Have Fun, Will Travel

WHEN Chinese philosopher Lao Tzu said of “a journey of a thousand miles” that should be started “with a single step,” he was referring to travel, of course. “Traveling is almost like talking with men of other centuries,” said René Descartes.

 

“Travel is more than the seeing of sights; it is a change that goes on, deep and permanent, in the ideas of living,” explained Miriam Beard. “For my part, I travel not to go anywhere, but to go,” commented novelist Robert Louis Stevenson. “I travel for travel’s sake. The great affair is to move.”

Unknown to many, the word “travel” has a common origin with the word “travail.” At one point in time, travel was exceedingly uncomfortable and often dangerous. Indeed, the ultimate source of the word "travel" is a medieval instrument of torture - the so-called trepalium – a contraption would pierce its victim's flesh with three sharp stakes (tres for three and palus for stake).

Later on, the word trepalium became a verb, trepaliare, which meant any form of torture. It was from torture that the Old French concept of travailler came into existence – or “putting oneself to pain or trouble.” In time, travailler came to mean “work hard” in French. English borrowed the word as travail and this, in turn, was used to describe a wearisome journey — travel.

On the other hand, journey is a “day’s travel.” The word comes originally from Latin via French. The Latin word dies, meaning “day.” led to diurnus or “daily” and then to the vulgar Latin word diurmata (modern Italian giornata) which became jornee in Old French (journee today). The specific notion of a day’s travel appears to have faded out of English during the 16th century.

Traveling is a serious matter, indeed. But some people cannot help but poke fun on it. “Travel is the frivolous part of serious lives, and the serious part of frivolous ones,” said Anne Sophie Swetchine. “But why, oh why, do the wrong people travel, when the right people stay at home?” Noel Coward asked.

Most travelers will definitely agree with Robert Thomas Allen's observation: “Most of my treasured memories of travel are recollections of sitting.” Novelist John Steinbeck can't stop himself from writing: “A journey is like marriage. The certain way to be wrong is to think you control it.”

Murphy’s Law states: If something can go wrong, it will. This would most likely happen to when you are traveling. Don Rutledge, one of America’s most awarded photojournalists, and his journalist friend were seated aboard a plane bound for mainland China from Hong Kong. His friend was sitting next to an emergency exit door and Rutledge was sitting next to him in the aisle seat.

A flight attendant came to their seat row and asked Rutledge’s friend, “Pardon me, sir, but can you open this door?” She, of course, meant if he could open the door in case of an emergency. “Yes, I think so,” he answered and before she could say anything, he grabbed the door lever and swung it into the open position. Fortunately, this happened when the passengers were still loading and the airplane was not moving on the runway.

The door bounced out of its frame and Rutledge's friend held it by the lever. The attendant's mouth flew open wide as she screamed, “I meant could you open it in case of an emergency.” She quickly tried to help get the door back into the frame but, even together, they were unable to do so. While he continued holding the door to keep it from falling to the pavement, she rushed to the cockpit and got the flight engineer to return the door into its proper place and reset it. When it was already in the locked position, the flight engineer told him, “Don’t do that again.”

But I think, the persons who enjoy the most about traveling are the travel agents. Here's a collection of stories, which I am sure you have heard before but still will somehow tickle your pain away. The only hitch is that they happened in the United States. But most Filipinos can relate to the anecdotes since the people involved are - yes, you’re right! – politicians.

At one time, a travel agent got a call from a candidate’s staffer, who wanted to go to Cape Town. The travel agent started to explain the length of the flight and the passport information when she interrupted him with these words: “I’m not trying to make you look stupid, but Cape Town is in Massachusetts.”

Without trying to make the staffer look like the stupid one, the travel agent calmly explained, “Cape Cod is in Massachusetts, Cape Town is in South Africa.” Her response was a click of the phone.

Meanwhile, a New York lawmaker called and asked, “Do airlines put your physical description on your bag so they know whose luggage belongs to whom?” The travel agent answered negatively. “Why do you ask?” he inquired.

The lawmaker replied, “Well, when I checked in with the airline, they put a tag on my luggage that said FAT, and I’m overweight. I think that is very rude?” After putting her on hold for a minute while the travel agent “looked into it” (he was actually laughing), he came back and explained the city code for Fresno, California is FAT, and that the airline was just putting a destination tag on her luggage.

