Video: Unicycling Down A Mountain In Liechtenstein

by Elizabeth Seward on

“Elsbet Part III Mountainunicycling” from Lutz Eichholz on Vimeo.

The concept of riding a unicycle down the street makes me nervous, so I am fully incapable of understanding how the three men in this video managed to live after unicycling down a mountain in Liechtenstein. David Weichenberger, Marco Schmidt and Lutz Eichholz impressively rode their one-wheel bikes down the Gaflei Trail in Liechtenstein. There’s some beautiful footage of the hills in this video, but more inspiring is the act itself. Have any of you ever tried this? Would you?

10 Title-Holding National Parks In The United States

by Jessica Festa on

National parks hold some of the most beautiful and diverse landscapes in the country, and sometimes even the world. Not only do these destinations make for great hiking, biking and adventure sports, but they also allow you to view one-of-a-kind facets you can’t find anywhere else on the planet.

While Black Canyon of the Gunnison holds the title of being the country’s newest national park, Yellowstone was the world’s first, being established in 1872. Additionally, Sequoia National Park features the world’s largest tree; Great Sand Dunes National Park holds the highest sand dunes in North America; and Death Valley is said to be the hottest, lowest and driest place in the United States.

For a more visual idea of these title-holding national parks, check out the gallery below.

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[Image above via Jessie on a Journey; Gallery images via Big Stock]

Charge Your Electronics On The Go With Your T-Shirt

by Jessica Festa on

Do you ever feel like you’re constantly on the go when traveling, never having time to charge your electronics? You won’t have to worry about missing that snapshot because of a dead camera battery again, as researchers from the University of South Carolina have discovered a way to turn everyday T-shirts into chargeable power packs.

The way it works is fluoride chemicals are baked into the material of the shirt in an oxygen-less atmosphere with high temperatures. This allows the shirt to hold electric energy, turning it into a portable charger. The research is being lead by engineering professor Xiaodong Li and post-doctorate researcher Lihong Bao, who says the process doesn’t change the shirts’ texture, and enables them to charge items thousands of times. Additionally, the charging method is eco-friendly.

“Previous methods used oil or environmentally unfriendly chemicals as starting materials,” said Li. “Those processes are complicated and produce harmful side products. Our method is a very inexpensive, green process.

Study Shows Visitors To National Parks Up, Time Spent In The Parks Down

by Kraig Becker on

According to USA Today, a new study indicates that the number of visitors to America’s national parks has risen over the past twenty years, but the amount of time they actually spend in the parks is going down. The National Park Service, which conducted the study, says that even though many of the parks, such as Yellowstone and Yosemite, have seen record numbers of visitors in recent years, those travelers are actually spending 15 percent less time inside the park while they are there.

Park officials say that a major reason why visits are now shorter than they were two decades ago is that an increasing number of travelers are booking their accommodations outside the park boundaries. Many of the larger parks actually have rustic lodges and campsites that have been popular places to stay for years, but it seems that fewer visitors are choosing to book them when they make their vacation plans. This accounts for at least a portion of the decline in the length of visits, as the study showed that 4.5 million fewer guests stayed the night inside the parks in 2011 than they did in 1994. That’s down 25 percent in just 17 years.

It seems that the parks are as popular as ever but camping isn’t as viable of an option as it once was. This runs directly counter to market trends, which show that Americans have increased their spending on outdoor recreation an average of 5 percent over each of the past five years. Apparently that spending is going into other outdoor activities and travelers are electing to stay in a comfortable bed rather than a tent.

For the Park Service these trends aren’t necessarily alarming, just enlightening. The record number of visitors tells the NPS that travelers still want to visit the parks, they just have other plans on how to spend their time there. The challenge for the Park Service will be to adapt to the changes and continue to provide visitors with what they want and need.

Video: The Beautiful Sights And Sounds Of Yellowstone

by Kraig Becker on

Yellowstone National Park is one of the most beautiful locations in all of North America. Its lush forests, snow-capped peaks and unique geothermal activity make it a place that is unlike any other. Those amazing landscapes have been admired by visitors for more than 140 years, but now the park is being recognized for its amazing soundscapes as well.

The video below gives us some great examples of both the landscapes and the soundscapes of the park, where the wildlife, running rivers, geothermal features and other natural elements all blend together to create a sensory experience that will delight visitors of all ages. The howling of a wolf, babbling of a brook and rushing of the wind all contribute to making Yellowstone a special place, and the National Park Service wants to preserve those sounds as much as the sights.

This video was added to Yellowstone’s new YouTube channel a few days ago as the park continues to expand its use of social media. In addition to YouTube, Yellowstone now has a Twitter feed, Facebook page and a Flickr stream, and fans of the park will no doubt find something to like in each of them.