Catoctin Bike Tours

For anyone who is enthusiastic or curious about space travel, past and present, a trip to the Kennedy Space Center a little west of Orlando will be a day out not to be forgotten.  This isn’t going to be a cheap day out, so make sure you check out in advance the current entrance fees plus any additional budget requirements for additional rides, etc just before you make your trip.  Another thing to check in advance is the space shuttle launching schedule – what greater day could there be to go the space center then on a day you will see a shuttle actually take off?  Of course, all shuttle schedules are subject to change so even if you arrange your trip to coincide with a scheduled take-off, it’s not necessarily going to happen.

There’s more to see at Kennedy Space Center than just the space shuttle launching however.  There are exhibitions of rockets and spacecraft from the years when space travel was in its infancy.  There are rides to simulate space travel for those with the nerve to try.  There’s the launching pad area where Apollo 11 was once launched placing men on the moon for the first time.  There are tours of the site which are narrated and have photo stops.  Two must see parts of the Kennedy Space Center experience however are the Imax theatre presentations (capture the thrill of a close-up launch in the “The Dream is Alive” feature), and then the Astronaut… Read the rest

Zion National Park in Utah, is a naturalist’s dream.  Containing some 290 or so species of distinct animals it is an amazing place of sandstone red and deer tan contrasts sharply against the coniferous trees, cottonwood, Cacti, and willow.  Its a diverse, and unique area of the world with an abundance of plant and animal diversity.

The plant and animal life in the park is partially due to the diverse merging distinctly different areas – the Great Basin, the Mojave desert, and the Colorado Plateau, its filled with close to 300 bird species, 20 types of bat, more than 30 reptiles and seventy five different mammals, including the Mountain Lion, The Golden Eagle and the recently reintroduced California Condors.

The most prominent feature, cut by the Virgin River, is the 15 mile long canyon, the Zion Canyon.

Inhabited for over 8000 years by Indian tribes of various kinds, it was settled by  Mormons in the 1860′s it became a national park in the early 20^th Century.   The Zion Canyon and the Kobold arch (so named after the nearest star to God, according to Mormon religion) are two of the most stunning sites of the park, and are breathtaking and amazing and well worth the visit.

There are various hikes that you can take through the grounds ranging from gentle hikes that you can take in… Read the rest