Still on New York: A New Mexico congresswoman called to make reservations, “I want to go from Chicago to Rhino, New York.” The travel agent was at a loss for words. Finally, the agent said, “Are you sure that’s the name of the town?” The lady lawmaker replied, “Yes, what flights do you have?”

After some searching, the travel agent came back with, “I'm sorry, ma’am, I’ve looked up every airport code in the country and can't find a Rhino anywhere.” The lady retorted, “Oh, don’t be silly! Everyone knows where it is. Check your map!”

The travel agent scoured a map of the state of New York and finally offered, "You don’t mean Buffalo, do you?" The lawmaker replied, “That’s it! I knew it was a big animal.”

Now, it came to pass that a lady senator called and said, “I need to fly to Pepsi-Cola, Florida. Do I have to get on one of those little computer planes?” The travel agent asked if she meant fly to Pensacola, Florida on a commuter plane. She said, “Yeah, whatever!”

Then, there was the case of a senior senator, who called and had a question about the documents he needed in order to fly to China. After a lengthy discussion about passports, the travel agent reminded him that he needed a visa.

”Oh, no I don’t. I’ve been to China many times and never had to have one of those.” Hearing this, the travel agent double checked and sure enough, his stay required a visa. When the agent told him this, the senator declared, “Look, I’ve been to China four times and every time they have accepted my American Express!”

American humorist Mark Twain said it right, “Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things that you didn't do than by the ones you did do. So throw off the bowlines. Sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover.”

But on second thought, Lin Yutang told us: “No one realizes how beautiful it is to travel until he comes home and rests his head on his old, familiar pillow.”-- ###

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What This Holiday Season Means

December 25 is supposed to be the birth of Jesus Christ.  They call it Christmas.  Others use the word Nativity.  A few call the holiday season as Yuletide.  Although yuletide has nothing to do with the birth of the world’s Savior,  each letter seems to point out the real  meaning of the season.

Think on these…

Y is for you.  Jesus was born because of you.  He gave His life because of us.  Kahlil Gibran once stated, “You give but little when you give of your possessions.  It is when you give of yourself that you truly give.”

In John chapter three verses 16-17, the apostle wrote: “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.  For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him.”

As someone puts it: “The Creator thinks enough of you to have sent Someone very special so that you might have life – abundantly, joyfully, completely, and victoriously.  You are important!”

U is for understanding.  When the Bible says, “It is written…” it means it has been prophesized already.  Matthew started his book with the genealogy of Jesus.  The author wanted us to know that Jesus was a
true human being, descended from Adam.  Matthew also wanted the Jews to know that Jesus was a descendant of David.  Only a descendant of David could be king of the Jews.

Jesus came without sin for he was born into a virgin.  Isaiah predicted: “The virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel.”  The Virgin Mary fulfilled that.  Prophet Micah also recorded when Jesus would be born: “But you, Bethlehem, a ruler will come who will be the shepherd of my people Israel” (Micah 5:2).

L is for love.  Jesus left the splendor of heaven just to be with us. John 1:14 points out: “The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us.” The “Word” is a special name for Jesus.  It means that He is the person who reveals God, or tells us what God is like. The Bible says that Jesus existed forever and that he is God.

John called him “the Lamb of God” (John 1:29).  In Old Testament times, lambs were offered as sacrifices when a person sinned. To call Jesus the Lamb of God meant that he would die as a sacrifice to take away our sins.  An angel told Joseph that the Son would be named Jesus “because he will save his people from their sins” (Matthew 1:21).  Now, if that isn’t love, then what it is?

E is for example.  Albert Schweitzer once said, “Example is not the main thing in influencing others.  It is the only thing.”  The birth of Jesus is a living example of how we should live.  “Life simply so others may simply live,” someone once said.

Jesus came into this world in a simple manner.  Joseph and the pregnant Mary came to Bethlehem all the way from Nazareth in Galilee because of the decree of Caesar Augustus that “a census of the entire Roman world” (Luke 2:1).

“While they were there, the time came for the baby to be born, and she gave birth to her firstborn, a son.  She wrapped him in cloths and placed him in a manger, because there was no room for them in the inn” (Luke 2:6-7).

“The coming of Christ by way of a Bethlehem manger seems strange and stunning,” C. Neil Strait wrote.  “But when we take Him out of the manger and invite Him into our hearts, then the meaning unfolds and
the strangeness vanishes.”

