Back in 1947, a hell-raising group of bikers descended on Hollister city, California, USA, 90 miles south of San Francisco, for a 3-day rally over the Fourth of July holiday. The notorious events of that weekend are said to have inspired the 1953 Hollywood cult classic, biker film, starring Marlon Brando.
Hollister became known as the "Birthplace of the American Biker" and each year since then, played host to an annual Fourth of July rally where bikers were reckoned to spend an incredible eight million dollars, but times have changed. I came across this letter by Charlie Scott, a Hollister local, about the imminent demise of the famous motorcycle rally.
He relates how in recent years, there has been almost a doubling of policing and related costs, together with a perception that certain people in authority have a dislike of bikers and just don't want a rally in their community.
Charlie goes on to write,"People from all over the world recognize the name of Hollister, California, due to the rally and come from all parts to enjoy and participate. There have been fewer and fewer coming in the last 3 years and hardly any staying the 2 or 3 days."
His letter has prompted some thoughtful comments and background on the rally, which might provide some useful information for anyone thinking of attending this iconic event.
All nature's seasons seem to be coming earlier and earlier each year and we are having an ealy Fall, so perhaps it should be no surprise that Halloween, which used to be celebrated on 31 October, is now celebrated with pumpkins, Jack O'Lanterns, witches, ghosts, goulish decorations and parties being seen throughout October.
Beth J. Harpaz, AP Travel Editor, has produced an interesting list of US events, designed to make America seem even more scary than normal!
Americans have been really creative in satisfying tourists' latest desire for culture tours. New York City, the city that already offers a 'Sex and the City' tour, takes tourists on a 'TV and movie' trek and provides the opportunity of a 'Harlem gospel' expedition, now offers the ultimate gourmet experience, the Pizza tour.
Learn more about these tours in the NY Daily News.
At a National Geographic Live Speakers Series event, to be held on Thursday at the State Theatre in Minneapolis, USA, Greg Marshall is to talk about the small video cameras that he has spent the past 20 years attaching to animals. The animals range from whales, dolphins and penguins, to wild lions and domestic house cats. The video cameras have been nicknamed Crittercams and they have provided tremendous insight into the hidden life of numerous animals, providing scientists with unique footage of what the animals see as they go about their lives.
Read More about Crittercams and Greg Marshall, including some nice pictures, in an article by Richard Chin, Pioneer Press.
Midway between South Carolina and Florida, on the United States, Georgia coast, there is now the Georgia Sea Turtle Center. The center has an active educational program and during the summer, visitors can schedule nightly beach walks with staffers, to view these fascinating but endangered animals in the wild.
Part of the center also functions as a sea turtle hospital, which rescues and rehabilitates injured sea turtles. Since its opening last June, the Georgia sea turtle center has already treated 17 loggerhead turtles.
View a Google map of the Georgia Sea Turtle Center, which is located on Jekyll Island, Georgia 31527.
There is still time to get a registered for the Primal Quest Montana adventure race; the race is limited to 90 teams but there are still some team slots available.
Primal Quest 2008, is a 400 mile adventure race on foot, bicycle and boat in south western Montana, taking in the Gallatin National Forest and other public lands in southwestern Montana.
This year's Primal Quest will take place June 21 - July 2, 2008 in Montana and is open to 4-Person, Coed Teams. The cost of entry is $12,500.00 USD per team, which includes 4 team members and 2 support individuals. Two additional support individuals per team can be registered at $200 each. In addition, competitors are required to submit proof that they are up to the challenge. Certificate-of-ability forms in mountain climbing, first aid, navigation, paddling and swimming, must be submitted by April 15, 2008 and a qualified guide or instructor needs to sign the certificate.
It is the first major theme park in eight years, at Orlando, USA, but SeaWorld's Aquatica water park has excited tourism officials who have visited the park for a preview. The park is preparing for a "soft" opening March 1, with a grand opening set for April 4, 2008.
Mark McHugh, president of Gatorland and chairman of the Orlando/Orange County Convention & Visitors Bureau, summed up the collective view, saying, "What an awesome, awesome park. I just can't wait for this thing to open up." Read more.
