Destination: Utah
‘A Walk in the Woods’ Premieres at Sundance
by Eva Holland | 01.30.15 | 9:18 AM ET
The long-awaited film adaptation of Bill Bryson’s travel classic, “A Walk in the Woods,” has landed—it premiered at the Sundance Film Festival in Utah last week. It stars Robert Redford and Nick Nolte as Bryson and Katz, and The Hollywood Reporter calls it “a fun, geriatric version of Wild.” Here’s reviewer Todd McCarthy:
Anyone expecting this epic journey to result in profound insights into the human condition will be disappointed; at a certain point, whether the men reach the physical end of the trail or just hop off when they feel they’ve done enough, the hike will end but life will continue. The film is equally unpretentious, not posing as something it isn’t but, at the same time, reminding that there are options, including temporary ones like a jaunt in the mountains, that can represent breaks from the routine and put you in a different place mentally as well as physically.
‘127 Hours’ Fan Rescued in Canyonlands National Park
by Eva Holland | 09.26.11 | 11:13 AM ET
Move over, McCandless pilgrims: With the success of last year’s 127 Hours, there just might be a new breed of death-defying travel movie fans on the block. The Guardian reports that a solo hiker was attempting to retrace Aron Ralston’s route through Little Blue John Canyon when he fell and broke his leg. The hiker, Amos Richards, hadn’t told anyone where he was going—he crawled in search of help for four days before being found by park rangers who’d noticed his abandoned campsite. Richards was treated at a hospital and has, thankfully, been released with all four limbs still attached. (Via Gawker)
Travel Movie Watch Update: ‘127 Hours’
by Eva Holland | 10.11.10 | 1:54 PM ET
Just under a year ago we noted that “Slumdog Millionaire” director Danny Boyle would soon be starting work on “127 Hours,” the true story of Aron Ralston‘s canyoneering accident and escape. The trailer is here, and—among other things—it makes me want to book a flight to Utah as soon as possible. The movie’s due out November 5.
(Via Gawker)
The Sounds of Zion
by Michael Yessis | 10.11.10 | 9:16 AM ET
Interesting plans afoot at Zion National Park to protect the park’s natural soundscape. The “Soundscape Management Plan,” according to the Salt Lake Tribune, is the first of its kind.
Frank Turina, of Fort Collins, Colo., a planner with the natural sounds program for the National Park Service and project manager for the Zion document, said an area’s soundscape is as valuable as air quality and watershed although, unlike those resources, it is intangible.
“Sound has an inherent value to the park that we want to preserve and protect for the future,” Turina said in a telephone interview.
He said the new plan uses the science of acoustics to specify conditions under which park managers would need to act to protect and preserve the soundscape of Zion. That science gives the plan objectivity and credibility.
“It is a very interesting and new application of old science to protect natural areas in the park,” he said. “This (project) is on the cutting edge.”
Travel Movie Watch: ‘127 Hours’
by Eva Holland | 11.09.09 | 4:33 PM ET
It looks like “Slumdog Millionaire” director Danny Boyle may not be headed back to Mumbai right away, after all. Variety is reporting that Boyle’s next project is an adaptation of “127 Hours,” the true story of a mountaineer who was pinned under a boulder in Utah for five days and eventually amputated his own arm to make his escape. The rumor mill has Ryan Gosling playing the lead, but nothing’s been confirmed yet. Stay tuned. (Via Gawker)
America the Accessible
by Jenna Schnuer | 04.23.09 | 3:48 PM ET
Fifteen years ago, when nobody else was really servicing the community, writer Candy Harrington ditched traditional travel writing and launched Emerging Horizons, a travel magazine for people with disabilities.
“Back then most of my friends and colleagues thought I was a few fries short of a happy meal for making such a drastic change,” says Harrington. Silly colleagues. Other travel magazines come and go but Emerging Horizons is still running strong, and Harrington also writes books, articles for magazines and websites, and a blog on the subject.
We checked in with her to find out about the state of accessible travel in America—and some of her favorite accessible travel adventures around the 50.
Morning Links: The Zion Curtain, Pynchon and Baedeker, and more
by Michael Yessis | 03.12.09 | 10:00 AM ET
- Utah may tear down the “Zion Curtain” and make it easier to get into bars. Will that boost the state’s tourism?
- See Europe ... in New York City.
