On a safari side trip to donate some mosquito nets to a local village outside of South Luangwa National Park in Zambia, we came across something that was unexpected.
Lined up in rows and piles beside the road, and guarded by a small group of soldiers, were Hippo skulls, bones and tusks.
Skulls and bones from Culled Hippos near South Luangwa National Park
Going on safari in Africa, you envision wild mammals running around, playing out the eternal battle of predator and prey.
That is the case for the most part, but even in Africa fragmented habitats create situations where populations of certain species can get out of control. One such place is South Luangwa National Park in Zambia.
Piles of Hippopotamus bones near South Luangwa National Park
Overall, I found this park more impressive for wildlife viewing than the Serengeti. There were Hippos everywhere! As well as plenty of Giraffes, Elephants, Zebras, Warthogs and other animals.
Apparently the Hippopotamus population in South Luangwa is extremely healthy, to the point that authorities regulate a controlled cull of the animals to keep their populations in check.
Hundreds of Hippos are killed during these culls. When we arrived, these dried out skulls had obviously been around for some time, but it is hard to imagine what kind of operation it takes to cull these wild and dangerous animals.
Hippo Ivory and Skulls outside South Luangwa National Park in Zambia
We were told that the hippo meat is given to poor villages around the park and perhaps some butcher shops (although how they refrigerate and keep all that meat clean is a mystery to me). Other items are sold, with funds going to ZAWA (Zambia Wildlife Authority) towards the protection of the country’s parks.
What I didn’t know before seeing these skulls and bones lying around was that Hippo tusks, those big sharp teeth of theirs, are made of ivory.
One of the many South Luangwa Hippos that wasn't culled in Zambia
While Elephant ivory gets all the attention in the media, due to poaching, Hippo ivory is the second most common source of ivory in the world. You can see some Hippo tusks have been set aside in these photos.
It isn’t hard to come up with an excuse to take off on a road trip, even if it is just a short overnight adventure.
My road trips tend to focus on things I enjoy, like hiking, camping and nature. I also like baseball, so the idea of taking off to Cleveland, Detroit or Pittsburgh for a weekend drive from Toronto is pretty common.
Sometimes a short road trip has a way of turning into a big one though. After I convinced a buddy to come along, the baseball weekend trip turned into a week-long 3000 km / 2000 mile adventure! And so, the week-long Great American Baseball Road Trip began…
Bridge to USA - Let the Baseball Road Trip Begin!
We had it planned perfectly to catch 7 baseball games in 7 different parks over 8 days.
Seriously proud of our logistics, the excitement of the road trip had us buzzing as we left Toronto at 3am for the 10 hour drive to Boston.
About those logistics – seeing so many games in so few days ins’t easy. The biggest tip on getting the most out of a baseball road trip? Start your trip on a Monday or Thursday. Those are commonly ‘getaway’ days you can squeeze in an extra afternoon game, or catch an extra team at their first / last home game instead of chasing them half way across the US.
Baseball Road Trip Stop 1: Boston
Fenway Park in Boston
Fenway Park! As baseball fans, seeing a game in Boston is a dream. We snagged some crappy ‘standing room only’ tickets and had fun walking around the park, staring at the Green Monster and watching our team, the Toronto Blue Jays, beat the Boston Red Sox!
We kept our cheering to a minimum though, as there were some unfriendly looking locals surrounding us. As fun as that was, the time outside of the park was even better. Walking along Yawkey Way and taking in the street party scene before the game was a real treat. Today, Fenway Park remains my favourite MLB park to visit.
Baseball Road Trip Stop 2: New York City
New York City - Near Times Square
Since we had two nights here, long enough to catch a Yankees and Mets game, we decided to stay at a hole-in-the-wall hotel just off Broadway and close to Times Square.
Unless they’re playing each other in inter-league play, having both the Mets and Yankees at home on the same weekend is pretty rare, so we were excited. But, the allure of the bright lights of the Big Apple got the best of us and our 7 games in 8 days turned into 6 games in 8 days + a David Letterman Show.
The ubiquitous guy on the street offered us tickets to a Letterman taping. The catch was we’d have to miss our Yankees game. My buddy was a huge Letterman fan, so the decision was made. It was a fun show, lots of laughs…and it also let us enjoy more eating and drinking time in Manhattan!
The Mets game the next day was a real treat too, a perfect sunny summer day, seemingly created for drinking beers and watching baseball. After our two days in NYC, we were off to the city of not-so-brotherly love.
Road Trip Stop 3: Philadelphia
Driving to Downtown Philly
Let’s get the hell out of here! That was our unanimous feeling about Philadelphia. Sorry Philly fans, but your city definitely wins the worst baseball road trip experience award.
Things were all good getting to Philadelphia, but once we got off the freeway and headed downtown, there was a creepy vibe. Maybe it was the guy who tried to get into our car while we were driving? Or the other one who yelled obscenities at us for no known reason when we stopped at a red light.
We didn’t even feel welcomed at the gas station, which conveniently featured bullet-proof glass windows for the safety of their workers.
As for the baseball game, we had atrocious nose-bleed seats. The only decent thing was we could say we had a Philly cheese steak sandwich.
