Wrangell/St. Elias National Park, Alaska (photo © Nancy Hoyt Belcher)

“After years of feeling jealous when friends raved about their bear sightings in Alaska, I finally had my turn. And what a turn—not just a chance sighting where the bear is a speck on the horizon but frequent close-up encounters.

“When I reached the Anan Wildlife Observatory viewing shelter, a mother black bear was rubbing her shoulder against the trunk of a Sitka spruce less than 10 feet from the stairs to the platform while her cub peered down from an overhead branch.

“I waited until mom ambled away before I went up the stairs to the platform then peered straight down at the cascading falls of Anan Creek where three bears perching on boulders watched salmon leap up the river. Every so often, a paw would sweep swiftly into the water and bring up a meal.

“From early July to September, Anan Creek, an ancient Tlingit fishing site located on the northern shore of the Cleveland Peninsula, hosts the largest pink salmon run in southeast Alaska. The fish, in turn, host (so to speak) large concentrations of black bears and bald eagles, as well as some grizzlies. . .”

To read all of her tale where “it’s easy to get off the radar on Wrangell Island. Take the ferry–with your RV–and make port in a place where bears outnumber people,” click on Highways here.

Chang, who worked in hospitality, found the industry wasteful. This realization and his growing consciousness of the environment got him dreaming of a hotel that used the best practices and technology for sustainability. Gaia is that dream come true. The word Gaia means “mother nature.”

The hotel is the first in the world to receive Gold LEED certification. (LEED stands for Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design. There are four levels—basic, silver, gold and platinum. I don’t know if any place has achieved platinum.)

I found this description of LEED Certification on the U.S. Green Building Council:

LEED is an internationally recognized green building certification system, providing third-party verification that a building or community was designed and built using strategies aimed at improving performance across all the metrics that matter most: energy savings, water efficiency, CO2 emissions reduction, improved indoor environmental quality, and stewardship of resources and sensitivity to their impacts.

What’s cool are three monitors in Gaia’s lobby that track the hotel’s minute by minute consumption of water and electricity, and its emission of CO2.

Ben Bingman, the director of marketing, took us on a tour of Gaia’s sustainable practices. First off, the swans in the courtyard lagoon (in front of the pool) were hiding, apparently nesting and expecting little swans but not receiving visitors. The lagoon is its own ecosystem, using recycled water. Birds come and go; one troublesome heron actually gobbles up a fish now and then.

As we rambled along behind Ben, he told us Gaia’s long list of sustainable practices. Here are a couple I found interesting.

The sealants, adhesives and paints they use have low VOC. So here’s another Internet explanation for you, this time from RemodelQA:

VOCs stands for Volatile Organic Compounds. These photo-chemical compounds react in the air we breathe, creating ground level ozone (smog). VOCs may continue to react in the air we breathe for days, months and even years. These harmful gases are emitted by conventional paints, stains, solvents, and many more toxic substances. VOC related air pollution causes eye, nose, throat and skin irritations, leading to respiratory problems, headaches and/or nausea. Prolonged contact with VOCs can lead to liver and kidney cancers, as well as damage to the central nervous system (brain).

All bathrooms use recycled tiles and granite and the toilets offer up a one-gallon flush, but Ben showed us it’s a hearty flush; solar panels provide energy, and the lumber used is part of an international management of forests program. There are even grates at all building entrances that suck up dust particulates, keeping them from getting inside. These amazing Solatube Tubular skylights, which magnify the sun’s rays, light up the lobby, the conference rooms and most of the interior building during the day.

And the list goes on and on. But we chuckled when we saw the book Inconvenient Truth by Al Gore sitting like a Bible in every room. They appeared well read. Maybe Mr. Chang is gaining converts to his sustainable mission.

One great perk to Gaia is it the cost. Yes, it is 11 miles to downtown Napa, but its also miles cheaper to stay here, and the rooms are lovely. Typical rates off-season are $109 a night and on season $149. But then there are AAA and senior discounts as well as packages. Wine tours come to the hotel for pick up and, of course, there’s more.

– Sandy Sims
BATW Program Chair

Rancho Margot near the Arenal Volcano in Costa Rica (photo © Rancho Margot)

I’d done yoga in the open air pavilion alongside the rushing Caño Negro River, soaked in a hot pool with views of the heavily wooded slopes near Arenal Volcano, and tasted the food that is grown and raised almost entirely on this organic farm and ranch. I’d even seen the agouti—a forest mammal like a giant glossy guinea pig—at the wildlife rescue center.

But I hadn’t yet stuck my arm into a big pile of compost.

