Between my military service and 40+ years working for major airlines has allowed me to travel extensively, most of my trips have been for hunting, fishing, diving, anything to do with the outdoors, never had much interest in wandering around cities. That said my 2 favorite countries are Cuba (BC) and New Zealand, Favorite states for my activities are Florida for fishing, diving, spearfishing, Colorado hunting, 4 Wheeling, Mt.climbing, and Alaska hunting, fishing, and just wandering around the wilderness. Some interesting places that stand out Lake Taupo, biggest trout in the world, and the Southern Alps in N.Z., diving the Argus Bank in Bermuda, diving the wall at Grand Turks, beats the Cayman's any day, hiking, climbing the Atlas Mts in Morocco, the Cochinos banks for spearfishing in the southern Bahamas.
JAY
THE DEFINITION OF GUN CONTROL IS HITTING THE TARGET WITH YOUR FIRST SHOT
After living in Louisiana for 40+ years, I now live in my favorite vacation spot.
But, I will admit, Colorado has changed a lot in just the past 15 years. The Front Range, where I live, is practically wall to wall city from Colorado Springs to damn near the Wyoming border. The "I-25 Corridor", as it's called. There's a little open land between Denver and Cheyenne, but not much. And from Colorado Springs north to Denver you won't see two miles of empty space.
Colorado still exists on the Western Slope, and there's mind boggling empty spaces on the eastern plains, but being crammed up against the eastern side of the Rockies brings to mind more the "Streets of San Francisco" than " Jeremiah Johnson".
But, at least I don't live in Denver, a place I gratefully cleared two hours ago after a concert. Denver has got to be the Chicago of the West.
The western slope is still Colorado, but I don't know how you can make a living there unless stocking shelves for the occasional tourist pays better than I suspect.
At least I can quickly run to the Colorado I remember, then quickly run back to where I can make a living. Couldn't do that in Louisiana.
Mike
If Colorado keeps growing I expect it won't be long and it will be a Shotgun only state for hunting. Hell, you can barely throw a beer can without hitting somebody now!
Daddy, what's an enabler?
Son that's somebody with nothing to do with his time but keep me in trouble with mom.
As for Domestic places, of what I've seen, Mesa Verde and the Grand Canyon are hard to beat.
In other countries? I loved Scotland. I also loved England in places. And Germany was a trip. I love to go to Amsterdam and branch out to visit Holland just for the culture and people(Not the Drugs thank you). I've been deep into Mexico and it had some fabulous scenery, but if you come down to it, my favorite place to go is the Philippines. It's cheap, relatively safe if you use your head, and there's some fantastic scenery, such as Tagaytay. There's a restaurant there named Leslie's and the food is native but clean and good. Walk out the back doors and the scenery is breath taking. You look down on Lake Taal and Taal Volcano. It's awesome. Then you have Boracay, which has some of the PIs only pure white sandy beaches. The water is crystal clear and blue beyond belief. There's no friendlier people on the planet than in the Philippines. The food, if you know where to go, can be awesome. And for me, the love of my life happens to live there.
Daddy, what's an enabler?
Son that's somebody with nothing to do with his time but keep me in trouble with mom.
If Colorado keeps growing I expect it won't be long and it will be a Shotgun only state for hunting. Hell, you can barely throw a beer can without hitting somebody now!
Well, yes and no. Along the I25 corridor, which runs north /south, you have Pueblo, Colorado Springs, and Denver (with its environs). It may be only 10 miles wide (east to west), but it's about 200 miles long (north to south). I'd hazard a guess that 80% of the states population lives within this area.
Colorado, for the most part, is still pretty remote. With good reason. Coor's commercials aside, this isn't a wet, cool, green environment. You go from the high plains desert to 12k foot mountains within the space of a couple cigarette smokes in a 75 mph vehicle. One extreme to the other PDQ. That doesn't leave much room for what would be considered "normal" for most of the rest of the country. Even New Mexico has a more friendly topographical environment.
There are tougher places, of course. The Wind River Valley area of Wyoming immediately comes to mind as "the end of the Earth", as does 95% of Arizona.
Mike
"Walking away seems to be a lost art form." N454casull
I didn't get off the plane in Lagos. I went through there going to Monrovia Liberia on November 1st, 1969 to work. The solders came on the plane and checked it out, their was a civil war going on at the time. My company, Bauer Dredging Company, had moved everything up two weeks to the day, including my flight, to get me their sooner, because they needed bodies and more people were quitting and the bosses were crying. Two weeks to the day later after I arrived the same exact flight, the one I would have been on, crashed on approach to Lagos airport and killed everyone on the plane.
