AZ RV Resort - on the way to an experience of a lifetime

Yuma, Mesa, Phoenix, Tucson or Casa Grande, one only needs to select a location. There can be no better way to travel the open road than the comfort of a camper. Making the road trip of a lifetime. There are various places and parks along the way from Arizona. Choose a place to stay or stop and enjoy. Then go to the park or at another resort. RV Parks and resorts justice AZ on all types of outdoor activities. Outdoor activities like fishing, hiking, trekking andcamping. Some choose to simply R&R through games of golf or sunbathe by the pool. Enjoy all those activities, AZ RV resorts or parks are the places to be. Arizona isn't limited to outdoor activities. Several AZ RV parks and resorts are also located near theaters, museums, historical sites, jazz festivals and sports events. Seasons hardly even matter, there are always activities you can do in Arizona all year round.

Phoenix

Phoenix is also known as Valley of the Sun. It is a metropolis in the heart of Arizona. People tend to Arizona employees with high heat, desert and cactus. However, there is something more than just that, the Valley of the Sun is home to highly developed culture, year-round sports, entertainment facilities and historical sites. Moreover, no other place all the blue skies and sunshine far behind open during the winter season.

Not far from the real town is Apache Junction. Get afeel of how it was like to live in the Old West. Visit the Apache Trail near Apache Junction. The area also has a great view of the mountains and wildlife in the lakes to the north. Closer to the city, Mesa offers remarkable dining, shopping and entertainment.

Casa Grande

Casa Grande is located far enough away from the city excitement of Phoenix. Casa Grande area offers AZ RV resorts for the low desert RVer. This area also shares the wonderful climate of the Valley of the Sun. Therefore, it is ideal for outdoor activities like hiking and sightseeing.

Many small museums of local history and information sites around the tribal reservations of the Gila River and Tohono O'odham found. Learn more about the Indians of this region, here in Casa Grande.

Tucson

For people to experience the big city without trying the congestion of the city of Phoenix, Tucson is the perfect destination. Located in Southern Arizona, Tucsonboasts of museums, historical sites and parks. Head west and find Ajo, a charming western town rich in history. Located near Ajo is the famous Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument. The monument is a natural wonder of cactus and wild desert beauty.

Not far from the city are excellent places for outdoor activities. People can enjoy bird watching, stargazing, rock climbing, mountain biking and golf. Visit the true Old West to the Southeast off 1-10 in Cochise County. Tombstone AZ with its gun fights, Bisbee, with the copper mine tour, Willcox for its fruit orchards and Sonoita, becoming known for its wines.

Yuma

According to history, Yuma was considered the gateway to California. The first settlements were built along with a bridge over the Colorado River. Today, Yuma is a bustling community with carefully preserved history and offers great winter climate. AZ RV parks and resorts are available for RVers to enjoy.

Close to the river are AZ RV resorts and parks ideal for water sports and fishing. Yuma also maintains various wildlife refuges. AZ RV parks in this area offer facilities for many outdoor activities. Indoor fun can be found at nearby casinos, shops and historical attractions.

All these cities and towns in Arizona have a lot to offer. RVers can make the most out of their time and experience all these activities. Drive down the road for a few miles. Eventually, there's a different AZ town to check out. It is of great convenience that many AZ RV parks and resorts are found all over the state. So review everything that is available in Arizona with the AZ RV Reference guide, start planning that road trip and don't miss a thing. Enjoy RVing... what a life!

Leavenworth, Washington - A Great Place to Visit

Leavenworth, Washington is a scenic Bavarian styled village of about 2,500 residents in the central part of Washington State. It is one of the state's most popular tourist destinations. It lies in the Wenatchee River Valley with mountains rising nearly 7,000 feet above the city nearby. Leavenworth's natural beauty, abundant recreation including camping, bicycling, rafting, kayaking, hiking, golfing, and skiing, and wide range of festivals and events attract nearly two million visitors a year.

Leavenworth has a true four-season climate. It is on the eastern edge of the Cascade Mountains, in a much drier, more continental climate that in the Seattle area, two and a half hours to the west. On average, its winter high temperatures are about ten degrees colder than Seattle and its summer high temperatures are about twelve degrees warmer than Seattle. Leavenworth averages twenty-four inches of precipitation per year, a large percentage of which falls as snow. Seattle, in comparison receives an average of thirty-seven inches or precipitation. Leavenworth has a variety of tree species including Ponderosa Pines.

