National Geographic Traveler invites you to photograph your ‘peeps in places’

by Kraig Becker on

Who doesn’t love Peeps? You know, those overly sweet sugary-marshmallow concoctions that have just made their annual return to stores in time for Easter? Well, apparently someone over at National Geographic Traveler sure enjoys them, as they have launched their 2010 Peeps in Places photo contest, inviting us to snap photos of our favorite peeps in our favorite places, and submit them to the Intelligent Travel Blog.

The rules of the contest are quite simple. Take the best photos you can of the your Peeps out and about on some crazy adventures. Try to capture the essence of the place, while having fun with the experience. A sense of humor and a healthy dose of creativit go a long way as well.

Once you have your photos, head over to the Your Shot Page at NationalGeographic.com and either log in with your account info or create a new account. After you’re signed in, select your photos and upload them to the site, making sure to tag them as Peeps so the contest officials can find them. Over the course of the next few weeks, they’ll be sorting through the images to find the very best ones, with the winners receiving some prizes and having their photos shared on the website. Last year, some of the very best photos even made it on national television when they appeared on ABC’s Good Morning America.

For a little inspiration, check out this gallery of the top photos from the 2009 Peeps in Places contest. Many of them are as sweet as the candy itself.

National Geographic announces Adventurers of the Year

by Kraig Becker on

Way back in November we told you how you could help National Geographic Adventure select their Adventurer of the Year for 2009. The list of contenders featured ten of the most amazing athletes, explorers, and scientists from around the globe, each doing exciting and unusual things in their field. Now, after three months of balloting and more than 20,000 votes, the winner has been announced. Well, make that winners, as once the ballot box was closed, and all the votes were tabulated, two names emerged victorious, with explorer Albert Yu-Min Lin and climber Marc Hoffmeister earning the title of Adventurer of the Year.

The two men share an adventurous spirit and a love of challenges, but aside from that, they couldn’t be more different. Yu-Min is working within Mongolia’s “Forbidden Zone”, located in the northern part of the country, in an attempt to find the long lost tomb of Genghis Kahn, the legendary Mongol warlord who terrorized much of Asia and Europe in the 13th century. Hoffmeister, on the other hand, earned his honors on the steep slopes of 20,320 foot tall Denali in Alaska, where he led a team of soldiers up the treacherous West Buttress Route. Many of the soldiers, including Hoffmeister himself, were injured in the war in Iraq, with some of them even missing limbs.
Both men expressed gratitude and humility after being told that they had won the award, and each of them stressed that they were just one small part of a team that made their individual adventures possible. You can read more about Yu-Min and exploration of the remote regions of Mongolia by clicking here, and his reaction to being told that he won here. Similarly, this story details Hoffmeister’s epic climb up Denali, the tallest peak in North America, and his reaction to winning can be found here.

These awards are handed out in the wake of the announcement last December that National Geographic would cease to publish Adventure as a traditional magazine. The organization promised that we would continue to see the Adventure brand being used in a variety of ways however, including future Adventurer of the Year competitions. After a taking a short hiatus, the Adventure blog has also recently returned to life, with regular updates from the world of adventure travel and outdoor activities.

“Bus2Antarctica” comes to a successful end – Andrew Evans arrives on his 7th continent

by Scott Carmichael on

On January 9th, National Geographic writer (and Gadling team member) Andrew Evans set off on a trip to reach Antarctica.

Not that many people make this trip, and while the destination itself is still very special, Andrew made his voyage even more exciting by completing the trip using public bus services. Of course, he had to use a boat to complete the final portion since amphibious public transit services are still in their infancy. 1,650 tweets later, he arrived this afternoon and posted the following message:

Just set foot on Antarctica. My 7th continent & the end of my bus journey! http://ow.ly/i/vgQ 68º 16.892′ South

Congratulations to Andrew, and many thanks for the fantastic updates during your journey – reading tweets may not be as exciting as actually traveling with you, but it sure did keep me entertained.

(Image from Bus2Antactica Twitter channel)

Gadlinks for Tuesday, 1.26.2010

by Katie Hammel on

Happy Tuesday, Gadling fans! Here are a few more travel tidbits to help you through the week.

More Gadlinks HERE.

National Geographic Student Expeditions expand for 2010

by Kraig Becker on

The popular and successful National Geographic Student Expeditions program is gearing up for another outstanding year, adding new options for high school students looking for an adventurous and educational escape this summer. The lucky travelers have their journeys enhanced further by the inclusion of National Geographic experts and trip leaders designed to deliver travel experiences unlike any other.

Of course, many students spend their summer traveling, but the Student Expeditions program offers some unique options that aren’t available elsewhere. While on their journey, each student will select an “On Assignment” project in the area of interest that includes photography, travel writing, filmmaking, exploration, archaeology and ancient culture, climate and geology, marine biology and conservation, Earth science, and wildlife and conservation. Those projects can take such forms as a photo portfolio, a travel film, or a short story, with a focus on capturing the culture and natural wonders of the locations visited.

The students are guided in their assignments by handpicked experts, such as National Geographic photographers, writers, or researchers who join their expeditions for anywhere from three to seven days. These experts are generally well known in their field and offer years of experience and expertise to the next generation of explorers on the trip. For example, when traveling through Tanzania, the students will be joined by Anna Estes, a wildlife ecologist who has conducted research in the Ngorongoro Crater, while those selecting Australia as their destination of choice, will see the country with photojournalist and filmmaker Ulla Lohmann.As if that wasn’t enough all of National Geographic’s trip leaders are college graduates who are working in journalism, photography, science, and similar fields. Each has insightful and extensive knowledge of the destination the students will be visiting, and in order to ensure the best experience possible, the ratio of trip leaders to students is roughly six or eight to one.

The 2010 schedule offers 15 exciting trips, lasting three weeks in length, to such destinations as Costa Rica, Iceland, Peru, China, India, and more. New to the schedule this year are expeditions to Alaska, Hawaii, and Tuscany. You can check out the entire list by clicking here, and high school students interested in joining one of these trips can fill out an online application here.

For a great look at what one of these trips is like, check out this wonderful video from a student expedition to Peru. Why couldn’t this have been an option when I was in high school?!?