I have to admit, I was a little scared.
Having survived the experience, I can say that the words of encouragement and caution were appreciated, but what I got most out of my first visit to the Big Apple had to be experienced on my own. Here is what I learned from my first visit to New York City:
1. The subway isn’t as intimidating as I had anticipated. The New York subway is no Washington DC metro or London tube system, with their clean and air conditioned stations, but I found it to be safe and reliable anyway. I admit that I didn’t use the subway alone at night, but even if I had, there were lots of people around and nothing out of the ordinary that would have made me feel wary. In fact, the only reason I didn’t take the subway alone at night is because I wasn’t sure I could find my way walking once I got off. Yes, the New York subway system is hot and gritty (and those sewer rats are as big as people say they are), but the overall experience was a positive one.
On the long road that cuts through the Mojave Desert in Southern California, there are a variety of cacti, twisted Joshua trees and the very rare desert tortoise. South of Mojave National Preserve and north of Joshua Tree National Park there is a toppled tree on the side of the road that is just a bit more colorful and notable than others. I’m not sure if this particular tree is known by any particular name, but I’ve come to call it the shoe tree.
I’d love to know the shoe tree’s story. Who threw the first shoe onto the tree? Was it intentional or did someone throw a shoe out a moving car window in frustration? Now covered in hundreds of flip-flops and tennis shoes, hiking boots and slippers, the shoe tree has become a collection of wearable graffiti. Some shoes are worn with peeling soles and tattered laces. Others look new enough to sell in a second-hand shop. All of them, in some way, have a story to tell.
June28
Reading: AFAR Magazine
Trisha Miller from Travel Writers Exchange recently wrote about the power of print and how, as travel writers, we should support the magazines we want to write for. While I agree with her completely, I can guarantee that I would be reading AFAR whether I was a travel writer or not.
When all other magazines were downsizing staff, shrinking budgets and closing doors, the founders of AFAR, Greg Sullivan and Joe Diaz, began publishing what is arguably one of the most genuine, readable magazines on the market today. It was an idea that went against all logic, but so does their magazine, which is why it’s such a great discovery.
AFAR Media sums up its mission succinctly:
Travel is changing. The world has grown smaller, more accessible, yet homogenized and less exotic. Today’s travelers want to get beyond the superficial, the mass-produced, the mass-consumed, and the mass-experienced. They look for the authentic in people, places, and things.
