TRAVELPAGE 2 ✩✩✩ SUNDAY NOVEMBER 28 2010

Rural Pa. region banks on elk helping economy

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Books for travelers: Gift ideas for the holidays

By GENARO C. ARMASOf The Associated Press

BENEZETTE, Pa. (AP) — Through a light morning fog, two elk emerged in a clearing before disappearing a minute later behind a thick stand of trees, a teaser for guests arriving early at the ceremonial opening of Pennsylvania’s first elk visi-tors center.

The elk did come back, and the state isn’t far behind them.

Along with the natural gas-rich Marcellus Shale reserve, the state hopes one of rural north-central Pennsylvania’s most promising economic engines will be a hulking four-legged crea-ture that can weigh as much as 1,000 pounds. Years in the works, the Elk Country Visitors Center was unveiled this fall in hopes of turning the commonwealth into a prime destination to view the majestic animal.

“We built it, and they will come,” Gov. Ed Rendell said, bor-rowing a phrase from the movie “Field of Dreams.”

And the governor hopes they will bring their wallets. Building off the “Pennsylvania Wilds” tourism campaign that plays up outdoor getaways, Rendell and business leaders are optimistic the attraction will help dollars flow into a rural area that has

long struggled financially.The gas drilling and so-called

wildlife tourism are potential rural economic drivers in rela-tively early stages of develop-ment, though there are worries they could be in conflict, too.

While Marcellus drilling isn’t pervasive in Elk County, home of the visitors center, state con-servation and natural resources secretary John Quigley prom-ised that Pennsylvania would keep close watch on how the explosive growth of the natural gas industry might affect the tourism investment and the elk herd estimated at about 725.

“We had to plant this flag to make a strong statement about conservation and about the place of natural resources in this economy,” Quigley said. “If any-thing, the Marcellus makes this more important. ... We’re hoping the mindset carries forward.”

The visitors center — built through a partnership between the state and the Keystone Elk Country Alliance, with $6 million each from the com-

monwealth and private funding — has the dark-wooded charm of the foyer of a country lodge. There’s a fireplace and large windows that look out on a serene field where the elk come to graze in the evening.

What’s different are the two roughly 6-foot models of elk on display in the middle of the round main exhibit area.

“We’re going to try to drive around here and see if we can see the elk,” said Joe Zandarski, 38, of Butler. He drove about an hour from the camp that he, his wife and two young kids were vacationing at in Mount Jewett.

September and October are considered the best time to see elk, when in mating season, though late fall and winter may also provide good viewing oppor-tunities.

“Going to the zoo is one thing,” Zandarski said, his 2-year-old son Zachary in tow, “but to see it in its natural habitat is something special.”

A century ago, it wouldn’t have been possible.

Elk once roamed through-out Pennsylvania before logging, human settlement and hunting eliminated them in the 1860s. About 50 years later, the Pennsylvania Game Commission began introduc-ing the first of about 170 Rocky Mountain elk from Yellowstone National Park.

Rendell, the former Philadelphia mayor, was so taken with the animal during the opening ceremony that he said the bugling calls of elk dur-ing mating season were “one of the most amazing sounds I had heard in my life.”

The governor has pointed to a Pennsylvania Wilds Planning team report that showed that attendance and state sales tax revenue up slightly in the Wilds region between from the middle of last decade to 2008. The num-ber of hotels in the region has increased by more than a third during that period to 43.

Brian Kunes owns the eight-room Benezette Hotel and res-taurant just down the road from the visitors center. He plans to expand in part because of more business from elk watchers and the hope of year-round busi-ness rather than just busy times around hunting or leaf-peeping seasons.

Visitors center organizers “think they can maintain it all year long, and for me, that’s good,” said Kunes. Elk can slowly wander through town and backyards, in view from the restaurant.

“People come to see the elk, to see the leaves ... It’s got to help.”

Elk remain far more plentiful in the mountain regions of the West — according to the Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation, the largest herd is in Colorado (292,000) with Montana (150,000) and Oregon (120,000) next. The group on its website describes its mission as “ensuring the

future of elk, other wildlife and their habitat.”

The national elk population of 1.03 million is up 44 percent from the mid-1980s. The foundation credits increased conservation efforts around the country, not just in the West. Pennsylvania’s elk herd is more than five times larger since 1984.

According to the foundation, canoeists paddling the Buffalo River in Arkansas can see wild elk, a sight missing for more than a century before the ani-mals were reintroduced into the Ozark Mountains as part of a program to increase biodiversity.

AP Photos

If loved ones are armchair travelers or real-world travelers, consider one of the new travel books out this fall as a gift.

By BETH J. HARPAZAP Travel Editor

NEW YORK (AP) — Whether your loved ones are armchair travelers or real-world travelers, consider one of the new travel books out this fall as a gift. They range from big

lush coffee-table books to travel-themed tales about marathons and food.

First, the big guys. Lugging these tomes on an airplane may put your luggage over the weight limit. But if you’re tucking gifts under your tree or shipping from an online retailer, these beautifully illustrated hard-covers are ideal for folks who like to dream about faraway places — as well as for those looking for real-world ideas.

■ Lonely Planet’s “The Travel Book: A Journey Through Every Country in the World,” $50. The folks at Lonely Planet started with a list of the United Nation’s 192 member countries, then added nearly 40 places that don’t get their own seats at the U.N., like Caribbean islands, Antarctica, Tibet and Taiwan. Each destination gets photos, description, map, lists of top things to do and see, plus recommendations for ways to experience the place through books, film, food and music.

