The last entry in this space addressed making sure we had ammo that was going to work. Of course, the other half of that is firearms we are sure are going to work. Which means cleaning. Lubrication. Springs replaced at appropriate intervals, and all of that. Those who are mechanically inclined enjoy that sort of thing. Those of […]
You can't go bigger than these two, so there's no point in going home. With big frame-mounted fairings, top trunks, luxurious seating for two and all the appointments American V-twin riders want, it's a shame we only had four days and one state to shake them out. Still, we're honored to carry on the fine old tradition of Harley versus Indian.
Sponsor: We’d like to thank EarPeace for sponsoring this video. The entire MO staff uses them regularly, and you should, too.
Established in 1994, Motorcycle.com is the premier online resource for motorcycle and scooter enthusiasts. With hundreds of high quality, detailed video reviews on bikes from Harley-Davidson, Honda, Yamaha, Suzuki, Kawasaki and just about everybody else, it's the best place to go to learn about the latest and greatest two-wheeled creations. There's simply no better resource if you're planning on buying or if you just want to check out some awesome machines.
Traveling to every corner of the United States, photographer Gabriele Galimberti captured proud gun owners and the American tradition to bear arms for a documentary project, titled "The Ameriguns."
El Impenetrable National Park is as daunting a landscape as the name suggests. Stands of quebracho—often called the hardest wood in the world—dominate the park’s uplands; elsewhere, thick knots of locust trees, palms, and even cacti create a dense patchwork of forest. The Teuco River winds through this corner of northern Argentina’s Chaco Province like a muddy yellow serpent, flooding seasonally and making much of the area impassable for weeks at a time. But the river also sustains resident flora and fauna during the dry season, which lasts most of the year. Deep in the shaded thickets around the Teuco, maned wolves, pumas, and even a jaguar or two hunt. Overhead, the endangered Chaco eagle rules the skies, looking for its next meal.
This expanse of nearly 500 square miles (128,000 hectares) is one of Argentina’s largest national parks, and also one of the newest. Some twelve hours by road from Buenos Aires, El Impenetrable received its special status in 2014—but it was not until 2017 that the National Parks Administration was able to overcome the challenges of the remote, unforgiving terrain and officially deploy staff to the area. The park itself has a dark origin story, rooted in murder, and communities living around its edges still grapple with alternating periods of flood and drought.
Yet El Impenetrable has another side. For some of its neighbors, including members of the region’s Indigenous Qom and Wichi communities, the park—and the tourists drawn to its mystique and offer of adventure—has opened up new opportunities.
“I can work, and share my knowledge of flora and fauna with visitors for the first time,” says Cesar Luna. The 28-year-old local grew up exploring the dense forests and swamps, and has turned his knowledge into a career as a kayak guide for tourists. Unlike many young Argentinians in rural areas, who relocate to urban areas to find work, Luna notes he’s been able to “grow economically without having to leave the place where I was born, grew up, and want to continue living.”
“This chance has made everything different for me,” he adds.
Some lifelong residents of the region were initially more wary of the influx of tourists, who still number only a few thousand each year.
“At first, people were worried about the amount of strangers coming here, because they did not know why they were coming,” says Zulma Argañaraz, a mother of eight who lives in La Armonía, a hamlet of about a dozen families within the park’s borders. “Most of us had never seen a tourist, nor knew what we could offer.”
One of the first “strangers” Argañaraz met was Emiliano Ezcurra, at the time a national parks executive. He often ate dinner at her home, and they became friends. “One time, he came to dinner with eight guests and asked me, ‘How much is this?’” Argañaraz remembers. “I had no idea. For us, dinner was always an invitation. Then he told me my recipes were wonderful and I could open my own place.”
With Ezcurra’s encouragement, and support from non-governmental agencies active in the park’s creation and the region’s economic improvement, Argañaraz opened Campo Alegre, a food stand and restaurant near one of the park entrances. The menu features traditional ingredients, such as algarroba flour, made from ground carob pods, and mistol, tiny plum-like fruits from a spiny tree of the same name that grows throughout the region.
Like several other locals, Argañaraz also works as a community representative for Rewilding Argentina, one of the NGOs committed to the park’s development. The representatives serve as bridges between their neighbors and agency staff, coordinating on projects around tourism and promotion of local handicrafts, including baskets and textiles woven from local plants. The collaborations are intended to create sustainable, locally-run businesses that also preserve the park’s flora and fauna.
“We aim for the villagers to be the ones providing services of gastronomy, hiking, kayaking, and wildlife sighting, among others,” says Rewilding Argentina’s Constanza Mozzoni. “Our goal is to ensure all of them benefit from nature and become the first wildlife guardians through the services they offer.”
