Travel – Page 17 – travellingzombie.com

Planes, Ships and Space Shuttles: Intrepid Sea, Air and Space Museum, New York

Whilst not all of our group wanted to visit the museum, Wandering Beeb sold it to me on the chance to see a real life space shuttle. Not something you do everyday, I was quite happy to give up a couple of hours of mooching about New York to visit the Intrepid Sea, Air and Space Museum, located on the Hudson River in the Hell’s Kitchen area of Manhattan.

Aircraft Carrier Intrepid served in World War Two, the Cold War and the Vietnam War and is now a floating museum, telling the stories of the crew and the histories of the wars in which it served. It’s a huge museum site, complete with a submarine, space pavilion and Concord. A must for any transport, history or space geeks. I’ll let you guess which ones we are!

Heading on to the deck of Intrepid, the sheer scale was incredible- a number of restored airplanes were on display alongside gun battlements and yet there still felt like there was enough room to fit a good couple of football pitches down the middle. The planes really gave a sense of scale and proportion, making us feel like tiny ants on the flight deck.

A restored third deck gave a really good insight into daily life on Intrepid, with narrow quarters and a uniform grey covering everything, it was difficult to see how the people serving on the ship didn’t experience claustrophobia much more frequently. The contrast between the compressed lower quarters and the wide open spaces of the flight deck were huge.

Growler, the Guided Missile Submarine took us through a tour of the crews area, the torpedo room and the control room. It was hard to reconcile what must have been fast paced, pressured and crowded activity in the submarine during active duty with the calm and quiet museum experience of today.

We spent a serious amount of time walking through the various exhibits, taking loads of photographs and everywhere you looked, there was something new to see or a story to hear. The exhibits really gave a sense of people’s lives serving on Intrepid in a way that other museums sometimes fail to do. The human element was front and centre and this made it much more relatable. I spent most of the visit trying to soak up as many facts and stories as I could so that I could share them with my dad when I got home. It was the kind of place that I thought he would love.

The highlight of the visit was absolutely the Space Deck. Entering the pavilion, we were surrounded by the voices of pilots and mission control. These were actual recordings of their conversations, giving us a real sense of their experiences. The centrepiece of the Space Deck was Enterprise, a shuttle which was part of the NASA Space Shuttle Programme, carrying out test flights outside of the Earth’s atmosphere. There was a real sense of excitement in the room and the surrounding exhibits told a clear story of the development, experiences and history of the Shuttle.

Visiting the Intrepid Museum was a great way of understanding more about history, life on Intrepid and the developments that have take place to progress our journey into space through NASA and the Space Shuttle programme. It was a perfect way to spend a couple of hours and we can truthfully say that have been in the same room as Enterprise, gaining us a couple of extra geek points in any space related conversations!

Fallen Leaf Lake, California

A first glimpse of the beauty of America’s National Parks

We arrived at the camp ground late. Really late. It was pitch black (that’s a recurring theme in our camping trips – we always seem to arrive in the dark!!) and we had no idea if we were in the right place. Our tent was put up by the headlights of the car.

We were driving through from San Francisco to Yosemite. Our first time camping properly in the USA, we had stopped off to buy a tent and supplies. We ended up in Kmart, buying a ‘backyard’ tent and sleeping bags, one of which turned out to be child sized! Having only a couple of hours until we had to get up and continue the drive (not to mention being unable to see anything at all in the darkness), we crawled into our sleeping bags (those of us who could fit!) and got some much needed rest.

As the morning broke, we discovered just how beautiful our temporary home was. As breakfast views go, the lake was stunning. Tired and bleary-eyed, we sat on the logs by the lake looking out at the vast expanse of trees lineing the shore.

It was our first glance at the beauty hidden in America’s national parks and we were absolutely speechless.

Walking the Athabasca Glacier

Was it cold? Yes. Was it worth it? Absolutely.

