My Favorite Experiences – #13-16

My friend and I are just getting back from our trip around Japan and I am back at work now. Don’t have photos yet, so you get a continuation of My Favorite Experiences posts. In case you missed numbers 17-20, you can read about those experiences here.

Here are my top favorite experiences #13-16.

#16 - Longyearbyen, Norway & Thule, Greenland

My previous job, flight testing a new large commercial airplane for the last 2 years, provided many unique opportunities, especially travel. We worked long, intense, stressful hours, but on occasion, we got to go somewhere for remote testing that was pretty cool. Iceland, Japan, India, Yuma. Last year in September, we had been in Iceland for a little over a week for cross-wind testing and on our trip home, we made two “stops” that were very memorable.

The first was Longyearbyen, Norway. This small town on the Norwegian Archipelago of Svalbard is way above the arctic circle. Way, way above the arctic circle. 78 degrees north latitude to be precise, a mere 12 degrees latitude from the north pole. Longyearbyen has the highest north latitude public airport that our plane could land at for our specific test needs. We spent only 3 hours here, just enough to complete our testing and refuel, but it was a memorable 3 hours.

The whole town seemingly came out to the airport to meet us as we flew in and landed. Folks were lined up along the airport ramp, rooftops, and even the control tower of this tiny little airport to watch us land. And we were treated like rock stars once we departed the airplane; access all around the airport including pictures in the fire trucks and with the “famous” polar bear in the terminal.

Leaving Longyearbyen

And the folks in Longyearbyen were so nice and wonderfully welcoming. When we asked about a gift shop to pick up some souvenirs of our stop there (the tiny shop in the terminal was closed), they had someone go into town and bring back a bag of small souvenirs for us… for free. To this day, I treasure my little Longyearbyen magnet.

The 2nd “stop” wasn’t really a stop, more than a handful of approaches at the airport in Thule, Greenland. We were not allowed to land at the airport for some unknown reason (its a military base) so we made a handful of approaches down to 200 feet altitude for our testing purposes. What made this memorable was the ability to see Greenland. It was a crystal clear day in September and it was late afternoon by the time we arrived. Out the window of our airplane was the awesome sight of the coast of northern Greenland. Huge ice flows leading into an unfrozen Baffin Bay and hundreds of icebergs that had broken off into the water. And the land was this tree-less brown with wonderful texture as viewed from the air. The white ice, blue water, and brown land in the late afternoon sun made for some great photos, even if they were just taken from an airplane window. The two stops are probably the most unique place i have ever been and certainly the farthest north I have been.

The coast of Greenland near Thule

See more photos here.

#15 - Bungy Jumping

Yes, I have jumped off several perfectly good bridges. Twice in Nanaimo, Canada and once in New Zealand. Friends of mine say they would rather sky dive than bungy jump, but for some reason, I am the complete opposite. You can take sky diving. No thanks. Give me a bridge over water a large rubber band and let me jump away.

First up was a trip over to Vancouver Island with a bunch of friends in the fall of 1991, shortly after I moved out to Seattle. Bungy jumping was relatively new and the location in Nanaimo was great; a 140 foot bridge along a wooded, deep river. Bungy jumping is all about the anticipation; the minutes before you actually jump. Your heart pounds so hard as they secure the line to your feet. The fear and anxiety as you scoot your way to the side of the bridge. The inability to think or even breath as they count down; 3. 2. 1. BUNGY!

3-2-1 Bungy!

Seconds later, the jump is over and your swinging your way to a raft down in the river. But the exhilaration post jump more than makes up for all the nervousness and fear pre-jump. I was so pumped with adrenaline, I practically bounded up the hundred or more stairs back up to the bridge. And so crazy with happiness and glee that I paid for a 2nd bungy jump.

Upside down in NZ

A few years later on a trip to the south island of New Zealand, I had another opportunity to dungy jump. This time, it was a 340 foot bridge in some remote canyon near Queenstown. You’d think that after bungy jumping previously, you wouldn’t be as nervous. But staring down 340 feet into the tiny little river below, you realize this is a lot higher up than the measly 140 feet you bungy jumped last time. Queue rapid breathing and pounding heart beat. When I look back on the craziest things I have ever done, these jumps probably top the list.

More photos here

#14 - First Glimpse of Monument Valley

I love the American Southwest. I have traveled there countless times and love going back for camping, hiking and photographing. Zion, Bryce, Capitol Reef, Page, Moab, Escalante, Lake Powell, and the Wave…. these are all places I have been to multiple times and will go back to again in the future. There is just something about the colors and the uniqueness of all the rocks layers and formations there that keep me coming back.

I believe my love of the southwest started back in 1991 on a cross country trip with two friends in a little white Chevy Spectrum. I had just graduated college and was moving out to Seattle for my new job. Two of my best friends joined me on my cross country road trip to Seattle. We didn’t have a lot of time; 9 days to see as much as possible in a vast western US that has so much to offer. I had been out west before (my two friends had never been past the Mississippi), but there were still many places I had not seen so our list of places to go was long.

One day, driving from the 4-corners area to Moab, we detoured through the Monument Valley area on the Utah-Arizona border as the sun was setting. The tall buttes & mesas set against the sunset colors of blues, purples, and pinks was just magnificent. That scene just doesn’t exist back east in our hometowns of Dayton, Pittsburgh and Atlanta. We had time to make a few stops along the highway to soak in the views and take some photos of the extraordinary mesas and buttes as the sun set, but then we zoomed on up the road to Moab, wishing we had more time to explore Monument Valley and promising ourselves to come back here one day.

My First View of Monument Valley

I have gone back. Five times. But that first view of Monument Valley will always be etched in my mind. Nothing ever seems to compare to the awe and wonder the first time you see incredible sights.

A few more photos here

#13 – Private Snowmobiling in Yellowstone NP

Another place I love. Yellowstone National Park. I have been there in all four season. You can have summer; way to hot and crowded. Fall and Spring are great with thinning crowds and excellent animal viewing. But winter in Yellowstone was awesome!

We went there over Christmas in 2005 on a family vacation. We stayed at Mammoth a few days, driving down to Lamar Valley and taking a snow-coach tour into the Canyon area. Then we moved base to the Old Faithful area in the middle of the park and the one hotel that was open there in the winter. It was like having Yellowstone to yourself. I watched Old Faithful geyser erupt one early morning with only my mother and brother as company. It was like our own private show.

Later in the week we had reserved a private snow mobile tour. Since we reserved late, a private tour was our only option, but this was a blessing in disguise. Normal snow mobile tours in Yellowstone are 10 vehicles long cruising along slowly, sucking in the gas fumes from the snow mobile in front of you, and stopping only when the tour guide stops.

By ourselves in a wintery Yellowstone

Our private tour had so much more flexibility. We could design our own tour with our guide and with only 3 snow mobiles, we could spread out a bit. I was on the middle snow mobile with my neice, but at times, I could not see the guide in the front vehicle nor my brother and mother in the trailing snow-mobile. Again, it was as if we had Yellowstone to ourselves, stopping when we wanted to take a photo or just take in the tranquility of a quiet and snow covered Yellowstone. Plus, we got to crank up the speed near the end and see how fast those things could go.