Sam Benson's Blog, page 4

Wild Weather High on Hawaii's Haleakala Volcano

White-out fog, lashing rain, ice storms, intense high-altitude sunshine followed by hypothermia-inducing drops in temperature -- if all this weather mayhem sounds like your kind of outdoor adventure, check out what advice our sister blog, Top Trails: Hiking on Maui, has for hiking and backpacking in the summit wilderness atop Maui's iconic volcano inside Haleakala National Park.


Related posts:
Hidden Hiking Trails in West Maui
NPR Interview: Hiking and Ecotourism in Hawaii
Our National Parks: So Wild That You Should Sue?


Photo credit: Haleakala National Park (Michael Connolly Jr.)

Edible Travels: Farmers Market Finds (even in Winter!)

The more time I spend traveling, the more captivated I am just by experiencing everyday life wherever I roam. I used to plan trips around thrill-of-a-lifetime sights like Angkor Wat or Machu Picchu, but these days I get almost as wrapped up in local food culture. If you're craving a more authentic travel experience, just stop by a farmers market on your next road trip.

One afternoon in Culver City last fall became a culinary adventure when I stumbled across a farmers market and started gawking at the trumpet, lobster and other Dr. Seuss-like mushroom varieties stacked in overflowing boxes. Another 2011 trip to Humboldt County got sidetracked for an entire Saturday morning by the Arcata Plaza farmers market, where I bought the biggest mason jar of dark golden honey I'd ever seen. Other edible souvenirs I've packed home from recent travels include peaberry coffee from Kauai, olive oil from Napa Valley and wild berry jam from Colorado's Rocky Mountains. Now when I'm stuck at home, with cold winter rains pouring down outside, I can just step into my kitchen, open the pantry and start tasting those memories.


Even in winter, it's easy to work a farmers market into your travels if you're visiting California. Drop by San Francisco's Ferry Plaza and you have an almost 50/50 shot of hitting the farmers market taking place three days a week. The indoor Ferry Building Marketplace, open daily year-round, is a showcase for artisan foods made all around the San Francisco Bay Area. Or cruise down California's coast to San Luis Obispo County, where over 15 locavarian farmers markets happen each week. 


Tip: If you're looking for local farmers markets on the go, download the free Locavore (iTunes App Store and Android Market) and California Farmers Market (iTunes only) mobile apps.


Have a favorite local farmers market that travelers shouldn't miss? Let us know by leaving a comment below!


Related posts:
Travel Essentials: Finding Indie Coffee Shops
Eating Sustainable Seafood Made Easy
Stacking Up the Strip's Best Burgers


Photo: San Luis Obispo Farmers Market (Michael Connolly, Jr.)

Insta-guide to Rocky Mountain National Park

Planning your first trip to Rocky Mountain National Park? Or maybe you just want to make the most of your time in Colorado's most-visited parkland? Here's what you need to know first, but what the official NPS website won't tell you (or will make you frustratingly dig through dozens of pages to find!):


Rocky Mountain National Park (ROMO)


Why go? Rocky Mountains scenery doesn't get much more classic than this, from alpine tundra spackled with wildflowers to skyscraping peaks and gem-like lakes. Megafauna including moose, elk and bear all inhabit the park, which sits atop the spine of the Continental Divide. The park encompasses Longs Peak, one of Colorado's vaunted 14ers (summits over 14,000ft high).


Easiest access? The park's most popular eastern entrances are just over a 2-hour drive northwest of Denver, Colorado; Estes Park is the nearest gateway town. Far fewer people approach the park from the west, just over a 2-hour drive from the Winter Park ski resort area; the nearest gateway town is Grand Lake. The two sides of the park are connected by Trail Ridge Rd (peak elevation 12,183ft), which is only open from late May until mid-October, weather permitting.


How to beat the crowds? ROMO gets over 3 million visitors per year, ranking right behind the USA's three most popular national parks (Grand Canyon, Yellowstone and Yosemite). Most people visit ROMO during July and August, so plan your trip for the shoulder months of June or September. Check to be sure that Trail Ridge Road will be open - don't miss those dizzying alpine panoramas!


Best day hikes? If you've got limited time, short leg-stretcher hikes you won't regret taking include the Coyote Valley Trail alongside the Colorado River; the Tundra Communities Trailhead, near the Alpine Visitor Center; and the chain-of-lakes hike, connecting poetically named Dream, Nymph and Emerald Lakes. Tip: Trailhead parking for these lakes is extremely tight, so save yourself the trouble and instead hop on the free, ecofriendly park shuttle, which runs from late spring through early fall.