Frederic, the 20-year-old son of Rancho Margot founder Juan Sostheim, was going to make sure I didn’t miss out.

“You’re elbow-deep in shit,” he smiled. “What do you notice?”

Suppressing my wisecracks (“It’s like being at my job”), I said that it didn’t smell so bad, and oddly, there were no flies buzzing around. But most surprising, it was warm in there. The deeper you went, the hotter it got.

That heat, produced by the breakdown of waste and hay and other organic matter, would make possible my hot shower the next morning. And the lack of smell and flies? Frederic attributed it to the animals eating a balanced and organic diet.

Though you can go kayaking in Lake Arenal, horseback riding up to a lookout near the volcano, rent mountain bikes, or just chill out in your bungalow’s hammock, it’s during the hour-and-a-half farm tour that you really come to appreciate the grand experiment in sustainability that is Rancho Margot.

You can’t walk the ranch’s 380 acres without feeling, What a great idea! And also, I bet I could do that back home. On a smaller scale, to be sure. But with the same can-do attitude that makes this ranch and farm very much a work in progress but also a very successful one.

Here at the ranch, they try things, and if it doesn’t work, they try something else, all the while heading for greater balance with nature, less of a carbon footprint, and more of a self-sustaining system that is truly off the grid.

Already they provide for 100% of their energy and water needs, and about 90% of their food needs. Energy comes from a variety of source, including the heat-producing compost, biodigesters (huge hefty bags of animal waste which produce the methane that fuels the kitchen stoves), and from hydroelectric–big metal (Pelton) wheels turned by water.

We’re shown the chicken coop, the pig wallow, and the cow barn, and I can’t help thinking, These are cheerful chickens. Content cows. Pleased pigs. They’re fed a balanced diet of organic grains and plants, and they all get out of their pens and into the field, the pasture, or (in the case of the pigs) the wallow on a daily basis. At mealtime, the milk, cheese, butter, and yogurt all come from these happy cows, and the pork and chicken comes from humanely raised and slaughtered animal. There are many vegetarians here (in fact the cook is vegetarian), but he provides options for meat-eaters at every meal.

Even more impressive are the extensive gardens, the nursery, and the fields that produce sustenance for guests, visiting student groups, and the farm employees. The open-air tomato shed provided a lesson in how to save your crops from insects without resorting to harsh chemical insecticides. Rows of marigold and basil, natural insecticides, stand guard on all sides of the tomato plants.

Rancho Margot is a work in progress–they’re still building two classrooms and a library, and constantly trying new things. But much has already been accomplished. In the last five years, Juan, his sons, and his workers have planted 500 trees, acquired 600 chickens, 100 pigs, 18 cows, and 25 horses. They’ve planted feed for the animals—including ramio, buton de oro, and sugar cane—and food for the humans, from tomatoes and every kind of herb to a variety of native potatoes—yucca, teqisque, malanga, camote, and nampo– that are not being planted much in this age of monoculture.

QUICK FACTS

Located on a 175-hectare property near La Fortuna de San Carlos, Rancho Margot is surrounded by Lake Arenal, the Caño Negro river valley and is just 15 kilometers from the Monteverde Reserve. Sustainable environmental practices are the backbone of Rancho Margot’s philosophy, and this self-sufficient hotel works to protect and reforest the area. Eighteen deluxe bungalows are equipped for couples or families of up to four people. They also have a bar, scenic overlook and trails. If you prefer a simpler option, the Bunkhouse has 20 rooms with two bunks each, from which you can enjoy the gardens and views. It’s worth nothing that Rancho Margot produces their own pork, dairy, poultry and vegetable products, as well as having their own hydroelectric generator. Rancho Margot also offers activities such as yoga, biking, horseback riding, rappelling, kayaking, hiking and lava-spotting tours.

www.ranchomargot.org
info@ranchomargot.org
Tel. 2479 7259

– Erin Van Rheenen

As I have mentioned before, I love to drive my old Subaru. Dear old companion . . . more than 197,000 miles. But I also enjoy sitting back, watching the world roll by in the comfort of alternative transit. Sacramento isn’t all that transit friendly except when thinking about trips to the Bay Area. Then Amtrak and, sometimes, Bay Link Ferry, come into the picture. What it means is fewer traffic and parking hassles and being good to the environment by having one less fossil-fuel consumer on the road. That would be me and my faithful Subaru.

