Month: August 2011

The Sorry State of the Travel Channel

Given the amount of traveling I do I don’t have many opportunities to watch television. When I am back in the US I use Hulu and Netflix to catch up on some of my favorite shows as well as watch some of my favorite channels. In addition to the Discovery Channel and the History channel one channel I used to watch extensively before I started traveling was of course the Travel Channel. The Travel Channel was one of the ways I got my travel fix before I hit the road. When I’ve tuned in to the Travel Channel this month things were different.

It is hard to describe how disappointed I’ve become in the Travel Channel.

Outside of Anthony Bourdain, who is really a food guy when you get right down to it, Travel Channel basically has nothing to do with travel anymore. Take a look at some of their current shows:

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August 2011 Question & Answers

The Brewers are up by 7.5 games in their division and the Packers are looking good in their preseason games for another run at the Super Bowl. Sweet corn is on sale on the roadside in Wisconsin and the weather is neither too hot nor too cold. All seems right with the world.

As such it is time once again for another Q&A.

Annabel Candy from GetInTheHotSpot.com asks: Hi Gary, I have three, yes three digital cameras. I love taking photos and, like everyone, I don’t think I’m bad.

Taking photos while traveling is always a highlight of my trip but I never get out of automatic mode, even on my SLR. It seems too complicated! So please can you share one or two easy ways to get out of auto mode?

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The Glacier Fields of Kluane National Park

Kluane National Park is on the Canadian side of the St. Elias Mountain Range with includes Wrangell–St. Elias National Park and Glacier Bay National Park in Alaska. It is the home to Mt. Logan, the highest point in Canada and lies in the extreme Southwest corner of the Yukon.

I had the pleasure of having two aerial photography sessions over the ice fields of Kluane National Park in the Yukon back in June. One in a helicopter and the other the next day in a fixed wing airplane. It was one of the best photography experiences I’ve had in my 4.5 years of traveling.

I’d like to give a big thanks to Yukon Tourism for showing me a great time and giving me the chance to take such amazing photos.

Now I’ll let the photos speak for themselves….

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Garajonay National Park

Garajonay National Park - UNESCO World Heritage Site, Spain

From the World Heritage inscription for Garajonay National Park: La Gomera lies to the west of Tenerife and is one of seven islands that make up the Canary Islands archipelago off the northwest coast of Africa in the Atlantic. The island is accessible by ferry from Tenerife. The park can be reached by road from …

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Teide National Park

Teide National Park - UNESCO World Heritage Site, Spain

From the World Heritage inscription for Teide National Park: Situated on the island of Tenerife, Teide National Park features the Teide-Pico Viejo stratovolcano that, at 3,718 m, is the highest peak on Spanish soil. Rising 7,500 m above the ocean floor, it is regarded as the world’s third-tallest volcanic structure and stands in a spectacular …

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San Cristobal de La Laguna

San Cristobal de La Laguna UNESCO World Heritage Site, Spain

From the World Heritage inscription for San Cristóbal de La Laguna: The historic ensemble of San Cristóbal de La Laguna has outstanding universal value is an urban design that represents the concept of the ‘town-territory’ as the first example of an unfortified town laid out and built according to a complete plan based on navigation, …

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