Of the five they list in their post, here are three — the first is my fave and one I’ve actually done:

Driving through John Ford country, Monument Valley Navajo Tribal Park
Monument Valley is the iconic landscape of the American West. Become the star of your own Western on a 17-mile loop (on Hwy 163) past cinematic red rocks, sheer-walled mesas and grand buttes in Navajo Country. It’s a dusty, bumpy ride but well worth it.

And here are two that I haven’t done:

Wrangling at a Wickenburg dude ranch
Let’s be honest. You’re more likely to play golf, get massaged or sip cocktails than rope yourself a steer at a dude ranch (aka ‘guest ranch’). But many, like the Flying E Ranch, do focus on horseback riding, cookouts, line dancing and other cowboy/girl fun. When planning, be aware that many ranches in the desert lowlands close in summer. To plan your dude ranch adventure, see the website of the Arizona Dude Ranch Association (www.azdra.com).

Practicing your fast draw at the OK Corral, Tombstone
The famous shootout at the OK Corral took place in 1881, during which the brothers Earp and Doc Holliday gunned down three members of the Clanton cowboy gang. The fight lasted about half a minute, but its place in Western lore was enshrined forevermore. Fights are reenacted at 2pm (with an additional show at 3:30pm on busy days). Also check out the Boothill Graveyard for some twistedly poetic headstones.

For more, see: Lonely Planet.

More stories about travel.

Photo credit: Cowboy, c. 1910 – WikiCommons

That Toronto’s mayor is still a mayor is incredible to most Toronotians.

NY Magazine has made a list of the 20 most important things, other than the alleged crack video, that Americans should know about Rob Ford. Not sure how many say, Marion Barry (mayor of Chicago) ever had, but here are 3 that I picked randomly about Rob:

• In 2006, Ford, then a city councilor, was thrown out of a Maple Leafs hockey game for getting into drunken, expletive-laden arguments with fans (and also calling them “communists”). Asked about the incident by a reporter, Ford claimed he “wasn’t even at the game.” A few weeks later, he admitted that he was, in fact, at the game. “I had one too many beers and I sincerely apologize,” he said.

• This March, Ford was accused by political rival Sarah Thomson of grabbing her ass during a photo and telling her she “should have been in Florida with him last week because his wife wasn’t there.”

• In October of 2011, Ford was met in his driveway by a member of Canadian comedy show This Hour Has 22 Minutes who was dressed like Xena. Ford, finding this absolutely terrifying, went inside and called 911, twice. He reportedly told the dispatcher, “Don’t you fucking know? I’m Rob fucking Ford, the mayor of this city.” Ford later apologized “for expressing my frustration inappropriately.”

More about Rob Ford: NY Magazine.

More stories about Canada.

Photo credit: Rob Ford – WikiCommons

Spring is the perfect time to get outside with your kids and create some memories!

Upcycle baby food jars into planters. A fun spring garden project with kids. Drill in the clamps and hang the jars. Baby food jar planters.

Wohooo! A cowboy garden project for your enthusiastic kids. Plant some cacti in a container with gravel. Desert in a box.

Full article on Craftionary

More gardening goodness.

Cloning and stem cells have, separately, been two hot-button scientific issues that have fired up the public imagination, but the success of scientists cloning stem cells that could then be used to grow spare organs sounds like a great idea all around, right?

Well, before the debate heats up, take a look at this infographic from LiveScience to see how it’s done.

Full story at LiveScience.

Cutting edge infographics.

If you’re tired of getting grief for letting your Decembeard fill in, get the last laugh making big bucks with a trend that’s sure to be red-hot for everyone who can’t get a Santa gig this upcoming holiday season: Beardvertising.

According to Biz Insider, the “half-joke, half genius” scheme involves paying men with beards $5 a day to walk around with a mini ad clipped to their facial hair.

“We’re getting a ton of emails from guys with epic beards that want to host beardboards and we’re actually in talks with some brands that want to be Beardvertisers. I think we’ll probably be seeing some beardboards in the wild before too long,” said agency Cornett-IMS’s Whit Hiler.

Hey, if they’re staring anyway, why not make it profitable?

