Idaho – Adventures in Living

Idaho – Adventures in Living

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Many people don’t know much about Idaho except “famous potatoes.” But, since you are here, you would probably like to know more.

Whichever part of this magnificent state you choose to discover, you’ll find spectacular scenery, fun things to do and friendly, helpful people. You’ll also find a place that’s unhurried, unspoiled and unassuming. So linger awhile and discover Idaho.

For complete Vacation,Recreation, Accommodations and Travel Information to the State of Idaho, Please Visit Their Official State Travel Site

Wyoming – The Cowboy State

Welcome to the Cowboy State!

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From the Red Desert to Yellowstone and Green River to the Black Hills this is a land that you will surely love.

Take time to get off the main highways and explore all the nooks and crannies that make Wyoming so special. The general store in Aladdin, delightful dinners served family-style in Hudson, mineral hot springs and the state bison herd in my hometown of Thermopolis – these are just a few of the charms of Wyoming.

Seek out the real Wyoming. You won’t be disappointed. And don’t be too surprised when that stranger coming the other way with Wyoming plates on his vehicle waves at you. It’s their way of saying “Thanks for visiting and keep your eyes open. There’s a lot to see.”

For complete Vacation,Recreation, Accommodations and Travel Information to the State of Wyoming, Please Visit Their Official State Travel Site

Montana – Experience the Exhilaration

Montana – Experience the Exhilaration

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You can’t taste an elk steak from a dot on a map. You can’t smell the sulfur mist from a steaming hot spring in Yellowstone National Park through your television set. And you can’t understand how sharing a piece of homemade huckleberry pie with a fourth-generation rancher from Choteau can make the big skies of Montana not so big after all. Some places are the same whether you view them from the pages of a magazine or from the soles of your own traveling shoes. Montana is not one of those places. Their real treasures are beyond the obvious sweeping vistas, pristine trout streams, and powder-rich ski areas. It’s time to dig in.

For complete Vacation,Recreation, Accommodations and Travel Information to the State of Montana Please Visit Their Official State Travel Site

FLYING A RANCH – Pinedale, Wyoming,

FLYING A RANCH – Pinedale, Wyoming

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A popular guest ranch, the Flying A Ranch vacation spot is located in the mountains of Wyoming and offers the ideal guest ranch getaway for adults. More luxurious than an old west dude ranch vacation, your vacation at the Flying A guest and dude ranch resort includes the traditional and the contemporary.

You will remember your Wyoming ranch vacation like a movie. Not just a Wyoming dude ranch, Flying A will clear your mind like blank celluloid then impregnate it with not just images but the smell of crisp morning air, the saunter of your horse moving up the trail, and the calls of elk, hawks, and the dinner bell. The premier Wyoming vacation spot, The Flying A will create memories well beyond what you expect from a Wyoming ranch vacation.

For Complete Details on This Beautiful Guest Ranch, Please Be Sure to Visit Their Website

Tutka Bay Lodge – Homer, Alaska

Tutka Bay Lodge

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Tutka Bay Lodge is the newest addition to  The Wild Adventure Company’s family of lodges in Southcentral Alaska. The lodge is located nine ocean miles from the seaside town of Homer along the Kachemak Bay. The Tutka Bay area offers rugged coastlines, deep fjords, dramatic mountains, quiet beaches, old growth Sitka spruce forests, and amazing tidal fluctuations.

To get to the lodge, either fly or drive to Homer and then take a twenty-five minute water taxi south across the bay. Along the way, you might observe various shore and water birds, sea otters, sometimes Orcas, Humpbacks and other marine mammals.

The lodge offers six private guest accommodations, a seasoned Within The Wild staff offering full-service lodging and guide services, and an array of activities to introduce you to the Kachemak Bay marine community.

Their award-winning cuisine, lodge amenities such as complimentary massage and yoga, wine tastings in the afternoon, cooking classes, and guided adventure activities such as deep-sea fishing for salmon and halibut, freshwater fishing, ocean kayaking and hiking our unique trail system offers both high-energy adventures as well as seaside serenity.

For Complete Details on This Wonderful Adventure Lodge Be Sure To Visit Their Website

The nation’s largest state parks system has a backlog of $1.3 billion in maintenance costs.

All of  California’s 278 state parks are a tangle of troubles.

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Visitors to California State Parks have already  dealt with abbreviated schedules and services. Now decay and neglect in the parks endanger the environment, artifacts – and even public health.

Much of the park decay exists because maintenance has been largely ignored for more than a decade amid slim and slimmer state budgets. Buildings and infrastructure, subject to constant exposure and heavy use, just get worse until they fail.

As a result, the backlog has more than doubled since 2001, when it was estimated at $600 million.

The operating budget for state parks from state funding and user fees – which pays for day-to-day maintenance, law enforcement and administration – stands at about $330 million this fiscal year. In 2001, it was $314 million. Adjusted for inflation, however, that reflects a 15 percent drop.