Without a hotel booked, we shuddered at the thought of leaving the safety of the ballpark at night, Philadelphia was scary enough during the day! So we decided to pull an all-night drive to Pittsburgh!
A late-night fast-food stop kept us awake long enough to roll into Pittsburgh just in time for sunrise.
Road Trip Stop 4: Pittsburgh
PNC Park in Pittsburgh - Home of the Pirates
Talk about night and day. As much as Philly sucked, Pittsburgh rocked. First, the random hotel we ended up at let us check-in at 8am. Nap time!
A few hours later we were drinking beers at the hotel bar, thinking about what to eat. We wanted steak and the kind bartender told us about the Outback Steakhouse at PNC Park. Sold! With that, we performed some more ticket trickery by watching the start of the game from the Outback Steakhouse located in left field.
Afterwards we had free reign to wander around the ball park. If Fenway was a favourite for nostalgia, then PNC Park quickly became a favourite for location and setting. With a river in the background and sun setting off of downtown Pittsburgh and the Roberto Clemente Bridge, it was a perfect night of baseball. The scary memories of Philadelphia quickly faded away.
Roberto Clemente Bridge in Pittsburgh
We loved Pittsburgh so much, that we shut the city down. Literally closing two bars and having to walk to our hotel as taxis seemed to be non-existent late at night.
Road Trip Stop 5: Cincinnatti
The festivities of the night before meant next to no time in Cincy. We arrived just in time to catch a game and drive to Colombus for the night.
It was really just a blur of a day, but as neither of us could think of any other reason to ever return to Cincinnati, we went anyway.
Road Trip Stop 6: Cleveland
Progressive Field in Cleveland - Home to the Indians
It was a busy weekend in Cleveland, which caught us off guard. We arrived early, but every hotel we checked was booked solid. Crap.
That gave us some time to explore the city and get to the ball park right when gates opened. Progressive Field had a nice, natural feel to it, with a great beer garden in the outfield and good variety of food options scattered around.
It was quite a contrast to the cramped confines and concourse areas at Fenway Park! Spacious and bright, we didn’t care that the Indians were playing horrible at the time, as we actually enjoyed the ball park itself.
As our last game of the road trip came to a close we had to decide what to do next. Keep trying to find an overpriced room in Cleveland or drive on to somewhere else?
We drove on, to some rural area in Ohio. A random town with two motels and a restaurant/bar. All we needed!
Celebrating our road trip with pitchers of beer and pounds of wings, we both agreed we’d have to do another baseball road trip one day – to the west coast.
Why are so many dinosaur experiences lame? When I think of dinosaurs I think of cheesy mini-putt golf course attractions and inflatable pool toys. Massive skeletons in museums with informative, but often boring, labels come to mind too.
Holy Smokes! It's a Freaking Dinosaur!
Come on, these are dinosaurs, make it cool! Which brings me to Bolivia…
Huh? Yes, Bolivia is the first place that had me excited about dinosaurs since I was a little kid on the original Universe of Energy ride at EPCOT in Walt Disney World.
The Entrance to Parque Cretacico near Sucre, Bolivia
Bolivia made it fun at their Parque Cretácico. Plenty of well crafted, colourful dinosaur exhibits are scattered around the park, offering just enough of a interactive and educational mix. Certain dinosaurs are shown in water, others are amongst trees. There are cute turtle-looking dinosaurs, massive lizards (but small for dinosaurs) and scary, sharp-toothed dinosaurs.
Run Dino run...errrrrmmm, no chance - he's a goner. Rawr!
It’s a simple, but well-maintained and manicured park on the outskirts of Sucre, which you can visit by taking a ride on the Dino Truck. The big draw here has historically been tracks of real dinosaur footprints, which can be seen in some rocks. While you once could get closer to them, they’re now smartly protected and must be viewed from a distance.
I spy with my little eye...two sets of Dinosaur tracks at Parque Cretacico. Do you see them both?
The park isn’t huge, but somehow the outdoor environment makes it all come alive, especially with some convincing sound recordings blasting out of various speakers. They do have a museum aspect too, if you need to brush up on your dino-skeleton knowledge. What I enjoyed most about the park was that they managed to keep it fun.
This one looks friendly. Go ahead - pet him, I'll take the photo! Dino Park near Sucre, Bolivia
I was also happy that the kids growing up around Sucre in Bolivia have such a quality park to visit and learn a little but about the creatures that once roamed their country many many millions of years ago.
Come on in - the water is fine! Swimming Dinosaur at Parque Cretacico near Sucre
An icon of the American West, Buffalo Bill was born on this day 166 years ago. Amazingly, I came across Buffalo Bill not once, but twice, on my road trip through Wyoming.
Both encounters were by accident too, they were unplanned surprises that presented themselves while on my way to the first National Park in the world – Yellowstone.
Tepee outside the Buffalo Bill Historical Centre
Buffalo Bill Historical Centre
After 20 hours of travel, including a 9 hour drive, my late night arrival in Cody, Wyoming had me wanting to get a good night’s sleep. My rustic cabin was the perfect place to re-energize for the start of my road trip…next stop Yellowstone National Park!