Best wildlife-watching spots? On the park's west side along the Colorado River, look out for moose. Marmots and pikas are common in the alpine tundra off Trail Ridge Rd, where you may also spot herds of elk in high-altitude meadows during summer (the elk move to lower elevations from autumn through spring). Bighorn sheep graze around Sheep Lakes (duh) on the park's east side.


Park highlights honestly worth making time for? Even if you have to wait in line for a parking space, stopping at the seasonal Alpine Visitor Center is memorable, if not just to take photos then at least to catch your breath and acclimate to the 11,800ft elevation. If you're driving back and forth across the park and the Old Falls River Rd is open, take the 11-mile backcountry ride over Falls Pass, navigating hairpin curves with no guardrails. The dirt road is so narrow that one-way traffic sometimes backs up for 20 minutes while gawkers take roadside photos.


Which campgrounds may have last-minute availability? NPS campgrounds on the park's east side fill up fast, and reservations are essential for most in summer. If you show up early in the day, you may find first-come, first-served sites still available at Glacier Basin Campground or tent-only Longs Peak Campground. Otherwise, head over to the park's west side and pitch your tent by the Colorado River at Timber Creek Campground, which is open year-round and doesn't take reservations. Otherwise, take a look at

Affordable alternative base camp outside the park? Estes Park is an overcrowded gateway town with traffic headaches and non-stop crowds in summer (and a very disappointing brewpub). You could day trip to the park from Denver or Boulder, but it'd be a really loooong day to drive over Trail Ridge Rd and back again. Although Grand Lake is the closest gateway town to the park's west entrance, save big bucks in summer by renting a ski condo in Granby instead. Bonus: staying on the park's west side puts you near Hot Sulphur Springs Resort for a long, very hot soak after a hard day's hiking in the mountains.


Any hazards? For safety tips on everything from lightning to black bears, click here.


Have more tips for visiting Rocky Mountains National Park? Let us know by posting a comment below. Thanks!


Photos: Rocky Mountains National Park (Michael Connolly, Jr.)

Tahoe Trails Without the Crowds, but with Dogs

Last month I road tripped up to Lake Tahoe. I sat in the traffic jams on I-80 and idled bumper-to-bumper through South Lake Tahoe. I elbowed the crowds guzzling schooners of microbrewed beer on those irresistible lake-view decks at sunset. Then the next morning, all of those howling masses just disappeared.


Turns out that choosing to hike while everyone else is baking in the sun at the beach -- or alternatively, just setting off on foot somewhere other than the vaunted Rubicon Trail between Emerald Bay and DL Bliss State Parks -- will give you that Sierra Nevada meditation you crave.


Framed by wildflowers and jagged peaks, the Tahoe Meadows Trails border the Mt Rose Hwy, about 8 miles from Lake Tahoe's eastern shore and Incline Village, Nevada. Starting just a mile down the highway from Mt Rose Summit, these gentle boardwalk and dirt paths wind around a subalpine meadow and over a burbling stream. Even better: free parking, and leashed dogs allowed.


You won't pass many other folks besides shoreline fishers and a few picnicking families on the short nature loop around Spooner Lake, just north of the Hwy 89/50 intersection, south of Incline Village. To access this quiet trail, the $10 entry fee to Lake Tahoe-Nevada State Park is a bargain, because it includes same-day admission to Sand Harbor beach up the road for a cool post-hike dip. (No swimming at Spooner Lake, sorry -- too many leeches!)


Finally, if you're ready to flee from the plague of happy-hour crowds by the lake,

Have another favorite uncrowded trail in Tahoe? Let us know by leaving a comment below!


Related posts:
Catching the Firefall in Yosemite Valley
10 Steps to a Perfect Day in Big Sur
Welcome to Top Trails: Hiking on Maui!


Photos: Lake Tahoe (Jonathan Hayes) 

Hiking & Backpacking in Hawaii: Free Eco-Travel Author Slideshow Talks at REI Stores

Have you been dreaming of finally taking that Hawaii vacation, but are afraid it's too expensive? Or maybe you're worried about your carbon footprint and the eco-impact of yet another tourist at Hawaii's crowded beach resorts? Here's the ticket to planning a more sustainable and affordable Hawaii vacation: go camping.

The very first time I visited the Hawaiian Islands, I was a broke 20-year-old backpacker who could barely afford the round-trip plane ticket from California. With my travel buddy, I camped my way around Maui, spending my days hiking in cloud forests, atop volcanoes and along deserted beaches on ancient Hawaiian footpaths. We ate guava straight from the tree, and though we had ambitions to do our own spearfishing, we settled for plate lunches and poi from island markets.
Not only was this one of the best trips I ever took, it was also one of the cheapest and most eco-conscious. That's what keeps drawing me back to the islands time and again, to live, work, volunteer and most of all, hike.
If you want to learn more about hiking, backpacking and camping all across the Hawaiian Islands, join me when I take my eco-travel slideshow talk on the road in the San Francisco Bay Area at REI stores in June and July. All events are free, open to the public (advance sign-ups online recommended; just click the links below) and start at 7:30 p.m. Hope to see everyone there!
June 15: REI San FranciscoJune 16: REI Mountain ViewJune 28: REI BerkeleyJune 29: REI Corte MaderaJuly 25: REI SaratogaJuly 26: REI Marina
Photo: Haleakala National Park (Michael Connolly, Jr.)

