“WE KNEW IT WASN’T a very politically correct name to put on a desert trail,” says Moab, Utah, resident Mike Coronella. “It’s not that we advocate vandalism, but some people truly do have passion for these areas.” The 41-year-old environmentalist is talking about the Hayduke Trail, a new, unofficial 812-mile footpath, which links six national parks in southern Utah and northern Arizona.

hayduke trail

Coronella, along with 35-year-old Joe Mitchell, a fly-fishing guide from Park City, Utah, patched the trail together during a dozen reconnaissance trips over an eight-year span. Using existing trails, cow paths, dirt roads, and washes, they created the route and named it in honor of George Washington Hayduke III, the infamous fictional saboteur in Edward Abbey’s 1975 novel The Monkey Wrench Gang. In March, Coronella and Mitchell will begin their inaugural through-hike, which begins in Arches and ends in Zion, traversing Canyonlands, Capitol Reef, Bryce Canyon, and Grand Canyon national parks, as well as Grand Staircase–Escalante National Monument and Glen Canyon National Recreation Area. They expect to be gone for 94 days.

What would Abbey’s principal monkey-wrencher think of a trail named after him? “Old Hayduke didn’t like trails,” says Doug Peacock, 62, Abbey’s inspiration for the character. “Real adventure takes place off the trail; it’s a bushwhack of the mind and body. But it’s a nice gesture, nonetheless.” For trail details, visit .

The post Heyduke Hike appeared first on ºÚÁϳԹÏÍø Online.

Silver City, New Mexico

Bear Mountain Lodge
Back in the early 1930s, Silver City residents would ride horseback three miles to this hacienda to dance the night away in the Great Room. Today, guests arrive in SUVs and are more low-key, cozying up on leather love seats in front of one of two grand stone fireplaces and perusing field guides and natural history books in the library. Owned by The Nature Conservancy since 1999 and renamed Bear Mountain Lodge, the inn sits at 6,250 feet on 178 acres of southwestern New Mexico high desert. And with nearby Gila National Forest, almost the size of Connecticut, the possibilities for hiking, biking, horseback riding, and birding are seemingly endless.
ROOM & BOARD: The 11 rooms, accented with hand-hewn oak beams, contain beds draped with denim comforters, and handcrafted Mission-style furniture. Amble to the dining room to fuel up with a breakfast tortilla española—a sliced baked potato with sautéed onions and eggs, topped with a red-pepper almond sauce—while a pack of drooling javelinas lurks beyond the eastern porch.
OUT THE BACK DOOR: Take a left out of the driveway, bike 3.5 miles on a dirt road to the Continental Divide Trail in the Gila, and from there you can conceivably ride all the way to Canada. If you prefer skinny tires, follow a leg of the difficult Tour of the Gila—a winding, steep 45 miles from Silver City’s Gough Park to the prehistoric cliff dwellings once occupied by Mogollon Indians.

Bob Marshall Wilderness Range, MT

adventure lodges

Casting into the wilderness surrounding the Bob Marshall Ranch

Seeley Lake, Montana
Bob Marshall Wilderness Ranch
This northwest Montana ranch borrowed its moniker from a famous neighbor: the one- million-acre Bob Marshall Wilderness, which honors the man who created the Wilderness Society. Larger than Rhode Island, “The Bob” is embroidered with blue-ribbon rivers of wild cutthroat and rainbow trout, jam-packed with rugged 7,000-foot mountains, and populated by more than 350 wildlife species, including grizzly bears, wolves, elk, and bighorn sheep.
ROOM & BOARD: Masculine icons—elk trophies, a huge bearskin hanging on the living room wall, and a coatrack made of horseshoes where guests leave their city duds for the week—fill the simple three-story log lodge with four cathedral-windowed bedrooms. Sip a hot chocolate and peppermint schnapps on the deck overlooking the Swan Valley, or elbow up to a polished Douglas fir table for family-style meals of grilled steaks and handpicked-huckleberry pie.
OUT THE BACK DOOR: The best excursion here goes beyond a day trip. For the past 30 years, owners Virgil and Barbara Burns have arranged five- and ten-day deluxe horsepacking trips into The Bob, part of the 2.5-million-acre Flathead National Forest, where you’ll get 360-degree wilderness views that make Albert Bierstadt look like a realist. Even the remotest campsite feels plush, with heated wall tents, padded cots, and homemade fare including roast turkey and sourdough rolls.

