Riding the Rail in Burma

by Erik Olsen on

For me, Paul Theroux romanticized the notion of riding rails through some
of the world’s most interesting places. I’ll never forget how inspired I was the first time I read Patagonia Express,
how much this made me want to just drop everything and jump on a train bound for the southern-most reaches of the
planet.

Well, rail travel adventure is alive and well.
Here’s an article
about a guy who took the train through one of the globe’s most closed-off and bizarre countries, Burma. The piece may
seem a bit melodramatic at times, but it’s quite good and gives the flavor of what it’s like to be train-bound in a
country most people will never see.

Lazy Memorial Day?

by Adrienne Wilson on

If you insist on spending your holiday running the AC, laid out in front of the tube here’s an idea to
keep those brain cells alive and running.  Pick your remote up, quit channel surfing,
and turn it to the History Channel.  It won’t
matter what time you decide to tune in today as they are running  marathon long programming on Heroes. 
Travel somewhere in to the past today and keep well informed during the Memorial Day holiday.  Click
here for the TV schedule.

As a side note, if you are visiting D.C. or reside in the surrounding areas and wish to get out and
about do check out the Tomb of the Unknown Solider.  I have never seen anyone so disciplined in my
entire life and the routine they undergo to protect the tomb is just awe-inspiring.

US’s Best Beaches

by Erik Olsen on

For some reason, I’m always dubious about people ranking the United States’ best beaches. Maybe it’s because the
qualities that make up a great beach are so personal. Do you prefer solitude or a place where the hordes hang out
playing volleyball? Where bodacious babes walk the sands or where not a soul can be seen for miles? Where the waves
kick ass for surfing, or where the water is glassy and serene? See what I mean?

So that aside, I guess it is still obligatory to post this article
on the world’s best beaches. I’m also very dubious about the so-called “expert” who ranks these beaches.
Stephen Leatherman is a the Florida International University researcher
who has been issuing his beach report since the 90s, and while he may have some academic/professioonal cred to make
these rankings, I have to say I remain dubious. Or maybe I’m just jealous at his job.

Anyhoodle, here are the top ten.

# Fort De Soto Park – North Beach. St Petersburg, Fla.

# Ocracoke Island. Outer Banks, N.C.

# Hanalei Bay. Kauai, Hawaii

# Caladesi Island State Park. Clearwater, Fla.

# Fleming Beach. Maui, Hawaii

# Coast Guard Beach. Cape Cod, Mass.

# Coronado Beach. San Diego, Calif.

# Cape Florida State Park. Key Biscayne, Fla.

# Main Beach. East Hampton, N.Y.

# Hamoa Beach. Maui, Hawaii 

Mountain Biking Mt. St. Helens

by Erik Olsen on

Although Mt. St. Helens is known by those outside the state
of Washington as the place where Mother Nature exploded in volcanic fury all those years ago, locals know the area as
one of the finest Meccas for mountain biking around. Mountain Biking Magazine
has a piece on the amazing
single-track riding that is available for fat-tire fans looking for some vigorous riding among the debris and rebirth
of St. Helens. While many of the old trails there are still closed off because of eruption concerns, others like the
Lewis River Trail are open and inviting. If you’re planning a bike trip to Mt. St. Helen’s check the
Forest Service site for updates on
where you can ride, hike and camp.

The Gigapixl Project

by Erik Olsen on

While most of us fumble around with our measly three to five mega-pixel cameras, snapping photos today of families
arond the BBQ, the so-called Gigapixl project is creating images
several orders of magnitude larger than that. But as I understand it, it’s not digital…at least image capture is not
digital. What the group does is create a 9″ x 18″ exposure on film, and then use high power scanners to get an image so
detailed that if you shot , say, a block of New York City, you could blow it up to read the name on a door. But what
the project is doing now is heading out to take these magnificent images in places all around America, creating a
Gigapixl slideshow of some of America’s most beautiful places. I am going to follow the progress of this project,
because as someone interested in panoramic photography, I find this immensely
interesting.