Rick & Julia’s Trips

Up the River in Head Hunting Territory

Sun, 16 May 2010 15:13:42 -0600

The Asmat region of Indonesia is know for its head hunters and jungle. For the fourth most populous country in the world, Indonesia has a lot of very wild areas. We visited a native village in the Asmat. The people here used to be head hunters, but supposedly have mostly stopped. Their spirituality is largely based around their ancestors and protections from bad spirits. Much of the mysticism is centered on the men's house.

We visited their village, their men's house and took part in a Canoe Ceremony. The Canoe is made in secret, then with a big flourish it is revealed to the village and launched.

My Yellowstone Favorites

Thu, 21 Jan 2010 07:11:42 -0700

I have just finished and released my video about Yellowstone National Park. Above is the trailer for the video. I think you will find it both fun and interesting. It is a collection of video taken over the last 3 years in Yellowstone of some of the parts that are special to us. Every year we find things in Yellowstone we didn’t even know existed. We hope that this may interest you to find your own special places.

This is the medium size trailer. You can also download and see the high definition version of the trailer here. The full video is available as a disc as either a DVD (standard definition) or Blu-Ray (high definition). Let us know if you would like a copy.

Boxer Day Produces Big Fish

Sat, 26 Dec 2009 14:39:36 -0700

We had just finished a long trip through New Zealand’s outer islands. We spent a beautiful Christmas at the Huka Lodge in New Zealand. Then we thought, in New Zealand one should go fishing. For years we have heard of the spectacular fly fishing in New Zealand - so we decided to go for it.
We met Peter Wilton, and asked him to take us fishing on Boxer day. (something to do with fighting over sales, or something. Anyway, we had never seen such big fish in such a small river. Great fishing and a great day. Thanks Peter. Check out the video above.

Transit of the Panama Canal

Sun, 18 Jan 2009 22:00:00 -0700

In January of 2009 we travelled to Central America. Part of the trip has a day light transit through the Panama Canal. This was our second time through the canal and I think it was even more exciting this time because we were on a smaller ship, so the experience was much more personal.

I think the above video of the transit offers some unique views of the locks and and the progress through them. I used a timelapse camera to take a picture every 10 seconds, then speeded up the action by about 60 times. This will allow you to see things going on that seemed to take forever in real time. For example, watch the water: in real time you really couldn’t see it go up or down in the locks, but it the timelapse, it is dramatic. I mixed some real time video in with the timelapse so you can see some of the events and sounds.

The trip was part of the Zegrahm Expedition’s Rainforests and Reefs trip. Included some fascinating visits to Mayan ruins and visits to current day Panamanian indians, along with many other things. We will post some more pictures eventually.

Fishing with Bison

Fri, 3 Oct 2008 13:36:15 -0600

Fishing in Yellowstone National Park can be really special. One of our favorite places is on Soda Butte Creek in the Northeast corner of the park. The fishing can be spectacular, also sometimes, challenging. In late August and September a new twist gets added when the bison start their rut. At that time the bison can go nuts and can be just plain dangerous if you are not careful. Here is a short video of our experience this year with the bison and fishing Soda Butte
Watch Video

Visit to Antarctica to see the Emperor Penguins

Thu, 29 May 2008 09:00:00 -0600

In November of 2006 we boarded an ice breaker and headed South to Antarctica to see the largest of all the penguins - the Emperor Penguin. After a year and a half the video of the trip is complete. You can watch the trailer here.

Baja Whales and Copper Canyon

Mon, 7 Jan 2008 22:00:00 -0700

In January of 2008 we travelled to Baja to see whales, and on the mainland traveled to Copper Canyon, Mexico's version of the our Grand Canyon.

We travelled on Lindblad's National Geographic Sea Lion to see the whales on both the Pacific side and in the Gulf of California, also know as The Sea of Cortez. We saw Gray whales on the Pacific side, Humpback whales at the end of Baja, and in the Gulf, Sperm whales, Blue whales, and Pilot whales. Blue whales are the largest whale and along with Sperm whales apparently an unusual sighting, so we were extremely lucky to see both species.

We were a little disappointed in the Gray whales. Magdalena Baja on the Pacific side is supposed to get over a thousand Gray whales, all coming down to bear their calves. Well, apparently because of la niña, the whales were late in arriving. Consequently, we only saw about 3 Gray whales, but they were playful and we got multiple views of them from zodiacs including calfs "peri-scoping" which is when they put their head up in a partial breech, checking out the new world in which they have just arrived! At the other extreme we must have seen hundreds of Pilot whales, also unusual. These whales are all quite different - check out the pictures. A highlight was watching dolphins "bow ride" on our ship's waves - the most memorable, seeing it happen at night under a full moon.

Did you know that there is a rattleless rattlesnake? It can only be found on a small island in the Gulf of California (an endemic species). Isla Santa Catalina is the only place that the rattleless rattle snake can be found. Apparently, it has lost the need to warn off predators over many years on this isolated island. And anyway, who needs to warn your prey? They are still poisonous!