Monrovia was a hole. The AC unit on the dredge, we lived aboard the dredge, crapped out once or twice and the first time it did I pulled a mattress up top of the living quarters and went to sleep. Dumb Idea Mosquitos swarmed me. I got a strain of Malaria. Never been so sick in my life.
I worked in the Engine Room and this old boat was in bad shape mechanically due to years of neglect. When we weren't sleeping we were usually up to our elbows in hot oily parts pulling heads and pistons and liners. Seems about every third day we had a break down. I made a lot of money for the times, but I earned every red cent. To this day I don't care if I ever see Africa again.
Daddy, what's an enabler?
Son that's somebody with nothing to do with his time but keep me in trouble with mom.
Well, yes and no. Along the I25 corridor, which runs north /south, you have Pueblo, Colorado Springs, and Denver (with its environs). It may be only 10 miles wide (east to west), but it's about 200 miles long (north to south). I'd hazard a guess that 80% of the states population lives within this area.
Colorado, for the most part, is still pretty remote. With good reason. Coor's commercials aside, this isn't a wet, cool, green environment. You go from the high plains desert to 12k foot mountains within the space of a couple cigarette smokes in a 75 mph vehicle. One extreme to the other PDQ. That doesn't leave much room for what would be considered "normal" for most of the rest of the country. Even New Mexico has a more friendly topographical environment.
There are tougher places, of course. The Wind River Valley area of Wyoming immediately comes to mind as "the end of the Earth", as does 95% of Arizona.
Mike
That's right where we were staying the only time I've been to Colorado and stayed any length of time. That was right where you said, in that corridor. I've been through Colorado, I've camped at parks, but the one time I stayed there, at my daughter's and Son in Law's apartment North of Denver was there in that area of population that you mentioned. That was 15 years ago and it looked pretty crowded then.
One time in 1993 our family, my then wife and 4 of our 5 kids, went through Colorado, from Raton NM in the eastern end, across the southern part of Colorado to Mesa Verde in the west, out of Cortez, while on our way out west, and come to think of it, there were few people, but that was 24-25 years ago. We were going to see my oldest son graduate from Navy Boot Camp in San Diego.
One thing about Colorado, it's one beautiful place. As far as New Mexico, I love it also. I've spent more than a little time up around Cimarron at the Boy Scout Camp named Philmont, a ranch in the Sangre de Christo Mountains previously owned by Waite Philipps, a brother to the 2 Phillips 66 founders and owners.
Waite owned his own oil company named the Waite Phillips oil company in Tulsa Okla. After he sold his oil company to his two Phillips 66 owner brothers in 1914, he stayed engaged as an individual oil producer, refiner, and marketer. In 1938 he donated the first part of his New Mexico Ranch to the Boy Scouts and in 1941 he donated more. He ended up donating over 127,000 acres of his ranch around Cimarron to the Boy Scouts. I love that part of the world. Between 1989 and 1991 I went on two mountain treks there with my boys.
Daddy, what's an enabler?
Son that's somebody with nothing to do with his time but keep me in trouble with mom.
I've eaten a lot of dust at Philmont. 8k mountains are, all in all, much more interesting than 12k alpine tundras.
Mike
I'd love to go back, but I'd have to do it in a helicopter now.
Baldi Mountain the tallest in the camp is I think, 12,400 FASL, Mount Phillips is 11,700. Those I think are the two highest hiked by the scouts. There's a couple of small peaks that are a couple hundred feet higher than Baldi but they tell me they are almost impossible to climb safely.
I particularly loved Fish Camp. Never a dull moment at Philmont. My favorite place was the Tooth of Time, because when you got there you were almost home.
The last time I was there when we got back to base camp I took a shower and changed clothes and went to town to make a call. I went by myself and went straight to the nearest Beer Joint and drank about a gallon of Coors, it seemed like it. Man it tasted good, then made my call and went back and crashed in the tent. I think I slept about 10 hours. They couldn't wake me up to go eat.
Daddy, what's an enabler?
Son that's somebody with nothing to do with his time but keep me in trouble with mom.
A very close second place would be swimming in the Guadalupe in Kerr County.
I tube floated the Guadalupe as a teen 30+ years ago. I still remember how awesome it was!
When our governing officials dismiss due process as mere semantics, when they exercise powers they don’t have and ignore duties they actually bear, and when we let them get away with it, we have ceased to be our own rulers.
