Guaranteed green in Las Vegas

by Annie Scott on

You may hope to find a lot of green in Las Vegas, and there’s one way to ensure you can at least say your stay involved a lot of green: stay –and play — in an eco-friendly hotel and casino.

Harrah’s Entertainment (parent company to Caesars Palace, Flamingo, Bally’s, Rio), has recently upped their green cache by implementing their trademarked “CodeGreen” — which involves energy reduction efforts, community outreach, and finding new ways to conserve water, including converting turf to xeriscape (what?) and encouraging guests to reuse towels and linens. They also removed 600,000 square feet of grass from the Rio Secco golf course, which saves a lot of watering (reportedly 23 million gallons), and upgraded their laundry facility to handle more volume with less water.

They’re also filtering their own water in their restaurants, and serving it in reusable glass bottles — but only if you request it. According to the Las Vegas Sun, “The authority estimates that as much as three gallons of water is saved with every glass of water it doesn’t wastefully deliver. To serve a glass of water, whether or not it’s consumed, requires cleaning the glass, delivery of the water and the water itself.”

So, if you’re looking to feel less guilty while out there indulging your guilty pleasures, head for Harrah’s — and don’t ask for that water if you’re not gonna drink it!

Happy 100th bday, hostelling!

by Alison Brick on

Help me raise a glass to lockers, kitchen cubbies, dorm roommates, and bunk beds everywhere.

Yes, that’s right–we’re celebrating the 100th birthday of the hostelling movement, and the 75th birthday of Hostelling International USA!

Next week is Open Hostel Week, from August 23-30. Find a hostel near you and see what’s planned–it could be anything from hostel tours and good eatin’, to travel presentations and scavenger hunts.

And if you happen to be near Northfield, Massachusetts, join the dedication of an historical marker at the site of the very first U.S. hostel. Festivities will be Sunday, August 23rd, starting at 2:00 p.m.

If you want to take your celebration to the streets, enter HI-USA’s One World, Many Views contest to win a flight to Europe and a one-year HI-USA membership. Submit a photo or video that relates to hostel travel, or the organization’s mission of international understanding and stewardship. Enter by September 30th.

Gadlinks for Monday 8.17.09

by Brenda Yun on


Another week of summer has come and gone, and we’re just hanging on to those last few certain days of warmth before fall kicks in! Last week we had some great travel reads, and this week will likely be no different. But you’ll have to wait until tomorrow to catch our normal Gadlinks, for today’s links are in keeping with the “scenic” theme we have going here on Gadling today. Check these out for some scenic inspiration:

‘Til tomorrow, have a great evening!

More Gadlinks HERE.

The scenic Monterey coastline

by Brenda Yun on


If you haven’t heard of the 17 Mile Drive, now you have, and now’s the time to enjoy one of the world’s most beautiful coastlines. Minutes from downtown Monterey, California, the 17 Mile Drive winds through the prestigious gated community of Pebble Beach in Carmel, past the Del Monte Forest, and along gorgeous stretches of secluded coves, pristine beaches, and oceanfront mansions.

There are hundreds of attractions along this scenic coastal road that makes traffic sometimes unbearable during the summer. You can avoid crowds by entering at the Spanish Bay gate, or it may be worthwhile to enjoy this route by bike or during the off-season, though it may be colder, foggier, and less sunny.

Aside from passing three lovely golf courses (Poppy Hills, Spyglass Hill, and Pebble Beach), this scenic road boasts natural attractions such as Fanshell Beach, Seal Rock, and the Lone Cypress tree. There’s even a new big wave surf spot called “Ghost Tree” that’s a spectacle in itself when the swell is just right.

There’s a helpful brochure that you should pick up at the entry gate in Pebble Beach that outlines the “21 Points of Interest” along the 17-Mile Drive. All you have to do is follow the marked route and enjoy the sights along the way.

If the drive is not enough, and you’re not so into golf courses and coastal vistas, there are plenty of fine dining establishments and quaint bed and breakfasts along the route.

Scenic America: The Four Corners

by Sean McLachlan on

When you’re figuring out where to go for vacation, you might want beautiful vistas, clean air, ancient ruins, and traditional cultures. A lot of people make the mistake of thinking they have to go to some remote country to find all that. You don’t. Head over to the Four Corners region and you’ll get all that and more.

The Four Corners, where the states of Arizona, New Mexico, Colorado, and Utah meet, is home to several national monuments and parks as well as some of the most stunning scenery in the country. Much of the area is taken up by various Native American reservations, including the Navajo Nation, which is the largest. This region has been a center of native culture for thousands of years, and includes several well-preserved pueblos, adobe villages preserved by the elements and their builders’ natural ingenuity. The best are Canyon de Chelly and Mesa Verde.

“Awe inspiring” is a hackneyed phrase in travel writing, but you’d have to be a robot not to be moved by the vast open spaces, rugged mountains, and varied colors of the landscape. The desert has a subtle beauty to it that grows on you the longer you stay. Sometimes it’s not so subtle, like when you pass through the massive buttes of Monument Valley or watch the sunset change the sky from pink to crimson to purple over the course of a quiet half hour.

While the region seems remote, it’s quite easy to get to. One scenic route is to fly into Phoenix (definitely not a scenic start, but it gets better), drive a rental car up to the old logging town of Flagstaff in the mountains, stop at the Grand Canyon and Painted Desert, and continue on to the Four Corners. You can see a lot in a long weekend, but you might want to consider staying a whole week and exploring some of the more untrod areas.

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