Moose Mountain Lodge, NH

Etna, New Hampshire
Moose Mountain Lodge
Though students from neighboring Dartmouth College don’t careen down the meadows of Moose Mountain on rickety wooden skis like they used to, Moose Mountain Lodge—with its corduroy-cushioned sofas, stone fireplaces, and spruce-log beds—still retains the flavor of a 1930s ski cabin. The rope tow has been dismantled, but trails threading through 350 acres of mixed hardwood-and-pine forest are paradise for hikers, mountain bikers, and cross-country skiers. After a daylong excursion, veteran innkeepers Kay and Peter Shumway welcome tuckered guests to their cabin on the hill, where sunsets flood the hundred-mile view of the Upper Connecticut River Valley and Vermont’s Green Mountains beyond.
ROOM & BOARD: The lodge has a comfortable, family feel: Bathrooms are shared, and guests in the 12 rustic rooms sit down to Kay’s robust meals—handmade spinach pasta with straight-from-the-garden pesto sauce, fresh-baked bread, and organic salad greens—at a 22-foot red oak table in the dining room.
OUT THE BACK DOOR: Hop on your road bike for a 25-mile loop along the lush and meandering Connecticut River, north to Lyme and back. Or hike south 6.5 miles along Moose Mountain’s Ridge Trail to rocky overlooks where you might see all the way to 6,288-foot Mount Washington. For water play, drive eight miles down the mountain to the river and rent a canoe or kayak from Dartmouth’s Ledyard Canoe Club.

Retreads with Cred

The North Face Mantel & Reebok Vanta Stripe

From left to right

THE NORTH FACE’s MANTEL combines a climbing shoe with an old-school runner. $70; 800-447-2333,

REEBOK returns to its white-leather roots with the VANTA STRIPE. $80; 800-843-4444,

Hotel de Larache, Chile

San Pedro de Atacama, Chile
Explora in Atacama—Hotel de Larache
Wealthy South American businessman Pedro Ibañez built this lodge in 1998, offering guests refined luxury in the middle of the rugged-adventure land the Inca once called home. Set in a 700-mile-long desert amid six soaring volcanoes, the mile-and-a-half-high town of San Pedro de Atacama is close to the driest place on earth—in some parts of the Atacama Desert, it hasn’t rained in more than a century. But there are oases: Guests can take guided excursions to hot springs and boiling geysers, or to the buoyant turquoise waters found at the nearby salt flats.
ROOM & BOARD: The sleek white lines of the hotel blend well with the local adobe architecture. The 50 guest rooms are brightly decorated with yellow, blue, and green wicker furniture, alpaca blankets, and fine linens imported from Spain. Four lap pools and four saunas await you, as does a new relaxation center, Casa del Agua, offering herbal oil massage and herbal baths. In the minimalist dining room, sample French chef Lorenzo Pascualetto’s fire-roasted Patagonian lamb and to-die-for Chilean wines.
OUT THE BACK DOOR: Explora’s bilingual guides offer guests five to seven excursion options per day, including hiking, horseback riding, mountain biking, and visits to archaeological sites. To watch the world’s best sunset, catch a 15-minute ride to Valle de la Luna, then hike an hour and a half through miniature sand mountains. Or if you really want to earn your pisco sour (a favorite Chilean cocktail), top 19,455-foot Volcán Licancábur. Rumor has it, there’s a magical surprise in the crater lake at the summit.

