Aspen to host ultimate adventure weekend in June

by Kraig Becker on

This June, Aspen, Colorado will be ground zero for the outdoor adventure crowd when the city plays host to the second annual Outside in Aspen weekend. The event, which is sponsored by Outside magazine, features top adventure athletes, numerous outdoor activities, and plenty of rockin’ parties as well.

The event kicks off with a welcome party at the Sky Hotel on Friday, June 10, but the real festivities get going the following day. At 8 AM on both Saturday and Sunday, a host of adventure activities get underway, giving visitors the chance to mountain bike, paddle, cycle, hike, and climb with top outdoor athletes, including professional cyclist Tyler Hamilton and pro kayaker Brad Ludden. There will also be an adventure filmmaking and photography workshop, and the annual Aspen Triathlon will also take place on Saturday as well.

When not participating in these great activities, visitors can hang out at the Adventure Base Camp, which will offer a number of outdoor related exhibits, gear giveaways, and refreshments as well. The Base Camp will also be the site of the Adventure Symposium on Sunday, where a panel of adventurers and explorers will discuss the risks and rewards of extreme adventure.

All in all, it should be another fantastic weekend for outdoor enthusiasts, and two-night lodging packages are available for attendees at very reasonable prices. Visitors to the event can stay for as little as $99 per person in double occupancy rooms at a number of hotels in the city. Visit the Outside in Aspen website for all the details. Adventure activities are priced separately and can also be booked via the website.

Outside in Aspen looks like it will be a great way to kick off the summer, with a fantastic weekend of adventure in the middle of June. From what I understand, last year’s event was a lot of fun, and it looks like the second iteration will be even better. Besides, do you really need much of an excuse to go play in the mountains of Colorado?

[Photo credit: Outside in Aspen]


National Geographic iPad app offers 50 Places of a Lifetime

by Kraig Becker on

There is no doubt about it, the iPad has changed the way we consume media and altered how we define what a magazine is. Those of us who use Apple’s insanely popular gadget have gotten use to the idea that our “magazine’s” now include audio, video, and interactive elements that just aren’t possible in the print versions. This is demonstrated perfectly in a new app from National Geographic, which highlights their list of the 50 Places of a Lifetime compiled by Nat Geo Traveler.

As the name implies, this new app spotlights some of the greatest destinations on the planet, which are broken down into five categories. Those categories include “Urban Spaces”, “Wild Places”, “Paradise Found”, “Country Unbound”, and “World Wonders”. Selecting any one of those items will present you with a list of 10 places, which stylishly appear on the screen complete with animation and music. From there, you simply navigate through the individual destinations by swiping left and right. Scrolling up and down presents the full article on the location, offering insights to that place, and why it deserves a spot on the list. It is all very intuitive, and easy to use, with gestures that are second nature to any iPad owner.

The individual articles that accompany the various locations are typical Nat Geo fare. That is to say, they are well written, insightful, and will likely inspire you to want to visit the places being described. The stories are penned by the likes of Bill Bryson, Jean-Michel Cousteau, and George Plimpton, amongst others, who share their personal thoughts on what makes these places so magical. Places like the Serengeti, the Seychelles, and Venice, Italy.
The trademark National Geographic photography makes an appearance as well, of course. Stunning images accompany the travel essays, bringing each destination to life and offering tantalizing glimpses of what travelers can expect at these places of a lifetime. As you would expect, the photos are one of the highlights of this app, and many of them will have you drooling all over your screen.

Other features of the app include videos, interactive “fast facts,” expanded photo galleries, and the always popular Nat Geo maps. I was particularly fond of the 360-degree panoramic images which take full advantage of the iPad touch screen, and built-in checklists that allow you to highlight the destinations that you’ve already visited, while adding others to your own personal bucket list.

The app weighs in at a whopping 464 MB in size, which means it takes awhile to download. If you intend to read it while on your next vacation, be sure to download it well ahead of time. Once installed, everything is self contained however, which means you won’t need an Internet connection to take advantage of everything it has to offer.

The best part of this great app? It costs just $1.99! Where else can you get this kind of interactive content for so little money? Even a print magazine cost more than that! You can find it on iTunes by clicking here.

[Image courtesy of Victor R. Boswell, National Geographic]

China’s “red tourism” commemorates 90th anniversary of Communism

by Laurel Miller on

Come up with a wacky tourism concept, and they will come. For the 90th anniversary of the Communist Party’s founding on July first, enterprising operators throughout China are creating a new crop of cultural and commemorative “red” tours.

On the idyllic island province of Hainan, visitors young and old alike travel to rural Qionghai, to visit Pan Xianying. At approximately 95 (Hainan isn’t so great at archiving old birth records), Pan is one of three remaining members of a famed, all-female Chinese Communist army unit. As such, she’s a living attraction on a “red” tour of Hainan, The Sydney Morning Herald reports.

