Swamp Travel Guide

[Ryan]

I don't much advice per se because my wife is a pro, so I guess this is just me bragging again but...

Seattle ---> train to Whitefish --> Glacier NP --> Banff --> Yellowstone --> Tetons --> Idaho Falls, I guess? --> Dinosaur --> Rocky Mountain NP --> Denver

Who's been to the Banff area?

[MaxWebster]

Banff is top 5 spots anywhere for me but if you can make it north to Jasper that's #1.

Just that drive alone (Icefields Pkwy) is 3-4 hours of nonstop holyshit.

[sancarlos]

I don't much advice per se because my wife is a pro, so I guess this is just me bragging again but...

Seattle ---> train to Whitefish --> Glacier NP --> Banff --> Yellowstone --> Tetons --> Idaho Falls, I guess? --> Dinosaur --> Rocky Mountain NP --> Denver

Who's been to the Banff area?

Banff is great. I’ve been twice. Once with my wife, and once on an epic trip with my best friend when I was 19, right after freshman year of college. That trip’s itinerary was a bit like yours. Camped out every night (basically sleeping bags near the car every night or in the car if it rained.) Went north from Colorado to Saskatchewan, where we stayed with relatives. Then west to Calgary/Banff/Jasper. Then south to Glacier. Then south to Yellowstone. Then Jackson Hole. Then home to Colorado. I could fill a page listing our adventures!

[P.D.X.]

I can def provide advice on how to navigate the fuckery that is the daily traffic of peak-season RMNP. Your fam is cool with getting up at 4am, right?

[govmentchedda]

Banff is top 5 spots anywhere for me but if you can make it north to Jasper that's #1.

Just that drive alone (Icefields Pkwy) is 3-4 hours of nonstop holyshit.

This was going to be my $.02 based solely off conversations with Oiler about his time up that way.

[Nonlinear FC]

I can def provide advice on how to navigate the fuckery that is the daily traffic of peak-season RMNP. Your fam is cool with getting up at 4am, right?

I don't know that it's that bad. We stayed in Estes and staying on East Coast time, it was pretty easy to get up early enough to get into the park prior to the timed entry stuff. And if Ry's wife is like mine (sure looks like it) getting a ticket for timed entry is just a matter of being near a laptop/wifi when the window opens.

ETA - But, yeah, if you hit that 1 wee, or more, into your trip, there's gonna be some grousing about pre-dawn.

But, man, that park is stunning.

[MaxWebster]

just know that i'm preliminarily extremely envious.

i've given instructions that hopefully in about 50yrs my ashes are scattered at one specific turnoff up there - nothing like making it easy on the kids

(always feel free to shoot me a note, i've been there a few times and might remember some random view/hike or whatever )

Banff is top 5 spots anywhere for me but if you can make it north to Jasper that's #1.

Just that drive alone (Icefields Pkwy) is 3-4 hours of nonstop holyshit.

This was going to be my $.02 based solely off conversations with Oiler about his time up that way.

[P.D.X.]

I can def provide advice on how to navigate the fuckery that is the daily traffic of peak-season RMNP. Your fam is cool with getting up at 4am, right?

I don't know that it's that bad. We stayed in Estes and staying on East Coast time, it was pretty easy to get up early enough to get into the park prior to the timed entry stuff. And if Ry's wife is like mine (sure looks like it) getting a ticket for timed entry is just a matter of being near a laptop/wifi when the window opens.

ETA - But, yeah, if you hit that 1 wee, or more, into your trip, there's gonna be some grousing about pre-dawn.

But, man, that park is stunning.

Most of the crowd goes for the Bear Lake area, which even if you get the timed entry ticket, if you're not early you're gonna be stuck on the shuttle system. Funny thing is, there are great options outside of that area (Wild Basin, for one) where you can hike on the busiest days and pass nary a soul. (Of course like any NP, 90% of the visitors stay within a mile of their car, so just hike a bit and bliss is yours.)

[mister d]

i've given instructions that hopefully in about 50yrs my ashes are scattered at one specific turnoff up there - nothing like making it easy on the kids

Unless part 1 of those instructions is "hold my ashes for 20+ years", I can't cosign this at all. Being really old seems awful.

