New space race begins when Atlantis lands

by Chris Owen on

The Space Shuttle Atlantis returns to Earth this week from its final flight. That pretty much puts NASA out of the business of launching humans into space anytime soon. On one hand that’s sad, the end of a grand program and many space workers will lose their jobs. On the other hand, its the right move at the right time that may result in more American space travelers than ever as America’s next space race blasts off.

“I’m convinced in the next few years we’re going to see multiple companies flying several times a week,” says George Nield, head of the Office of Commercial Space Transportation at the Federal Aviation Administration reports NPR.com. “And that will mean hundreds of launches every year, with thousands of people getting to experience space flight firsthand.”

Indeed, several companies are offering trips that will give people a few minutes of weightlessness at the edge of space. Space Adventures, Virgin Galactic and XCOR are all taking deposits. Other companies are planning to make spacecraft that can take NASA astronauts to the International Space Station.

The Space Shuttle program did it’s job. Hauling huge payloads of equipment, parts and supplies into space to build the International Space Station and more. Now it is time to turn the page on the next chapter of space exploration and some believe a whole new space race will be the result.

“The new American space race has begun” says Richard Garriott who paid a reported $30 million to ride a Russian Soyuz spacecraft in 2008, “This new race promises to create safer, cheaper spaceships that will explore farther, sooner. More importantly, in addition to exploration and fundamental research, this new era will return economic value from space resources like energy and minerals and microgravity research in fields such as biology.”

Garriott agrees that privately funded space travel will be the new frontier for NASA but notes the big difference is in how NASA will go about it’s business.

“NASA has always owned the vehicles that its astronauts rode into space” says Garriott in an article on Statesman.com, “What is changing is merely this procurement method. Instead of buying a vehicle, NASA is buying rides, just like it does for satellites.“

Flickr photo by Undertow851

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Off the Road: Kayaking Conway, South Carolina

by Paul Brady on


The guy at the marina told us that alligators are usually scared of people, so we probably didn’t have much to worry about after the kayaks were in the river. But the Waccamaw flows with what’s called black water–water turned dark by tannins leeched from cypress trees along the banks–making it all but impossible to see beneath the surface. If there were gators about, we’d only know it once it was too late. The sleepy town of Conway, South Carolina was proving to be much more exciting than I’d expected.

Traveling the American Road – Kayaking Conway


A few miles outside Myrtle Beach, Conway is a historic Lowcountry village founded in 1732 that moves about as fast as the slow drain of the Waccamaw. I found it because my friend Rob has family there: They run The Cypress Inn, a Southern Victorian waterfront bed and breakfast that we planned to enjoy for a night. It’s right on the river, with rocking chairs on the porch and an appropriately enormous (and delicious) breakfast.

Conway, a port by virtue of its river connections to the sea, has developed its waterfront into a tourist-friendly walkway, with boardwalks over the Waccamaw, playgrounds and benches, where couples sit to pass the quiet evenings. Live oaks weighed down with Spanish moss lend the town a mysterious air–and some grow in the middle of the road. One guide to the town I picked up at the Inn warns:

Some of our streets split around live oaks and some bend and wind. Drivers should proceed slowly and watch for oncoming traffic, always remembering that when the street narrows to a single lane, the law of Southern courtesy prevails!

The gentility extends to the waterways, many of which are now marked as “blueways,” narrow channels designated for recreation that extend all the way to the North Carolina border. Rob and I took to kayaks–leaky kayaks as it turned out–to paddle the rivers. We got turned around in the forks and bends, but with nothing to do except avoid getting eaten by alligators and water moccasins, our outing was a success. At $30 for the half-day rental, it was one of the best deals of the trip so far.

The area, a farming region since Antebellum times, continues to capitalize on the rural relaxation that’s increasingly popular worldwide. An AgriTourism Passport put together by Clemson University Extension promotes a variety of activities available in the area, including roadside produce stands, you-pick fruit farms, historic landmark plantations, farmers markets, vineyards and museums.

But if you spend the whole trip on eating biscuits and gravy at The Cypress Inn, you’ll have a wonderful time, too. Just remember to paddle off the calories in the Waccamaw.