Amtrak (photos © Barbara Steinberg)

This weekend I am thrilled to be heading off to San Francisco via Amtrak. I have taken this trip many times but still love the experience. I look forward to the shrill of the train whistle, rumbling away from the station and crossing the Sacramento River. The endless debate — which side has the best views? It doesn’t matter if I choose right or left. Somewhere along the way I am certain to jump to check the scenery on the other side. There are just so many things to see that can’t be seen from behind the wheel of a car. . . . Subaru or otherwise. My favorite views come once the train diverts through Suisun Marsh and on towards San Pablo Bay and past the coastline around Port Costa and Crockett.

So, on this adventure I am doing all that I can to be kind to the Earth. I walked to light rail which whisked me away to the Amtrak station in downtown Sacramento. It’s been a while since I’ve ridden light rail and was shocked (really shocked) to see that a one-way ticket has skyrocketed to $2.50. Talk about discouraging the use of public transit. I know Sacramento Regional Transit has suffered in the economy along with the rest of us, but Sacramento officials have done little to encourage alternative transit. The big investments all go to more lanes of traffic on the interstate.

Arriving at the Amtrak station, I board the Capitol Corridor train heading for San Francisco.I know the routine. . . in Emeryville we will board a connector bus that takes you across the Bay Bridge — no tolls, no lanes of traffic at the toll plaza “parking lot.” Once on the other side, you have a range of locations to disembark. On this day, I am heading to Moscone Center. This is actually my final destination, heading to a trade show that starts tomorrow. But getting off the bus, I will walk a few blocks to overnight lodging at Good Hotel. It figures into this whole good travel experience.

Good Hotel in San Francisco

Another in the long line of Joie de Vivre Hotels, Good reinvented and re-opened in 2009. It defines recycled and kind to the Earth philosophies. Many decor features are reclaimed or recycled construction materials. The registration counter is recycled newspaper. Some light fixtures are made from recycled water bottles. There’s even a box in the lobby to recycle dead batteries. Bed frames are 100% recycled wood. In-shower soap dispensers feature holistic bath products. There bikes available for guest use. Signs of water and power conservation are found throughout Good Hotel. They really are walking the “good” talk.

Good Hotel is part of the South of Market District and walking distance to many attractions and was easily accessibile from the Amtrak connector bus. I made good on my quest to travel green this weekend. And will do the same in reverse on my way home.

It really is all good! And pet friendly, too!

– Barbara L. Steinberg

The environmentally friendly and newly remodeled California Academy of Sciences (photo by John Montgomery)

The newly remodeled California Academy of Sciences, located in San Francisco’s Golden Gate Park across from the almost-new (2006) de Young Museum, is not your grandmother’s natural history museum.  Or even your mother’s.  That’s both good and not so good.

The Academy, founded in 1853 as the first science museum in the West, has always contained a conglomeration of many features: Planetarium.  Aquarium.  Dioramas of large taxidermied mammals.

All that, and more, is still present in the new building, designed by Pritzker Prize winning architect Renzo Piano.  The Academy moved to Golden Gate Park in 1916 after its previous downtown building was destroyed by the 1906 earthquake; the building was much added to and modified, and more buildings were added.

Its dark old interiors are gone.  Instead, entering the rectangular glass-walled building into a large “piazza,” we’re faced with a four-story interior glass bubble, which houses the Rainforests of the World exhibit, focusing on Borneo, Madagascar, Costa Rica, and the Amazon.  Other exhibit areas, arrayed around, above and below the bubble, include the “living roof,” an expanse of more than 50 species of native California plants  built over a 2.5 acre area that includes seven hills (three large and four small), and viewable from a platform.

The rain forest exhibit includes, of course, plants and trees, many of them looking like houseplants on steroids, as well as insects (including butterflies), and 40 specimens of birds.  Access is via ramp or elevator.  There aren’t any mammals—at least not yet.  And yes, it’s hot and humid in there.
The rain forest theme continues on the lowest floor with the Amazonian Flooded Rain Forest, where piranhas and other critters you wouldn’t want to meet in a dark alley hang out safely in an acrylic tunnel that you can walk under.

The whole lower floor is given over to water, and includes Water Planet (over 100 tanks, small to large, housing fish, reptiles, and other watery folk), and the Swamp, where Claude, an albino alligator, and his darker alligator buddy hang out.  When I visited, Claude was splayed out immobile on the heated rock situated in the middle of his habitat, which is also shared with turtles, frogs, and salamanders.  The bronze seahorse railings and hand-painted tiles which decorated the original 1923 exhibit have been preserved.

Among the most stunning exhibits is the Coral Reef, a tank holding 212,000 gallons of water and some 2,000 fish—not to mention the living corals, natives of the Philippines.  Imagine looking at a giant fish tank filled with brilliantly-colored fish and corals.  It’s the second largest coral reef exhibit in the world (next to Townsville, Australia’s), and the world’s deepest.

