Travel to the Cherokee Nation: A new website helps you plan

by Jamie Rhein on

In the 7,000 square miles of the Cherokee Nation in Oklahoma, there are attractions scattered across it. From National Historic Landmark Fort Gibson that was built in 1824 as a staging area for military expeditions in the west, to Will Rogers birthplace, to the Tahequah Cultural District–the Cherokee Nation’s capitol after the Cherokee were forced to relocate to Oklahoma on the Trail of Tears, the variety is impressive.

As a way to help tourists find their way across the Cherokee Nation’s vastness, and plan a trip according to their interests, the website Cherokee Nation Cultural Tourism was recently launched.

Along with the navigation tools that allow people to find out specifics about each cultural attraction, there is also a Calendar of Events page and another page to help folks hook up with specific tours: Cherokee Old Settler Tour; Will Rogers History Tour; Cherokee History Tour; and Cherokee Civil War Tour.

The list of things to do on each day of February is impressive. One event that caught my attention on this month’s calendar is the Fiddler’s Festival, February 26-28 at the Western Hills Guest Ranch & Sequoyah State Park.

One place to start a trip to the region might be the Cherokee Heritage Center in Park Hill, Oklahoma. Here you can learn more about Cherokee history and life. The complex also has an ancient village designed to look like it did before the Europeans showed up.

Even if you don’t plan to set foot in Oklahoma, head to the website as a history and cultural arts lesson. You’ll come away learning aspects of American history you may not have known before. [Pittsburgh Post Gazette]

Saudi Arabia Opens Up to Visitors

by Kraig Becker on

As the global economy continues to spiral downward, and the price of oil hovers around the $40/barrel, down more than $100 from last summer, Middle Eastern countries are looking for new opportunities to bolster their coffers. To that end, Saudi Arabia has begun opening its borders to visitors from the West, although there are a few caveats for anyone planning to make the journey.

According to this story from the Times Online the majority of the six million travelers who visit Saudi Arabia are Muslims making their pilgrimage to Mecca, but this past November that changed, when the first group cultural tour to the country in more than seven years took place, and come March, British Airways will resume service to Riyadh and Jeddah for the first time in nearly four years. The Office of the Supreme Commission on Tourism says that the country will begin issuing tourist visas in the near future, ushering in a new era of openness for Saudi Arabia.

And what does the country have to offer western travelers? For starters, the region is rich in history that dates back thousands of years, and there are remnants of past civilizations to visit and explore. The rich and diverse landscapes of the desert are also a draw to tourists, as is the unique culture that is unlike any that most westerners have experienced before.Unfortunately, traveling in Saudi Arabia still has a few hurdles to over come before it can become mainstream. Terrorist activity in the country remains a real threat, requiring all outsiders to travel with a police escort at all times, and foreign women are required to wear traditional Saudi clothing, and are also not allowed to drive, visit Internet cafes, and are excluded from some restaurants.

Fixing those issues will take some time, and probably more exposure from the West. But it’s a big step for Saudi Arabia to open up to the outside, and a wonderful opportunity for travelers to experience a place that they haven’t had the opportunity to visit before.

Groundhog Day: Phil and Spanish Joe say six more weeks of winter

by Jamie Rhein on

According to folklore, if a groundhog sees it’s shadow on February 2nd, there are six more weeks of winter. Actually, there would be six more weeks of winter anyway, so that’s beside the point. Here is the forecast from Punxsutawny Phil in Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania. The famous groundhog presented the news this morning at 6 a.m. Phil did see his shadow.

The tradition of Groundhog Day has its roots in Celtic and Pagan traditions. February 1 is the date that marks the movement of weather away from winter towards spring. The pagan festival Imbolc , celebrated on the 1st is similar to the Catholic holiday Candlemas that dates back to medieval times. As Christianity edged out pagan beliefs, some cultural traditions persevered.

Nowadays, through the changes of time, we have been left with the tale of the groundhog and his shadow. Besides asking Punxsutawney Phil for the winter weather forecast, you can ask Spanish Joe. Although, Punxsutawney Phil has made Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania the place to be on February 2 because it has the largest Groundhog Day celebration ever, Spanish Joe has a following.

