Amateur Traveler Video | travel for the love of it

Mesa Verede National Park is both a national park and a UNESCO World Heritage Site. It preserves and interprets a large collection of ruins left by Ancestral Puebloans. The sites was occupied from 450-1300 A.D. The cliff dwellings that we know it for were only built in the last 100 years of that time period. This video shows a tour of Cliff Palace.

For more information read https://amateurtraveler.com/denver-to-mesa-verde-and-durango/

The Springs Resort in Pagosa Springs Colorado sits on a an active geothermal area with the deepest host springs in the world. This video shows the hot springs at the resort and then also shows nearby Chimney Rock National Monument which are ruins left by the Ancestral Puebloans on top of a mountain.

Fr more information read: https://amateurtraveler.com/denver-to-mesa-verde-and-durango/

This video shows a visit to the Safari West Wildlife Preserve which is located on 400 acres in the hills above Santa Rosa, California in the middle of the Sonoma wine country. The park has a large collection of animals, especially African herd animals, giraffes and rhinos.

See more about my trip to Santa Rosa including the Charles M. Schulz Museum, restaurants, and wineries at http://usa.amateurtraveler.com/visit-santa-rosa-california/

I recently visited Space Camp in Huntsville, Alabama. We rode the 1/6 Gravity Simulator where you bound along the surface of "the moon". The Multi-Axis Trainer spins you in 3 different ways at once, but didn't make anyone in our group sick, although you might think it would. Space Camp runs programs for kids, adults, and families.

See my entire article on Huntsville - The Rocket City

As part of the 2014 Ford Trends Conference, I was able to visit the Ford Design Center in Dearborn Michigan. What what Ford does to test their track designs with robots and test fixtures. ALso see how Ford let's designers try and be a drunk... without drinking, or feel what it is like to have parkinson's disease. See how they can visualize what a car will look like long before it rolls off the assembly line.

The Mophie Juice Pack is a case that both protects your iPhone and also more than doubles the battery live of your phone. You can still use your camera. It does change the external port on your iPhone to be a standard USB port.

* Rechargeable 2100mAh lithium ion polymer battery and protective case in one.

* Talk Time Up to additional 10 hours on 3G, internet Use Up to additional 10 hours on 3G, up to additional 10 hours on LTE, up to additional 12 hours on Wi-Fi, audio Playback Up to 50 hours and Video Playback Up to 12 hours

Buy Mophie Juice Pack Plus Case for iPhone 5s/5 - Red http://bit.ly/juicepack

FreedomPop is an interesting solution for a Portable Internet Wi-Fi Router. If you need the internet outside of your home and office you can buy a FreedomPop router and then get 500Mb of free internet per month. If you need more than 500Mb then you can buy plans for only $17.99 per month (2Gb). Than plan is currently selling for half that on a special.

The FreedomPop uses the Sprint cell system so it will work better in regions with good Sprint coverage.

Buy a Freedom Spot Photon 4G Mobile Hotspot (Platinum) http://freedompop.7eer.net/c/93069/72977/1792

Visit Sonoma Canopy Tours with the Amateur Traveler. This video shows ziplining in the California Wine Country among the redwoods and fir trees. The Russian River area has had numerous camps for years and many of them have had a difficult time making ends meet in recent years but one clever camp set up a wonderful zipline course. My wife had visited Sonoma Canopy Tours last year with some girlfriends and gave this trip to me for Christmas. The course includes 8 ziplines, 2 rope bridges and rappelling down from a redwood tree.

Visit Maui with the Amateur Traveler: This video shows the winding road to Hana on the North Eastern shore of Maui with its cliffs, streams and waterfalls. In addition it shows two lava tube experiences. In Wai‘anapanapa State Park just outside of Maui you can swim in a lava tube that is now filled with fresh water. At Ka`Eleku Caverns you can hike a quarter of a mile into a lava tube towards the volcano along an interpretive trail.

Visit the island of Crete with the Amateur Traveler: This video shows the archeological site of Knossos (often called the Palace of Knossos) which was the home of the Minotaur if you believe early Greek authors (which you shouldn't because the minotaur was the name of the double headed ax used by the Minoans). The Minoans civilization is the oldest bronze age civilization in Europe and ruled this part of the world until the eruption of the volcano at Crete sent a tidal wave that sunk their mighty flight. This left them vulnerable to the Mycenaean civilization.

Also visit the beautiful coastal town of Rethymno. Once ruled by the Venetians and later the Turks it is now dominated by a cafe culture and the dreaded kamaki.

