Maybe I will run in 2012

slideshow

Just want to go on that Cruise – maybe I can sneak on the boat tomorrow.

Where was this

slideshow

I guess the same place

slideshow

Just when you thought those trips could not get any “weirder” take a look at these pics.

view slideshow (3 images)

PREV         NEXT

<< >>

If you consider a Las Vegas vacation as an opportunity to redefine yourself, if only for a few hours, then I’m sure this guide will help you. Las Vegas is about having fun and trying new things, I’m the bad influence you need. Las Vegas is an ever evolving travel destination with plenty of new and adventurous attractions opening up all the time. If you are looking for a vacation that tests your ability to have fun and pushes you to try new things Las Vegas is for you. Get excited and allow yourself to experience the adult playground that never stops entertaining. Experience:Zeke Quezada has been in the travel industry for the past 15 years and has led and guided trips to exotic locales around the world. From Scuba diving on the Great Barrier Reef and in the Caribbean to ski tours in the Canadian Rockies introducing others to the exploration of new destinations has always been a passion. Zeke Quezada has worked in Broadcasting, Engineering and in Education. As a science instructor he guided trips of young adults to study the reefs of Hawaii, the wetlands of Florida and the migration patterns of whales in the Gulf of Mexico. He has spent countless hours guiding ski trips in the Eastern Sierras and geological trips in the deserts of Southern California and Southern Nevada.

NEW ORLEANS – Out of their element, out of their league – and still perfect. Brian Johnson and seventh-ranked Utah came down from the mountains to SEC country and established themselves as the best of the BCS busters, finishing 13-0 with a convincing 31-17 win over No. 4 Alabama in the Sugar Bowl on Friday night. Johnson threw for 336 yards and three touchdowns on his way to being selected the game’s most outstanding player, a fitting finish to the career of Utah’s winningest quarterback (26-7). Utah became the first team from a non-BCS conference to win two BCS bowls. The Utes beat Pittsburgh in the 2005 Fiesta Bowl under coach Urban Meyer, going for his second BCS national title with Florida when his Gators play Oklahoma on Thursday in Miami. Yet, after winning the Mountain West Conference, the Utes were left out of the BCS national championship game in favor of perennial powers Florida and Oklahoma, even though both have one loss. That’s bound to bring more calls for changes to the BCS system, because Utah showed it could do more than just hang with the big boys, it could dominate one of them. ``I know where I’m voting us. I’m voting us No. 1. End of story,‘’ Utah coach Kyle Whittingham said afterward. ``I don’t know why they wouldn’t deserve that consideration,‘’ he added later. ``Somebody has to explain to me why they wouldn’t. There is only one undefeated team in the United States of America right now in Division I football, and it’s these guys right here.‘’ Utah’s only chance for a piece of the national title – albeit a remote possibility – is in The Associated Press poll. The AP, not part of the BCS, awards its own national champion. The Utes are the only team in the AP Top 25 that remains unbeaten. ``What else do we have to prove?‘’ Johnson said. ``Without question, we’re one of best, if not the best team in the country.‘’ Johnson was 27-of-41 and was not intercepted, and the Utes took charge from the start by bolting to a stunning, 21-0 first-quarter lead. When Alabama pulled to 21-17 early in the second half, the Utes refused to wilt. Utah’s defense was equally impressive, intercepting John Parker Wilson twice and sacking him eight times, with the seventh sack forcing a fumble that sent crimson-clad Alabama fans streaming for the exits with just more than five minutes remaining. After surging to No. 1 in the rankings with a 12-0 regular season, Alabama closed with two consecutive losses, the first against Florida in the Southeastern Conference championship game. Following that first loss, Saban noted that his club still was the only team to have an undefeated regular season in a ``real BCS conference.‘’ The comment wasn’t aimed specifically at the Utes, but it clearly motivated them. ``From my perspective, I was angry, not just because of what Saban said but everything that was out there,‘’ Johnson said. ``I just felt like we were being completely disrespected.’’ Johnson and the rest of the Utes played with an angry edge, much to Saban’s chagrin. ``I apologize if anybody was offended by that. We had a tremendous amount of respect for Utah,‘’ Saban said. ``I certainly misstated that. … So if that’s what gave them all their intensity, then I guess I’m responsible for the way they played and I’m responsible for the way we played.‘’ Alabama could have used suspended All-America left tackle Andre Smith, but even he might not have been enough to stop a Utah defense that played with speed, ferocity and discipline. The Utes’ front seven was significantly outweighed by Alabama’s offensive line, but refused to give ground to the Tide’s normally powerful running game that averaged 196.5 yards per game coming into the Sugar Bowl. Glen Coffee was held to 36 yards on 13 carries, while Mark Ingram rushed eight times for only 26 yards. The Utes’ array of stunts and blitzes appeared to upset Wilson’s rhythm. He overthrew a couple of open receivers downfield and finished 18-of-30 for 177 yards and a touchdown. Utah didn’t seem very interested in running the ball, and who could blame them the way Johnson adeptly spread the ball around to seven receivers? He hit Freddie Brown 12 times for 125 yards. Johnson’s touchdowns went for 7 yards to Brent Casteel, 18 yards to Bradon Godfrey and 28 yards to David Reed. Matt Asiata ran for a 2-yard TD, a score set up by Reed’s leaping catch at the 2. An Alabama comeback appeared to be building early in the second half, when Dont’a Hightower stripped Johnson, and Bobby Greenwood recovered at the Utah 30. Wilson methodically drove the Tide for a score, hitting Coffee for an easy 4-yard score on a rollout to close the gap to 21-17. At the point, Alabama had scored 17 straight points, and it appeared to be only a matter of time before the Tide, favored by more than a touchdown, would overtake the underdog Utes. Johnson had other ideas, opening Utah’s next drive with a 33-yard pass over the middle to Brown. The completion kick-started a 71-yard scoring drive that ended with Reed’s touchdown. The Tide drove right back into Utah territory, but Ingram was stuffed for no gain on third-and-2 from the Utah 32. Leigh Tiffen then missed his second long field goal of the game, hooking a 49-yarder just left of the upright. Only a year ago, the Sugar Bowl saw its first BCS buster in Hawaii, which took a 41-10 beating from Georgia. Utah calmly dismissed any comparisons to last year’s game during the lead-up to the game, and wasted no time proving it on the field. Utah’s 21-0 lead, the largest deficit the Tide faced all season, stood until Tiffin hit a 52-yard field goal on the first play of the second quarter. Alabama did not score an offensive TD in the half, but pulled to 21-10 when Javier Arenas returned a punt 73 yards for a score. ``They jumped ahead of us early in the game. I don’t think we gave them their due respect coming into the game,‘’ Coffee said. ``That’s something we never should have allowed to happen.’’

