http://theaccidentalextremist.com Because bad trips make great stories. Fri, 03 Sep 2010 05:50:03 +0000 http://backend.userland.com/rss092 en It was a fine day for fly-fishing on the Big Wood River in Ketchum, Idaho last July. However, in calf-deep water, I slipped and completely lost my rod and reel. Gone. Disappeared. I'm in the outdoor industry and the gear was free, but still, how often can I get another ... http://theaccidentalextremist.com/2010/09/reel-trouble-con-phishing/ [caption id="attachment_745" align="aligncenter" width="287" caption="FYI, it's not a good idea to try and sell the Bill of Rights. "][/caption] In the new non-fiction book Lost Rights: The Misadventures of a Stolen American Relic, David Howard retraces the surreal travels of an original, handwritten copy of the Bill of Rights. The 221-year-old document ... http://theaccidentalextremist.com/2010/08/744/ [caption id="attachment_739" align="aligncenter" width="300" caption="Only one piece of carry-on luggage allowed? Make it this book."][/caption] Dear Readers, as you head into that great American tradition, a long, lost weekend of drunken pyromania family, friends, and tasty BBQ, take a minute to consider the less fortunate, like adventure travel writer Carl Hoffman, whose ... http://theaccidentalextremist.com/2010/07/taking-the-road-insanely-traveled-by-books-media/ [caption id="attachment_729" align="aligncenter" width="300" caption="Excuse me, but are you Betty White?"][/caption] I was on vacation in France in September 1999 when my friends and I headed south to a wonderful small town called St. Remy de Provence.  We happened to arrive just before their "Ancient Festival" in late
September where the locals, dressed in traditional outfits, ... http://theaccidentalextremist.com/2010/06/and-from-that-day-on-they-called-her-grammatador-bad-asses/ [caption id="attachment_718" align="aligncenter" width="198" caption="Hang on to your Doritos!"][/caption] St. Paul is a barren, five-by-seven-mile speck of rock in the middle of Alaska’s Bering Sea, the largest of five tiny islands collectively known as the Pribilofs. I found myself there last winter—ostensibly to report on the Coast Guard helicopter rescue crews ... http://theaccidentalextremist.com/2010/06/a-ballad-of-baby-seal-and-9-doritos-off-the-map/ [caption id="attachment_698" align="aligncenter" width="300" caption="No convenience is overlooked in Paradise!"][/caption] APRIL 18, 2010...After 25+ hours of traveling, my mom and I made it to Delhi from Denver. I was going to volunteer for three weeks, and roped her into a week of sightseeing first.  Although we consider ourselves seasoned travelers, my ... http://theaccidentalextremist.com/2010/06/india-hour-one-hotel-hell/ [caption id="attachment_691" align="aligncenter" width="300" caption="Look kids, a real live bear! "][/caption] To hear most family members tell it, the annual camping expedition of 1997 was a total disaster. First off, we took our local Catholic priest with us. He stole bread and wine—body and blood to most people we knew—from the ... http://theaccidentalextremist.com/2010/04/holy-bear-human-sacrifice/ Our friends over at VICE TV have put together a wild documentary anyone thinking they need a break from modern life should watch. As it turns out, there's pretty much only one way to skin a bear, and it requires both a gut and will of iron. In 1980, Jimmy Carter ... http://theaccidentalextremist.com/2010/03/korth-of-the-north-radical-self-reliance/ [caption id="attachment_669" align="aligncenter" width="240" caption="The defendant claimed temporary insanity."][/caption] I lived in paradise: a 500-person fishing village on the pacific coast of Nicaragua, where I taught English and watched the sun set everyday. Problem was, the stores in paradise didn’t sell any chocolate. And, I like chocolate. “A day without chocolate is ... http://theaccidentalextremist.com/2010/03/like-dogfood-for-chocolate-when-animals-attack/ [caption id="attachment_664" align="aligncenter" width="300" caption="I know it's around here somewhere..."][/caption] The good thing about skiing in a ghost town is that you have the slopes—and the bar—to yourself. And the bad would be obvious…if you believe in ghosts. Well, I don’t. But one day last spring, I found myself wondering. I’d been ... http://theaccidentalextremist.com/2010/03/a-mysterious-white-powder-losing-it/