Visit London with the Amateur Traveler: This video shows some of the pageantry of London both current and historic as we ran into a ceremony at Saint Paul's cathedral, visited the New Globe theater, stopped by the palace at Greenwich, saw the theater district round Leicester Square, ran into a photo shoot with a number of models and even had a surprise celebrity encounter as we ran into the film crew for "Last Chance Harvey".

Visit Santorini, Greece with the Amateur Traveler: This is the 3rd of 3 videos on the island and it shows video from a boat tour to the volcano in the center Santorini. The crescent shaped island is the caldera of a volcano and all that remains of an eruption 3600 years ago that probably caused the downfall of the Minoan civilization when a tidal wave from sunk the Minoan fleet and left them vulnerable to invasion.

Visit Santorini (Thira) with the Amateur Traveler: This video shows arriving in Santorini on a ferry, the view from the lighthouse on the southern tip of the crescent shaped island, the town of Pyrgos and finally the main city of Fira. Santorini is a spectacular destination as its towns cling to along the cliffs of the rim of a dormant volcano. Santorini is a popular stop for cruise ships and it is common in the Summer to see 7 or so ships in the waters off the islands. The most popular excursion for cruise travelers is the town of Fira.

Visit Athens with the Amateur Traveler: This video shows the ruins of the ancient Agora which was the marketplace which is now surrounded by the picturesque neighborhoods of Plaka and Monastiraki. Monastiraki hosts the Athens flea market and the Plaka has colorful shops and cafes. Above this area is the Acropolis with its best known temple the Parthenon. The Acropolis ("highest city" in Greek) has been probably been inhabited since paleolithic times, or at least since the age of Mycenae.

Visit The London Eye (also known as the Millennium Wheel) with the Amateur Traveler: This video shows a view of and from the London Eye as well as a few of the sites near the London Eye like the Parliamentary Clock Tower (Big Ben) and the statue to Queen Bodica. London eye tickets start at 17 pounds for adults but offer a good view of Westminster, the Themes and that general area. At 443 ft, the London Eye is the largest ferris wheel in Europe (The world's tallest Ferris wheel is in Singapore - the Singapore Flyer). The London Eye revolves once each half hour so you get a slow leisurely view.

Visit the region nearby Oaxaca Mexico with the Amateur Traveler. When I was in Oaxaca I met Felipe Hernandez in the zocalo (main square). Felipe is a 4th generation weaver who has rejected the modern commercial dyes and practices and gone back to traditional zapotec methods and materials. His family speaks Zapotec at home which means that they may have lived in the Oaxaca area for around 2500 years. Felipe volunteered to be my tour guide and took me to see some of the sites including the Zapotec ruin at Mitla. Then we went to Felipe’s house and he and his family showed me the weaving business.

This video will come out in two parts. This second part shows the weaving process, finishes dying the wool from part 1 and shows finished rugs.

Visit the region nearby Oaxaca Mexico with the Amateur Traveler. When I was in Oaxaca I met Felipe Hernandez in the zocalo (main square). Felipe is a 4th generation weaver who has rejected the modern commercial dyes and practices and gone back to traditional zapotec methods and materials. His family speaks Zapotec at home which means that they may have lived in the Oaxaca area for around 2500 years. Felipe volunteered to be my tour guide and took me to see the big tree, the Zapotec ruin at Mitla and the Sunday craft market at Tlacolula. Then we went to Felipe's house and he and his family showed me the weaving business.

This video will come out in two parts. This first part briefly shows me the tour and then shows how to make a red dye out of insects (the cochineal) and how to cart, spin and clean the wool.

Visit San Francisco's Embarcadero with the Amateur Traveler: This video shows the ferry building at San Francisco's embarcadero. The ferry building was built in 1898 and survived the 1906 earthquake. In the early 1900s the pedestrian plaza outside of the ferry building was one of the busiest pedestrian areas in the world but the opening of the bay bridge caused the area to fall into disuse. The embaradero freeway cut off this area from downtown which increased its isolation. After the 1989 Loma Prieda earthquake the embaradero freeway was condemned and torn down. Since then the area has been rejuvenated. Now it is the home for restaurants and high end food stores and hosts a farmers market and arts and crafts fair.

Visit the Marin Headlands just the other side of the Golden Gate bridge from San Francisco with the Amateur Traveler. The Marin Headlands area is part of the larger Golden Gate National Recreation Area which is part of the National Park System. From the Marin headlands you can get great views of the Golden Gate bridge. This video also shows the Point Bonita Lighthouse and Fort Cronkhite which was part of a series of forts built to protect San Francisco during world war II.