vacation in yosemite

Every year, millions of people from all over the world flock to California to spend their summer vacation in Yosemite National Park.  Located in the heart of California, Yosemite National Park is easily accessible via highway or via Fresno International Airport, which lies a mere 61 miles from the south gate of the park.  During the summer season, there are many reasons why tourists choose to take their vacation in Yosemite National Park.

A vacation in Yosemite  holds something for everyone.  Each summer, dozens of campgrounds in the park are reserved months in advance, so that visitors can take advantage of the natural beauty while on vacation in Yosemite.  In addition to camping, hiking is another reason that people often choose to take their vacation in Yosemite.  There are endless miles of hiking trails within the park which showcase it’s natural beauty.  For the more adventurous types, rock climbing is another popular allure, where climbers can try their skills on harder routes such as El Capitan.  If photography is a hobby, there are endless beautifully composed scenes just waiting to be captured on film.

Though the summer season is the most popular, it is not the only time to take a vacation in Yosemite.  The winter season is equally as beautiful, and much more peaceful in the park.  Most hotels in Yosemite are open through the winter, and some offer special events, such as the Bracebridge Dinner, Vintner’s Holidays, and Chef’s Holidays at the Ahwahnee Hotel.  In addition to these special events, visitors can also test their skills on the ski hill at Badger Pass during a winter vacation in Yosemite.  Cross-country skiing and snowshoeing are popular on the trails near the Tenaya Lodge, where there is also an ice skating rink for visitors to enjoy.  And just as during the summer season, Yosemite in winter is a photographer’s paradise.

Whether guests choose to take their vacation in Yosemite National Park during the summer or winter season, one thing is for sure:  there are endless ways to enjoy this beautiful park!

To learn more about the lodging and activity options available for your vacation in Yosemite Park visit NationalParkReservations.com or call 866-875-8456.

Death Valley National Park

Death Valley is not your typical American National Park.  It’s a region of extremes… extreme temperatures… extreme geology… extreme history… extreme scenery. Death Valley could be considered a rebel amongst Americas National Parks and appeals to those who are seeking a departure from their familiar surroundings, and a refuge from cold in winter.

Death Valley comes alive in the late fall and winter months when the rest of the country is shivering under the icy chill of winter and a blanket of snow. Death Valley is a popular choice amongst ‘snow-birds’ throughout north America with her dry desert climate and her persuasively mild temperatures.

Death Valley National Park is a large park, covering more than 3 million acres, roughly 1 1/2 times the size of Delaware.  It is also an area of extreme, albeit unusual scenic beauty and adventure.

Visitors flock to Death Valley throughout the year, but even more so in the winter months, and activities such as hiking, biking and horseback riding are all popular sports within the area.

Death Valley and the Mojave Dessert is home to more than 56 kinds of mammal, 36 variations of reptile, several sorts of amphibians and fish species, and more than 400 classifications of birds have been spotted within the park.

Mammals found inside the park include include bighorn sheep, foxes, coyotes, squirrels, rodents, jackrabbits, bats and more.  There can also be found a wide variety of reptiles within the borders of Death Valley  such as the Chuckwalla, the second largest lizard found inside the United States. This interesting creature likes to hang out near rocky areas and will squeeze into rocky crevices and inflate itself when it feels threatened.  Another interesting reptile is the desert horned lizard a moderately sized lizard with pointed scales that protrude from it’s head and body in the shape of horns.  Only the ‘horns’ on it’s head are rigid, the rest of the horn-like scales are soft and feel more like normal reptile skin.  One interesting thing about the horned lizard is it’s ability to shoot a stream of blood from the corner of it’s eyes when it is threatened by a predator.  This creates a distraction and allows the lizard an opportunity to escape.

There are more than a half-dozen ghost towns in Death Valley.   These colorful relics from Death Valley’s past were mostly mining towns that sprung up around the turn of the twenty-first century when gold, silver and copper ore was found in the area. One of the most interesting of these ghost towns is the town of Panamint City.  This little town was short lived, but made up for it’s short life through its audacious reputation.  Panamint City was founded by two outlaws who were hiding-out from the law.  During their hiatus in the Panamint Mountains, these two lucky outlaws discovered silver in Surprise Canyon and subsequently decided to give up their life of crime for a more domestic lifestyle.  During it’s time, Panamint City was considered one of the toughest, rawest, most hard-boiled little hell-hole that ever passed for a civilized town.  However the fast life of Panamint City led to an early demise, as the city went from the height of it’s boom in 1874 to utter destruction from a flash flood just two years later in 1876.