T is for thanksgiving.  “Where is the one who has been born king of the Jews?  We saw his star in the east and have come to worship him,” asked the Magi from the east who looked for the Child (Matthew 2:2).

Because it took a while to travel during those times, they saw the Infant Jesus not in the manger but in a house.  “On coming to the house, they saw the child with his mother Mary, and they bowed down
and worship him.  Then they opened their treasures and presented him with gifts of gold and of incense and of myrrh” (Matthew 2:11).  That was the start of the tradition of giving gift during the Christmas season.

I is for influence.  From the time He was born, Jesus started influencing others.  The first who manifested that treat were the “shepherds living out in the field nearby” who saw “a great company of the heavenly host” and was told that “a Savior has been born.”

Matthew 2:15-18 recorded the event: “When the angels had left them and gone into heaven, they hurried off and found Mary and Joseph, and the baby who was lying in the manger.  When they had seen him, they spread the word concerning what had been told them about this child, and all who heard it were amazed at what the shepherds said to them.”

D is for devotion. This was seen in the life of Joseph.  “His mother Mary was pledged top be married to Joseph, but before they came together, she was found to be with child through the Holy Spirit,” Matthew wrote.  “Because Joseph her husband was a righteous man and did not want to expose her to public disgrace, he had in mind to divorce her quietly.”

But before that happened, an angel appeared to Joseph in a dream: “Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary home as your wife, because what is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit.” (Matthew 1:20).  It was also Joseph who taught Jesus to become a carpenter.

E is for eternity.  As long as the world exists, Christmas will never ceased to be celebrated.  The season will be a reminder that Jesus Christ really came, he dwelled among us, and died for our sins.  When the world will end, those who believed in Him that He was sent by His Father, will be with Him forever in heaven.

Robert Millikan stated so: “WE have come from somewhere and are going somewhere.  The great architect of the universe never built a stairway that leads to nowhere.”

Merry Christmas to everyone! – ###

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Philippines, My Philippines!

“Nuestro perdido Eden,” wrote national hero Jose P. Rizal. “The pearl of the Orient Seas,” hailed some historical scribes. “The second-largest archipelago in the world,” writes The Lonely Planet, which also described the country as “one of the great treasures of Southeast Asia.”

Welcome to the Philippines, my native land. “Often overlooked by travelers because of its location on the ‘wrong’ side of the South China Sea, the Philippines rewards those who go the extra distance to reach it,” The Lonely Planet notes. “And because it’s off the beaten path, the Philippines is a great place to escape the hordes who descend on other parts of Southeast Asia.”

The Philippines comprises 7,107 islands, with Luzon, Visayas, and Mindanao as the three main islands. The total length of its coastlines is 36,289 kilometers or twice that of the United States. Most of its islands are “abound with white-sand beaches, exotic tropical vegetation and beautiful lakes and rivers,” wrote All-Asia Travel Guide.

With a total land area of 104,688 square kilometers, Luzon is the world’s 17th largest island (excluding continental masses of lands like Australia). Mindanao is the 19th largest island as it has a total land area of 94,631 square kilometers.

The Philippines is home to some of the world’s marvelous creations. The Banaue Rice Terraces in Ifugao has been called the “Eighth Wonder of the World.” The total outline of this architectural wonder, or “stairways to the sky,” is about 13,500 miles long, or about half the globe’s circumference and ten times the length of the Great Wall of China.

Mayon Volcano in Albay has the distinction of having the world’s most perfect cone. Upon seeing the Bicol landmark in 1903, distinguished British traveler-writer A. Henry Savage Landor wrote: “Mayon is the most beautiful mountain I have ever seen, the world-renowned Fujiyama (Mt. Fuji) of Japan sinking into perfect insignificance by comparison.”

Another global record: Taal Volcano, a 406-meter-high crater, is said to be the world’s smallest volcano. It is described as “a crater within an island within a lake” because it stands as an island at Taal Lake. The lake was formed after the volcano, with used to be much larger, collapsed.

Mount Apo, a dormant volcano situated in the boundaries of Davao City, Davao del Sur and North Cotabato, is the county’s highest peak (2,954 meters or 10,311 feet above sea level). Mount Apo is flat topped, with three peaks, and is capped by a 500-meter wide volcanic containing a small crater lake. Its name means “master” or “grandfather.”