■“Where to Go When: Italy,” from DK Eyewitness Travel, $40. Italy remains the fifth most popular international destina-tion for American travelers (according to 2009 statistics from the U.S. Commerce Department), but when is the best time to go? “January through December,” accord-ing to Frances Mayes, author of “Under the Tuscan Sun,” who wrote the foreword for this book, which offers recommendations for every month of the year. February trav-elers might choose between the Calabrian town of Scylla or the lagoon islands and basilica mosaics in Aquileia, while July visitors might consider the Umbria jazz fes-tival or the hilltop spa town of Sarnano.

■ National Geographic’s “Drives of a Lifetime: 500 of the World’s Most Spectacular Trips,” $40. For the wordly road-tripper, this book offers itineraries from U.S. 1 on the coast of Maine or Big Sur in California, to the Silk Road in Central Asia and the outback in Australia. The book is divided into eight chapters by type of trip (such as mountains, coasts, cities, his-tory), each offering a detailed selection of itineraries and top 10 lists. For foodies on the road, the top 10 include Hermann Wine Trail in Missouri, pumpkins and chocolate in Pennsylvania and pick-your-own fruit in Idaho. For European lakeside drives, the top 10 range from England’s Lake District to Italy’s Lake Garda and Sweden’s Lake Vanern.

■ Travel + Leisure’s “Unexpected USA,” $25 (paperback, $15). This book offers great inspiration for those of us who’d just as soon ferret out unexplored corners and surprising places in the U.S. than fill up the pages of our passport book. A road trip through the Midwest is recommended as a way to see great architecture and design by Zaha Hadid, Santiago Calatrava and Mies van der Rohe on a route that includes Ohio, Illinois, Wisconsin, Minnesota and Iowa. Other chapters look at an into-the-wild trip in Alaska, a barbecue quest from Kansas to North Carolina, and why Walla Walla,

Wash., is the “next great wine destination.”Next up, the big picture in paperback:■ Rough Guides’ hefty second edition of

“Make the Most of Your Time on Earth: 1,000 Ultimate Travel Experiences,” $30. This book adds 200 suggestions to the original edition. Organized by region, it’s a load of fun. Try laughter yoga in Mumbai, platypus-watching in Australia, whitewa-ter-rafting on the Nile, lassoing reindeer in Lapland, a tapas crawl in Madrid, and right here in the U.S., eating bagels in New York, hang-gliding the Outer Banks in North Carolina, and cruising the Inside Passage in Alaska.

■ Lonely Planet’s “The Traveller’s Guide to Planet Earth,” $23. This book looks at 50 destinations from a BBC documentary of the same name. with chapters on moun-tains, fresh water, caves, deserts, ice worlds, great plains, jungles, shallow seas, sea-sonal forests and ocean deep. Destinations range from Ethiopia’s Simien Mountains to Lechuguilla Cave in New Mexico to Madagascar, home of the lemur.

And finally, a couple of travel-themed books small enough to tuck in a carry-on bag, telling tales worthy of Odysseus.

■ “Second Wind: One Woman’s Midlife Quest to Run Seven Marathons on Seven Continents,” by Cami Ostman, from Seal Press, $17. Traveling to another city or country to run a marathon is increasingly common. The author of this book is end-ing a marriage, questioning religion, and hoping to find solace in running when she decides to tackle a race on every conti-nent. But she’s not out to set records; she dedicates the book to “back-of-the-packers everywhere.”

■ “Adventures in Eating: Anthropological Experiences in Dining From Around the World,” edited by Helen Haines and Clare Sammells, from the University Press of Colorado, $30. “Have you tried cuy? Did you like it?” Cuy is guinea pig, and those are questions typically asked of visitors to Peru, according to a chapter in this book, which is a collection of essays by anthropologists. (The writer says guinea pig tastes like — you guessed it — chicken.) Durian fruit, eaten on a visit to Malaysia, has “the texture of ripe avocado and the flavor of onion ice cream.” A sojourn in the Philippines leads to a contemplation of food taboos as the author politely declines dog, but finds lizard delicious. Although the text is peppered with academic explanations of concepts like “commensality” (sharing a common gustatory and social experience), “Adventures in Eating” is readable and entertaining. Each story explores foods that might sound repulsive to Westerners but are beloved by locals somewhere.

■ Lonely Planet’s “A Moveable Feast: Life-Changing Food Adventures Around the World,” edited by Don George, $15. This is a collection of 38 stories from chefs, food writers and travel writers, including Anthony Bourdain, Jan Morris, Andrew Zimmern and Simon Winchester. They range from cooking a lamb-and-eggplant dish as a prelude to an Arabic-language les-son in Jerusalem, to the tale of a chicken shared with travelers on a train to Moscow, to bowls of fermented yak milk consumed in Mongolia.

Associated Press/STEVE MANUEL

Bull elk graze outside the Elk County Visitor Center after its offi-cial opening in Benezette, Pa. Years in the works, the center was unveiled this fall in hopes of turning the commonwealth into a prime destination to view the majestic elk.

IF YOU GO ... ELK COUNTRY VISITORS CENTER: 134 Homestead

Drive, Benezette, Pa., www.experienceelkcountry.com/vc.html or 814-787-5167. (If using GPS to navigate, look for 950 Winslow Hill Road). Winter hours: Thursday-Sunday, 9 a.m.-5 p.m.