Reno Gazette-Journal from Reno, Nevada • Page 45

TRAVEL SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 30, 2008 RENO 5E Catalina I Slsnd has a THE SAVVY TRAVELER Applause on planes not extinct EL SARGENTO, BCS, MEXICO In a previous column, I lamented the loss of air travel's "wow" factor, specifically having observed that folks neither dress up much anymore nor applaud upon landing a sort of flippant casualness that sucks most of the re side Herds of bison roam Catalina Island. They are the descendants of about a dozen buffalo left after the loianu. The city of Avalon on Catalina Island. 'W Ak 4 fi 1 BY LENITA POWERS lpowersrgj.com Walk on the beach near Shark Cove. Watch bison graze on cactus-covered hillsides.

Sip a Buffalo Milk cocktail by the Pacific Ocean. Sure, Catalina Island is famous for being a great place to scuba dive, shop at tony boutiques and dine on fresh seafood, but the island also has its wild side. So on my first visit to Santa Catalina Island, with barely a glimpse of the city of Avalon, I was whisked into a four-wheel drive vehicle with a group of friends and we headed northwest into the mountains. Catalina is recovering from a fire that scorched the hills around Avalon and threatened the city in 2007, but 90 percent of the island was untouched by the flames. About 4,750 acres were burned and portions are being replanted, said Jackie McDougall, chief development officer for the Catalina Island Conservancy, a nonprofit organization dedicated to preserving the island and its native plants and animals.

Catalina is the second largest of the eight Channel Islands located off the California coast. At 22 miles long and 8 miles wide, it contains rugged mountains that top 2,000 feet and sweeping valleys that drop into coves and secluded beaches. Avalon, the island's only city, has a year-round population of about 3,500. The island also is home to the endangered Santa Catalina Island fox, bald eagles and North American bison, the descendants of some buffalo brought in for the filming of a 1 920s western and then left on the island. Much like Nevada does with its wild horses, Catalina tries to limit its herd of buffalo to 150 by selling some at auction or shipping them to reservations in South Dakota.

That leaves plenty of them to graze along slopes or block the washboard dirt roads that traverse the island. As varying as the wildlife is the island's landscape, which can go from one extreme to another within a 30-minute drive. At one spot, you're enjoying a cool breeze off the ocean and at the next, you're surrounded by dry mountains covered with prickly pear cactus. Here are some of the spots to check out the many faces of Catalina Island, as well as some sights to see around Dana Point, where you can catch the boat for Catalina: Kathleen Stebbins romance out of allowing one's body to be rocketed across the sky at 500 mph and then descending to Earth unscathed. Well, 1 was wrong on one score: Passengers will, in fact, still applaud upon landing.

All that's required is delay upon delay for, oh, sixseven hours or more, followed by eventual boarding and, finally, the phrase "Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to La Paz." The complimentary cocktails didn't hurt, either. God bless Alaska Airlines and its always-perky flight attendants, assiduously topping off glasses. Last year at Christmas, my flight into San Jose del Cabo was similarly delayed because, as we were told, there were just too many private jets inbound, monopolizing the airport's single runway, which doubles as a taxiway, which means it can handle only half as many flights as it might otherwise. (That's my best assessment. To quote a T-shirt 1 recently saw, "I'm an English major; you do the At any rate, my plane from LA.

to La Paz eventually arrived, much to the relief of our friend Captain Tom, who already was in La Paz and awaiting the outbound La leg on the same aircraft. Regular readers will be familiar with our friend Captain Tom, Superhero. A retired oil tanker captain, Tom gets things done and expects systems to function as designed. It took a furious flurry of texts to Mexico to convince him that yes, the aircraft was delayed yes, that aircraft yes, he could afford one last margarita on the deck before heading to the airport. The delay, from what we were told in L.A., had something to do with a "fuel panel" that wasn't allowing the ground crew to fuel the aircraft, after we'd already boarded the plane.

The captain told us it would just be a "short delay" while they performed a "maintenance procedure," which would require they "power down the aircraft." Which they did, after which it got ungodly hot in the cabin, and the rest of my quotation marks quickly evaporated. And then we were told to deplane. And then we were told a part was inbound on another airplane from Portland. It turned out that the part in question was in fact the entire airplane coming in from Portland. As a recovering nervous flyer, 1 now choose not to think too much about what any of foregoing means.

We simply boarded the replacement CRJ-700 and rolled down the runway. We enjoyed a solid take-off, a smooth flight, a certain hard-won camaraderie and the aforementioned free-flowing libations. Who wouldn't applaud? Kathleen Stebbins is a Reno Gazette-Journal features reporter and frequent trailer. For more, read the Traveler Hog oiRGj.com i lit 1 1 ii iy ui a i vvgdigi uii mc 4 i 1 1 1 1 1 wl i i 1 1 i i so named for the huge rock formation that juts out seaward. Known for its kelp beds and named "One of the Best Camping Grounds in the West" by Sunset Magazine, camping permits are required.