More information can be found about Death Valley National Park and it’s many tourist attractions, lodging options and activities by visiting NationalParkReservations.com/deathvalley.htm There you will find a complete listing of lodging options both inside the park as well as near the parks perimeter.  You can also learn more about Death Valley’s many ghost towns and other tourist attractions at the National Park Reservations site.

Death Valley is only one destination in a world filled with adventure, surprise and beauty.  The world is begging to be explored, and the opportunity has never been greater!  Discover how you can save up to 85% off all your traveling and vacation costs and actually get paid to vacation!  Visit MOR Vacations Daily for more information!

Maui Vacation

Hawaii has become an immensely popular vacation spot. There is so much to see with the lovely beaches, fantastic gardens, and secluded waterfalls for which these islands have become so popular. And of all the islands that make up the Hawaii islands, Maui is a vacationers favorite.

This really should not come as much of a surprise. After all, Maui offers everything you are looking for in an island vacation:

• Beautiful beaches
• Fabulous nightlife
• Incredible shopping venues
• Perfect weather
• Endless adventure
• Friendly locals
• And much more.

Maui Activities

The magic island of Maui is a travel adventurers delight. Here you can lose yourself in a variety of activities that cater to men, women and children of every experience level and physical ability.

The diverse geological landscape makes available a multitude of fun and exciting opportunities including surfing, horseback riding, parasailing, wale watching, hiking, hang-gliding, yachting, snorkeling, helicopter tours, golfing, swimming, diving… the list goes on and on.

Maui is the perfect option for your next family vacation. With a strong emphasis on fun, Maui guides and activity providers will hook you up with an unbeatable combination of outdoor activities, world class attractions, natural wonder exploration and Native Hawaiian culture and adventure.

Maui’s diverse landscape ranges from rainforest to dessert, and the relatively small land-size of this island means that most tours and adventures can easily be accomplished ina day even by families with small children, or senior citizens.

Maui Accommodations

No matter what type of accommodation you are searching for, from a five-diamond resort to a quaint seaside cottage or a simple economical hostel, the island of Maui delivers the goods in a big way.

Maui’s visitor accommodations include family friendly condominium properties with all the comforts of home, to standard chain hotels, to intimate bed and breakfast properties owned and operated by the locals.

For business travelers, it is not too difficult to find a lodging option that will provide everything you need to “set-up-shop” and be in business within minutes of your arrival to the island.

Maui should definitely be on your short list of travel destinations to consider in the coming year. With a wonderfully diverse mix of geology, people, activities, lodging options and more, Maui is really hard to beat.

If you would like to learn more about island vacation travel, and how you can save up to 85% on a Maui vacation within the next 12 months, visit MOR Vacations at http://www.MOR-Elite.com

Mountain biking any one of the myriad of trails found in Arches National Park is a treat for the body the soul and the eyes.  The parks many striking natural features are enough to make you forget about all the stress and problems of daily life and drift away into a world of magnificent spires, domes and all-natural sandstone skyscrapers that would put any man-made structure to shame.  

The diverse and incomparable geology that makes up Arches National Park will insight in you visions of Clint Eastwood westerns and Saturday morning cartoons of coyotes chasing road runners.  And although you’re not likely to see too many coyotes and road runners, one thing you will be blessed with is seemingly endless miles of roads and trails for exploring on your mountain bike.

There is a fully-paved scenic drive that transects the park which is over 22 miles in length (45 miles round trip).  This is a great option for those who want to get a nice sampling of all that the park has to offer.  You will pass by some of the parks most notable features such as Park Avenue, Garden of Eden, Three Gossips and the impressive Great Wall.

One spot you do not want to pass up is the Windows Section of the park.  Here you will gaze through red rock frames over miles of burning desert towards the cool snow capped peaks in the far distance.  There are several significant arches in this section that demand your attention, and they are each just a short hike from the road.

At the far end of the scenic drive, you will find Devils Garden.  The south end of Devils Garden contains 12 of the 25 largest arches in the park including Landscape Arch which is the longest arch in the world, spanning over 300 feet in length.  The massive size of Landscape Arch makes it difficult to photograph, but if you would like to try it, you should plan to be there early in the morning when the suns light is best positioned and you will need a wide angle lens.

Some of the other popular biking trails in the park include: Gemini Bridge (13.5 miles); Hurrah Pass (33.0 miles); and Slickrock, the most demanding trail in the park (9.6 miles).

To learn more about all the activities and lodging options available at Arches National Park, visit http://www.NationalParkReservations.com/arches.htm

Glacier’s extensive variety of beautiful scenery, diversity of terrain and relative isolation from any major population centers has allowed Glacier Park to become one of the most popular national parks in the country amongst hikers, mountain bikers , and all around outdoor adventurers.  More than 700 miles of trails provide seemingly endless opportunities for men and women who are looking to leave the developed world behind and escape into the pristine beauty of Mother Nature.