Casa Cerro Sagrado, Mexico

Teotitlán del Valle Oaxaca, Mexico
Casa Cerro Sagrado
Perched on a five-acre hillside above Teotitlán del Valle—a Zapotec Indian village 16 miles east of the city of Oaxaca that’s world-famous for its weavers—this recently opened guest house sits in the striking shadow of conical Guia Betz, a sacred 6,900-foot mountain. The tremendous views from your room’s terrace are especially enjoyable at sunset, with a clay tasting cup of locally produced Del Maguey mescal in hand. If you time it right, you’ll catch one of the village’s frequent fiestas erupting with fireworks.
ROOM & BOARD: Started in 2002 by artist Arnulfo Mendoza and his wife, gallery owner Mary Jane Mendoza, Casa Cerro Sagrado (House on the Sacred Hill) celebrates Oaxacan art, culture, and cuisine in the best possible way—the 12 handsome guest rooms are accented with hand-loomed rugs and rich, intricate wall tapestries. Reyna Mendoza, Arnulfo’s cousin and the resident chef, produces regional specialties like tamales stuffed with wild mushrooms, and teaches cooking classes on-site throughout the year.
OUT THE BACK DOOR: After limbering up in a private hatha yoga class with Mary Jane, head downhill toward the village, link up with ancient cattle paths along El Río Grande, and head either to the top of Guia Betz or southeast 15 miles to 2,600-year-old Zapotec and Mixtec ruins. End the day with a purifying and relaxing herbal steam bath in the property’s adobe temescal (a native sweat lodge).

Rifugio Tissi, Italy

Alleghe, Italy
Rifugio Tissi

Forget sipping overpriced cappuccinos in Venice’s Piazza San Marco. The real dolce vita is watching the sun set on the longest rock face in the Dolomites from the balcony of Rifugio Tissi, about a four-hour hike from the village of Alleghe. As day turns to dusk, 10,712-foot Monte Civetta—known as “the climbers’ university”—glows a rosy hue. With its cut-above-the-usual-hut amenities, Rifugio Tissi is the perfect base camp for both rock climbers and hikers.
ROOM & BOARD: The above-treeline chalet, built in 1963, sleeps 64, with bunks for four to eight guests per room. Head to the bar in the main dining room for a frosty pint of Löwenbräu or a German chocolate bar. Dinner—classic Italian fare like pasta al ragu and polenta with wild mushroom sauce—is served on wooden tables in front of a picture window facing Civetta.
OUT THE BACK DOOR: Moderate three- to six-hour hikes, falling and rising 2,000 feet through lunar landscapes and alpine meadows, lead to the villages of Listolade and Agordo, and to other huts. If hiking seems too sedate, climbing in the backyard of renowned alpinist Reinhold Messner won’t. Scale Civetta’s northwest face—Messner made the first ascent in 1967—or explore routes on nearby 7,667-foot Torre Venezia and 8,064-foot Torre Trieste.

The Kuna Lodge, Panama

Sapibenega, Panama
The Kuna Lodge
From 5,000 feet, the 360-plus islands of Panama’s Archipiélago San Blas glint like diamonds scattered over the deep-blue Caribbean. Operated by the native Kuna Indians, the lodge and 13 bamboo huts dot the perimeter of Sapibenega, a private island no bigger than a soccer field. The Kuna Lodge is a hideaway camp where extranjeros can indulge their castaway fantasies and still have a thatch roof over their heads and three Kuna-inspired meals a day.
ROOM & BOARD: From any vantage point on Sapibenega, there are surreal 360-degree views of more than a dozen neighboring coconut-choked islands. The Kuna huts sleep up to four and, though sandswept and remote, are relatively luxurious, with solar electricity, composting toilets, and showers. In the main lodge, head chef Onesimo prepares grilled lobster, crab, and tulemasi, a coconut-broth soup with local fish and plantains, and lets the local rum, known as inna in the Kuna language, flow freely.
OUT THE BACK DOOR: From the lodge’s beach, catch a cayuco (a motorized dugout) to nearby uninhabited islands or to snorkeler-friendly coral reefs teeming with aquarium fish—and even toothier specimens, such as great barracuda and dolphin fish. Or head to the mainland for a guided trek to the 15-foot-high Diwar Dumad waterfall and a swim in its freshwater lagoon.

