Did you know you can ski in Vegas?

Aside form some of the grizzly crimes that are depicted on CSI, Las Vegas is primarily known as a city of lights, all night casino action, and more shows than any city in the world, but what if you go there and have no interest in any of that? The first answer is that perhaps you shouldn’t go, but some of us are stuck going for a reunion or bachelor party and while it can be fun to see the strip and the amazing architecture, there is more to do, which is what I found a few years back. On the practical side, thousands of tourists a year drive to the Hoover Dam to see this massive structure that is a modern American wonder. Me, I took the road less traveled and headed 45 miles out of town. While it was sunny a relatively hot in Vegas, a friend and I went to the Las Vegas Ski and Snowboard Resort. A modest mountain by most accounts, the resort is the only ski area in southern Nevada and is so close to downtown Las Vegas that people think I’m nuts when I tell them I went skiing while I was in Vegas. Others know that skiing is my first love and that I would do anything to make such a trip possible, but most people can’t believe there is a ski area so close to the desert. Of course there are plenty of other more conventional things to do in Las Vegas and Trusted Tours & Attractions has a great selection of packages and sightseeing tours. And whether you’re looking for the best tips on live action in Las Vegas, finding the right boat trip on the canals of Chicago, or are looking for things to do in Boston, sign up for the Trusted Tours & Attractions Newsletter today and you’ll be entered into a drawing for a chance to win a $150 iTunes gift card. Remember though, you must sign up by May 31st to be eligible to win.

Still some snowy surprises this Memorial Day weekend

This year may not have been the snowiest on record in the northeast, but we did receive greater snowfall than average years. This means a couple things this particular weekend. First, the snowpack is still deep in many places that are usually bare this time of year and second, some hiking trails either remain closed or are dangerous for people used to traveling on dry ground. While it isn’t uncommon for Tuckerman Ravine to still have good snowpack, it is rare for the snowfields to have as much snow as they do on Mount Washington and this means that some routes to the summit are still covered. This can be good news for those prepared for an exciting snow-filled hike and for those who have crampons and ice axes, but for the average hiker, the snow can be dangerous. If you’re in the middle of a long hike and you sink into the snow in regular hiking shoes you can either lose one or get your foot very cold and wet. The latter can lead to hypothermia. The best practice is to check local hiking conditions before heading out into the wilderness.

Explore art and history from the American west

There are places you can go and see that are museums unto themselves. I was reminded of this while recently watching an episode of Ghost Hunters where the TAPS team was doing an investigation at the OK Coral. Aside from their normal duties, they were all taken aback by the feel that they had been transported back in time in the setting of the historic American west. And yet we all know stories about bank robbers, outlaws, and ghost towns, but seldom do we stop to think of how this unique culture has impacted our world artistically. For people interested in learning about the American west and delving into the rare works of art that have been gathered over the past couple hundred years, the Stark Museum of Art in Orange, Texas is a must see. While a student at the University of Texas in the 1920, H.J. Lutcher Stark began collecting rare items from the American west. With annual trips to their ranch in Colorado, Stark and his wife Nelda Childers stopped at various locations along the way like Santa Fe and Taos, New Mexico. They met with people, gathered stories, and works of rare literature. With each passing decade, their collection grew and included the rare five-volume set of John James Audubon's Birds of America as well as letters and first edition copies of publications by Audubon and John Woodhouse Audubon. The collection grew to include the The United States in Crystal as well as 230 works by Paul Kane. Headed up by the Stark Foundation, the Stark Museum of Art opened in Orange in 1978 and continues to be a place for life-long exploration of our past and a unique learning opportunity for people of all ages. The museum offers workshops, lectures, and several teaching resources to enhance the overall learning experience of this time gone by.

Mount Snow to host spring contest!

One of the best part of the late spring is that while most people have hung up their ski gear and haven't thought about the sport for well over a month, there are still lots of folks out there doing their best to make turns on the remnants of what was stockpiled over the past season. While Mount Washington is always the late spring favorite for its' lasting pockets of snow and high elevation, some resort get in on the action from time to time and host small events to keep people stoked. One such event will take place at Mount Snow this coming weekend where they'll host a small rail jam with park elements. Granted, there won't be much vert and the turns all all earned, it's a great way to get out there, get on the snow, ans see some other enthusiastic skiers and riders.

Picture your greeting cards anyway you like!

Each Christmas season my parent’s house becomes somewhat of a museum or display case, if you will, of all that can possibly be done with holiday greeting cards. Now I have to be fair, my parents have a ton of friends and apparently regardless of religion, nationality, or anything else, they all want to send cards. There are picture of families, weddings, babies, houses, and just random pictures that when opened, all have a central theme – they are greeting cards and 90 percent of them are custom made cards. I can recall the days – well there were actually like 18 years – that my parents’ Christmas card was of us three kids all pretty dressed alike and standing in some unique place that had certain significance, but as years went on, these simple customized pictures were out of style. I still see them from time to time, but some of the creative things that people come up with these days are truly fabulous. With computers and digital imaging, it’s pretty much possible to do whatever you want. While I’m just talking about holiday cards, at Cards Direct you can make your own cards of any sort and put whatever message you want inside of the Photo Cards.

