I just received a link from a FaceBook friend (a travel writer) running a contest asking "What's your best strategy for avoiding tourist traps and finding the authentic hidden-gem spots that only the locals seem to know about?" As I started pondering this (and considered recommending my sister-in-law’s web site www.tripsketch.com which is fabulous for finding what-to-do in a city), I realized that a huge part of avoiding the “tourist” thing is not where you go but when you go… I’ve always found the best time to visit most places is when it’s not “high” season. We just spent three weeks in Sun Valley, ID during what they call “slack” season – the time after Labor Day when people are afraid it’s too cold to go hiking, swimming and fishing (it wasn’t) and before there’s enough snow for skiing. And, not only did we feel more like locals than tourists (because we weren’t surrounded by tourists, and everyone spent more time chatting with us) but we saved money and had some memorable experiences that wouldn’t have happened amidst hundreds of other tourists – we were the only people walking along the snow-covered shore of Redfish Lake, we were able to read, without interruption, from “The Old Man and the Sea” while sitting at Hemingway’s gravesite, we got great deals at the local thrift shop (thrift stores in wealthy, resort communities almost always contain amazing bargains and would never be considered tourist traps). Many of the restaurants had “locals” specials so we were even able to eat out a few times without busting our budget.
Even better than visiting resort communities in the “off” seasons are visiting national parks outside of the peak season (which is almost always during the summer). Instead of jostling with the 500 people a day that clog the rim road around Crater Lake National Park, Oregon, our snowshoe tracks were the only evidence of visitation along the road (which closes to cars after the first heavy snowfall) on a recent sunny November afternoon. Visiting parks during the off season our kids, working through each park’s Junior Ranger packet, get as much attention and help as they wanted from real park rangers who are always happy to answer their questions and bestow numerous pearls of wisdom. On a weekday in late September (after Labor Day, but when the weather is still wonderful and the trees are starting to turn) we were the only people on a ranger-led hike through Rocky Mountain National park; having a naturalist as our family’s private guide was certainly a highlight of the visit to the park.
Even certified tourist traps can have their charm out of season. A few weeks ago we called up the Shoshone Ice Caves in Idaho, to find out when they were open, and Fred, the man who runs the cave explained they were closed for the winter but he’d be happy to give us a tour if we paid the summer prices. When we got there, he had opened up the store for us and gave us a personal tour. Fred’s family has been running the Ice Caves for the past 54 years, so having him guide us through cave and answer our questions, while slowing down the pace for our tired 7-year old, was well worth the $30 entrance fee. Of course, we couldn’t resist taking a family picture in front of the 30-foot tall dinosaur, and we were proud that both kids realized that the statue of the caveman riding on the dinosaur was historically inaccurate.
Avoiding tourist traps is not just about going places in the off-season; it’s also about not being a “tourist.” Traveling on a tight budget helps. While we were driving across South Dakota on I-80 it was pretty easy to pass up the overly commercialized pioneer/mining/ghost town re-creations that had admissions fees. On the other hand, we’ve been to Wall Drug twice in the past few months (an enterprise that would probably top most people’s list of certifiable tourist traps), and we had a blast both times. Not only did we enjoy the $.05 coffee (which is a better deal than almost any other place in the world), but we used the whole Hustead family story (how Wall Drug started out in the ‘30s by advertising free ice water to get tourists to stop in) as an opportunity to teach the kids about entrepreneurship. And, both kids loved having their photos taken on the giant Jack-a-lope. As long as you don’t spend money like a tourist, and instead spend time to discover what’s below the surface (and at Wall Drug, there’s a lot to look at), then you’ve avoided the trap and found the gem.
Thursday 19 November 2009
Wednesday 4 November 2009
Learning moments / People along the way
My favorite Mark Twain quote is “never let school get in the way of your education,” and that has been one of the driving forces in how Wendy and I have tried to envision and steer our adventure. It’s not that Josh and Simon have had bad school experiences -- on the contrary they’ve been blessed with amazing teachers and schools with abundant resources. However, we wanted to ensure that Josh and Simon were also grounded in reality and this trip has been wonderful for that.
