http://www.runawaygetaway.com/ Enjoy these articles about your beautiful country. en-us Mon, 13 Apr 2009 22:40:30 -0700 enfeedia.com v1 ken@keligo.com (Ken Gorman) http://www.runawaygetaway.com/logo-forest.gif http://www.runawaygetaway.com/ When deciding on your Santa Fe vacation accommodations, it's helpful to understand these terms. You will find that they are good cues as to price, location, and home size. Once you know the length of your vacation, the number of people in your group, your budget, and your vacation goals, using these terms in Google searches can speed you to your ideal accommodations for a perfect vacation.

A "casita" is the smallest of the three and is typically a cozy one bedroom, one bath structure with kitchenette. Often, a casita is a located on the same property as the casita owner's home, and sometimes is a converted garage. Casitas can be an excellent choice for a couple for a few day stay and wishing to be located around the downtown Plaza area or famous Canyon Road art district in the historic East Side. Real estate prices in Santa Fe make it prohibitive to offer a larger home near the downtown for vacation rentals; rates would have be too high for such homes too be financially viable for the owner. To find a casita, try a Google search on santa fe casita rentals.

A "casa" is larger, usually a condo, and usually two bedroom with sleeping accommodations for four, sometimes six. Generally, a casa may be located in proximity to the downtown area and famous Canyon Road art district, but rental rates may reflect those prime locations. You are more likely to find reasonably priced casas a quarter mile removed from those locations. To find a casa rental, try a Google search on santa fe casa rentals.

A "hacienda" is the largest of the three, almost always a detached single family private home with three or more bedrooms and at least 2.5 baths. Don't expect to find a reasonably priced hacienda within a few blocks of the Plaza or Canyon Road ... although you may find exceptions in the low-season. However, if a mile walk is OK with you, and if you need more space for a week stay, then taking the time to find a hacienda can be indeed well worth the effort. To find a hacienda, try a Google search on santa fe hacienda rentals.

Any one of the three can make for an enchanting vacation in the "City Different" Santa Fe; select the one that best fits your needs!]]> http://www.runawaytosantafe.com/ enfeedia.com 3734 Mon, 13 Apr 2009 22:40:30 -0700 If your first visit to the Bosque del Apache Wildlife Refuge is in winter, you may wonder at first what the fuss is all about. Say it's December, and you arrive around midday. The winter sun slants in from the south and strikes the now bare cottonwood trees, whose gray and white trunks contrast only slightly with the landscape's dull brown hue. Sealed in your warm car, you note a duck or two in the air and, shortly after officially entering the refuge, come to a marsh the size of a football field. The pond is covered with snow geese, "covered" meaning you can hardly see the water they're floating on. Still, I can somehow imagine you sitting in your car nonplussed, regarding the scene as just another stroll through a city park, the geese as only so many catchers of tossed bread.

Then you open your car door. This is when the Bosque takes you by the ears and, in a way, will never let them go for the rest of your life. Never before have you heard this almost deafening cacophony of 10,000 geese all seemingly trying to get in on the same conversation. It is a sound from the Pre-Columbian past, of a period when birds of all species were so numerous in America that a single flock in flight could black out the sun. It's a sound that reminds us that the Bosque del Apache Wildlife Refuge is a place for which New Mexico, if not the world, should always be grateful.

Established in 1939, the Bosque was conceived as a refuge and breeding ground for birds ranging along the Rio Grande and Rock Mountains, especially for whooping and greater sandhill cranes whose populations at the time were at risk. The refuge is located off Interstate 25, just south of Socorro, straddling the Rio Grande across an area of about 57,000 acres. This is not just land set aside for birds, but an ecosystem that is actively and dynamically managed for their benefit. To maintain wildlife habitat that is adequately diverse and therefore resistant to catastrophes such as drought, disease, and fire, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service rotates the use of Bosque lands between fallow, wetland, and agriculture (1.4 million pounds of corn are produced annually on the refuge as feed for overwintering birds. Alfalfa is grown too as a nitrogen fixer for land in cultivation). The riparian zone along the Rio Grande is also managed for wildlife; invasive trees such as Russian olive and tamarisk are removed, native species such as cottonwood are encouraged, and regular flooding is conducted to mimic historical hydrological and nutrient cycling. All in all, countless mammals and at least 377 bird species_from waterfowl to songbirds to raptors_benefit each year from the cutting edge land management employed at the Bosque.

Winter
Winter is the season for peak bird populations, when up to 15,000 sandhills, 30,000 geese and 40,000 ducks spend their days eating and, it seems to me, catching up with each other on old times. During the day, the squawking and quacking is almost constant. The right way to do the Bosque in the winter is to be there for both the evening fly-in and the dawn lift-off. Arrive at the Bosque before sunset to watch the cranes and ducks fly from their daytime feeding sites back to their roosts, sleep over night in Socorro, and get to the refuge before sunup to see the morning lift-off. You will have previously spoken to a refuge employee about the location of a roosting flock of geese or cranes, and it is there where you'll go to watch the sunset. (There is a "flight deck" that's popular with budding nature photographers; it can be quite crowded but if you have a camera with a tripod this is where you'll want to go.) In the morning, soon after the sun hits the roosting area, some mysterious avian signal will be passed around, and the entire flock will take flight at once. Talk about a noise, talk about blacking out the sun. This is an explosion of the senses.

