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Gadlinks for Monday 11.9.09
- Aquariums might not at first strike you as particularly wild, but the underwater world certainly is, and this guide breaks down America's most family-friendly aquariums. [via Peter Greenberg]
- After watching Ken Burns's "America's Best Idea," we should all be grateful for the beautiful wilderness of America's national parks. [via The Traveler's Notebook]
- Whale watching is a worldwide pastime, and while whales may not be as endangered as they used to be, we still need to proceed with caution. [via Wall Street Journal]
- Once you escape the hustle and bustle of Honolulu, Hawaii can be an awfully wild place. Check out these endangered island sights before it's too late. [via Honolulu Magazine]
- It's important to consider animal welfare when we're out enjoying America's wilderness. Here are some good animal-friendly travel tips to get you in a more compassionate traveler. [via Intelligent Travel]
More Gadlinks HERE.
Battle of the bulge: Breeding season starts soon for elephant seals at Año Nuevo
Pull up a chair and start placing your bets -- it's about to get ugly. No, really, the elephant seals will be gathering soon at Año Nuevo State Park in California for their breeding season. (And have you seen one before?) All nose and gut, the males vie for alpha male status, bellowing their complaints and battling it out by throwing their chests against each other.
They make the Central California coast their home from December to March, and visitors can take a guided tour to see the breeding colony up close -- from the first arrival of the males to the final departure of the pups.
Año Nuevo is the world's largest mainland breeding colony of the northern elephant seal. But back in 1892, fewer than 100 elephant seals existed anywhere because of hunting. Now, thanks to legislation first implemented in Mexico and then the US, they are more protected. Their numbers have increased to about 150,000 -- many of them come to Año Nuevo annually.
Advance reservations are recommended for the 2.5-hour walking tours, which run December 15-March 31. First, read the FAQs about the walks, then book your reservation either by phone (650-879-2033) or online. The admission price is $7.00 per person (free for children 3 and younger).
Año Nuevo is located along Highway 1, just 20 miles north of Santa Cruz. Another elephant seal spot is farther south on Highway 1 at Piedras Blancas (7 miles south of San Simeon), which is home to about 15,000 elephant seals. No admission fee or reservation is required there.
Walking with the angels at Zion National Park
If you're afraid of heights, you've got to do this hike.
First, check out this amazing photograph. See that little strip of black in the upper right? That's a two-lane highway. Dizzy? Good. Head on over to Zion National Park in Utah and go on the Angel's Landing hike.
Zion is my personal favorite among the national parks, even beating out the breathtaking but rather touristy Grand Canyon. Readers over at Tripadvisor voted Zion number one of the Top Ten National Parks.
Take a look at this gallery and you'll see why. Zion is nestled within a network of towering canyon walls of Navajo Sandstone that turn an infinite number of shades of red, brown, and gold as the sun rises and sets. Their shadows and the streams and rivers at the bottom create lush valley floors with a variety of wildflowers and animal life. The main visitor area has most creature comforts, with a luxury hotel and campgrounds with fantastic views. From there you can head off into a maze of side canyons and hike to your heart's content. It's one of the best places in the country to go cayoneering.
The most popular and nerve-wracking hike is Angel's Landing. It starts not far from the main visitor area and climbs a ridge up, up, up, growing ever narrower until sheer cliffs fall away on either side of a thin sliver of rock. Don't worry, there's a chain to hold onto in case you get unsteady. In fact, with the rock being pretty slippery even when dry, it's a good idea to hang onto the chain in any case. There have been a number of fatalities on this hike, but if you're careful you will be in no danger.
I'm scared of heights. When I was in college I took up rock climbing to get rid of my fear, but weekends spent scaling the cliffs of the Catalina Mountains near Tucson didn't cure me. All they did was make me able to control my fear. Now I can go up to any height with steady hands and a sure step, while inside I'm screeching like a schoolgirl. My inner schoolgirl was screeching pretty loud on this hike! But what a reward at the end. When you reach the top you're 1,208 ft. (368 m) above Zion Canyon with the river making a hairpin turn below you. You feel like you're literally on top of the world and the clean breeze blowing a bit too hard against you fills your lungs and makes you feel truly alive. Nothing like acrophobia to add a little extra zing to a hike!
