The Saga of Duncan's

 It all started with a 49 year old photo.

Ralph Ferrusi, my recently reacquainted hiking partner from the southern AT in 1974, sent me this picture.

That's Don, Benji, Laura, and me (from left to right) in front of Duncan's that before that day we knew as "G" that stands for grocery in the Mileage Fact Sheet from the ATC.

It was always a nice find to come across a gas station or small store at road crossings to get some snacks or extra food.  While limited offerings, I did buy "soda, ice milk & cigs (for) 97 cents."

So after getting the above pic, that I didn't have, I tried to find it today virtually since I wasn't going to drive to see it.  

Google Maps is good for that purpose and I have used it for many road crossings along the AT.  Even better is the option to use Google Streetview.  Here you can do a virtual drive down many roads, and for some areas go back in time.  For Duncan's the view in 2009 looks like this.

Then using Google Earth and historical imagery I found the same truck here in 2010

A more recent Streetview from 2021 is here.

While the imagery doesn't go back to the 1970s, it is still a thrill to see views that reignite my memories.

Lastly, here is the USGS topo from the era showing the route in 1974.

Shattered Dreams

Now that the Appalachian Trail is essentially closed, and many parks and protected areas are following suit, what is a hiker to do?


Backpacker Magazine has set up a virtual hike for the AT.

Outside Magazine shared this.

And of course, just go to YouTube and search for virtual hikes.

So for all those wanna' be 2000 milers, Olympians and other athletes and any one else whose dream has been temporarily postponed, there will be another day.

In the mean time, enjoy this picture.

Lastly about 20 years ago, I wrote a paper on Virtual Tourism for Tourism Geographies.

Virtual Tourism

Another great site to virtually tour a place.   Now that Panoramio is shut down, these other sites offer a chance to see the earth at ground level.  See also this button.

enjoy.

Shipwreck Tourism

Expecting five inches tomorrow, so time to virtually tour the Caribbean to warm up.

Seems you can call anything tourism.  Here are few of my photos of shipwrecks.

Rodney Bay, St. Lucia

Wreck north of Little Water Cay, TCI

Wreck NW of Pelican Beach, North Caicos, TCI

For more shipwrecks in the Caribbean click here.

Spiral Jetty

Read Heidi Julavits' piece titled "The Art at the End of the World" this weekend.  As typical when I learn about some new place, I check it out in Google Earth. This form of virtual tourism is always enhanced when I can "see" the landscape from above, and from the frequent ground images photographers offer for viewing.  There are also several 360 images that let you spin around and look at the land.

If you can't visit it in person at least check it out by searching "Spiral Jetty, Box Elder County, UT" in Google Earth.  Fascinating.

NY Times 360

Check out a really cool virtual reality link found at the New York Times. It changes everyday!

In fact view this news report from a Red State.

Virtual Tourism

It is now the time during my Travel and Tourism Planning course where the students plan a vacation trip following graduation.  I have them read this paper for starters since they will all be using the web to get flights, hotels and other information about their destination.

The citation for the paper is:

Bristow, R. S. (1999). Commentary: Virtual tourism—the ultimate ecotourism?. Tourism Geographies, 1(2), 219-225.

The assignment is this:

GARP0213             Travel and Tourism Planning                                                             Lab 5: Travel Itinerary

Principle:  The purpose of this lab is to learn how to plan an itinerary for a tourist vacation.  You are to prepare an itinerary for a two person vacation between (or within) 17 May and 31 May 2015 for the country you explored in Lab 4.  The travel dates must be adhered to and you will be flying coach.  You are to prepare two different costs; with at least a 20% difference.

Procedure:  Start your lab by describing the destination geographically.  That is, describe the human (e.g., social, economic, political etc.) and environmental (e.g., climate, terrain, vegetation etc.) characteristics of the region.  Base this information from the material from Lab 4 although you may wish to embellish on the previous work. A detailed map of the country will be needed for the details of the trip.  That is, if the trip is confined to the international airport city, that city’s map is needed, if you plan to visit areas in the country, a more regional map is needed.   Included in the adventure are to be the travel info to and from the airport and parking, flight information from Boston (BOS) or Bradley (BDL) (round trip airline flight numbers, cost and flight times), ground transportation (how are you going to getting around and not by hitchhiking), lodging (hotels, hostels, B&Bs, camping, etc.) and several specific destinations you plan to visit.  Plan your trip to visit at least two destinations. 