[Nonlinear FC]

I can def provide advice on how to navigate the fuckery that is the daily traffic of peak-season RMNP. Your fam is cool with getting up at 4am, right?

I don't know that it's that bad. We stayed in Estes and staying on East Coast time, it was pretty easy to get up early enough to get into the park prior to the timed entry stuff. And if Ry's wife is like mine (sure looks like it) getting a ticket for timed entry is just a matter of being near a laptop/wifi when the window opens.

ETA - But, yeah, if you hit that 1 wee, or more, into your trip, there's gonna be some grousing about pre-dawn.

But, man, that park is stunning.

Most of the crowd goes for the Bear Lake area, which even if you get the timed entry ticket, if you're not early you're gonna be stuck on the shuttle system. Funny thing is, there are great options outside of that area (Wild Basin, for one) where you can hike on the busiest days and pass nary a soul. (Of course like any NP, 90% of the visitors stay within a mile of their car, so just hike a bit and bliss is yours.)

Yeah, the other draw about Bear Lake is that you're still at a "reasonable" altitude. RMNP can really mess with people on that front. If you drive in from one of the gates and then head up the main road, you get above 10k pretty quick and a lot of folks get queasy with the rapid ascent. My daughter, living in Denver at the time we went, got pale and light-headed the first day we went up.

[Pruitt IV]

I don't much advice per se because my wife is a pro, so I guess this is just me bragging again but...

Seattle ---> train to Whitefish --> Glacier NP --> Banff --> Yellowstone --> Tetons --> Idaho Falls, I guess? --> Dinosaur --> Rocky Mountain NP --> Denver

Who's been to the Banff area?

Was there 4 years ago in the summer.

Stayed in Canmore which is a really nice town about 20 minutes from Banff. More choice in terms of food and accommodations, and the local golf course is beautiful and much more suitable for 20+ handicaps. Hell of a lot cheaper than golf in Banff. Grizzly Paw brewery is a must visit.And like all the drives in the area, it is unbelievably beautiful. Lots of hiking in Canmore itself (bring bear spray), but Banff is just spectacular.

And the drive to Jasper is otherworldly.

[billy]

One RMNP note is that the West side of the park (from Grand Lake to the top of Trail Ridge Road) imo is better than the East side. There are about 1/10 the visitors so it's much much quieter, and it's the only place I've ever been to where I've never *not* seen at least a couple moose (we've been up there about 5 times). Admittedly it's less stunningly picturesque than e.g. the Bear Lake -> Emerald Lake hike, if your schedule is flexible and you don't want to fight the hectic Estes Park summertime craziness, I'd definitely recommend going there. Definitely echo the earlier point about elevation, but hopefully since it's at the end and other places you're going are also quite high, you'll be acclimated by the time you get to Rocky.

[DaveInSeattle]

Has anyone tried one of the language learning apps/programs like duolingo, babbel, or rosetta stone?

Since we are going to Italy at the end of May, and trying to stay out of the normal, big tourist areas, (current itinery: few days in Florence, couple of days in Bologna, couple of days in Parma, and then 4 days in the La Lengha region in Piedmont)we are thinking we should have some conversational skills in Italian.

Any advice/recommendations?

[govmentchedda]

My son and I have been doing Duolingo Danish for about a year now. It helped a lot on our trip there for Thanksgiving last year.

[A_B]

I’ve got a 440 day streak on Spanish in Duolingo. I love it. I am surprised at how easily I can now read basic things. Yeah I’m basically a kindergartener language wise but I have absolutely thought it’s worth it. I do pay for the middle tier version. Sixty a year.

[Steve of phpBB]

One RMNP note is that the West side of the park (from Grand Lake to the top of Trail Ridge Road) imo is better than the East side. There are about 1/10 the visitors so it's much much quieter, and it's the only place I've ever been to where I've never *not* seen at least a couple moose (we've been up there about 5 times). Admittedly it's less stunningly picturesque than e.g. the Bear Lake -> Emerald Lake hike, if your schedule is flexible and you don't want to fight the hectic Estes Park summertime craziness, I'd definitely recommend going there. Definitely echo the earlier point about elevation, but hopefully since it's at the end and other places you're going are also quite high, you'll be acclimated by the time you get to Rocky.