Rail Trails reconnecting America old school style

by Chris Owen on

At one time, railroad lines ran on a network of tracks 270,000 miles long. Through countryside and residential areas they ran to connect America. But then highways came along and many railroad lines were abandoned, disconnecting neighborhoods and people. Now, those abandoned lines are being used to reconnect in an engaging way not all that different than how today’s electronic social networking tools like Facebook and Twitter are connecting people, families and business.

Rail-trails are former railroad lines used to create a multi-use path, typically for walking, hiking or cycling. The Rails-to-Trails Conservancy (RTC) is a nonprofit organization dedicated to making that happen.

“Railroads had such a pivotal role in the development of the country, especially in the opening of the West. Many communities’ identity sprang up around the railroads, so [preserving rail trails] preserves an important piece of American history” said Laura Cohen, the Western regional director of Rails-to-Trails Conservancy reports the LA Times. “We look at rail trails as a way to reconnect neighborhoods and reconnect people.”

There are 19,000 miles of rail trails reconnecting America, up from a mere 100 miles when Rails-to-Trails was founded in 1986 but 9,000 miles of potential rail-trails are waiting to be built.
“We have supported the tremendous growth and development of rail-trails since opening our doors February 1, 1986. Then, there were fewer than 200 known rail-trails. Today, there are more than 1,600 preserved pathways that form the backbone of a growing trail system that spans communities, regions, states and, indeed, the entire country.” says Rails-to-Trails on their web site.

Is there a rail trail in your area? TrailLink.com can tell you. A free service of Rails-to-Trails Conservancy, TrailLink.com offers more than 30,000 miles of bike trails, walking trails, equestrian trails, and hiking and running trails including interactive trail maps, trail descriptions, photos, reviews and more.

A non-profit organization, based in Washington D.C., Rails-To-Trails invites us to get involved in a number of ways.

  • A donation will help build, protect and enhance the rail-trail movement.
  • Register to be a member and get periodic e-mail updates and alerts on important legislative issues and RTC-related news. This is an ideal opportunity to become directly involved in RTC’s mission of providing communities with the multi-faceted benefits rail-trails provide.
  • They also put out a monthly newsletter we can sign up for and offer cycling gear, athletic apparel, gifts and more on their website.

Rails-to-Trails knows the value of today’s networking too and invites us to follow them on Twitter (@railstotrails) and Facebook.

Flickr photo by Napalm filled tires

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Big ship cruise not for you? Try gunkhole cruising

by Chris Owen on

Gunkhole cruising is cruising in shallow water, meandering from place to place and spending the nights in coves. The term refers to the gunk, or mud, typical of the creeks, coves, marshes, sloughs, and rivers that are referred to as gunkhole.

This is a place where big cruise ships can’t go.

It’s “that ideal but shallow anchorage that was dicey at best to get into in the first place and impossible to leave behind after experiencing. It’s the place where you might be all alone, at least for most of the time, unless you count the wildlife. It’s the place you never mention to anyone for fear of spoiling what only you alone know about. It’s the place you dream abouta yachter’s paradise of quiet, scenic anchorages” says CoastalBoating.net.

Beginning September 14, 2012, American Safari Cruises tiny, 22-guest Safari Quest does this sailing from Seattle.

“The intimate nature of this upscale yacht is ideal for navigating among the islands and scenic inlets in Washington and British Columbia,” said Tim Jacox, executive vice president of sales and marketing. “Sailing from Seattle will be more convenient for many people, and we’ve also increased the number of sailings in fall and spring.”

Sailing from Seattle, the yacht passes through the historic Hiram M. Chittenden Locks to Puget Sound. In Victoria, guests enjoy a tour of Butchart Gardens with a traditional British high tea, a visit to the Royal British Columbia Museum and the historic Empress Hotel.

A flexible itinerary allows time to search out and view wildlife such as orca whales, eagles, seals, sea lions, porpoise, black bears and deer. Expedition (gunkhole) cruising means the yacht freely explores among the inlets and islands of the Pacific Northwest. An onboard expedition leader provides expert narration while leading waterborne or land-based adventures including kayaking, hiking, beachcombing and skiff rides. Paddle boards are also available for solo adventures in scenic waters.

