Recycled travel trailers get new life, decades later

by Chris Owen on

Travel Trailers, once a big part of American family vacations, have been all but forgotten by a world of weekend getaways, packaged vacations and rides on luxury cruise ships. In the past, travel trailers have been most commonly found parked on back lots or on their way to a land fill. Now, a renaissance of sorts is going on as travel rediscovers the value of bringing a place to stay along for the ride.

Rescued from curb sides and junkyards, castaway classic campers are getting a new life in Glenwood Springs, Colorado where Richard and Vicky Nash restore 1960s vintage travel trailers. A recent addition to their collection, a fully rebuilt 13-foot 1962 Shasta Airflyte was bought for $100. Doing the work themselves, nine months later, the couple had a mobile hotel that costs little to maintain.

“When we drive around with the 1962 Shasta, people smile and give us the ‘thumbs up’ signal all the time. Everyone wants to know what year it is and what it looks like inside,” says Richard.

Its not just them either, on Tricked Out Trailers, an episode of the Travel Channel’s popular Ultimate Travel Series, travel trailers include everything from a double-decker mansion on wheels to a bulletproof trailer built for the ultimate globetrotter.



Flickr photo by terrybone

Daredevil gets clearance to cross Niagara Falls on a tightrope

by Dave Seminara on

Canadian officials gave final approval to daredevil Nik Wallenda’s bid to tightrope across Niagara Falls on Wednesday. The Canadian Parks Commission decided to grant Wallenda a one-time exception to the longtime “stunting” ban which prohibits such activities at the Falls. Tourism officials on both sides of the border believe that Wallenda’s crossing, which is likely to occur in mid-June and will be covered live on the Discovery Channel, is likely to boost tourism in the region.

In an extensive interview with Gadling in January, Wallenda said that if he didn’t receive permission from Canadian officials, he’d cross the U.S. portion of the Falls, but maintained that crossing the international boundary was his dream. He said that he had his own rescue team and insisted that the event would be a win/win for the region.
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Experiential travelers get more with new iPhone app

by Chris Owen on

Experiential travel is growing as travelers seek to enrich their lives with a collection of experiences. For experiential travelers, just seeing the sights is no longer enough. They want to go beyond the tourist areas and immerse themselves into authentic local culture to connect with people in ways that enrich their lives and create lasting memories. Now, a new iPhone app aims to deliver just that.

Afar is focused on experiential travel and has a new iPhone app that they consider “the antidote to clunky travel guidebooks and sites like TripAdvisor,” says Venturebeat. Afar started as a travel magazine offering in-depth articles about different locations and cultures. Their new app, released this week, goes a different direction with user-generated content.

“What is experiential travel? Experiences that connect you with the essence of a place and its people … simply seeing the sights is no longer enough,” says Tim Peck, chairman of OBMI, a firm that plans things like hotels and resorts. “Experiential travelers want to venture beyond the beaten tourist paths and dive deeper into authentic, local, culture, connecting with people from other cultures in ways that enrich their lives and create lasting memories.”

The Afar app lets users take a photo with their iPhone, type up a quick description, and add it to Afar’s library of travel experiences or check out the photos submitted by other users and start planning their next trip.
“It’s like Instagram meets Foodspotting, but with a focus on dreamy travel locations,” says Venturebeat, a thought consistent with Afar’s mission “that inspires and guides those who travel the world to connect with its people, experience their cultures, and understand their perspectives.”


World’s only ski-up Starbucks open for business at Squaw Valley

by Laurel Miller on

Two days ago, while visiting my brother and his family in Lake Tahoe, my nephew uttered the words I’d hoped never to hear. “Starbucks just opened a ski-up window at Squaw’s Gold Coast mid-mountain complex!” he snorted, before pondering aloud how it was possible to ski with a triple venti Cinnamon Dolce Latte while wearing gloves and holding poles.

Truly, I think the world has enough Starbucks in it, and if you can’t get through a day of skiing without a fix, you just might have a problem. Not everyone feels that way, however, as reported on Eater.com today. Says Squaw Valley president and CEO Andy Wirth, “Nowhere else in the world can skiers and riders enjoy a delicious Starbucks coffee without missing a beat on the slopes.” My nephew might disagree with the logistics of that statement, but never underestimate the power of a Frappuccino habit.