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'True Grit' and Matt Damon Put Granger, Texas on the Map

This week, Jeff Bridges and Matt Damon are bringing Westerns back with the release of their latest film, True Grit. Though parts of the movie were filmed in New Mexico, most of the shoot took place in Granger, TX which was transformed into an 1870's version of Fort Smith, Arkansas.

The rural town—with a population of only 1,400— seems like an unlikely choice for a big budget Hollywood movie, but the look and feel of Granger convinced producers that it was the right location: "We chose Granger because its appearance is close to that of a turn-of-the-century town that matched the reference photos we have for Fort Smith, Ark.," the film's location manager, Robbie Friedmann said.

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South Australia Is Calling All Cowboys

Who knew that cowboy tourism is a growing industry down in South Australia? Coming up again in 2010, the Great Australian Outback Cattle Drive is on and recruiting travelers to get around South Australia on horseback.

The South Australian tourism board first put together this event in 2007, and are now planning the six trips you'll be able to take part in during August 2010. Each trip is five days long and involves a lot of horse-riding, many cows and camping in huge areas of land: the cattle station it's based around is about the size of Belgium.

You really have to visit the Cattle Drive website and see how long you can put up with the streaming audio of cows mooing and horses galloping. You can also sign up for the trips but at A$3,200 ($2,000) per person--not including the cost of getting to Australia--you might just want to listen to the website audio and imagine the actual trip.

Related Stories:
· Great Australian Outback Cattle Drive 2010 [Official Site]
· South Australia Travel Guide [Jaunted]

[Photo: CasaDeQueso]