Spring House Farm, NC

Marion, North Carolina
The Cottages at Spring House Farm
When Arthur and Zee Anne Campbell and their 13-year-old son, Cailein, restored the historic Albertus Ledbetter House and built cottages nearby in 1999, their top priority was to preserve the 180-year-old pre–Civil War farmhouse and the 92 acres of surrounding hardwood forest. The five secluded guest cottages share the quiet solitude of these hemlock woods with only the resident turkeys and deer. Explore the mountainous hiking trails of western North Carolina, borrow a canoe and paddle two ponds, and end with a soak in a private hot tub, studying the starry night sky.
ROOM & BOARD: Each of the two-person cottages has a wood-burning fireplace, hot tub, private deck, queen- or king-size bed with a down comforter, gas grill, and kitchen stocked with eggs, bread, jams, and other necessities for a country breakfast. For dinner, cook from your own stash or buy what the lodge keeps in stock, including chicken, pork chops, pizza, baked potatoes, and salad fixings. Flying Bridge cottage has a four-person hot tub overlooking the trout pond. The best cottage for wildlife watching is the Bimini Twist, totally surrounded by forest.
OUT THE BACK DOOR: Hit the farm’s five-mile trail system, kept a comfortable temperature by the canopy overhead, or drive 20 minutes southeast to the 1,000-plus acres of Chimney Rock Park and hike the Skyline-Cliff Trail to the top of 404-foot Hickory Nut Falls, a mile and a half round-trip. If you want to paddle something bigger than the farm’s ponds, go to Lake Lure, near the park, and rent a kayak, canoe, or paddleboat.

Ultima Thule Lodge, AK

Chitina, Alaska
Ultima Thule Lodge
The moment the bush plane brushes the gravel runway at Ultima Thule Lodge, you are officially 100 miles from nowhere. Bounded to the north by the salmon-thick Chitina River and backed by the turquoise glaciers of the Wrangell Mountains, which top out at 16,000 feet, the family-run lodge is all-inclusive in a uniquely Alaskan way. At your disposal: planes, whitewater rafts, kayaks, hearty meals, warm beds, and the 13 million acres of Wrangell–St. Elias National Park and Preserve that surround the lodge.
ROOM & BOARD: The dozen log cabins and lodge, furnished with downy beds and glass-front wood stoves, are clustered along the riverbank. Paths lead to a bathhouse with a wood-fired wet sauna and the dining hall, where a 20-foot pine table showcases steaming plates of local salmon, organic greens harvested from the garden, and microbrews flown in from Anchorage.
OUT THE BACK DOOR: With Alaskan summer days as long as 20 hours, an Ultima Thule “day” trip could mean an expedition to 16,390-foot Mount Blackburn, a walk along the iceberg-calving Gulf of Alaska, or a dogsled ride across the glaciers that embellish the national park—all with the assistance of the lodge’s guides and experienced bush pilot.

The post Top 10 Hideaways appeared first on ºÚÁϳԹÏÍø Online.

Thomson Family ºÚÁϳԹÏÍøs

Put your best feet forward on vacation

A SPECIALIST IN TRAVEL en famille to destinations such as China, Egypt, and Peru, Thomson Family ºÚÁϳԹÏÍøs has a kids’ ºÚÁϳԹÏÍø Club that creates parental downtime for a few hours each day. Each child is assigned a foreign pen pal to correspond with beforehand; during the trip, the kids meet, teaching one another songs or games. In Tanzania, there was a memorable soccer game where players used rolled-up socks as a ball and dribbled through cows on the field. ºÚÁϳԹÏÍø Club “mentors,” often professional teachers, also oversee journal-writing and play. Hike through cloudforests and play on remote beaches for just $1,390 per adult ($1,290 per child 12 to 17) on the eight-day trip to Costa Rica. Contact: 800-262-6255,



Mackay Wilderness River Trips

ON THESE RAFT TRIPS, parental furloughs are elevated to a wilderness art form. Along with a full complement of river guides, Mackay Wilderness River Trips sends along a real pro—an elementary schoolteacher—to lead activities with kids during off-water hours. Children learn about Native American culture, making dream catchers or hearing lore about the Sheepeater Indians. The über-teacher also arranges scavenger hunts and beach volleyball. The kids’ program is so much fun, in fact, that no one is surprised when parents grow envious and choose to play along. A six-day trip on the Main Fork of the Salmon River costs $1,395 per adult; five days on the Snake River, $1,195. Kids under 14 are half-price. Contact: 800-635-5336,

