Starling Travel

I love the site, They Kept Everything. He not only shows all the memorabilia that his grandparents had kept their whole life, he gives some explanation of what he’s showing. This brochure for the Great Smoky Mountains National Park, for example is a wonderful glimpse into the past.

He says,

This brochure on one side totes all the benefits of visiting Great Smokey Mountains National Park, while the other side is classic boosterism. This propaganda offers some interesting insight into life 60 years ago.

Click on over to his site to see all the pages of the brochure:

• They Kept Everything: Great Smoky Mountains National Park Brochure, 1950

Via: Great Smoky Mountains National Park Brochure, 1950 | Retronaut

Mike and I have been to Disneyland three times since they started the World of Color show at Disney’s California Adventure. We never quite understood it. Once, we were kicked out of the boardwalk area because the show was going to start. We had the vague inkling that we needed to have tickets to watch it, but had no idea if there was a charge for the tickets. Honestly, I really didn’t want to spend an hour in a huge crowd of people.

So we skipped it. Apparently, we shouldn’t have. If this video is any indication, it’s spectacular.

It appears to be a dramatic amalgam of light, fire and water show, but those words don’t entirely describe it. If Las Vegas took the Bellagio fountains, added ever-changing colors and perfect musical choreography, they might get a close approximation of what the Imagineers at Disney have achieved.

For all my questions, the Disneyland Website had answers:

• There is NO charge to watch Disney World of Color, but you do need a ticket. They are distributed on a first come, first served basis.
• You get the FastPass Disney World of Color ticket at the FastPass machines near the Grizzy Run ride. I remember seeing the kiosks there, but I didn’t know how cool it would be to see the show.
• The show is 25 minutes long and we are meant to stand while watching it, so if you have issues with standing for long periods of time, this might not be the show for you.

Next time we go to Disneyland, I’m going to make sure that we get tickets to see the show. I can’t believe I missed it THREE times in a row!

If you had asked me a few days ago when the first time I ever saw a teardrop trailer, I would have said less than a year ago, but I would have been wrong. I was watching this video from Mojo Nixon called Elvis Is Everywhere yesterday.

It’s a funny little video that I remember from my teen years. Imagine my surprise when I see an Elvis Impersonator come out of a teardrop trailer at the 2:32 minute mark.

They’re also dancing in front of the trailer at the 1:38 minute mark.

Somehow, teardrop trailers seeped into my consciousness in my formative years and I equated them with coolness, all thanks to Mojo Nixon. I find it ironic that Mike and I will be taking our teardrop trailer to Memphis and staying at the campground right across the street from Graceland this month. Can’t wait!

I love to travel and see parts of the world that are different than mine, but the photography collection of Charles W. Cushman allows me to travel not only all around the world, but through the past as well.

• Indiana University’s Digital Library Program: Charles W. Cushman Photograph Collection

Charles Weever Cushman, amateur photographer and Indiana University alumnus, bequeathed approximately 14,500 Kodachrome color slides to his alma mater. The photographs in this collection bridge a thirty-two year span from 1938 to 1969, during which time he extensively documented the United States as well as other countries.

It was so lovely to look at all the old photographs! Here are some of my favorites. (Continue Reading…)

While we were in Yellowstone, I took the time to play with the 3D Camera App [iTunes link] on my iPhone. I really wanted a 3D picture of Old Faithful, but since the geyser is spewing water, it was very difficult to get a good snap. Here are my attempts:

You need 3D glasses to view these or really good eye-crossing skills to see the stereograms. The wigglegrams (created with Picasion) might be a little irritating, but allows you to see the 3D effect without glasses or eye-crossing. You can click on any of these to see them full-sized.

The Wigglegrams of the first and second 3D photos looks more like an animation.

Here are a couple of photos of the Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone.

As a kid, I loved my Viewmaster and one of the sets of reels I had was from Yellowstone. It makes me so happy that I can create my very own 3D images of Yellowstone and remember it in even more detail than just a picture.

Mike and I went to Yellowstone last month. Every time we visit there, I’m shocked at how much has changed and how much is EXACTLY the same as it was when I was a child.

For example, Old Faithful looks exactly the same to me as it did when I was a kid. In fact, based on this photograph by Ansel Adams, it’s the same as it was in the 30’s.

It looks very similar to my photo taken in April.

The Yellowstone Falls in another timeless place. Here is a photo also from the 30’s by Ansel Adams.

My photo from last month looks very similar.