Rancho de los Caballeros – Wickenburg, Arizona

Rancho de los Caballeros

A family-owned guest ranch in Wickenburg, Ariz that first opened its gates in 1948 makes a perfect getaway to the warm heart of the Old Southwest! This Ranch is a resort with the soul of a bed and breakfast offering full resort amenities and privacy, yet it still retains the charm and intimacy of yesteryear. It’s the kind of place where everyone knows your name and your favorite horse.

Take A trip down there and ride the rugged trails or you might want to tee off at one of Golf Digest’s Top 100 U.S. courses or just delight in a spa treatment featuring some of the best ingredients the local desert has to offer. Savor cookout feasts with old friends and your favorite wines, or make new friends over fresh local fare in the nostalgic main lodge. Be sure to bring the kids and celebrate our holiday traditions like Christmas boots by the fireplace and Easter egg hunts. Or you might want to leave the kids with the grandparents and make it a memorable couples-affair with peaceful rides and moonlit nature walks. At Rancho de los Caballeros there’s always something to do, including doing nothing – and that can even be done by the pool.

You can retreat for a weekend or more you’ll have to go see what makes this Rancho so special. There is 20,000 acres of lush open range on the Sonoran Desert, 100 saddle horses to choose from and seasoned wranglers to reassure greenhorns, this ranch offers an uncommon Western vacation you’ll never forget. Full American plan rates include three inspired meals each day… just listen for the dinner bell and savor a half-century tradition of Western hospitality and personalized service. At Rancho de los Caballeros, you’ll feel right at home on the range.

Today, Rancho de los Caballeros has organized, a girlfriends’ getaway if you will.  The ranch coordinates eight such women-only Giddy-Up Gals events a year; this is a popular event at the ranch and usually sells out fast.  You’ll leave it all at home for this retreat, ladies, no cooking, cleaning husbands or kids, just a lot of fun with your girlfriends soaking up some of the most sensational Southwestern scenery anywhere.

For more information or questions on Rancho de los Caballeros or the Giddy-Up Gals events please visit their website www.sunc.com

Has the recesion lead to locking up our State Parks?

Padlocking the Gates to the Great Outdoors

By WILLIAM YARDLEY

In these hard economic times, when much of the country could use a walk in the woods or a night in the mountains or a wade in the river or a picnic by the lake, states across the country seem to be creating obstacles to the great outdoors.

Seeking to streamline their budgets, states have made their parks easy targets. Campgrounds are closing, fees are increasing, employees have been laid off.

In Colorado, some parks are down to one lone ranger. In Massachusetts, a few swimming ponds are closed for lack of lifeguards. Washington has started asking motorists to donate to state parks when they register their cars; Michigan will do so this fall.

Georgia is considering corporate sponsorships for its parks. In Idaho, a motorcycle group offered to mow the grass at a state park on the Snake River where it holds an annual reunion.

Some see a silver lining with the rising volunteerism and the public outcry that have helped keep parks open in many states. Others wonder what will come by next Memorial Day.

“Right now,” said Virginia Painter, a spokeswoman for Washington State Parks, which has seen revenue from the new vehicle registration donations fail to meet projections, “we’re hanging on.”

Western Travel Destination

Come explore some of the best Western Travel Destination with videos, pictures, stories and more. Steve is your host at OurLazySRanch.com so be sure to let him know what other western travel destination you’d like to see more of!

Glacier National Park

Known to Native Americans as the “Shining Mountains” and the “Backbone of the World”, Glacier National Park preserves more than a million acres of forests, alpine meadows, lakes, rugged peaks and glacial-carved valleys in the Northern Rocky Mountains. Its diverse habitats are home to over 70 species of mammals including the grizzly bear, wolverine, gray wolf and lynx. Over 260 species of birds visit or reside in the park, including such varied species as harlequin ducks, dippers and golden eagles. The landscape is a hiker’s paradise that is traversed by more than 750 miles of maintained trails. Glacier Park’s varied climate influences and its location at the headwaters of the Pacific, Atlantic and Hudson Bay drainages have given rise to an incredible variety of plants and animals.

The park is named for its prominent glacier-carved terrain and remnant glaciers descended from the ice ages of 10,000 years past. Bedrock and deposited materials exposed by receding glaciers tell a story of ancient seas, geologic faults and uplifting, and the appearance of giant slabs of the earth’s ancient crust overlaying younger strata. The result of these combined forces is some of the most spectacular scenery on the planet.

In 1932 Glacier National Park and Waterton Lakes National Park, across the border in Canada, were designated Waterton-Glacier International Peace Park. This designation celebrates the longstanding peace and friendship between the two nations. Both parks have since been designated International Biosphere Reserves and together were recognized in 1995 as a World Heritage Site. Clearly this resource is deserving of world-class recognition.

For complete information visit the Glacier National Park website

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