Now you can have the pleasure of watching Yellowstone National Park's Old Faithful Geyser in glorious high definition, real-time, streaming video from a live webcam. You have to be patient but the eruption is quite spectacular when it comes, and the webcam also zooms in on several other geysers in the area when they are erupting.
A bonus is that you also get to see bison, elk, coyotes, or the occasional bear, when they wander into view.
The interior of USA's Yellowstone National Park opens for the winter season on Wednesday, December 19, 2007. Visitors will be able to take commercially guided snowmobile and snowcoach trips over snow covered, groomed roads to popular destinations including Old Faithful and Yellowstone's Grand Canyon. Xanterra Parks and Resorts provides lodging, food service, cross-country ski rentals and lessons, snowmobile rentals and snowcoach tours of the park. Details are available online at their Yellowstone website. Information on other authorized winter operations providing snowmobile and snowcoach trips into the park is available on the web at the National Park Service, Yellowstone website. Visitor centers will be open at West Yellowstone, Old Faithful and Mammoth, and the National Park Service website also has details of ranger-led activities and evening programs that are available throughout the winter.
The road from the park's North Entrance at Gardiner, Montana, to Mammoth Hot Springs and through the Lamar Valley to the Northeast Entrance and Cooke City, Montana, is open all year to automobile traffic. Updated conditions on all park roads used by automobiles, snowmobiles and snowcoaches are always available by calling (307) 344-2117. Starting December 19, visitors will also be able to check the status of park roads during the winter season online.
Here's a fun vid on which to end the week, from Theme Park Review. It does a great job of recreating the atmosphere at Universal Studios Orlando, Islands of Adventure & Halloween Horror Nights. Including Incredible Hulk, Dueling Dragons and some of the best roller coasters footage I have seen.
The producers note that the onride footage in this video was taken with permission from the park and filmed by professional ride photographers. They stress that you should never attempt to take video on roller coasters without proper permission from the park because filming on rides can be extremely dangerous. I would add that the danger is not just to yourself.
Back in May, 2007, Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc. and Universal Orlando Resort, announced that they are constructing a Harry Potter theme park at Universal Studios (Islands of Adventure) in Orlando, Florida, occupying over 20 acres, it is described as a theme park within a theme park and is to be called "The Wizarding World of Harry Potter". It is Scheduled to open in 2009.
Traditionally, this is the week that the major New York City department stores unveil their decorated holiday windows and such is their appeal that they draw an estimated 6,000 window gazers per hour at the season's peak. Read a nice review from Jennifer 8. Lee, in the New York Times Blog.
Project FeederWatch is a winter-long survey of birds that visit feeders in North American backyards, nature centers, community areas, and other locales. Participants count the highest numbers of each species they see at their feeders, from November through early April, and help scientists to track the broad-scale movements of winter bird populations and long-term trends in bird distribution and abundance.
Project FeederWatch is operated by the Cornell Lab of Ornithology and Bird Studies Canada and anyone with an interest in birds can participate. There are FeederWatchers of all skill levels and backgrounds, including children, families, individuals, classrooms, retired persons, youth groups, nature centers, and bird clubs.
The new season starts soon, so if your resident in North America, join up for the 2007-2008 season, which begins November 10. It can take several weeks for FeederWatch kits to arrive, so don't wait to sign up.
This, my blogging buddies, is the 500th post in Tales from here and there about this and that; the blog is a few years old now because back in the early days, we didn't post every day. Given the themes reflected in this blog, such as adventure, travel and art, it is fitting that we should draw your attention in our 500th post to the 500th anniversary of the publication of the first map known to show the whole earth.
The remarkable map is the work of German cartographer, Martin Waldseemüller, in 1507 and was designed to be cut out and pasted onto a sphere. Much is made of the map because it is believed to be the first document that names America, be it South America, and both North and South America are depicted as land masses separate from Asia. Consider also, that the map was drawn using data obtained from sailors and explorers, and in those days travel really was an adventure activity. More.
