2012 opening dates for Yellowstone lodges announced

by Kraig Becker on

The opening dates for the lodges inside Yellowstone National Park were announced earlier this week giving travelers an opportunity to start booking their accommodations well in advance of any planned visits later this year. While largely shut down for the winter months, the park’s historic and iconic lodges will open in stages throughout the spring in order to meet demand for the busy summer travel season ahead.

Starting in late April, the roads leading into Yellowstone will be cleared of snow, allowing vehicle access to the park once again. The exact dates for when those roads open can’t be predicted, as late season snow storms and heavy accumulations can present unexpected challenges. Once those roads do begin to open, however, park restaurants and gift shops near Old Faithful and Mammoth will soon follow.

The first lodges to resume operation for the season will be the Old Faithful Snow Lodge and Mammoth Hot Springs Hotel, both of which open on May 4. A week later they’ll be joined by the Lake Yellowstone Hotel and the Old Faithful Lodge, which are now accepting reservations for arrivals starting on May 11. The rest of the Yellowstone accommodations, including the Old Faithful Inn (May 18) and the Roosevelt Lodge (June 8), will open in the weeks that follow.

Spring and early summer are the perfect times to visit Yellowstone as the park returns to life following a long winter. In addition to blooming flowers and budding trees, the park’s abundant wildlife is generally more active too and sharp-eyed travelers will often catch a glimpse of newborn bison, elk and even bear.

If you have plans to visit Yellowstone this year you can check for room availability and book your stay by clicking here.

Emirates comes to Seattle, launches nonstop Dubai service

by Chris Gray Faust on

Living in Seattle has its trade offs, travel-wise. You’re closer to Alaska and Hawaii and Japan and places you’d never thought you’d visit, like the Yukon. But it takes an incredibly long time to get to the Caribbean, Europe or almost anywhere else, and there aren’t as many non-stop long-haul flights as you might wish.

Enter Emirates. By adding a non-stop flight from Seattle to Dubai in the United Arab Emirates, the airline instantly opens up easier travel to the Middle East, Africa and India – a boon for the Emerald City’s multicultural population. The flight to Dubai will take about 12 hours, with a 14 hour return.

The service launched March 1 with a press conference, appearances by flight attendants wearing the trademark Emirates pillbox hat and scarf and an arriving plane full of various dignitaries. As the headquarters of Boeing, Seattle has a rich aviation history and you could see the ground crews taking cell phone photos of the Emirates plane as it pulled through a water turret salute to unload at the gate.

Seattle isn’t the only West Coast beneficiary of recent Emirates expansion. The airline opened a 9,502 square foot lounge in San Francisco last month that boasts marble floors, Rolex watches and chauffeur service for Silicon Valley execs lucky enough to be in those highly regarded First Class private suites or Business Class.

Things aren’t that fancy up here in the Pacific Northwest. But one thing that will make Seattle frequent fliers happy: Emirates has partnered with Alaska Airlines for its mileage program. So maybe those lie flat beds aren’t as unattainable as you might think.

Luxury cruise line adds rock star experience

by Chris Owen on

Crystal Cruises is an upscale, luxury cruise line that is known for pampering passengers with top-of-the-line amenities and onboard services. Now, the line is extending its highbrow experience to passengers before they even get on the ship.

“Security lines, long hikes, uncomfortable chairs, cumbersome luggage – the modern-day airport experience has lost the ease that flying once provided,” says Vice President of Land & Port Operations John Stoll. As he explained to the Sacramento Bee, “Whether one prefers to travel discreetly, or just minimize inconvenience, this service ushers you into the refined gentility of a Crystal experience from the moment your vacation really begins: when you leave home.”

The personalized, 24/7 luxury service, available for purchase internationally by all Crystal cruisers, utilizes worldwide airport resources to facilitate a hassle-free airport experience for guests traveling to and from their Crystal ship.

Speeding through airports in rock star fashion, Crystal passengers bypass much of the customary stress associated with flying. Door-to-gate porter and escort services, fast-track processes, and access to VIP/Business Class Lounges, where available, are all part of the new Crystal VIP Airport Service, the first of its kind offered by a cruise line.Services include: greeting passengers upon airport arrival on all legs of their flight schedule; handling luggage from home to the ship; assistance with delayed or cancelled flights and related lodging, transportation, and meals.

Packages are available for up to four people in hubs around the globe from New York and LA to Rio and Hong Kong. Prices vary depending on location and the services selected with amenity menu subject to local laws, regulations, and/or airline/airport policies.

For those who must carry their own luggage, there are tips for getting through security checkpoints.




Photo: Crystal Cruises

A ‘Breaking Bad’ tour through Albuquerque, New Mexico

by Grant Martin on

Albuquerque is a modest, warm town in the American Southwest, almost halfway between Texas and Arizona on Route 40 and the commercial center of New Mexico. It’s a great spot for tourists looking to escape from the winter blues, and it’s also where the popular series “Breaking Bad” is filmed.

Now entering its fifth season, “Breaking Bad” is shot in a variety of venues across the city, most of which are easy to find with some creative Googling. Flickr user waldruggie hosts the best series of images and locations, filling a gallery with more than 150 pictures. Most pictures have locations and discussion attached to them, so taking advantage of a long layover in the city last weekend, the staff at Gadling Labs built a dandy MapQuest guide and followed the bread crumbs throughout the city. Surprisingly, most of the venues are centered around two hotspots only fifteen minutes apart and it’s even possible to visit the “homes” of Walter White and Jessie. Click through the gallery below to see a few hotspots or check out waldruggie’s gallery to build your own customized “Breaking Bad” tour.

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The 2012 Iditarod sled dog race begins today!

by Kraig Becker on

The 2012 Iditarod sled dog race gets underway this morning with the ceremonial start taking place on the streets of Anchorage, Alaska. The annual event, dubbed the “Last Great Race,” pits some of the best mushers in the world against one another on a course that stretches for nearly a thousand miles across remote wilderness before eventually ending in Nome.

This morning the 66 men and women who have entered the competition will set out on the first leg of the race – an 11-mile run that ends at nearby Campbell Airstrip. From there they’ll pack up their dogs and sleds and be transported by motor vehicle to the town of Willow, where the race will officially get underway tomorrow. Ahead of them is a 975 mile course — which is slightly shorter than previous years — that will test both their physical and mental endurance.

Amongst the contenders for this year’s race are defending champ John Baker and Iditarod veteran Hugh Neff, who is coming off a big win at last month’s Yukon Quest. Legendary mushers Lance Mackey and Jeff King are back as well and both are always a threat to finish first in Nome. Former champ Mitch Seavey has returned for another run too, as has his 74-year old father Dan and 24-year old son Dallas.

The fastest sled dog team is expected to reach the finish line in approximately eight to ten days depending on weather and trail conditions. Unlike many of the lower 48 states, Alaska has actually had quite a bit of snow this year which could slow down some of the teams that will be breaking trail. Still, covering 975 miles of remote wilderness during winter in less than two week’s time is an impressive feat.

Good luck to all the competitors.

[Photo credit: Zeledi via WikiMedia]