10 Travel Tips, Part 2

Yesterday I posted Part 1 of our Travel Tips. (If you missed it, click here.) Today, I'm sharing Tips 6 - 10. I'm hoping these tips will inspire you to think about what makes travel special (and successful) for you, and share your thoughts by leaving a comment.

Tip 6. Connect with local people
It's a good thing that Ed and I get along, because when we travel, we are almost always together. (Well there was that one time in Germany that he went down to the hotel lobby while I took a shower, only to get stuck in the tiny shower stall.) As much as we like being just the two of us, it is fun to connect up with local people every once in a while. We have recently discovered the joys of finding a place to stay through airbnb, a website where private owners offer to rent rooms or entire houses. On this last trip, we rented a charming adobe house in Santa Fe for $110 per night. We had our own yard, a two-bedroom house, kitchen, washer/dryer and large living room. Our host lived just next door and invited us over for a cocktail party she was having the afternoon we arrived. We went! And it was nice talking to Santa Fe-ians.

Our very own adobe.

Our bedroom at Casa Alegria

Tip 7. Go to a church

I'm not trying to get all preachy, but we have found that going to church while traveling adds to our experience. On this last trip, we attended Sunday service at First Presbyterian Church in Santa Fe. It is always interesting to me to see how alike the Presbyterian Church is across the country -- and yet, what is different about each church. Later that same night, we gathered with several hundred other people outside the Cathedral Basilica of St. Francis of Assisi for a candlelight processional through town celebrating the Martyrs' Day, led by a mariachi band. It was quite an experience. 

Candlelight procession

As we travel, especially through Europe, there is always some awesome church to see -- but rather than just filing in and around the nave, we often will stop and sit, just to be still, and take it all in. (We tried this at Notre Dame after flying all night, and it backfired. We almost fell alsleep!)

Station of the Cross, Cathedral Basilica of St. Francis of Assisi 

Tip 8. Learn about the place 
While we were in Santa Fe, we visited the Palace of the Governors, now a southwestern history museum. We also spent a nice hour in the Museum of Fine Arts which displays an extensive collection of southwestern artist, including major pieces by Georgia O'Keeffe. Because we happened to be in Santa Fe for its Fiesta Weekend, we were treated to an entire weekend of ethnic music and dancing on the central plaza. In Taos, we visted an ancient pueblo belonging to a Native American tribe of Pueblo people. For 1000 years, the pueblo people have lived and worked here. And in Mesa Verde, we spent two days touring the cliff dwellings of the Ancestral Puebloan people.

In an effort to discover what is truly special about a place, we try to understand it history, its art and its culture. I think because of our interest in plant and wildlife here on Farm Dover, we also find outselves drawn to the natural world of the places we travel. On an early morning hike in Mesa Verde, we identified gambel oaks, pinyon pines, rabbitbrush, sagebrush, lupine, yarrow, and indian paintbrush.

foreground: rabbitbrush shrub.
The Anasazi made basket foundations from the smooth, flexible twigs.
The Navajos make a yellow dye from the flowers. 

And we are always on the lookout for birds to add to our life lists. On our trip out west, we saw Virginia Warblers, Hairy and Acorn Woodpeckers, Northern Flickers, Stellar Jays, Mountain and Western Bluebirds, Black-headed Grosbeak, Dark-eyed Juncos (Grey-headed race), and Pigmy and White-breasted Nuthatch. All very exciting to us.

Tip 9. Stay in touch with your beloveds
When we are away, we miss Maggie, Jack and Mary. I know they are busy and don't want or need me calling them to tell them the latest cool thing we did or saw. So, I just take a photo of it and upload it to Instagram. That way, they can follow along on our travels at their own convenience and they know that we are alive and well somewhere along our way.

Tent Rocks, near Santa Fe. An incredible hike recommended to us by friends Sam and Lissie.

The added advantage of these daily photos is they serve as a reminder to me of where we have been and what we had done. I tend to forget what day it even is on our travels, but I can recreate our itinerary just by looking back at the photos.

10. Like a good scout, always be prepared.
One last tip: It is good to be prepared. We always pack our rain coats and rain pants, plenty of good car snacks, audio books, clip-on reading light, pillows from home, hiking poles, water bottles, and, if we ever go back to bear country, I swear we will take some emergency bear spray.

Bears on OUR path, Glacier National Park, Montana

Now that I've shared my tips, I would love to hear about your secrets for successful travel. Wishing happy trails to you.