Lost In GroVont

Buffalo Crossing

Yellowstone Proposal Sets Greater Snowmobile Access - The New York Times:

“People go to Yellowstone one time in their lives with a few hours at Old Faithful,” said Jon Catton, an independent environmentalist who has worked on the issue for eight years. “You can hear the hiss and splash of Old Faithful, the howl of a wolf, or the persistent buzz, whine and roar of snowmobiles.”

As someone who has driven a snowmobile through Yellowstone to visit Old Faithful, I like the idea that the number of gas powered vehicles driven through the park was limited. The previous compromise of limiting the number of snowmobiles to 250 seemed like a good deal that allowed the snowmobile tour businesses to continue while taking into consideration the scarring to the natural landscape that is caused by the mobiles.

In news related to the area, one of my favorite authors, Tim Sandlin, has released his latest book, Jimi Hendrix Turns Eighty. Sandlin lives in Jackson, Wyoming, which is just south of Yellowstone National Park. Many of his books, including the GroVont Trilogy (the namesake of this blog), are set in Jackson Hole.

The good with the bad yet somewhat adorable

I finished reading The Kite Runner today. Khaled Hosseini's story starts with Amir's childhood in Afghanistan before the Taliban destroyed his homeland and chronicles his family's escape to San Francisco. The real heartbreak occurs when Amir faces his demons (literally through a far-fetched coincidence)  when he goes back to Afghanistan as an adult to discover surprising truths and right his and his father's mistakes. Despite many grim scenes, the book ends on a hopeful note and is riveting throughout its nearly 400 pages.

Unfortunately, the book is being made into a movie. The filmmaker's decided other areas are more picturesque than the Fremont where Amir and his father live after moving to the US as scenes were filmed seemingly everywhere in the East Bay except Fremont.

From good to bad...I saw Because I Said So this afternoon. Mandy Moore is adorable but that's about all this movie had in the positive column. Lauren Graham was underused as were all the supporting cast (except Tom Everett Scott who was annoying as one of Moore's suiters). I wonder if there were originally subplots with the supporting cast. Most of these actors we watch weekly deliver on their own television shows, but in this movie, you barely even noticed them. I think Piper Perabo's ass got more screen time than she did.

Skip Because I Said So and see Catch and Release if you need to see a chickflick this weekend.