Getting on the Road - Six Days Out

After ten years of publishing Guidebook America from an office, we are now on the road! Getting to see and experience first-hand not only the beautiful United States, but meet in person so many of the wonderful business owners and employees, and destinations we have been working with through the years.

Our on-the-road experience is from an RV as we have our three dogs along for the ride. This is our sixth day out. Our first stop was at the Albuquerque Central KOA (which I will be doing a separate article/review on), then it was on through northern New Mexico and up to Pagosa Springs where we are now camped at the Pagosa Riverside Campground (article/review to come), it is right on the San Juan River among the pines, cottonwoods and aspens.

Tomorrow, the kind and helpful staff at Visit Pagosa will be taking our publisher and photographer, Bill, out on a photo tour as we begin to gather photos and footage for a Pagosa Springs promotional video and articles. Looking forward to experiencing Pagosa!

Cheryl Bruedigam, Editor
Guidebook America
www.guidebookamerica.com

On the Road

On the Road

Crossong into Colorado just north of Chama, New Mexico

In addition to preparing our all-new 2013/2014 travel directories, Guidebook America, one of the largest U.S. travel sites online, is now on the road! It is our intent to bring you the best in first-hand travel information through articles by experience, beautiful photos from our travels and promotional tourism videos from the areas we visit.

Our first stop over the Memorial Day weekend was clear, crisp, Albuquerque, New Mexico, at the Albuquerque Central KOA. Second stop, Pagosa Springs, Colorado where we will be filming and visiting travel-related businesses and their owners while staying at the lovely Pagosa Riverside Campground. For the coming summer season, we will be touring the Southwest. Travel-related businesses in this area are encouraged to get placement in our directory as we prepare to heavily promote your area. Visitors and travelers are encouraged to watch for all new articles, photos and videos from these areas to help plan their trips.

Cheryl Bruedigam, Editor
Guidebook America
 www.guidebookamerica.com

Get Goin' with Guidebook America!

Whether you already travel at your leisure or you are still in the dreaming, planning process, you can Get Goin’ with Guidebook America because we have over ten thousand pages of places to see and stay and things to do all across America.

Want to sky-dive over the ocean? Check out this week’s featured article, Adventure Climbs to New Heights in Oceanside with Tsunami Skydivers. Or maybe the 63^rd Annual Navajo Festival in Flagstaff, Arizona would be more suited to your taste, we can point you there as well. Every week we add exciting new events, destinations and things to do with the information you need to start planning your trip.

We have directories for all fifty states, categorized by city, so that you are sure to find what you are looking for, or for you to just browse if you are looking for something new. Hundreds of travel articles are also categorized by state for your convenience.

Be sure to share your plans and trips on our Facebook page! Other travelers want to know about your experience! Plus our Facebook page gives you last minute updates, news and members each week. And if you are not already signed up to our weekly e-news, go over and subscribe for new articles and updates right in your mailbox.

So Get Goin’ with Guidebook America today and just see what all we have to offer!


Cheryl Bruedigam, Editor
Guidebook America
www.guidebookamerica.com

It's Cooler in Ouray

Welcome to the new "Editor’s Blog" for Guidebook America. Just so I can have a place to chat about great travel spots, tips, and anything travel-related.

It seems to be an exceptionally hot summer in some areas of the U.S. but in checking today’s weather in beautiful Ouray, Colorado, mid-afternoon it is currently 73 degrees and I would certainly like to be there.

I just love old travel post cards and this one from the collection of Robert N. Dennis, taken in 1901, depicts the old-time mining feel still evident in Ouray today.

Known for it’s healing hot springs, Ouray is located along the San Juan Skyway, chosen as one of America’s most scenic drives. This small, intimate community, surrounded by the majestic San Juan Mountains, is repeatedly referred to as the "Switzerland of America" and has always been my favorite stop in Colorado.

Downtown Ouray today by Andreas F. Borchert

Browse the local shops for souvenirs to take back home and have lunch at an outdoor café after a dip in the springs.

Ouray is one of the most beautiful spots in America, its scenery majestic. Small-town flavor and hospitality only add to its appeal. If you have never been, this may be the summer to go there!  Visit our Ouray, Colorado page in the directory at http://www.guidebookamerica.com/co/directory/ouray/index.htm

Cheryl Bruedigam, Editor
Guidebook America
www.guidebookamerica.com

2011 Fall Greetings from Guidebook America!

It is autumn across America and as the fall travel season kicks into full swing, there is much to be found in both stunning beauty and enjoyable events.



San Francisco is celebrating fall and Tower Tours has launched a new fall tour experience. The three hour Twilight Tour explores Fisherman’s Wharf, Coit Tower, North Beach, Cow Hollow, Union Square, The Fillmore District and the Civic Center with photo opportunities at the Golden Gate Bridge at sunset and Treasure Island after dark. Tours start at 6 p.m. on Tuesdays, Thursdays, Saturdays and Sundays in September and October at Ghirardelli Square.

