Shenandoah National Park announces activities for 2010

by Kraig Becker on

Shenandoah National Park has announced that it will play host to a wide variety of activities for the 2010 season, which is set to begin soon. Those activities include events for the whole family, ranging from fun filled games for the kids, as well as culinary events and special festivals for the big kids too. All the events will be held at Big Meadows Wayside, Skyland Resort or Big Meadows Lodge, which open for the season on March 19, April 1 and May 20 respectively.

Things get underway with an Easter Egg Hunt scheduled to take place on April 4 at Skyland Resort. Children ages three to ten years of age are invited to explore the historic lower-level of Skyland Resort, where dozens of colorfully painted Easter Eggs will be waiting to be discovered. Hunting Easter eggs is just the start for the kids however, as the park will have plenty of other activities to keep them occupied throughout the year, including games, crafts, storytelling, and ice cream socials.

Those Easter egg hunting skills will come in handy later in the year as well. Starting on May 3rd at Skyland Resort and on May 24th at Big Meadows Lodge, visitors to Shenandoah can compete in scavenger hunts from 9 AM to 11 AM on every Monday and Wednesday. The hunts will take place along one of the many trails in the park, and visitors will search for hidden natural and historic treasures to earn certificates of achievement.

Those looking to experience fine dining while visiting Shenandoah National Park should consider the Vintner Dinners, which feature gourmet four-course meals paired with fine wine from one of the wonderful Virginia wineries. Or better yet, consider joining the park’s Executive Chef, or one of the visiting guest chefs, as they lead culinary workshops exploring the tastes of fine foods and wines as well. Both options cost $295, and include overnight stays, as well as the fine dining experience. For a much less expensive culinary option, the Rainy Day Cooking Demos are a mere $10, and offer diversion when the weather turns sour, and the trails are too wet to hike.

These are just a taste of the many activities and events that Shenandoah will host this year, but there are many more to discover as well. For instance, on May 15, Skyland Resort will welcome the arrival of spring flowers with music and food, as part of their Wildflower Spring Celebration.For even more events, check out the complete list of activities and book reservations at VisitShenandoah.com.

Win a trip to Dominica by showing off your adventurous spirit

by Kraig Becker on

As far as travel contests go, they don’t come much easier than this one. Wend Magazine, Adventure Dominica, and Ahnu footwear are joining forces to send a lucky winner, and their guest, off on a tropical escape to the island paradise of Dominica. They’re offering up airfare for two from the U.S. or Canada and five days/four nights stay at the Calibishie Cove Hotel, one of the top eco-lodges on the island, not to mention all the sun and surf you can take in while you’re there.

To win, you simply need to submit a photo that best captures your adventurous spirit. The photo can be from practically any place or any activity, but it needs to show off your adventurous side in the best way possible. For instance, perhaps you’ll need to dig up that photo of you hiking the Inca Trail or kayaking the Grand Canyon. What ever it is, find it, and send it to contest@adventuretodominica.com and if your image is selected, you’ll be on your way to a vacation you won’t soon forget.

Like the rest of the Caribbean, Dominica has plenty of beaches and sun to go around. But it is also an excellent destination for adventure travelers looking for a tropical location to explore. The island has miles of hiking trails that wind through lush rainforests teeming with wildlife and over a thousand species of flowering plants, while hundreds of beautiful rivers flow by, fed by the more than 300 inches of annual rainfall there. And when you grow tired of exploring above the surface, simply head below for something completely different. Dominica is a great diving and snorkeling destination too, with plenty of marine life and colorful coral reefs to explore.

So, dig up that photo and send it off today. It just might earn you that warm weather escape you’ve been dreaming of, and although spring is officially just around the corner, it never hurts to have a little fun in the tropical sun.

Update: Adventure Dominica has a posting on this contest too. You can find it by clicking here. As mentioned, the rules are simple and straight forward.%Gallery-22103%

%Gallery-78319%

Be sure to check out Episode 4 of Travel Talk TV, which features a scuba diving adventure in California, international dating tips, and a sofa in an aquarium!

Hiker begins 4700 mile journey around Alaska

by Kraig Becker on

Long distance hiking legend Andrew Skurka is off on another adventure, this time taking on a trek through the Alaskan wilderness that will take seven months to complete, and will cover more than 4700 miles. Dubbed the Alaska-Yukon Expedition, the journey will take Skurka through eight national parks, six in the U.S. and two in Canada, while crossing four mountain ranges, and some of the most remote wilderness found anywhere in North America.

Skurka set out from Kotzebue, Alaska a few days back, and will now travel south to the Iditarod Trail, then east to the Alaskan Range and the Lost Coast. From there, it’s on to the Inside Passage, up the Yukon River to the Ogilive and Richardson Mountains, before eventually turning west, and running the length of the Brooks Range, one of the last great wildernesses on Earth. Finally, he’ll return to Kotzebue, completing the circuit and ending the adventure back where he began.

For now, Skurka will be traveling on skis, but much of the journey will be completed on foot and with the use of a packraft, a small, inflatable boat that he can carry with him. For most people, the thought of covering more than 4700 miles through remote backcountry, under your own power, would seem like an insurmountable challenge, but for Skurka, it is just another long hike to add to his resume. In the past, he has hiked both the Appalachian and Pacific Crest Trails, as well as a route from the Atlantic to the Pacific that covered more than 7700 miles. His 6875 mile Great Western Trails Route a few years back also earned him the title of National Geographic Adventurer of the Year.

You’ll be able to follow Skurka’s adventures with weekly updates on the National Geographic Adventure Blog and through his Twitter feed @andrewskurka. If all goes according to plan, he should be finishing up the journey in the early part of October.

Celebrity Kilimanjaro climb documentary comes to MTV

by Kraig Becker on

Back in January we told you about a group of celebrities who were climbing Kilimanjaro to raise awareness of the growing global clean drinking water crisis. The expedition was dubbed the Summit on the Summit, and it included musicians Kenna and Lupe Fiasco, as well as actors Jessica Biel, Emile Hirsch, and Isabel Lucas, amongst others. The team was quite successful in their efforts, with everyone reaching the top of the 19,340-foot mountain, the tallest in Africa.

The entire expedition was captured on film, and has now been edited down to a 90 minute television program that will air tomorrow night on MTV. Summit on the Summit: Kilimanjaro is scheduled to begin at 9 PM Eastern/8 PM Central. The show will follow the team from the foot of the mountain all the way to the top, and should prove to be interesting viewing for anyone who is considering making the trek themselves.

For a preview of the show, check out the trailer below, then set your DVR’s accordingly.

Mr. President goes to Yellowstone

by Kraig Becker on

As America’s first national park, Yellowstone has always held a special place in the public’s imagination. Not only is it home to an array of wildlife, such as bison, elk, and grizzly bears, it also happens to hold the most famous geyser in the world, Old Faithful.

Spread out across Wyoming, Idaho, and Montana, the park has always been a popular destination for U.S. Presidents, with Teddy Roosevelt, Calvin Coolidge, FDR, Jimmy Carter, and many others all spending time there. In the summer of 2009, President Obama upheld that long standing tradition by taking his family to the iconic park, a place he had visited as a child.

Yesterday, the park service released a never-before-seen video of the first family on their vacation, and while not all of us arrive on Air Force One, their experience in Yellowstone is not unlike the family vacations that we all grew up with. Check out the nearly 12-minute long video below for a good historical look at the park, as well as plenty of shots of its amazing scenery found there.

I guess when you’re the leader of the free world, this is what your vacation videos look like.