Even the snow clinging to the side of the mountain is similar.

Part of me loves Yellowstone because it is the same as it was when I was a child. I can walk the pathways and remember how I felt doing the same thing when my grandparents took my sister and me there. I am surprised at how different it feels to see the geysers, hot pots and terraces. As a kid, I was so bored, but as an adult, I’m entertained, not only by the natural beauty, but by the memories of my past visits.

Perhaps Yellowstone looks so unchanged to me because I have changed so much.

After weeks of restoring the Teardrop American Outbacker, Mike and I took her on her first camping trip. We are still a little worried about the windows leaking, so we camped VERY near home at Utah Lake State Park. She looked lovely at the campsite.

It was a sunny weekend, but the wind was bitterly cold and relentless. Fortunately, the trailer kept us warm throughout the night. Mike said that he had never slept as good camping as he did in our new little trailer.

When he said that, all the work that I had done to perfect the trailer suddenly felt worth it. Every layer of paint I sanded off, every turn of a bolt or screw, and every time I had to cut a cam shorter with a hack saw felt like time well-spent. All that I had hoped for in a trailer came true this weekend. It made camping easier, but it didn’t ruin it by turning it into just a home on wheels. It still felt like camping, but the two of us were able to sleep the night through despite the ragingly cold wind outside.

The camping fees at Utah Lake State Park were $20 a night, which included electricity and water at the site. There was a dump station for RV’s, but no sewer at each site (not that it mattered to us). They allow dogs on the campground, but not the beaches or in the water. There were clean and up-to-date bathrooms and showers onsite as well. Each site had asphalt for campers and plenty of room for pitching your tent on nice, soft grass. There were also shade pavilions at each site, but it was so cold that we didn’t want to be in the shade. We had to stay in the sun to keep warm.

The lake itself was a dark and scary mass of water with waves caused by the wind last weekend, so Mike and I didn’t go kayaking on it. There were many people there on speed boats and along the shore fishing. I was so surprised at how big the fish were and how many people caught some. We passed this man at the end of Saturday and he looked so happy at his catch.

Despite the cold, we had a lovely time camping at Utah Lake. It was just one of many trips camping in the teardrop that we’ll have. I’m so excited for the adventures to come!

While looking at campers on YouTube, I found this Duct Tape Camper from a family in De Pere, Wisconsin. Here is a video of the camper construction.

Using 7 rolls of duct tape, a utility trailer and some PVC pipe, they made a fun little trailer for the kids. The inside of the camper was sticky, so Randy (the girl in the video) and her friend decorated it with wrapping tissue. The trailer survived the drive to the campground 27 miles from their home, but they didn’t drive over 55 mph. Based on that camping trip, they believe the camper wouldn’t have survived highway speeds. After that one camping trip, they broke down the trailer to store for the winter and haven’t made another one since.

When I was looking for a lightweight camper that I could make myself, I never thought of using duct tape. Even though it wasn’t quite what I was looking for, it’s an ingenious idea and a fun project for the family!

This video shows an RV park in 1937. I thought it was so interesting to see all the old trailers.

It was basically a commercial for Chevrolet, far before the “See the U.S.A. in your Chevrolet” tagline. Still, even this commercial is a lovely time capsule into the past.

Via: Weird RVs: Getaway From Walton’s Mountain

One of the cool things about my new teardrop trailer is the sink that came with it. It’s a five gallon jug that fits nicely in a recess in the galley hatch. You fill it with water like any other water jug, but once it’s full, you can use a hand pump like a water faucet to fill the sink within the jug. Here is a video showing you how it works.

This sink was made by Reliance back in 1989, but I can’t find anything from them that works as nicely. They do make the Wash’n Go 3 Gallon Sink, which is a similar design without a hand pump faucet, though.

It is also a water jug with an integrated sink. I suspect you could add this Leisure Components Hand Water Pump to the lid of the product and connect an aquarium hose to the water spout at the bottom of the sink for a similar experience as my Reliance camping sink.

Reliance also makes the ON TAP Powered Washing Station Camp Sink.

This sink requires a separate water reservoir. You put their powered water pump into the water source and it will be a pressurized sink, just like at home. It’s so rare that I have electricity when I’m camping that I think this setup would be bad for me. Additionally, the reviews on Amazon make it sound like it is flimsy and overpriced.

In the end, this sink from Reliance that came with our trailer is ingenious and very rare, so we are doing our best to take good care of it.