It’s not every day you get to walk on a Glacier! I’d planned really well for this trip, even bringing thermals because I knew that the glacier would be cold, and I really struggle with the cold! I’d love to say that my preparations left me toasty warm whilst on the glacier……but stupidly I was tricked into a false state of security due to the hot weather when we left Jasper. This meant that my thermals stayed firmly in the cabin whilst I froze!

As we headed out towards the glacier, the temperature dropped steadily and we all counted down the numbers on the dashboard display with a mixture of anticipation and trepidation. The change in landscape was stark – from the green grass and trees of Jasper to the increasingly snow-topped mountains of the Icefields Parkway. The scenery was simply stunning.

Unbelievably, as we pulled into the parking lot for the glacier trip, it actually started to snow! I was first out of the car and it was absolutely freezing! It was hard to believe we had gone through such a temperature change during the drive up! Hoods up and heads down, we ran over to the main visitors centre to try and get warm. The gift shop was full to bursting of other travellers trying to do the same thing and it was chaos! Having not anticipated the number of people visiting the centre, we had quite a wait a while until we actually started our trip out on to the glacier.

What to take when you are walking the glacier:

A book /IPod – it gets busy at the ticket booth for the glacier & getting there early is a must. We arrived at 12.30pm and our ticket time was 4.45pm so there was a lot of waiting around. Alternatively, you can book your slot in advance which is highly recommended.

Bring some food / drink for whilst you are waiting. It will save you lots of money (the restaurant is fairly expensive) and a flask of something hot will warm you up on the ice.

Waterproof coat – it was snowing when we were up on the glacier and my huge waterproof hood came in handy for staying dry and keeping my ears warm. Of course, you might have beautiful sunshine whilst you are up there but it will still be fairly cold!

Base layers – as I mentioned, I left mine in my case as it was sunny when we left Jasper. By the time we hit the glacier, I was freezing and wishing for a good pair of thermals. I was kicking myself for the rest of the day for leaving them back in the cabin.

Gloves – goes without saying, when you get cold, fingers and toes are the first to feel it!

Sturdy boots – walking boots if you have them, paired with thick socks. I had Vibram soles and was still feeling like I could slide over at any point.

Nerves of steel – the Ice Explorer used to transfer you from the road to the glacier takes some fairly steep hills (45 degree angle at some points) and for someone who isn’t keen on edges, it’s pretty scary!

An empty water bottle – so you can drink some of the glacier water – on the day we went, there was a smoky tinge to the water due to a recent forest fire.

Sunglasses – although it can be cold, if the sun is out, your eyes will thank you for some relief from the glare of the snow!

A camera! The views are stunning and you won’t want to miss them!

The only way on to the glacier is via the Ice Explorers, operated by Brewster. These are huge machines and whilst they are designed for all terrain, it was still pretty scary to be moving down to the glacier at 45% angles! Sharp drops, rubble and rising snow drifts rolled past the windows, my stomach lurching each time the Ice Explorer tilted or rocked. The Explorer works on engine braking, rather than using its actual brakes down the steep slopes. The driver (a guy from Wales who seemed like a knowledgable, friendly dude) told us all to buckle up, laughing as we all reached for the non-existent seat belts.

Stepping out on to the ice was amazing. The wind and snow was biting and it was instantly hard to catch my breath. Although the area on the glacier designated for visitors was fairly small and the time spent out on the ice was short, it was absolutely incredible. The sheer size and scale of the mountains, coupled with the intense weather made me realise just how harsh and unforgiving this type of landscape is. Encouraged by the guide, we filled our water bottles with the glacier water, tasting the smoke from a nearby forest fire and wandered around the surface of the glacier, snapping pictures with shaky, cold hands.

The visit to the glacier is topped off with a ‘Skywalk’ experience – a walkway suspended over a 918 foot drop with a glass floor. I’d been on something similar at the Grand Canyon but it didn’t stop the ground spinning dizzily away as we made our loop of the structure. Valleys and canyons below us, we focused on the waterfalls in the distance, being fed by the glacier above.