In the middle of the lower level is the Water Planet, which I found distractingly noisy and busy.  What I took at first to be temporary plastic wrapping on the walls holding the tanks turns out to be a permanent installation meant to suggest waves.  “Watery” music fills the air, as do the sounds of the different interactive exhibits.  Young kids—and much of the Academy’s thrust is educational—are used to noise and chaos, but I for one prefer to contemplate the wonders of the deep in silence.  No such luck!

On the other hand, I wouldn’t have wanted to miss seeing Buccalo, a giant sea bass about the size of a small sofa and still growing.  He’s been a resident of the Academy since 1979 or 1980.  When he turns to look at you full-face (huge eyes, blubbery lips), you could think he was created in an animation workshop.  Look out, Nemo!

Back on the first floor is the African Hall, the only hall from the original building reproduced in almost original form.  Ranged along the side walls are 21 dioramas containing animals (not live) such as lions, baboons, cheetahs, antelopes, and more as well as some smaller live animals—chameleons, tortoises, and the like.  And at the end of the hall is what’s sure to become one of the Academy’s main draws: the African penguins, some 20 of the little critters about one to two feet tall, diving, swimming, and playing in the water and among the fake rocks.  When I visited, a naturalist was in the tank with the birds, who flocked to her, letting her cuddle them and tickle their necks.  Aww!

Also on the first floor are the Academy’s display on evolution (“Islands of Evolution: Madagascar” and “Islands of Evolution: Galapagos”) and “Altered State: Climate Change in California.” Not only do we learn about climate change, but we’re also shown what we can do to mitigate it by modifying our own habits.  And here’s where the Academy’s didactic mode goes into full throttle.

The Academy is all about “the emergence of life, the evolution of life, and the sustainability of life,” according to Executive Director Dr. Greg Farrington.  All noble aims, but the exhibits never miss a chance to preach.  Over the drinking fountains are messages about the evils of bottled water.  Even the doors of the toilet stalls sport quotations about biodiversity and sustainability.
I’m with you, guys, but enough already!

Finally, though, we can escape earth at the Morrison Planetarium, where every hour on the half hour there’s a show, “Fragile Planet” (oh-oh—did we escape the message after all, or not?), in which digital images swoop us from the Academy itself up, up, and away, beyond the solar system in search of other possible sites of life.  The show is spectacular, but people like me who are susceptible to motion sickness might be advised to hang on to their seats.  Or take a pre-show Dramamine.
Like any present-day museum, the Academy also has classrooms, a gift store, a café, and a full-service restaurant.  Whoops—I mean, “sustainable dining options.”

The Academy is open Monday through Saturday from 9:30 to 5, Sunday 11 to 5, closed Thanksgiving and Christmas.  Admissions range from free (for children under 6) to $24.95 for adults.  Various deals are available, and regular visitors will want to consider buying a membership.

– Renata Polk
BATW Communications Chair

Sat., Mar. 28 -- 8:30 p.m.

Thanks to eco-aware Karen Misuraca for forwarding this “action” that could really make a statement:

To “promote global environmental awareness,” hotels, casinos, tourist attractions, “1,000 cities and a billion people” will turn off the lights for Earth Hour at 8:30 p.m. on March 28 (or that’s the ambitious plan, at least).

“Fairmont Hotels & Resorts are one of the hospitality companies who will participate in Earth Hour 2009, a global environmental awareness event organized by the World Wildlife Fund (WWF). On Saturday March 28, 2009 at 8:30 p.m., millions of people, business and government entities, and all 56 of Fairmont’s hotels and resorts from Dallas to Dubai, will turn off their lights for one hour – Earth Hour – to draw attention to the world’s most pressing environmental issue: climate change.

“In 2008, more than 50 million people participated. This year, 1 billion people in 1,000 cities are expected to take part. The Eiffel Tower will go dark, as will Christ the Redeemer statue in Rio de Janeiro, Sydney’s Opera House, Table Mountain in Cape Town, the CN Tower in Toronto and Las Vegas’ MGM Grand Casino.”

Turn it all off on March 28!     www.earthhour.org

The Mono County Tourism Commission has a number of free admissions to the Los Angeles Times Travel & Adventure Show (Feb. 14-15, LA Convention Center) which it offers to travel or outdoor writers who would like to go.

To attend the show, click here.  Then, enter code: EXHFREE and applicable information.

Attending from Mono County Tourism will be Sarah McCahill and Dan Lyster, and Dennis Morrison from Convict Lake Resort.