For those who prefer motor power over foot power, Glacier Park is the home to one of the most beautiful stretches of highway in the continental United States.  The Going-to-the-Sun-Road could easily be considered the eight wonder of the world.  Etched right into the side of some of the most rugged and intimidating glacier-carved peaks that North America has to offer, this fifty-plus mile stretch of highway provides some of the most spectacular vistas and panoramas that you will ever see.

A great way to enjoy Going-to-the-Sun-Road without the stress and hassle of driving, or even spending any money on gas, is to take advantage of Glacier’s new public transit system which provides free shuttle trips across the entirety of the Going-to-the-Sun-Road.  The shuttles run approximately every half-hour and make several stops at popular scenic spots and destinations along the way.  This is the perfect option for those who want to sit back, relax, and leave the driving to someone else.

With more than 1.4 million acres of pristine scenery, wildlife and adventure, Glacier National Park is a vacation destination which will be hard to leave, and impossible to forget.  For more details on Glacier National Park and the activities and lodging options that are available, please visit http://www.NationalParkReservations.com/glacier.htm

Travel has been called the nourishment for the corporate soul, which makes a lot of sense when you think about it.  In today’s stress-inducing corporate world, it has become quite common for most executives, and corporate employees to indulge in periodic recreational travel.  At one time, travel was restricted to mostly business related purposes; however those days have long since passed. Today, busy executives, salaried employees, and travel enthusiasts of all ages, titles, and income levels make it a point to use their holidays and other vacation opportunities to indulge in travel for relaxation and rejuvenation.  However another shift has begun to make it presence known in the world of travel.  The idea of an “ultimate vacation” is no longer limited to the same old ordinary “touristy places”…rather the shift has begun towards adventure travel…the more adventurous…the better

Adventure travel is not a new phenomenon.  It goes back many decades, centuries even.  Adventure travel was born in days gone by when courageous souls used to strike out off the beaten path and sought out idyllic destinations where the common tourists would not find them.  Slowly the rest of the world began to realize that they could see and do a lot more than just what the tourist brochures promoted.  Today adventure travel has become the premier form of travel worldwide.   

So what is adventure travel and why has it become so overwhelmingly popular?  Moreover, what must one do to join the echelon of adventure travelers?  The easiest way to answer these questions is to take a brief detour into a seemingly unrelated field – the field of sports, extreme sports to be more exact.   For centuries sporting games were carried out in a particular fashion, there was a consistency and a familiarity to the way games were played, it was common to play sports in this fashion and no one questioned it otherwise.  However one day, at some point in history, the challenge being offered by this standard manner of play started to become too mild and stale.  Audacious athletes began to seek out greater thrills, harder hits, and more intense acrobatics and the field of extreme sports began to take shape.  Soon those venturesome souls who sought out greater thrills from their sporting pastimes began to demand the same adventure from their travel pursuits and the concept of adventure travel had its birth.

You see adventure travel has a magical quality to it which has a profound effect on every man and woman who seeks to experience its thrilling pleasure.  Adventure travel empowers its subjects with that same elusive adrenalin rush that extreme sports offer yet with the added benefit of being able to see remarkable places and experience unforgettable pursuits, which they never imagined possible.  Think of it as the Xgames meets the Travel Channel.  However, as with all good things, the magic of adventure travel has become discovered by the masses, and as a result it has lost some of its romance and mystic.  Ever since adventure travel began to increase in popularity and scope, it has attracted myriads of fanatic followers, who are addicted to its stimulating power.  As a result, an endless array of special adventure travel packages have become available to cater to the strong demand.

Today, nearly all of the reputable travel providers who once only offered conventional travel packages are now offering a wide variety of adventure travel venues.  And with the perpetual demand that adventure travel has created, new players are jumping on the bandwagon everyday, and adventure travel providers are coming out of the woodworks to meet the demand.  This has both its benefits and drawbacks.  On the one hand, it has removed some of the sovereignty from the once indigenous world of adventure travel, which will not sit well with the early adopters who enjoyed having the space to themselves.  On the other hand, it has opened up a world of new opportunities for those adventuresome individuals who participate in adventure travel simply for the thrill of it.  So the next time you plan a holiday or vacation, take a strong look at the endless possibilities of adventure travel.  Not only will it satiate your desires for travel, it will also treat you to a healthy dose of unforgettable adventure which will stay with you for a lifetime.