United flying high

 United Air Lines now serves more cities in Mexico than any Mexican airline with the exception of Aeroméxico. United last year merged with Continental, which accounts to some degree for its success. Then, too, Mexicana and Aviacsa suspended operations in 2010. New arrivals include Interjet, Volaris and VivaAerobus, and all three are growing fast. United thrives for shuttling most of its passengers aboard small jets to its hub in Houston.

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Jimm Budd

Reporting From Mexico City

Member of the Society of American Travel Writers

Fall color at mid elevations

General Update: Fall color has descended to the mid elevations. Thanksgiving Week will see the best color at Redding and Butte County in the Shasta Cascade, in the vineyards of the North Coast, among the redwood forests and oak woodlands of the Santa Cruz Mountains on the Central Coast, along the Mother Lode in the Gold Country and in the San Jacinto Mountains of Southern California.
Pick of the Week: Redding — Where the salmon run and fall color is at its peak.

— Submitted By John Poimiroo

Interjet orders 40 planes

Meeting with representatives of Enrique Peña Nieto — who takes over as Mexico’s president on Dec. 1 — Tourism Minister Gloria Guevarra declared that during the past six years — a presidential term — activity in the hospitality industry increased by 26 percent, with investment up about 300 percent. Last year, 23.4 million foreigners visited Mexico, an all-time record. --  Jimm Budd Reporting From Mexico City Member of the Society of American Travel Writers

Yoga, ski weekends in Yellowstone

The Yellowstone Association Institute will offer a variety of new programs this winter, including a Field Seminar that pairs winter recreation with the tranquility of yoga.

“While Yellowstone truly lends itself to an activity-based visit, it is also common for people to have a meditative experience as they gain a deeper understanding and appreciation of nature,” said Daniel  Bierschwale, director of sales and marketing for YA. “Yoga and skiing will combine to create a meaningful weekend for anyone trying to make a special connection to the park.”

The Yoga and Ski Weekend Retreat will be offered twice this winter: Jan. 18 to 20 and Feb. 16 to 18. Under the guidance of a registered yoga teacher and a YAI naturalist guide, participants will begin each day with a relaxing yoga session suitable for all levels. The group will cross-country ski on trails through the wildlife-rich Northern Range and enjoy a soak in the Boiling River, which features water fed by runoff from hydrothermal features. 

YAI recommends overnight accommodations at the Yellowstone Overlook Field Campus in Gardiner, Mont. Lodging features comfortable cabins on 80 acres, awe-inspiring views, and easy access to the northern section of the park. Cabins have self-serve kitchens for preparing meals and open floor plans that are perfect for group dining and evening activities. Accommodations can be booked when seminars are reserved. The rate for this experience is $240 per person, with discounts on tuition available for YA members. The minimum age for the seminar is 16, and participants must be in good enough shape to ski up to five miles with elevation gains of 500 feet. 

YAI’s winter lineup also features a range of programs focusing on topics such as wildlife viewing, photography, tracking and more. Many of the seminars take place at the historic Lamar Buffalo Ranch. Examples of other upcoming winter programs include Snowshoeing Canyon and the Northern Range,  Photographing Winter Sun, Snow and Stars and Yellowstone’s Winter Serengeti.

 Reservations can be made by calling (406) 848-2400. For more information about any Institute program visit www.YellowstoneAssociation.org or FaceBook.com/YellowstoneAssociation.

—Submitted By Mona Mesereau

Richard Burton Diaries Sweepstakes

Oscar-nominated actor Richard Burton would have been 87 on Nov. 10.  This passionate native of Wales returned to the spotlight on the eve of his birthday with the first complete collection of his diaries ever published (www.yalebooks.com). To celebrate, Visit Wales has launched The Richard Burton Diaries Sweepstakes (enter at www.visitwales.com/usa), giving one lucky winner and a guest an exclusive glimpse into the places, the passion and the people that shaped the iconic actor.

The five- night, six-day prize trip will include a chance to meet the book’s editor, Chris Williams, and view Burton’s original diaries at Swansea University. The winner also will tour the newly opened Richard Burton Trail in Wales (www.visitnpt.co.uk/richardburton), visit his home village Pontrhydyfen, and travel to the seaside town of Tenby where Burton and Taylor vacationed together.

It’s hard to imagine the world-acclaimed actor as a family man fretting about his daughter’s wounded heart, as a thoughtful and voracious reader of all manner of subjects and as an insecure man with “self-esteem issues,” who, nonetheless continues to captivate.  But that is the man that is revealed in “The Richard Burton Diaries”…in his own words. 

The Richard Burton Diaries Sweepstakes offers an intimate glimpse into one of Richard Burton’s greatest loves: Wales. Inspired by the epic romance between Richard Burton and Elizabeth Taylor, the Grand Prize is provided courtesy of Visit Wales and Lynott Tours and includes:

· Roundtrip coach air transportation to Britain.

