Category Archives: Uncategorized

How NOT to have a productive day

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Editor in Chief

Hi. It’s me, Editor-In-Chief Rocky, here to make our apologizes for the missing post today. Our traveling correspondent and main author, Dusty Roads, is having a BAD day. And that is really bad with a capital B! She just locked herself out of the house for the 2nd time in a week.  It wouldn’t have been so bad if the spare key she keeps hidden hadn’t fallen out of its hiding place yesterday and she brought it inside and yes, you guessed it, she didn’t put it back out.

So now she’s spent all morning running around trying to find a way to get back in. Inspiration finally hit her. The pet sitter, my 2nd favorite human, has a spare set. So She called Diane and yes, Diane had the keys with her so off Dusty went to pick them up.

She just got back in and wanted to put the spare key back out in its secret place and, well, umm, let’s just say it was shiny and it had tape on it…two of my favorite things. Well, I don’t think she’s in the mood for me to tell her where it is right now.  She’s turning the diningroom and livingroom upside down and inside out because she knows she left it on the diningroom table yesterday. 

I think I’d better just sit back and watch. Sooner or later she will give up and I can sneak it back out  for her to find. It is rather amusing watching her stress out like this. But I can tell you any creative juices have taken a run for it for today.

 Scout is preparing a Scout’s Tips column for tomorrow in case Dusty is not back on track by then.  So please accept my apologizes and thanks for your patience.

Rocky

Scout’s Tips~ “Should you Ship your luggage”

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SCOUT

We’ve been looking into this option since most of the airlines started hitting travelers with hefty checked baggage fees. But if you’re one of those travelers, like Dusty is (she travels with camera & laptop as well as clothing and other essentials), who just can’t travel light, then shipping your luggage might be an option.

These are a number of luggage clubs and door to door services but some of them can be more pricy than just paying the baggage fee. If you opt for one of these services, be sure to check with your destination to make sure they accept shipped baggage and where you can retrieve it.

Dusty has shipped shopping home using good old USPS.  It was as souvenir walking stick from the Grand Canyon. It wasn’t too expensive to send it but since the walking stick was not very expensive in the first place, it doubled the price of the walking stick. Still Dusty felt it was money well spent since she didn’t have to deal with it at the airport. It was waiting for her when she got home.

If you buy large pieces or expensive pieces often the seller will ship them to you.

Shipping home from overseas is even trickier as you may have to pick anything shipped up at customs.  We have no experience with this and did not research this as we travel primarily within the US.

If your idea of a souvenir is to collect brochures and books the postal service has a magazine / book rate. The service is one of their slower one but since these items are heavy and can push a bag over the weight limit, you might find this a good option for shipping.

There’s also Parcel post, FedEx and UPS.  Each situation is different but  speaking from experience, shipping those extra things home makes the return trip so much easier than trying to stuff things into already crammed bags.

So consider shipping on a case by case basis and do your homework. Will the cost to ship be worth the difference to pay an overweight charge or avoid a hassle at the airport? Keeping that in mind should help you with your decisions.

Happy Traveling

Scout

Introducing SCOUT!

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SCOUT

Scout is our Prairie Dog Mascot. If you’re new to the site he got his name in a poll of the names suggested by our readers. Scout has a function of more than being a “pretty face”. Scout reviews travel magazines, newspaper articles, travel emails and attends travel conventions like AAA Travel Marketplace coming up this Friday in Foxboro.

He also talks to fellow travelers and compiles their recommendations for reference.

Scout asks questions

If you have travel questions you can put them in the comment sections and Scout will do his best to get an answer for you. Once he has it, you’ll see a Scout’s Tips column with what he finds out.

Scout keeps alert and when he runs across a good travel tip, he will report it right here!

Scout is Alert

So stay tuned for “Scout’s Tips”. I know he’s got some coming up.

Scout

Gertrude M Boyden Wildlife Refuge, Taunton Ma

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I know I’ve mentioned the Gertrude M. Boyden Wildlife Refuge before in these pages but I’d like to tell you a little more about it.

I’ve been spending more time there since I started taking part in the Photo- a- Day challenge because The Refuge is also known as the “Bird Sanctuary”. Right by the visitor center there are 2-3 bird feeders that are always busy. You can see many of the pictures I have taken there on my blog: http://project365challenge2011.blogspot.com or on my flickr photostream.

But enough “self promotion” . I want to tell you about the Refuge.

I have not even begun to scratch the surface on the trails. I first started going to the sanctuary about 2 years ago when my neighbor told me about it. I wanted to find someplace to take walks and maybe lose some weight. Walking around the block on the sidewalk just wasn’t cutting it for me and being fairly new to the neighborhood, I didn’t know many places at that time.

My neighbor and I were talking and he suggested I give the sanctuary a try. That year I only went a couple of times but it is a beautiful, peaceful place. I have been back many times since and can’t wait for spring to get here so I can explore more of the trails.

Although I often see a lot of cars in the parking lot and folks walking their dogs, the grounds have always been clean and the trails are never crowded.

So far I have walked the Floral Garden trail many times and the River Walk several times as well. When I first started walking on the River Walk trail there was an option to either take to “high road” or the “low road” as I liked to think of it. Since that first hike heavy rains and spring run-off have forced the sanctuary to close the “low” trail. That’s too bad as I liked it both for its proximity to the river and the log stairs at the end which always got my heart pumping by the time I reached the top and the meadow that marked the end of that trail.

I tried a new trail this winter but the snow made it hard to follow and I ended up circling back into the Floral Garden Trail.

The refuge consists of over 50 acres bordered by the 3 Mile River. The trails meander through forests, meadows and riverbank. They tell me there is even a covered bridge, a boardwalk and Osprey nests. That must be on one of the trails that I haven’t walked yet. The grounds include a picnic area with tables and fireplaces.

You can get maps and information at the visitor center .

There now I really want to go check out the remaining trails…with my camera of course.

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Little Colorado, Painted Desert, Petrified Forest

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Rethinking Monument Valley Scenic Drive

I know that in yesterday’s post I listed a bunch of options but I was poking around online trying to get more information about the Painted Desert and ran across this link http://www.arizona-leisure.com/painted-desert.html There’s a video on the bottom and it really makes me want to take that long drive to Monument Valley. Apparently you will pass through the Painted Desert and the Petrified Forest on the way to Monument Valley.

I continued my search and found information on the Little Colorado. I drove by this on my last visit but didn’t stop. Now I’d like to see how we might be able to fit in a visit to this canyon as it was quite impressive too.

 

 

http://www.navajonationparks.org/htm/littlecolorado.htm

According to these links Cameron seems to be a “hub” for both the Painted Desert and The Little Colorado and Cameron is on the way to Monument Valley.

Once again the only drawback is the length of the drive but if Sandy is up for it, I think I am too. If it ends up taking too long with all the stops for sight-seeing we can always turn around.

I’ll see what my co-explorer has to say. At least we can change our minds since there wouldn’t be any tour guide or dinner appointment to worry about.