Winding from Chicago to LA, more than two thou­sand miles all the way, Route 66 is still the place to get your kicks. If you’d like a break from cookie-cutter restau­rants and lodg­ing options, this fabled road remains lined with home­spun busi­nesses and attrac­tions that can only be missed if your eyes are closed.

Connecticut’s Weir Preserve and Weir Farm National Historic Site will host their 17th annual Halloween Owl Prowl on Friday evening, October 30, 7:30–9:00 PM.

On the heels of the PBS pre­sen­ta­tion of America’s Best Idea, a doc­u­men­tary on the national parks by Ken Burns, the National Park Service (NPS) has devel­oped the web­site Plan Your Visit to America’s Best Idea (Your National Parks): Fall, Winter, Spring 2009—2010 to help vis­i­tors find activ­i­ties, events, and com­mer­cial ser­vices at NPS areas dur­ing the fall, win­ter, and spring months.

Air pol­lu­tion is shrink­ing scenic views, dam­ag­ing plants, and degrad­ing high ele­va­tion streams and soils in the Great Smoky Mountains. Even human health is at risk. Most pol­lu­tion orig­i­nates out­side the park and is cre­ated by power plants, indus­try, and automobiles.

After you’ve had your fill of white squir­rels, head south from Olney and check out the won­der­ful fall foliage of the Shawnee National Forest in Southern Illinois. This huge National Forest is nes­tled between the Mississippi and Ohio Rivers and fea­tures rolling hills, forests, open lands, lakes, creeks and rugged bluffs.
Shawnee National Forest, once known […]