Actually, there are 200 volcanoes in the country, 22 of them are said to be active. Camiguin, for instance, has more volcanoes than municipalities. The province has only five municipalities (Catarman, Guinisiliban, Mahinog, Mambajao, and Sagay) but it has seven volcanoes (Mount Vulcan Daan, Mount Mambajao, Mount Karling, Mount Uhay, Guinisiliban Peak, Tres Marias Mountain, and Mount Hibok-Hibok). As such, it has earned the distinction of having the most numbers of volcanoes per square kilometer than any other island on earth (it has a total land area of 238 square kilometers).

The world’s deepest part of the ocean is the Marianas Trench, which is over 11,000 meters below the sea level. This makes the Mindanao Trench as the world’s second deepest spot underwater. The spot, about 34,440 feet (10.497 meters) is in the floor of the Philippine Sea.

The Tubbataha Reefs is considered as the world’s richest bio-geographic area. In fact, it was declared by the United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization as a World Heritage Site. The two atolls are located 92 nautical miles southeast of Puerto Princesa City covering 33,200 hectares.

Also in Palawan is the world-famous St. Paul Subterranean National Park, a massive white rock mountain which rises 1,028 meters above sea level and stretches towards Cleopatra’s Needle. Its main feature is the underground river, with its 8.2 kilometers (five miles) of labyrinthine caves carved by rainwater and the waves of South China Sea.

The Philippines is also world famous for its Chocolate Hills in Bohol. It is a series of 1,268 perfectly symmetrical, haycock-shaped hills (each hill rises 30 to 120 meters above the surrounding plateau). A national geologic monument, the hills which are spread out in the towns of Carmen, Batuan and Sagbayan never fails to amaze guests and visitors.

The highest waterfalls in the country is Aliwagwag Falls in Cateel, Davao Oriental. It is a series of 84 falls (count them!) appearing like a “stairway to heaven” with various heights among the steps. One step is measured 72 feet and another is 67 feet. Overall, the falls is 1,100 feet of cascading energy and 20 meters in width – all these in the midst of a virgin forest.

Now, let’s talk about its people. Filipinos were introduced to the English language in 1762 by British invaders, not Americans. Today, the Philippines is the world’s third largest English-speaking country, next to the United States and United Kingdom.

Many foreigners have noted that the Filipino population has Asia’s highest rates of inventors and international beauty queens. Two Filipina beauties, Gloria Diaz and Margie Moran, were chosen as Miss Universe in 1969 and 1973, respectively. The Miss International crown was worn by Gemma Cruz in 1964, by Aurora Pijuan in 1970 and by Melanie Marquez in 1979.

Dr. Fe del Mundo, the first Asian to have entered the prestigious Harvard University’s School of Medicine, is credited for her studies that led to the invention of incubator and jaundice relieving device.

Dr. Abelardo Aguilar reportedly discovered the antibiotic erythromycin from the Aspergillus species of fungi in Iloilo in 1949. In 2000, Rolando dela Cruz developed an ingenuous formula that could easily remove deeply grown moles or warts from the skin without leaving marks or hurting the patient. The one-chip video camera was first made by Marc Loinaz, a Filipino inventor from New Jersey.

Pure- or part-Filipino celebrities in Hollywood include Dean Devlin, Von Flores, Tia Carrere, Paolo Montalban, Lea Salonga, Ernie Reyes Jr., Nia Peeples, Julio Iglesias Jr., Lou Diamond Phillips, Phoebe Cates and Rob Schneider.

The first Filipino act to land a top hit on the US Billboard Hot 100 chart in the 1960s was the group Rocky Fellers of Manila. Latina-American pop star Christina Aguilera lost to Filipina vocalist Josephine Roberto (also known as Banig) during the International Star Search years ago. In a mid-1999 MTV chat, she said that competing against someone of Banig’s age was “not fair.”

The first Asian and/or Filipino to snatch America’s Pulitzer Prize was Philippines Herald’s war correspondent Carlos P. Romulo in 1941. (He was also the first Asian to become United Nations Secretary-General.) The first two Filipino-Americans to garner the same award 56 years later were Seattle Times’ Alex Tizon and Byron Acohido, who is part-Korean.

“What’s still most impressive to me about the Philippines is the friendliness of the people, their sense of humor...,” wrote Honolulu journalist John Griffin in a 1998 visit to Manila.

This is what The Lonely Planet said: “Throughout the archipelago you’ll find people are friendly and curious, wanting to know where you’re from – often shouting out their guess at where you’re from – and where you’re heading. At times when you’re not feeling in the best mood yourself, for example when you and 25 others are squashed in the back of a jeepney built for 10, if you glance around you’ll always find lots of smiles and laughter that will instantly lighten your mood.”

