National Parks Traveler

by Erik Olsen on

I have raved here so often about how great our national parks are, that I sometimes wonder
if people think I’m loony. The fact is, my first real job after college (after being a sailing instructor and a ski
area photographer…both of which failed to impress my parents) was with the Department of the Interior. For those who
don’t know, the DOI is the federal agency in charge of almost all public land. It
encompasses the Bureau of Land Management, the
Fish and Wildlife Service and the National Park
Service (among others). While I am no fan of bloated government, there are many agencies that do a superb and
admirable job making sure that America’s natural legacy is preserved and protected. Among them, the National Park
Service is the jewel in the crown.

And so all this salutary babble about the NPS leads me to show you this
very good site run by a solo blogger about the Park Service. It
gives the lowdown on the NPS and provides some very insightful posts on the state of the NPS today.

Voodoo Music Festival

by Erik Olsen on

With the motto: Restore, Rebuild, Return, the Voodoo Music Festival is
raging in Memphis today and tomorrow. The concert is being held partly to raise money to rebuild New Orleans. The
festival is a well-known music extravaganza that this year features some superb talent. 

It takes place (having been relocated from Nawlins this year) at Memphis’ Tom Lee Park. The festival is all about
celebrating the culture, art and heritage of Louisiana through music, and the array of participating rock bands is
truly dizzying. Here is the short list: Nine Inch Nails, The Flaming Lips, Queens of the Stone Age, Billy Idol, My
Chemical Romance, New York Dolls, Cake, The Bravery, Digable Planets, Neville Brothers, Dr John, Big Sam’s Funky Nation
and Brotherhood of Groove.

If that isn’t enough to make you start walkin to Memphis, well, I don’t know what is.

Road Read: The Bus We Loved

by Kelly Amabile on

London’s famous
Routemaster buses used to operate on
over 20+ routes in the city. As you may have heard, they are
slowly dying off and word on the street is that
by Christmas, the classic buses will only be found on two tourist routes in central London.

Outraged Londoners have banned together to Save the
Routemasters, and are slowly making progress with city transport officials, as seen in the
announcement this month of two new Heritage routes that will
operate daily. In the midst of all this, Travis Elborough wrote a
history of the beloved bus, which
in his words, is
“…an unashamedly rhapsodical attempt to explain how this bus came into being, how it fits into London’s
history, why it looks the way it does, how it works, why we love it and, briefly, to ponder what its passing may mean
for the city.”

Read up on this famous icon and be sure to catch a ride if you visit London soon, who knows how long they will
last…

Goats in Trees Make Great Face Cream

by Erik Olsen on

Or so we are told by
this piece in today’s New York
Times. I’ve seen these tree-climbing goats before. Not in person, but in pictures and, I’m sure, on some National
Geographic special. And like all things really cool and exotic, they are threatened.

But here’s the twist. It’s not really the goats that are threatened. It’s the trees, called argan trees. You
see, the trees burn, and that makes them very appealing to people who are cold or in need of wood to cook their food.
And the goats overgraze the trees too. But there is hope! Because people have discovered (or, I guess they have known
for centuries…perhaps re-discovered is the proper term) that the oil of the nuts that grow in the trees, the nuts that
are the reason the goats climb the trees in the first place, have an oil inside them makes a dandy face cream. It also
is used in cooking and is said to be very tasty, especially once they have passed through a goat. And no conveniently,
there might be a reason to save the trees, which is good news for them, and for the goats, and for us!

I’ll have my fries cooked in goat crap oil, please!

Modern Outdoors Design: MOMA

by Erik Olsen on

I haven’t actually been over to the MOMA yet to see
this new exhiibit called SAFE: Design Takes on Risk, but I understand it’s both very intersting and quite funny.
The Web site is very well done, and shows off some of the interesting ideas of the artists. There are “tree tents”,
refugee shelters, homeless pods, demining equipment, baby strollers, and protective sports gear. All of it is quite
clever and prototypical…that is, um, they are all prototypes for products you may one day find at your local REI or
Wal-Mart. The item pictured here is the homesless pod…so colorful you almost want to eat one! (not a homeless
person…the pod)