Bullish on Banff

by Erik Olsen on

Man, here in the states we got ourselves some amazing national
parks. I’ve rhapsodized about Yosemite, Yellowstone, Grand Canyon and so on. These are all places that pretty much
eveyone knows. But up north a bit, they got some nat parks of their own, and one of them (although there are many),
particularly kicks arse.

Banff is Canada’s oldest national park,
and one of its most scenic. It was founded in 1885 as a somewhat modest 10-square-mile reserve by the country’s first
prime minister, Sir John A. Macdonald. Since then, the park
has exploded to encompass some 2,590 square miles of vast, mind-blowing mountain landscapes, jagged glaciers,
high-altitude morainal lakes, and gushing rivers. The two nearby towns, Lake Louise and Banff, are both superb location
to hang a hat, grab some grub and do some kicking back after a hard day of exploring. One problem though is that like
Yosemite and Yellowstone, there are lots of folks who get the same idea about visiting Banff. In other words, it can
get crowded, especially during June, July, and August. So as you’re making plans this winter for summer fun, give Banff
a thought.

Sydney Museums

by Erik Olsen on
Even though much of your time in a place
like Sydney will be spent on the beach, in the park or just strolling around town, the city has a boatload of great
cultural places to visit and see. There are museums galore in Sydney, and I figured it would be cool to dig around and
find a short list, should you be interested in seeing some art, science and/or history while there.

First,
the Art Gallery of NSW (that’s New South Wales to the
culturally illiterate) is one of the top art museums in the city, and they are curently running an exhibit on Pizarro that might be worth checking out. Also,
take a look at the Museum of Contemporary Art.

For
shutterbugs, the Australian Centre for Photography might be of some
interest, though one wonders how many photos of Ayers Rock you’re going to find there ;-).

Those with a
bent towards natural history might wander over to either the Australian
Museum, which has a fine online site about Australian natural environment and wildlife. And if you’re into
architecture, you might enjoy seeing the Historic Houses Trust of
NSW, while nautical history buffs will blow a fog horn over the National
Maritime Museum. Let’s see, que mas? Well, what about the Powerhouse Museum dedicated to science and design. Overall, I think this would be my favorite.

Well, I’m sure there are many others. but that’s a nice start.

The Dry Dry Atacama Desert

by Erik Olsen on

Ask the average Joe American what the
driest place in the world is ,and I would bet the majority of folks would say either the Mojave Desert or the Sahara.
These answers make some sense, but they  are wrong. The driest place on earth is the Atacama Desert in Northern
Chile. Now, having lived in Chile for a bit myself, and having visited the desert, I can tell you that the Atacama is very dry. And it is also
one of the most beautiful places I’ve ever been. The light there is unreal, as if someone lifted a piece of gauze
from your eyes that you never knew was there.

And for all this time that I’ve mentioned Atacama to people,
I’ve always said that it’s been dry, that is has seen no rainfall since the days of the Spanish conquest. Guess what? I
was wrong, by about 40 million years. This fascinating article
in the BBC says that scientists have recently discovered that Atacama’s “super-dry” state and
“hyper-arid conditions” in the desert have lasted at least 20 million years, perhaps 40 million. This is
mind-blowing, really. But it adds further heft to my point that the place is unusual. Indeed it is.

A Bit on Mount St. Helens

by Erik Olsen on

The Chicago Trib
heads out West to God’s country and visits the great Mount St. Helens that blew her top on my birthday all those
years ago. Writer Robert Cross takes us there and delivers a dose of history and geology about this monumental natural
event. Myself, I was a wee lad, but I still remember the images on the tele. And it seems ol St. Helens has been acting
up again lately, though she hasn’t yet blown her top again. There is an active volcano there still and St. Helens
watchers (as well as a few apocalypse hunters) have been camping out waiting for her to go, thus heralding in the end
of the world as we know it. But don’t worry, you’ll feel fine. (subscription req)

Lifelist: Summit Kilimanjaro

by Erik Olsen on

Time for another edition of our Lifelist feature, in which we find
one of those things that every adventuresome soul should do before he/she dies, and we provide the who, what, why,
where, how to do it.

So, first the WHAT and WHERE:

Mount Kilimanjaro is smack in the middle of Kilimanjaro National
Park in Tanzania. That’s in Africa for the less
geographically-inclined. Kilimanjaro rises from the African plain near the Indian Ocean and is the highest mountain in
Africa…actually it is one of the largest free standing mountains in the world. Yes, if you are a climber or even an
avid trekker, you must climb Kilimanjaro.

Most people probably don’t know that the mountain is actually made up of three volcanoes. Kibo, which rises 19,340
feet, Mawenzi which is 16,896 feet, and Shira which is 13,000 feet. Kilimanjaro is also a
UNESCO World Heritage site.

WHEN:

You can climb the mountain throughout the year, but if you want the best time, then head there in the first three
months of the year. January, February and September are the best months, with July, August, November and December also
good.

HOW: There are several outfitters at Kilimanjaro, but in clicking arond, I found that
Kilimanjaro Adventures is one of the top dogs. According to
their site, they have been leading climbs since 1990. In 2004, they led approximately 7,000 climbers up and safely down
the mountain. Not a bad record.

If you want to read more about climbing Kilimajaro, give
this piece from Away.com
a read. it gives a nice overview and delivers a stirring narrative of the climb. And, of course, you can always take a
look at the ever-informative Wikipedia page.

WHY: Because it’s there. Duh.