THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Sunday, December 24, 1995 TAG: 9512220069
SECTION: DAILY BREAK PAGE: E3 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: STEPHEN HARRIMAN
LENGTH: Long : 169 lines
DO YOU EXPECT to have some time on your hands next year? Virginia State Parks are seeking volunteers for the Campground Host Program and new Park Host Program.
Participants can camp free in return for one to three months' service at any of more than a dozen state parks. The season runs March 1 through Dec. 2.
Camp hosts' duties include greeting campers, reporting problems and keeping the campground clean; park hosts may do office and visitor-center work, light maintenance and repairs. Volunteers with less time to give who have specific skills such as landscaping or carpentry can volunteer for a stint as short as seven days.
For info, call (804) 371-2675. YOU'VE HEARD OF DASHER . . .
This holiday tale is from Richard P. Carpenter of the Boston Globe, who got it from a reader:
It seems that the father of Leif Ericsson, Eric the Red, was one of a number of siblings, all of whom shared the family trait of red hair. Among those siblings was Eric's brother Rudolph, who, instead of setting out to sea with the other Vikings, devoted himself to stock raising in Lapland. He was particularly successful in breeding reindeer - so successful, in fact, that the Lapps often remarked, ``Rudolf the Red knows reindeer.'' DON'T KNOW MUCH ABOUT . . .
. . . Geography. We Americans, as a group anyway, are pretty awful on the subject. We can never remember which continent Upper Volta - maybe you know it by its new name, Burkina Faso - is in (on?) . . . as though anyone cares. We can never clearly define the difference between Paraguay and Uruguay . . . if there is any. None of us, I'll bet, can give one good reason why it's necessary to have a Slovakia, a Slovenia and a Slavonia all in an area about the size of Texas.
Geographically challenged is what we are.
Fortunately, there are people in the geography trade who are trying to do something about our problem - like putting together a sort of rehabilitative, interactive exhibition designed to help prepare children for an increasingly global society.
That's what the Smithsonian Institution Traveling Exhibition Service and the National Geographic Society have done. It's called ``Earth 2U, Exploring Geography'' and it makes connections between people, places and the environment by incorporating education and entertainment into high-tech computer displays and hands-on activities.
The exhibition presumably will help anyone whose geographical skills still test at a fourth-grade level.
The major exhibition areas focus on the adventure of exploration, geographers' tools and techniques, the global origins of everyday things, mysteries behind landscapes and land forms, the impact of natural forces and the study of the earth's burgeoning population.
Touchable objects, games, stories, videos and environmental reconstructions demonstrate the everyday applications of basic geography skills. Highlights include a video-equipped kitchen sink that shows where water comes from, where it goes after it washes down the drain and why the world's water supply is not endless. Visitors get a personalized geography ``passport'' that can be stamped at computer quiz stations throughout the exhibition.
The exhibition will be on view until Feb. 11 at the National Geographic Society's Explorers Hall at 1145 17th Street, N.W., at M Street in Washington. Admission is free. LAST-MINUTE SHOPPING
Not to rush things, but if you still haven't done all your Christmas shopping . . .
A very good book for just about anyone on your list is a copy of ``Entertainment '96.'' The coupon-filled book is available in editions for cities throughout the country and popular vacation destinations such as Florida. While the guides are best known for the two-for-one dining offers keyed to each city edition (130 altogether), there are also coupons good for discounts on American and Continental airlines, cruises, hotels and resorts, and attractions.
Many nonprofit groups sell these for around $30 each, or they can be ordered by calling Entertainment at (800) 445-4137. WINTER WONDERLANDS
If you've traveled in the West, chances are you've been to Yellowstone and Grand Teton national parks. Probably in the summer. Did you ever wonder what they would be like in the winter? For the answers, check these out:
Off the Beaten Path, a Montana-based company, offers week-long cross-country skiing through Yellowstone National Park with naturalists and certified instructors. Cost: $1,900 per person includes guides, ski instruction, ground transfers, meals, accommodations at Mammoth, Old Faithful and Gallatin Gateway Inn. Trip begins and ends at Bozeman, Mont. Jan. 20-27, Feb. 3-10, 10-17, 17-24. Info: (800) 445-2995.
