Posts Tagged ‘Road’

ROAD CLOSINGS FOR TODAY’S RACE

ROAD CLOSINGS FOR TODAY’S RACE
The Marine Corps Historic Half marathon will force a number of road closings in the city today along the route of the 13.1-mile race. Race-day road closings will begin as early as 5 a.m. Roads will reopen as soon as the last runners make it through the area….

Read more on The Fredericksburg Free Lance-Star

Boomers aren’t roughing it when trading home for life on the road

Boomers aren’t roughing it when trading home for life on the road
The 2011 Jayco Eagle 321RIMS mobile home has a full-size tub with a skylight, fireplace, cherry cabinets, satellite dish and more. This fifth wheel style RV starts at $43,757. / Jayco

Read more on The Staunton News Leader

scott falls and bear crosses the road

scott falls and bear crosses the road

Visiting Utah On Your Next Road Trip

While in Utah, look for mountains, deserts, colorful canyons, cool caves, natural bridges, arches and a big, bold, briny lake. Visitors to Utah are advised to keep their eyes and ears wide open so they won’t miss anything, since the “Beehive State” bedazzles guests with a real treasure trove of nature’s richness.

Antelope Island State Park is located near Syracuse between Salt Lake City and Ogden in northwestern Utah’s Great Basin country. Perched in the middle of the Great Salt Lake at 4,200 feet above seal level, Antelope is the largest of the big lake’s ten islands. The park is easy to reach via a seven-mile-long causeway that connects Antelope Island with Utah’s mainland. At one time a hunting ground for explorers like Kit Carson and John C. Freemont, a homesteading haven for adventurers, and a grazing range for domestic livestock, the 28,000-acre Antelope tract was designated a state park in 1981. Animals that currently live off the island’s bounty include elk, mule deer, pronghorn antelope and a thriving herd of American bison. There are also resident coyotes, porcupines, jackrabbits, badgers and bobcats, plus an impressive variety of land and shore-dwelling birds, from raptors and burrowing owls to grebes and California gulls. Besides opportunities for wildlife observation, Antelope Island sits amid 1,500 square miles of Great Salt Lake, the largest natural lake west of the Mississippi River. There are sandy white beaches, glorious sunsets and soothing stretches of saltwater that render swimmers unsinkable. Antelope’s hikers, cyclists and horseback riders enjoy an assortment of roads and trails that provide sweeping vistas of the luminous lake and the island’s rugged terrain.

In the southwestern region of Utah, near Springdale, Zion National Park marks the incomparable connection of the Colorado Plateau, Great Basin and Mojave Desert. The Hebrew word Zion translates as “place of refuge or sanctuary,” and this 229 square-mile preserve certainly fulfills its calling. Towering sandstone cliffs, splendid canyons, and the largest natural arch in the world contribute to the majesty of Zion’s countryside. Designated automobile routes lead tourists onto Checkerboard Mesa, along Kolob’s finger canyons, or into terraced high-country. The park’s excellent system of hiking and biking trails introduces visitors to waterfalls, gardens, springs, rivers, and some of the most awesome panoramas you’ll find. For those who’d like to park their vehicles and take a carefree ride through Zion’s adventures, an efficient park transportation system takes the trouble out of touring.

Bryce Canyon National Park is in south central Utah near the town of Bryce Canyon. This park hugs the eastern edge of the high-lying, desert-fringed Paunsaugunt Plateau. It’s a special place where thousands of multicolored mazes, pinnacles, fins and spires have been crafted from the effects of erosion on local sandstone, limestone and mudstone. These unique stony formations are dubbed “hoodoos,” and are clumped together in U-shaped patterns along the plateau, giving Bryce Canyon a fantastic landscape. Besides admiring the captivating hoodoos, visitors hike, ride horses or drive on a self-guided auto tour of park territory. Wanderers see ponderosa pine trees, fir-spruce woodlands, elevated meadows, surrounding deserts and distant views of three states. Bryce’s air is clean and exhilarating, and its clear, unlit night skies are perfect for stargazing.