Next time you go to Mexico City hire a private guide to take you to Teotihuacan. Ask the hotel concierge to recommend one or if you are like me make friends with your driver (I like using the same guy all week) and ask him to take you. One of the most amazing places I've ever been to in my life.
Also go to the Basilica de la Virgen de la Guadalupe where the Virgin Mary appeared. I believe it's the second most sacred site for Catholics after Rome and it is absolutely beautiful and fascinating! Yes the buildings are not straight which is a story on to itself.
It's ironic you say this. Five years I've been going down there and each time my sales team in Mexico tell them the'll get it set up. What really happens is they cram 10 days of meetings into five days. My day starts around 7:30 AM and my last meetings of the day at the Telmex labs usually start around 8:30 PM and we finish up around 10 PM. Dang do they work long days there! By the time I'm back to my room I'm whooped and fall into bed to repeat the process the next day!
One of these trips I'm going to make it a long weekend there as I really want to see those places!
Distance is not an issue, but the wind can make it interesting!
I know it won't mean much to most here, but my favorite place to go on an extended trip is to either Maggie Valley, NC or Johnson City, TN. For motorcycle riders that love to ride the mountain roads, these two cities offer the absolute best in mountain riding available on the east coast. The Blue Ridge Parkway being the most common riding destination, there are other roads that will challenge the riding capabilities of most bikers. This pic was taken on the BRP a few years ago. The backdrop is typical from that road with sheer rock-face on one side and expansive views of valley's below on the other side.
Loved ALL my trips to the U.S.; each and every one of them was special in it's own way, both with the family and by our own. Liked NYC a lot, along with driving all the east coast from there to FLA; also enjoyed Washington DC with all its historical places.
Went to Disney World many times, last of them with the wife (Then girlfriend) in '95 and was the best of all, since it was her 1st. time there.
Enjoyed a lot our "plastic" trips to FLA (Shopping and beach running away from our dull winter), and this last holidays in CO were awesome! 100% agree with those saying it's a great place with awesome places to visit.
Always enjoy our yearly trips to Chile to see the in-laws, since they pamper us a lot; also the times we drove to Argentina to ski....amazing sightseeing and excellent R&R!
Since I like surfing, trips to the Caribbean have been nice but not something to enjoy other than resting, although our honeymoon in Cuba was excellent and a big eye-opener that allowed us to see an actual relic still somewhat in action: A communist "paradise".
Locally, traveling to our northern beaches close to the Ecuadorian borders is cool since there are assorted activities to enjoy, such as fishing, surfing and sightseeing. Also traveling to Cuzco is a pleasure since a friend of us has a VERY nice home in a nearby valley and attention there rivals with any luxury hotel you can enjoy.....he has spoiled Cuzco for us!
Have yet to travel to Europe; would like a lot to visit New Zealand but no interested in Asia other than maybe Japan.
I know it won't mean much to most here, but my favorite place to go on an extended trip is to either Maggie Valley, NC or Johnson City, TN. For motorcycle riders that love to ride the mountain roads, these two cities offer the absolute best in mountain riding available on the east coast. The Blue Ridge Parkway being the most common riding destination, there are other roads that will challenge the riding capabilities of most bikers. This pic was taken on the BRP a few years ago. The backdrop is typical from that road with sheer rock-face on one side and expansive views of valley's below on the other side.
That's a killer sweet bike!
For me, hands-down favorite is Hawaii. No part of my trip there disappointed.
I have no desire to leave the U.S. whatsoever.
Knowledge is essential to living freely and fully; understanding gives knowledge purpose and strength; wisdom is combining the two and applying them appropriately in words and actions.
I know it won't mean much to most here, but my favorite place to go on an extended trip is to either Maggie Valley, NC or Johnson City, TN. For motorcycle riders that love to ride the mountain roads, these two cities offer the absolute best in mountain riding available on the east coast. The Blue Ridge Parkway being the most common riding destination, there are other roads that will challenge the riding capabilities of most bikers. This pic was taken on the BRP a few years ago. The backdrop is typical from that road with sheer rock-face on one side and expansive views of valley's below on the other side.
If we're talking about motorcycles and favorite places, I give you Lolo Pass Montana.
When our governing officials dismiss due process as mere semantics, when they exercise powers they don’t have and ignore duties they actually bear, and when we let them get away with it, we have ceased to be our own rulers.
If we're talking about motorcycles and favorite places, I give you Lolo Pass Montana.