Stacking Up the Strip's Best Burgers

Who builds the best burger in Las Vegas? That's a burning question, especially on the Strip, where competition among gourmet burger restaurants is fierce. Even some steakhouses and hotel room-service menus have jumped on the trend, offering prime sirloin patties paired with $5000 bottles of Bordeaux wine or rare French champagne.

Until recently, our faves for hand-crafted burgers, milkshakes and fries in Las Vegas were BLT Burger (what beats a burger fried in butter?), at the Mirage casino, and LBS: A Burger Joint (house-made everything!) at Red Rock casino way out in suburban Summerlin. But our carnivore's bleeding-red heart now belongs to Holstein's, at the brand-new Cosmopolitan casino on the Strip.

First, we were seduced by Holstein's free truffle-oil popcorn appetizer. Then, it was the liquored-up milkshakes, like the 'Black Cow' with chocolate-covered pop rocks and a shot of cherry vodka. But we didn't fall hard in love until we bit into the 'Rising Sun' burger made with teriyaki-glazed Kobe beef and topped with nori (seaweed) furikake, crispy yams and a perfectly tempura-fried avocado slice. One caveat: the duck-fat fries aren't all that tasty. Well, nobody's perfect.

If our love affair with Holstein's ever ends, you'll find us at Bachi Burger, an Asian fusion eatery south of the Strip, or running madly around town trying to track down the Slider Truck (self-explanatory) and Sloppi Jo's Roving Eatery (New Mexican-style green chile cheeseburgers, yum). Either that, or we'll be standing in line at the 'Takhomasak' take-out window inside the South Point casino's Steak 'n Shake 1950s-style diner, an Illinois chain that we've loved since our corn-fed childhood.

Have another favorite burger joint in Las Vegas? Let us know by leaving a comment below! Find out more about the city's cuisine scene in our iPhone, iPad and iPod Touch digital travel guide, Viva Las Vegas, Baby!.

Photo: Holstein's, Las Vegas (Michael Connolly, Jr.)

Las Vegas' Burlesque Hall of Fame

Once upon a time, you had to drive Route 66 out into the Mojave Desert and find a ranch run by retired burlesque dancer Dixie Evans just to see this collection of historical memorabilia. Now you just have to take yourself to downtown Las Vegas and the Emergency Arts Collective, one long block east of the Fremont Street Experience.

The Burlesque Hall of Fame is full of black-and-white vintage photos from the mid-20th century heyday of burlesque club dancing, both in Vegas and around the world. If you're lucky, a retired dancer might even give you a tour. Definitely check Facebook or call ahead before making a trip here, because the exhibit may move in the near future and its hours are subject to change. Until then, viva Las Vegas, baby!

Related posts:
Viva Las Vegas, Baby! iPhone & iPad Travel App
7 Things to Do in Vegas Besides Gamble
Top 5 Free Seats on the Las Vegas Strip
CityCenter Now Open in Las Vegas

The 50 States Club

I'm the kind of traveler who cringes at checklists. I don't feel the need, as a maniacal girl I met once did, to visit all 393 units of the National Park System. (Nor do I have the means, so American Samoa and the Virgin Islands' national parks will have to wait until after I win the lottery.)

But somehow over the past two decades, I've ended up visiting all 50 U.S. states. Alaska truly was my 'Last Frontier,' which I finally knocked off last month. Illinois, where I was born, was my first, followed by a trail of Western states zipped through during one summer vacation in a grand loop to Yellowstone National Park and back. Weekend trips to the lakeshores of Indiana and Michigan, the farmlands of Wisconsin and Iowa, and St. Louis for baseball, barbecue and rides high inside the rickety Gateway Arch made up my childhood travels.

It wasn't until after I graduated from college that I really got motoring. As I traipsed back and forth across the country, some moments stand out. Like gripping the steering wheel with white knuckles as I drove the Seven-Mile Bridge out to the Florida Keys. My car being searched for hours at a tiny border-crossing outpost in Maine. Sweating out a night in a stuffy hotel room in Janis Joplin's hometown in Texas. Cruising the Blue Ridge Parkway until the sun sank behind the Appalachian hills. I've driven around each of the Hawaiian Islands, too, getting stuck in Kauai's traffic jams and Lanai's 4WD jeep tracks and rattling around Maui's Haleakala volcano.