How are the trees there? I recall the west side was pretty bad about 15 years ago. Has it passed through?

Or, has the east side gotten hit, so it doesn't matter which side you go to?

[P.D.X.]

East is good. Pine beetles haven't had much luck getting past the divide.

[billy]

One RMNP note is that the West side of the park (from Grand Lake to the top of Trail Ridge Road) imo is better than the East side. There are about 1/10 the visitors so it's much much quieter, and it's the only place I've ever been to where I've never *not* seen at least a couple moose (we've been up there about 5 times). Admittedly it's less stunningly picturesque than e.g. the Bear Lake -> Emerald Lake hike, if your schedule is flexible and you don't want to fight the hectic Estes Park summertime craziness, I'd definitely recommend going there. Definitely echo the earlier point about elevation, but hopefully since it's at the end and other places you're going are also quite high, you'll be acclimated by the time you get to Rocky.

How are the trees there? I recall the west side was pretty bad about 15 years ago. Has it passed through?

Or, has the east side gotten hit, so it doesn't matter which side you go to?

The pine beetle isn't a huge deal from an aesthetics perspective there, but the fire from a couple years ago really hit parts of it hard. There are plenty of trails and areas where that's not the case, and tbh the drive in is fascinating to see the damage and the start of regrowth, if you're into that sort of thing like I am.

[billy]

Has anyone tried one of the language learning apps/programs like duolingo, babbel, or rosetta stone?

Since we are going to Italy at the end of May, and trying to stay out of the normal, big tourist areas, (current itinery: few days in Florence, couple of days in Bologna, couple of days in Parma, and then 4 days in the La Lengha region in Piedmont)we are thinking we should have some conversational skills in Italian.

Any advice/recommendations?

If you want to get to semi-conversational, I'd recommend the first two levels of Rocket Italian vs. the others you mentioned, paired with a few italki sessions to help reinforce actual speaking proficiency after you make it about halfway through the first level of Rocket Italian.

I've tried all the ones you mentioned, and if your goal is to actually speak with people in a semi-conversational manner vs. just understand vocabulary and be able to master a few phrases, then Rocket Languages blows them out of the water.

I don't think you need to get all three levels - Level 1 & 2 + italki is definitely sufficient, and you shouldn't pay more than 60% off. And it's a lifetime access deal, so you can come back to it for subsequent visits. https://www.rocketlanguages.com/pricing ... ge=italian

Happy to answer any questions! And sounds awesome!

[govmentchedda]

Yeah, I should have said earlier that I have no idea how Duolingo compares to anything else out there.

[EnochRoot]

I don't much advice per se because my wife is a pro, so I guess this is just me bragging again but...

Seattle ---> train to Whitefish --> Glacier NP --> Banff --> Yellowstone --> Tetons --> Idaho Falls, I guess? --> Dinosaur --> Rocky Mountain NP --> Denver

Who's been to the Banff area?

My dad went to Banff like 10-15 years ago. Mind you, he's rated the courses of nearly every good course in Florida (he's an FSGA course rater who wrote an Excel workbook to track each course's rating, and I built a py script to auto-upload them to the USGA's course rating website), and he came back appreciating the courses he played in the Banff region that much more than all the courses he's played / rated in Florida.

Long story short, if you're a golfer, bring your clubs.

[Nonlinear FC]

One RMNP note is that the West side of the park (from Grand Lake to the top of Trail Ridge Road) imo is better than the East side. There are about 1/10 the visitors so it's much much quieter, and it's the only place I've ever been to where I've never *not* seen at least a couple moose (we've been up there about 5 times). Admittedly it's less stunningly picturesque than e.g. the Bear Lake -> Emerald Lake hike, if your schedule is flexible and you don't want to fight the hectic Estes Park summertime craziness, I'd definitely recommend going there. Definitely echo the earlier point about elevation, but hopefully since it's at the end and other places you're going are also quite high, you'll be acclimated by the time you get to Rocky.

How are the trees there? I recall the west side was pretty bad about 15 years ago. Has it passed through?

Or, has the east side gotten hit, so it doesn't matter which side you go to?