You can see the Waldseemüller Globe Gores Map at the University of Minnesota, T.R. Anderson Gallery, in the James Ford Bell Library, where it is the central feature in an anniversary exhibition celebrating 'The Map that Named America, 1507-2007', which runs through to December 31, 2007.
Jim Dietrick claims Pinball is as representative of American culture as baseball and apple pie. In an effort to highlight the historical and cultural significance of the pinball machine, he and fellow Pinball enthusiast Michael Schiess, have collaborated on the Pacific Pinball Exposition to be held in San Rafael, California, October 5-7, 2007.
The show features hundreds of vintage machines and amusement devices from around 1800 to 2007 Hundreds of pinball machines will be set on free play for attendees to play and enjoy and there will be several rare, antique pinball machines from the 1930s and earlier on display. Exhibits will illustrate the history of pinball, the science and physics of pinball, the evolution of the game and its mechanisms. Free seminars will also be offered on how to buy and setup a pinball machine, electromechanical and electronic pinball troubleshooting and restoration, and the secrets of pinball wizardry.
All profits will go into building a permanent museum for pinball in the USA, the Neptune Beach Amusement Museum, focused on teaching art, history, and science through pinball and other amusement machines.
Mississippi's Gulf Coast is recovering from the devastation caused by Hurricane Katrina. Major tourist attractions, including world-class golf courses, casinos and outdoor recreational activities such as fishing and canoeing, are again open for business.
The Mississippi Delta is well known as the place that gave birth to the Blues and the Mississippi Blues trail is a pilgrimage for many music lovers, but the state offers a wide variety of recreational opportunities. There are numerous lakes, rivers, streams, reservoirs and over 100 miles of coastline, allowing plenty of opportunities for fishing, swimming, boating, sailing, canoeing or waterskiing. Mississippi also has more than 2 million acres of public hunting lands.
To help tourists find outdoor activities in the state, Mississippi Tourism Development, has produced a comprehensive Adventure Guide. The 300 page guide is expected to benefit hunters and anglers and to also be of value for hikers, bikers, wildlife watchers and other adventurers. You can obtain a free copy of the guide from their web site.
Florida is the hot US destination for Halloween month. Two of the biggest annual festivals are Biketoberfest at Daytona Beach, which this year celebrates its 15th birthday over the weekend of October 18-21, 2007 and the infamous Fantasy Fest at Key West, which this year, runs October 19-28, 2007.
During Biketoberfest, 100,000 bikers from throughout North America and Europe, converge on Daytona Beach to party, meet up with fellow bike enthusiasts, party, enjoy street festivals, concerts, charity rides, expos, seminars, celebrity appearances and parties. Fantasy Fest on the other hand, is focused on partying, bizarre and raucous costume competitions, street parties, body painting, parades and parties.
Both festivals provide an excuse to party. Just be careful not to mix them up, you might get away with the leathers at Fantasy Fest but I'm not sure how the toga would be received at Biketoberfest.
Fall is an important tourist season in the USA,. To consider how important, consider that nearly 8 million visitors are expected to visit the state of New Hampshire alone, enjoying nature's annual color spectacular and of course, buying their Halloween pumpkins. There is a Pumpkin Carving Festival in neighbouring Vermont, which includes a world record attempt for the Most Pumpkins Being Carved Simultaneously. I doubt they will be carving anything like the 3,000 pumpkins used at Van Cortlandt Manor, Croton-On-Hudson, NY, where Halloween is celebrated with the Great Jack O' Lantern Blaze in October. Artfully carved Jack O'Lanterns are arranged in different scenarios, including a bottom-of-the-sea aquarium and a scarecrow avalanche.
Just a 10 minutes drive south, in Sleepy Hollow, they celebrate Halloween with the tale of the headless horseman who rode through the grounds of Philipsburg Manor in The Legend of Sleepy Hollow, written by Washington Irving.
Ridesharing to Burning Man has become a major goal and the organizers have called for "No empty passenger seats in 2007!". There is also a Biobus Shuttle transport from Reno to Black Rock City and back, powered by biodiesel.