So, what's next? Like I said, I'm not a checklist traveler. But I need a new travel goal, to inspire my wanderlust. Any ideas?

Have you joined the 50 States Club yet? What are your favorite road-tripping states? Most miserable stops? Tell us by leaving a comment below.

Photo: Four Corners Region (Michael Connolly, Jr.)

Itty-Bitty Book Review: Shadow of the Bear by Brian Payton

[image error] I recently suffered by reading what may be the most cowardly travel book written by a contemporary American woman. With the nauseating aftertaste of that insipid story in my mouth, I've decided to take time to blog about more satisfying travel books, focused on the outdoors.

Published in 2006, Shadow of the Bear: Travels in Vanishing Wilderness by Brian Payton is a thoughtful travelogue. As he travels to Asia, South America, Europe and arctic Canada, Payton introduces bear ecology and rare endangered bear populations to everyday readers. While some chapter narratives tend to wander, ending up more like travel journal entries, overall the book will keep wildlife watchers with wanderlust hooked from start to finish.

Want to know why polar bears end up in "jail" in Churchill, Manitoba? How moon bears are rescued from cruel bile farms in China? What's being done to save the spectacled bear in Peru? This author found out first-hand. It's an inspiring read, both as a traveler (have you faced down any human-killing sloth bears in India lately?) and as an animal lover (I was so moved by the book that I donated to Animals Asia, a small nonprofit group that works to rescue and rehabilitate moon and sun bears in China and Vietnam).

What are your favorite travel books about nature, wildlife and adventures outdoors? Tell me what to read next by leaving a comment below. If you'd like a free copy of this book, leave your email address.

Image courtesy of Bloomsbury USA.

Travels in Alaska: South to Seward's Glaciers

We briefly boomerang back through Anchorage (consciously avoiding the Beck-Palin rally), then head off down the Kenai Peninsula. The road south of Anchorage snakes beside Cook Inlet and around poetically named Turnagain Arm, where a roadside BBQ shack smokes the best brisket I've gnawed on outside of Texas. Sunlight flashes on the waves and the permanent snow fields and glaciers that coat nearby peaks like dirty cake frosting.

On Hwy 9, the Sunday traffic dies out before Moose Pass, where the liquor store reminds passersby that it's 27 miles until the next chance to buy booze (apparently in either direction, because the sign faces both ways). Both the road and the railroad peter out at the water's edge in Seward, a fishing port named for the man who negotiated the purchase of Alaska from Russia (assumedly, with love) in 1867. Quickly nicknamed Seward's Folly and Seward's Icebox by political wags, the territory cost the USA just over $7 million, or about 2.3 cents per acre. Today, with our human population booming and wilderness shrinking at a precipitous rate, that seems like a bargain.

It's wildness that we're here to see, after all. In the luxuriously long daylight hours of Alaska's late summer, we take a sunset walk to the base of Exit Glacier in Kenai Fjords National Park. The mosquitoes are out for blood, but the breezes pick up as we clamber up the rocky trail to the base of the blue ice. Never before have I been so near a glacier, almost close enough to touch -- that is, if I didn't know the cracking ice might swallow me up if I stepped beyond the roped-off lookout. Two hikers with bear bells tinkling come loping down the trail from the Harding Ice Field atop the glacier, where nunataks -- solitary mountains peeking above the glacial ice like islands -- are lonely landmarks.

Early the next morning, we fill up on eggs benedict topped with snow crab from a diner inside a train car by the harbor. With zoom lenses around our necks, we board a boat to sail through the Kenai Peninsula's wind-whipped fjords, past rock outcroppings where Steller sea lions bask in the sun, every king of the mountain barking and pushing off lower-rung juveniles. Porpoises swim in the boat's wake. Although no whales are spotted, sea otters splash near shore and a bald eagle alights on an evergreen treetop in the distance.

Hours later, the boat's engines hum as the captain negotiates through a frosty bay filled with icebergs at the foot of mile-wide Aialik Glacier. The tidewater
g lacier audibly groans, snaps and cracks as it calves ever more icebergs. It's hard to know where to look to catch the next falling blue ice, which you hear only after the dramatic drop of another icy chunk into the sea. Everyone on board is silent with awe, like John Muir was when he first paddled into Glacier Bay. Here, too, the giant glacier moves of its own will, utterly ignorant of ant-like humans floating beneath its seductively dangerous face. It's impossible to look away.

Related links:
Travels in Alaska: A is for Anchorage
Travels in Alaska: The Road North to Denali
10 Steps to a Perfect Day in Big Sur

Photos: Alaska (Michael Connolly, Jr.)