Although most of the day was spent feeling freezing cold, wet and uncomfortable – not to mention fairly scared (me and heights don’t mix), it was completely worth it. There are few places that truly make us realise how much we are at mercy of the elements. Sure, some people do get to go on expeditions and explore the places we only see in pictures, but Athabasca Glacier is one of those places that allows us mere mortals to feel like we are right there with them, grasping adventure by the scruff of the neck and doing something that truly is a ‘once in a lifetime’ experience.

Have you visited the glacier? Share your experience in the comments!

Gondolas and Lumberjacks…oh my!

Hate cable cars, love the view.

I hate goldolas (or cable cars as we say in England). I hate everything about them – the swaying, the height, being packed into a small space with people who don’t seem to be bothered by them in the least, making exclamations about the scenery. If I’m suspended high in the air by a tiny cable, I really don’t want to know what’s out of the window! I think it comes from watching too much James Bond when I was little, but hay, I just don’t like the height. I do like the views from the top of whatever mountain the gondola is traveling up though and so, if there is no other way to ascend, I’ll grit my teeth and deal with it like a champ.

One of the worst gondolas I have been on is the one going up Grouse Mountain. Not because of the distance from the floor (I’ve been on higher), but because of the amount of sway the car produces. The first time I did this trip, I did it with a mate of mine who was really reassuring and supportive, until the car swayed and the horizon moved dizzyingly up and down. We both went pale and I think that we left hand prints in the metal pole we were holding on to. The second time, I knew to look at the floor and ignore everyone’s gasps as the car did its thing. When a whole cable car full of people makes an ‘ohhhhh’ sound, it’s not that reassuring! Interestingly, the car swings much more as it passes the last tower (nearest the top) – one to remember if you dread the swaying as much as me. Wandering Beeb was fine (that guy has no fear of heights or edges!). He was taking pictures and looking out of the window with no problems at all.

All that being said, Grouse Mountain is worth it. It’s probably a 30 minute bus ride from Canada Place in Vancouver (free shuttle with a day ticket, approx $40-60 depending on your ticket to Grouse Mountain). We have also done the trip via boat which I found much more enjoyable. It has everything for a full day’s adventure – grizzley bear habitat, ranger talks, lumberjack shows, hiking, panaramic views and bird shows.

We took a hike up to the peak to see the views and it was stunning to see Vancouver laid out in front of us. The weather was great and so our view was really clear. It was a little strange to see snow-capped mountains in the distance whilst catching sunburn (top tip – make sure you put on sunblock on whilst you are on the mountain, you will burn and burn fast!).

The lumberjack show is lots of fun (great for big adult kids and little kids alike) with the audience cheering on ‘their’ lumberjack as they take on log-rolling, climbing and sawing tasks. Although it’s very staged, you can still see the skill involved as they climb up hugely tall posts, using nothing but spikes and a short rope to hug the pole. A 45 minute show is a long time for the lumberjacks to keep the crowd entertained, but they play off the sense of danger excellently, turning every wobble, height and blade into a source of anticipation and excitement.

“There was a good balance of fun and nervousness throughout the show as ‘Jonny Nelson’ from the Green River Logging Camp and ‘Willie McGee’ from Blue Mountain battle through axe throwing, carving, climbing and log rolling, with some high jinx thrown in to encourage gasps from the audience”

The bird show and bear habitat is one of the closest views you will get of these creatures (I certainly wouldn’t want to be that close to a bear in the wild) and we had some good reminders of the wildness of these animals as the birds decided to do their own thing and fly close enough to the audience to brush people’s hair as they passed. Check out our recent posts on bear spotting and the birds of Grouse Mountain.

Grouse Mountain is never going to be the most rural, ‘off the beaten track’ type of experience. It is a tourist attraction through and through, but it doesn’t pretend to be anything else and it’s a great day out of the City in a beautiful setting. Gondola and all, I loved it.

Tell us about your love /hate experiences with travel – what parts of a trip have you gritted your teeth through because you knew that it would be worth it once you reached your destination? Let us know in the comments!