Santa Fe’s exceptional chefs and cuisine will be the centerpiece of the premier Santa Fe Harvest Festival, November 1st-23rd, a culinary extravaganza to benefit Cooking with Kids. Along with substantial discounts at participating restaurants, the Santa Fe Harvest Festival will feature cooking classes, a chef competition for professional and amateur chefs, a mixology challenge, a food & wine tasting expo, a gala dinner and more.

In Wisconsin, your presence is requested at the annual Medieval Feast & Wassailing of the Apple Trees at Maiden Rock Winery & Cidery on the 3rd of December in the year 2011. Join your fellow revelers to enjoy the unique sights, sounds and smells of an authentic Medieval feast of a five-course dinner and special Wassail beverages prepared by their heralded feast chef, cider and wine stewards.

These are just a sampling of activities events nationwide coming this fall. Be sure to subscribe to our weekly e-news to receive updates on traveling in the US.

Cheryl Bruedigam, Editor
Guidebook America http://www.guidebookamerica.com/

Backpacking on Maui

Blue Pools Waterfall in Hana - photo by Ron Dahlquist courtesy Hawaiian Tourism Authority

Would waking in the cool pacific breeze to the voices of native birds appeal to your traveling senses?  How about hiking up to a pristine waterfall or along rocky volcanc coastlines?  In spite of its celebrity and high-end appeal, Maui makes for an ideal backpacking adventure as only twenty-five percent of its land is developed. And there's plenty left to expolore and discover.

Though there are quite a few hostels available on Maui, the rates are still fairly high, in some instances not any less than selecct hotel/motel rates, so the best option for backpacking Maui may be tent camping at Wai‘anapanapa State Park in Hana at the end of Wai‘anapanapa Road off Hana Highway (Highway 360).  Of the two state parks on Maui, only Wai‘anapanapa offers showers and drinking water.  Services/Facilities: Restrooms, camping and lodging, outdoor showers, trash cans, drinking water, payphone.

Air service is available into Hana and connects from Honolulu.  Step off the plane in Hana and you are ready to go.  And if you're not ready to go it alone, check out Maui Hiking Safaris at http://www.mauihikingsafaris.com/ for safe, friendly, guided hikes.  But no matter how you decide to go about it, backpacking Maui could be the most scenic route to take.

Cheryl Bruedigam, Editor Guidebook America
www.guidebookamerica.com

Southern New Mexico Spring Trip

Spring Greetings from Southern New Mexico!

The Organ Mountains - view to the southwest from the Bataan Memorial Highway

We have just returned from our spring road trip through Southern New Mexico! The weather was beautiful; sunny most of the trip. Destination Silver City was quiet, refreshing and full of the beauty of the nature of the southwest. Bedecked with its usual array of multi-cultural characters, the sleepy city and its citizens quietly went about their business as we buzzed the community and surroundings. A fourteen-mile mountain bike ride from Boston Hill across the Continental Divide offered previously unexplored terrain and a few sore muscles for our technical director as well as plenty of ravens, javelinas, and even an eagle sighting.

Other stops included a tour of the campus of New Mexico State University in Las Cruces. With a student population of 25,000, this relatively small, quiet campus of southwestern Aggies offers a wide range of study as well as newly built housing and all the comforts of home for its students.

Ruidoso was beautiful, the roads were clear. It did cloud up on us one day which actually added to the magic of the enchanting mountain village. The River Ruidoso was running full and fast this time of year. A slight mist offered a refreshing breath of clean air scented with magnificent pine.

Note that just about the only restroom in town available for public use is at the Billy the Kid National Scenic Byway Visitors Center, though if you go, you may have to share with the locals!

Roswell was clean and decorated in its alien attire ready and willing to serve those stopping through and offers a wide selection of services, restaurants and shopping for visitors, all with friendly attitudes.

This tour of southern New Mexico includes many fabulous stops such as White Sands National Monument, The White Sands Missile Range, The Mescalero Apache Indian Reservation and the Inn of the Mountain Gods, The Three Rivers Petroglyph Site and Recreation Area and the New Mexico Museum of Space History near Alamogordo, Lincoln National Forest near Ruidoso, Ski Apache, rock-hounding near Deming, the City of Rocks just outside of Silver City, the Catwalk at Glenwood, the Gila National Forest, as well as the Gila Cliff Dwellings.

All in all, it is a glorious drive, with unending vistas, snow-capped peaks and beauty ranging from the desert sands to mountain pines. You can’t beat this trip!

For more information visit these areas at www.guidebookamerica.com/nm/ www.guidebookamerica.com/nm/

Cheryl Bruedigam, Editor
Guidebook America
www.guidebookamerica.com