Stray Dog Tourism

Stray dogs are something I tend to avoid.  While backpacking the Appalachian Trail, I had several potentially nasty encounters with dogs.  I simply held up my walking stick, yelled at them to back off and walked away.

Now, I am a dog lover, and for the most part am willing to say hi to a dog, ask the owner to pet or let the dog sniff my hand.  But in my foreign travels, I need to be a bit more cautious.

I am pleased there are many dog rescue operations around the world and there are some good success stories.

On Provo we have the Potcake Place.  This is a good start, but I would also encourage folks to donate to animal organizations for health care and neutering or spaying.  Dogs are great, and I love them all. 

I dedicate this blog today to all the dogs in my life.....and yours.

Community Preservation Act in Action (CPA)

Easthampton Mass is expanding our open space by combining the funds from Commonwealth, the CPA and a local land trust to help preserve lands.  This is a perfect example of the partnerships proposed by Reagan's Presidential  Commission on Americans Outdoors (PCAO).

I wish however, that some local businesses would step up.  After all, their employees and children benefit from outdoor recreation.  And I believe it is a way to contribute to the community.

For some background on the CPA, here is an old paper I co-wrote a few years back.

Heritage Tourism beyond Borders and Civilizations

Today, on the moon

Back in 1969, on this date, Neil Armstrong was the first human to walk on the moon.  Do you remember where you were?  I do.

I was at summer camp, in a tent, listening to a transistor radio and hearing Mission Control give instructions to Armstrong as he stepped down the ladder to place that foot print in the dust.  What seemed like hours, was probably only 15 minutes to a teenager. 

Coincidentally, it is also Sir Edmund Hillary's birthday.

To all the explorers out there, I dedicate this blog!

Air Pollution and National Park Visitation

I read a short news clip in the morning paper today about visitor attendance declining in out national parks due to air pollution.  I tried a scholar google search to find the research but could not find it.

I did find this book titled Air Pollution and Its Impacts on U.S. National Parks and this paper.

I will check into a bit more since I will be teaching Recreation Geography this fall and I do a section on environmental impacts.

World Cup 2018

France over Croatia 4-2.

Congrats to both teams for representing your countries in Russia.  Your athletic achievement will inspire the youth of the world in this great sport.

Good job all!

Car Rental Part III

Since we are travelling a bunch this year, at least for us, we need to consider signing up for a frequent driver card with a rental company.  Sure, this means you limit your selections and you might end up paying more, but as I figure it, the perks may outweigh the costs.

Next thing I consider when renting a car is the location of the counter relative to the airport departure gates.  I suspect rental companies compete for the best location and those who pay more get the best location for the weary travelers.  I have found the locations change so that even at airports I frequently visit, I have to search for the car rental desk every time.

Then there is the insurance issue.  This is crazy.  And rather rant on that issue, I will tell a story about one rental when I got the CDW (not an insurance mind you).  And still had a headache.

Seems I dinged the back bumper when trying to park this care in Martinique.  It was after midnight since we had to take a later flight when I missed our scheduled one.  My bad.

Anyway, at the end of the trip at 6 am I returned the car. got slammed with a 1,000 Euro deposit and made my flights home.  After the trip I called my credit card company and after some paper work and time, I got reimbursed the 1,0000.  It does work!

Here is a shot of a sun set in Fort de France.

and a pretty flower.

Happy Fourth!

I was outside this morning trying to finish cutting the grass around the house.  Noticing an old hot-rod (you know the kind they drove in those surfer movies), I paused and waved to the driver.  He waved back. 

A few minutes later a teenager skateboarding down our road waved to me, so I returned the gesture.

What a great way to start the day.

Sad news though, some foreign students died trying to rescue some kid swimming in a local river.  Here these guys are, trying to get an education in America and while they are "foreigners", they felt it was their duty as humans to try to help a stranger.

Sad.