A festival-wide composting program will manage all food waste and 1000 shared yellow bikes (funded by a generous burner) will help create the highest per capita municipal bike use in the United States. But the environmental friendliness of the festival extends way outside the boundaries of time and space. Amongst other initiatives, Burning Man has sponsored a project in Gerlach (the closest town to the festival, population 500), updating all light bulbs in the town from incandescent to energy-saving, compact fluorescent lights.
Burning Man has also sponsored the design and installation of a 120 kW solar array in Gerlach, Nevada together with a 60 kW solar array in Lovelock, Nevada. A 30 kW solar array will be used to help power the festival and the array will then be gifted to Gerlach after the event. Calculations indicate that the project will generate $3 million of electricity over the next 20 years, at no cost to Gerlach/Lovelock residents.
Every year, tens of thousands of people converge on the Black Rock Desert of Nevada, USA, to create Black Rock City and celebrate one of the world's great modern festivals, the Burning Man Festival. They pride themselves on taking nothing but photographs and leaving nothing but memories. The festival is dedicated to self-expression, self-reliance, and art as the center of community.
This year, the festival takes place August 27 to September 3, 2007 and in keeping with the global awareness of environmental issues, the art theme for Burning Man 2007 is "The Green Man".
Some very creative minds are associated with the Burning Man community and besides creating some great art, also create great environmental projects. A subject I will expand upon in future posts.
I came across the National Audubon Society website, it is a great site for US birders. They state that their mission is "to conserve and restore natural ecosystems, focusing on birds, other wildlife, and their habitats for the benefit of humanity and the earth's biological diversity" and in pursuing their objectives, they have developed a fantastic birding resource. Supporters of clean, renewable energy sources such as wind and solar power, they recognise the threat to the environment posed by global warming and are urging their members to lobby for action.
There are Audubon centers right across the USA and they also offer information on birding trails. Currently, the website features live webcams on Seal Island National Wildlife Refuge in Maine, providing an up-close look at puffins and Terns.
For over thirty years, the first week in October brings the smell of roasting chilies and the spectacle of around 700 hot air balloons filling the big blue New Mexico sky. The extraordinary event is the Albuquerque International Balloon Fiesta and it is reckoned to be he largest ballooning event on earth. Visitors from all over the world travel to the huge, purpose built, Balloon Fiesta Park in Albuquerque, USA, to celebrate ballooning. This year's festival runs October 6 through 14, 2007.
Pilots from around the world are gathering for the 2007 World Hang Gliding Championships, which runs August 7-19 in Big Spring, Texas, USA. Over 150 pilots will be competing, with launches expected to be at noon during each day of the championship.
$1 Million, 10,000 Miles, 100 Hours, 50 Aircraft, touching all four corners of the United States
Dawn on August 3rd , 2007, sees the start of the Great Air Race in Georgia. It will be the longest air race in US history and 100 participants will be competing for $1 Million in cash and prizes. The race will last 14 days, cover 10,000 miles and require 100 hours of flight time, all filmed by Papillon Productions for a reality television series. The planes finish in Florida on August 17, 2007.
We try to cover as many different activities and special interests as possible and if you have ever tried to keep a Yo-Yo going up and down, this is for you. It is a video posted by hanakuso997 of Hiroyuki Suzuki (mickey) and the performance that won him the 2006 World Yo-Yo championship. Remarkable.
The championships are held each year, at the beginning of August and the 2007 World Yo-Yo Contest will be held in the Rosen Plaza Hotel convention center, Orlando, USA, Wednesday August 1 through Saturday August 4, 2007. Beginning at 5pm on Wednesday evening, the event site will be open 24 hours a day, but note that there will not be any events on Sunday August 5, 2007 and that the championship is one week earlier than last year.
The Bigfoot Field Researchers Organization is dedicated to resolving the mystery surrounding Bigfoot and produce conclusive evidence of the species' existence. To this end, they organize expeditions to areas where there have been Bigfoot sightings, or reports of activity, and invite interested members of the public to join them.
Details of this years expeditions, including an expedition to Northern Ontario, Canada, can be found on their website.