(www.visitcatalinaisland. com) 3 Ben Weston Beach. More remote and beautiful, Ben Weston Beach is just south of Little Harbor. Limited camping is allowed there by permit, but it's a good 45-minute hike from the road. An undeveloped beach with no facilities, visitors must pack out whatever they bring in.

4. clubbir Two Harbors: One of the favorite berths for the yacht- bing set and a good TRAVEL BRIEFS at its three owned or operated Colorado resorts Copper Mountain, Steamboat Ski Resort and Winter Park. But the Vancouver-based resort operator says the drop in business at its resorts is unlike anytning it has experienced in recent years. The company employs 22.000 workers during the peak winter season in Canada and the United States. Intrawest also operates Canada's Whistler-Blackcomb ski resort Titanic exhibit coming back to Minnesota ST.

PAUL Minn. An exhibit featuring artifacts from the Ttanic is coming back to Minnesota. 1 CONSERVING CATALINA DONATIONS: Contribute online at www.catalinaconservancy. org or by checks made payable to: Catalina Island Conservancy, P.O. Box 2739, Avalon, CA 90704.

Donations are tax deductible. DETAILS: 310-510-2595 ext. 114. CATALINA NEW YEAR'S EVE DEC. 31: 36th annual New Year's Eve event.

Dance in the New Year in Avalon's Casino Ballroom. DETAILS: 31 0-51 0-1 520 or log on to www.CatalinaChamber. com to the public on weekends. Visitors can board the Sea Explorer, a 70-foot floating laboratory with touch tanks, viewing aquariums and more. The public also can book seasonal cruises aboard the Explorer to see marine wildlife, including whales, or a night cruise to view glow-in-the-dark sea life.

(www.ocean-institute.org) 6 Mission San Juan Capistrano: Founded more than 200 years ago, it was the seventh of 21 Catholic missions built in California. Its 10 acres mix the beauty of lush gardens of cacti, birds of paradise and bougainvillea with adobe walls and remnants of pits where native Indians and other laborers tanned hides or crushed grapes to make wine, (www.missionsjc.com) The Casino Ballroom and Theatre is a landmark in the city of Avalon on Catalina Island. It's just named the casino, but no gambling is allowed. place to view flying fish. Located on the northeast side of the island, you can enjoy the ocean view while sipping Two Harbor's signature drink "Buffalo Milk." No island bison where injured in the making of this libation, a concoction of pieces of banana, creme de cacoa, Kahlua, cream, vodka and topped with whipped cream and a sprinkle of nutmeg.

Beware: It tastes like a chocolate shake but contains hooch aplenty. 5 Dana Point: Once known to the Beach Boys and the hang-10 crowd for the legendary surf break called Killer Dana, it also is the site of the Ocean Institute. An educational facility for school children on weekdays, it opens its doors The Science Museum of Minnesota hosted the exhibit in 1 999. and the exhibit with new items will be back in St. Paul starting June 12.

New items from the sunken ocean liner that will be on display include 62 perfume vials that were Discount your trove "4 IThe Wrigley Memorial and Botanical Garden: Established in 1935 by the wife of chewing gum magnate, William Wrigley the nearly 40-acre desert garden is covered with various cacti. It also features four of the six plants found nowhere else in the world but Catalina. Open year-round, the garden includes the Wrigley Memorial, an elaborate monument where William Wrigley was entombed in 1932. Don't worry about ghosts. His remains were moved to another resting place when World War II prompted fear of a Japanese invasion on the West Coast.

2 Little Harbor: Located on the west side of Catalina, it lies next to Shark Harbor, holidays are the perfect time to check out both exhibitions and revisit the permanent collection, and free admission means people can visit repeatedly and really get to know the art A grant from The Helis Foundation has let the museum admit all Louisiana residents free since it reopened after Hurricane Katrina. 3 Colorado ski resorts bracing for layoffs DENVER Ski resort workers at three Colorado mountains are bracing for layoffs as a Canadian resort operator said the poor economy will force job cuts. Intrawest Corp. did not say exactly how many jobs will go taken from the wreckage in 2000. Next year's exhibit will also include a gallery dedicated to Minnesota connections to the tragedy.

The Titanic sank in the Atlantic Ocean in April 1912. Associated Press Air Travel Reservations orronfements quKUf and me wnmcnro MKXfcfSSCOM 1-888-6-LOW-AIR New Orleans Museum of Art waives admission NEW ORLEANS The New Orleans Museum of Art already free to Louisiana residents, is also offering free admission to out-of-state visitors through Jan. 18. The dates coincide with the citywide international art show called Prospect.1 New Orleans and the museum's exhibit of 1 08 pieces by jeweler Peter Carl Faberge from the Hodges Family Collection. NOMA is participating in Prospectl, showing work by nine of the 81 artists featured.

The citywide exhibit's organirs wanted every bit of it free. Director John Bullard said the I Reno to Sjn Francisco $171 fr- Reno to Los Angeles $190 Travel Svatons Reno to rW from $212 Reno to New York from $226 AIR4LESS.