In the winter, Leavenworth's high temperatures are typically in the 30's and 40's with lows near 20 degrees. Leavenworth receives the vast majority of its annual precipitation between October and March. It average ninety-five inches of snowfall per year and is one of Washington State's snowiest cities. Usually snow is on the ground in Leavenworth all winter long. The town has a nearby ski area, the Leavenworth Ski Hill just a few minutes away and Mission Ridge Ski Resort and Stevens Pass Ski Area are both within an hour's drive. In the 2010 Winter Olympics, Leavenworth native and cross-country skier Torin Koos represented the U.S.

In spring, Leavenworth's temperatures typically rise into the 60's and 70's with low temperatures in the 30's and 40's. Leavenworth's low temperatures do not average above freezing until April. Spring mountain snowmelt creates excellent rafting conditions in the Wenatchee River.

Summers are warm and sunny in Leavenworth. The town is very busy on summer weekends as people flock to the area to inter-tube on the Wenatchee River, shop in Leavenworth's quaint shops, or take in a summer music festival. Temperatures are typically in the 80's to near 90 degrees in the summertime, but it does occasionally reach the one hundred degree mark. Temperatures cool off at night to near 50 degrees.

Fall is a beautiful season in Leavenworth. The leaves along the Wenatchee River turn bright red and orange and the town celebrates salmon days. During the first three weekends in October, the city holds its annual Oktoberfest Celebration, featuring live Bavarian music, authentic food, and of course beer. It is the largest Oktoberfest celebration in the world outside of Germany. Temperatures plunge rapidly in Leavenworth in autumn fall from an average high of 78 degrees in the month of September to 34th December.

Leavenworth is one of the most beautiful in the country in December. The town of Bavarian-style facades and trees are covered with beautiful Christmas lights, often exacerbated by a layer of snow. Leavenworth was introduced in 2007 on the ABC program Good Morning America as one of the most beautiful cities in the United States of Christmas.

In the first three weekends in Decemberthe city holds its annual Christmas Lighting Festival. On Friday nights during the festival the town is in darkness awaiting the arrival of the lighting on Saturday evening. At dusk on Saturdays, everyone gathers to sing "Silent Night" and witness the lighting. The town is lit with a holiday glow. There is also Christmas Carolers, holiday personalities in the streets, and sleigh rides.

Aspen, Vail - Not for Skiing Only

Vail, Aspen, the names summon images of skiers and snowboarders flashing down steep slopes of pristine, powdery snow, forests of trees covered with Christmas lights, pricey shops, tony restaurants and fancy hotels. Now think summer. Think of hotel rates which may be half those of winter. Think of restaurant discounts and bargains at fashionable shops. Think of carefully groomed golf courses.Think of rafting and canoeing and hiking, concerts and dance and theater. Then think of a drive along mountains more than 14,000 feet high.

The two resorts are 90 miles apart just around the corner in western terms of distance.

The best way of seeing both of them during the summer is an auto trip that takes you through passes as high as 12,095 feet. It goes through Leadville with its history of colorful characters as Wyatt Earp, Doc Holiday, Baby Doe and the Unsinkable Molly Brown. It takes you into trendy Aspen with its tree-lined streets and sandstone and brick buildings, then over to Glenwood Springs named for its warm mineral water pools and caves and from there east to your starting point.

Vail is where most visitors are likely to start the trip, since it's a direct, slightly less than two hour' drive from Denver via the I-70 interstate.

Vail is beautiful during the ski season, its beauty augmented by the brilliant whiteness of newly fallen powder snow on the dark mountains. In the summer, Vail's beauty comes from the dark greens of the evergreens, the lighter green leaves and white trunks of aspens, the dazzling blue of the sky and processions of cumulus clouds rubbing against the sharp peaks of the mountains.

Summer visitors come to golf on five top-rated courses. Younger and more vigorous tourists come to mountain bike, torturing muscles and lungs by pumping up steep mountain roads and trails or taking a ski lift to the top of a high peak and plunging down its side on two wheels, dodging rocks and holes and small animals, staging a heart-stopping, animated display of why Vail has one of the nation's largest hospitals specializing in sports injuries and rehabilitation.

