Among World's Oldest Travelers -- The Sandhill Cranes and their over 2-Millionth Stopover in Nebraska

The sky is suddenly blanketed with a massive cloud of flapping prehistoric-looking wings.   Eerie ghostly sounds echo across the Platte river as an ancient song formed by the almost in unison trills of an enormous avian choir is heard once more.

Heralding the beginning of Spring on the Nebraska prairie, channelling into the age-old 50-mile stretch of the Platte River Valley, the same valley that pioneers clung to on their long journey west, over a half-million sandhill cranes home in on their ancestral roosts.   It's an annual event that draws bird watchers and other tourists to the Nebraska towns of Kearney and Grand Island, which bracket the nesting grounds of these birds that have been arriving here for over 2 million years.

For the cranes it's a pit stop on the journey north to their breeding grounds.   They stop here for the safety and access to food and water that the sand bars of the Platte and the harvested Nebraska corn fields provide.  Every sunrise during their late February to early April stay along the Platte, they ride the thermals in groups seeking grounds to feed.  Then in a frenzy they gorge themselves until dusk when they fill the sky once more heading  back to the river. (During the day, tourists drive the back roads near the Platte observing this natural wonder.)

In addition to tourists, the cranes bear up with the arbitrary Nebraska March weather and its struggle between Winter and Spring, a warm 60 degrees one day, a plunge  into the 20s the next.  They blend into  the warm yellow and  brown corn husks one day, only to be blanketed in snow the next.

Alarmed by sightseers and photographers, the leader bird will rise up tall both protesting the intrusion and alerting his followers to ready for flight.

Along the byways near the Platte, the cranes can be observed often in pairs,  usually mating for life, and not pairing again unless an initial choice is lost.

While you can watch these magnificent birds in the corn fields and see them in the air, the best viewing is at the sanctuaries along the Platte.   The Rowe Sanctuary near Kearney provides tours and opportunities for sleepovers in blinds.  Another popular viewing area is at Alda Bridge Crane Viewing Site southwest of Grand Island.  More information on viewing and etiquette for watching the sandhills can be found at Nebraska Travels.

The sandhill's  stay in Nebraska each year is brief and startlingly beautiful, one I feel privileged to have witnessed before their flight onward on a journey that takes them to their breeding grounds in Canada and the Artic.

80 Days Around the World -- How About 80 Seconds?

Years ago I was entranced by a film that took the main characters around the world by hot-air balloon,* steamship and train.   In the film and novel Around the World in  80 Days,   Jules Verne characters, Phileas Fogg of London and French valet Passepartout, attempt to circumnavigate the world in 80 days on a £20,000 wager (equal to £1,324,289 (approximately $2.2 million )) in today's terms. The Verne book and imaginary trip marked the start of an age of  global tourism.   It suggested that anyone could sit down, draw up a schedule, buy tickets and travel around the world. Prior to this, the experience of this kind of travel had been the exclusive territory of explorers and adventurers.



Of course, today Phileas could have done it much faster.  The average radius of the Earth is 3,959 miles; the fastest time traveled around the world by flight is 23.4 hours. But around the world in 80 seconds?  Filmmakers Romain Pergeaux & Alex Profit have done it in a Youtube video project completed in only 3 weeks.   Created as  a tribute to the  Jules Verne's book "Le tour du monde en 80 jours" is a quick motion slide show taking the viewer to London, Cairo, Mumbay, Hong Kong, Tokyo, San Francisco, New York and back to London .  If you can't travel around the world physically, this virtual 80 second one  is worth the watch.

The making of the video, pictures of the trip and an interview of Alex Profit can be viewed at  http://www.tourdumonde80.fr

*the air-balloon was added for the movie, was not part of the original novels

Turn Your Camera into a Travel Lifesaver -- 10 Tips for Making Your Camera Your Travel Assistant

A camera is a camera right?  You bring it to take those beautiful travel memories.  Yes, but today's powerful digital devices are more than snapshot takers.   Here's some suggestions for augmenting their value and turning a camera into an important travel aid.

Scan Documents


You need to carry separate copies of your passport with you or other important documents, e.g. insurance policies, etc.  Easier than copying or scanning, take photos and store the jpegs in your lap top or  tablet.  (You may also want along to take copies of valuables in your home -- just in case.)  You can also photo documents, information en route that you might need later in your trip or at home.

Capture Important Visitor Information


While walking around you discover a location you want to visit, but it isn't opened. Take a photo of the sign to remind yourself of the location and when it is opened.  This is also useful if you are doing a travel blog or article and want to store key facts.

Mark Where You've Been with Sign Photos 

I can't emphasize enough the usefulness in taking sign photos.   Take a photo of an informative sign while your visiting a location so you will remember where you were and important facts you may want to recall later.  Take photos of intersection signs, building signs etc. near where you have taken a number of memory photos.  This is particularly useful because the sign will show up near the memory  photos you have taken and will be time dated so you can easily place where you were when you took the photos.   

Find Your Rental Car

Avoid spending time looking for a car that you left in a large parking lot or place you might forget.  Take a picture of the car and its surroundings, especially street signs, buildings and other landmarks. .


Record your rental car, ticket or other information  


Take a photo of your rental car and documents and other important paper information just in case. You may want the photo as a memory as well -- good or bad.

Remember a Restaurant 

Want to remember what you had to eat at a restaurant or maybe what you want to have there in the future, take a picture of the menu.  This is another memory device if you took other photos there and later may have trouble remembering where the photos were taken. The day and time of the photo will place the menu near the photos you took when you upload them.   Make sure to get the name of the restaurant in the photo -- take a sign picture here as well.   