The creation of the park has also eased one of the biggest stresses for Argañaraz and other La Armonía residents: accessing water. Improvements to area infrastructure include adding a system that collects rainwater into two large tanks for village use. Other projects, such as paving some of the roads to and around the park, are also planned.
The positive partnerships are a contrast to the disturbing origins of the park.
The positive partnerships between outsiders and the communities within and around El Impenetrable are a contrast to the disturbing origins of the park. In January 2011, an elderly rancher, Manuel Roseo, and a relative were murdered in the small Chaco town of Castelli. The details were gruesome: Both victims had been beaten and suffocated. Although he lived simply, Roseo was one of the province’s biggest landowners, and his prized possession was the expansive ranch called La Fidelidad. In a region where much of the native forest has already been destroyed for timber or agriculture, the ranch would have been a lure for either industry.
For years, according to rumors, a variety of interested buyers had approached Roseo about La Fidelidad, but he had always refused to sell it—individuals eventually arrested for the murders had previously tried to purchase the land fraudulently. While poachers had illegally hunted, grazed livestock, and clear-cut small tracts, the ranch was largely unspoiled by human activity. Scientists and conservation organizations quickly began lobbying for La Fidelidad to be set aside as a national park, its biodiversity preserved.
After considerable legal wrangling, government intervention, and a national publicity campaign, most of the ranch was designated a national park. In addition to a burgeoning tourism industry, the park is home to the Teuco Biological Station. The field station’s staff are surveying the park’s wildlife, plants, and fungi for the first time, and are working to conserve native species that have been almost eliminated from the region, including jaguars.
As change comes to the region for its residents, human and otherwise, the remote park itself becomes a little less impenetrable.
In Texas, high-end convenience stores aren’t just a pit stop—they’re a culture. I speak, of course, of Buc-ee’s, a Texan chain of gargantuan proportions. At Buc-ee’s, weary travelers can fuel up, choose from a selection of exotic jerkies, urinate in a spanking-clean bathroom, and buy a damn picnic basket while they’re…
After a year’s wait due to the restrictions preventing celebrations for a century of Moto Guzzi in 2021, the great, most eagerly awaited party is finally here in Mandello del Lario.
The weekend of September 8-11 will be an unmissable occasion for all fans of the L’Aquila-based brand and every lover of motorcycling and beautiful bikes.
Over the second weekend of September, Mandello will turn into the global epicenter of motorcycling passion, because Moto Guzzi represents an unrivaled heritage of history, technology, style, and allure, capable of engaging and thrilling every generation.
It’s a double date in recognition of such an important occasion: eleven years after the last edition, the GMG – Guzzi World Days are back, and they join the Città Della Moto Guzzi International Motorcycle Rally.
These two spectacular events promise to cover every single moment of a weekend set to be unique for a worthy celebration of 100 years of fantastic history, made up of beautiful, exciting motorbikes that have made us – and still make us – wild with joy, and to celebrate the rite of Moto Guzzi passion, both in the historic Via Parodi 57 factory and all over Mandello del Lario.
The GMG – Guzzi World Days and Città Della Moto Guzzi International Motorcycle Rally for the 100th Anniversary will represent a natural, irresistible attraction for every Guzzista who won’t want to oppose the return of their Moto Guzzi, from every era, to its birthplace on the shore of Lake Como, which will be the focus of celebrations with a packed calendar of events starting on Thursday, September 8.
Together with the International Motorcycle Rally Committee, Moto Guzzi is preparing a festival that deserves the title “not to be missed” like never before.
For a long time, I didn’t use cookbooks. Why bother, when the internet is stuffed to the gills with all the info an amateur could want? But then, for reasons I can’t recall, I picked up a copy of Anthony Bourdain’s Les Halles Cookbook. The introduction blew me away.I felt simultaneously as though I’d been slapped…
Renting recreational vehicles is a fun and adventurous way to get away without having to fly or stay in hotels. Here are the best motorhomes for traveling cross country, camping and long trips.
The story of the American West is filled with many characters and large personalities. How the West was won or lost, depending on which side you were on, can be told through the lives of many people. Not all were cowboys, outlaws, gamblers, or lawmen like are often portrayed in the movies and novels; some were photographers. One of the photographers whose story looms large is William Henry Jackson.
Oaxacan Gold Exhibit | May 10 – Aug. 13 | Tuesday – Friday: 11 a.m. – 5 p.m., Saturday: 10 a.m. – 2 p.m. | Art Center Waco, 701 S Eighth St. | Free with cost of admission | Come view this new exhibit on display at Art Center Waco. It was curated by National Geographic with contributing photographer Greg Davis.