There was a great NY Times (I think) article that talked about how the times that people remember best from vacations (and probably other aspects of their lives) are when things don’t go according to plan. Wendy and I will always remember our trip to Costa Rica when our tent was almost washed away (with us in it) while camping alongside the Pacuare river; and how everyone but Simon picked up an intestinal bug in Delhi; and having to walk when the Tube was on strike / broken down in London.
One of our goals for this trip has been for Josh and Simon (and, truth be told, me and Wendy) to learn from various friends, families and strangers along the way; for us to see people living rich and rewarding lives in vastly different circumstances from what we were used to in London and for us to also learn and appreciate from the bad and ugly that we encounter as well.
As the saying goes, “be careful what you wish for…” Below are some vignettes of “learning moments” that we’ve had throughout out trek
On the overnight train to Churchill, Manitoba, Josh and I were sleeping next to each other when we were rudely awakened by a very drunk man who leaned over into our faces to warn us about the impending end of the world in 2012. Happily, we had just pulled into his station (it was around 2am) and he disembarked without further incident (at least for us) but it left me and Josh shaken. The next day, Josh was so irate he wanted to call Canada Rail to demand they stop serving alcohol on their trains. The “learning moment” bell went off inside my head and I suggested he send an email to their customer service department. Josh’s email (and the wholly inadequate response) were posted on his blog a few weeks back. Would I ever choose to put my son in front of a rowdy alcoholic on a train? Of course not. Do I think that he will always remember and has learned from the experience? Absolutely.
As we were crossing back into the US from Canada, just south of Winnipeg, the US Border Patrol agent was asking us a lot of questions (we’ve learned to answer Vermont when officials ask “where are your from?” because the full answer is to confusing). And we told him about the trip, how we had been up to Churchill to see the polar bears, etc. Wendy asked him, “have you ever been as far North as Churchill,” to which he responded, “I’ve never been to Canada and I don’t have any plans to go.” Now that was a response that just floored all of us. I didn’t even have to get out the dictionary to explain to Simon the meaning of insular. Here was a perfectly normal-seeming man, working every day on the US-Canadian border, who never had visited (and wasn’t even curious / interested in visiting) the land 10 feet from his post. The good news, from a “learning moment” perspective is that we didn’t have to explain to Josh and Simon that this was unusual. They know plenty of wonderful government employees (starting with Uncle Rick) and citizens who are not narrow-minded and who appreciate the diversity and excitement that the broader world has to offer. Still, it helped remind us, even 9 months into the Obama administration, that there are isolationist elements within the US and not everyone shares our sense of adventure. This trip is also giving Josh and Simon much better insight into the different cultures, regions and styles across our country and I think they’re beginning to appreciate how people living in small towns can be adventurous and worldly and people who are in big cities (or on border posts, or ex-presidents) can be limited by blinders.
Of course, there have been an overwhelming number of positive experiences and role models as well. Last night, as we walked into a Japanese restaurant and sat at the sushi bar (it was Josh’s turn to pick the restaurant meal that we treat ourselves to each week) Josh asked loudly, “can I please have a root beer?” The sushi chef said, “root beer goes very well with Sushi” and gained a new friend / admirer rapidly. Of course, this was not your stereotypical sushi chef, and none of us had ever met an Idaho-native sushi chef with red hair (another one of our goals during the trip is to find some red-headed adults for Josh & Simon to meet), but the sushi was excellent and we had a great conversation with him about how a ski racer from Idaho ends up learning how to prepare sushi in France before ending up back in Sun Valley.
Another great stranger that we met along the way was Betty, our photography teacher/guide in Yellowstone park. Betty is a professional photographer who spends the winters traveling in her motor home and the summers at Yellowstone guiding photo safaris. She gave Josh and I some excellent pointers on how to improve our photo taking, and also helped teach us a tremendous amount about Yellowstone during the course of our six hours together.
I could wax on about all of the other strangers (or “unmet friends”) we have met along the way who have enriched our lives, especially all the National Park Service rangers who have taught us, guided us and inspired us, but I should probably leave that for the subject of another blog.
