Rundown for the week of September 4, 1999
Riding the Rails...by Bike
Here's a new one for the athletically inclined tourist: in the foothills of Mt. Rainier National Park in Washington State, you can now literally ride the rails through forests and valleys by pumping the pedals of a jerry-rigged bicycle. It travels, like a rollercoaster car down --OR like a highwire act, on top of-- the tracks. It's called "railbiking." The Savvy Traveler's Tom Banse was game and sent these impressions.
Your Answers:Summer Travel War Stories
As any traveler can tell you, sometimes even the best laid travel plans can go astray. So that's what we're talking about...your summer vacation war stories.
Become a Flight Attendant
Tim Kirkwood is a 24-year veteran flight attendant and author of The Flight Attendant Job Finder and Career Guide. If you're interested in becoming a flight attendant, Tim's got a few tips.
Anasazi Cliff Dwellings
Nearly three-quarters of a million tourists visit Mesa Verde National Park in southwest Colorado each year to 800 year-old Native American cliff dwellings. An ancient people known as the Anasazi thrived for 1300 years there, then suddenly disappeared. But just a few miles south, at the Ute Mountain Tribal Park . . . part of the Ute Mountain Utes Indian reservation . . . there are many more cliff dwellings that are rarely visited because of their remoteness. Virtually undisturbed for centuries, these sites offer those hardy enough to make the journey a chance to walk where few have tread since the Anasazi left seven hundred years ago. The Savvy Traveler's Tom Verde braved the trail.
Deal of the Week
Aspen action for less.
Ask Rudy
Rudy takes listeners' general questions about travel. He mentions:
- White Sand Beaches
- Vacation for a Single Woman
Gorillas in the Bronx
Many listeners call to get advice on traveling to places like Africa or Patagonia to observe exotic wildlife in its native habitat. Of course, not everyone has the budget, let alone the time, to commit to that kind of a journey, but some zoos in this country create environments that transport you to a wilder place... The Savvy Traveler's Karen Michel went to a relatively new exhibit at the Bronx Zoo...the Congo Gorilla Forest.
Culture Watch
Panorama 2000 in the Netherlands.
Summer Correspondent Wrap Up
When we last heard from our summer correspondents Randi Somers and her 11-year-old grandson Jesse, they had driven and camped their way across the country, from Homer, Alaska to the East Coast...and they'd just come from the top of the Empire State Building. During their journey, Randi and Jesse have taken in everything from the glitz of Las Vegas to thunderous Niagara Falls, and after stopping by our nation's capital, they turned around to head west through the prairies.
Next Week
Travel with us again next week when we'll have something for those of you who love to travel but hate what it takes to get there.
"The key to getting back into flight is motivation. You've got to want
to go someplace."
A virtual reality program that helps you confront and conquer your fear of flying.
And remember the days of strapping on a backpack and hitting the road...knowing you'd be sleeping with strangers?
"I did not sleep well. The air was stuffy and the mattresses were covered with a hard plastic so brittle and noisy that you woke up if you rolled over. You woke up with anyone in the room rolled over."
Relive your youth hostel days during next week's journey with The Savvy Traveler.
Cassette Copies
If you want your very own copy of The Savvy Traveler, order an audio cassette. It's easy. Just call 303-823-8000. The price is $15.
The Savvy Traveler Newsletter
The Savvy Traveler newsletter is now available. For more information, call toll-free, 888-SAV-TRAV (888-728-8728), extension 3, e-mail mail@savvytraveler.org, or visit rudymaxa.com.