Waco Downtown Farmers Market | May 13 | 9 a.m. – 1 p.m. | Courthouse Parking Lot, 500 Washington Ave. | Free | This weekly event includes an assortment of local vendors that provide products such as produce, meats and greenery.
“The Music Man”| May 6 – 8, 13 – 15 | 7 p.m. | Waco Civic Theatre, 1517 Lake Air Drive | $20 for adults, $18 for students | This play follows con man Harold Hill as he convinces the people of River City, Iowa, to support his scam.
Waco Chalk Walk| May 14 – 15 | Saturday: Noon – 8 p.m., Sunday: Noon – 5 p.m. | 900 Austin Ave. | Free | This two-day event celebrates the creativity within the Waco community.
Stand-Up Comedy Showcase | May 21 | 8 p.m. | Brazos Theatre, 7524 Bosque Blvd. | $16.50 | Dallas comedian Paul Smith will host some bright talent from Central Texas.
Main Street Market | May 21 – 22 | Saturday: 10 a.m. – 5 p.m., Sunday: 11 a.m. – 4 p.m. | 4601 Bosque Blvd. | $6 admission | Shop at various vendors, ranging from candles to gourmet food, and vintage shops at this local market.
Unmaking a Murderer: A True Crime Event | May 27 | 7 p.m. | Waco Hippodrome, 724 Austin Ave. | Starting at $40 | True crime fans should come out to this first-of-its-kind event, where two infamous cases will be examined by attorney, author and advocate Rabia Chaudry and homicide investigator Sarah Cailean.
Paranormal Experience at the Dr Pepper Museum| May 28 | 8 – 10 p.m. | Dr Pepper Museum, 300 S Fifth St. | $30 | This two-hour tour unveils a different side of the museum to visitors — one that many people will never experience. Museum guides will lead visitors through forbidden parts of the museum to discuss its paranormal past and present. This experience is reserved for anyone 18 years old and up.
Waco Farmers Market at Magnolia | June 1 | 10 a.m. – 2 p.m. | Magnolia Silos, 601 Webster Ave. | Free | Join the Silos in celebrating the beginning of the month with this produce, treats and local goods market.
First Friday Market | June 3 | 5 – 9 p.m. | Cultivate 7Twelve, 712 Austin Ave. | Free | Come out to the First Friday Market, which features local artists and music.
Eastside Market| June 5 | Noon – 5 p.m. | Brotherwell Brewing, 400 E Bridge St. | Free | Come out to Brotherwell to check out the Eastside Market with more than 40 vendors, music, art, food and more.
Sir Mix-A-Lot Concert | June 17 | 8:30 – 11:30 p.m. | The Backyard, 511 S Eighth St. | $30 – $40 | Popular American rapper Sir Mix-A-Lot will be performing at the Backyard.
Juneteenth Parade | June 18 |10 a.m. – Noon | Heritage Square, 311 Austin Ave. | Free | This parade is in commemoration of the 1865 emancipation of enslaved African-Americans.
Deep in the Heart Film Festival | July 21 – 24 | 10 a.m. – 10 p.m. | Waco Hippodrome, 724 Austin Ave. | This local film festival returns for another great year.
Attempting to make sense of the stock market becomes a little easier when you admit 2 things:
Everything is cyclical.
Those cycles have less to do with economics and more to do with the stories people believe and the narratives they latch onto.
In the last 2 years, we’ve gone from the biggest economic crisis since the Great Depression to a stock market that surged to all-time highs, to the worst start-of-the-year period for stocks since the Great Depression.
There’s a long history of these cycles
In general, they follow a similar path — boom to bust to boom again, over and over. This results in a shock cycle of investors’ moods that goes something like this:
Assume good news is permanent.
Ignore bad news.
Deny bad news.
Panic at bad news.
Accept bad news.
Ignore good news.
Deny good news.
Accept good news.
Assume good news is permanent.
Right now…
… we’re probably somewhere between panicking at bad news and accepting bad news. Inflation is causing havoc, but few are in denial about it anymore.
Before long, the cycle will turn again.
When is impossible to know, but the inevitability is almost certain. And when you understand the cycles, they become less confusing, less scary, and more exciting.
The last entry in this space addressed making sure we had ammo that was going to work. Of course, the other half of that is firearms we are sure are going to work. Which means cleaning. Lubrication. Springs replaced at appropriate intervals, and all of that. Those who are mechanically inclined enjoy that sort of thing. Those of […]
