Two dogs on a 2,000 mile walk from Austin to Boston

by Jamie Rhein on

Murphy and Hudson have been walking towards Boston from Austin, Texas for a year so far. Not by themselves. They’re bringing Luke Robinson along with them. The walk was Luke’s idea after another dog pal, Malcolm died of bone cancer.

Robinson decided to sell his truck, put his worldly goods in storage and hit the road with Murphy and Hudson, two Great Pyrenees at his side. The idea of the walk from Austin to Boston is to raise awareness about canine cancer. As they have walked, Hudson, Murphy and Robinson have visited veterinarian oncologists along the way to find out more about the disease that is often similar to the type of cancer humans get.

In this article I found in the Williamson Herald, Robinson said Murphy and Hudson are the ones who are walking him. Both dogs are sporting backpacks that hold their snacks while Robinson carries the heavy stuff. As the trio travels, they have been stopping at animal shelters to volunteer their services and at special events to draw attention to and help raise money for animal care.

The walk has provided an opportunity to experience the U.S. with a different view. Robinson recalls, for example, mosquitoes as “‘big as sparrows'” when they made their way through the Arkansas Delta last summer.

People can follow their route at the 2 dogs, 2000 miles website. Robinson is rallying people to join in the cause to help cure cancer in dogs, but also is happy to visit with folks who want to meet Murphy and Hudson in person.

According to their blog, Robinson and the boys are in Ohio will be at the Harcourt Veterinary Clinic in Mt. Vernon, Ohio this Saturday, and at the Wolf Run Bark Park on Sunday. The blog is updated regularly with details about their next event stops. From what I can tell, the trip is happening as it unfolds. There is room to meander as people offer support.

Photo of the Day (12.14.08)

by Jeremy Kressmann on

There’s something inherently beautiful in the daily rituals of life. A man slowly walking down a quiet street. A farmer planting a rice paddy. Merchants selling their goods at the market. Perhaps that’s what caught my eye in this photo of two hawkers in Nigeria from Lola Akinmade. It has a certain “reportage” slice-of-life style to it, as if the viewer was privy to an intimate moment we might not have seen otherwise. There’s nothing particularly memorable about the scene, but somehow it still catches your eye, and that’s why I think it works.

Have any travel photos you’d like to share with the world? Why not add them to our Gadling pool on Flickr? We might just pick yours as our Photo of the Day.

Bring your car: America’s 10 least walkable cities

by Anna Brones on

It may come as no surprise that San Francisco ranks as America’s #1 walkable city, but what about the rest of the country? After compiling a list of the “walkability” of 40 American cities, Walk Score gives us a good idea of what cities are pedestrian friendly and which ones require cars. The bottom ten cities on the list give us a few places where pedestrians are far and few between and driving is the name of the game (read: expect to spend a lot of money on gas). So where can you plan on packing away your walking shoes and donning your driving cap?

  1. Jacksonville
  2. Nashville
  3. Charlotte
  4. Indianapolis
  5. Oklahoma City
  6. Memphis
  7. Kansas City
  8. Fort Worth
  9. El Paso
  10. Mesa

The listing of cities does however lay out their most walkable neighborhoods, so if you’re planning a trip to one of these places, give it a look.

[Via Huffington Post Green]

He’s 80 and has been walking the world for 16 years

by Abha Malpani on

Sometimes it’s years before we hear of the real vagabonds; I wonder how many we never hear of at all! Henry Lee McGinnis has been walking the world for the last 16 years, Google him and I find nothing other than a one-minute video on BBC.

So far he has walked over 80,000 miles across the US and 66 other countries. He is currently entering South America and will finish around 2010 in Texas, after passing through Central America and Mexico.

According to his website, the former Methodist minister and World War II army sniper, carries a 100-pound rucksack with everything but a kitchen sink, and a six-foot steel-tipped walking staff for protection. When he is not camping out, he looks for local hosts for a bed.

Inspired by reading National Geographic since he was 6, at the tender age of 9, he knew this is what he wanted to do. He believes that most people are searching for answers to the following questions: Who am I? Why am I here? Where am I going? This walk is an inner and outer pilgrimage for Mcginnis.

At 80, the man is still full of life: he wants to write a book of his journey and learn to play tennis before he is 100!

On the video, he leaves one message [paraphrased]: “When you are retired, don’t sit in front of the TV set and gain 20-50 pounds drinking beer and eating sandwiches, go see the world!”

Prime example of the “it’s never too late” notion: If he could start his pedestrian world tour dream at 62, we really have no excuse to follow ours!

How walkable is your vacation?

by Martha Edwards on

When I’m choosing a hotel or hostel, location is important. I tend to pick places that are close to everything, or at least close enough that I can walk to the places I want to go. If I have to take a bus or two, that’s fine but I like being able to walk to restaurants and shops. That’s why I live where I do, near downtown in a big city, close to all the action.

If you’re a walker too, here’s a handy tool that you can use to plan your trip — Walkscore.com. Basically, you type in the address of where you’re staying, and it gives you a score between 1 and 100 of how walkable that location is by taking into account the how far away things are, including shops, restaurants and activities.

It’s not perfect — some of the places that they list as being near my house are either somewhat dodgy or incorrectly mapped — so it’s always a good idea to do a bit of extra research too.