Wildlife causing car accidents is on the rise and it’s not cheap

by Jamie Rhein on

When the black bear crossed the road in front of my car when I was on my way to Washington, D.C. this summer, I was astounded. He made his ambling dash across the six-lane highway near Cumberland, Maryland. I may have still been in West Virgina, but I do know I saw a bear.

Animals crossing roads is happening more and more frequently which is increasing the likelihood of hitting one. One reason is because of an increase of people driving on rural roads. As people move out of cities into suburbs or further out than that, they are on these roads more.

My dad who lives on a mountain in upstate New York about 10 miles out of New Paltz has met two deer at least. His were more grazes, but there still was an impressive amount of damage. Every time I visit, when I’m driving, particularly at night, I pay close attention to any glint of eyes I may see that could warn me. The statistics of animals meeting up with cars or vice versa highlights why you might see so many carcasses on the side of the road in some places.

In Montana there has been such a problem lately that the state is looking for ways to use methods that have cut down on car and animal collisions in Banff National Park in Alberta, Canada. Building overpasses and underpasses for animals to cross the highway safely has helped cut down accidents by at least 80 %.

The problem with cars and animals meeting, is not just the fact the animals get killed, but people don’t so so well either. In the past year, 200 folks have died in car meets animal crashes. Then there is the cost of fixing a car which can range from $8,000 to $30,000. The most recent statistics cite 300,000 accidents a year. In Pennsylvania, the state with the highest incidences, there about 97,000 per year. Most involve deer.

A naturalist at Blacklick Woods, one of Columbus’s metroparks told me two weeks ago that black bear are on the move from West Virginia and are ending up in Ohio. Ohio already has a high deer population. The moral of this story is, when you see an animal crossing sign, wherever you are, pay attention. The sign isn’t kidding. [via New York Times]

The photo by saiynte7777 and posted on Flickr was taken when he was on his way to Alaska. The bear originally was just on the side of the road and the car was stopped.

Seward, Alaska: This is where I live

by Catherine Bodry on

There are many adjectives that I could use to describe Seward: mountainous, picturesque, cute, quiet, industrial, and in the summer, touristy. I could show you photos, and you’d probably exclaim “how beautiful!” And it is — but there are times during the winter when Seward is … a little bit difficult, particularly when the wind is blowing, it’s close to zero degrees, my lips are so chapped and cracked they’re bleeding, and my clothes are so full of static you can see sparks when I take off my parka ( I like to call my knee-length down jacket a parka, because it sounds so much more dramatic).

The following video isn’t super exciting; the first half is mostly shorebirds. But it does an excellent job of showing what winter in Seward is often like, much better than a photograph could. What I want you to notice is the greyness, and the incessant wind. Try opening your car door without it blowing off in that wind. Better yet, try closing it. Sure, there’s lovely snow, but the wind blows all the pretty powder off the trees so we’re left with dead bare branches hanging around without any pretty clothes on.

And don’t let the later shots of a serene, sunny boat harbor fool you. It’s no spring day. And the final shot is of the coffee shop I go to every day, and what you see there is the most crowded it will get all winter. But at least everybody knows my name.

Thanks to Russell Stigall (whom I saw with all his equipment in the coffee shop this morning when that clip was filmed) for the video from Seward City News.

Yet another terribly depressing airline tale

by Jerry Guo on

I just came across an almost-unbelievable story of how downright mean US airlines have gotten. Customer service stateside simply can’t compare to the elegance of Singapore Air or even the straightforwardness of EasyJet and Ryanair. The front-page Washington Post story tells the sad tale of a 78-year-old woman who was forced to take a 3-leg flight on three separate airlines to catch a cruise she spent 10 years saving for.

Of course, one of the connecting flights was delayed. Her subsequent flight was full, as was the next one, and the next one. At this point, a passenger who had gotten a seat offered it up for her, but Northwest Airlines refused. The kicker: they also refused to let her use a corporate phone to call home.

More fiascos ensued. The cruiseline, Princess Cruises, was also to blame for keeping her $2,500 and when one of the airlines, United, finally refunded her money, it went to Princess! Even the government thinks this is all too much. “Princess is adding insult to injury,” a FTC spokesman was quoted saying.

What has the travel industry come to when everyone’s squeezing a 78-year-old woman for all she’s worth?

Mush a dog team to Chris McCandless’s bus on the Stampede Trail

by Catherine Bodry on

By now most of us are familiar with Chris McCandless and his Alaska tragedy, due to Jon Krakauer’s book “Into the Wild,” and Sean Penn’s screen adaptation of the text. It’s not that uncommon for folks to come to Alaska in search of something whether it be nature, an authentic experience, adventure,or some solitude. For folks seeking all four, McCandless has become somewhat of a role model. Martha already wrote about the the bus where McCandless died as a potentially popular destination, and the debate between locals about whether or not to remove it. It seems “wayward travelers” have been living out their Alaskan fantasies and using the bus as a sort of pilgrimage.

But now you can visit the bus by dog team in the middle of winter. What’s more, you can learn to mush your own team there. Can you think of anything more “authentically” Alaskan?

Alaskan woman gears up for human-version of the Iditarod Trail

by Abha Malpani on

28-year old Alaskan Jill Homer is planning a grand human endurance feat by training for a human version of the famous Alaskan 1151-mile Iditarod.

Typically a dog-sledge race that first began in 1973, it is known to cover the roughest yet most beautiful terrain in the world. She will be covering 350 miles of the trail on her bicycle over a period of 5 days, beginning February 24, 2008 (a week before the actual dog-sledge race) with a group of 50 people. She trains every day for 2-hours

The original race has been tagged “The Last Great Race On Earth” — I’m not entirely sure why, but probably because it’s the only such race in the world. The annual event symbolic of Alaska’s early history, is connected to the country’s legacy of “dog-mushing”, and taken much pride in.

People race in temperatures much below zero, battle winds that can cause complete loss of visibility, ride in long hours of darkness and climb many a dangerous slopes.

“People think I’m crazy,” says Jill; as much as she is terrified, she is also excited and most importantly, following her heart. You can keep track of her progress on her daily blog as she trains 2-hours everyday and counts down the days to the great adventure.