With my last ticket I second
The Lost World by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle.
While I haven't seen explicit reference, it has to have been the inspiration behind the Disney animated movie
Up. (Challenger -> Muntz; the plateau of the Lost World; capturing pterodactyl chick -> Kevin; come to think of it, Edward Malone isn't much more than a boy scout himself -> Russell the Wilderness Explorer) Adventure is out there!
