Starling Travel

St. Michael’s Parish Church

This photo was taken by archangel_raphael and posted to Flickr. You can see all his photos here:

• archangel_raphael’s photos on Flickr

Ted Rheingold is visiting Benson Hut just five miles south of Donner Summit in California.

• Spidey Senses -> Tingling :: Ted Rheingold’s Web Journal » Blog Archive » Next Weekend: Benson Hut!

I had never heard of it, probably because it’s the kind of place where you need to hike in all your supplies. It looks like an affordable spot to stay if you are willing to hike in and there are pristine ski areas that few run every year.

For more information:

• Lodges and Huts – Outings – Sierra Club

The Smithsonian Magazine has posted the finalists for their photography contest. You can see the entries for the travel category here:

• The 4th Annual Smithsonian Magazine Photo Contest – Travel

I always feel a sense of pride when something from Utah is featured. Here is “Sunrise in Canyonlands National Park” by Diane Kroupa from St. Louis, MO. Canyonlands National Park is in Southern Utah near Moab.

Yes, my state is an exotic locale on par with worshippers in Taiwan and Buddhist photographers. Head on over the the Smithsonian website and see the rest of the beautiful photography submitted.

With a recommendation like this, I don’t know why everyone doesn’t go to New York for tacos?

• the miscellaneous mischievous misadventures of missbhavens – TacoTacoTaco!

Missbhavens takes us to Viva El Mariachi restaurant in Astoria, New York.

It’s like porn you can swallow.

Where: Viva El Mariachi 3311 Broadway Long Island City, NY 11106 Google Map Phone: (718) 545-4039

Here is an excellent entry written by Phil Burns about his hike up to Bridal Veil Falls in Utah.

• Phil’s Personal Take » Bridal Veil Falls

He gives you a good idea of how difficult the hike might be:

It’s a very easy hike, more of a stroll, until you go up to the base of the waterfall, that was a bit rough for the twins. As usual, I brought my camera with me and got what I think are a few decent shots… The walk from the parking lot to the base of the falls is short and paved and wanders through a park. Watch out for idiots on longboards though, they think it’s a good idea to ride their boards 30 miles an hour down the hill at kids.

If you like his entry about the Bridal Veil Hike, you might also like his description of hiking Battle Creek Canyon:

• Phil’s Personal Take » Hiking Battle Creek Canyon

Utah is filled with such lovely beauty that is accessible almost all year round. From the city, there are so many awesome places to visit that I find myself surprised at how much I still haven’t see. Come enjoy the early spring hiking in Utah at Phil’s Personal Take.

When I go to San Francisco, I crash on my friend’s couch. She lives in a tiny apartment in the Haight, so I sleep on the couch at night and roll up my sleeping bag every morning so we have a place to sit and eat breakfast. Wouldn’t it be great if I had a friend in every town? If I found out that I could crash on my friend’s couch no matter where I needed to go? Guess what, I do:

• The CouchSurfing Project

How can you be sure that you’re safe to crash on some stranger’s couch?

CouchSurfing has implemented several precautionary measures for the benefit of its surfers, hosts, and community. Every user is linked to the other users he or she knows in the system through a network of references and friend links. In addition to the solid network with friend link-strength indicators and testimonials, we have our vouching and verification systems. Some of these are new technologies invented by the CouchSurfing founders.

Not just anyone is a vouched for member. Members can only become vouched for by an already vouched for CouchSurfing.com member. Essentially, it’s a trust circle.

If you have always wanted to travel to Europe, but can’t seem to afford a plane ticket AND a hotel, CouchSurfing might be the answer for you!

Via: ABC News: Around the World, One Couch at a Time

Chris Kahn with the Associated Press has a great description of what it is like for him to walk across the Grand Canyon Skywalk.

• Grand Canyon Skywalk: New view of wonder – Yahoo! News

The Skywalk’s builders have said repeatedly that the deck is extremely durable. It’s essentially a huge steel horseshoe, capable of withstanding 100 mph winds and holding several hundred 200-pound people at a time.

I had no reason to doubt them. But out on the edge, my mind was racing: I tried to remember if any government regulatory agency had checked how well this thing was anchored to the cliff. I wondered what it would sound like for a million pound hunk of metal to uproot and tumble 4,000 feet. Like an earthquake, I bet.

This new installation is a walkway of glass and metal that stretches into the vast expanse that is the Grand Canyon. If you have ever wanted to experience the Grand Canyon as a vertigo-induced nightmare, the Haulapai Reservation has created the experience for you!

You’ll feel like you were almost there because Dennis Crowley took so many pictures. Fortunately, he’s willing to share them with you:

• teendrama.com – helicopter rides in whistler (a.k.a the longest teendrama recap ever)

If you are stuck at work right now, just imagine yourself with friends going on the most exciting ski trip of your life:

Monday = better. No new snow, but at least the visibilty cleared up. We stayed on the Blackcomb side of things again and went back for round 2 on the glacier. I’ve been to Whistler a few times (this was my 3x trip out), but I’ve never really done anything off-trail… no backcountry, nothing really super steep… which is usually because I’m riding with people that don’t know that mountain that well (fyi – bad idea to explore the mtn alone) or with people that aren’t super aggressive skiiers. But then there’s this crew – Ali + Adam are easily two the the best skiiers I’ve even rode with and Chad (Denver represent) will charge anything on a snowboard. And I think these kids have been out to Whistler, what, a few times each before, so they knew where to find the good chutes, where to hike, what’s safe vs. not safe, etc. Anyway, I ended up skiing much harder, steeper stuff this trip than I think I’ve ever done on any other ski trip.

Even though the ski season is winding down, it’s wonderful to read other people’s stories about their trips. I have never gone skiing in my life, and there is no excuse because I live in Salt Lake City, Utah. I can live vicariously through the lives of others, though.