I came across an article in YourHub,com about the Women's Wilderness Institute that might be of interest to some of you; they offer outdoor adventures and courses for women in the Rocky Mountains, southwestern deserts and rivers. The institute is a non-profit organization that has been operating for nearly 10 years with the stated mission to "strengthen the courage, confidence, and leadership qualities of girls and women, through the challenge and support of group wilderness and community-based experiences". One of this years courses for women aged 45 and over is "Hiking with Llamas". A representative indicated that llamas play a fun role in the trip because they can comfortably carry up to 70 pounds and their sweet personality makes them a friendly addition. My knowledge is that sweet they may be, but they can be pretty stroppy if they do get upset and have the habit of spitting at anyone that offends them, so the message is keep them sweet and don't stand in front of them if they look as if they're getting brassed off. The Llamas that is.
Llama trekking has become a popular activity around the world and experience indicates that women on the hiking course will come away with many new friends. This is just one of 50 courses and trips organized by the Women's Wilderness Institute for women of different ages, fitness levels and outdoor interests; visit their web site and take a look at their programs.
Urban travellers in US cities are now able to use their mobile phones to dial up a find-a-loo service. That's right folks, the ultimate convenience.
Go to www.mizpee.com in your mobile web browser, enter your location and get a list of toilets in the locality. Of course you could try asking someone but mizpee will also provide a detailed listing of the facilities offered and a user-generated cleanliness rating; you know the sort of thing, 5 toilet-rolls excellent and 1 toilet-roll, well let's not go there!
If you decide to use this service, please understand that we cannot be held responsible for any shortcomings, inconvenience or consequential losses. As always, we advise you to check all the details yourself and where necessary, to take professional advice.
We think that this idea has a lot going for it and can see it spawning a new generation of community network sites, each offering subscriber's their own bog. Does this mean that blogging is going down the pan? Will Blogger be replaced with Bogger? One thing is clear, we are witnessing the birth of a new web service that is destined to just run and run; it could end up going anywhere.
Initially launched in San Francisco, MizPee now also covers Portland, Minneapolis, Washington DC, Atlanta, Oakland, and San Jose. The service providers are hoping to cover more cities as soon as possible.
Watch out America. Europe's most outrageous road rally, Cannonball Run Europe, has arrived in the U.S.A.
Based on the legendary Hollywood movie, the Great American Run follows the same format as six European Cannonball Runs. There will be four starting cities, four hundred cars and a six day drive, when competitors will slug it out on a coast to coast adventure that takes them through some of the finest scenery in the United States.
The first road race begins on July 29 in Miami, Atlanta, Washington and New York, with a hundred drivers setting off from each destination and converging on Las Vegas. Following an all-comers high-octane track day at Willow Springs Raceway, the cars will then travel to Los Angeles for the event finale.
A limited edition, Saleen Ultimate Bad Boy Mustang, is up for grabs to the winner of this year's Great American Run and a million dollar prize fund is being dangled in front of contestants for 2008.
Four hundred years ago, three settlers' ships made land at a swampy island, which became America's first permanent English settlement, Jamestown. In celebration of the 400th anniversary of their adventure, the neighbouring, larger harbour of Norfolk, has been asked to accommodate a fleet of more than 50 tall ships, military and character vessels, in Sail Virginia 2007. Running from Friday, June 8, to Tuesday, June 12, 2007, the fleet is expected to include a replica of one of the Jamestown settlers' ships, Godspeed, usually berthed at the Jamestown Settlement living history museum. Another of the ships, the Picton Castle, will be fresh from a starring role as a pirate ship in the new reality TV series, Pirate Master, where 16 modern-day pirates are sent on a high seas adventure, living the life of buccaneers, travelling around the Caribbean island of Dominica in search of hidden treasure.
Downtown Norfolk will be infused with the same adventuresome spirit of America's founders, by over 1,000 artists, actors, musicians, historians, Native Americans and sailing crews from around the world. Sail Virginia is being combined with Norfolk's 31st annual Harborfest, a festival with live music, good food and spectacular fireworks, held along the Elizabeth river, admission is free and includes tours of the ships.
