This video that I spotted at Tripso.com made me smile.

Popularity: 14% [?]

Not all national parks and monuments in the USA get the same amount of love from tourists. So while the Great Smokey Mountains will get more than 9 million visitors a year Aniakchak National Monument will get more like 60 visitors. That is not because Aniakchak is uninteresting, it is just very remote.

Given its remote location and notoriously bad weather, Aniakchak is one of the least visited units of the National Park System. A vibrant reminder of Alaska’s location in the volcanically active “Ring of Fire,” the monument is home to an impressive six-mile wide, 2,500 ft. deep caldera formed during a massive eruption 3,500 years ago.

So that makes Aniakchak one of the greatest sites in the national park system that you will likely never see.

Popularity: 15% [?]

This may not be an obvious picture of London, but it is. One of the reasons I like this picture is that I am the photographer in the family and I can come back from a trip with no pictures of myself, at least no candid pictures. This picture, taken by a friend, is what I must look like to the rest of the world as I look at it through my camera.

I read an article recently, I think in Budget Travel magazine, about a couple that had the same kind of problem. They would come home from a trip or a cruise and only have pictures of their friends who went wth them. They took the unique approach of swapping cameras with their friends in the morning so that they ended up with pictures of themselves at the end of the trip. Those of us who shoot digital may solve the same problem by passing around CDs or DVDs with pictures at the end of the trip.

What do you do? Hand your camera to strangers?

Popularity: 18% [?]

If you have seen a photo of the slot canyons in Arizona you have probably seen a picture of Antelope Canyon. If you have listened to the Amateur Traveler podcast for any length of time you have also heard me talk about Antelope Canyon. If you have a camera and like to take pictures than this “canyon” should be on your list of places to go.

You will need a camera that works in lower light and for best results you will want a tripod or better yet a monopod as space is tight. I would recommend going to the lower canyon when it first opens in the morning and then crossing the road to visit the upper canyon at noon. The light playing on the curved sandstone shapes is one of the most beautiful sites I have seen. If you can’t take a good picture of Antelope canyon then it is time to sell your camera and start buying postcards.

When I call this a canyon you may get the wrong picture in your mind as this is a slot canyon. The lower canyon is a crack in the ground that you climb down into on ladders. This is not a good place to be in the case of rain as flash flooding is a danger. The upper cannon gets many more visitors. Both the upper and lower canyons (across the road from one another) are national parks but they are national parks of the Navajo nation.

Popularity: 18% [?]

The Germans choose modesty over security.

Germany rejects full-body scanners at airports

Germany says it will not introduce much-criticized new full-body scanners at its airports even if their use is approved by the European Union. Interior Ministry spokesman Gabriele Hermani said on Friday that “we won’t join in with this nonsense.” The scanners — which produce an outline of passengers’ bodies beneath their clothes — have been tested at airports in Britain and the Netherlands but are opposed in much of Europe.

Add 27 more places to see to your list.

UNESCO adds 27 new sites World Heritage List

UNESCO’s World Heritage Committee added a whopping 27 new sites to its World Heritage List at its 32nd session this week, including French fortifications, a Hindu temple and a butterfly biosphere.

Nineteen cultural sites and eight natural sites were inscribed, said the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization panel, meeting in this oldest of Canadian cities.
The total number of World Heritage sites now reaches 878 sites in 145 countries, it said.

As many Americans plan for their next vacation they are packing their hiking boots rather than their dancing shoes.

TripAdvisor Releases Travel Trends for 2009

TripAdvisor®, the world’s largest travel community, has announced the results of its annual travel trends survey of more than 3,000 U.S. travelers. The primary trends identified are that travelers appear to be going lean and green by visiting national parks, hiking, and engaging in adventure activities. A greater amount of Americans said they will be environmentally conscious in their travel decisions in 2009, and more plan to visit eco-friendly hotels in the coming year.

Sand snatchers shrink Caribbean beaches

Ahh, the Caribbean. Sun, surf. But where’s the sand?

It is disappearing at alarming rates as thieves feed a local construction boom.

Caribbean round grains, favored in creating smooth surfaces for plastering and finishing, are being hauled away by the truckload late at night. On some islands not much bigger than Manhattan, towns and ecologically sensitive areas are now exposed to tidal surges and rough seas.

United Airlines offers door-to-door luggage delivery

United Airlines, which will soon raise checked-bag fees, is giving customers a pricier but convenient alternative: getting their luggage delivered overnight from their home or a FedEx station to their destination. The service, available only within the 48 contiguous U.S. states, costs $149 per bag each way for flights under 1,000 miles and $179 for longer flights.

Popularity: 27% [?]