More sedate hikes into the remote side canyons will be rewarded with quiet trails as well as glimpses of rare animal life like Golden Eagles and cougars. Steams cascade down little waterfalls and you'll find lush, peaceful grottoes sheltered from the desert sun. These side canyons are good places to go bird watching and there are even some decent rock climbing routes in case you still want to prove you're not afraid of a sickeningly long space of air beneath you.
Zion National Park is an easy road trip from Southern California and much of the Southwest, but even if you're living in Maine it's worth the drive to see one of the country's truly great National Parks.
Gallery: Zion National Park
Find your way around U.S. National Parks with your iPhone
The TV commercials keep telling us "there's an app for that", and in most cases they are absolutely right. If you enjoy spending time in the 392 National Parks, then check out Park Maps by Big Air Software.The application covers 250 different parks, and downloads zoomable maps directly to your iPhone or iPod Touch. Because the maps are stored on your device, you'll be able to view them when you are in the middle of a park without any cell coverage.
The app is fairly basic, you don't get navigation, and no additional information is provided for the various parks, but at just 99 cents (temporary lower price), it is a fun and handy tool to have on your device, just in case your day takes you somewhere you had not expected to end up.
You'll find the application in the app store at this link.
Plan a luxury safari in the US with American Safari Cruises
When most people think of a "safari" they think of hiking through the bush of South Africa or trekking through the jungles of Costa Rica in search of exotic animals native to the region.
But here in the US we have plenty of our own wild animals to see and going "on safari" here doesn't have to mean doing one of those drive-though "wild animal" parks where non-native animals like zebras and giraffes flock to your car for the food they know you're going to throw at them through your open window.
For a more upscale safari trip in the United States, check out American Safari Cruises, which offers small-group ultra-luxury all-inclusive sailings around North America. There's aren't your typical mega-cruises. The vessels are yatchs and are limited to 12, 22 or 36 guests. All meals, airport transfers, alcoholic drinks and shores excursions are included in the price. And according to the company's website, they institute green and sustainable practices, and give back to the communities they visit on each safari.
Some of the safaris offered include spotting whales, black bears, grizzly bears, bald eagles, mountain goats and wolves in Alaska, birdwatching and snorkeling with sea turtles and exotic fish in Hawaii, and looking for whales, sea lions, seals, black bears and deer in the Pacific Northwest.
Cruises range from 7 to 14 nights and rates start at about $5000 per person.
SkyMall Monday: Wild Lawn Ornaments
I keep myself safely secluded in the SkyMall Monday headquarters. It's built inside a mountain, under several hundred feet of granite, in a secure and secret location. This protects me from the fearsome animals that I now assume rule the Earth. While I fear all wildlife and assume that they are out to get me (and/or my Lucky Charms), I do enjoy their decorative properties. But how can I take advantage of the aesthetic qualities of our furry, feathered and scaled friends without being bitten, constricted or dry humped? Taxidermy is expensive and requires first killing animals before they have a chance to kill me. That seems not only difficult but likely to involve unseemly people who peddle in taxidermy and will most certainly make me uncomfortable. That leaves only one viable option for harnessing the majestic beauty of creatures both real, imagined and extinct: lawn ornaments. Lawn ornaments tell everyone in your neighborhood that you're classy and bored. But where can I satiate my appetite for animal lawn ornaments? Who would have such a buffet of faux-fauna? Who could possibly...oh, come on, you know the answer to these questions. It's SkyMall's time to shine! Leave your tranquilizer darts and nets at home. You won't need them on this safari. Simply pack your imagination and obliviousness to your tacky sense of style. We're hunting wild lawn ornaments.Going to Yosemite? Don't take the minivan!
One of the great draws of visiting a National Park like Yosemite in California is that you can get very close to nature and see animals in their own habitat. But there is a limit to just how close you want to get to certain animals, especially black bears, which can be dangerous to both humans and cars as they look for food.
There are several ways to reduce your risk of having an unpleasant encounter with a black bear, and as it turns out, not driving a mini van may be one of them.
A study done by the Journal Mammology over a 7 year period in Yosemite has shown that black bears in the region seem to prefer minivans as their vehicle of choice when looking for a snack. But, the study reveals, it's not actually the car style and size the bears are attracted to (and no, they don't care about the car's crash safety ratings either), it's more about fuel efficiency. And by "fuel efficiency", they mean which cars provide the most food for the bears.
It seems that minivan drivers are more likely to be traveling with a family and toting around small children - children who inevitably leave open snack containers in the car or who leave a trail of chips and cookies behind them.