- Kurt Andersen in Nicaragua: “[T]he country has become one of those Places on the Verge, discovered by cognoscenti but not yet overrun.”
- Yes, Los Angeles has a bike culture. Matthew Segal immerses himself.
- MetaFilter celebrates Baedeker travel guides—“the de facto travel guide for international men of leisure”—and how they served as a research tool for Thomas Pynchon.
- Man sues US Airways for $1 million after it allegedly lost his Xbox and gave him “an unconscionable runaround.”
- Man jumps into Niagara Falls and survives, only the third person ever to do so.
- Welcome, Big World Magazine.
- Finally, another U.S. Senator, another embarrassing airport incident. If only someone had caught Sen. David Vitter’s alleged outburst on video like Cathay Pacific caught the Airport Auntie.
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Morning Links: Lego Hotel, Strange Travel Jobs and More
by Michael Yessis | 01.21.09 | 8:30 AM ET
- Throw a can of tomato juice on a plane, get charged with terrorism?
- San Diego’s Legoland looks to build a 250-room Lego-themed hotel.
- Passengers on US Airways Flight 1549—the one that landed in the Hudson River—are getting $5,000 each.
- The 10 strangest jobs in the travel industry by one count include driver of karaoke-equipped taxi and coconut safety engineer.
- All those extra charges on Ryanair add up to a lot of pounds.
- Environmental groups won a restraining order to stop oil and gas exploration of more than 100,000 acres of land in Utah.
- Brave New Traveler attends the Chuck Palahniuk school of travel.
- Jason Wilson throws down some presidential cocktails. Baracktail, anyone?
- Here are some photos of San Francisco’s Bush Street ... or is it Obama Street? Pranksters changed some signs overnight. When I lived in S.F. in 2000, signs were changed from Bush Street to Puppet Street.
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Morning Links: Skycar, Disney Shanghai and More
by Michael Yessis | 01.15.09 | 9:07 AM ET
- Disney and Shanghai have reportedly agreed on plans for a new Disney theme park in China.
- Google has added a transit layer to its maps in 50 world cities.
- The Skycar—a flying car—departed from London to Timbuktu with Neil Laughton behind the wheel.
- CNN offers video profiles of Dubai’s Emirates terminal and the airport of the year, Hong Kong International Airport.
- What about the world’s worst airports?
- Hu Jintao warns of potential travel problems in China for Chinese New Year.
- Men’s Fitness names Salt Lake City the fittest city in the U.S. The fattest? Miami.
- Slideshow: Paragliding over Africa.
- A Japanese website maps smells around the world. Apparently, there’s a “toasty odor of cow dung” somewhere out there.
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California’s Proposition 8 Fallout: Boycott Utah?
by Jim Benning | 12.01.08 | 1:18 PM ET
Supporters of gay marriage—angered by reports that members of the Mormon Church donated millions of dollars to back Proposition 8 on California’s November ballot—are calling for a boycott of travel to Utah, including the Sundance Film Festival.
Oil and Gas Drilling Coming to Arches, Canyonlands
by Valerie Conners | 11.10.08 | 11:23 AM ET
Utah’s Bureau of Land Management has stirred the ire of the National Park Service by announcing its plan to expand drilling in eastern Utah to on or near boundaries of Arches National Park, Dinosaur National Monument and Canyonlands National Park, the Salt Lake Tribune reports. “We’re not anti-oil and gas,” said one Park Service official. “But we’re very much pro-park.” Should drilling begin in these parcels of land—including sections dedicated as wilderness as well as Nine Mile Canyon—tourists may soon be seeing oil rigs pop up in their photos, a prospect that has wilderness outfitters concerned. Said one cycling guide, “It’s not a world-class outing if you can see oil wells.”
R.I.P. Wall Arch: ‘It Just Went Kaboom’
by Michael Yessis | 08.11.08 | 10:11 AM ET
Utah’s Arches National Park—the most beautiful park of many beautiful parks in the American Southwest—lost one of its most visited arches last week. It’s believed the 71-foot-tall arch, which was the 12th largest in the park, collapsed under its own weight. “Not being a geologist, I can’t get very technical but it just went kaboom,” Arches Chief Ranger Denny Ziemann told the Salt Lake Tribune. The trail between Double 0 Arch and Wall Arch has been closed indefinitely.
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