By Matylda Czarnecka
Herald Staff Writer

The rocks that smashed through Starbucks' window are attracting interest all the way to Canada.

Documentary filmmakers Hanson Hosein and Heather Hughes are taking a road trip across the U.S. to see how small-town, mom-and-pop shops survive when faced with competition from corporate chains.

The former NBC news journalists have covered wars and reported from all over the world.

They moved from New York City, to Kelowna, a small town in British Columbia, in 1999. In between, they lived in Israel.

Their 52-day trip has only two rules: no corporate chains and no interstate highways.

They broke the latter rule once when Highway 93 merged with U.S. Interstate 15 entering Las Vegas. "So we'll confess our own sins, and beg for leniency based on a technicality," Hosein wrote in Monday's Web log.

Miles, a black Lab, travels with them in a silver Nissan Xterra and they update their blog daily with stories and images from the trip.

Durango was not part of their plan, but Maria's Bookshop co-owner Peter Schertz, who read the blog, suggested the resistance to Starbucks on Main Avenue as a relevant topic.

On the Net Visit the film's Web site at  www.independentamerica.net

"I've been to Durango before and love the town," Hosein said. "We thought there are real issues in Durango. Let's go up there." The visit adds only a slight detour to the original route.

The filmmakers will stop in Flagstaff, Ariz., before heading to Southwest Colorado.

They plan to arrive in town tonight and film Sunday and Monday. Then, they will drive to Santa Fe and Austin, Texas, where a study revealed that mom-and-pop stores generate three times more local economic return than chain stores.

Hosein aims to develop an international consciousness of the struggle of independent businesses. "It's happening all over the place," he said.

The pair has seen "incredibly vibrant small towns" fighting corporate takeover. Some have passed laws that limit store sizes to protect downtowns from corporate mammoths.

The trip will end around July 4 and the film, "Independent America: The Two-Lane Search for Mom and Pop," should be ready for distribution by late fall.

Reach Production Assistant Matylda Czarnecka here .