There was a great NY Times (I think) article that talked about how the times that people remember best from vacations (and probably other aspects of their lives) are when things don’t go according to plan. Wendy and I will always remember our trip to Costa Rica when our tent was almost washed away (with us in it) while camping alongside the Pacuare river; and how everyone but Simon picked up an intestinal bug in Delhi; and having to walk when the Tube was on strike / broken down in London.
One of our goals for this trip has been for Josh and Simon (and, truth be told, me and Wendy) to learn from various friends, families and strangers along the way; for us to see people living rich and rewarding lives in vastly different circumstances from what we were used to in London and for us to also learn and appreciate from the bad and ugly that we encounter as well.
As the saying goes, “be careful what you wish for…” Below are some vignettes of “learning moments” that we’ve had throughout out trek
On the overnight train to Churchill, Manitoba, Josh and I were sleeping next to each other when we were rudely awakened by a very drunk man who leaned over into our faces to warn us about the impending end of the world in 2012. Happily, we had just pulled into his station (it was around 2am) and he disembarked without further incident (at least for us) but it left me and Josh shaken. The next day, Josh was so irate he wanted to call Canada Rail to demand they stop serving alcohol on their trains. The “learning moment” bell went off inside my head and I suggested he send an email to their customer service department. Josh’s email (and the wholly inadequate response) were posted on his blog a few weeks back. Would I ever choose to put my son in front of a rowdy alcoholic on a train? Of course not. Do I think that he will always remember and has learned from the experience? Absolutely.
As we were crossing back into the US from Canada, just south of Winnipeg, the US Border Patrol agent was asking us a lot of questions (we’ve learned to answer Vermont when officials ask “where are your from?” because the full answer is to confusing). And we told him about the trip, how we had been up to Churchill to see the polar bears, etc. Wendy asked him, “have you ever been as far North as Churchill,” to which he responded, “I’ve never been to Canada and I don’t have any plans to go.” Now that was a response that just floored all of us. I didn’t even have to get out the dictionary to explain to Simon the meaning of insular. Here was a perfectly normal-seeming man, working every day on the US-Canadian border, who never had visited (and wasn’t even curious / interested in visiting) the land 10 feet from his post. The good news, from a “learning moment” perspective is that we didn’t have to explain to Josh and Simon that this was unusual. They know plenty of wonderful government employees (starting with Uncle Rick) and citizens who are not narrow-minded and who appreciate the diversity and excitement that the broader world has to offer. Still, it helped remind us, even 9 months into the Obama administration, that there are isolationist elements within the US and not everyone shares our sense of adventure. This trip is also giving Josh and Simon much better insight into the different cultures, regions and styles across our country and I think they’re beginning to appreciate how people living in small towns can be adventurous and worldly and people who are in big cities (or on border posts, or ex-presidents) can be limited by blinders.
Of course, there have been an overwhelming number of positive experiences and role models as well. Last night, as we walked into a Japanese restaurant and sat at the sushi bar (it was Josh’s turn to pick the restaurant meal that we treat ourselves to each week) Josh asked loudly, “can I please have a root beer?” The sushi chef said, “root beer goes very well with Sushi” and gained a new friend / admirer rapidly. Of course, this was not your stereotypical sushi chef, and none of us had ever met an Idaho-native sushi chef with red hair (another one of our goals during the trip is to find some red-headed adults for Josh & Simon to meet), but the sushi was excellent and we had a great conversation with him about how a ski racer from Idaho ends up learning how to prepare sushi in France before ending up back in Sun Valley.
Another great stranger that we met along the way was Betty, our photography teacher/guide in Yellowstone park. Betty is a professional photographer who spends the winters traveling in her motor home and the summers at Yellowstone guiding photo safaris. She gave Josh and I some excellent pointers on how to improve our photo taking, and also helped teach us a tremendous amount about Yellowstone during the course of our six hours together.
I could wax on about all of the other strangers (or “unmet friends”) we have met along the way who have enriched our lives, especially all the National Park Service rangers who have taught us, guided us and inspired us, but I should probably leave that for the subject of another blog.
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