Now, imagine a world without the Philippines! -- ###

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Quebec: Little France In North America

WHEN I attended the 4th World Conference of Science Journalists in Montreal, Canada – thanks to the International Development Research Center, which sponsored by trip – one of the most awaited events was the day tour in Quebec City.

“The juxtaposition of French, English, North-American, modern and secular constructions in the same urban scenery, gives the city a very interesting anachronic character, and is at the very least unexpected – you either like it or don't like, but you can't remain indifferent,” says a Canadian journalist I have interviewed before coming to the historic city.

Québec City is located 250 kilometers east of Montréal and about 850 kilometers north of New York City.  It is almost entirely French in feeling, in sprit, and in language; 95 percent of the population is French. But many of its 648,000 citizens speak some English, especially those who work in hotels, restaurants, and shops where they deal with tourists every day. 

“Three centuries of colonial conquests, a French, English and finally Quebec regime, are at the origins of the unusual architectural aspect of Quebec City,” explains our tour guide, who didn’t stop talking even if all of us were already taking pictures here and there.  

The capital of New France under the French regime (1608-1759), then the so-called “fortress city” of the English colony and capital of lower Canada under the English Regime (1763-1867),Quebec became the provincial capital at the time of the Canadian Confederation in 1867.

Today, Quebec is the only fortified city in North America.  Perched atop Cap Diamant (Cape Diamond), surveying the St. Lawrence River, Québec City is one of the landmarks of North American history. No wonder, it has been included in the United Nations Educational Scientific and Cultural Organization’s prestigious World Heritage List in 1985, the only North American city so honored.  The city's name is from an Algonquian word, which means, “where the river narrows.”

For first time visitors like me, you can say the city has retained its European atmosphere completely. The winding cobbled streets are flanked by 17th and 18th century stone houses and churches, graceful parks and squares, and countless monuments.

One you should not miss visiting is the city’s Parliament Hill, which is dominated by majestic outline of the parliament building whose architecture is particularly stunning when lit up at night. Not far from there, the Observatoire de la capitale offers breathtaking panoramic views of the area, notably of the Battlefields Park, better known as the Plains of Abraham, the site of many clashes between the French and British empires in their struggle for domination.

Bohemian, colorful, and welcoming Saint-Jean-Baptiste district is one if the city’s most endearing neighborhoods, according to our tour guide.  Wander along rue Saint-Jean and discover some of its delightful surprises, including the oldest grocery in North America (1871). Other worthwhile stop-offs are the historic Second Empire style Saint-Jean-Baptiste Church, St. Matthew’s Church, and the cemetery of the same name.  Bursting with boutiques, restaurants, cafes, and food shops, Saint-Jean-Baptiste district is a lively and wonderful place to hang out. From there, make your way to the Faubourg Elevator which will take you down into the heart of the Saint-Roch district, another picturesque part of the city.

Perhaps the most appealing among them all is the Place-Royale, a step back in time to the early days of New France.  It was here that Samuel de Champlain founded his “abitation” in 1608. Learn all about this cradle of French civilization in North America at the Place-Royale Interpretation Center.  Then admire the historic Notre-Dame-des-Victoires Church, the oldest stone church in North America (1688).  Don’t miss the immense Fresque des Quebecois fresco, which traces 400 years of history.

The Citadel, Quebec's most famous landmark, overlooks the city from a height of 347 feet.  It was designed according to a defense system developed by a French military engineer named Vauban and built under the supervision of Lieutenant colonel Elias Walker Durnford. History records showed the construction of the outer walls began in 1820 and it took 30 years to finish its construction.

Below the Place-Royale is the Petit-Champlain district, a reminiscent of a French village of yesteryear.  It’s not surprising that this is where you’ll find the Louis-Jolliet House (1683), former residence of the man who discovered the Mississippi, and the Chevalier House with its typically 18th and 19th century décor.  Don’t miss the mural La fresque du Petit-Champlain which illustrates early-day Cap-Blanc quarter.  The Petit-Champlain district is also home of many boutiques displaying exclusive wares.  At nearby Place de Paris, art and history come together with the Batterie Royale (1691) and Jean-Pierre Raynaud’s sculpture entitled ‘Dialogue avec l’histoire.’

