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Get off your a$$ and hike the Grand Canyon trails

The very popular mule rides that transport visitors into the splendid rocky depths of the Grand Canyon in Arizona will be drastically reduced under a new plan by the National Park Service.

According to the NPS announcement, the number of mules allowed on the Bright Angel Trail, the most traveled route into the canyon from the South Rim, will drop from 40 to 10 riders daily.

The NPS reason for the cut-back in mule rides is that the trail over the years has eroded to potentially unsafe conditions, and repairs are getting too expensive. Additionally, hikers are complaining that they must share the ever-narrowing trails with the mules and the inevitable stuff the mules leave behind. NPS also states that it wants to encourage more hikers to use the trail.

There will be mule rides available along the less-spectacular but safer top of the South Rim trails. For those planning Grand Canyon visits, they should know the hugely popular mule rides will become even more difficult to book, and reservations of up to a year in advance are advised.

For more information, go to NPS.org.
New airport body scanners are less intrusive PDF Print E-mail

Wooden human figure

Stand still, dummy, while we scan you

Scanner images will now look less like a naked you, because only a virtual you will be on display that looks like a store dummy or undressed blow-up doll.

New and revised full-body airport scanners, created by OSI's Rapiscan Systems, will be a bit more considerate than previous scanners. They’ll just show security examiners a less human and more robotic image of you. If they suspect any item on your body image, the scanner will highlight it, and screeners may opt to take you aside for a more thorough personal search.

OSI, which calls the new generic images avatars, has replaced or updated 194 scanners at 51 airports to date. So, maybe when you go on your next flight, you won’t have to cringe at the near-naked image of the real you up on that scanner screen. You'll see only a digital dummy of about the same size and shape, but not shaking with embarassment.

 
 
 
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