Notes from the Back Pages

In other travel news...

WATCH OUT FOR THE TOURISTS:
SAN JOSE, Costa Rica - A tour group of U.S. senior citizens fought off a group of muggers in Costa Rica, killing one of the assailants, police said Thursday. (Read on MSNBC)

TEQUILA SUNSET:
MEXICO CITY, Feb 16 (Reuters Life!) - A moth with a big appetite that once chomped its way through huge swaths of cacti in Australia has landed in Mexico, where the spiky plant is a favorite food stuff and major agricultural product. (It's on Reuters)

IT'S THE LOONS, THE LOONS
MANCHESTER, New Hampshire (Reuters) - Scientists are struggling to explain the rare death of 17 loons in New Hampshire, saying warm weather may have confused the threatened species of bird which typically heads to the ocean for winter. (Again from Reuters)

SAVED BY THE DOG
" 'The dog probably saved their lives' by lying across them during the cold night, said Erik Brom, a member of the Portland Mountain Rescue team. " (Story from Time)

But does anyone know if dogs are allowed to go mountain climbing on Mt. Hood - and if so, why? (Other than to save lives, of course) On this issue, the Forest Service says the following: "All cross-country skiers are encouraged to leave their dogs at home. Dogs punch holes in the set tracks with their paws, making the tracks difficult and dangerous to follow. " And pets are discouraged as they disrupt wildlife in most back-country areas.

Adventure Briefs

Time for a few quick notes to bring us up to speed... the first an item about the World's Seven Wonders, and the move to re-select them. Why? Well, most of the "original seven" have been destroyed by time, or lost to progress. From the Hanging Gardens of Babylon (now in the midst of a civil war) to the library of Alexandria (burned to the ground by Napoleon), the march of civilization takes its toll on its own. So let's start over, shall we? (Wish it were that easy!)

Global vote will pick world's "new" seven wonders
ZURICH (Reuters) - What are the greatest architectural achievements in history? Rome's Colosseum? The Great Wall of China? The Pyramids of Giza?

How-to guide to adventure blogging: Human Edge Tech, a daugher site of Expeditions Web, has a 6-part series on the technical aspects of creating multi-media digital dispatches from anywhere your cell phone can call a satellite. With details on HD video, helmet cams, broadband streaming, photo and audio formats, it's comprehensive and accurate. And it starts here.

Just in time for Mardi Gras: The latest big-screen epic (as in IMAX) is "Hurricane on the Bayou," an emotional and involving immersion in the world of Louisiana's wetlands, before during and after Hurrican Katrina. Originally developed as a look at the what-if scenario of a Class V hurricane hitting the Mississippi Delta, the film turned on its axis when Katrina came barrelling across the Gulf, fulfilling the worst prophecies. Director Greg MacGillivray of MacGillivray Freeman Films (their website is, thankfully, just macfreefilms.com) is the Walt Disney of IMAX, his documentaries being touching without being simplistic, and always great to look at on a 6-story screen. To learn more and find out where the film is playing, visit http://www.hurricaneonthebayou.com/.

Speaking of New Orleans, Spike Lee gets all the current-day props for his award-winning documentary "When the Levees Broke". But if you want to get back to the raw gumbo of the City that Care Forgot (how bitter that sounds now), check out Les Blanc's "Always for Pleasure." Blanc is an iconoclast and a true independent, who won't let Amazon sell his DVDs, and you won't find them at Blockbuster or Netflix either. Visit the Flower Films web site to learn more and order a copy of "Always for Pleasure" or any of his many other films - "Burden of Dreams" was nominated for an Oscar, "Garlic is as Good as Ten Mothers" will fire up your appetites, and "The Blues According to Lightnin' Hopkins" is hands-down the best film about blues made ever, anywhere.