Pan was about 15 when she joined the unit in 1931; the battalion was formed by a Hainanese Communist to promote gender equality. The unit was disbanded after several years, when Nationalist forces drove local Communists underground. In 1949, the women gained national attention after Chairman Mao overtook China. The battalion is now the subject of several films and a song.

Enterprising authorities in Qionhai are now offering tours of the unit’s former training ground and meeting spots, and offering hikes, during which one can experience the thrill of following a difficult route once used by Red Army soldiers. Adding a further note of authenticity: guides wear era-appropriate green hats adorned with red stars (also available as souvenirs), and hikers willing to cough up an extra 100 yuan can even slog in full soldier regalia. The hikes are said to foster “army-style camaraderie.” Does that mean dysentery is included?

Not surprisingly, there has been official encouragement behind revolutionary tours, although red tourism isn’t new. Mao’s home city of Shaoshan in Hunan province, as well as the Communist base of Yan’an in Shaanxi province attract tourists, and authorities in places like Chongqing encourage the learning of “red songs” printed in local newspapers or on websites.

Chen Doushu, head of the agency organizing the Hainan tours, says red tourism reflects a desire by many to look back fondly on the past, after more than 30 years of focus on the future during China’s rapid recent modernization. “Chinese people cannot forget their history, and the best way to do that is to go and remember it, to study it. That’s where red tourism comes from.”

Apparently, absence does make the heart grow fonder.

[Photo credit: Flickr user xiaming]

The Old Leather Man: controversy over digging up a legend

by Sean McLachlan on

Investigators in Connecticut are planning to uncover a local legend, but they’re facing a backlash of public sentiment.

An archaeological team will open the grave of The Old Leather Man, a mysterious wanderer who from 1883 to 1889 walked a 365 mile loop from the lower Hudson River Valley into Connecticut and back. It took him 34 days to make the journey and he was so punctual that well-wishers used to to have meals ready for him when he showed up. He spoke French but little English, slept only in caves and rock shelters, and never revealed information about himself. He got his name from his homemade, 60 lb. suit of leather.

His grave in Ossining’s Sparta Cemetery brings a regular flow of the curious, but local officials are afraid it’s too close to the street and is a safety hazard. They plan to dig up The Old Leather Man and move him to a different part of the cemetery. They also want to take a DNA sample. Legend claims he was a heartbroken Frenchman named Jules Bourglay, but Leather Man biographer Dan W. DeLuca says this is an invention of a newspaper of the time.

The DNA might prove a clue to who he really was and that’s where the controversy starts. History teacher Don Johnson has set up a website called Leave the Leatherman Alone, saying that his privacy should be respected. Judging from all the comments on his site, he seems to have a fair amount of backing.

As a former archaeologist I love unraveling a good mystery but I have to agree with Mr. Johnson on this one. The Old Leather Man obviously wanted his identity to remain unknown, and just because he was a homeless man why should his wishes be ignored? He never committed any crime besides vagrancy, he died of natural causes, and there are no known inheritance issues, so what’s the need?

As a teenager growing up in the Hudson Valley, I loved the mysteries of New England and the Mid-Atlantic states–the strange rock constructions, the Revolutionary War ghosts, Mystery Hill, and, of course, The Old Leather Man. Most of this is the stuff of imagination, but The Old Leather Man was real, living person.

And because of that, we should let his mystery remain buried.

[Image courtesy Wikimedia Commons]

See the Serengeti on foot with Mountain Madness

by Kraig Becker on

Adventure travel company Mountain Madness is well known for their incredible range of mountaineering and trekking options. Their well trained guides have the skill and knowledge to take clients to some of the most amazing destinations on the planet, including the tops of each of the Seven Summits, the highest peaks on each of the seven continents. But if climbing Everest or Denali is a bit outside your comfort zone, perhaps their newest trek will satisfy your need for adventure.

Mountain Madness has recently begun offering a trek across the Serengeti that is sure to give travelers a unique perspective on that magical place. Located in Tanzania, the Serengeti Plain has one of the greatest concentrations of wildlife found anywhere on the planet, and while most visitors see it from the inside of a vehicle, on this trip you’ll get the opportunity to witness it on foot.

Over the course of the eight day walking tour, highly trained safari guides will lead travelers through the pristine African wilderness where they’ll witness vast herds of wildebeest, zebras, and antelope. They’ll also track buffalo, walk in the footsteps of giraffes, and follow massive elephants across the open grasslands, where lions and leopards rule the day.

Until recently, trekking the Serengeti has not been allowed at all, which means that the Mountain Madness groups will be amongst the first to visit the place on foot in more than 50 years. And at the end of the day the travelers will return to camp, where they’ll spend night on the African plains, listening to the sounds of wildlife in all directions.

The Serengeti Walking Safari is a fantastic adventure in and of itself, but when paired with a Kilimanjaro Climb and a visit to Zanzibar, you get a complete African experience unlike any other. Mountain Madness’ can not only deliver that full experience, they’ll also give you the adventure of a lifetime.