On route home I stopped to help out at the huge (1500+ kids) gymnastics competition in Coeur d’Alene, Idaho.
It was an impressive show.
I only wish we had Canadian competitions anywhere near as fun.
They do know how to keep the volunteer workers going for 16hr days. Giant pizzas!
more information on the Great West Gym Fest
The following weekend at Altadore I helped with our competition of 300 kids. Good — but not nearly as Funtastic as in Idaho.
More than anything else, Warren was the inspiration for my becoming a bicycle commuter.
He rides to and from work in frozen Saskatoon. And has done so for maybe 10 years. That’s “75 minutes on a bad day in winter as compared to 25 minutes on a good day in summer.”
If Warren can do it, obviously anyone can.
He’s posted 547 photos from his work commutes over the years.
My final few days in Australia I spent on the southern beaches. On a clear day (on a flat planet) I could have seen both New Zealand and Antarctica from my campsite.
I was on the easy part of a fantastic difficult, muddy trek called the South Coast Track.
Next travelogue on this trip >> San Francisco … XLNT !
I spent more time by far in Hobart than anywhere else in Australia.
It is a hidden gem.
If you are looking for retirement property, add Hobart to your “possibles” list. Almost every house has an ocean view. And most have a mountain view, as well.
Over 40 random photos from the Hobart region are posted on flickr.
Hobart settlement was started in 1803 as a penal colony. There are still a few shady characters lurking.
Next travelogue on this trip >> South Coast Track, Tasmania
Tasmania has the best hiking in Australia. And in February it has the most temperate climate Down Under.
I headed straight for the Overland Track, named one of the top 10 treks in the world by the incontrovertible on-line authority — besthike.com !
The Overland was even better than expected.
another smug summit money shot
With perfect weather I was able to scramble 3 side peaks including Cradle Mountain.
Check my trip report and annotated photos.
A Park Ranger told an incredible tale. He had arranged private transport to the hospital for a man who walked out of the trackless Tasmanian wilderness after 47 days. The adventurer had attempted to climb unsupported in series all the major peaks in the Tasmanian Wilderness World Heritage Area (13,800 km²).
The bloke had lost one third of his body weight, finally quitting after failing to summit the second most difficult mountain.
Next travelogue on this trip >> Australia killed 2433 tourists in 7 years
Finally starting to catch up posting my Aussie photos.
For Australia Day I was in Adelaide, South Australia. That morning I wandered Glenelg Beach and observed the Aussie festivities.
My hosts in Adelaide were terrific. I even got a day to go hiking in SA. The effects of the long Australian drought were evident. (In empathy with dry Australia I stayed dehydrated for most of my weeks Down Under!)
more Adelaide photos on Flickr
One question, though. Why are all dogs in Adelaide small and white?
Next travelogue on this trip >> hiking the Overland Track, Tamania
I had a terrific time in Perth and Western Australia in WINTER – July 2003. (travelogue and photos)
This time I had just a fleeting few SUMMER days.
Perth is a lovely city and WA an amazing State, both absolutely booming economically right now. Housing prices have gone through the roof.
more photos from Perth on Flickr
Perth, Australia – wikipedia
Next travelogue on this trip >> happy (belated) Australia Day
I could live in Melbourne
I flew into Australia with HEAPS of American sports journalists headed there to cover tennis — the Australian Open.
I was headed towards the Sunburned Country for a series of gymnastics conferences.
I had fond memories of my only other trip to Melbourne in the early 1990s when I spent time daily in the fantastic Royal Botanic Gardens.
This time, I was housed close to wonderful St. Kilda beach.
original – flickr
Each day I luxuriated in the St. Kilda Sea Baths: huge salt water jacuzzi pool and fragrant steam. They would make an ideal movie shoot location.
Cosmopolitan, multi-ethnic, what I like best about Melbourne are the thousands of eclectic restaurants and coffee shops. Food is not inexpensive, but it is excellent and diverse.
Gymnastics Victoria is located in the Chapel Street Precinct. I had a fine salmon at one of the many curbside restaurants. In St. Kilda district I sampled delicious Aussie lamb.
This city of 3 million has excellent public transport and good cycling routes.
The biggest story in Melbourne, however, is the 10-year-long drought. A map of the current grass fires is front and centre each day in the news. Global warming has not been good to this part of the world.
Have you invented a cost-effective desalinization process the Aussies should know about?
It seems a shame that a sea port should be so starved of H2O.
My photos of Melbourne on flickr.
Next travelogue on this trip >> “if yer grandad was a convict …”
The Mahatma made this list.
The bravest man I know.
“Gandhi at his Spinning Wheel,” the defining portrait of one of the 20th century’s most influential figures, almost didn’t happen, thanks to the Mahatma’s strict demands. Granted a rare opportunity to photograph India’s leader; Life staffer Margaret Bourke-White was all set to shoot when Gandhi’s secretaries stopped her cold: If she was going to photograph Gandhi at the spinning wheel (a symbol for India’s struggle for independence), she first had to learn to use one herself.
But that wasn’t all. The ascetic Mahatma wasn’t to be spoken to (it being his day of silence.) And because he detested bright light, Bourke-White was only allowed to use three flashbulbs. Having cleared all these hurdles, however, there was still one more – the humid Indian weather, which wreaked havoc on her camera equipment. When time finally came to shoot, Bourke-White’s first flashbulb failed. And while the second one worked, she forgot to pull the slide, rendering it blank.
She thought it was all over, but luckily, the third attempt was successful. In the end, she came away with an image that became Gandhi’s most enduring representation. it was also among the last portraits of his life; he was assassinated less than two years later.
Neatorama » Blog Archive » 13 Photographs That Changed the World.
Rick McCharles 