Rocky Mountain National Park Images

The Date: Sunday, September 28, 2009
The Companions: My husband, Ral, and our friend Dave
The Hike: Leisurely loop from Upper Beaver Meadows trailhead; 5 to 5 1/2 miles (depending on whether the source is my husband's GPS or Dave's iPhone, which compiles the stats and also generates a map); 1,195 vertical feet
The Conditions: Warm, sunny, cloudless blue sky
The Highlights: Snow-dusted Longs Peak, golden aspens, deer and elk
The Experience: Priceless

The Right Way to End the Day: The first episode of Ken Burns' exceptional 12-hour series, "The Natonal Parks: America's Best Idea" on PBS.

Cheyenne Frontier Days Begins July 18

The rodeo, carnival and cultural fest nicknamed "the Daddy of 'Em All" starts this week

I live in the university town of Boulder, known for liberal politics, concern for the environment, political correctness and an enviable lifestyle, but the longer I've been in Colorado (going on 20 years now), the more I also appreciate the parallel universe of ranching, Western country tradition and the hard work and commitment that go with that life -- not lifestyle, but life. The annual National Western Stock Show in Denver and Cheyenne Frontier Days, coming right up in my neighboring state to the north, perpetuate and honor the skills and the traditions, and help the rest of us have a glimpse. Cheyenne Frontier Days start July 14 and run through July 27. Rodeo, entertainment, rodeo, midway, rodeo, Indian Village, rodeo, Western art show, rodeo, parades, rodeo, food and rodeo are the main attractions. The website contains a schedule and prices.

Philadephia Offers New High-Tech, Self-Guided Tour

With Ben Franklin as a guide, visitors can't go wrong in the cradle of American liberty

July 4, American Independence Day, would seem to have been the perfect date for the introduction of a new self-paced GPS Ranger tour of Philadelphia's Independence National Historical Park. But July 14, Bastille Day, isn't a bad choice either, because the French got their uppity ideas about removing themselves from under a royal yoke from the new United States. Also, Benjamin Franklin, portrayed by Philadelphia's Ralph Archibald, who hosts the tour, was a key to striking an alliance between the nascent United States of America and France. But more to the point, the 14th worked better than the Fourth of the mayor of Philadelphia, who is expected at the debut of the new tour.

The GPS Ranger is a device that "knows" the user's location based on GPS (Global Positioning System) technology. See what I mean about high-tech? This patent-pending, handheld computer then delivers the tour, including appropriate video, audio, musical soundtrack and historical photographs, to visitors. It is to those museum audio tours what high-def color television is to AM radio. However, everything happens automatically. There are no buttons to push to tell the device the visitor's exact location. I haven't used it myself, but it is said to be both entertaining and educational.

The state-of-the-art Independence Visitor Center rents the device for $15.95, which is a good deal because it can be shared by several visitors and covers the historic highlights around what has been called Philadelphia’s Most Historic Square Mile, including the Liberty Bell, National Constitution Center, Declaration House, Washington Square containing a burial ground of fallen Revolutionary War soldiers, the “Moon Tree” grown from seeds that on board a moon flight in 1971, City Tavern, Christ Church Burial Ground with the graves of five signers of the Declaration of Independence including Franklin and Elfreth’s Alley, the oldest continuously inhabited residential street in the country, dating back to the early 1700s.

Three Airlines Battle for Denver Market Share

United, Frontier and Southwest go head-to-head-to-head to prevail in Denver

When Denver International Airport was being built for a scheduled opening in October 1993, it seemed as if a rivalry between United and Continental was shaping up. Both hubbed at Stapleton International Airport and seemed destined to engage in a fierce two-way battle for originating and connecting service in the America's new mid-country airport. Continental staked its claim to Concourse A (and built a huge Club there), United took Concourse B and other carriers were relegated to Concourse C -- the stubby one without moving walkways or much in the way of shopping or food service.

By the time the airport actually opened on February 28, 1995 (a date that can be described as "almost March"), Houston-based Continental decided against a Denver hub. Since DIA opened, it has only been possible to fly nonstop only to Houston, Cleveland and Newark. For a time, United all but monopolized the Denver skies. Then, a reincarnated, Denver-based Frontier Airlines hubbed in Denver, and for a long time, anyone flying Frontier to or from anyplace had to start, end or change planes in Denver. Locals built up a powerful loyalty to low-fare Frontier, which became David of Denver battling United the Goliath.

Southwest took notice and steadily began increasing its DIA presence too, eroding Frontier's position as DIA's leading low-fare airline. Frontier began struggling and sank into bankruptcy. If Southwest's play for Frontier had succeeded, that would have catapulted it into a more powerful position against United. But Republic Aviation ultimately took over Frontier, promising to keep its identity and its Denver hub.