(click title to read more about Winter and about other seasons)]]> http://santafe.com/Pages/2106 enfeedia.com 3239 Fri, 05 Dec 2008 14:27:48 -0700 Noted outlaw Billy The Kid was a famous figure from the rugged American Old West. His involvement in the Lincoln County, New Mexico Wars as one of John Tunstall's "Regulators" is part of a fascinating legend that took place throughout southern New Mexico. Folks come from all over the world to explore the area for themselves. Original buildings from the era still stand complemented by museums packed with interesting lore and artifacts about Billy and the period in which he lived.

The best way to enjoy the Billy The Kid experience is by following the route of the Billy The Kid Scenic Byway. I bet the last thing that Billy ever would have imagined is that a motor route through southern New Mexico bearing his name and likeness. Thoroughfares all over the world carry the name of statesmen, entertainers, sports figures, astronauts and other heros. In this case the Billy The Kid Scenic Byway is named...well, for an outlaw.

You'll start off in Ruidoso Downs, New Mexico at the Billy The Kid Scenic Byway Visitor's Center. The facility will give you the background on the history of the area. Naturally, you'll have the opportunity to pick up an ample supply of souvenirs for the dashboard and the refrigerator door. While in Ruidoso Downs you'll want to see the Hubbard Museum of the American West, the Ruidoso Downs Racetrack and the Billy The Kid Casino.

The resort community of Ruidoso is next. Enjoy the many shops and galleries and be sure to stop by the historic Dowlin's Mill, one of the favorite haunts of Billy The Kid.

You'll proceed north through Alto, on the way to Capitan. On the way, save some time to see historic Ft. Stanton. This fort helped tame the wild west. Due to several battles at the fort itself, Ft. Stanton served as both a Union and Confederate stronghold. Each year in August the "Ft. Stanton Live" celebration recreates life as it was in the era when the fort was a major factor in the defense of New Mexico.

Capitan is next and is perhaps best known as the home of the only American figure with his own zip code...Smokey Bear. See the final resting spot of old Smokey at the Smokey Bear Park and well as interesting exhibits on fire prevention and the local flora. By the way, to remain politically correct it's just Smokey Bear. Just happen to let go with a "Smokey The Bear" and you'll quickly be corrected. It's kind of like saying "Santa The Claus" or "Easter The Bunny".

From Capitan we move over to the hot bed of the Lincoln County Wars, Lincoln, New Mexico. Here many buildings from the Billy The Kid era still stand. Several now serve as museums for a fascinating look at life in the American Old West. You might want to stop for a cold beverage at the Wortley Hotel or stay the night at the Ellis Store Bed and Breakfast.

Next on the scenic byway is Hondo, San Patricio and Glencoe. The Coe Ranch still stands and was where Billy The Kid worked as a ranch hand during his formative years.

The byway has made a large loop through the area and as we continue, we find ourselves back at the visitor's center in Ruidoso Downs. You'll find the Billy The Kid Scenic Byway trip well worth while and enjoyable for families and children of all ages. Don't pass up the chance to see how history has played an important part in New Mexico and where the legend of Billy The Kid was born.]]> http://www.3ruidosonewmexicocabins.com/ enfeedia.com 3008 Sun, 05 Oct 2008 22:07:09 -0700 The beauty of the Hawaiian islands is hardly subtle. Jungle-smothered volcanic peaks loom around every highway switchback, verdant plants sprout flowers as brilliant and meaty as hallucinations, and surrounding you always is the Pacific Ocean, by turns coral blue, crystalline green or shimmering golden with the light of the setting sun. Hawaii is easy, Hawaii has nothing to hide. Hawaii is, touristically speaking, pornographic in its single-minded baring of its assets. [Source: Matt Gross, New Yort Times] ]]> http://travel.nytimes.com/2008/01/27/travel/27Hawaii.html enfeedia.com 1317 Fri, 22 Feb 2008 08:42:42 -0700 A growing trend in the Arizona tourist industry is the increasing number of vacation rental homes offered across the Phoenix Valley. With the real estate explosion over the past couple years, many real estate investors are renting single family houses as a "home away from home". Thousands of out-of-state visitors looking for affordable weekly accommodations should consider the benefits of a Phoenix vacation rental vs. a standard hotel stay for reasons of lower pricing, more square footage, more privacy and much more personalized accommodations.

"It's really a no-brainer when comparing a vacation home vs. a resort or hotel." Explains David Drake, owner operator for www.rent-arizona.com and Drake Rental Properties, LLC. "For the amount of space and amenities you receive with a vacation home AND at a lower cost than most mid-level resorts, vacation homes offer so much more for you and your family. I think the only reason more people don't rent vacation homes is that they don't know about them."

Drake suggests that visitors look for vacation homes that are owner-operated and offer a website that provides you with ample pictures and virtual tours so that you can see what the entire home looks like before you book.]]> http://www.rent-arizona.com/press.htm enfeedia.com 1315 Fri, 22 Feb 2008 08:10:08 -0700