LIFE IS BEAUTIFUL: United States

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The 11th annual Thunder Rolls Adventure Race will take place this weekend in at the YMCA Camp in Mt. Carroll, Illinois. The race, which is now in its 11th year, will get underway at midnight on August 24 and will feature both a 12-hour and 24-hour competition.

This unsupported, expedition style race will mix the usual AR disciplines of trail running, mountain biking and paddling. But it will also mix in plenty of orienteering of course, not to mention rappelling, caving and a few other activities. In short, it is everything you could hope for out of an adventure race that just so happens to take lace in the heartland of the U.S.

The race has managed to attract a sizable group of competitors already with 30 teams signed up for the 100-mile long 24-hour race and another 15 registered to compete in the 12-hour race, which is a mere 50 miles in length. The teams are made up of 2 or 3 racers and fall into both the coed and same-sex categories.

If you're looking for a last-minute weekend adventure, registration for the Thunder Rolls is still open. Entry fees are $195/person for the 12-hour race and $235/person for the 24-hour event. That includes onsite accommodations (cabin or campsite), pre-race meal and post-race pizza and drinks. canoe rental, all land-use fees, a North Face fleece race shirt and more.

Thunder Rolls takes place near my old stomping grounds back in the Midwest. I grew up in Iowa, so I'm always glad to see a successful event taking place near there. Race director Gerry Voelliger always does an excellent job as evidenced by the fact that this race has been going on for more than a decade and it continues to attract a great field of racers. A hearty congratulations to all involved and have another great event this weekend.

A pair of French adventurers are attempting to sail from Barrow, Alaska to Spitsbergen, Svalbard in Norway via the North Pole this summer. That's a distance of 3300 km (2050 miles) by way the croew flies. But this route is seldom straight and easy as they pass through the icy waters of the Arctic Ocean and it's massive ice flows.

Sébastien Roubinet and Vincent Berthet set out from point Barrow in early July and have been attempting to make their way to the North Pole ever since. The voyage has not been an easy one however as they have encountered more ice this summer than they had expected. Often times they find themselves sailing south just so they can find an open waterway that will allow them to continue towards the Pole. The weather hasn't been all that cooperative either as they have at alternating times battled high winds that were too dangerous to sail and lacked wind altogether, becoming becalmed while they wait for an opportunity to move ahead.

They are making this unprecedented journey aboard a specially designed catamaran that can capture the wind to help sail both around and over the ice. They've named the boat Babouchka and for the most part it has performed remarkable well in very tough conditions. But travel has been extremely sporadic. Some days they are only able to cover just 3-4 km (2-2.5 miles) while on their best day they managed to cross 194 km (120 miles).

A few days ago Sébastien and Vincent crossed over the 78ºN latitudinal line. That means they still have a long way to go before the reach the North Pole, located at 90ºN. The duo are hoping that surface conditions will be more stable as they head north, possibly allowing them to cover longer distances more easily. Since the Babouchka is capable of traveling over both water and ice, they are looking forward to a time when they aren't necessarily battling both.

You can follow the two men on this epic journey on the expedition's official website. After five weeks out on the Arctic Ocean, their tale is a compelling one to read. But with such a long way to go yet, it will be interesting to see if they can actually complete this expedition at all.

Filmmaker Vadim Sahaklan and a friend spent six months traveling through 13 countries on three continents. Along the way they documented their journey with a video camera and the result is the beautiful short film you'll find below. The two men first drove from Alaska to Los Angeles, then flew off to Africa to explore on foot, before ending their globe-trotting adventure on motorbikes in South America.

The 39-minute video manages to convey a fantastic sense of wonder and whimsey as Vadim and his friend visit some amazing places, learning more about themselves and the world around them as they go. This is definitely a video you won't want to miss. Excellent stuff.

Temporary Story from Vadim Sahakian on Vimeo.

Amy and Dave Freeman definitely know how to take a honeymoon. Three years ago, shortly after they were married, the couple set out on an epic journey that would eventually cover more than 11,700 miles (18829 km) through some of the most remote and rugged backcountry in all of North America. Traveling by kayak, canoe, dogsled and on foot, they spent their time exploring some iconic waterways in an initiative to try to engage more young people with the outdoors. On April 4, that journey came to an end when they arrived in Key West, Florida by kayak.

The Freeman's started their expedition on Earth Day, April 22, 2010. Setting out from Bellingham, Washington in the U.S., they first paddled north along the Pacific Coast of Canada. From there they moved into the interior of the Yukon Territory before setting out on challenging odyssey by dogsled that saw them travel for 40-days through remote wilderness without ever encountering a road or town. Returning to their canoe, they then continued south to the Great Lakes before transitioning to kayaks for the final leg of journey, which took them down the East Coast of the U.S. and to the Keys.

While this three-year long adventure was pretty incredible in its own right, it is what Amy and Dave did along the way that is perhaps the most inspiring. The couple launched a website called The Wilderness Classroom through which they shared their expedition with more than 80,000 elementary and middle school students from around the world. Their website provides lesson plans and activities that are designed to help connect young people with the outdoors and inspire them to learn more about the world around us. While traveling over the past three years, they've also interacted and met directly with more than 25,000 students.

Congratulations to Amy and Dave for completing this amazing journey and for sharing it with so many young students along the way. Both accomplishments are inspiring to say the least.

Are you a traveler who truly likes to get away from it all? Then you'll definitely want to check out the list of 10 of the World's Most Remote National Parks from our friends over at the Adventure Journal. These parks, located in a variety of countries across the globe, are seldom visited, very wild and about as unique as any destination you could ever hope for. Just getting to them is an adventure.

One of the destinations that earned a place on the list was Kobuk Valley National Park here in the U.S. Located in a remote corner of Alaska, the park is just 1.7 miles of very rugged terrain and was visited by just 11,000 people in 2011. Surprisingly, that would probably make it one of the busier places on the Adventure Journal list, as most of the others are expensive places to get to or severely restrict those that can enter.

Some of the other parks mentioned include Quttinirpaaq National Park in extreme northern Canada, Rapa Nui National Park on Easter Island and Darien National Park in Panama. Each has their own unique qualities that would draw adventurous travelers in, not the least of which is their very remote locations that make it a challenge to just get in.

As for the park that is most intriguing to me, that would certainly be Central Island in Kenya. This park is a volcanic island within Lake Turkana and is said to be the home of the largest population of Nile crocodiles on the planet. It also has abundant zebra, giraffe, gazelles and numerous other wildlife. The island is so remote that it takes three-days just to get their by land and boat. AJ warns that it might get a bit hot their too, as temperatures routinely hit 120ºF/48.8ºC.

If you're looking for some interesting places to add to your bucket list, I'm sure this article will spark a few new additions. Just make sure you have plenty of cash to spend, because visiting some of these locations will put a strain on the wallet for sure.