What has developed most recently is a three-way came of airline one-upmanship, with United, Frontier and Southwest battling for Denver. There has been a rash of new route announcements. In mid-December, in time for holiday business and the ski season, United will be starting two daily roundtrip flights to Midland, Texas, and one to Louisville, Kentucky-- the only carrier with nonstops from Denver on both routes, SkyWest, a United partner, will fly these routes with 50-seat CRJ-200 regional jets.

The Denver Business Journal recently commented that "United’s announcement came 12 days after Dallas-based Southwest unveiled non-stop service from [Denver] to Boston, Reno, Nev. and Spokane, Wash., beginning in January. And it came just eight days after Denver-based Frontier said it would begin non-stop flights to Fort Myers, Fla. and increase the frequency of flights between [Denver] and Tampa, Fla., starting in November."

How nice to have a real choice once again -- at least domestically. When the economy picks up, some of us hope that the "International" will be put back into "Denver International Airport."

Gold Hill & Black Hawk: A Study in Contrast

Two old mining towns in the foothills have different visions of their future

Black Hawk, Colorado -- founded 1859; incorporated 1886; population (2000 census), 118
Gold Hill, Colorado -- founded 1859, unincorporated, population (2000 census), 210

As both of these historic mining towns in the foothills west of Denver/Boulder close out their mutual sesquicentennial year, they have been in the news lately for other reasons. Gold Hill residents made their passionate desire to remain laid-back, rural and anchored to the 19th century known. The Boulder County Commissioners listened to them and just voted against paving 1 1/2 miles of Sunshine Canyon Road leading into Gold Hill. Commercial business in Gold Hill is pretty much limited to the Gold Hill Inn (a restaurant), the neighboring Blue Bird Lodge (seasonal) and the local Mercantile. The Climb is a not-for-profit shuttle linking Gold Hill with Boulder, 10 miles to the east.

Black Hawk was forever changed after 1990, when Colorado voters passed a constitutional amendment permitting limited stakes gambling in three struggling old mining and mill towns: Black Hawk and Central City, one mile apart west of Denver, and Cripple Creek, west of Colorado Springs. Revenues were to go to historic preservation, but the result was the disappearance of small local businesses serving dwindling populations and visitors who came in search of old Colorado.

Of the two Glipin County communities, Central City initially restrained itself to small storefront casinos, while Black Hawk blasted away steep hillsides to permit the construction far larger casino/hotels, each accommodating more people than the town's population. For years, big casino shuttle buses have been rumbling through Clear Creek Canyon, hauling gamblers from the Front Range to the slots.

Last year, Colorado voters blew the lid of limited stakes gambling, raising the top wager from $5 to $100. Tables replaced many of the slots. Casinos could remain open 24/7. And Black Hawk went wild. How was a constitutional amendment intended to encourage and fund historic preservation perverted to permit a high-rise casino/hotel? I have no answers, but I do know that the Godzilla-like Ameristar Casino Black Hawk now looms the little mining town. Here are some numbers: 33 stories, 536 hotel rooms and suites, 15,000 square feet of meeting space, spa, rooftop swimming pool, $235 million cost to build by Las Vegas-based Ameristar Casinos. Unlike Gold Hill's quest for sustainability, community and survival, Black Hawk in general and Ameristar in particular have only one goal: profit.


The backstory: Central City and Black Hawk rode the crest of Colorado's first mining boom gold was discovered in Gregory Gulch. When richer mines were developed elsewhere, the towns declined, and after a time, abandoned buildings and empty houses peppered the old mining district. Without the Central City Opera which performs seasonally and the Gilpin County offices, Central City would have become a ghost town, sweeping Black Hawk with it.

When gambling was approved, historic storefronts were restored, floors were shored up to support heavy slot machines and modest casinos opened. As Black Hawk bent the historic preservation rules to permit the construction of larger casinos, the smaller ones closed, and empty storefronts line town streets. Now comes the high-rise Ameristar. What will happen if and when its promise is unfulfilled, if it doesn't pay back that $235 investment, if it closes? A vacant 33-story shell would join the old mills, old mines and old storefronts telling of Black Hawk's boom and bust cycle.

Meanwhile, I'm making a bet too: My bet is that no matter what happens to Black Hawk, Gold Hill will happily survive, even without a paved road leading to it.

United's Most Recent Dishonor

One expert ranks it the worst of the worst

"Worst. Airline. Ever." read the online headline of an article in the Washington Post travel section. Could it be some Congolese airline? The Democratic Republic of Congo has reportedly been the site of more than half of the air accidents in Africa, according to the African Airlines Association -- eight last year alone, according to Reuters. The most recent was the crash of a domestic Congolese airliner on April 15, in which 70 people were killed.