Also include information necessary in advance of the trip that is passport and/or visa requirements, medical interests and other related advance details.  Costs for a pair of travelers should be determined.  These costs must be broken down for air, transfers, lodging (no all-inclusive’s!), ground transport, food, admissions and incidentals.  While the total cost is needed, you must not use a package deal.  Comparison shop.  Orbitz may not provide the cost that American Airlines quotes.  Finally, offer some travel tips that TripAdvisor or VirtualTourist may suggest

Outcome: Arrange a 5-7 page portfolio as is you were a travel agent preparing this for a client.  Remember, you are to prepare two costs and that will mean the itinerary may change as well as lodging.  A comparison table will simplify this.

Assessment:  This lab is worth 50 points.   Presentation is all important here since you are trying to convince the client to purchase this tour from you. 

Virtual Tourism

After traveling to Belize to present a paper on human dimensions in recreation at the International Symposium on Society and Natural Resources, I thought about the experience of planning my trip using the internet.  Now, mind you, the internet was in the early stages of development, at least for the masses.  Academia had BITNET, ARPANET and other educational networks to ftp and otherwise communicate between computers, but the web was something new.

So I wrote the paper:  Bristow, Robert S. (1999) 'Commentary: Virtual tourism — the ultimate ecotourism?', Tourism Geographies, 1: 2, 219 — 225.  http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/14616689908721311

Abstract:  The advent of the Internet has become one of the most important events of the
twentieth century. On it we can access live weather reports, make travel reservations
and visit a foreign destination without leaving our computer. Surfing the
Net in anticipation of a trip is an important element of the total experience.
Although it is unlikely that a virtual field trip will replace the actual travel experience,
it may be the second best alternative. This paper explores some of the
potential elements of virtual ecotourism and cautions of the potential impact of
visitors exposed to a virtual visit.

3-D animations can be for virtual tourism

3-D animations have been around for nearly 20 years on the web.  Used for virtual tourism and other applications, I am sure you have seen good ones and some no so good.

Want to know how fast and what direction is best?

Check out this paper from the University of Southampton.

Virtual Tourism: Trek with Google Maps

Google continues to blow me away.  I know about street view, but now there is trail view.
See the link.

I wrote about how the Internet would create a virtual tourism experience and Google just raised the bar.

My paper, published in Tourism Geographies last century, can be found at http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/14616689908721311#.UgvAQrJlRcQ


Bristow, R. (1999). Commentary: Virtual tourism — the ultimate ecotourism?
Tourism Geographies,  Vol. 1, Iss. 2, pp. 219-225.

Virtual Tourism

What is your favorite site to visit prior to a trip? The Anticipation Phase of the Recreation Experience is important.

It provides a "virtual view" of the anticipated destination and someone may change their behavior based on what they discover. See some thoughts at this link.

Cool Virtual Tourism Site

check out the panoramic views available at http://www.360cities.net/

a great way to explore the world from your PC!

Yuu can almost smell the sulfur at http://www.360cities.net/map#lat=13.83083&lng=-61.05969&name=st-lucia-soufriere&zoom=14

(or look at my picture)

Virtual Tourism in Belize

ahhhhh,

Can you imagine a warm beach, friendly people, ancient ruins and fresh fresh fruits and veggies.

Anyone in the high latitudes is getting a hint at Spring today with mild temps melting away the snow. I love to go to the Caribbean or Central America every winter to break away, for at least a week or two.

So for those who can't get away, we have the Internet to thank to virtually visit any destination in the world.

See the paper written during the early years of the Internet:

Bristow, R. 1999. Virtual Tourism: The Ultimate Ecotourism. Tourism Geographies 1(2):219-25.