Keystone Resort

CHECK INTO A CONDO with a full kitchen at Keystone Resort—in June, a two-bedroom, two-bath unit for a family of four costs $953 for six days—and get an ºÚÁϳԹÏÍø Passport: $500 worth of fun at no extra cost. Cash in the passport for bike and in-line skate rentals, yoga classes, and other activities, as well as something just for kids scheduled each day—kite flying, mural painting, panning for gold, or pony rides. What’s more, the all-day Kid’s Camp (8 a.m. to 5 p.m., for kids two months to 12 years old) gives parents a day to themselves; Kid’s Night Out amuses the brood with stargazing and campfire stories while couples sneak off for dinner alone. So what’s a parent to do with the free time? The Colorado resort’s mountain biking, hiking, fly-fishing, and horseback riding are sublime. Contact: 800-222-0188,



The FDR Pebbles Resort

THIS FIND SOUNDED too good to be true—so we checked and double-checked. But it’s true: The FDR Pebbles Resort, on Jamaica’s north coast, issues a nanny to every family that chooses the resort’s all-inclusive package. The nanny, on call from 9 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. (with an hour off for lunch), will watch the little ones or tackle domestic chores around the hotel suite, like stocking the fridge or picking up. Meanwhile, there are free activities for kids—especially teenagers—including windsurfing, snorkel, and scuba lessons as well as a camp-out. Special summer rates at the resort dip as low as $700 per adult for five days, including meals, with one child under 16 free per paid adult. Contact: 800-330-8272,



Butterfield & Robinson

THIS SUMMER, the outfitter Butterfield & Robinson debuts its “Homebase” twist to family travel. This six-day program establishes a beachhead at an exclusive European property, with separate programs for parents and kids. For infants and toddlers, there’s daycare, open from 9 a.m. to 5:30 p.m., that parents can use as little or as much as they like. For the older kids, there are age-specific activities scheduled throughout the day; think surf camp, horseback rides, and kid-only dinners. Parents can attend language or painting classes, or use their kid-free time to follow their own muses. In Tuscany, guests stay at a restored farmhouse; in Brittany, it’s a château. Cost is $3,995 per adult for Tuscany, $4,495 for Brittany; call for kid prices. Contact: 800-678-1147,

Dolphin-Safe

Close encounters of the eco-correct kind

Look! Fly Flipper, fly!

THERE’S NO DENYING the appeal of swim-with-dolphins programs: What kid doesn’t want face time with Flipper? But growing awareness of hazards to the captive dolphins used in these programs—critics lament everything from the size of the enclosures to the destruction of dolphin social systems—have generated a backlash. Last December, Maui became the 18th county in the United States to ban the exhibition of captive whales and dolphins.


The swim programs became popular, in part, by marketing their worth as a teaching tool, which dolphin-protection advocates dispute. “Captive dolphins are in a man-made environment, eating food provided to them by humans, doing the bidding of humans,” says Merrill Kaufman, director of education at the Maui-based Pacific Whale Foundation. “There’s little educational value to that.”


Now, as the tide turns against captive-swim programs, organized excursions to swim with wild dolphins are riding a wave of popularity. But critics aren’t keen on these, either, saying that the boats motoring up to dolphin pods to drop swimmers into their midst stress the animals.


So what’s a dolphin-loving family to do? Anne Rillero, the foundation’s director of marketing, encourages wildlife enthusiasts to simply observe dolphins rather than forcing interaction with them. When you’re observing, she points out, the emphasis remains on the dolphin—not you.

Dino-Might

Get fueled with these fossils

The almost completed picture

KIDS CAN’T SEEM TO GET ENOUGH OF DINOSAURS, whether they’re starring in a motion picture or standing tall as a museum centerpiece. Catering to these dinophiles, three museum programs in the Rockies are taking their in-house displays a step further with paleontologist-led digs, showing kids how to excavate fossilized dinosaurs in the field.