Play | Stop | << Previous | Next >>

Image 1 of 4

bear lake

try out this great place to see.

view slideshow (7 images)

When most people imagine a Hawaiian vacation, they probably don’t envision waking in the middle of the night, bundling up against frigid temperatures and driving up tortuous mountain roads for several hours in the dark.Yet that’s exactly what hundreds of visitors have done for years on Maui each day. They’ve heard that sunrise at the summit of Haleakala National Park is a must on any Valley Isle itinerary.This notion was so widely propagated that in peak seasons, Haleakala used to overflow with tourists. The few parking lots near the top of the volcano filled long before dawn. Then latecomers started parking their cars in lanes reserved for emergency vehicles, creating gridlock. Giant tour buses idled their motors for hours (to keep the heat on), belching exhaust into the mountain air.In the past year, the National Park Service has implemented restrictions designed to prevent visitors from loving Haleakala to death. Last spring, it prohibited buses from idling for more than five minutes. And this fall it imposed limits on the number and type of vehicles allowed to park in the three lots near the summit during the sunrise crush. Since October, vehicles carrying more than 25 passengers have been forbidden from the summit parking lots, and commercial tour companies may bring no more than two minibuses or vans to the top of the mountain.The new restrictions also limit the number of downhill bike tours leaving from Haleakala’s summit. In the past 20 years, this industry has grown from a single operator with a handful of bikes to five companies bringing close to 400 riders to the top of the mountain each morning. The limits have reduced, by nearly half, the number of bikers who come to see sunrise before coasting down the mountain.So far, it’s working out as planned. The tour and bike companies have adjusted, adding tours later in the day to satisfy the overflow of demand caused by the reduction in sunrise tours. “Sunrise is now a limited commodity,” said Phil Feliciano, owner of Cruiser Phil’s Volcano Riders bike tours. Meanwhile, “the gridlock we were having before isn’t happening anymore,” said park superintendent Marilyn H. Parris.Parris said the tour groups were only half the battle. “The message still isn’t getting out to people in their individual cars,” she said, “so we’re still turning away cars at the entrance station.”The irony of it all is that sunrise may not even be the best time to visit Haleakala. “It’s just as nice at sunset and potentially nicer,” said Sharon Ringsven, acting commercial business manager for Haleakala National Park. “At sunrise, the crater is in shadow. But at sunset, the sun is behind you, so you actually see the colors of Haleakala crater.”By Ringsven’s estimate, there were times when more than a thousand people were atop Haleakala at sunrise, while sunset usually draws no more than a few dozen. “There are fewer people in the park in the afternoons,” she said, “and you get a lot more personalized experience.”Jeanette Foster, author of “Frommer’s Maui” and several other travel guides to Hawaii, agreed. “The most incredible sunsets in the state of Hawaii are from the top of Haleakala. They take your breath away. You can see the isthmus of Maui and the sun setting behind the other islands,” she said in an interview. “Sometimes you can even see the moon rise at the same time. And you don’t have to get up at 0-dark-thirty in the morning and freeze to death.”Kelii Brown, spokesman for the Maui Visitors Bureau, also reminds visitors that sunrise is hardly the ancient tradition that many people believe it is. “For native Hawaiians, Haleakala is a sacred spot, but the time of day has nothing to do with it.”According to Hawaiian legend, the demigod Maui went to the top of the island’s tallest mountain and lassoed the sun, agreeing to release it only if it promised to move more slowly across the sky so that his mother could dry her cloth. The sun agreed, supposedly giving the top of the volcano about 15 minutes more sun than the coastal communities below.For generations since then, the mountain has been known as Haleakala, or “House of the Sun.” But only in the past two decades has the House become so crowded at dawn, marring an experience that used to be serene. “Twenty-five years ago, we used to go up to Haleakala for sunrise and there was nobody there,” said Foster.The situation started to change in 1983, when an entrepreneur named Bob Kiger hit on the idea of combining a visit to Haleakala with a bike ride down the mountain. The company he started, Cruiser Bob’s, immediately spawned many imitators, all touting the unforgettable experience to be had from seeing the sun rise over the crater, then flying down the hill on a tricked-out bike — a 38-mile thrill ride that requires almost no pedaling.Arriving at the summit before dawn has its reward for cyclists, who then have hours to poke around the national park on their way downhill. It doesn’t seem to make much sense, however, for parkgoers who want to ride horses, hike the trails, take photos, picnic or simply marvel at the astounding scenery. But somehow, most people have gotten the impression that the spiritual experience of Haleakala is available only at sunrise.“For years, we’ve been trying to promote sunset” as a less crowded time to visit, said Brown. “But it’s something people have gotten into their heads as something they must do.”Brown encourages visitors to sleep in, drive up to Haleakala after the sunrise crush, explore the park’s hiking trails, ride horses or learn about the national park’s beautiful flora and fauna. “Don’t just go up there for sunrise and then race back down. The only thing you’ll see is the back of the rider in front of you.”

