Best Roller Coasters Featured On New Travel Channel Show

by Chris Owen on


Roller coasters are the highlight of any amusement or theme park for many visitors. High-speed thrills, twists and turns make for good times and have coaster enthusiasts claiming their favorites around the United States. Now, a new show starting Sunday on the Travel Channel decides which coasters are the best, as voted by viewers.

“Insane Coaster Wars” debuts Sunday, July 8, 2012, and settles the battle once and for all asking, “Which coaster is the best?” In May and June, Travel Channel viewers voted on which coaster is the best in various categories, from G-Force Giants to Hang ’em High coasters.

Each program in the “Insane Coaster Wars” series brings viewers along on the most exhilarating and intense coasters in America, with the winner revealed in each category at the end of the show.Roller Coasters not your idea of a good time?

“Extreme Water Parks,” another Travel Channel show, might be more your liking. Also debuting Sunday, this one features the wildest, over-the-top and most-exhilarating water rides in the world, from Florida to Brazil.

“Extreme Water Parks” is part of the Travel Channel’s Extreme Series that travels around the United States to document and showcase various places, events, things and people that are extreme in some way. Other topics in the extreme series include Extreme Mind-Blowing Hotels, Extreme Animal Encounters, Extreme Truck Stops, Extreme Bar Hopping and others.



[Flickr photo by royal19]

Dressing for extreme travel – don’t screw it up

by Annie Scott on

No matter how badass you are, if you’re wearing the wrong clothes, you can totally spoil your own extreme travel experience. Being ill-equipped is like using the wrong tool, or shooting yourself in the foot.

If you follow these guidelines, you should never have a problem. Good luck to you in your ambitious journeys!

Dressing for Extreme Travel

1. Dress for comfort.
This may seem like a no-brainer, but when you’re heading for an extreme location, you may be tempted to stock up with the latest designer gear. This is overkill. Don’t pack a bunch of heavy clothes with too many bells and whistles unless they are absolutely the most comfortable things you have ever owned.

2. Layers, layers, layers.
Layers can actually help you lighten your load. For example, rather than packing two pairs of bulky snowpants, you can pack one shell and two pairs of long underwear or warm leggings to go underneath (so you can wash one if need be). If your adventure is taking you to a warmer climate, consider layering as well — something lightweight and breathable over your minimal tank and shorts can help protect your skin from the sun and bugs, and keep you looking appropriate in cultures where it’s rude to show too much skin. The shorts and tank underneath will help absorb sweat, and you can strip down to them easily in private.

3. Decide in advance: Bag or pockets.
Whether you’re skiing, rock climbing, or visiting remote villages with no electricity or water, you’re going to need supplies on your person. Decide in advance whether you’re comfortable carrying a bag (which is the most likely thing to get nicked or pick-pocketed). If not, you need to either invest in an outfit with lots of pockets, preferably hidden (see the ScotteVest products and Tilley Hats), or get a money belt to strap to yourself under your clothes. Deciding you have to carry a bag can be very liberating, as then you can wear anything you want. Don’t rule it out; it might make you more comfortable. You just have to be a little extra vigilant.

Wonderful Weirdos Day: 10 travel weirdos who deserve thanks

by Jamie Rhein on

Today’s date is weird. 9-9-09. I noticed it first when writing today’s Photo of the Day post. Then someone sent me an e-mail from Westerville, Ohio proclaiming this Wonderful Weirdos Day. The missive stated that the purpose of such a day is to thank people who have taught you think outside the box–the people who have nurtured your creativity.

With that in mind, here are 10 travelers who have been a subject of Gadling posts over the years. In some way each represent a creative, adventurous drive, and each have pushed travel into the realm of outside the box.

What most of these stories also illustrate is that the kindness and interest of strangers has a lot to do with the success of an unusual idea. It’s hard to make it to outside the box on your own.

  • David de Rothchild who is building a boat out of thousands of plastic bottles to sail between California and Australia.
  • Roy Locock who is currently driving himself around the world in his car. After 14 months of travel he’s still going strong.
  • Robert McDonald, who with the help of his son and 5,000 kids, built a ship made of 15 million popsicle sticks in order to sail across the Atlantic by way of Greenland and Iceland just like the Vikings did..
  • The late Steve Fossett who made the longest nonstop flight in history in his Virgin Atlantic Global Flyer.
  • Kent Couch who attached helium balloons to a lawn chair so he could fly from Oregon to Boise, Idaho.
  • Matt Harding whose weird dance brought the world together with a video that makes everyone who sees it feel good.
  • Ryan Jeanes and Philip Hullquist who set off on a hitchhiking trip from New York City to Berkeley, California with no money and the aim to make it in one week.
  • Grandma Gatewood who, as a lark, set out to be the first woman to hike the Appalachian Trail. At the time, she was 57 years old and the mother of 11 children and 23 grandchildren
  • Marcia and Ken Powers who gained distinction as being the first couple to hike the 4,900 miles across the United States.
  • Scotty and Fiddy who hitchiked across 50 states, including a visit to each state’s capital, in 50 days.
  • Joshua Keeler and his two buddies who set out in a van to cover the 48 states in the continental U.S. in five days.
These 10 are the ones I came up with, but there are certainly more. Do you have any travel weirdos you’d like to thank? Parents who drag their pack of offspring on summer vacations can be included.