It’s Daily Detour’s birthday and we’re celebrating with a picture of, um, panda poop.

Well, why not? Since its launch March 7, 2013, the Daily Detour photo gallery has set its sights on “odd spots, strange trips and great moments in travel.” In a word, detourism.

The idea is to surprise you a little, perhaps with raincoat-clad travelers awaiting dawn on Mt. Haleakala, or a white-coated waiter awaiting customers at the Tadich Grill in San Francisco. Maybe with a shot of Ken Burns grabbing snaps in Wyoming; or a Tijuana tout helping his “zebra” smile.

So the panda byproduct here, displayed by an upbeat keeper at the San Diego Zoo, isn’t such a departure. (As you probably guessed, it’s mostly bamboo.)

Like the keepers with their pandas, I feed the gallery every working day, with a picture and caption from the road — some shot last week, some last century.  (I’ve been writing for The Times, mostly the Travel section, since...

To the airport in Portland, Ore., we say: How do we love thy carpet? Let us count the many, many ways.

To all fliers hanging out at airports, we say "Quick, look down!" I must have missed the memo that addresses what travel website Jaunted is calling the "shockingly popular" trend of people taking pictures of #airportcarpet -- often with their feet included -- and posting on Instagram.

More than 880 carpet photos (and counting) have been shared on Instagram, ranging from Seattle Tacoma International Airport's (SEA) nautical blue waves on a rich green background to realistic pictures of rocks at Wellington International Airport in New Zealand.

Phoenix's Sky Harbor International Airport's (PHX) swirling circles inset with airplanes also has fans (Instragam tag @phxcarpet). The few of Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) shades show rather unmemorable swirls and geometric patterns in muted colors.

The most ridiculously loved airport carpet has to be Portland, Ore., where keeping the...

It's been a lousy year for water, but recent heavy rains in Southern California have sown a few seeds of hope that golden poppies in the Antelope Valley just might put on a show this year. Not a big show, but a show.

The brown fields at the Antelope Valley California Poppy Reserve in Lancaster have greened up since storms last week dropped 3 1/2 inches of rain. The moisture plumped up little poppies that had struggled to sprout during drought conditions with flowers so small you'd have to be standing on top of them to take notice.

The recent rainfall gives those poppies a chance of getting bigger and putting out more plants, maybe even turning into the golden carpet that visitors love.

"I have to be very careful about being optimistic," Jean Ryhne, California state park interpreter, said Thursday in discussing the potential bloom at the Mojave Desert grassland. "If I am and anything happens, people get mad at us."

But the blooms will come only if the weather cooperates.

"I hope we don'...

Didn't get enough of the white stuff this winter? The historic Hotel Jerome in Aspen, Colo., offers a late-season ski package that comes with lift tickets, ski and board rentals, and breakfast for two.

The deal: Prices for the Peak Performance Ski Retreat package start at $950 a night at the hotel that opened in 1889 and claims a spot on the National Register of Historic Places. Despite the vintage vibe, hotel rooms have been upgraded with Internet access, iPod docking stations, plasma TVs and other amenities.

The minimum stay for this offer is three nights. Extras include breakfast for two (valued at $60), rental equipment (valued at $65) along with daily lift tickets to Aspen Mountain, Aspen Highlands, Buttermilk and Snowmass (prices vary).

When: The offer is good through March 31.

Tested: I called and found availability for the package for the slightly lower rate of $912 a night including tax for a three-night stay starting March 16. For those who have ski passes or don't need the...

For late summer travel as well as fall travel to Tokyo, Singapore Airlines has an $870 round-trip fare from LAX that includes all taxes and fees.

It is for travel Mondays-Thursdays from Sept. 1 until Nov. 20 and for return any day of the week through February.

It is subject to availability.

Info: Singapore Air, (800) 742-3333

Source: Airfarewatchdog

Visitors to Oahu, Kauai and the Big Island can join in a free whale-watching experience on March 29 when they will not only be on the lookout for whales but also be counting them.

Humpback whales come to Hawaii each winter to mate and calve, and the Hawaiian Islands Humpback Whale National Marine Sanctuary tracks their numbers during the Sanctuary Ocean Count that’s held one Saturday morning each January, February and March.

About 2,000 volunteers are needed for the counts, which take place at 62 locations scattered across the three islands. Most are easily accessible. Some, such as the ones at Oahu’s Ihilani and Turtle Bay resorts, don’t even require guests to hop in a car.

The count’s website provides details of the various locations.

“The purpose is twofold,” said project manager Jordan Ching. “We don’t claim the data we collect is scientifically accurate…but it provides a snapshot of broader trends. Even more important is the...

Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is a soccer player and fan. Travel journalist Peter Greenberg is not—and perhaps even less so after his experience filming “Israel: The Royal Tour,” which makes its debut at 7 p.m. Thursday on PBS SoCal.

Greenberg’s series gives an in-depth look at a country (topics have included New Zealand and Mexico, among others) through the eyes of its head of state. He began filming the Israel story in June 2012.

In the film, Netanyahu says he likes to watch and play soccer. Position? Left forward. Then Greenberg acknowledges he wasn't much of an athlete and that his position was “left out.”

The prime minister asks the journalist to play goalie and launches some kicks toward the accidental athlete, who proves himself fairly hapless. But on one kick, the prime minister flinches and says he thinks something snapped. The "something" was a tendon and as a result, he spent several weeks in a cast.

End of filming.

Sche...

Wisconsin. "Airplane!" Actor Robert Hays. NBA great Kareem Abdul-Jabbar. Put them together and you have promos for Wisconsin that spoof the 1980 spoof comedy that gave new meaning to the phrase, "And don't call me Shirley."

"Airplane!" tells the story of Ted Striker (Hays), who has to pilot a plane when the crew (including Abdul-Jabbar as co-pilot Roger Murdock) gets food poisoning. Girl Scouts get into a brawl, an IV line for a critically ill girl is mistakenly disconnected, and Barbara "Leave It to Beaver" Billingsley talks jive as the backdrop to Striker's struggle to land safely, coached by a whacked-out air traffic supervisor.

In one of three Travel Wisconsin ads, the airport tower tells the pair they're too low to the ground (see video above).

"I know, but Wisconsin is so beautiful in summer, so much to do ... boating, fishing, hiking, I wish I were down there," Hays as pilot Ted Striker says.

"I can't believe I ever left this place," Abdul-Jabbar says later, a nod to his start...

Climbing routes in the northern part of Joshua Tree National Park have been closed temporarily so as not to disturb a pair of golden eagles nesting in the area.

The routes in the Indian Cove area may remain shut as late as mid-June, according to the National Park Service.

"The nesting pair appears to have finished constructing a nest, and this area will remain closed until the nest has been abandoned to ensure the protection of the species for the duration of the nesting activities," a park statement says. Closures went into effect Feb. 24.

The routes affected are Slatanic Area, Rattlesnake Buttress, Margaret Thatcher Spire, the Stepping Stones, the Bulkhead, the Dunce Cap and Commissioner's Buttress.

All visitors, including hikers, are asked to steer clear of the area. Signs are posted at the closed areas, and visitor centers inside the park are getting the word out too.

Other parts of the park also are temporarily closed. Heavy flash floods that have churned up heavy metals over the...