The southeastern Utah town of Moab is the home base of Canyonlands National Park. This preserve occupies a high desert basin rimmed by sandstone cliffs, and it’s a larger-than-life, naturally occurring tribute to the artistic merits of the mighty Colorado River. Through the relentless movement of the Colorado over vast spans of time, Canyonlands’ tinted sandstone scene has been eroded and layered into tremendous gorges, mesas and buttes. A major source of the park’s geographic variety is the presence of the Colorado and Green Rivers, which swiftly run through Canyonlands, slicing the park into several unique sections. The Island in the Sky district is a good place to begin a Canyonlands tour. This area offers visitors a marked automobile route with lots of scenic overlooks and a nice choice of easy-does-it hiking trails. Sightings of desert-dwelling animals such as spade foot toads, kangaroo rats, coyotes and bobcats add to the appeal of any visit.

June 22-24 Great Lakes Seaway Trail Reveal & Economic Impact Road Show Visits Six Communities on America’s Byway

June 22-24 Great Lakes Seaway Trail Reveal & Economic Impact Road Show Visits Six Communities on America’s Byway
June 22-24 Great Lakes Seaway Trail “Great Reveal” and economic impact road show events along the freshwater shoreline of New York and Pennsylvania will showcase the Great Lakes Seaway Trail byway’s exciting new look as the byway’s leaders share the latest news of how the not-for-profit tourism organization benefits the America’s Byway region through its branded travel and tourism initiatives …

Read more on Oswego County Today

Visiting Ontario On Your Next Road Trip

Much like its provincial neighbor to the east, Ontario is filled with both urban capitals of culture and wild lands rarely explored. Consider it the best of both worlds. The barrenness of the Hudson Bay shoreline dominates the northern landscape southward until becoming a crowded collection of Canadian cities that mark the shoreline of four of the five Great Lakes. But fear not, the most populated of Canadian provinces has more than its fair share of outdoor escapes for its visitors and locals alike.
Set along the vast shores of Lake Erie, in the area called Ontario’s “South Coast,” travelers will be charmed by this seaside stretch. Enjoy strolling along white, sandy beaches, and exploring quaint fishing villages and lighthouses. Climb aboard the Port Stanley Terminal Railway for a scenic journey throughout the valley. Nearby Long Point Provincial Park encompasses about 25 miles of beaches, marshes, wetlands and sand dunes – making it a habitat for thousands of migrating birds, fish, reptiles and plant species. Take a leisurely stroll along the walking paths of the peninsula, and be sure to visit Long Point Bird Observatory, the oldest, privately funded, avian observation area in North America.

In the middle of the widest part of the St. Lawrence River lies the series of connected islands known as Iles de la Madeleine.

In Ontario’s easternmost reaches, across the St. Lawrence River from New York State, lie the Thousand Islands, a cluster of numerous (probably not a thousand, but lots) tiny islands. First and foremost, it’s a boater’s playground, but anyone who likes to do anything on the water will be pleased with the choice of venues. The waterways attract visitors from Canada and America in huge numbers.

From the Thousand Islands, take Highway 401 south, past Toronto. There, wedged in-between Lake Ontario and Lake Erie, you’ll find one of the world’s most impressive sights: Niagara Falls. Formed about 12,000 years ago as glaciers retreated across the region, today the Falls is of course a major tourist attraction. Yet, the grandeur and immensity of this sight can’t be denied, no matter how crowded the area can get during peak season. To get up close, visit Table Rock, where the promenade actually hangs over part of the falls. Otherwise, grab some rain gear and hop aboard one of the boat tours that ventures right up into the falls. Climb aboard the Maid of the Mist tour boat and head upriver for a close-up view of the spectacular Horseshoe Falls, as well as the Rock of Ages, Cave of the Winds and American Falls. Consider visiting Canadian Horseshoe Falls, for one of the most incredible views of raging, rushing, and thundering waters.

Like any big city, the people of Toronto have their favorite weekend getaway spots. Some of the most popular destinations lie three hours north in places such as Stony Lake, Georgian Bay and Saint-Marie among the Hurons. Stony Lake, less than an hour’s drive from Peterborough, is home to Canada’s largest concentration of ancient stone carvings, some dating back as much as 1,000 years. The Georgian Bay, due north of Toronto, is a terrifically scenic area that was often the subject matter of Canada’s celebrated Group of Seven painters from the early twentieth century. Here also lies the Georgian Bay Islands National Park, a series of more than 60 islands, dotting the bay’s impressive shoreline. Some of the area’s larger islands greet guests with miles of terrific hiking trails and opportunities to glimpse some of the region’s native animals.