Older and less vigorous tourists are likely to restrict their athletic activities to hikes, canoeing or fishing on a peaceful mountain lake, viewing the Vail Valley from a hot air balloon, or riding horses through parts of the surrounding national forest.

In the summer, Vail Village resembles a sidewalk sale of skis, jackets and other winter equipment and clothing marked down as much as 50 percent, sometimes more. In the winter, its impossible to find a hotel offering rates lower than $125 a day or bed and breakfasts under $100. Summer hotel rates are as low as $59. Many restaurants also cut their prices during the summer or offer two for one specials.

My wife and I stayed at the Minturn Inn, a rustic but comfortable bed and breakfast in Minturn, an old mining and railroad town five miles from Vail Valley. Many of the town's weathered buildings have been converted into inns, excellent restaurants and a variety of small, arty shops and galleries, selling items as Indian head dresses, buffalo heads and light fixtures made from elk horn.

Minturn's main street is Route 24, aptly named the Top of the Rockies Highway, which leads off I-70 just west of Vail. Its the most scenic route to take on the first leg of the trip to Aspen.

South of Minturn, Route 24 begins a sharp ascent. Off to the right is the 14,005 foot high Mount of the Holy Cross. The 1,500 foot cross, created by natural crevices in the face of the mountain, can be seen high on the northwest side of the peak.

Continuing toward Leadville, we came into a high, level valley nestled between mountain ranges. Here is the site of Camp Hale, where the 10th Mountain Division trained on skis and snowshoes before engaging in bloody combat in World War II. Robert Dole trained at the camp. So did the founders of the Aspen and Vail Ski Resorts.

From Camp Hale, the highway begins its ascent to the Continental Divide and Tennessee Pass, 10,424 feet above sea level. Fifteen minutes away and six feet higher is Leadville, which describes itself as North America's highest city. It's been more than 100 years since Doc Holiday killed two men in Leadville and Soapy Smith and his thugs ruled the town, over a century since Wyatt Earp and Bat Masterson walked the streets and Leadville Johnny Brown and his young wife Molly gave parties.

The gambling tables and brothels are gone, but you can still belly up to a bar where Buffalo Bill Cody and the James brothers downed their drinks and the restored 1866 Delaware Hotel from the rough days of wealth and sin remains open for guests. The Tabor Opera House, once described as the finest between St. Louis and San Francisco, still stands, although in need of refurbishing. It is open for tours from May 30 to Oct. 1.

Once past downtown, there are unobstructed views to the west of Colorado's highest peaks, Mt.Elbert at 14,433 feet and Mt. Massive, only 12 feet lower.

Mt. Elbert continues to dominate the western skyline as Rt. 24 continues south from Leadville. Fifteen miles later Rt. 82 intersects. We turn right toward Aspen. Driving west, Mt. Elbert looms larger on our right. On the left is the Twin Lakes Reservoir, popular for fishing and camping.

Beyond Twin Lakes, the highway climbs in a continuing succession of unguarded curves and hairpin turns to Independence Pass, which crosses the Sawsatch Range at 12,095 feet. The pass is sensibly closed doing the snow season.

On either side of the pass are turnoffs and parking spaces and footpaths where sightseers are offered a feast of mountains, streams and dense forested wilderness.

West of Independence Pass, Route 82 dives down the canyon of the Roaring Fork River. The Roaring Fork flows through Aspen, which got its start as a silver mining center in the 1880s, but found gold nearly a century later as a ski resort. Located in a glacial valley surrounded by magnificent peaks, upscale Aspen, with its many rust-colored buildings dating from the turn of the century and mature trees shading the downtown streets, gives the impression of more permanence and history than modern Vail.

Both are trendy and pricey, the playgrounds of movie and rock stars and a billionaire or two.Vail is a golfers' paradise, but Aspen ups Vail by also offering travel by helicopter, underground trips through old silver mines and treks into the back country with a llama to carry your gear.

Aspen also has the edge on culture, earning an international reputation for its annual summer jazz and classical music festivals.

We linger in Aspen only long enough to window shop at the fashionable shops and galleries and to people watch as we nibble on crepes served from an old popcorn wagon standing outside near one of several downtown fountains.

Then its back on Route 82 to follow the Roaring Fork River through red rock canyons to Glenwood Springs.