Top Ten Most Badass Animals Native to the USA
America may seem civilized to you, as you lock your door and hop on the subway or into the car, then hang around indoors all day. When you go to the zoo, there's a disconnect. Ferocious animals seem to be things that exist behind bars. It's easy to forget that this very country is home to some historically human-killing animals that could totally murder you in your sleep. Depending where you sleep. (But they probably won't.)Here's our list of the Top Ten Most Badass Animals Native to the USA, a little about their habits, and where in the great United States you're likely to be ambushed by one of them.
1. Polar bears. These big, beautiful beasts employ a method called "still hunting," in which they sniff out their prey's home, then crouch by their door until the prey emerges. Then it crushes their skull. Normally, this prey is a seal, but polar bears have also hunted hunters and campers -- this guy while he was sleeping in his tent (warning: graphic). Though polar bears are listed as a vulnerable species (likely to become endangered), they are still roaming Alaska. And they don't just want Coca Cola.
2. Rattlesnakes. Normally, rattlesnakes kill small animals, but anyone who's been to the Southwest knows: if you hear that rattle, you'd best be moving along. And by "moving along," I mean "running for your life." Their hemotoxic or neurotoxic (depending on the type) venom can kill you in horrendous ways, including respiratory paralysis. Check out this story from a guy who was bitten by a rattler when he was 13. Rattlesnakes have been reported in many states, but keep an extra eye out in California, Nevada, Utah, Arizona, Texas, and New Mexico. Word to the wise: if the snake's rattle gets wet, it won't make any sound, so watch out during the rain. And while you're down there, stay away from fatally poisonous water moccasins (the world's only semi-aquatic viper) and coral snakes, too.
3. Coyotes. Just last month, according to Telegraph.co.uk, woman in Canada was mauled and killed by two coyotes, while "hiking alone on a trail in Cape Breton Highlands National Park, in Nova Scotia." Coyotes are typically reported in the Southwest, but have also been sighted in Illinois, Wisconsin, Oregon, New Jersey, and all over New England. You can find them living in deserts, forests, plains, or even in icy regions like Alaska. Basically, these guys (and ladies) can live almost anywhere. Their diet is 90 percent mammals, which you may have noticed you are. They'll get you on the ground, then bite/break your neck. According to Wikipedia, coyote attacks have been increasing in California since 1998.
Daily gear deals - Nikon binoculars, $180 outdoors GPS unit and more
Here are the hottest gear deals for today, Monday November 9th 2009. Remember, these deals are often valid for just one day, so act fast before they are gone.
Today's first deal is for the Nikon Action 8x40mm binoculars. These normally retail for about $120, but are currently on sale for just $51.98. Click here for this deal.
Next up is the Panasonic Lumix DMC-ZS3 digital camera. With its 12x wide-angle optical zoom, you'll be able to get closeup shots of nature, without having to actually be anywhere near it. On sale for $281.95. Click here for this deal.
Find your way to your destination, and back to your car with the Magellan Triton 400 adventure pack. This kit includes the Triton 400 outdoors GPS unit, National Geographic Topo Explorer map software, 25 "SuperQuad" USGS map credits and a carrying case. On sale directly from the manufacturer for just $179.99. Click here for this deal.
And finally in today's lineup is a repeat of a product I featured last week, which sold out right before the deal was published. Yugster.com is selling a keychain weather station/compass/alarm clock and flashlight. The deal gets you two of these nifty little tools for just $15.97. Click here for this deal.
Alaska national parks: choose your own adventure
You've probably heard of Denali National Park, home to the tallest mountain in North America. And if you've taken an Alaskan cruise you might have also visited Glacier Bay National Park. But a rental car and a willingness to venture off the tourist track will reward you with rich and wild experiences that many folks miss on a trip to Alaska. Following are two lesser-known national parks that are a day's drive from Anchorage, but first, a fact: four of the five biggest national parks in the US are in Alaska, and seven out of ten. They are home to grizzlies, caribou, salmon, and eagles, among many, many others.
The biggest national park in the US, Wrangell-St. Elias, is accessible by car and about a six-hour drive from Anchorage. It's home to several 16,000ft-plus mountains, as well as well as the second-highest peak in the US, Mount St. Elias, which measures in at just over 18,000 feet. Once there, you can visit the historic Kennecott Mine, and drive the road to McCarthy.
