A great aerial shot of the West Baden Springs Hotel.

The dome at the West Baden Springs Hotel is truly breathtaking.  Once dubbed "The Eighth Wonder of the World," the dome and hotel were officially reopened to the public on September 15, 1902 after the entire structure burned to the ground in 1901.  It is a true technological marvel. It was the largest free-spanning dome in the world from 1902 to 1913 and remained the largest free-spanning dome in the United States until 1955.  There were many that said a dome of that size couldn't be done.  The trusses that hold the dome up were engineered using many of the same principles that a bridge would use.

I found myself looking up at the dome constantly, not quite able to wrap my head around the sheer enormity of the structure.  While the dome was impressive at night, it was even more so in the daylight.  We got some great background information from Dyan Duncan, the Public Relations Manager for the French Lick Resort.  She was kind enough to show us around both the West Baden Springs Hotel and the French Lick Springs Hotel, which together make up French Lick Springs Resort.  Dyan told us about a "secret room" directly underneath the center of the dome that contains paintings of unknown history.  Many history buffs have guessed at the origin of these paintings but nobody knows the entire truth of why they were put there.  Pretty cool!

Following our tour of everything the West Baden Springs Hotel had to offer, Dyan led us over to the French Lick Springs Hotel.  While the history of the West Baden Springs Hotel is incredible, the history of the French Lick Springs Hotel is just as neat, if not more so.  It was built in 1845, burned in 1897, and then was rebuilt, the new hotel even more grandiose than the first.  The hotel is located on mineral springs (now closed) that many in the early 1900's believed to be the cure for many common ailments.  People would travel to French Lick Springs Hotel to pay for mineral water in the hopes that it would cure whatever ailed them.  Unfortunately, as we know today, there wasn't really much healing powers in the water. 

The French Lick Springs Hotel also contains a great casino.  Mac isn't much of a gamer but if we had had a bit more time I may have tried my luck!  The high rollers room had some incredible architecture.  I suggest a walk through there if you get a chance.

Mac and I were lucky enough to see the majorities of both hotel properties and all the amenities that they had to offer.  From some incredible golf courses to one of the most impressive architectural feats I have ever seen, this was truly a trip to remember.  Make a trip to the French Lick Resort in Indiana.  You won't regret it!

*Mac and I would like to acknowledge Michele Bowling's hospitality and help in setting this incredible trip up for us.

The French Lick Springs Hotel.

The original electric switchboard that powered the French Lick Springs Hotel.  Pretty neat.

An old poster in the French Lick Springs Hotel extolling the healing abilities of Pluto Spring Water.

A statue of the devious Pete Dye with a very appropriate quote.

When the idea for a golf and gaming feature came up in our weekly Monday meeting a few months ago, Mac and I jumped at the chance to put our names next to it.  That meeting several months ago led us to this: a chance to be the first ones on the course at the incredible Pete Dye Course at French Lick Resort.  I have been privileged to play several beautiful courses in my short 26 years but this golf course trumped them all.  The fact that it was the toughest test of golf I had ever encountered did nothing to quell my enthusiasm.  As Mac and I headed out for the course at 7:00 AM, I made a simple goal for myself: break 90.  I learned very quickly, though, that simply breaking 100 would be a much more reasonable goal!

If you don't know much about Pete Dye, simply Google his name.  He was one of the most accomplished and influential golf course designers in the world.  He was inducted into the World Golf Hall of Fame in late 2008.  He no longer designs courses but his influence will live on forever.  If you ever get the chance to play a Pete Dye course, I suggest you take it.  He was the inventor of "volcano" bunkers; these bunkers rise up out of the ground on all sides like volcanoes, and I was lucky to avoid all of them on that day.  

I was joking with Mac on the way to the course that I was going to beat up on him that day.  I'm 30 years younger.  I should beat him, right?  But it turned out that consistency and accuracy won this day.  He beat me by a few strokes.  I had never been on a course where accuracy was so incredibly valuable.  Putting it in the rough off the tee was akin to a one-stroke penalty.  I even elected to hit 3-iron off the tee on a couple of holes just to make sure I stayed in the narrow fairways.  Looking back on it, that was a strategy I should've utilized quite a bit more!

We were extremely lucky to have an interview set up after our round with Jan Tellstrom, the Head Pro at the Pete Dye Course.  I was able to get some great video of Mac and Jan conversing about the history of the course and the resort itself, all set with a beautiful backdrop behind.  Jan noted that the Pete Dye Course is a "destination" course.  People come from all over to play that course and it's brother, the Donald Ross Course.  Jan noted that most people that visit the French Lick Resort (which has a great casino as well) come for the golf and not the gaming.  Sure, they may hit the tables after their round, but the vast majority of singles and groups that visit the French Lick Resort are their for the golf over anything else.

At the end of the day, I was humbled.  Thoroughly worn out and thoroughly humbled.  I came in with a goal to break 90, but that went out the window just a few holes in.  I hoped to hang on to a score in double digits but it wasn't to be.  I do have to say, though, on a course that incredibly difficult, I guess I'll settle for a 102.  I was there more for the experience, and there was plenty of that.  It was a great day on a great golf course.  If you're ever close to French Lick, Indiana, I suggest you make your way over to the golf course and play a round!

