Vacations Blog

Sleeping Beauty's Winter Castle

If you’ve never been to Disneyland during the winter holiday season, allow me to submit that a visit to the park at this time will cure your “been there, done that” blues.  The enormous Christmas tree, the holiday music piped in, the lights over Main Street USA, the LED icicle-draped Sleeping Beauty’s Winter Castle at the center of the park – all conspire to melt the heart of the Scroogiest among us.

I’ve been to the park twice in just a few months, after a very very long spell of not ever visiting at all.  My first visit was on my birthday, a Wednesday in September that, besides being my birthday, was just another day in the life of the happiest place on Earth.  Since it was my two young sons’ first time there, I looked at everything with a critical travel blogger’s eye.  We all had a great time, but for the ticket price of $72 for adults and $62 for children, I expected perfection and that is not what I found.  Read More »

Are you cold and wanting to get away?  Are there visions of beaches in your head – or maybe falling leaves and fresh snow?  Also, turkey. Then read on, gentle reader, read on.

No booking fees and a $200 coupon to use on a later trip? It’s true.  Merry holiday of your choice from Expedia.

Virgin America is having a huge 24-hour sale. Hurry!  If you miss that there is still this: Virgin America is the first airline to offer fleetwide Wi-Fi and thanks to Google it’s free for the holidays! Read More »

Kanab Utah Main Street

Many people call Kanab, Utah the Gateway. Kanab sits in Southern Utah along route 89 about seven miles north of the Arizona border and subsequently gets visitors on their way to the Grand Canyon, Zion National Park, Bryce Canyon and the Coral Pink Sand Dunes State Park among many others. Summer finds the town packed with RVs towing boats and wave runners on their way to Lake Powell and family vehicles bursting at the seams with camping and hiking equipment. The winters in Kanab are not quite as busy but still full from people going to ski at

Coral Pink Sand Dunes

Brianhead Ski Resort and snow tubing at Coral Pink Sand Dunes. The beauty to be found in Kanab and the surrounding area is breathtaking and you usually take a little bit home with you in the form of the red dirt that Kanab is famous for.

Kanab’s population is small, about 3,500, and the residents rely heavily on tourists as the largest source of income for the city. The slow-paced small town feel is a nice change from the crowded attractions and parks and the people are friendly as you walk down Main Street to check out the stores. Frontier Movie Town is a short walk away from downtown where you’ll see authentic movie sets and memorabilia from some great western movies made there. They also have the Pioneer Museum with classic western and pioneer artifacts. Read More »

April Chill Extends Ski Season

In a recent post I mentioned the schizophrenic nature of a Northwest spring.  It was snowing in Seattle on April 1st only to be sunny and 75 degrees less than a week later.  Just a couple of days ago another frigid spring storm produced a nasty hail storm at sea within the city limits.  As annoying as an April snow storm can be to Seattleites, avid alpine enthusiasts benefit from the fresh new powder accumulations in the mountains and the promise of a precious few more days added to the ever shortening ski season.

The bottom line is that although spring is upon us and the weather gets milder by the day, there are still plenty of good skiing and snowboarding opportunities to be had at Northwest ski resorts.  Add on end of the year deals on lift tickets and it makes for a great time to send winter off in style.  With that in mind, here is a quick rundown of snow levels, lodging options, and lift schedules at the few local mountain resorts that remain open. 

1. Crystal Mountain - Washington’s Largest ski area still has 128″ total Snow with an 86” base.   

Adult (age 18 – 69) All Day: $60, Half Day (12:30pm – 4pm): $55
Youth (age 11 – 17) All Day: $55, Half Day (12:30pm – 4pm): $50
Junior (age 7-10) All Day: $30, Half Day (12:30pm – 4pm): $25
Child (age 0 – 6) All Day: FREE
Senior (age 70 & over) All Day: $35
Discovery Chair Only (for beginners): $35

Ski Season ends Sunday, April 19th. Lift ticket are now Half Price. Check here for lodging options. Includes Crystal Mountain Lodging Suites.

Don't delay - ski season ends soon

2. Mt Baker - 172″ Base. Starting April 17th on Spring Schedule. Open Friday, Saturday, and Sunday.

Spring Lift Tickets:
Adult (age 16-59)  $43.17
Youth ( age 7 – 15)  $32.50
Senior (age 60 – 69)  $37.61
Super Senior (age 70 & older) $20.91
Child (age 0-6 ) FREE

Click here for lodging options, including The Inn at Mt. Baker.

4. Snoqualmie Pass – 91″ Base at Summit West.  The Summit at Snoqualmie Pass is operating on a Spring Schedule – weekends only but with no set closing date.

Spring Lift Tickets:
Adult (age 13-61) $48
Youth (age 7 – 12)  $32
Senior (age 62 +) $32
Child (age 0-6 ) $11
Super Senior $11

Lodging options, including The Summit Lodge, can be found here.

