Photo of the day – Wyoming country road

by Alex Robertson Textor on

Flickr user JasonBechtel recently uploaded a number of beautiful images of Wyoming to the Gadling group on Flickr. They’re all worth a gander; this one, which depicts a Wyoming country road outside of Sheridan, is among the most appealing. The huge sky, apparent desolation, and sloping green fields inspire a yearning to travel.

Images of the open road are the most reliably useful travel symbols. Literally descriptive of both the form and function of travel, they inspire the traveler’s mind like few other sources of inspiration.

For me at least. And since I never get tired of good open road shots, feel free to upload your best to Flickr’s Gadling Group Pool. There’s a decent chance that I’ll turn your image of the road into a future Photo of the Day.

Photo of the Day (12.27.10)

by Mike Barish on

Well, Americans from the Midwest to the Mid-Atlantic up through New England are still digging themselves out from this weekend’s delightful little flurry of snow. While some people think that snow is nothing but a nuisance, others relish the chance to play in the white stuff. Snow days aren’t just for kids.

Our very own Gadlinger Darren Murph snapped this photo while snowmobiling in Wyoming. Not a bad way to really plow through the snow. Whether you’re snowmobiling, snowshoeing, building a snowman or camping out in an igloo, make the best of these snow days rather than griping about them.

Taken any snowy photos during your travels? Why not add them to our Gadling group on Flickr? We might just pick one of yours as our Photo of the Day.

Gadling’s favorite hotels for 2011

by Alex Robertson Textor on

Where do your loyal well-traveled Gadling contributors especially love to spend the night? We polled Gadling writers on their favorite hotels in 2010. Think of Gadling’s favorite hotels for 2011 as our version of a hotel tip sheet.

Laurel Miller. The Kirketon in Sydney for its quirkiness, cool bar, small size, helpful staff and retro-mod style, blissfully free of big-city attitude. Southern Ocean Lodge on Kangaroo Island, South Australia as a once-in-a-lifetime indulgence in a staggeringly beautiful, intimate setting hovering over a private beach covered with wallaby tracks. For high-end luxury, Ecuador’s Hacienda Zuleta. It’s historic, in the foothills of Andes in northern Ecuador, a working dairy/horse farm/creamery/condor preserve. It offers an intensely Ecuadorean experience, from the local indigenous culture to hospitality, geography, and food that is worth the trek. And lastly theWit in Chicago with its ideal location on the Loop, across the street from the river.

Mike Barish. The Wort Hotel in Jackson, Wyoming. Located right in the heart of Jackson, a historic hotel steeped in cowboy tradition. Grab a drink at the hotel’s Silver Dollar Bar after a day exploring Grand Teton National Park.

Grant Martin. Favorite hotel of the year was the Elysian, right in downtown Chicago. Beautiful, huge rooms, clean, elegant and sharp appointments, razor-sharp staff and a perfect location make this the best spot to spend a long weekend in the Loop.

Annie Scott. The Capella Hotel in Singapore remains a favorite, as does the Hotel Imperial in Vienna. I’m a sucker for luxury. I also loved staying at Sanctuary Sussi & Chuma, a treehouse hotel in Zambia, despite a harrowing adventure with a giant bug which I eventually captured with a teacup and saucer.

McLean Robbins. CastaDiva Resort, Lake Como. Opened in June, this is the first five-star resort to open on the lake in about 100 years. It’s stunning and unique. Used to be a private home to the muse of Bellini, sat empty for decades before being gutted and re-done. Top-notch service, food and spa.

Don George. This year’s hotel highlights were the following trio in Peru. All combined great style and comfort with a deep sense of immersion in the local place, through their architecture, cuisine, artful decorations, and programs that featured local people to promote local sights and attractions. In Urubamba: Sol & Luna. In Aguas Calientes: Inkaterra Machu Picchu Pueblo Hotel. In Cusco: Inkaterra La Casona.Tom Johansmeyer: My favorite hotel will always be On the Ave, on W 77th Street, between Amsterdam Ave and Broadway in Manhattan. I once lived there for a few months, and while doing so, I fell in love with the Upper West Side, ultimately moving into the neighborhood. Since my stay in 2004 the rooms have been renovated, but the sixteenth-floor terrace remains. On your next trip to the city, skip the big names, and head up to my neighborhood: it’s worth it to stay a bit out of the way.

Melanie Nayer. Sticking with the Shanghai theme (see yesterday’s favorite destinations post) my favorite hotel this year is the Ritz-Carlton Shanghai, Pudong.

Karen Walrond. I’m a big fan of the boutique hotel. Recently I stayed at Hotel Lucia in Portland and was blown away by the customer service, and it’s not too expensive. In my homeland of Trinidad, I love the Coblenz Inn, an upscale little boutique place. I also love Acajou, an upscale-yet-very-rustic eco lodge in Grand Riviere, Trinidad. Lovely.