This weekend, Saturday 7 and Sunday 4, June, 2007, sees the annual Blackbeard Pirates Festival at Hampton, Virginia, USA. You can travel back in time to 1718, where the Custom House at the bustling seaport of Hampton, orchestrates a campaign to rid its waters of the notorious Blackbeard. Enjoy lots of pirate themed fun and revelry, including plenty to keep the little swashbucklers entertained and for the older sea dogs, there is the Grand Pirate Ball.
Blackbeard had gained a reputation as the most fearsome and outrageous pirate of the Caribbean and then set about terrorizing ships and citizens along the east coast and Chesapeake Bay. His adventures and image have been romanticised over the years and formed the basis for the popular image of the swashbuckling pirate.
The NASA Kennedy Space Center has opened its new Shuttle Launch Experience simulator; tested by astronauts, it is said to be spectacular and very realistic.
Participants experience G-forces during the simulated blast-off and zero gravity as the the craft shuts off its main engines on entering orbit. The illusion is completed when the shuttle's bay doors are opened, revealing a fabulous view of the earth from space.
The new Shuttle simulator is just one of many fun-filled adventure activities on offer at the Kennedy Space Center, including individual, family and corporate Astronaut Training Experiences ranging from one to three days.
The holiday weekend, 27 May 2007, sees the annual Indianapolis 500 Mile Race. It is the oldest and richest car race in the world and this will be the 91st time that the event has been held.
120,000 people head for the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, Indianapolis, USA and they party in the festival atmosphere as 33 cars complete 200 laps of the circuit.
The last Monday in May is Memorial Day in the United States of America and since 1971, has been a federal holiday. Memorial Day began in the United States on May 30, 1868, following the ending of the American Civil War, and is a day of remembrance for those who have died in the nation's service.
However, in modern times, as Pat Ferrier notes in the Coloradoan, the holiday has become the unofficial start to the summer travel, camping, rafting and hiking season.
It is predicted that over 38 million people will be travelling in the US during the holiday weekend, around 84% of them by car. More than 4 million people will be flying to their destination and 2 million will be using the bus or train. Apparently, holiday travel numbers are likely to hit record highs despite the soaring fuel prices.
An interesting exhibition of vintage photographs from the second half of the 19th century, is being run by the Department of Art and Archaeology at Princeton University. The exhibition in McCormick Hall, Princeton, New Jersey, USA, runs through September 28, 2007 and is called "Global Views: 19th-century Travel Photographs".
Early travel photographs are proving to be an important record of architectural and social history and this exhibition particularly illustrates how travel photographers documented historical monuments, archaeological sites and scenes of daily life from the Middle East and Asia, 100 to 150 years ago.
Brooklyn Botanical Gardens celebrates its annual cherry blossom festival, Sakura Matsuri, this weekend, April 28 and 29, 2007 The two-day festival, celebrates Japanese culture and the cherry blossom collection in the botanical gardens, with music, dance, martial art performances, workshops, crafts, and guided tours.
Brooklyn Botanic Garden started as an ash dump just over 200 years ago and today presents a magnificent horticultural display. Sakura Matsuri is often referred to as "New York's Rite of Spring," and many visitors to the festival celebrate the season with cherry-blossom inspired costume; wearing the latest trends in kimono fashion or anime-inspired cosplay costumes.
The U.S. economy is decidedly shaky and this is reflected in the currency exchange rates. Since the beginning of the year, the Euro has risen steadily against the American Dollar and stands at almost 1.4 U.S. Dollars per Euro, while the British Pound has risen to the psychologically important 2.0 U.S. Dollars for each British Pound.
This is good news for European travellers, who are flocking to the U.S.A. on bargain breaks and sometimes paying for their trip with massive savings on goods that they have purchased during their vacation.
Enjoy even greater savings on a visit to the U.S.A. when you buy a Go Card visitor pass . These popular cards offer great savings; a single pass gets you unlimited general admission to top attractions for one low price and they are available at numerous tourist destinations.
Information on other authorized winter operations providing snowmobile and snowcoach trips into the park is available on the web at the 
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