Davos is not a “hole in the wall” place. It’s a premier ski resort in Switzerland. About two and a half hours by car from the Zurich airport, it’s been well known for quite some time. Arthur Conan Doyle wrote … Continue reading
The concept of ecotourism is not new, but lately we’re hearing a lot more about this kind of travel. Take a look at any travel magazine and you’re likely to read something about it. But what exactly does it mean? … Continue reading
Nestled against the San Juan Mountains in the southwest corner of Colorado, Telluride was a boomtown in the state’s mining rush of the late 1800’s. Now, it is one of Colorado’s 22 ski resorts. Telluride is designated a National Historic … Continue reading
Carve out space in your day pack. You’ll need some necessary paraphernalia at your fingertips as soon as you get into the car or van after a day of snowshoeing.
Once you settle in and use some of the following … Continue reading
“Would you care to try a “little coffin?” asks George, our bike tour guide.
“What?” I ask.
“A “little coffin” is a typical Czech pastry. They’re very good,” he said.
We head towards the local bakery, next to a bike … Continue reading
A pair of Northern Lites snowshoes weighs about one-half the weight of ordinary metal frame snowshoes. And one feature of the snowshoe design was borrowed directly from nature. The ultra light weight combined with little clips or fins to secure decking materials to the frame yields a snowshoe that is ideal for both women and men and for racers as well as hikers. But how did this walking over the snow footwear and famous for its incredible light weight come about or develop?
Richard Havlick’s fascination with snowshoes began when he was a teenager. His mother brought home a pair of snowshoes that she bought in a garage sale. Intrigued with snowshoe design, he wanted to make his own. This was the beginning of the Havlick Snowshoe Company.
An asphalt road lined by white stucco houses all with red tile roofs ends abruptly. Seven cyclists, along with leader Gábor Závodie, owner of Vinociped, a Hungarian bike tour company, pedal on a gravel path for about a mile. Heat rises from the ground and the uneven stones on the road sparkle from the sun. Now crunching and grinding sounds overcome the rhythmic whirring of bike wheels. Thick pine groves border the route. Suddenly it is cooler. We’ve entered the Balaton Uplands National Park. At the end of the path, tall pines form a semi circle around two oversized wood picnic tables. We’ve arrived at our lunch destination on the first day of our seven day wine and bike tour of Hungary’s Uplands.
(Don’t forget to bring your sunglasses and suntan lotion.)
Snow falls over all of New Mexico during a typical winter and gives way to a world that is white and quiet in the mountains. Surrounded by cobalt skies and plenty of sunshine, snowfields of gentle, rolling terrain and with elevations of 6,000 to 8,500 feet, offer ideal places for snowshoers. The Jemez (pronounced Hay-mez) Mountains, not far from Albuquerque, have many snowshoe trails that crisscross the mountain side. Old logging roads provide the routes for many of the trails that are easy for visitors to find.
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