East of Baja, but on the mainland in the Sierra Tarahumara, lies Copper Canyon. Copper Canyon looks surprisingly similar to the US's Grand Canyon. It is about the same depth, about as much area, and the dramatic terraced vistas and colored rocks looks very similar to the Grand Canyon. It is a little greener than the Grand Canyon, but the similarity is striking - particularly to the north rim which we visited last summer. It is especially interesting considering that they are so different: The Grand Canyon is made up of sedimentary rock that has eroded, and the Copper Canyon is made of volcanic rock- ash and lava flow.

An added plus is the train ride from the gulf up to the ridge. The only way to get to the top of the Copper Canyon from the West, is to take the railroad. The train winds it's way to almost 8000 feet through 86 tunnels, including one that turns completely 180 degrees around inside the tunnel! We think that the train ride to the top is worth the trip all by itself.

Check out our pictures.

Cuba- The land where time stopped

Fri, 26 Oct 2007 12:05:49 -0600

In the Fall of 2007 we went on a humanitarian visit to Cuba.
Time seems to have almost stopped in 1959 in this tropical paradise. In Cuba, almost everything is about the Revolution and “the Revolution” is used not just to describe the over through of the Batista government in 1959, but the whole continuing process of social change. New private ownership stopped in 1959, so the only private vehicle are the ones owned before 1959. The elegant houses are all pre-1959 and they are owned and occupied either by the original families or the Cuban government. There is no market for houses or cars. All the rest of the cars you see are owned by the Cuban government. The Cuban government has built housing for people- the “project” style concrete multi-story boxes.

Cuba’s economy is complicated. The government wants to operate as a socialist/communist state. Much of most peoples “income” is in the form of goods and service provided by the state. The wrinkle is that Cuba has not developed a lot of its resources so it needs real cash to import goods, like gasoline. That was not too much of a problem until the Soviet Union ceased to exist and stopped the substances in cash and goods. The Cuban government is now partnering with outside companies to build hotels and industries, especially ones that can bring in outside cash.

Inspite of the economic difficulties, from the outsider’s view, the Cuban people appear happy and well feed. They have a beautiful tropical country with a rich Spanish heritage. Many of the older buildings reflect the beauty of this influence.

Pictures coming soon!

Alaska 2007

Tue, 24 Jul 2007 11:22:17 -0600

This was the second Summer in a row that we traveled to Alaska. This year we had three objectives: Grizzlies feeding at the falls, Alaska’s Inside Passage, and Denali.

Brook’s Falls, in Southwestern Alaska, is reported to be one of only two places in Alaska that you can see grizzly bears catching salmon as they try to jump the falls. In July, the bears and people converge on Brooks Falls to watch the feasting up close. The bears are as close as 20 to 30 feet, so lots of chances for great pictures.

Alaska’s inside passage is a combination of glaciers, rain forests, and waters rich in sea live. As the glaciers slowly move down their valleys the ice breaks off the face or “calves”. Both the sound and the size of these huge pieces of ice breaking off is mesmerizing. The fish bring the whales - the most amazing sight we have seen is to watch the humpback whales “bubble feed”. OK, I had never heard of this before either. This is what happens: A group of humpback whales collectively hunt for fish. They do this by making a ring of bubbles, then all together, they swim up through the column with their mouthes wide open, scooping up the fish. They then come flying out of the water at the end. Check out the pictures. The pink is the inside of the whale mouth.

The highest mountain in the US is Mt McKinley in Denali National Park. We were there many years ago and never got to see the mountain because it was clouded in. This year we started with rain and they everything cleared up. We saw the mountain in all its glory. We also saw Dall Sheep, moose, and grizzly bears - usually at a long distance.
Pictures Coming Soon!

Yellowstone 2007

Wed, 20 Jun 2007 12:41:01 -0600

There are amazing sights in and around Montana. This year was another spectacular year of fishing, animal watching, waiting for geysers to erupt, and general sight seeing. The added twist this year was that we stayed into the fall. In the fall you get to see, and hear, the elk and bison rutting.
See the pictures here.

US Southwest

Fri, 1 Jun 2007 11:11:05 -0600

The United States has a unique and beautiful area - the Southwestern US. In the early Summer of 2007 we travelled around New Mexico, Arizona, and Utah. We saw the Indian villages of Canyon de Chelly, the slot canyons (above), the somewhat less visited North rim of the Grand Canyon, and the wind carved landscape of Southern Utah. All this leads to some spectacular pictures.
We also got to spend some extra time with some traveling friends when our transmission died in Albuquerque.
Check out the pictures and the slideshow.

Southeast Asia

Thu, 1 Feb 2007 17:28:52 -0700

In early 2007 we traveled around India, and through Myanmar, Laos, and Cambodia. In India, we started in the North and saw Delhi, and the Taj Mahal. We then boarded a ship and sailed all around India, ending in Calcutta. Myanmar, which used to be called Burma was a spectacular gem. Unfortunately, after we left, the monks rebelled against the military government, so the play is now a bit dangerous.
Cambodia is the home to the spectacular Angkor Wat complex. The Khmer Empire used to rule a major part of Southeast Asia.
Take a look at some of the spectacular sights.
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