I'd like to add a couple of rides, In Wyoming US 14 & 14A West out of Burgess Jct. , its ok to crack on it going up, watch the speed going down, it has more switchbacks that a snake with a broken back, it goes from 4000' to 9400".
Another great ride, after you leave the Cody Firearms Museum (Cody Wy.) head to Cooke City Mt. but take US 212 across Bear Tooth Pass to Red Lodge Mt.
You guys shouldnt remind me , I might just have to get another scooter.
JAY
THE DEFINITION OF GUN CONTROL IS HITTING THE TARGET WITH YOUR FIRST SHOT
Replies
JAY
If Colorado keeps growing I expect it won't be long and it will be a Shotgun only state for hunting. Hell, you can barely throw a beer can without hitting somebody now!
Son that's somebody with nothing to do with his time but keep me in trouble with mom.
In other countries? I loved Scotland. I also loved England in places. And Germany was a trip. I love to go to Amsterdam and branch out to visit Holland just for the culture and people(Not the Drugs thank you). I've been deep into Mexico and it had some fabulous scenery, but if you come down to it, my favorite place to go is the Philippines. It's cheap, relatively safe if you use your head, and there's some fantastic scenery, such as Tagaytay. There's a restaurant there named Leslie's and the food is native but clean and good. Walk out the back doors and the scenery is breath taking. You look down on Lake Taal and Taal Volcano. It's awesome. Then you have Boracay, which has some of the PIs only pure white sandy beaches. The water is crystal clear and blue beyond belief. There's no friendlier people on the planet than in the Philippines. The food, if you know where to go, can be awesome. And for me, the love of my life happens to live there.
Son that's somebody with nothing to do with his time but keep me in trouble with mom.
Well, yes and no. Along the I25 corridor, which runs north /south, you have Pueblo, Colorado Springs, and Denver (with its environs). It may be only 10 miles wide (east to west), but it's about 200 miles long (north to south). I'd hazard a guess that 80% of the states population lives within this area.
Colorado, for the most part, is still pretty remote. With good reason. Coor's commercials aside, this isn't a wet, cool, green environment. You go from the high plains desert to 12k foot mountains within the space of a couple cigarette smokes in a 75 mph vehicle. One extreme to the other PDQ. That doesn't leave much room for what would be considered "normal" for most of the rest of the country. Even New Mexico has a more friendly topographical environment.
There are tougher places, of course. The Wind River Valley area of Wyoming immediately comes to mind as "the end of the Earth", as does 95% of Arizona.
Mike
N454casull
I didn't get off the plane in Lagos. I went through there going to Monrovia Liberia on November 1st, 1969 to work. The solders came on the plane and checked it out, their was a civil war going on at the time. My company, Bauer Dredging Company, had moved everything up two weeks to the day, including my flight, to get me their sooner, because they needed bodies and more people were quitting and the bosses were crying. Two weeks to the day later after I arrived the same exact flight, the one I would have been on, crashed on approach to Lagos airport and killed everyone on the plane.
Monrovia was a hole. The AC unit on the dredge, we lived aboard the dredge, crapped out once or twice and the first time it did I pulled a mattress up top of the living quarters and went to sleep. Dumb Idea Mosquitos swarmed me. I got a strain of Malaria. Never been so sick in my life.
I worked in the Engine Room and this old boat was in bad shape mechanically due to years of neglect. When we weren't sleeping we were usually up to our elbows in hot oily parts pulling heads and pistons and liners. Seems about every third day we had a break down. I made a lot of money for the times, but I earned every red cent. To this day I don't care if I ever see Africa again.
Son that's somebody with nothing to do with his time but keep me in trouble with mom.
That's right where we were staying the only time I've been to Colorado and stayed any length of time. That was right where you said, in that corridor. I've been through Colorado, I've camped at parks, but the one time I stayed there, at my daughter's and Son in Law's apartment North of Denver was there in that area of population that you mentioned. That was 15 years ago and it looked pretty crowded then.
One time in 1993 our family, my then wife and 4 of our 5 kids, went through Colorado, from Raton NM in the eastern end, across the southern part of Colorado to Mesa Verde in the west, out of Cortez, while on our way out west, and come to think of it, there were few people, but that was 24-25 years ago. We were going to see my oldest son graduate from Navy Boot Camp in San Diego.
