Welcome to the 4th travel carnival, where a flurry of travel articles have come in since the 3rd edition. Even during (or perhaps because of) end-of-summer vacations, travel bloggers took time to write or share their travelogues, tips, and musings. The theme this time was Nature's Bounty; however, many off-topic submissions came in and I've decided to include them. Enjoy!
Nature's Bounty
David Stanley presents Manitou Beach and Last Mountain, Saskatchewan saying, "In the heart of the Canadian prairies, 126 kilometers southeast of Joni Mitchell's hometown Saskatoon, is a lake with a natural salinity of 12 percent, which is 3.5 times saltier than the world's oceans and 50 percent saltier than the Dead Sea."
Joe Kissell presents The Perito Moreno Glacier / Breaking the ice rules saying, "This river of ice in Argentina is much like other glaciers, though on average, it's neither retreating nor advancing. But it's face divides a lake into two, and dramatic, periodic ruptures reconnect the two sections." Joe believes "size matters" and that "hiking on a glacier is like hiking on a giant snow cone."
Smita presents Igatpuri - Unchartered Territory where two trekkers go off the beaten path in India to verdant, hilly pastures for (what is clearly) an experience of a lifetime.
Trevor presents Travels in Nepal #16: The Climb to Namche Bazar with reflections of his trek in Nepal, reminding us all to stop and smell the proverbial roses (in his case, soak in the views) and set your own pace in life. Nice photos to boot!
Kelly Vaughan presents an article on Turkey through the eyes of a New York City teacher about one of her first weekends while living in Istanbul for a year. This piece details a weekend of exploration and paints a colorful image of what you can expect when traveling to Turkey. Ah, Turkey. A beautiful country with a fascinating history.
Mary Jo Manzanares presents Washington DC: Kenilworth Aquatic Gardens saying, "So much natural beauty so close to our nation's capital. It's worth the time to take a short drive to see the aquatic gardens." The sexy stills of the flowers make me want to fly back east to visit this garden that's on the National Register of Historic Places.
Jennifer Miner presents GPS Devices and Geocaching noting, "Geocaching is like a worldwide scavenger hunt. Taking my handheld GPS with me on a trip to Maui forced me to do more than just lounge by the pool..." discovering ancient petroglyphs on the trek. Jennifer also presents Santa Monica Shangri-la, recommending this hotel for families who desire a 180-degree Pacific Ocean view.
Unrelated to Nature's Bounty ...but amusing nonetheless
- Sheila Scarborough presents My Top 10 Ideas for Travel Souvenirs with great ideas for family trinkets such as "Floatie Pens... from Jerusalem with floating bread and wine in front of the Last Supper. Classic." (Note: You may need to scroll to read her post after arriving at her site.)
- Georgina Kelman presents Three Days in the Desert, a story of a family road trip to Palm Springs in August. An aerial tram to hike the mountails and air-conditioned art and flight museums gave the family reunion a respite from the desert heat.
- Kelby Carr presents Road Trip Planner: Survive a Family Road Trip saying, "The family road trip is the ultimate family vacation. That doesn't mean it has to be all the cliches of whining kids and grumpy parents." She gives several practical tips for families. Kelby also presents Winter and Christmas Cruises highlighting family cruises for New Year's, Hannukah, or any other holiday getaway.
- Chaminda presents Souma Nomaoi - Horse Festival of Soma about an off-the-beaten-track Japanese festival that has taken place each July for 1033 years.
- Rick Sincere presents Visiting the Speaker's House, a journey to a Founding Father's dilapidated house (and future tourist attraction) along with a historic church along Main Street in Trappe, Pennsylvania. See where the first signer of the Bill of Rights lived.
- Destination Somewhere presents Travel Information Journal - The Transportation Security Administration (TSA) Site with several helpful travel transportation safety requirements such as what to bring on planes, advice for persons with disabilities, and more.
- Madeleine Begun Kane presents A Traveler's Net Woes illustrating some of the absurd things we do while traveling.
- Chris Quimby presents Frequently Asked Questions - Whale Watching with his comic perspective of whale-watching tours.
Whew. That's a lotta travel blogging. But what insights. You can submit your travel blog article to the next edition of carnival of travel using the carnival submission form. Past posts can be found on the travel carnival index page.
What a great roundup of travel writers. I included a post about the carnival on my site, and just want to thank you once again for being a great organizer.
I can't wait to find out what theme you come up with for the next one!
Posted by: Mary Jo Manzanares | September 15, 2006 at 12:23 PM
Great job! Thanks very much for including me.
Posted by: Madeleine Begun Kane | September 15, 2006 at 12:47 PM
What a great group of articles! I'm proud to be included! Thank you and looking forward to the next carnival.
Posted by: Georgina Kelman | September 15, 2006 at 01:35 PM
We provide Tailor made tour packages by connecting different Tourist places in Kerala. We also operate Houseboat Cruise in the backwaters of Kerala. Our services include Guided tours, Hotel reservation, Taxi service etc. for Tourists.
Please list our web site in your directory.
Posted by: Kence Georgey | June 08, 2007 at 09:14 AM