From days gone by...

With a brisk wind sweeping over the western ridge, I walked under the old Chair 7 Saturday morning, catching a last glimpse of the Borvig triple chair that some 25 years ago was considered high-tech. And while two others will still be in use next year at Sunday River, the new Doppelmayr hybrid will replace the triple and serve up a unique lift experience. I was admittedly a little sad looking up at the old painted brown chairs, but also look ahead to the excitement that will come next year. My hope is that the old triple will be sold and rebuilt on another mountain. Such practice is commonplace in the ski industry, especially with the price of new lifts and the few companies that still make them. And it was that same Saturday night that I cam across this old painting of Sunday River from 1972 – a special piece even before Borvig made its’ mark..

Not your typical high school science lab

Have you ever sent the movie Medicine Man? If so, you know that the main character was ever so close to perhaps finding the cure for cancer. While this may be something that’s a little hard to imagine, it’s a reality that is out there on the frontier and when the day comes when that announcement comes down, there will certainly be laboratories and scientists and an overwhelming list of people ready to get in on the fame, but when you think about it, it’s clinical laboratory servicethat can make any new breakthrough possible.

With All Due Respect

For those who don’t know a lot about the mountains or about large mountains in particular, I should preface this by say that skiers and hikers give a certain respect to mountains that can’t easily be explained. Both of us play on them and enjoy their boundaries and yet both of us know that a mountain is a living, breathing entity that like any other force of nature; controls us and not the converse. It is perhaps a misunderstanding of this that leads some to meet with dire consequences on the mountain, but not for me. If I were to get injured or die in the mountains, it would not be for lack of respect given to the mountains, but for some other reason altogether. I understand who’s in charge when I’m up there and that is at the front of my mind whether I’m gliding down well-groomed slopes on the trails of a ski resort, hiking the Appalachian Trail, or skiing the backcountry of New England.

A diet is not your only choice

If you’ve tuned into morning television shows recently, you’d be hard-pressed not to see daily features on different types of weight loss programs. While many of the people that they are bringing on are successful in their programs, most indicate that the hardest part is sticking to the diet and then keeping the weight off. If you’ve tried all the diets, had no success and are looking for an alternative like Lap-band surgery, JouneyLite can help you find lap-band surgeon, get approved for insurance, and help you every step of the way before and after the surgery so that you have the tools in place to make sure you get the most out of the procedure and loss weight effectively.

Somewhere in Western Maine - A True Story!

With the distant sun blocked by a thick band of haze, Jules and I scaled Jordan Mountain at Sunday River this past Saturday to get last turns of the season without having to head to Tuckerman. Yes, I plan to make the pilgrimage to Tuck's this weekend, but Jules wanted another day and with her condo at Sunday River, this made sense. While there were few routes down and out skis needed to come off, it was a great day for her to claim day 48 and me to grab day 90!

Great deals at Buy.com

I could tell you to stay away from the mall until I’m blue in the face, but until you’ve actually experienced an online purchasing experience that not only saves you money, but also instills a good amount of trust, it’s a hard sell. So my advise is to start out with online retailers that you have heard of and that have great reputations, especially when buying something like electronics.

The all-natural zit zapper!

I can only think of a handful of people that have never had to deal with acne and even those that didn’t have it bad, could always count on a break out of some sort at a truly inconvenient time. I always found that regardless of the brand, most acne medication either didn’t work or took too long to work. Acnexus the solution you been looking for in a natural acne treatment and it works in as little as 24 hours.

Attractive and safe!

I’m sure people realize that there are a lot of folks out there who are allergic to some very common medicine. This probably isn’t much of a concern when making a conscious decision, but let’s say you are allergic to codeine and you get into an accident. While information like this is often in your medical records, sometimes there isn’t time to go through such documents and decisions need to be made. It is for this reason that people where identification that lets others know of serious allergies. And while some of the bracelets and such aren’t all that attractive, medical jewelry is becoming more fashionable and affordable.

Have a choice with a walk-in tub

While most people find showers to be much more efficient for cleaning purposes, a lot of older citizens don’t have the stamina to stand in a shower and lack the ability to lift themselves in and out of a regular bathtub. And yet there is a freedom that comes from being able to perform your basic activities of daily living that older people don’t want to lose; walk in tubs allow that freedom to continue.

Cat 6 Products Will Have You Speeding Along

Not everyone needs to worry about their internet connectivity, but for those who work in the Information Technology sector, making sure you have the best Ethernet product and services will enable your clients, customers, or the company you work for as a whole, to stay connected as technology advances. Products like CAT6will not only keep you in the game, but ahead of the others.