The Ute Indians regarded the hot springs and vapor caves as a sacred place of healing. The old gunslinger Doc Holiday may have hoped to find confirmation in that Indian belief when he came to Glenwood Springs afflicted by tuberculosis. If so, he was disappointed. His grave is now a tourist attraction.

But most visitors come to swim and bathe in the hot water pools, or try to sweat away tensions and stiffness in the caves.

After drying off, we start on a fast 60-mile drive back to Vail via I-70. For the first 12 miles, we follow the Colorado River as it courses through the scenic Glenwood Canyon. The stream is swift here and endowed with challenging rapids with names like Maneater and Tombstone. With those names, its not surprising that it's a popular stretch of the river for rafters and kayakers.

We halt for a late supper in the Gas House, a popular restaurant in Edwards, 15 miles west of Vail. Frequent guests include Frank Gifford and Kathie Lee, who have a house nearby. Then its back to our b&b for a night's long sleep.

Ski Holiday Homes in Europe

The winter sports season has arrived, you may be looking forward to skiing, snowboarding, ice skating, sledding, snowmobiling or all of the above! We're spoilt for choice and it's difficult to know which ski resorts in Europe offer the best holiday homes to complete the holiday.

So, whether your winter holiday is a yearly ritual, your first time or you simply fancy getting involved with the other winter activities available you should check out a few of the best holiday homes in Europe for winter fun...

Chalet in Sainte Foy, France

This luxury chalet is in a truly wonderful setting. The large open fireplace will welcome you after skiing right to your front door. Sainte Foy has its own largely uncrowded ski area and is a perfect base to visit some of France's best ski slopes. It sleeps a maximum of 12 people and is ideal for a group of friends, as each bedroom has an en suite bathroom with under-floor heating. The chalet itself is located in a small village which has been created sympathetically to nestle amongst mountains and blend with the local architecture.

Chalet Miro in Nendaz, Swiss Alps

Situated in Haute Nendez with awe-inspiring views across the Rhone Valley this chalet sleeps 10, and is ideal for families. It offers a hot tub, terraces, an open fireplace and under-floor heating through-out. The view isn't the only benefit from its location as it's only a few minutes' walk from all the local bars and restaurants, perfect for après ski. Nendaz is in the Four Valleys ski region which also includes Verbier, Veysonnaz, La Tsoumaz and Thyon. This region has a total of 412km of pistes and is famous for its children's facilities. Nendaz literally offers everything a family could ever need - from child-minding to toy hire.

Luxnachmuhle Castle in East Tyrol, Austria

As holiday homes go this is spectacular: this famous former monastery dates back to 1200 and was lovingly restored to its former glory in 1998. This is more a luxury hotel than a holiday home - all rooms have mini bars, television and CD players. It sleeps 30 guests comfortably, however, and you can book individual rooms if you wish. Some rooms even have their own fireplace and more than one bathroom! This is luxury as you could only ever wish for, with four poster beds, separate living rooms adjoining some bedrooms, a spa and their own natural spring water! Yes, the grounds surrounding the castle actually have their own spring among a swimming pool and landscaped gardens. The area of East Tyrol has more than 60 mountains and includes the regions of Matrei and Kals. This area is famed for its off-piste opportunities as well as having 3000 metres of slopes.

Chalet Hyberna's in Courchevel, France

Chic, modern, elegant and luxurious describes this chalet with magnificent views. This is one of the most perfectly styled and located holiday homes and with the option to ski in and ski out of this property who would want more? Chalet Hyberna sleeps ten in five bedrooms which all benefit from their own bathrooms and televisions. Throughout the chalet the Alps can be seen just to tease you back onto the slopes. Courchevel has a history of very good snow fall and excellent terrain for all levels. If you get bored of the immediate slopes around the chalet you can venture into the other areas of The Three Valleys which make up one of the biggest linked resorts in the world.

Sun Valley Idaho - A Vacation Spot You Should Visit

Sun Valley Idaho is one of the premiere hot spots in all of Idaho, and has many different activities to enjoy at any time of the year. It is so popular that there are quite a few famous celebrities that call this their part time home, both old and new residents. Some of the people who used to live here were Ernest Hemingway, Ginger Rogers, Bing Crosby, and Clark Gable, just to name a few. These days, many stars have vacation homes here, like Jamie Lee Curtis, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Clint Eastwood and even Tom Hanks, Ashton Kutcher, Demi Moore, Bruce Willis, and Picabia Street.