Quebec City’s Old Port has also become a favorite spot for strollers and cruise ship passengers to wander around or to just to relax.  At the Naval Museum of Quebec and the Old Port ofQuebec Interpretation Center, you’ll learn that the site was once of great strategic importance. Did you know, for instance, that in the 19th century, Quebec City was one of the world’s five biggest ports?  You’ll love the charm of rue Saint-Paul, where antique shops and sidewalks cafes are an invitation to linger.  When you’re ready to move on, drop by the Ilot des Palais for an initiation into the archeological mysteries of the area.  A stone’s throw away is the Musee de la civilization, where 10 fascinating exhibits and interactive workshops await you.

One destination I failed to see was the Montmorency Falls. The falls are 272 feet high, 98 feet higher than Niagara Falls in Toronto. According to Canadians I talked with, visitors can view the waterfall from all sides thanks to a pathway surrounding it. You can climb a long stairway to the top of the falls, or you can take an aerial cable car.

Bon jour! -- ***

 

 

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Livingston, Montana: Where Past Meets Present

“The hub of the upper Yellowstone Valley, Livingston is a place where wilderness meets the Wild West. Founded in 1882 by the Northern Pacific Railroad, the town was the original gateway to Yellowstone National Park. Tourists changed trains here from the main east-west line to a spur line that followed the Yellowstone River upstream to Gardiner at the park’s north entrance. The community quickly became a trading center for farmers, ranchers and miners of the Yellowstone Valley, and by 1905 a thriving city of about 5,000 people had emerged.”

That was how John Gottberg described Livingston in his book, Hidden Montana: Where Vacations Meet Adventures.

Today, Livingston’s population hovers around 16,000. But 436 building from that turn-of-the-century boom era are preserved. In fact, some of these buildings still have visible, albeit faded, advertising signs on their sides. This must be the reason why movie director Robert Redford filmed his adaptation of Norman MacLean’s acclaimed memoir, A River Runs Through It in this city.

People here want it that way. In 1997, when the U.S. Postal Service tried to move the Livingston post office from downtown, it took only four days for 1,500 citizens to sign a petition, contact their congressmen and stop the move.

Three residential districts are on the National Register of Historic Places. Among them is a log cabin that once was the home of notorious fronstierswoman Martha “Calamity Jane” Canary. (Stories here said that when a public disturbance led to her being jailed, she became disenchanted with Livingston and left town.)

If you want to know more about the historic city, visit the Livingston Depot Center (200 West Park Street), located in the 1902 Northern Pacific station. The building, in Italianate style, was designed by St. Paul architects Charles Reed and Allen Stem, who were also responsible, in part, for Grand Central Station in New York City. Exhibits include rail history, Yellowstone exploration, blues shows and special events. It’s open daily from the end of May to the end of September and doubles as a performing arts center in the winter.

There are more history exhibits across the tracks and two blocks north at the Yellowstone Gateway Museum of Park County (118 West Chinook Street.). Located in an early 20th-century schoolhouse, it’s open daily in summer and by appointment the rest of the year.

Then, there’s the International Fly Fishing Museum (215 East Lewis Street). History, ecology, education and art come together to make the museum a unique experience. Large natural history murals surround aquariums of live fish, allowing visitors to experience the underwater world. From the antique to the contemporary, thousands of flies, fly rods and fishing accessories show the art that is fly fishing. Go see the Redford flick to understand what fly fishing is all about.

Livingston has a pair of noteworthy stage groups. The Firehouse 5 Playhouse (Sleeping Giant Trade Center, Route 89) presents a variety of community musicals and holiday specials throughout the year. The Blue Slipper Theatre (114 South Main Street) serves up comedies, mysteries, dramas and other more serious productions year-round.

I have been to the city twice and each time I love the place. The words of New York novelist William Hjortsberg, who settled a few kilometers away from Montana, come into my mind: “It was so beautiful, and it was so unlike the rest of America… there was this innocence.”

Unfortunately, the last time I visited the place was during winter time. So much so that most of the photos taken in this article were taken during the very cold season. If you can only felt what I went through during those times.

One of the most often-visited places is the Sacajawea Park. “Located beside the Yellowstone River, this Livingston municipal park is one of the nicest in Montana,” writes Gottberg in his book. The park is named for a Shoshoni Indian woman who traveled with the Lewis and Clark expedition.

