I’ve Been to the Mountain Top!

  This post could simply be called an Update to A Very Real National Treasure, or National Treasure Part 2, and could come with the warning label “do not try this at home.”

   But basically, “I’ve Been to the Mountain Top!” expresses my enthusiasm for the destination as well as the facts of this post.

    If you were to scroll back to May 18, you would read that our hike took us to ”remote locations and higher elevations than most travelers to the Black Hills experience.”

   Yeah Baby!    We stood on top of George Washington’s head and looked down Thomas Jefferson’s nose while we surveyed the magnificent view experienced on a day to day basis by the daring workers who carved Mount Rushmore during the Great Depression.

     Let me back up and share with you the story in a linear, more comprehensible manner. 

   When Bruce and I registered for the Society of American Travel Writers conference in Rapid City back in February, we signed up for a story research tour called “Over and Under.”  The under explored one the many caves of the Black Hills.  Between you and me, after exploring caves in Missouri “THE Cave State,” I’ve decided I’m not a fan of dark, damp, enclosed spaces that could cave in on you.

   The over part of the tour was more to my liking.  It included a rare opportunity with National Park Service rangers to hike the top of the heads of George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Theodore Roosevelt and Abraham Lincoln.  In the past, the NPS has taken journalists to the top about once a year to talk about the eco-system, the maintenance of the famous monument, and more recently, about security to protect this national icon.

   On rare occasions, federal judges, U.S. Senators and other powerful big wigs who could influence the NPS budget could request a tour as well, but it is an experience that is certainly off limits to the general public.

    After we made the climb, the NPS rangers who accompanied us told us in very clear terms that, because of national security and because of obvious curiosity from the general public, that we journalists could not write about the experience.

    Since then, Gerald Baker, Superintendent of the Mount Rushmore National Memorial, clarified that we could write the story as long as we clearly state to all that climbing is NOT allowed except on very rare occasions and under the direct supervision of NPS employees.  Otherwise, you might be spending time in a federally-funded accommodation.

   In just a few words, let me tell you this….it ain’t what it looks like in the movies!

   First of all, I thought there was a road or something that would take us most of the way.   Nope, we climbed the whole way -  about 500 feet straight up in less than a half mile.  At one point, when our presence could be detected by those watching from the visitor’s center, we made a mad dash for cover, just about even with Abraham Lincoln’s chinny-chin-chin.

    And seriously, because of national security precautions, we are prevented from talking about many aspects of the climb and Bruce was severely restricted on what he could photograph.  However, we were joined by a mountain goat at the top who didn’t appear to be too impressed with our two-legged climbing skills. 

     But as we panted and tried to catch our breath, our breaths were simultaneously taken away at the grandeur of the vista, at the magnificence of the work, and the sheer national pride in living in a country created in part by the four men in whose hairline we trod.

   Now, my job is to find an editor who will take my words and Bruce’s photos and share them in another medium with readers from around the world.  Until then, I continue to catch my breath, nurse my bruises and revel in the knowledge that I have been to the mountain top.

   And if you would like to read another account of the hike, click here:http://www.blackhillstravelblog.com/travel-writers-photogs-get-an-eyefull/

A Very Real National Treasure

  I’ve never been a big fan of Nicholas Cage, but after my weekend hike in the Black Hills of South Dakota, I have new respect for the actor. 

  In National Treasure – Book of Secrets, just released on DVD, he jaunts across the top of Mount Rushmore with less effort than I exert walking around the block.

   Now I don’t know how old Cage is – I could google it but I really don’t care – but in a few weeks, I’m going to have a significant birthday that ends in a big zero.

   And, I don’t know what the elevation is in Hollywood – I could google that too – but where we were in the Black Hills was about 5700 feet.  That’s about 5,000 feet higher than Kansas City’s 700 feet above sea level.

   And, I really don’t care how often Nicholas Cage works out, but I swipe the card at our fitness center a couple of times a week.  Yet, I was huffing and puffing on our hike at a very audible level.

   But I wasn’t alone in the heavy breathing department.  Bruce and I were in Rapid City for a conference of the Central States chapter of the Society of American Travel Writers, along with about 100 of our colleagues in the travel media business.

    Our hike, led by National Park Service rangers, took about 25 of us to remote locations and higher elevations than most travelers to the Black Hills experience.  But it was worth the huffing and puffing, along with a few scrapes and bruises accumulated by us all, to reach the heights of this range of mountains so sacred to the Native Americans. 