Spanish Joe is the only psychic groundhog in Ontario, Canada. It is said he can predict what the weather in Canada will be like all year long. He’s called Spanish Joe because he lives in the town of Spanish. At first, when I read his name, I thought he’d be wearing a sombrero, but no–Spanish Joe looks like any other groundhog. Although, as the story goes, Spanish Joe became Spanish Joe only after he was run over by a Greenpeace protest bus. It’s an odd story, but not much more unusual than any other groundhog story connected to Groundhog Day.

For a snippet of another odd, but also hysterical story, here’s a clip from the movie Groundhog Day. The movie takes place in Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania on Groundhog Day over and over and over again, and was named by Stanley Fish of the New York Times as one of the 10 Best American Movies. Bill Murray is in top form in this one.

This is a scene well after Murray’s character finds out he’s living the same day over and over again. Part of the Groundhog Day Festival is shown. You have to love the polka music.

Bowermaster’s Antarctica — Port Lockroy

by Jon Bowermaster on



I spent the afternoon at the small island of Pt. Lockroy, where I’ve been many times before. We stopped in a couple times last January, during our sea kayak exploration, and hung out on the beaches and its protected bay. When we left Antarctica late that month, we actually left our kayaks tied down to big rocks on the island; they were picked up in February by the “National Geographic Endeavour” and carried back to Spain; from there they were shipped in a container to the U.S. and now sit happily in my Hudson Valley backyard.

Rick Atkinson, a Scotsman who first came to Antarctica more than thirty years ago as a 21-year-old dog sled driver for the British Antarctic Survey, greeted us on the penguin-crowded stone beach. The black and red refuge hut on the hill behind is surrounded by Gentoos (and an oddly out of place pair of Adelie penguins). An overpowering whiff of guano fills my nostrils … Aaaaah, Antarctica! Like elsewhere along the Peninsula this season, the hut is surrounded by still-deep snow.

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He’s been coming here for thirteen years and has done and overseen the renovations during that period that have turned the hut into a British historical site. Part museum, part souvenir shop, Pt. Lockroy is today a must-stop along the Peninsula both for its recreation of life and work here fifty years ago, and also to stock up on Antarctica books, t-shirts, stickers and stuffed penguins. It’s an admittedly odd thing to stumble upon here in this remote place. But Rick and his three assistants wear their work with a smile, greeting on average one tourist ship a day, often hosting more than three hundred people in and out of their tiny work/living space.

The boom in tourism is evident everywhere along the Peninsula. Last season more than 46,000 visitors arrived by cruise boat. About 32,000 of them put their feet on land (or ice); the rest arrive aboard giant cruise liners too large to offload anyone. Rick’s experience is the frontline in how tourism is impacting the Peninsula and he’s the first to point out that you cannot come here, no matter how careful you are, and not make an impact. Though he cites a scientific study that shows that penguins, rigged with heart monitors, showed absolutely no change in rate as hundreds of red-coat clad tourists stomped by.

It was with Rick last January that we endured one thing we’d never expected in Antarctica: Horrific rains. We sat inside the hut then and watched the rain pour in buckets off the roof, soaking the penguin chicks still-covered in down. “That was the worst I’ve ever seen it,” he remembers. “But given that we’ve just experienced another very warm winter, I won’t be surprised if we see it again this year. Every year, it seems, there’s more and more rain at Lockroy.”

He and his team have been here a month and will stay until early March. Recording tools left on in the hut over-winter suggest the temperatures only dropped to -12, which for Antarctica, even inside the small, unheated cabin, suggests more warming.

We leave Rick some fresh water, baking soda and peppermint tea, assuming we’ll see him again soon.

Click HERE for more dispatches from Antarctica!

Mozart’s birthday and images of Salzburg

by Jamie Rhein on

If Mozart was alive today, he’d be 253. January 27 was his birthday. I found that out this afternoon when my husband told me Mozart’s Bakery and Piano Cafe, a lovely European-style bakery/restaurant in Columbus was giving out free pastries yesterday in honor of the occasion.

Thinking about Mozart reminded me of my two visits to Salzburg and eating Mozart balls chocolate. Don’t go to Salzburg without trying one. Yesterday, however, I savored pastries in Mozart’s honor and remembered those two days of wandering around his birthplace. Now that I’ve had an elegant sugar feast, here’s a visual and musical feast for you.

The blend of Salzburg’s scenery and sites with Mozart’s music is nicely done in this video. Consider it a taste. The combination captures Salzburg, Austria–as I remember it–breathtaking. Its streets steeped in elegance. If you’re ever in Salzburg, you can take a Mozart tour to see the city similar to how Mozart might have seen it.