Jackson Hole Bed & Breakfast Association offers five-night ski packages from $299 per person, double occupancy, that includes a four-day lift ticket at the Jackson Hole Ski Resort in Wyoming. Enjoy cross-country skiing, dog sledding, snowmobiling or wildlife-viewing in Grand Teton National Park. Info: (800) 542-6632. GO FOR THE TOP
The most interesting winter weekend getaway, though, might be one offered on top of Mount Washington in New Hampshire - better known as the home of world's worst weather. The nonprofit Mount Washington Observatory is once again offering weekend EduTrips to the 6,288-foot mountaintop, where the weather can rival polar regions and where winds average 50 miles an hour but can blow as fast as 231 miles an hour.
Is that inviting, or what?
The EduTrips are normally for one night but can go for up to three during severe weather conditions. The trips include a tour of the weather station and classroom sessions on topics ranging from the mountain environment to photography. Weekends trips continue through April. Info: Mount Washington Observatory EduTrips, Box 2310, North Conway, NH 03860; (603) 356-8345. GO FOR THE SUN
Caribbean islands that were clobbered in September by Hurricane Luis, Hurricane Marilyn or both - notably St. Maarten and St. Thomas - are bending over backward to lure travelers who may feel inclined to go elsewhere this year.
Virtually every resort on Dutch St. Maarten is offering visitors seven nights for the price of five. Many resorts on other islands, as well, offer an extra night or two with stays of varying lengths.
On St. Thomas, for instance, Sapphire Beach Resort has reopened with rates lower than last summer's. Through Jan. 31, luxury beachfront suites will go for $190 per couple daily - a savings of $215 off the regular high-season rates. Beachfront villas that can accommodate up to six will be available at $210 daily - a $265 savings. Kids 12 and under stay and eat free with their parents.
For more information on the islands, call (800) 372-USVI, or visit your local travel agent. PLAN AHEAD, PADDY
You've done the St. Patrick's Day parade in Ocean View and maybe even run the Shamrock Marathon in Virginia Beach, and now you're looking for a different way to ``wear the green.''
Ever thought of Ireland?
CIE Tours International's one-week trip to Ireland allows visitors to spend St. Patrick's Day at the festivities along O'Connell Street in Dublin. Scheduled to depart March 11, the itinerary includes the Clare coast and Cliffs of Moher, the Shannon River Estuary, Killarney and the Ring of Kerry, Cork, Waterford and Kilkenny. Travelers will take a literary tour of Dublin, enjoy tea and scones fireside at an Irish farmhouse, and get a chance to kiss the Blarney Stone.
Priced at $1,355 per person, double occupancy, the package includes round-trip airfare; superior first-class hotel accommodations; full Irish breakfast daily; five dinners (including a medieval banquet at a 15th-century Irish castle and dinner with ballads at the Abbey Tavern); fully escorted sightseeing; admissions to Bunratty Folk Park, the Cobh Heritage Centre, Muckross House, Waterford Crystal Factory, Kilkenny and Dublin Castles, and The Book of Kells at Trinity College; baggage handling; taxes; and service charges. Info: contact your travel agent or call (800) CIE-TOUR. OH, GIVE ME A HOME
Remember all those funny stories about the cutting-edge, state-of-the-air Denver airport that finally opened about a year late because they couldn't get the baggage-moving equipment to stop eating luggage?
Well, now that it is open, they want to add a safety hazzard. Well, a potential safety hazzard. A buffalo herd is not an actual hazard to an airplane until it wanders out onto the runway.
Yes, Denver's airport wants to add a buffalo herd.
Oh, how . . . Western.
The new airport is taking bids from ranchers to supply a buffalo herd for 300 acres along the main road to the terminals. The project, which aims to be a tourist attraction, has run into a few hitches, including claims from American Indians who say they should get priority as buffalo suppliers.
Besides establishing the herd, the winning bidder must supply another crucial element: fencing. MEMO: Travel-wise is compiled from wire-service reports, news releases, trade
journals, books, magazines and the deepest recesses of the writer's
mind. Send comments and questions to Travel-wise, The Virginian-Pilot,
Norfolk, Va. 23501-0449; phone (804) 446-2904. by CNB