Wild Caves: Nature’s Sensory Deprivation Chambers

There’s something special about being in complete darkness.  You’d expect it to feel claustrophobic, full of tension and anxiety, after all humans have feared the dark as long as we’ve been around.  Oddly enough being in complete darkness is astonishingly peaceful.  When you’re deep underground in tight cramped conditions and you’re trying to avoid thinking about the uncountable tons of rock precariously suspended above your head your heart pumps pretty fast.  Turn off the lights and just sit in total darkness and silence and instead of feeling trapped and enclosed you feel like you’re in a void more expansive than space and overwhelming you instead you just feel peace.

Caving is a unique experience, it challenges the mind in amazing ways from route finding, 3 dimensional navigation and overcoming fears, while working the body in a kind of excessive that it usually doesn’t see.  There are typically two kinds of caves, Show Caves and Wild Caves.  Show caves are actively managed by a national park, private company, campground, or someone.  They often have lights strung up in them and many times have had paths cleared through them that remove the need to do any climbing. Read more

Top 5 Show Caves

Caving is a unique experience, it challenges the mind in amazing ways from route finding, 3 dimensional navigation and overcoming fears, while working the body in a kind of exercise that it usually doesn’t see.  There are typically two kinds of caves, Show Caves and Wild Caves.  Show caves are actively managed by a national park, private company, campground, or someone.  They often have lights strung up in them and many times have had paths cleared through them that remove the need to do any climbing.

If you’ve never gone caving before and if you don’t know if you’re claustrophobic or not you should try a Show Cave first.  Show caves commonly have lights strung up in them and marked paths.  Often you can go as part of a tour group or walk the paths at your own speed.  You do not need specialized equipment for most of these caves and if you do they are typically included with the cost of entry.  Although a guided tour dosen’t sound all that exciting show caves have a lot of nice features.  Many of the tours bring people through areas where there is no light pollution or turn off the lights for a bit so you can experience true darkness. Read more

How to Go for a Fall Color Drive

Seems pretty simple right?  Hop in the car, navigate to the nearest road out of town, apply some pressure to the right pedal, and it’s all taken care of right?

Here’s some tips on how to ensure you get the most spectrum for your gas dollars. Read more

Camping For Beginners

“You can’t be serious.”

This was the response from almost everyone I know when I told them I was going camping for a good friend’s birthday. It was somewhat of a shock to my system as well. Prior to this past weekend, my experience with camping was limited to several amazing trips in a high school friend’s luxury RV. Between the bunk beds with down comforters, satellite television, fully stocked kitchen and shower, we weren’t exactly ‘roughing it’. This time around, when Zach mentioned honest to goodness tents and ‘really, really warm clothes’, I knew I was in for an exciting time.

I was also in for an education. For those of you who’ve spent more than the occasional afternoon in the woods, much of this may seem like common sense. For anyone who considers themselves “camping impaired” (like me), hopefully it will prove helpful for your next trek outdoors.

Read more

imperial fleet week, san francisco

This sweet slice of A/V dorkery needs to be seen, and heard, to be believed.

Don’t miss the goods that start around 1:35 especially.

Keep the sound up and your eyes open.

Nod Mike for the link. 

Climatic Regions of the United Sates

And now I bring you the climatic regions of the United States.  Are these weather zones related to this?  Maybe…

Oklahoma City Airport Review

The Oklahoma City Airport (OKC), or technically the Will Rogers World Airport, is way nicer than I expected. While the almost 4 million yearly passengers fall way behind Denver’s 50 million, the design would fool the common passenger otherwise. The large open areas of brushed metal and exposed stone give this western airport a metropolitan feel. Continual renovation is underway with phase II completed just two years ago, and phase III (a parking modification) currently in design. Echoing much of the city’s focus on development, the airport is achieving its goal as a welcome beacon to the highly desired visitors.

airstreams, wal-mart parking lots, and greg

After a dive bar happy hour, beer fueled discussion about dropping off the grid that can only be called bizarre, even by UM drunk talk standards, I went looking for pictures of Greg’s future dwelling.

If there’s ever been a picture that better sums up the man than this I’ve yet to see it. The article it’s sourced from speaks volumes:

The Airstream has become the kitschy darling of a young group of architects who are talking up the design virtues of trailers, shipping containers and other humble conveyances. Now the Airstream has its own place in the pantheon of design. This week the Museum of Modern Art in New York parked an Airstream from 1960, known as the Bambi Travel Trailer, in its lobby.