The pine beetle isn't a huge deal from an aesthetics perspective there, but the fire from a couple years ago really hit parts of it hard. There are plenty of trails and areas where that's not the case, and tbh the drive in is fascinating to see the damage and the start of regrowth, if you're into that sort of thing like I am.

Yeah, I was gonna mention the fire. We were there 2 or 3 years ago and it was pretty rough. Still some cool spots to hit as you make your way to the mountains. And, frankly, after being on the east side for a number of days, it was an interesting contrast. But I wouldn't want to stay over there for multiple days without going over the divide.

[brian]

I really hate to generalize but so much of the South is trash compared to the rest of the country. There’s nice towns and nice people to be sure but on the whole just such a weird, trashy vibe here. (I’m in Little Rock today but I’ve been here enough for previous jobs that I feel OK with my opinion.)

[A_B]

Had a trip to DC last weekend (no time folks, all family shizz, sorry, maybe next time!) and ended up in the Portrait Gallery. All the presidents have a potrait, and in true museum fashio, it says the artist, date and medium. "Gilbert Stuart, 1795, Oil on canvas" etc. They were mostly canvas but a couple of oil on linen. The big outlier? "Inkjet on paper." I won't bother with telling whose it was.

[tennbengal]

Had a trip to DC last weekend (no time folks, all family shizz, sorry, maybe next time!) and ended up in the Portrait Gallery. All the presidents have a potrait, and in true museum fashio, it says the artist, date and medium. "Gilbert Stuart, 1795, Oil on canvas" etc. They were mostly canvas but a couple of oil on linen. The big outlier? "Inkjet on paper." I won't bother with telling whose it was.

Tyler?

[P.D.X.]

hahaha he couldn't even get the guy who paints him teaching people how to fish?

[A_B]

Had a trip to DC last weekend (no time folks, all family shizz, sorry, maybe next time!) and ended up in the Portrait Gallery. All the presidents have a potrait, and in true museum fashio, it says the artist, date and medium. "Gilbert Stuart, 1795, Oil on canvas" etc. They were mostly canvas but a couple of oil on linen. The big outlier? "Inkjet on paper." I won't bother with telling whose it was.

Tyler?

I thought it was obvious...yes. John Tyler the Creator.

[tennbengal]

Had a trip to DC last weekend (no time folks, all family shizz, sorry, maybe next time!) and ended up in the Portrait Gallery. All the presidents have a potrait, and in true museum fashio, it says the artist, date and medium. "Gilbert Stuart, 1795, Oil on canvas" etc. They were mostly canvas but a couple of oil on linen. The big outlier? "Inkjet on paper." I won't bother with telling whose it was.

Tyler?

I thought it was obvious...yes. John Tyler the Creator.

Knew it. Need to get to the Portrait Gallery to see that ish for myself.

[wlu_lax6]

Even better..the image on the portrait belongs to the WaPo.

[A_B]

Anyone done cruises lately? I kind of swore them off a long time ago (i've never been but felt this way before COVID even) but got a pretty sweet deal on a ...well, a suite, and it goes out of Tampa so we can piggyback (hi johnnie!) it off a trip to see Chedda and maybe the in laws.

We got kicked in the tax balls this year, in addition to a significant bonus pool reduction so we weren't able to do what we wanted. We were hoping for europe or a high end resort somewhere because it's our 25th anniversary. Alas. It's already booked, so don't tell me not to do it at this point, but of course real feedback is fine even if it isn't all positive.

[Giff]

We're itching to do another cruise. I've only been on two, but they were both great times aside from the first night on my first cruise skirting Hurricane Katrina and I thought we were going to capsize.

[mister d]

If you told me I could go on a free cruise or just work a normal week, I'd work. Its basically like Disney in that its something so many people love and I'd completely hate having to do.

[sancarlos]

Funny you would ask about cruises. We did one cruise 10 years ago, and I said I’d never do another one. Hell is other people. But it was one of those big ones with multi story ship. Now we’re going to go on another one next year - we just signed up. My wife and I and some old friends from Colorado. A river cruise in Bordeaux, Loire Valley and Northeast Spain’s Basque area. I’m told the river cruise is much more pleasurable than those big ships, and Viking gets good reviews from people I know.

[Steve of phpBB]

I've been on two cruises in Europe on Royal Caribbean (both on the same ship as it turned out).

