Intelligent Travel

Yellowstone and Montana MapGuides

We always try to keep tabs on what our neighbors here at National Geographic are doing, and so we're excited to share what the folks at the Center for Sustainable Destinations are up to next. One of CSD's many projects is to establish geotourism charters with local communities to help identify, develop, and promote the unique and authentic assets that will attract travelers to their region. Working closely with community partners, they then harness the staff and resources of the National Geographic Maps division to create a unique MapGuide, which, as the name helpfully indicates, is a bit of a guidebook and map in one. I used one while in Baja a few months ago, and thought it was both tremendously helpful and a really fun way to explore a place.

Last month, CSD released their latest MapGuide, "The Crown of the Continent," which spans Alberta, British Columbia, and Montana. Working with a local geotourism alliance, they plotted a slew of fascinating finds like the Bellevue Underground Coal Mine tour (wear miner's helmets!), the Two Medicine Dinosaur Center (fossils!), and Garnet Ghost Town (boo!), plus a bevy of campsites, small B&B's, and handicraft shops. The maps have terrific photographs and tons of information, and even better, they're absolutely free! You can take a peek at the maps online, and order your own at the Crown of the Continent website.

Next up for CSD is a MapGuide on Yellowstone and Grand Teton National Parks. Right now, local residents and visitors can nominate for inclusion in the MapGuide landmarks, attractions, activities, events and local businesses that define the region's unique character and distinctive appeal. Nominations may be made between April 15 and June 30, 2008, so send in your favorite spots now!
Image: Crown of the Continent MapGuide

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Cinematic Road Trip: Nebraska

John Ur returns for this week's edition of Cinematic Road Trip. Today's stop: Nebraska.

Every time I begin one of these columns, I chant the name of the state that I mentally try to inhabit and see if it fits a song like “Ooooooooklahoma.” Well Nebraska does not, as far as I know, serve as the title of any popular song, but the Counting Crows once sang of, “Omaha, somewhere in middle America, get right to the heart of matters. It’s the heart that matters more.” As in: Somewhere in middle America, believe it or not, there are actual people living out their lives.

This may come as a surprise to people fixated on the East and West Coasts, but not to Alexander Payne. Over the past decade, Payne has become a prominent writer-director on the backs of some strong movies—most recently, Sideways, which won him (and his writing partner, Jim Taylor) the Academy Award for Best Adapted Screenplay. Payne grew up around Omaha but is not the first famous Hollywood figure to sprout from the city among the cornfields. He follows native Omahans Henry Fonda, Marlon Brando, Fred Astaire, and Nick Nolte, all of whom also made their way to Tinseltown.

Payne must maintain a fondness for his home state. He’s adapted two novels set in east coast states to be shot around Omaha. In Election, Reese Witherspoon plays an over-achieving high school student running for Student Council President of Carver High School. Payne shot the high school scenes at Papillion-La Vista High School in Papillion, Nebraska, which is in the suburbs ten miles southwest of Omaha. (The original novel by Tom Perrotta is set in New Jersey.)

Although less critically acclaimed than Election, About Schmidt provides a greater view of the rest of Nebraska. In this film, Payne relocates Louis Begley’s novel from Long Island to Omaha and casts Jack Nicholson as Warren Schmidt, a retired assistant vice president for Woodmen of the World Insurance Agency. This is an actual company located on Farnam Street in Omaha.

Cinematic Road Trip: The Dakotas

John Ur returns with another glimpse into the cinematic adventures of the 50 states. Today, he presents us with a double whammy of both Dakotas.

National Geographic’s recent feature article on North Dakota, "The Emptied Prairie," documented the ghost towns that lie in the open space between the cities of North Dakota and the farmlands where cattle, buffalo and wheat reign supreme.  In South Dakota, there is much of the same: a few mid-size cities, lots of farmland, Native American Reservations, and in every direction, horizon.

Given that North and South Dakota respectively rank 47th and 46th out of 50 in population (as of the 2000 Census), and that the majority of their land is devoted to agriculture (like much of the rest of the Great Plains), it stands to reason that there would not be many movies to choose from when reviewing homegrown cinema. Unfortunately, reason stands true in this instance. With apologies to Dakota natives, I have made the executive decision to combine North and South Dakota into one column for the purely selfish reason of giving me more material to work with.

North Dakota, though not rich in film history, holds (a small) claim to a cinematic gem. The Coen Brothers’ 1996 crime-drama, Fargo, was named after the largest city in North Dakota. But unfortunately, to further undermine the North Dakotan Tourism Industry, Fargo was largely shot in Minnesota. There is however, one distinct shot that you can look for if you’re driving through ND. There is a large statue of Paul Bunyan that sits west of the city of Bathgate on Pembina County Highway 1. Besides this minor claim to fame (and the larger fame that the film’s title brings to the small city), I can’t find another movie set or shot in North Dakota. Native Dakotans, can anyone help me out?

Cinematic Road Trip: Montana

John Ur returns for another round of Cinematic Road Trip. This time, he casts his line and pulls up a winner in the form of the great state of Montana.

There is a certain grace and flair necessary for driving across the United States. As I mentioned last week, if you try to muscle your machine over the hills, you might pop a cork. You have to deal with inclement weather (stay tuned for Wisconsin!) and long hours of mindlessly straight and flat land. You must stay alert for animals straying to the roadways looking for food (like the twelve-foot-tall elk I met around the bend of a dark road through Yellowstone National Park). Without the aid of a GPS, you must pay close attention to signs and landmarks in order to avoid getting lost. And if you're from New Jersey, as I am, you must acclimate yourself to the confluence of speed limits as highways meet neighborhood roads. Or else you'll find yourself, as I did, face to face with the sheriff, who waited patiently at an intersection as the limit abruptly dropped from 75 to 25 mph. But don't worry, he'll be plenty congenial as he takes your fine (in cash) on the spot.

What is there to see in Montana besides flashing lights in your rearview? That depends on which side of the Continental Divide you're on. The eastern 3/5ths of the state, like Colorado, is a part of the Great Plains, long and flat. There's a reason it's called Big Sky country. The western 2/5ths is more densely populated; the Rockies spread up from Wyoming and Yellowstone National Park (which overlaps into Montana) and eventually stretch up to Alberta and British Columbia, Canada.  This section of the state contains some of its most populous cities – Bozeman, Butte, Great Falls, the capital of Helena, and Missoula. It also contains the outdoor gem of the state – Glacier National Park.

Cinematic Road Trip: Utah

Hitch a ride with John Ur on his Cinematic Road Trip. Today we're taking a pit stop in Utah.

I was about ten years old when I was assigned a project to create a map of Utah. The map would include all of the major cities and many of the major landmarks. I remember marking out the cities of Ogden, Provo and Salt Lake City. I traced the outline of the Great Salt Lake. I located Kings Peak (the highest peak in the state) near the right-angle turn in the state’s northeast border.

But there was one spot on the map that drew my fascination more than any other. That was the Bonneville Salt Flats. Salt flats? My research told me this was a large area where people would go to try to set speed racing records. I couldn’t fathom this. How could anyone drive through salt? How could you get all that salt to one place to begin with? Did they have giant steamrollers out there to make the large pile of salt flat?

Check out The World’s Fastest Indian with Anthony Hopkins and you will solve every conundrum from my childhood fascination. The movie follows a New Zealand man, Bert Munro (Hopkins), as he attempts to break the world land-speed record in the Sixties.  Besides Bonneville, the film was shot in Salt Lake City and small towns like Skull Valley, Tooele, and Wendover, Utah (as well as New Mexico and New Zealand).