You can see these boys and girls after the ski slopes at ski resorts, or sometimes in summer, when Sun Valley is one of many festivals and symphonies. Bald Mountain, at 9,000 feet, offers not only winter sports like alpine skiing and snowboarding, but it is open all year round and brings the summer activities, such ashiking, mountain biking, and even wild life viewing for tourists around the country and the world.

Sun Valley is also the center for many different festivals. The Jazz festival is held in October, there is a wellness festival, focusing on a persons individual well being, offering an abundance of different diet and exercise tips, and people selling nutritional supplements and all natural foods. 2010 will also mark he 42nd annual arts and crafts festival, put on by the Sun Valley Center for the Arts. This juried three day event exhibits over 130 different artists from around America, featuring jewelry, photography, sculpture and many others. This festival includes many different children's activities, and demonstrations, as well as live music.

French Ski-Resorts

French Ski resorts

French Alps is one of the best places across the globe for your ski holiday. The spectacular and mesmerizing ranges of French Alps always have a lot to offer to ski lovers. To make things more convenient, you will find some of the best ski resorts in world located here. These Ski resorts makes ski area more accessible and attractive to ski lovers by providing them with all basic amenities of lodging, parking, food etc and much more like swimming, other entertainment. In addition to these all services it also provides other specific services like sledding, snowmobiling, horse drawn sleds, dog -sledding etc which will surely make your experience much more rich and memorable. French Alps homes many world class ski-resorts but here are my top two picks, with their brief information

Courchevel - It is located in the Tarentaise Valley, Savoie region of French Alps and Part of Les Trois Vallees making it the largest linked ski area in the world. This place also homes an airport and a highway linking it. It was the oldest resort in France. This resort is world renowned as it is a perfect place for every ski lovers.

La Plange - La Plange is one of the biggest ski resorts in world, It is a perfect resort to enjoy your Ski holiday with your family or with group. This place is a snowboarder's dream. For Non-skiers also their are a vast array of activities to perform like paragliding, husky sledding, snow shoeing and sleigh riding and much more. The place also homes a very good nightlife with a plenty of bars, restaurants mixed with a vibrant environment.

Getting there

The best way to reach to these resorts is Eurostar Ski Train. It is surprisingly fast (300 km/hour) and comfortable. It will provide you with all basic and food facilities. There are two trains weekly from London, one is day train and second is night train. If you love to enjoy the picturesque breathtaking scenery of Europe go by day train and if you are looking to sleep on your journey night train is the best option.

Want Sound Advice? Take Lunch at Edelweiss! - Val D'Isere Ski Resort

Nestled among the tree-lined ski slopes of Val d'Isere's chalet-laden Fornet area, L'Edelweiss is in one of the most beautiful spots in the Espace Killy. Val d'Isere can be known as a cold, desolate landscape with harsh winds, and not many pretty areas to sit, all of that lunar landscape imagery disappears on a good day at Edelweiss.

The run down to the restaurant offer twisting, turning pistes with plenty of opportunity for little cut through tree runs, a wonderfully interesting area of Val d'Isere to ski, in fact you can really work an appetite here. On the approach to Edelweiss it looks like the most perfect mountain lodge, somewhere you perhaps dreamt of on your first journey to the Alps...a real chalet.

If the weather is bad then the indoor bustles with the sound of chinking glasses and a crackling fire, but when the sun shines the terrace seats a large number of people with a view down the valley to die for. This really is the end of the valley and it is sheltered as such, in fact the weather never seems too bad to sit out up here, but it could be the food that's so magical everything else is irrelevant.

The menu is certainly not expensive; in fact it's really quite small, just a few starters and a few mains from the Savoie regions done very, very well. In fact I haven't eaten Tartiflette like it anywhere else in the French Alps. The waiters are attentive to every detail, assuring that bread and water are never empty and your wine glass never even nears the bottom. You really won't want to leave so make sure you book a table for the time you want it, as you don't want to be pushed out too early. If you haven't booked a table then don't even bother at this restaurant, there's never a chance of so much as a stool for one...it's that popular! You'll just have to ski on past, back down to Val d'Isere and grab a sandwich from your chalet.