Mostly we loved them because of the places we could visit on the stops. I did enjoy the time on the boat, but that part wasn't the highlight. Also, this was before Covid, and while I would be fine going again, I don't think my wife would.

We also splurged for a junior suite with a balcony. I don't think it'd have been nearly as nice if we didn't have that.

[Nonlinear FC]

Been on one cruise and swore them off.

And, in an effort not to be "that guy"... The positives were that the food was excellent and the various items, like soft serve ice cream and other quick hitter items meant you were fully fed. I liked going to the various piano bars, dance clubs etc. It was fun being able to dip in and do a little gambling.

Cons, to us.. People, as mentioned above. Feeling like you needed to procure a poolside chair by getting up at the crack of dawn. Our package did not include alcohol and... That really felt like getting gouged. We also like to explore new places, so only having 8 hours in Old San Juan, for example, was a bummer.

That said, I've seen the Viking ads and I feel like that, or something up in Alaska would be up our alley.

[sancarlos]

Been on one cruise and swore them off.

And, in an effort not to be "that guy"... The positives were that the food was excellent and the various items, like soft serve ice cream and other quick hitter items meant you were fully fed. I liked going to the various piano bars, dance clubs etc. It was fun being able to dip in and do a little gambling.

Cons, to us.. People, as mentioned above. Feeling like you needed to procure a poolside chair by getting up at the crack of dawn. Our package did not include alcohol and... That really felt like getting gouged. We also like to explore new places, so only having 8 hours in Old San Juan, for example, was a bummer.

That said, I've seen the Viking ads and I feel like that, or something up in Alaska would be up our alley.

So, NLFC, I was exactly where you are. The reasons I agreed to try it one more time are:
1. Much smaller ship size/fewer other people
2. We are allowed to bring our own alcohol on board (and we are touring Bordeaux, so will be wine-tasting, so that's symbiotic.)
3. Going with people I know I can get along with.
4. Going to an area I've been wanting to visit.
5. Got a sale price (my wife used to work in travel, so she knows and tells me we got a great price.)
5. AAA giving us $100 per person for onboard spending.
6. Good reviews on Viking by friends who've cruised with them.

[MaxWebster]

i too was always a "i'll never take a cruise" guy but living in Vancouver we were ripe for it and mrs webster booked us on an alaskan cruise that was incredibly inexpensive (can't remember the cost but our 2 girls were completely free) and left from downtown so our cost to get there was bus fare. i reluctantly accepted with the caveat that we had to have a balcony/window view which was crucial.

and honestly it was great - could really avoid any/all stupid human contact that you wanted; i would find a spot in one of the 78 (seemed like it) cafeterias in the morning and have coffee and watch for hours - dolphins, whales, eagles, grizzlies when we'd pass land. plenty of open space way up top / outside for when we'd come close to glaciers, etc. you learn which cafes and other "entertainment centers" on the ship to avoid pretty quickly.

TL;DR: totally worth it. if i did it again i'd forego many if not all of the official excursions; those were obviously extra $ and it wasn't necessarily that but we discovered that once you disembarked there were a lot of independent kiosks/tours just parked outside the piers ready for anyone who hadn't committed and were a lot cheaper. would do some research on those.

[Giff]

Yeah aside from NLFC's spot-on comment about having to procure chairs early, I found it pretty easy to avoid the other masses of humans. We went with family in 2016 and we had a whole spot set-up in one of the random bars that was basically our base for the week.

[sancarlos]

The part I particularly hated was the buffet breakfast. Loads of assholes whose main goal on the cruise was to get at their bacon and pineapple before anybody else. Then, gawd help any kids or old ladies who get in their way, walking from the buffet to the tables. Fuck those people.

[Steve of phpBB]

if i did it again i'd forego many if not all of the official excursions; those were obviously extra $ and it wasn't necessarily that but we discovered that once you disembarked there were a lot of independent kiosks/tours just parked outside the piers ready for anyone who hadn't committed and were a lot cheaper. would do some research on those.

This for sure. The first cruise we did official excursions while our traveling partners, experienced cruisers, arranged excursions through outside parties. So on our second cruise, we used Trip Advisor to find tours and guides and excursions from third parties.