Or perhaps Air Sudan is the worst. On June 10, an Airbus 320 veered off the runway and burst into flames, killing about half of the 214 people on board, according to a CNN report, adding, "Sudan has a poor aviation safety record. In May, a plane crash in a remote area of southern Sudan killed 24 people, including key members of the southern Sudanese government. In July 2003, a Sudan Airways Boeing 737 en route from Port Sudan to Khartoum crashed soon after takeoff, killing all 115 people on board."

No, not those. I clicked on the "Worst" link and landed on a feature by portfolio.com's Joe Brancatelli. He wasn't taking disaster-prone African carriers into account, but he fingered United as "the worst of the worst on the slag heap of the nation's big network carriers."

He listed the reasons behind his selection: 4 percent decline in passenger traffic in May; it plan ground 100 aircraft and reduce capacity by 10 percent; lay off thousands of more workers; rejection by potential merger partners; stock that traded a 52-week high of more than $50 plummeted into the single digits; deteriorating inflight services; permanent grounding of its no-frills Ted brand is being closed, the airline's second expensive failure in the low-cost arena this decade; overall on-time performance at a dismal 72.7 percent in April; crushing debt, and a screwy fleet flying all sorts of airplanes -- "26 separate in-flight seat configurations. It dabbled in everything from the upmarket P.S. to the downmarket Ted. It had five types of narrow-body jets, four types of wide-body aircraft and eight flavors of regional jets. Travelers were confronted with flights outfitted with an ever-shifting mix of one, two, three, or even four classes."

I really take no joy in United's miseries. I have nearly 200,000 miles on United's MileagePlus frequent-flyer program which keep building up because they are so difficult to use. I've given my son a couple of hundred thousand miles over the years, but I've never managed to redeem them for a transatlantic flight in any class of service, even changing planes several times, any time my husband and I wanted to travel. I'd better try again -- before United goes under.

UNESCO World Heritage List Gains 27 Sites

More locations for the intrepid traveler's must-see list

"Extinction is Forever" is a mantra often repeated by preservationists of the natural world and promoters of biodiversity. There should be a corollary for the natural and man-made treasures along the lines of "Destruction is Forever." Sure, nay-sayers can quibble and claim that destroyed buildings and cities can be reconstructed and damaged land can be destroyed, but its never the same.

The World Heritage Committee of UNESCO is the United Nations agency charged with identifying helping to protect, preserve and stabilize the world's most treasured landscapes and landmarks. It has just added 27 sites to its list. Nineteen are identified as cultural sites and eight as natural sites, bringing the total to 878 sites (679 cultural, 174 natural, 25 mixed) in 145 countries. The 2008 additions are:

New Cultural Sites

Preah Vihear Temple (Cambodia)
Fujian Tulou (China)
Stari Grad Plain (Croatia)
Historic Centre of Camagüey (Cuba)
Fortifications of Vauban (France)
Berlin Modernism Housing Estates (Germany)
Armenian Monastic Ensembles in Iran (Iran)
Baha’i Holy Places in Haifa and Western Galilee (Israel)
Mantua and Sabbioneta (Italy)
The Mijikenda Kaya Forests (Kenya)
Melaka and George Town, historic cities of the Straits of Malacca (Malaysia)
Protective town of San Miguel and the Sanctuary of Jesús de Nazareno de Atotonilco (Mexico)
Le Morne Cultural Landscape (Mauritius)
Kuk Early Agricultural Site (Papua New Guinea)
San Marino Historic Centre and Mount Titano (San Marino)
Archaeological Site of Al-Hijr (Madâin Sâlih) (Saudi Arabia)
The Wooden Churches of the Slovak part of Carpathian Mountain Area (Slovakia)
Rhaetian Railway in the Albula / Bernina Cultural Landscape (Switzerland and Italy)
Chief Roi Mata's Domain (Vanuatu)

Natural Properties

Joggins Fossil Cliffs (Canada)
Mount Sanqingshan National Park (China)
Lagoons of New Caledonia: Reef Diversity and Associated Ecosystems (France)
Surtsey (Iceland)
Saryarka - Steppe and Lakes of Northern Kazakhstan (Kazakhstan)
Monarch Butterfly Biosphere Reserve (Mexico)
Swiss Tectonic Arena Sardona (Switzerland)
Socotra Archipelago (Yemen)

Extensions Added Onto Properties Already on the World Heritage List

Historic centres of Berat and Gjirokastra (Albania)
Mountain Railways of India
Paleolithic Cave Art of Northern Spain
The Antonine Wall (United Kingdom)

UNESCO’s World Heritage List now numbers a total of 878 sites( 679 cultural, 174 natural, 25 mixed) in 145 countries. Papua New Guinea; San Marino, Saudi Arabia and Vanuatu have sites inscribed on the list for the first time.