My Cozy Wood Cabin in Cody, Wyoming
But wait, as I’m driving through the Wild West-esque downtown of Cody, I pass a Rodeo, then I see a stream of people heading towards some new, modern looking building. What could it be?
Turns out it was the Buffalo Bill Historical Centre.
Unable to resist, I stop and wander around the outdoor grounds of the centre, before wandering in to get some Buffalo Bill education.
Statue of Buffalo Bill outside the Buffalo Bill Historical Centre
What a cool place. The American West was on display here, not just the story of Buffalo Bill, but Indian art and artefacts, as well as old firearms. It wasn’t until I pieced together Buffalo Bill’s real name, William Cody, that it sunk in as to why his name was plastered all over the town.
Learning about how he got his nickname by killing more than 4000 Buffalo (Bison) was one of those bitter-sweet moments. An impressive feat for sure, but a reminder of the unsustainable practices that almost led to the demise of the American Bison population. To his credit, Buffalo Bill wasn’t killing them just for fun, it was his job, as the meat was an important source of protein for railway workers back then.
Another Statue outside the Buffalo Bill Historical Centre in Cody, Wyoming
As a Canadian I really never knew much about Buffalo Bill. I knew the name, I knew that he fought American Indians while in the Army and that he brought stage shows to Europe later on in life. He was a famous figure, but I never knew his whole story, so visiting the Historical Centre was a real treat as it gave me an extra appreciation of what life was really like back in the late 1800’s.
Oddly, what impressed me most was the statues outside of the Buffalo Bill Historical Centre, maybe because in the natural surroundings it helped me visualize the American West as it once was.
I got back on the road after exploring the Centre for an hour or so…thinking I would leave Buffalo Bill behind as I headed to Yellowstone. But I was wrong!
Buffalo Bill Dam near Cody, Wyoming
Buffalo Bill Dam
I hadn’t been driving long and was just getting into the winding mountain scenery when I came across another unexpected attraction – a big dam.
With thundering water flowing over the edge of the controlled damn, bordered by steep cliffs on each side, I was anxious to check it out and get some photos.
Surging Water at Buffalo Bill Dam
Originally called Shoshone Dam, the Buffalo Bill Dam was completed in 1910 – such a feat was an impressive one at the time. Back then, it was one of the highest dams in the world!
After that double-dose of Buffalo Bill I felt that I had been approved, or at least deemed worthy, of exploring the American West. I was finally free to venture onto Yellowstone National Park and see some of the Bison that were lucky enough to never cross paths with Buffalo Bill.
While hiking along a trail in Torrey Pines State Reserve I crossed paths with a lady who hikes in the reserve every day.
She was a little surprised to see me there when I told here I was from Canada. Curious as to how I found the reserve, I told her that when I travel I tend to check maps and look for nearby “green” areas. So on my trip to San Diego I added Torrey Pines to my must-visit list after seeing it on google maps.
View of the Pacific Ocean at Torrey Pines State Reserve
That’s one reason why I travel – to see and experience nature different than what I can enjoy at home. I don’t really mind if I miss the newest, trendiest restaurant or bar in the city. Sure, I love trying great food, but I can eat great food in Toronto, I can’t hike amongst Torrey Pine Trees at home though!
It was a sunny San Diego day in January, the temperatures were set to reach 20C. What a great place, which is actually named for the Torrey Pine Tree, which is an endangered species only in this reserve and on some nearby islands. They provided some great contrast to the dry desert ground, especially with the crashing waves of the Pacific in the distance.
A Torrey Pine Tree in Torrey Pines State Reserve
Wanting to get to the beach at Torrey Pines, I took the Broken Hill Trail route on the way down and Beach Trail on the way back, creating a nice 2 mile circuit trail. The trails are largely well groomed and marked, not rugged at all. Unless yo’re jogging the trails it is more about the scenery than the exercise on these trails.
Beach Trail at Torrey Pines State Reserve
Winding through some hilly shrub lands, scattered with the occasional pine tree, it was a popular hike that seemed mostly frequented by locals out for a jog. Despite numerous rattlesnake sign warnings…no wildlife was spotted.
Rattlesnake Warning Sign at Torrey Pines
At the beach, it was a big staircase down to the welcoming Pacific waters. I headed south towards a spot known as flat rock, which was once used as a bathing pool by Native Americans. Most people who head to the beach stop at the seaside cliffs beside flat rock, but if you do a bit of climbing and venture around the cliff wall, an entire beach can be all yours! I spent an hour on this other side, enjoying my own personal beach. I also had to show that I was Canadian by getting wet in the water…nobody else was swimming or even getting their feet wet.
The Beach Access Stairs at Torrey Pines State Reserve
To me, the water wasn’t that cold, it was like any lake back home in early summer. So I waded in almost waist deep to get some photos and walk along the shoreline.
Walking in the Calm Pacific Ocean at Torrey Pines
It was a really enjoyable hike and I could understand why that lady hiked here every day. She said the colour of the ocean changes every day, so her daily hike was always different. I highly recommend taking a trip to Torrey Pines beach if you’re looking for some nearby nature while in San Diego.