Ontario’s Bruce Peninsula is a 50-mile stretch that separates the Georgian Bay from Lake Huron to the west. Two-hundred-foot limestone cliffs are in abundance along the peninsula’s shoreline. The Bruce Peninsula National Park is also the starting point for Canada’s longest hiking trail, a 400-mile trek for those who bring their boots. The Fathom Five National Marine Park is also located on the peninsula and showcases the shore’s limestone rock formations. The park is also quite popular with scuba divers who enjoy crystal clear waters and the water’s many shipwrecks.
East of the Bruce Peninsula lies the immense Algonquin Provincial Park. Consisting of nearly 3,000 square miles, the park is home to more than 250 animal species that find shelter among the dense forests. And there’s water too, lots of it. For canoeists, there’s nothing quite like the Algonquin and its more than 2,500 lakes, many of which are connected with small natural waterways revealing even more possible adventures.
For those willing to test the barren and windswept reaches of northern Ontario, the shores of Lake Superior offer a number of exceptional national and provincial parks. The Lake Superior Provincial Park, Pukaskwa National Park and Sleeping Giant Provincial Park all make for wonderful summer destinations when the weather is far more predictable.

Ban’s Diving Resort Koh Tao and Khaosan Road Go Hand in Hand

Banâ??s Diving Resort Koh Tao and Khaosan Road Go Hand in Hand

When you think of diving or learning to dive in Thailand, itâ??s hard to think that the huge metropolis of Bangkok would have any connection with scuba diving whatsoever. For a start Bangkok only has one beach and if you went diving off there then you would end up swallowing a mouthful of the tons of sewage that gets flushed out with the Chaopraya River every day. But there is a place near the centre of Bangkok that is synonymous with diving in the South of Thailand.

Khaosan Road became a popular hub for travelers to South East Asia in the 1980s when a large event in Bangkok celebrating its first two hundred years convinced the locals on Khaosan Road to rent their rooms out to western backpackers. Ever since then millions of travelers every year western and Asians alike pass through Khaosan road and it has become the gateway of South East Asia and a hub for those going to dive or learn to scuba dive in the south of Thailand.

Over the years dozens of guesthouses, hotels, travel agents and diving agents have sprung up on Khaosan Road with scuba diving agencies often working for or employed by the diving centers and resorts in the south. And with Koh Tao being the diving Mecca of Thailand it is noticeable that most of the scuba diving agents on Khaosan Road have the same name as the diving centers and schools on Koh Tao like Buddha View and Banâ??s Diving Resort two of the most popular diving resorts in Thailand.

Banâ??s Diving Resort itself has at least three scuba diving offices on Khaosan Road and this is simply because one office is not enough to deal with the thousands of walk in customers. Banâ??s Diving Resort and PADI CDC diving center is probably the largest and one of the most popular diving schools and resorts on Turtle Island and the first in the region to be awarded the PADI award for excellence.

Due to Banâ??s Diving Resortâ??s high standard of operations it encourages all its staff and agents to take diving certificates so all know exactly what they are talking about when dealing with customers and answering their questions about their diving courses. All the staff at the resort and on Khaosan Road operate like one big happy family making sure that everyone is in constant communication with each other to ensure that they can deliver the highest standard of service and that every customerâ??s individual needs are catered for. With just a few hours notice diving courses from open water to diving instructor  can be taken in all major languages including, French, German, Spanish, Italian, Portuguese, Chinese, Japanese and Swedish.

The newest addition to the Banâ??s Family on Khaosan Road is Banâ??s Diving, Tour and Travel office which can be found at the entrance to the 7 Holders Guesthouse across from the Buddy Lodge Resort. Banâ??s Diving Tour and Travel Office is not just a diving agency but also a travel and tour agents offering diving courses, multi day vacations, sightseeing tours, flight tickets and train tickets. They provide a warm and friendly service and welcome walk in customers and also internet customers who can book online via their website www.bansdivingthailand.com.