David Farley. The Royal Park Hotel in Tokyo. If you can, get upgraded. Upgrades mean an early-evening cocktail hour with complimentary drinks and snacks every evening.

Kraig Becker. The Chico Hot Spring Resort located in Montana, just north of Yellowstone National Park in the beautiful Absaroka Mountains. Rooms start as low as $49/night and range up to $300/night for luxurious cabins with some of the most spectacular views around. After a gourmet meal in the Chico dining room, guests can soak in the pool, which is drained and refilled each night with water from the local hot springs.

Catherine Bodry. Songtsam hotels in China

Alex Robertson Textor. Buenos Aires cE Hotel de Diseño. I loved the hotel’s location and thorough minimalism (concrete walls and floors) as well as the ample room size and delicious breakfast. The rate, which I found through Tablet Hotels, was also very reasonable, at $109 including taxes.

[Image: Flickr | doug_wertman]

Jackson Lake Lodge: Culinary Surprise in the Grand Tetons

by Tom Johansmeyer on

I dashed off to Jackson Hole for a few days not too long ago. Driven by the need to unwind for a bit and a decade-long desire to visit the setting of some of my favorite novels (by Tim Sandlin), I set my sights on the Grand Tetons and didn’t look back. What I found upon my arrival at the Jackson Lake Lodge, one of the three hotels in the area run by the Grand Teton Lodge Company, was an unexpected culinary experience that capture me from the moment I saw the menu.

The mid-tier offering of the Grand Teton Lodge Company – with Jenny Lake Lodge at the upper end and Colter Bay Village the bargain offer – the Jackson Lake Lodge has spacious and comfortable rooms, though they are of course consistent with the price point. This is what made the property’s high-end restaurant, Mural Room, particularly exciting: it was an inspired and local menu at an affordable hotel.

Normally, mid-range hotels deliver solid, reliable, basic fare, with a decent steak constituting the top end of the menu and the rest of it being rather pedestrian. Mural Room stands that thinking on its head, with an exciting menu that blends creativity, local favorites and ol’ reliable dishes that you’d expect to be on hand for those who aren’t terribly adventurous. Of course, the local touches on the Mural Room menu are not surprising. When bread is served, it comes in the shape of a carefully sculpted moose – not my scene, but I do understand the appeal in general. Instead, I was drawn to the menu items that took advantage of the area’s local fare, such as hazelnut and ginger buffalo carpaccio and southwest and molasses spiced elk loin. Whether you go for the unique local stuff or stick to the standby dishes (like the prime rib), you’ll walk away satisfied, as the chef clearly has his act together.

What really blew my mind wasn’t the local ingredients or even the entrees. Rather, it was the lobster and brie bisque. Served with chunks of lobster and a creamy soup around it, the dish was an unexpected seafood delight far away from the place these crustaceans call home.

The price points were a bit high for the Jackson Lake Lodge: the restaurant offered entrees at close to $30 or more (in most cases) in the company’s mid-level property. That said, there’s always room to splurge while on vacation, and a bargain vacation often has room for a fantastic meal that defines the trip’s culinary experience. Mural Room delivers this experience – to the point where you’ll probably want to make reservations a week before you arrive.

My trip to Jackson Hole was long anticipated, which of course led to unnecessarily high standards. Mural Room delivered, becoming the defining moment of my trip. Some properties have a culinary surprise buried deep in the website – this is one of them.

The Tour Divide mountain bike race is underway

by Kraig Becker on

The Tour Divide mountain bike race got underway last week in Banff, Alberta, Canada, where nearly 50 hardcore fat tire enthusiasts set off on the longest off road biking trail in the world. They’ll now ride the entire length of the Great Divide Mountain Bike Route, a distance of 2745 miles, before reaching the finish line along the U.S.-Mexico border, in Antelope Wells, New Mexico.

The trail ranges from practically non-existent all the way up to jeep trails, with just about everything in between. The entire route is unmarked, so the riders have to navigate their way along the GDMBR on their own. They’ll also have to go completely unsupported, carrying all of their gear and supplies with them along the way. Aside from that, there isn’t much in the way of rules. The race clock runs non-stop, there are no checkpoints, and it is up to the rider to decide how far they’ll ride each day, and when they’ll stop to take breaks.

The full route winds it’s way through Alberta and British Columbia, before crossing the border into the U.S. and continuing south through Montana, Idaho, Wyoming, Colorado, and finally New Mexico. The riders will gain more than 200,000 feet of altitude along the way, as they ride through some of the most stunning scenery that the U.S. and Canada has to offer. The mountain passes will challenge their legs and leave them breathless for sure.

To give you an idea of what kind of athletes ride in the Tour Divide, last year’s winner, Matthew Lee, finished the ride in just 18 days, which works out to more than 152 miles per day across some very unforgiving terrain.

[Photo credit: Tour Divide Mountain Bike Race]