When City Slickers starring Billy Crystal hit the big screen in 1991, the title spoke volumes.
Here was a plot revolving around a bunch of lard-eating sissies who were afraid of the great outdoors. We laughed as three guys who spent their lives in city offices took off to try holidaying at a rodeo farm. We laughed harder as tough cowboy Curley put the soft city boys through their paces.
Hollywood brings to life the American wilderness in many of its blockbuster films and the message that goes with those movies is loud and clear. Adventure holidays bring out the man in you. Or the woman, if you to relate to the tough-talking ladies who feature in many movies and take no nonsense from the guys.
True Grit
Who could forget Hailee Steinfield in True Grit (2010), playing a 13-year-old girl who hires a US Marshall to track down her father’s killer and bring him to justice? Trekking through Utah’s wilderness searching for bad guys hiding in stunning gorges doesn’t look too hard from a cinema seat.
Take the bad guys out of the equation and you’ve got the perfect adventure holiday.
Think about it! How many times have the locations you’ve seen in a movie inspired you to go somewhere?
Thelma and Louise
If you’ve ever fancied trekking the Grand Canyon, you might have been inspired by Thelma and Louise (1991) as they were pursued across rugged Arizona by the law. The tag line for the film reads; ‘Someone said ‘Get a Life’ – So they did!’ They also ran across a rather scrumptious drifter played by Brad Pitt.
Talk about a sense of adventure and a mid-life crisis rolling up into one sexy film.
No Country for Old Men
Every boy dreams of becoming a cowboy and in No Country for Old Men (2007) a desert journey across West Texas ends in a dramatic shootout on the border of Mexico. Sprawling landscapes slide across plains that look as if no one on earth has been there before apart from Native Americans.
Adventure holidays outdoors can also be very romantic, with many movies selling the idea of camping in remote log cabins miles away from anywhere.
The Parent Trap
The original Parent Trap (1961) starring the irrepressible Hayley Mills was partially set in Big Bear Lake which is in the Big Bear Valley, California. The parents get back together after Hayley plays many cute shenanigans on them while they wander around a romantic log cabin looking misty eyed.
Just the name of the place ticks all the boxes.
There are bears, there’s a lake, San Bernardino National Forest, and serene log cabins to while away relaxing evenings, with day time walks around a gorgeous pine tree forest and a spot of fishing to be had.
It all makes a change from the usual lunchtime stroll to the local sushi bar to catch a break from your air-conditioned box of an office.
The Horse Whisperer
The Horse Whisperer (1998) is a sweet western film set in Montana, where a rather dishy looking Robert Redford displays the supernatural skill of talking to horses termed as ‘whispering’. The town of Bozeman, where the story is set, is a gateway community to Yellowstone Park where you could spend weeks trekking areas of significant geological and natural beauty, while listening to ancient Indian legends and stories from the mountains.
City slickers spend so many days inside that physical fitness is hard to build into the daily routine of the office unless you volunteer to feng shui the furniture. The American ‘great outdoors’ movies can lead you to discover places of natural beauty and apparent spiritual power that can literally blow your mind.
About today's Guest Writer:
Eliza Doole draws her travel tips from personal experience with adventure holidays in the USA and other popular world destinations.