In Worst Case -- Have Help to Find a Lost Child 


Take photos every day of your children before you start on the day's journeys.  If you're  in a crowed place and child wanders away you will have photos of them with the clothes they are wearing.

Capture Details of an Event You Want to Attend


Take a photo of the fliers for events that you may want to attend: a concert, theatrical performance, art show. This way you will have all the information you need to buy tickets and attend the event without writing it down.

Remember a Dish You May Want to Recreate at Home


Take lots of photos of food.  It's fund to remember meals you have had, and also there may actually be one you want to try to recreate yourself at home.   Frequently you will find that in other countries,  the presentation or combination of foods are different and interesting.  Having a photo of unique meals will be useful when you are entertaining and want to do something a little different yourself.   

Keep Track of Items You Want to or Have Purchased


You can't always buy a book or other item when you see it.   If not, take a photo to remember it.  You can also take pictures of items you have purchased and the receipts (especially ones of value that you haven't yet insured).  If they are lost or stolen, you have a record.

Wanderings in Dublin, Ireland -- 5 Must Visit Places

If I am not traveling, I am thinking about it.  Certain smells, the look of a vista, the taste of a food, the lyrics of a song, a  TV program  or just an occasion like St. Patrick's Day will bring back a travel memory and I yearn to return to a place.   Many times I do actually go back, but even if I can't visit physically, the mind is a wonder when you have travelled with intention.  It let's you go back and enjoy the travel experience again and again, especially when you decide to write about it, find pictures, and do some auxiliary memory searching.   Today my mind is wandering to Ireland.  It's flipping through the streets of Dublin.

Here's some of the places it has taken me to:      

1. Temple Bar Area -- for it's bohemian art feel, Irish eateries, and nightlife.  

Americans especially of Irish descent have a romantic sense of what Ireland should be, and the Irish have catered to that expectation, amplifying the Temple Bar  area with numerous pubs mimicking the older pubs of the area .  Regardless, old or new, touristy whatever, it's fun crawling listening to music and having a pint or two.  And several of those older pubs do have histories connected to them that date back centuries, for instance:   

The Brazen Head (20 Bridge Street Lower) is touted as  Ireland's oldest pub, with a history dating back  to 1198. While there is probably little there now of what was there in the 12th century, the pub retains within its walls the feel that those of us seeking our notion of  an old Irish pub are looking for.  Moreover, it has something else, a virtual red carpet of historical patrons  including  such literaries as James Joyce, Brendan Behan and Jonathan Swift as well as revolutionaries including Robert Emmet, Wolfe Tone, Daniel O'Connell and Michael Collins. And today the place claims patrons still include some famous faces, including Van Morrison, Hothouse Flowers, Mary Black and Garth Brooks.  Pictures of all those folks line the walls. With live music every night, this pub fits the bill for the Irish experience.

Here you can find a complete list of pubs in the area: Temple Bar Pubs

2. St. Patrick's Cathedral -- Come on no explanation needed

Built in honor of Ireland’s patron saint, Saint Patrick’s Cathedral looms over the famous well where tradition says Saint Patrick baptized converts on his visit to Dublin.

The  church of Saint Patrick on this site was granted collegiate status in 1191, and raised to cathedral status in 1224. The present building dates from 1220. The Cathedral is today an Anglican church and the National Cathedral of the Church of Ireland.

Jonathan Swift, author of Gulliver's Travels was Dean of the cathedral from 1713 to 1745. Many of his famous sermons  were given there during his stay. His grave and epitaph can be viewed in the Cathedral.

Visitor Information

3. Irish Eateries 


Somewhat redundant with visiting pubs because this is where I would go for some traditional Irish grub, but there are also some other haunts to taste some Irish cuisine (still somewhat of an oxymoron despite the arrival of some fine Irish chefs).

I dream of this decadent Irish salad with the big slab of fabulous Irish bacon at Bewley's on Grafton Street.   Bewley's on Grafton Cafe opened in 1927 and is a Dublin landmark and Ireland’s longest established and largest café with over one million customers annually. Bewley's, the company, by the way, is Ireland's oldest and largest coffee and tea distributor.  The cafe is also known for it's art, and worth a stop to see the stained glass alone.

And, of course, there's the ham and cabbage. The dish served at the Oliver St. John Gogarty (a pub and restaurant) is called bacon and cabbage.  They also deliver up of a full menu of other Irish favorites including Irish stew and smoked salmon with brown bread.   More American in style (but hey it's in an historic Dublin townhouse) than Irish,  for that one gourmet experience , I recall Shannahan's on St. Stephen's Green for their top-notch steaks.

And speaking of the green:

4. St. Stephen's Green

Wandering through the Green you can reflect on nature where poets of Dublin did.  The Yeats memorial above is one spot for contemplation.   And right off the green on Merrion Sq., you can come face to face with another poet, author, and playwright.  The statue is right across the street from Oscar Wilde's childhood home.  

5.  Trinity College and the Book of Kells

The Book of Kells is one of the finest of a group of illuminated manuscripts produced from the late 6th through the early 9th centuries in monasteries in Ireland, Scotland and England. In addition to seeing this famous work at Trinity College, wandering about this four-plus-century-old institution founded by Elizabeth I of England and graduating the likes of Jonathan Swift, Bram Stoker, Oscar Wilde, and Samuel Beckett is nothing to miss while in Dublin.

And of course,  there is the beer.... and Guinness is the granddaddy, and a must on this Dublin tour.   

(Photos courtesy of S. Bates)