At the park’s broad riverine lagoon, children can fish or feed ducks and geese. Within the park is Livingston Civic Center, where indoor scenes from Redford’s 1992 picture starring Brad Pitt were filmed. Picnic areas, restrooms, a band shell, tennis courts, a playground and a wading pool round out the amenities. From downtown, follow South Yellowstone Street to its south end.

Just some 5-minute drive south of Livingston is the turn-of-the-20th-century Chico Hot Springs. The resort is a mixture of historic rustic Western architecture and modern buildings and additions that blend into the ranching atmosphere. In the main lodge, the floors creak and the doors are worn around the edges. The décor is reminiscent of an old hunting lodge.

The resort’s big draw is the outdoor pool of 98-degree water drawn from a thermal spring. The natural hot mineral water is fed into two pools: a shallow soaking pool which is maintained at about 103 degrees Fahrenheit, and a larger, cooler swimming pool that seemed very popular with children. The use of the pools is a reasonable US$3 per person in winter, US$5 during the summer. Dressing rooms and shower facilities are available.

Now, let’s go back to the Main Street, which strongly resembles its Main Street of 1900. “Downtown, you’ll find things looking pretty much the same as they did before World War II,” commented one historian.

What is interesting about walking at the Main Street is the fact that you might get lucky to meet painter Russell Chatham. If not, try to catch him at his restaurant, the Livingston Bar and Grille. He also owns a publishing company (Clark City Press) and a thriving lithography press where he personally oversees the printmaking process of his signed limited edition prints. “Some days I spend at the restaurant, some days we print at the press,” he discloses. “And some days I paint.”

Chatham’s paintings are collected by such famous people as William Randolph Hearst III, Dr. Hunter S. Thompson, Jim Harrison, James Crumley, and James Walch; television journalists Tom Brokaw and Ed Bradley; and movie stars Michael Keaton, Jeff Bridges, Peter Fonda, Warren Beatty, Robert Redford, Harrison Ford and Jack Nicholson.

Another world famous person you might get across here is Tim Cahill, an acclaimed writer who founded “Outside Magazine.” Back in the late 70s, when Outside Magazine transferred its offices to Chicago, Cahill faced two choices: move with Outside to Chicago, or go to New York. Thinking it over, he had a sudden revelation: “‘Wait a second,’ I thought, ‘as a writer, I don’t have to work in an office, I don’t have to be in the city. I can be exactly where I want to be.’” That place was Livingston, Montana.

“I have the best job in American journalism,” he insists, smiling and reclining on his sofa in Livingston. The house abounds with testaments to a three-decade career of all-expense-paid travel to remote and often dangerous places: a primitive bow and arrow set from Irian Jaya, in New Guinea; an Indonesian penis gourd; ornate clay pots from the jungles of Mexico; and hordes of graven images from native cultures the world over.

But Cahill is not the only author living in Livingston. Another is Thomas McGuane, who has penned several highly acclaimed novels which chronicle the spectacle of characters living on the edge, thus endearing him to a whole generation of Americans. His books have been published in ten languages and his screenplays for the films “Rancho Deluxe” (1973) and “Missouri Breaks” (1976) have been seen worldwide.

Actually, there are more professional writers, per capita, than San Francisco, New York City, or any other literary hotbed you'd care to name in the United States. Quite a few native species, including journalist Scott McMillion, author of Mark of the Grizzly; singer-songwriter Mike Devine and his singer-songwriter son, Sean; magazine writer Lynette Dodson; archaeologist-writer Larry Lahren; and poet Patty Miller, to name a few.

The list of Livingston-area writers goes on and on: novelist and “Time” columnist Walter Kirn, mystery writers Jamie Harrison and Peter Bowen, environmental authorities Doug Peacock, Alston Chase and Thomas McNamee, fishing and hunting writers John Holt and Ben 0. Williams, jazz critic and humorist James Liska, foreign correspondent Thomas Goltz, journalist Steve Chapple. If you have the opportunity of coming to this place, you will have the opportunity of hobnobbing some of them in restaurants, parks, or grocery stores.

Hollywood stars also find Livingston a great place to live, too. Jeff Bridges has a home and owns a coffee shop. Forty-five kilometers east of Livingston, Tom Brokaw, Michael Keaton, and Whoopi Goldberg all have ranches. “I like it here since people treat me as I am, not as a celebrity,” replied Dennis Quaid, who owns a house here, when I asked him what has attracted him to live in this city. – ###

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