Full story at Beardvertising via Foodbeast.

Advertising oddities.

“Doesn’t matter if your regional disaster is a flood, tornado, hurricane, snowpocalypse, or earthquake, when the next one strikes you’re going to need to be ready for it. Here’s what you should have on hand to keep you and yours safe for at least three days.”

1. Food (of course!)
2. Water
3. Electronics

4. First Aid

It’s a major natural disaster, someone’s going to get hurt. The Federal Emergency Management Administration suggests you keep the following in your emergency First Aid kit:

Two pairs of disposable gloves
Sterile dressings to stop bleeding
Cleansing agent/soap and antibiotic towelettes to disinfect
Antibiotic ointment to prevent infection
Burn ointment
Adhesive bandages in a variety of sizes
Eye wash solution to flush the eyes or as general decontaminant
Scissors
Over-the-counter medicines such as Aspirin or other pain reliever, laxative, anti-diarrhea medication
Prescription medications you take every day such as insulin, heart medicine, or asthma inhaler
Prescribed medical supplies such as glucose monitoring equipment or blood pressure monitors
And if you don’t want to build your own, you’ve got thousands of options for pre-assembled kits available at camping and surplus stores, as well as online.

Don’t forget food and water for your pets too.

What supplies do you keep stocked for emergencies?

Full article on Gizmodo

If your dream has always been to get into travel photography, there’s no better time to get started than the present.

After all, isn’t travel what summer’s all about?

Jump into the action with your eyes wide open thanks to these twenty tips from Digital Photography School, and most importantly, enjoy yourself!

1. Get up Early

The best light to capture most kinds of subjects is in the golden hours- one hour after sunrise and one hour before sunset (depend off course on where you are on the globe). So get up early to get that amazing photo opportunities, while all the other tourists are still asleep.

2. Do your research

Don’t leave it to chance and learn as much as you can about the place you are about to travel. The more you know, the more “intelligent” your images will be.

3. Learn your Craft

Don’t waste your expensive traveling time on learning how to operate that new camera, lens or flash. Do your homework at home.

Full story at Digital Photography School.

All the photography tips you’ll ever need.

Photo credit: Fotolia

Cassette tapes might not seem cutting edge in the era of digital music, but once upon a time, they were so cool the Bee Gees endorsed them.

(Wait, do you young’uns even know who the Bee Gees are? Well, we’ll add a video at the end to complete this lesson in your music education. You’ll be feathering your hair and forgetting what those top four shirt buttons are for in no time!)

It’s time to take a spin through the history of tech with these twelve vintage ads collected by PopSugar’s Lisette Mejia.

Full story at PopSugar.

History of tech.

“A lavish and comfortable contemporary home theater is the dream of every home owner. No matter who you are and where you live, a breathtaking media room is on the dream list of one and all. Some like it large and spacious, so that they can accommodate plenty of guests and throw a party or two, while others like it small and cozy, to ensure that it offers them privacy and a chance to share a few intimately special moments.

From plush and vivid shades that bring back the retro age to the lovely modern minimalist designs that use neutral shades in a simple, yet effective fashion, from Hollywood-inspired themes to those inspired by nature, here is a fascinating collection of them all.”

How about a art deco style theater or is Batman more your style? Prepare to be inspired!

Full article on Decoist

Love interior design?

We’re not sure there’s anything we can say about these sinfully sweet breakfast treats by Sarah J. Gim that your taste buds aren’t already tell you, so we’ll just let you know that you don’t have to live in a specific location to get these goodies; she provides the recipe!

Coffee Ice Cream Glazed Doughnut Sandwiches

It is best to assemble these doughnut sandwiches, dip them in chocolate, and eat them right away while the ice cream is frozen, the doughnuts are fresh, and chocolate is still a little melty.

You could make them in advance, chocolate and all, then freeze them to eat later (we did for a few too many), but the chocolate gets really hard (as do the doughnuts) and actually, we recommend that you NOT freeze-for-later at all. So never mind. Just make them and eat them.

Sugar and caffeine and chocolate, oh my!

Full story at TasteSpotting via Neatorama.

YUM!