In-depth data on stabililty of Rushmore

In-depth data onstabililty of Rushmore
RAPID CITY, S.D. -- Technology that provides precise data about cracks on the face of Mount Rushmore confirm the rock is moving, but only with changes in temperatures and only slightly.
The National Park Service hired a Rapid City engineering firm in 1999 to install "linear variable displacement transducers" -- or LVDTs -- at strategic locations on Mount Rushmore. The LVDTs can detect rock movement measuring a thousandth of an inch.
The data show the rock moves in increments ranging from five-thousandths of an inch to five-hundredths of an inch. But all the movement in four years of monitoring has been tied to temperature, said chief ranger Mike Pflaum.
So far, the rock has always returned to its original position.
NYC sees increasein American tourists
NEW YORK -- New York City welcomed a record number of domestic tourists in 2002 despite fears of terrorism after the World Trade Center attack, but saw a sharp decline in international visitors.
Some 30.2 million tourists from other parts of the United States visited New York during 2002, including many who felt coming to the city hit hardest by the Sept. 11 attacks was a patriotic act.
The number of visitors from abroad during 2002, however, fell about 10 percent from the year before, to 5.1 million, according to statistics released in September by NYC & amp; Company, the city's tourism bureau.
The city remained the No. 1 U.S. destination for overseas visitors.
Mules rides suspendedon Grand Canyon rim
Day and night mule rides into Arizona's Grand Canyon were suspended on the South Rim beginning Sept. 22 because of trail maintenance by the National Park Service and Xanterra Parks and Resorts. The park service has estimated the suspension will last at least six months while effects of erosion on Bright Angel and South Kaibab trails are repaired.
Both trails will remain open and unrestricted for hikers. Phantom Ranch, destination for many riders, will remain open. North Rim mule rides are unaffected.
For more information, call (888) 297-2757 or visit www.nps.gov/grca on the Web.
Vegas.com launchesSpanish version
Timed to Hispanic Heritage Month, Vegas.com recently launched a Spanish-language version of the popular Web site covering lodging, food and activities in Las Vegas. It becomes one of only eight U.S. Web sites in the online travel industry with a fully Spanish version; others include Hertz and Southwest Airlines.
The new site, containing hundreds of pages of information, is at www.espanol.vegas.com or www.vegas.com. A toll-free information number -- (888) 719 4040 -- also has been established, connecting to bilingual consultants.
Ontario exhibit devotedto Beatrix Potter
"Peter Rabbit's Garden," a multimedia exhibition showcasing the life, literature and art of Beatrix Potter, hopped into the Royal Ontario Museum on Oct. 11 and will continue through Jan. 4.
The exhibition was created to celebrate the 100th anniversary of the publishing of Potter's "The Tale of Peter Rabbit" by Frederick Warne.
Interested in drawing and painting at an early age, Potter turned her early sketches into a series of 23 little books. The tales have sold more than 100 million copies in more than 35 languages and are still in print.
Highlights of the exhibition include an original Warne edition of "The Tale of Peter Rabbit," first editions of her "little books" and about 40 of her original artworks.
For tickets, call (800) 461-3333. For more information, visit www.rom.on.ca on the Web.