Museum of Western Colorado
Grand Junction, Colorado
Sweating in the high-desert sun, it’s hard to imagine that 70 million years ago Rabbit Valley was likely a watering hole for the allosaurus, a bipedal carnivore. Paleontologists teach mapping and excavating techniques, and the three-day program also heads 50 miles north of the museum to the streaked shale of Douglas Pass, where a slew of bee, ant, mosquito, and plant fossils from the Eocene epoch, which ended about 35 million years ago, has been uncovered. Learn plaster-casting techniques at the museum’s Dinosaur Journey exhibit in Fruita, about eight miles from Grand Junction. Cost: $99 for a one-day dig, with lunch; $695 for three days, including some meals.
CONTACT: 888-488-3466,
LODGING: Fruita’s Comfort Inn (970-858-1333) overlooks Colorado National Monument

Wyoming Dinosaur Center
Thermopolis, Wyoming
In hopes of finding another Morris the Camarasaurus, who was discovered here in 1993, children on the two-day Kids’ Dig Program (for ages eight to 12) work alongside researchers in the red hills of the Wind River Canyon. Morris’s 48-foot-long skeleton stands watch in the exhibit hall on this 8,000-acre working ranch, a few hours southeast of Yellowstone National Park. Sift through soil at a dig site, go on a dino-themed scavenger hunt, and tour ten more skeletons at the 12,000-square-foot exhibit. Cost: $75 for two days, including lunch.
CONTACT: 800-455-3466,
LODGING: In Hot Springs State Park, the Holiday Inn of the Waters (307-864-3131) has a mineral-heated pool

Pioneer Trails Regional Museum
Bowman, North Dakota
This museum’s project is a 30-mile drive through prairie dog territory into an isolated stretch of badlands. Day-diggers hike in about a mile to assist researchers, hoping to strike the equivalent of dinosaur gold. Over the last couple of summers most of a 65-million-year-old Edmontosaurus skeleton was discovered here, minus the skull. Until that skull is found, scientists won’t know exactly what kind of dinosaur they’ve dug up. Cost: $200 per family per day.
CONTACT: 701-523-3625,
LODGING: North Winds Lodge (888-684-9463) is at the edge of the badlands in Bowman

Splash Course

Before attempting the first descent of Tibet’s Tsangpo River, filmmaker Scott Lindgren turned to LIQUIDLOGIC for a boat that could survive almost anything. Behold the GUS. At eight feet six inches, it’s designed to hold a line even when immersed in man-eating turbulence and store enough cargo for multi-day explorations. Larger folks will appreciate the ample legroom on long journeys, but those weighing less than 165 pounds might find it a bit too much. Although designed to perform in the far corners of the earth, those navigating their local rivers will find the Gus a snap to handle. ($1,125; 828-698-5778, )


Skills Into Thrills

Whitewater kayaking is difficult—and dangerous. Good training is essential, and these are two of the best schools in the world.

Deep inside Northern California’s Klamath National Forest you’ll find OTTER BAR LODGE KAYAK SCHOOL, which boasts Deep back-door access to the Salmon River and its Class II-V rapids. Seven-day classes run from intro to kayaking ($1,890) to advanced playboating ($1,605), gourmet meals and lodging included. Mid-April to late September. (530-462-4772, )

On the East Coast, it’s tough to beat the NANTAHALA OUTDOOR CENTER, in North Carolina. In its 31st year, the NOC’s classes range from weekend novice clinics to thorough two-week schools with a graduation trip to Costa Rica. Sessions are held on the Class II-III Nantahala and the playboat mecca of Tennessee’s Class III-IV Ocoee River. Best of all, the NOC guarantees that rank beginners will learn to kayak and can keep coming back for free instruction until that roll’s dialed. ($380-$1,400, includes all meals and lodging; 800-232-7238, )

The New Family Tree

Reaching for the sky at climbing school

WHY BE TERRESTRIAL when you can be arboreal? Go out on a limb and spend your family vacation in the branches of an oak tree, waking to the sound of woodpeckers, the chattering of squirrels, and expansive views across the treetops. The new “sport” of recreational tree climbing draws on techniques used in rock climbing, caving, and mountaineering and offers all the physical challenges of a ropes course, minus the goal-oriented agenda: You climb at your own pace and only go as high as you want. With a little instruction, anyone can scale a tree.