Taking aim!  This is probably one of those holes on which I should've used a 3-iron!

A beautiful patio.  We could see several holes from here.  Not a bad spot to have a post-round meal.

Group travel today is much more than just sitting on a motorcoach. Today’s more active group travelers demand more chances to learn about and experience the destinations they are visiting. Over the past decade, many destinations and attractions have seen the value of providing such opportunities.

On two recent trips, I got to immerse myself in hands-on experiences in Columbus, Ohio, and Hershey, Pa. From petting a cheetah at the Columbus Zoo and printing a greeting card on a 19th-century hand-cranked press in Worthington, Ohio, to creating my own candy bar at Chocolate World in Hershey — complete with my photo on the wrapper — I had a blast.

It’s an axiom that people learn by doing, and it’s easy to see why such experiences provide greater understanding. And they are a lot of fun.

One particularly delicious experience was at the Chocolate Lab at the Hershey Story, the Hershey company’s museum located on, you guessed it, Chocolate Avenue.

“You are enrolled in a class where you will make a chocolate bowl. It is totally edible,” Denise, our instructor, informed me. I had just settled in at a stainless-steel workstation after thoroughly washing my hands and donning a plastic apron, latex gloves, a hairnet and, to top off the look, a beard net.

The six stations can hold a total of 35 people for a class.

The class was informative and fun. In between leading us through the steps for making a bowl out of chocolate, Denise gave us a history of chocolate and an overview of chocolate production, from beans to bunnies (chocolate, of course).

She told us that the cacao bean, from which chocolate is produced, needs lots of water and heat; thus, it grows only in the rain forest of a tropical band between 20 degrees north and 20 degrees south of the equator, with 70 percent now grown in Africa.

After harvest, the beans go through several processes before becoming chocolate: fermenting for up to a week; drying; and roasting, which breaks them into small pieces called nibs, which we sampled.

“The process hasn’t changed in decades,” said Denise.

If you want to sooth your conscience when you overindulge, Denise informed us that chocolate is considered a health food because it is an antioxidant and is considered a fruit. “It is very close to the strawberry,” she said.

But, back to the bowl. The secret was a small balloon. We dipped the balloon in a bowl of melted chocolate twice, careful not to let it drip after the first time, then placed the chocolate-coated balloon on a paper plate and put it into a refrigerator to set. When the chocolate was firm enough, we popped the balloon with a pushpin, and we had a bowl, which we decorated with swirls of liquid frosting from a squeeze bottle.

And, yes, it was edible.

The author with his motor home in Guadalupe Mountains National Park, TX

In no particular order…

1. Learning to drive a 36-foot motor home, towing a compact car behind, and avoiding as many “big city” traffic hazards as possible by parking the motor home in the outskirts and using the car to get into and around town 

2. Having the ability to avoid snow and cold last winter, as well as oppressive heat this summer by taking my motor home to Phoenix and the Seattle/Tacoma areas when the times were right   

3. Eating (real) bear stew at the 53rd Annual McCleary Bear Festival in Washington

4. Meeting a fellow at the Chateau Ste. Michelle Winery (outside Seattle) who saw my Cardinals baseball cap and introduced himself, then finding out that he grew up just a couple of miles from where I did in suburban St. Louis and attended both my elementary and high schools   

5. The Cardinals’ end-of-season surge to a surprising World Series victory last October

6. Enjoying a warm, cloudless early May day at Oregon’s breathtaking, deep-blue Crater Lake, at the time still surrounded and enhanced by massive amounts of last winter’s snowfall

7. Being amused by watching locals at a Burger King in Barcelona, Spain, trying to figure out what to do when they were handed empty cups and directed to a brand-new “self serve” ice and soda dispenser of the type that we take for granted in the U.S., but had never been seen before in Europe

8. Lamenting how incredibly rude, self-centered and aggressively hostile American tourists can be when a fistfight was narrowly averted in an elevator I was riding aboard cruise ship Carnival Magic (Please be assured that I was not involved in the confrontation!)

9. Attending thrilling, virtuosic symphony concerts performed by the resident orchestras of Berlin, New York City, Philadelphia, Washington, Pittsburgh, Indianapolis, Milwaukee, St. Louis, Kansas City, Dallas, Houston, San Francisco and Oregon

10. Spending the Christmas holidays at remote but magnificent Big Bend National Park in West Texas

My $2 plate of bear stew in McClary, WA

My May visit to Crater Lake National Park, OR

The New York Philharmonic following a concert in Avery Fisher Hall at Lincoln Center

Wild mushrooms in Mount Rainier National Park, WA

Regular readers of my monthly, electronic ramblings are probably already aware that one of my passions is hiking in our national parks and other public lands.  Needless to say, along the trails I do encounter a lot of interesting and inquisitive people, yet I continue to be surprised by others who, even though totally surrounded by the majesty of Mother Nature’s handiwork, still seem unable to “see the forest for the trees.”