view slideshow (4 images)

You have to get up early to make the trip to the top of the Volcano but the no sleep and cold temperatures are all worth it!!! Learn a little more: Haleakala National ParkNature & Science Isolated in the mid Pacific, the Hawaiian Islands are the most remote major island group on earth. They were formed as the Pacific Plate moved across a volcanic “hot spot” within the earth’s mantle. Lying 2,400 miles (3862km) from the nearest continent, they have never had connection to any other land mass. Natural crossings across this great expanse of ocean by animals and plants were extremely rare and very surprising occasions. After such accidental arrivals, and isolated from mainland populations, these pioneer organisms took strange courses of evolution and allowed a unique biota to develop. But utterly unaccustomed to mainland competition, the remote native island ecosystems are defenseless against mainland alien species and have been decimated by new grazers, predators and diseases.Haleakala National Park, and its East Maui Watershed Partner neighbors, still harbor an astonishing relict of these native island ecosystems. The major effort of Haleakala’s resource stewardship is to preserve intact this superb example of the Hawaiian Islands’ native ecosystems. How long will it take me to get there?From Kahului, it takes just over one hour to get to the entrance to the Summit Area of the park, and an additional 30 minutes to travel through the park to the 10,023 foot summit.From Kahului, it takes about three hours to drive to the Kipahulu (coastal) area of the park.See the directions page for more information. When is sunrise or sunset?Check out the sunrise and sunset page to answer this and many other common sun-event questions. Can I ride my bike in the park?Sure. As long as you stay on the paved roads and parkinglots. Bikes are not allowed on any park trails. Check out the bicycling page before you plan your ride. When is the park open?The park is open 24-hours. Our visitor centers, however, are not. For a complete list of park and visitor center hours, go to the Operating Hours page. Can I buy ____ in the park?There is NO food, coffee, fuel, or clothing available for sale in the park. HNHA bookshops stock books, CDs, DVDs, photos, posters and various educational materials. Where are the Seven Sacred Pools?This is difficult to answer, since they don’t exist – and never have. Some old guidebooks and misinformed tourguides may reference this place name. They are referring to the freshwater pools found at Oheo Gulch in the coastal Kipahulu Area of the park. There are far more than seven pools, and all freshwater is considered sacred in Hawaii, where freshwater is the source of life.