Dancing With Trees, a recreational tree-climbing school 80 miles northeast of Atlanta, welcomes climbers as young as five. Strap on a harness and inch your way up ropes dangling from the thick branches of white oaks and tulip poplars. A self-belay system prevents you from slipping down, and once you reach the first branch you can make like a monkey and continue climbing limb by limb into the canopy.

Spend anywhere from three hours to a full day exploring the trees, walking along branches (as if on a balance beam) and moving from tree to tree by sidestepping on cables or swinging across like Tarzan. Come nightfall, kids ten and older can bed down in canvas hammocks called tree boats and sleep ten stories above ground. Watch the moon rise, hear owls hoot, and wake up to breakfast “in bark”—bagels and cream cheese, hard-boiled eggs, bananas, and PowerBars—then rappel down.

Owner Genevieve Summers, a former chimney sweep, got into climbing 12 years ago, after she and her two sons, then ages six and ten, took a course at Tree Climbers International in Atlanta, where the sport was founded, and she’s been aloft ever since. Says Summers, “I tell my students they haven’t had a good climb unless they have bark in their underwear.”

Honduran Hideaway

Save big this summer at the lodge at Pico Bonito

The Big Easy, Honduran-style

SCORE ONE POINT for politicians keeping promises: Honduran President Ricardo Maduro has achieved his goal of increasing tourism, and he hasn’t even been in office a year and a half. Maduro supports foreign investment and hotel construction, and he set up a tourism police force and increased advertising in the United States. The number of visitors to Honduras grew 20 percent in 2002, to 600,000 travelers.

Even with the increase, Honduras still gets half as many tourists as nearby Costa Rica, which is also half its size—good news for families who need room to roam. Honduras has more rainforest and cloudforest than Costa Rica and ecological offerings like those of Belize, not to mention crystalline beaches and Copán, one of the world’s premier Mayan archaeological sites, so don’t expect the throngs to stay away for long.

One fab option is the Lodge at Pico Bonito (888-428-0221, ), a 200-acre hideaway on the Caribbean, outside La Ceiba, adjacent to the rainforest, rivers, and waterfalls of Pico Bonito National Park. Mention ºÚÁϳԹÏÍø Traveler and receive a package deal this summer: Two adults and one or two kids up to age 21 can stay in one of 15 standard cabins for four nights at $1,553 for three people or $1,827 for four (not including taxes and service charges, about $300). The package includes all meals; a rafting day trip on the Class II-IV Cangrejal River; a naturalist-led trek on the flanks of 7,985-foot Pico Bonito for bird-watching and swimming; a motor skiff ride through the Cuero y Salado wildlife refuge where you can look for alligators, manatees, and herons; and a tour of the lodge’s butterfly sanctuary. A family of four can save as much as $730 with this package.

Pico Bonito can also arrange for your family to visit the ruins at Copán, the ancient city in the lush jungle near the Guatemala border.

Fat Boy Slim

Fight those calories: Choose bananas, not Big Macs, for the road

AMERICANS OF ALL AGES are packing on the pounds, but the rate at which kids are getting fat is particularly alarming. Since 1980, the percentage of overweight children has tripled, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Childhood obesity is something everyone should worry about, says nutritionist and trainer Philip Goglia. Although he is better known for body makeovers of star clients (among them Kristanna Loken, the villain of this summer’s Terminator 3), Goglia spends a good deal of time addressing children’s weight woes. The author of Turn Up the Heat: Unlock the Fat-Burning Power of Your Metabolism (Viking Press) told us how parents can help their kids, especially while vacationing.


Why are you so interested in childhood obesity?

I was about 120 pounds overweight in my early teens, so I can relate to the health problems these kids have. And I’m also a father.


Why are kids getting fatter?

