Growing Cowboy Event Is Poetry in Motion

Organizers of the world-famous annual Cowboy Poetry Gathering in Elko, Nev., expect this year’s event, Jan. 26-31, to draw record crowds due to lingering effects of the recession that has popularized close-to-home travel experiences, as well as the growing cachet of Western Americana. A celebration of Western culture, the event has grown from a few hundred local visitors in 1980 to 8,000 from around the world in 1992. Added this year to the traditional readings of original poetry by working cattlemen and women will be performances of cowboy music by real cowboys, plus such country artists as Michael Martin Murphey and the group Riders in the Sky. Also new to this year’s festival is the Western Folklife Center, a permanent center for the preservation of cowboy culture that opened last year in Elko. The gathering is an educational program of the nonprofit Western Folklife Center, with support from Northern Nevada Community College. Entry is $10 for the entire event or $5 per day. Special tickets, varying in price from $5 to $15, are necessary for some events, and workshops--such as those for cowboy songwriting, ranch cooking, photography of ranches and rawhide braiding--can cost as much as $185. Elko is about 100 miles south of the Nevada-Utah border.

Travel Quiz: Which Central American country has only a Pacific coast?

Avoiding Ski Schlepping: United Airlines’ new “Up-the-Hill, Down-the-Hill” program allows skiers en route to winter resorts to ship their ski equipment and luggage ahead to their destination airport, up to two days in advance, for no additional charge. Passengers just take their equipment and luggage (along with their United tickets), to the airport a day or two in advance of departure, check it and get a baggage claim ticket. (No advance reservation is required for ski gear and baggage traveling early.) United flies their equipment on the next available flight and holds it in “a secure area” for passenger arrival. To make sure it’s arrived, skiers can call (800) 221-6903 after they have shipped their equipment but before they leave home. United offers the service from Los Angeles to airports that service ski areas such as Vail, Aspen, Mammoth Lakes and Salt Lake City. America West Airlines recently debuted a similar but more limited program that offers advance ski-equipment shipment to Telluride and Durango, Colo.

No Change in Czech and Slovak Visas: Requirements for U.S. travelers who wish to enter the new republics that emerged Jan. 1 from the division of Czechoslovakia--Slovakia and the Czech Republic--have not changed and are not expected to change in the foreseeable future, according to a spokesman for the joint embassy of the two republics in Washington, D.C. Requirements remain a passport, but no visa, for stays of up to 30 days. For longer stays and other types of travel, contact the embassy in Washington: (202) 363-6315.

Civil Rights Institute: Birmingham, Ala., the Southern city that was the scene of violent clashes over racial integration during the early 1960s and of voter registration drives led by the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr., has a new museum dedicated to the struggle for racial equality. The new $12-million Birmingham Civil Rights Institute--a museum and research institute--opened in November as a centerpiece of the city’s new Civil Rights District, an area that includes the 16th Street Baptist Church, where four young girls were killed in a racially-related bombing; Kelly Ingram Park, where civil rights marchers gathered; the Historic Black Fourth Avenue Business District and, to be opened soon, the Alabama Jazz Hall of Fame. The museum contains historic news films, photos, time lines and an exhibition exploring struggles for human rights around the world. Admission to the institute, at 520 16th St. N., is free.

Wire Report: With the recent opening of offices in Israel, Peru and Ecuador, Western Union now can transfer money almost instantly from the United States to a total of 40 countries 24 hours a day. For Americans, this means money can be made available abroad even for those without ATM access or a bank account. Someone within the United States deposits money; the traveler then gets cash in local currency at the nearest Western Union branch office within minutes. During the past two years about 2,000 Western Union locations have opened in Europe, Central America and the Far East. For information: (800) 325-6000.

Reduced Fare for A!r: A one-week, fly-drive Qantas Vacations holiday to Australia, which includes round-trip air fare, lodging and car rental, is available for $999 from Qantas Vacations, the tour company owned by Qantas Airways. Economy air fare alone is usually $1,096 during peak season, one of the seasons covered by the $999 package. The offer is valid through June 30 and includes round-trip economy air on Qantas between Los Angeles and Sydney, Melbourne or Brisbane, Australia, or Auckland, New Zealand; six nights accommodations and four days of car rental. For an additional $100, travelers may return from Australia on Qantas through the Queensland city of Cairns. For information: (800) 641-8772.

Battlefields Brochure: The National Parks and Conservation Assn. (NPCA) has published a new brochure, “Visiting Battlefields: The Civil War,” which tells visitors how to get the most out of Civil-War-era military parks. The illustrated booklet lists more than 30 sites in 16 states and the District of Columbia and gives information on pre- and post-visit research, how to trace ancestors and how to use the visitor centers and self-guided driving tours to best advantage. For a free copy, write to NPCA-Civil War, Dept. PEC, 1776 Massachusetts Ave. NW, Suite 200, Washington, D.C. 20036.

Comparatively Speaking: Top 10 state tourism advertising budgets for 1991-92: Illinois $10,000,000, Louisiana $7,453,000, Texas $5,987,000, Virginia $5,310,000, Hawaii $4,910,000, Florida $4,597,000, Missouri $4,294,000, Colorado $4,260,000, Alaska $3,894,000, Arkansas $3,743,000. (Source: U.S. Travel Data Center)

Quiz Answer: El Salvador.