One thing about Colorado, it's one beautiful place. As far as New Mexico, I love it also. I've spent more than a little time up around Cimarron at the Boy Scout Camp named Philmont, a ranch in the Sangre de Christo Mountains previously owned by Waite Philipps, a brother to the 2 Phillips 66 founders and owners.
Waite owned his own oil company named the Waite Phillips oil company in Tulsa Okla. After he sold his oil company to his two Phillips 66 owner brothers in 1914, he stayed engaged as an individual oil producer, refiner, and marketer. In 1938 he donated the first part of his New Mexico Ranch to the Boy Scouts and in 1941 he donated more. He ended up donating over 127,000 acres of his ranch around Cimarron to the Boy Scouts. I love that part of the world. Between 1989 and 1991 I went on two mountain treks there with my boys.
Son that's somebody with nothing to do with his time but keep me in trouble with mom.
Mike
N454casull
I'd love to go back, but I'd have to do it in a helicopter now.
Baldi Mountain the tallest in the camp is I think, 12,400 FASL, Mount Phillips is 11,700. Those I think are the two highest hiked by the scouts. There's a couple of small peaks that are a couple hundred feet higher than Baldi but they tell me they are almost impossible to climb safely.
I particularly loved Fish Camp. Never a dull moment at Philmont. My favorite place was the Tooth of Time, because when you got there you were almost home.
The last time I was there when we got back to base camp I took a shower and changed clothes and went to town to make a call. I went by myself and went straight to the nearest Beer Joint and drank about a gallon of Coors, it seemed like it. Man it tasted good, then made my call and went back and crashed in the tent. I think I slept about 10 hours. They couldn't wake me up to go eat.
Son that's somebody with nothing to do with his time but keep me in trouble with mom.
A very close second place would be swimming in the Guadalupe in Kerr County.
-Mikhail Kalashnikov
I tube floated the Guadalupe as a teen 30+ years ago. I still remember how awesome it was!
Adam J. McCleod
It's ironic you say this. Five years I've been going down there and each time my sales team in Mexico tell them the'll get it set up. What really happens is they cram 10 days of meetings into five days. My day starts around 7:30 AM and my last meetings of the day at the Telmex labs usually start around 8:30 PM and we finish up around 10 PM. Dang do they work long days there! By the time I'm back to my room I'm whooped and fall into bed to repeat the process the next day!
One of these trips I'm going to make it a long weekend there as I really want to see those places!
John 3: 1-21
Went to Disney World many times, last of them with the wife (Then girlfriend) in '95 and was the best of all, since it was her 1st. time there.
Enjoyed a lot our "plastic" trips to FLA (Shopping and beach running away from our dull winter), and this last holidays in CO were awesome! 100% agree with those saying it's a great place with awesome places to visit.
Always enjoy our yearly trips to Chile to see the in-laws, since they pamper us a lot; also the times we drove to Argentina to ski....amazing sightseeing and excellent R&R!
Since I like surfing, trips to the Caribbean have been nice but not something to enjoy other than resting, although our honeymoon in Cuba was excellent and a big eye-opener that allowed us to see an actual relic still somewhat in action: A communist "paradise".
Locally, traveling to our northern beaches close to the Ecuadorian borders is cool since there are assorted activities to enjoy, such as fishing, surfing and sightseeing. Also traveling to Cuzco is a pleasure since a friend of us has a VERY nice home in a nearby valley and attention there rivals with any luxury hotel you can enjoy.....he has spoiled Cuzco for us!
Have yet to travel to Europe; would like a lot to visit New Zealand but no interested in Asia other than maybe Japan.
That's a killer sweet bike!
For me, hands-down favorite is Hawaii. No part of my trip there disappointed.
I have no desire to leave the U.S. whatsoever.
If we're talking about motorcycles and favorite places, I give you Lolo Pass Montana.
Adam J. McCleod
Thank you. I would love to ride in the Northwest as well.
Yeah, that road looks like a great place to ride. I see the sign says "winding road next 77 miles." My kind of biker road for sure.
Here are a couple of pics taken from the same general area as the other one:
I'd like to add a couple of rides, In Wyoming US 14 & 14A West out of Burgess Jct. , its ok to crack on it going up, watch the speed going down, it has more switchbacks that a snake with a broken back, it goes from 4000' to 9400".
Another great ride, after you leave the Cody Firearms Museum (Cody Wy.) head to Cooke City Mt. but take US 212 across Bear Tooth Pass to Red Lodge Mt.
You guys shouldnt remind me , I might just have to get another scooter.
JAY
Come on Jay, you can do it!......LOL