Other highlights of the cruise include exploration by foot or by kayak in Princess Louisa Inlet, only half a mile wide and culminating at the spectacular Chatterbox Falls; scenery and solitude while relaxing in the upper deck hot tub; stroll along Nanaimo’s picturesque waterfront promenade; a visit to the town of Friday Harbor with boutiques, galleries and a Whale Museum; hiking along a bluff to Turning Point Lighthouse on Stuart Island and kayaking among the sheltered Harmony Islands.

Cruise fares start at $3,995 per person based on double occupancy. The inclusive cruise includes all from-the-yacht activities and equipment; transfers; all meals; fine wine, premium spirits and microbrews; and all port charges, taxes and fees. The 22-guest Safari Quest features a hot tub, Tempur-pedic mattresses, heated tile floors in all bathrooms and upper category balconies. An all-American crew has a guest-crew ratio of 2 to 1. Yachts can be booked as a private charter or by individual stateroom.

Well-known in yachting circles as a favorite for gunkhole cruising the San Juan and Canadian Gulf Islands star in American Safari Cruises’ Pacific Northwest Passage itinerary returning in 2012. The cruise features Washington and British Columbia with a new homeport of Seattle, Washington.

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The Greatest Road Trip Radio Show in History

by Paul Brady on


The best radio station I’ve listened to on this road trip is Road Dog Trucking on SiriusXM. It’s a channel dedicated to truckers, with an ample time for call-ins and opinion-and a plethora of regional dialects, a selective sample that seems to indicate that most of the truckers in this country are white men from the south. It’s endlessly fascinating, this window onto an oft-overlooked subculture, and the pinnacle of the station is a show hosted by Dale Sommers, who goes by the name Truckin’ Bozo.

I don’t recall how I found the Bozo’s show, but at number 106 on the dial, it was likely through some desperate channel surfing. He was talking about, well, something and taking calls from truckers. They almost always go by their handles, names like Seatcover Chaser and Grizzly Bear and Kemosabe and Elvis. (Listing the handles heard on the show is a staple of writing stories about the Bozo.)

Working at WLW in Cincinnati in the ’80s, he developed an overnight country music show that caught on by truck stop word of mouth. Jerry Springer called him “a lone but powerful voice crying in the night” in 1991, introducing a WLWT segment on the host. He was snatched from the brink of retirement by satellite radio in 2004, to bring his show from the third shift to afternoon drive time.

The current program meanders through its three hours. An odd cast of frequent guests call in, filling their roles in story lines still inscrutable to me after listening for six weeks. The Bozo goes on political rants, aimed more at “politicians” than any one in particular, unless its President Obama, who gets dinged almost daily. Some bit of news that’s of interest to professional drivers-cross-border trucking, construction projects, new in-cab computer systems-will be dissected and re-dissected. A producer, Ritchie, will talk about Long Island, where it seems he’s from.

The Bozo’s show is, in other words, almost impenetrable for newcomers. And yet listeners keep coming back, jamming the phones to get a chance to greet the host with the phrase everyone uses when they finally get on air: “Hey there, Bozo.” If they’re lucky, callers will be “given a boost,” hung up on with an explosion sound effect. For how little sense it makes, it’s extraordinarily popular.

By inviting everyone to call in and tell their own stories in their own words, the Bozo has created a tight-knit, pan-American trucking community. After watching the final shuttle launch, I decided to join the club. I dialed in, told Ritchie what I planned to talk about, sat on hold for more than an hour and finally got to talk with the host about the experience.

The Bozo opined about the lack of industriousness and imagination in this country-we’re turning our space program over to the Russians, you see!-and then told a story about seeing a night launch’s exhaust trail from Tampa, more than a hundred miles away. I told the Bozo it was my first time calling in. He gave me a boost for the road trip, firing the explosion sound effect and proclaiming “Liftoff!” Now I just need to come up with a handle.