Now where’d I put the tofu dogs?

where in the world is gregory cerveny?

My jet-setting friend Greg spends so much time traveling, I hardly know where to send my taunting, drunken texts to make sure he doesn’t miss out.

This weekend he’s apparently off to San Francisco.

Anyone know where I can get a vegan friendly, Eames designed GPS-transmitting pendant with a Conga charm?  

 

60 Days in Baja

Every time I start feeling sorry for myself for being trapped in an office, I just read the blog of my good friend Thomson and I feel even worse.  Thomson is currently taking a summer break from his strong and steady path toward a phd in comp sci to surf and live in Baja for 60 days. Read more

Never Home

After expanding my boundaries with a series of long distance and long term trips, I realized how easy it is to transplant myself into new surroundings.  The world got a lot smaller, far away friends got a lot closer, and distant cultures got a lot more accessible.  Now, a conference, birthday party, or wedding in a different city seems like an easy destination to make.  So easy that I’m finding myself never at home. Read more

4,000 mph train

NYC to London in an hour?  Sure, why not.

Crux: Neutrally buoyant vacuum tunnel submerged 150 to 300 feet beneath the Atlantic’s surface and anchored to the seafloor, through which zips a magnetically levitated train at up to 4,000 mph.

The idea is as wondrous as it is audacious: Get on a train at New York City’s Penn Station and hit Paris, London or Brussels just an hour later. “From an engineering point of view there are no serious stumbling blocks,” says Ernst Frankel, retired professor of ocean engineering at MIT

Read more here

the new york city waterfalls

Olafur Eliasson’s ambitious public art extravaganza ‘The New York City Waterfalls’ began yesterday, and it’s every bit as breathtaking as I’d imagined.

Four metal structures pump river water some 30 meters (90 feet) into the air, where it falls freely in liquid curtains 10 to 20 meters (30 to 60 feet) wide.

“It’s about time and experiencing space,” Eliasson, 41, said of his creation.

“Water has great potential to be both physical and very elusive, it can be many different things for many different people,” he told AFP.

visit The New York City Waterfalls

One Place I Love: REI

From the minute I step off the bus, my experience at REI is a good one. At the Denver flagship store, the entrance is guided by winding paths lined with small trees. A small wooden bridge takes the visitor over a narrow creek to the huge front doors. I think these doors are a test. You have to be strong to enter the outdoor outfitter store. Read more

DIY All Inclusive

Recently, a friend of a friend organized a trip for us all to attend Coachella.  My friend handled all the travel arrangements, and her friend handled lodgings, drinks, and food.  I booked the flight picked out, and I bought my concert ticket.  Other than that, I just handed over $150 and accommodations and food were taken care of. Read more

Packing Aids: Tolietry Kits

Coming up on a long series of weekend get aways and island adventures, I found it just the right time to upgrade my traveling bags.  Remembering my longing for packing aids while in New Orleans, I decided to pick up a mixed set of packing cubes as well as a replacement for my old toiletry kit. Read more

hong kong at night

Hong Kong has the only skyline I consider even cooler than NYC’s, especially after dark. 
A recent collection of “Top 10 Wired Reader Night Pictures” included the one above. 

Gorgeous.

See the other nine here

lastminute.com

Last Minute is a travel site whose sole focus is on deals happening in the next two weeks.  Great for procrastinators and the spontaneous alike.

Sample price?

Denver to Phoenix, next weekend, air+hotel: $250

International Traveling Tip: Telling People Where You’re From

When traveling in in Argentina, I got mixed responses when I told people I was an American.  Some would express interest and some would express contempt.  It wasn’t till my fellow traveler offered me a piece of advice, that my responses were almost always positive.  Read more

Round the World Flight

I’ve been luxuriating in the idea of taking my 30th year of life off as a micro retirement.  One idea I have is to take a round the world flight.  The idea is that you buy a set fare from an airline alliance and get a set number of miles and trips to use up within a year.  Often starting from major metropolitan areas like New York, you then bounce on one ways till you circle the globe and return home with a better understanding of the world.

Anyone ever take a flight like this?

Sno-Balls are Disgusting

I’ve been eager to try any New Orleans cuisine that fit within my vegetarian diet and I continue to be let down by the local delicacies.  Sno-Balls are disgusting.  These are essentially what the rest of the country calls snow cones, except in New Orleans they come from shaved ice instead of crushed.  The locals take it to the next level with rows of flavors, optional toppings, and I’ve even heard rumors of ice cream in the center. Read more

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