Ski Lift at Mt. Baker Ski Resort

5. Stevens Pass – 111″ Base.  Ski Season ends Sunday April 19^th. 

Spring Lift Tickets:
Adult (age 13-61) $62
Youth (age 7 – 12) $38
Senior (age 62-69) $39
Child (age 0-6) $7
Super Senior $13

Look for local Stevens Pass lodging options here.

6. White Pass -  Currently open Saturday and Sunday through April 26^th.

Spring Lift Tickets:
Adult (age 13-64) $47
Youth (age 7 – 12) $29
Senior (age 65-72) $29
Child (age 0-6) Free
Super Senior Free

For lodging options, including The White Pass Village Inn, click here.

 Photos: Top from www.summit-at-snoqualmie.com remaining two from http://www.mtbaker.us/

1. You watch LOST wearing a Hawaiian shirt and sipping Mai Tais.

2. You find yourself driving by travel agencies that aren’t even on your way home.

3. You send people postcards from the corner market.

4. You only buy travel sized bottles of shampoo, aspirin and liquor.

5. You cover your carpet in sand and ask everyone to call you “Little Buddy.”

6. You make your kids wear flotation devices on snow days.

7. You keep your dirty laundry in a suitcase.

8. Whenever you leave the house you pretend you’re lost and can’t speak the language.

9. You’ve spray painted your snow-covered yard green.

10. You wear your sunglasses at night and your name isn’t Corey Hart.

11. You’ve replaced your office chair with a beach towel.

12. No matter where you are you tell people that what happens there stays there.

13. It’s 32 degrees outside and you just got a bikini wax.

Photo by Whit Honea

Snow Trails Mansfield, Ohio

You wouldn’t know it by looking in my back yard or at the snow covered streets and fields that surround my house, but Ohio does not receive adequate amounts of snowfall to accommodate a successful ski resort.  Enter Snow Trails in Mansfield, Ohio.

Snow Trails opened in 1961 (Ohio’s first ski resort) relying on the technology of snow making machines that first came into use in areas of the Catskill Mountains in New York.  The machines create a fine mist that when combined with the cold dry air creates snow.

How much snow?

Snow Making at Snow Trails in Mansfield, OH

Generally, when the air temperature is at 28 degrees the machines at Snow Trails can produce enough snow to cover 5 acres with 1″ of snow in 12 hours.  Triple that amount (15 acres) with just a 4 degree drop in the temperature.

All fine and dandy, you say, but just what does this mean to those of us in the Midwest who want to get out and ski?  Simply put,  Snow Trails in Mansfield offers quality skiing close to home.  It’s not necessary to spend exorbitant sums traveling to far away destinations when there is such good skiing in our own backyard.

Snow Trails offers several slopes for skiing as well as snow boarding from beginners to advanced.  Several lift tickets and rental options are available, each designed to accommodate your specific needs.  For the freestyle junkies there are several terrain parks built from scratch each season that are sure to suit your XTreme cravings.  The Terrainasaurus Park is a beginner park and open to all–no height or age restrictions.  The Salomon is for intermediates and the Sobe, voted in the Top Four terrain parks in the Midwest, for advanced.

Snow Trails Mansfield, Ohio

Also, whether you are an accomplished skier that needs a brush up or a total newbie Snow Trails offers lessons to suit your individual skiing level.  And for the kiddies, several options are available.  The Cricketeer Program (ages 5-9) is an all day lesson, 9:30- 3:30,  that provides instruction in a fun and safe environment.  The $89 fee includes area ticket, equipment, helmet, snacks and lunch.  The Cricketot Program ($69 for ages 3-4) is an abbreviated version of the Cicketeer.  Children must be potty trained and able to follow simple instructions.

Snow Trails also offers a tubing area perfect for the entire family.  There are no age or height restrictions.  The tube chutes follow a gentle slope down the mountain with an extended run out to slow you down.  Repeat often!  Worried about that tiring trek back to the top?

Trekking Back is Not a Chore at Snow Trails

No worries.  The tubing trail has easy access to a conveyor carpet that makes getting back to the top no harder than sitting down.

Snow Trails in Mansfield is the perfect family skiing destination and no doubt a sure cure for that nasty cabin fever that inevitably hits us all this time of year.  Hours of operation are weekdays 10:00 am – 9:30 pm (9:00 am Saturdays and Sundays).  The tubing park is open Monday through Thursday 5:00 pm – 9:30 pm, Fridays until midnight, and Saturdays 10:00 am – midnight (9:30 pm on Sundays.)

Take the Mansfield-Bellville exit (interchange 169) off of I-71 and look for Possum Run Road.  Snow Trails is located at 3100 Possum Run Road Mansfield, OH  44903.  There are several lodging options in the area.  Be sure to check the Snow Trails website for daily deals and discount coupons.

Photo credits:  Snow Trails Website, and Ed Lamaze

Paradise Inn at Mount Ranier

Snow Scene From Paradise at Mount Rainier

Photos by: Lee Coursey