   The Black Hills of South Dakota are among our favorite destinations in the United States, and we’ve written about our journeys here in the past.  But now, we have new experiences and new reasons to share with readers about this beautiful area, where buffalo still roam, where beauty is literally around every turn, and where there is little humidity and fewer mosquitoes in the summer.

   So over the next few weeks, our colleagues and I will be sending story proposals to editors, posting on blogs and websites, and otherwise sharing with the world about our appreciation of the natural beauty here.  I’ll keep you updated on where my stories land, but in the coming months if you see anything in print about the Black Hills, it’s probably from one of our friends here.

   And if you’re looking for ideas for a memorable vacation this summer, don’t worry about being as fit as Nicholas Cage.  Come to the Black Hills and enjoy a very real national treasure.

 

A Writer’s Fool

 

  Although it is not documented in any history books or at the fabulous library in his honor in Springfield, Illinois, I believe that Abraham Lincoln must have been a freelance travel writer.

   The basis of my historical observation comes from a famous Lincoln quotation:  “You may fool all of the people some of the time; you can even fool some of the people all of the time; but you can’t fool all of the people all of the time.”

    This is on my mind as my first story appears in the May/June issue of Arrive, the Amtrak Magazine.  The Detours column of this publication, which is read by business travelers in the northeast United States, highlights things to do when business travelers are not doing business.  

   However, it has been said that 90 percent of our nation’s business takes place on the golf course.  I don’t know about that since I don’t golf, but fortunately for me, the editor at Arrive magazine is one person who does at least a percentage of his time in a typical conference setting.  That’s where I met this editor, at a writer’s conference, and that’s how I ended up with my by-line under the headline Matter of Course, which highlights six unique golf courses in the northeast.

    One might wonder then, how a writer from the Midwest who doesn’t play golf handled such an assignment.

    In my case, our good friend Scott Parish helped me out.  Scotty once produced a television show about golf and, in so doing, traveled to some of the best courses in the world.  He knows all of the lingo, the jokes and the history that is needed to make a story sound rich and authentic.  Scotty and I brainstormed about the courses to include.  He explained the terminology and proof-read my story.

     So a good travel writer needs to know a little about a lot, or have connections to the people who know a lot about a specific topic. More so, a good travel writer can’t be afraid to ask questions, lots and lots of questions, and can’t be afraid of any destination or assignment.

   Click on this link, Arrive, and see if the words Scotty and I put together were enough to fool at least Abraham Lincoln and you, at least this one time.

    That’s the story behind this story.

   

A Ben & Jerry’s Kind of Day

   Some days, the work of a writer has nothing to do with writing at all.  It’s about marketing and accounting and filing and organization or learning new technologies, among other disciplines. 

   Some of those days I don’t mind at all.  It gives my brain a bit of a break from searching in its wrinkled and remote crannies for the best word, the unexpected phrase or the most accurate anecdote.  It’s kind of like eating chocolate cake for dessert every day.  I could live a lifetime on chocolate cake, ooh, or blackberry cobbler like my Grandmother used to make.

    But if you had chocolate cake or blackberry cobbler every day, no matter how much you love it, just occasionally it would be nice to throw in some Ben & Jerry’s Ice Cream with hot fudge and caramel sauce.

   Don’t misunderstand me.  It’s not like a day spent doing bookwork and preparing for taxes is like a day spent rolling around in a tub of Ben & Jerry’s.  That’s not the point I’m making at all.

   My point is this:  I’ve got a little radio gig going for the next few weeks that promotes one of my writing projects.  KMBZ Radio (980am) in Kansas City has asked me to do a little five minute bit each Thursday  (7:40 a.m.) for much of the summer about quick getaways from Kansas City that won’t break the bank in paying for gasoline.

   It’s based on my work with Shifra Stein and the book she originated almost 30 years ago called “Day Trips from Kansas City.”  That’s when gasoline prices had sky-rocketed to an unbelievable 80-cents a gallon.

   It’s a lot of fun, remembering how to communicate verbally rather than via strokes on a keyboard.  The toughest part so far has been actually setting my alarm clock, something that causes many freelancers an allergic reaction.

    But otherwise, I sit around in my bathrobe with no make-up and the cat on my lap, and talk about the destinations that I otherwise just write about.  And try to decide what I should have for dessert:  chocolate cake, blackberry cobbler or Ben & Jerry’s.

    Like I said – some of these non-writing days, I don’t mind at all.