· 6 days / 5 nights’ accommodation in Wales with stops in the capital, Cardiff, Dylan Thomas’s home, Swansea and Burton and Taylor’s seaside getaway, Tenby.

· Ground transfers and rail transportation in Wales.

· A visit to Richard Burton’s hometown of Pontrhydyfen where you can walk the recently opened Richard Burton Trail.

· A private driver-guide excursion to charming Tenby where Burton and Taylor vacationed.

· A chance to meet Chris Williams, editor of “The Richard Burton Diaries,” tour the Richard Burton Centre at Swansea University, view Burton’s original diaries (subject to scheduling availability).

• Four runners-up will receive “The Richard Burton Diaries,” courtesy of Yale University Press.

Log on to www.visitwales.com/usa to enter the sweepstakes and explore the exclusive blog series, “Richard Burton: Loving Liz, Loving Wales.”

—Submitted by Robert Titley

Travel Evacuation Insurance

I have some advice for anyone traveling outside the US — purchase travel evacuation insurance. If you, or someone with whom you are traveling, gets seriously ill or injured in a foreign country and you do not have evacuation insurance, it could cost you your first born to get home.
My goddaughter recently suffered a ruptured colon on a vacation in Los Cabos, Mexico. It cost her $27,000 to get a medical flight to San Diego. And to get that, she had to go through the US State Department in Cabo San Lucas. It also cost her an additional $700 in bribe money to give the plane clearance out of Los Cabo.  
There are a number of excellent medevac insurance companies, including Angel MedFlight, Travel Guard and Medjet. You can find all three and others online. I have no stake in any medevac insurance plan. This is a case of being safe rather than sorry.

— Stan Wawer

Latest update on fall color viewing

Here’s the latest update on fall color viewing throughout California.
General Fall Color Update: This past week’s rain and snow has not significantly reduced the display of fall color, which is now peaking at elevations between 5,500 feet and 7,500 feet.  Areas of the best fall color are the Owens Valley in the Eastern Sierra, Plumas County (approaching past peak), Whiskeytown National Recreation Area west of Redding, Yosemite Valley, and Eagle Lake in northeastern California. California’s urban forests and vineyards are showing beautiful color, though peak is still two weeks away.

— Submitted By John Poimiroo

Zion Lodge offers special rates for peak fall foliage

Didn’t get enough of fall color this year? There’s still time in Utah’s Zion National Park, where fall comes late and Zion Lodge in Southern Utah’s Zion National Park is offering discounts on its rooms, cabins and suites at the same time.

From now through Nov. 30 the lodge will offer its “Fall into Great Deals” rates at a discount of as much as 24 percent off the regular-season rates.

The “Fall into Great Deals” rates include breakfast for two and lodging for one night. For stays Sunday through Thursday nights, rates begin at $134 per night for motel rooms, $144 for Western cabins and $154 for suites. Rates are slightly higher on Fridays and Saturdays. The rates do not include taxes and are not available Nov. 22 to 24.

The “Fall into Great Deals” rates can be booked online at www.zionlodge.com using the promotional code FALL or by calling (303) 29-PARKS (303-297-2757) or toll-free at (888) 29-PARKS (888-297-2757).

Fall color changes in Zion National Park typically begin in late October and can be enjoyed throughout the month of November.

Temperatures in the park are usually in the mid-60s during the day and drop to the high-30s in the evening. Cooler temperatures are conducive to many of the park’s activities such as world-class hiking and climbing, backpacking, bicycling, birding and canyoneering.

Centrally located in Zion Canyon is Zion Lodge offering 82 rooms and 40 cabins plus a restaurant and gift shop open year round. Built in 1924 by the Union Pacific Railroad, Zion Lodge was designed by famed architect Gilbert Stanley Underwood. A fire in 1966 destroyed the original lodge. It was rebuilt in 100 days, and a 1990 remodel restored its original look.

The cabins were built in 1927 and are listed on the National Registry of Historic Places. Renovations were performed in 2010 to restore their original look and feel but with modern materials as well as plumbing and electrical components and systems.

While colors in the park are changing, the lodge’s operations are green. Earlier this year Zion Lodge became the first hotel in a national park — and one of just three properties overall — to receive the Green Seal Lodging Standard prestigious Gold certification for Hotels and Lodging Properties. The Green Seal certification means that a third party — Green Seal — has verified that the lodge’s environmental programs have been effectively implemented.

The standards have been created to help stimulate improvements in waste minimization, energy conservation and management, management of fresh water resources, waste water management, pollution prevention and encourage organizational commitment to programs like environmentally sensitive purchasing.

Among Zion Lodge’s environmental practices are using renewable wind power for 100 percent of the lodge’s electricity, purchasing only EPA Energy Star-approved computers and other equipment, installing  three photovoltaic solar arrays, purchase of a 200-gallon solar thermal system serving an on-site commercial laundry and saving on glass waste by serving beer on tap and eliminating bottles.

— Submitted by Mona Mesereau