Part of the problem is convenience foods. They’re highly advertised, children want them, and parents give in. Even my clients who are eating well and exercising are guilty of feeding their kids deep-fried chicken fingers.


What can parents do if they have a couch-potato kid?

You have to ask yourself, “Do I sit in front of the TV, too?” If the answer is yes, then you’d better change. Whatever change your child makes without you doing the same will be superficial.


How do you stay on the health-food wagon when you travel?

Always pack snacks like raw almonds, peanut butter, or fruit. Also, plan your stay. Have the hotel concierge fax you a menu before your trip, and if there are no healthy options, make special requests. If you’re going to a cabin, take food with you and know where the grocery store is. This makes it easier to avoid giving in to convenience.


Any other travel tips?

Keep taking your vitamins and drinking a lot of water, especially if you’re going on a plane, which is a winged petri dish of germs.


What is the one big mistake parents can avoid?

You know, it is so easy to make food magical and mystical by saying, “You had a bad day, here is a brownie.” Instead, I want parents to say, “Eat this chicken breast and you’ll run faster.”

The post Free for All appeared first on ºÚÁϳԹÏÍø Online.

Since 1972, UNESCO has bestowed 690 spots in 122 countries with the title “World Heritage Site,” which translates to “a property of outstanding universal value.” While 529 of these sites are culturally significant, 161 are “natural” properties—more endowed with endangered species, magnificent scenery, and fragile ecosystems than your average hunk of terra firma. Here, the best of the ten most recently designated “natural” sites:

Fjord follies: the coast Höga Kusten, Sweden

GUNUNG MULU NATIONAL PARK
Sarawak, Borneo, Malaysia
Size: 204 square miles
Outstanding Universal Value: The world's largest limestone cavern, Deer Cave—at 1,968 feet long and 262 feet high—could house eight 747s nose to tail.
Why go: Serious spelunking. Also: Hike 7,799-foot Mulu mountain, trek the seven-mile Headhunter Trail to Terikan River hot springs, or watch a half-mile-long stream of bats exit Deer Cave in search of dinner.
Phone: 011-60-82-423600
Web:
UKHAHLAMBA DRAKENSBERG PARK
KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa
Size: 938 square miles
Outstanding Universal Value: 3,110-foot Thukela Falls, the world's second-highest waterfall; 11,355-foot Makheka mountain, southern Africa s second-highest peak.
Why go: Summit Makheka, 10,822-foot Mont Aux Sources, or countless other unclimbed (and unnamed) peaks.
Phone: 011-27-31-304-7144
Web:

GREATER BLUE MOUNTAINS AREA
New South Wales, Australia
Size: 3,977 square miles
Outstanding Universal Value: Home to the recently discovered Wollemi pine, which dates back to the dinosaur age, this site includes Blue Mountains National Park and seven other protected areas.
Why go: Canyoneer, climb, rappel, hike, and swim in 328-foot-deep Grand Canyon; take a moonlit mountain-bike ride along miles of fire roads lit by thousands of luminescent glowworm larvae.
Phone: 011-61-2-4787-8877
Web:

HÖGA KUSTEN
on the Gulf of Bothnia, Västernorrland, Sweden
Size: 550 square miles
Outstanding Universal Value: Hundreds of miles of wild, fjord-riddled coastline.
Why go: Kayak the waters of Gaviks fjord, hike the 80-mile Höga Kusten trail, camp in spruce forests, and rock climb in Skuleskogen National Park.
Phone: 011-46-611-55-77-50
Web: ;

CENTRAL SURINAME NATURE RESERVE
District Sipaliwini, Suriname
Size: 6,178 square miles
Outstanding Universal Value: Fifteen people and 400 bird species inhabit this New Jersey-size site lying between the Amazon and Orinoco River Basins.
Why go: Boat into remote Foengoe Island on the Coppename River; then hike four miles to the 787-foot granite Voltzberg Dome for a rainforest view. Observe the world's largest lek for Guianan cock-of-the-rock birds.
Phone: 011-597-427-102
Web:

The post The Chosen Ones appeared first on ºÚÁϳԹÏÍø Online.