Are We There Yet? - Attack of the Redneck Mommy

It's time for a little comic relief on a Saturday morning. If you are about to set off on a road trip with young children (or bored teenagers), take comfort that you are not alone. What was your worst road trip?

Are We There Yet? - Attack of the Redneck Mommy: "Are We There Yet?

There comes a time in every parent’s life when they have to take their kids on a road trip.

Today is my day.

I’m facing a six hour drive, alone in the vehicle with a dog and three children and no husband to provide a buffer between us.

It’s going to get ugly."

Greater Yellowstone

The newest geotourism map from National Geographic became available today. Take a look at the site and order the map. It's free.

Greater Yellowstone: "Welcome to Greater Yellowstone
Think about a region so awe-inspiring that after having seen it in 1871, the members of the Hayden Expedition sat around a campfire near the Madison River and conceived of an entity both audacious and visionary: a 'National Park.' –C.J. Box, novelist, Wyoming"

Artdaily.org - The First Art Newspaper on the Net

Every year the Cowgirl Up! exhibition by Western women artists has grown in size and importance. It is definitely worth the drive "out Wickenburg way" to see this show at the Desert Caballeros Western Museum. Many events are scheduled throughout the run of the show and you'll enjoy the hospitality of the folks in Wickenbug.

Artdaily.org - The First Art Newspaper on the Net: "WICKENBURG, AZ.- 4th Annual Cowgirl Up! Art from the Other Half of the West Exhibition & Sale returns to the Desert Caballeros Western Museum March 27th – May 3rd, 2009. Recognized as one of Arizona's top art shows, Cowgirl Up! is the most important invitational exhibition and sale for western women artists in the nation."

Low Impact Living » Blog Archive » Eight Ways to Green Your Road Trip

Here's some tips for reducing your impact on the environment on your next road trip. I'd add one more to this list: get off the Interstates and take the slow roads. By slowing down you use less gas and the trip will be more enjoyable and memorable.

Low Impact Living » Blog Archive » Eight Ways to Green Your Road Trip: "Peak driving season, when many Americans hit the road to visit relatives or see the sights, is now in full swing. With U.S. gas prices topping $4 a gallon in some places — and likely to edge up more during summer’s high demand — you may want to consider taking more efficient mass transportation.

But if you travel by car, you can still cut your fuel usage, save money and reduce your carbon footprint by driving smart."

OPEC leaves quotas unchanged - good news only for the short-term

If the OPEC decision to not decrease production quotas is any indication, the price of gasoline for your summer driving vacation may be reasonable, unlike last summer. But what about the long-term effects of low prices? Will we be in for a big spike again in another year? Do low gas prices discourage development of low fuel consuming vehicles?

OPEC leaves quotas unchanged - good news only for the short-term: "OPEC chose to maintain current production quotas, arguing that better adherence to current quotas would be sufficient to support prices, which have plummeted about $100 to the $45-range in the past nine months as the global economy entered its first recession since World War II.

The bottom line regarding OPEC's weekend decision? Short-term, it's good news for U.S. consumers. Long-term, it's not as good news."

The Character Project

USA Network assigned eleven photographers to illustrate their slogan, Characters Welcome. The results are a stunning group of portfliios on the web at Character Project.

As a traveler on slow roads, I was partuicularly taken by the photographs of David Eustace. A Scottish photographer, he drove the length of Highway 50 from San Francisco to Ocean City, Maryland. Along the way he made 50 portraits of the ordinary people he encountered along the way. Take a look at David's portfolio. Be suree and watch the video interview also.

David's work has inspired me to begin my own "character project" on my next US Route 89 road trip. I've done a few portraits along the way but I think it will be a human face to the places along 89 to include more people along side the landscapes. Here's a shoot of the barbecue cook at the Cowboy's Smokehouse Café in Panguitch, Utah, that I made last summer.

Defensive Driving: 70 Rules to Live By

Driving on two-lane roads is different from speeding down the intersate. Here's a great summary of the rules of the road for all drivers on slow roads.

Defensive Driving: 70 Rules to Live By: "It's not something we happy-go-lucky roadtrippers like to dwell upon, but about 50,000 people die each year in collisions on the roadways of the United States. By most estimates, over twenty-two million are injured. The costs associated with such collisions are staggering -- often quoted at more than $80 billion. This carnage is unnecessary since nearly all collisions are preventable. How? Glad you asked! RoadTrip America's contributing expert Robert Schaller has the answers. In this resource, he shares wisdom gained from nearly fifteen years of teaching defensive driving and traffic law in his home state of Arizona."