Blind Gal Competes in Iditarod

by Erik Olsen on

Man, you really gotta admire
some
people. Here we are complaining about the nasty weather coming this way, while
Rachael Scdoris  is competing this minute as one of more
than six dozen mushers in the grueling Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race. It’s not just that she’s competing. It’s that
she is legally blind.

Scdoris suffers from congenital achromatopsia, a genetic disorder that affects the eye’s ability to take in images.
Her father, Jerry, is a champion musher who in 2003 founded the Atta Boy 300 Oregon World Cup “Race for Vision,” which
promotes research in ophthalmology.

 

Monkey Business

by Erik Olsen on

What a fascinating bit of news. The
rights to name a newly
discovered monkey went up for auction and fetched $650,000. Proceeds from
the auction are going to the Bolivian park
where the species was found. The winner was some anonymous person…though who will doubtful remain so for
long. (Michael? Is that you?) The winner outbid Ellen DeGeneres who wanted to name the monkey herself…though
no word on what she would have called it.

Best of the Southwest

by Erik Olsen on

I talked in our last podcast about the National Geo  Adventure
story on lake Powell. There are some
incredible photos in the piece that reveal how much Lake Powell has receded since the beginning of the drought in the
Southwest. So I figured I’d post the
pictures when they came up on the Web and, lo, they have. Check them out and marvel at how much the scenery has
changed because of the low water, but how beautiful some of the canyons are that were so recently underwater.

Learn How to Keep Hydrated

by Erik Olsen on


REI, always a great source of how-to information on the outdoors, has

a little feature on how to choose your hydration system. Camel Back, Beer can hat or IV directly plugged into
your arm? What’s best? Personally, I’ve had a Camelbak for some time now, and find them great, if a bit bulky. But I’m
up for an IV, too, if someone invents a good system. Give it a read and find out.

Clint and Flat Stanley

by Erik Olsen on


Clint Eastwood is a fan of
Flat Stanley. He even brought Flat
Standley along to the Oscars. And ol Stanley is a good friend to lotsa folks.  President Bush and
former President Bill Clinton have had their photos snapped with Stanley, as have singers Clay Aiken and Willie Nelson.
Well, if you don’t know who Flat Stanley is, you’re probably not 12
years old. Flat Stanley is a world traveler.
This CNN article has flat Stanley making
himself known at the Academy Awards.  He is the mascot of a program to teach young kids to read and better
understand the world…and God knows we need both.