I don’t quite know what drives individuals to be in such a big hurry, or the attraction of simply getting to the end of a trail and return to the point of origin as quickly as possible, seemingly in order to embark upon yet another perfunctory adventure. In the tour industry, we’ve all heard stories about international visitors to the Grand Canyon, who, after a brief look over the rim at Arizona’s awesome gorge, have apparently seen as much as they want and are ready to press on to Las Vegas.         

My point is simply that there is beauty to be found almost everywhere.  Nevertheless, if one does not pause along the way to look for that beauty, or to bend over for a closer view, then he or she is missing out on a whole world of fascinating discoveries. I’d much rather make just half of a given trail and know that I experienced as many of the wonders encountered along the way as possible, than be able to boast that I made it all the way to the “bitter end.”      

Hopefully the accompanying, recent photographs provide an idea of the type of sights that many people seem to just rush on past. I sat on a rock in Mount Rainier National Park for at least half an hour to take in the splendor of the glacial lake and mountain ridge shown. Even though this rock couldn’t have been more than 100 feet off of the “beaten path,” not one of them paused along the way long enough to see what they were missing while I was there! So please, do yourself a big favor when you’re out in the wild and stop to smell, see, photograph or otherwise experience the things that are just beyond comprehension with a cursory glance.

Flowers after a rainstorm at the Northwest Trek Wildlife Park, Eatonville, WA

Glacial lake and Goat Island Mountain in Mt. Rainier National Park, WA

Rather than flash, I used a railing to steady the camera and get this shot inside the cathedral in Malaga, Spain

I take a lot of photos as I travel around the country, explore our parklands and embark on ever more esoteric cruise itineraries. In fact, I have over 50,000 digital images on my laptop computer. Although I’m pretty good at it, I’m certainly not in a league with topnotch professional photographers.

But considering the amazing technology built into modern digital cameras, taking good photos is not a difficult task. For decades I have amused friends with Hoelscher’s First Law of Amateur Photography: The amount of time required to take a photograph is inversely related to the sophistication of the equipment being utilized.

First, it is important to note that digital cameras on the market in 2012 are much, much improved over models sold less than a decade ago. As a result, if you happen to use a camera more than just a few years old, it’s high time to bite the bullet, junk the old clunker and get yourself a more technologically advanced piece of equipment.

Every week I encounter people striving mightily to see the dim viewscreen of an older digital camera in bright sunlight, which is virtually impossible. If you are not satisfied with the pictures you can take with your cell phone, do yourself a favor and resist the temptation to buy an “el cheapo” camera on sale at Walmart. Cameras with excellent features are now available for $150 to $200, while spending around $300 will get the average casual photographer as much flexibility as he or she is likely to require. Personally, I have found the selection and prices at Costco to be particularly attractive.

Yet I see people all the time who have spent $2,000 to $3,000 on expensive, frequently bulky (and, yes, top quality) Canon or Nikon equipment, apparently because some camera store salesperson saw them coming, deduced that they had money to spend and sold them a lot more capability than they needed. Most will likely never even figure out how to take advantage of a fraction of all they have purchased. Many of them don’t even know how to turn off the in-camera electronic flash. Please note that my remarks here are most certainly not geared towards many serious amateurs or those with professional ambitions.   

Back in the 35mm film days, I had cases filled with numerous camera bodies and an assortment of very flexible lenses, but I missed shots simply because I had tired of toting all the paraphernalia around. Now I have four very portable digital models.  Even my publisher friend of The Group Travel Leader seemed surprised that I get some pretty decent results using relatively modest equipment. These days I seldom even get my tripod out of the box, simply because I have learned to use whatever might be available…posts, poles, railings, rocks, fences, fire hydrants, church pews, etc., as camera braces to steady my low-light shots. Believe me, this really works!

Finally, digital photography allows you the opportunity to take numerous shots without spending any additional money. The more pictures you take, the better you will get at doing so, so I’ll let you in on a little trade secret. All successful professional photographers experiment and take many shots, but only show only their best images.                      

Bob Hoelscher, CTC, CTP, MCC, CTIE, is a longtime travel industry executive who has sold his tour company, bought a motorhome and is traveling the highways and byways of America.  He is a former chairman of NTA, and was a founding member of Travel Alliance Partners (TAP).

Well-known in the industry as both a baseball and symphony aficionado, Bob is also one of the country’s biggest fans of our national parks, both large and small.  He has already visited more than 325 NPS sites and has several dozen yet to see.  He is currently traveling the country to visit as many of those parks as possible.  His blog, “Travels with Bob,” appears periodically on The Group Travel Leader’s blogsite, “Are We There Yet”.  

Bob is available for contractual work in the industry and may be reached at bobho52@aol.com or by calling (435) 590-1553.

Take multiple images of your subjects in order to be able to choose the most interesting facial expressions

Find a post or fence to steady long telephoto shots, like of this one of a Mount Rainier glacier

Position yourself across from where the parade turns a corner, and you can get both "head on" and "side" shots