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Winter in America's National Parks
Scenic splendor minus the crowds
Most vacationers visit America’s national parks during the summer months—when the roads are crowded, restaurants are packed and prices are at their peak. But think outside of the season, and you can reduce headaches and pare down expenses. Although lodging options can be limited, many visitors are surprised to learn that quite a few national park lodges remain open during the winter months.
But not all national parks—some are closed during the winter; others offer reduced services. Still, others attract large numbers of wintertime visitors because they’re located in regions that enjoy their best sunny weather when it’s frigid up North. A winter trip to the Virgin Islands National Park, will present the same problems that you’d find on summer excursion to Yosemite: high prices, long lines and a trail of “no vacancy” signs.
See our slideshow of Winter in America’s National Parks.
Author : David and Kay Scott
Publ.Date : Fri, 21 Nov 2008 07:18:36 GMT
10 Quiet City Hotels
Shh! Where to find urban tranquility
Sure we love the thrill of a big cosmopolitan city, but once we’re weary of back-to-back buzzing restaurants, cultural events, designer boutiques and the odd horde of gawking tourists, it’s refreshing to find a slice of tranquility amid the chaos. Whether it’s a special spa, a room that brings new meaning to “private” or even meditative landscaping, some hotels have things that make them true urban oases where you can leave the big city behind.
As much as we might love the city we’re visiting, it’s always nice when a domestic vacation has the power to make us feel we actually left the country. At Hotel Kabuki in San Francisco’s Japantown, guests will not only feel nurtured, but that they are staying in a traditional Japanese ryokan. Upon arrival, they are presented with the complimentary signature tea service, where staff welcomes them with a custom brew such as Zen Blend or Sencha.
Holiday gizmos for globetrotters
Along for the ride, an entourage of gadgets—from portable hard drives to outlet adapters—allows Wolfe to instantly plug in and boot up to get a gig going any place on the planet.
"I bring more than enough gadgets to make the TSA guys nuts," he says, referring to his frequent Transportation Security Administration run-ins while revealing the dozen gizmos and gadgets he’s told to unpack in an airport security line.
See our slideshow of Gift Gadgets for Travelers.
Travelers like Wolfe depend on high-tech products while on the road. Comfort, entertainment, productivity and connection to someone back home are the goals. The gadgets are myriad, ranging from programmable alarm clocks and luggage scales to wristwatches with integrated GPS.
Here we look at a dozen new products designed to make life on the road easier, more productive and, yes, more fun.
We polled travelers like Wolfe for ideas on high-end items. In the past we’ve extolled the virtues of "The World’s 10 Best Taxi Rides"—interesting and sometimes beautiful routes that can add fun and excitement to what might normally be just another trip across town. But what about the flip side? Everyone has a taxi horror story to share, a tale of woe that may involve scamming, intimidation, extortion, physical threats, drunken driving, faulty shock absorbers, unending traffic jams, malfunctioning meters—or simply hellacious body odor. Add infrequent but terrifying armed robberies and kidnappings, and simply sticking out your arm on the sidewalk can seem like a dangerous roll of the dice. See our slideshow of The World’s Worst Taxi Rides. What should you worry about most? The Mexican kidnappers? The Russian thugs? The Sao Paulo gridlock? Collisions with elephants in Thailand? In reality, your biggest problem will be simple scams or miscommunications that escalate into shouting matches hindered by language barriers. It was day four on a backpacking trip through Utah’s Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument when I came upon a field of stone spheres sitting in the sun. "Moqui marbles!" my guide shouted, stooping to inspect one of the tens of thousands of rock balls strewn randomly ahead. At our feet, exposed but untouched in the sand, was a field stocked with one of nature’s most bizarre geologic creations: Born in bedrock, moqui marbles are symmetrical iron oxide concretions that range from pea-size to spheres as big as softballs. The natural phenomena—also called shaman stones or thunder balls—erode over time out of solid stone, breaking free after eons entombed underground to roll into the light of day. Rare rock formations like moqui marbles can stop a hiker in mid-stride. Indeed, you don’t have to be a geologist to pause and appreciate the natural artwork of a skyscraping cliff or a tight canyon of multicolored stone. Author : Stephen Regenold
Author : Stephen Regenold
Publ.Date : Wed, 03 Dec 2008 14:33:00 GMT
The World's Worst Taxi Rides
And how to avoid being scammed
Author : Don Willmott
Publ.Date : Tue, 02 Dec 2008 07:50:00 GMT
20 Stunning Rock Formations
Nature’s most amazing rocky sights
Publ.Date : Fri, 21 Nov 2008 07:13:00 GMT
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