A project that I have been involved with recently has finally launched, albeit in beta, but launched none the less. That project is NextCampsite, which is attempting to build a better resource for locating great campsites and planning better camping trips. They are doing this through the use of data, crowd-sourced ratings, and actually visiting these sites in person to gather unbiased data based on their standard campsite review matrix.

The site is labeled as “beta” because data is still being gathered and compiled on the roughly 15,000 campsites in the USA. The campsites are broken down by State and sometimes region for larger states like California. Additionally, the site will soon offer camping food and drink recipes, via the upcoming “Camp Kitchen” section, as well as camping tips and gear guides.

While there is still much lacking with the site, such as content I have already used the data to find my next campsite for this weekend. If camping is your thing I suggest that you keep an eye on NextCampsite as well.

http://www.nextcampsite.com

Msnbc.com has a great article profiling the 2007-2008 Jeep Wrangler Unlimited. While the author is a little to prone to comparing it to minivans and “other SUV’s” he still has valid points that I can personally vouch for. I am 60-days into driving a 2008 Jeep Wrangler Sahara Unlimited. So far it has been only on a few adventures, the biggest one so far has been to Box Canyon in Florence, AZ.  Photo’s can be found over at one of my traveling companion’s sites.