Charleston, S.C., tour linked to new novel

A new walking tour is being offered in Charleston, S.C., based on places featured in the new Pat Conroy bestseller “South of Broad.”

The two-hour tour is available Tuesday-Saturday, departing from the lobby of the Mills House Hotel at 115 Meeting St., and ending outside the Gibbes Museum of Art at 135 Meeting St. Both places are mentioned in the novel.

Tour stops linked to the book include St. Michael’s Episcopal Church, where characters Chad Rutledge and Molly Huger were married; Legare Street, one of Charleston’s most elegant streets and part of protagonist Leo King’s paper route; Water Street, where characters in the novel ride out Hurricane Hugo; and the Dock Street Theater, visited by Leo’s parents the night of a family tragedy.

Tickets ($25) must be reserved in advance at 843-568-0473 or at oldcharlestontours.com/ southofbroad.

Public allowed to visit Spaceport America

Next month, New Mexico spaceport officials will begin offering paid public tours of the construction site north of Las Cruces. Engineers at Spaceport America have been working with leading aerospace firms such as Virgin Galactic, Lockheed Martin, Moog-FTS, UP Aerospace, and Armadillo Aerospace to develop commercial spaceflight at the southern New Mexico site.

The 10,000-foot long runway is expected to be complete by next summer. A terminal hangar facility should be built by early 2011.

Tour details will be available on the Spaceport America Web site by mid-November at www.spaceportamerica.com.

Latino art gallery reopens in NYC

Galleries at El Museo del Barrio in Manhattan, the Museum Mile’s only institution devoted to Latino art, have reopened after an 18-month renovation.

The museum’s facilities have been reconfigured to include space for its permanent collection, a café, a new glass facade and a redesigned 4,500-square-foot courtyard. It is marking its 40th anniversary this year with public programming, events and performances.

The reopening included the launch of an exhibition entitled “Nexus New York: Latin/American Artists in the Modern Metropolis.” The show explores connections between Latino and non-Latino artists working in New York in the early 20th century, and how their exchanges and cross-influences impacted avant-garde art movements. The show continues through Feb. 28. The museum is at 1230 Fifth Ave. between 104th and 105th Street.

Bears in Yosemite prefer minivans

What’s bigger than a picnic basket and even better than one in the eyes of black bears that call Yosemite National Park home?

Minivans driven by families who leave behind a trail of spilled juice boxes, Cheerios and coolers carrying other snacks, according to a study in October’s Journal of Mammalogy.

Park scientists researched whether bears had developed a taste for certain vehicle models after noticing that more minivans get broken into than other types of cars. Their research proved them right: minivans represented 29 percent of the 908 vehicles torn into by bears between 2001-2007, even though they made up just 7 percent of the cars that visited Yosemite.

Magazine recommends 3 ski resorts in N.E.

The November issue of National Geographic Adventure magazine is recommending 11 ski destinations from Oregon to Maine, including these New England resorts:

•Jay Peak Resort in Vermont, which is opening a new luxury hotel this season, the Tram Haus Lodge.

•Cannon Mountain, in New Hampshire, which this season will provide shuttle transportation to Mittersill, an abandoned ski area that can now offer backcountry skiers access to ungroomed terrain.

•Saddleback in Maine, where the owners have been increasing skiable terrain and improving facilities, and will open a new glade this winter.