BISMARCK, N.D. — Granted, it was 123 years ago President Benjamin Harrison welcomed North Dakota into the the United States.

However, many other U.S. presidents have since left their marks on the state.

The 26th president, Theodore Roosevelt, was bullish on conservation. His legacy is celebrated at Theodore Roosevelt National Park in Medora, which shares his vision for conserving North Dakota’s Badlands.

Besides its natural splendor spread across 70,476 acres, other park highlights are Roosevelt’s ranch home, Elkhorn Ranch; Roosevelt’s Maltese Cross Cabin, located behind the South Unit Visitors Center; and two other visitors centers (North Unit and Painted Canyon).

Scenic drives are also available in both South and North units. Guided tours, ranger walks and hikes, campfire programs and guided horseback rides are also available.

 In Dickinson, groups can visit Theodore Roosevelt Center at Dickinson State University. Learn about his passion for the West, and his road to the presidency at the center, which has more than million Roosevelt documents and artifacts. 

It was President Thomas Jefferson who commissioned the Corps of Discovery to explore the Northwest from St. Louis to the Pacific Ocean. The Lewis & Clark Interpretive Center at Fort Mandan in Washburn fetes the corps, which was led by Meriwether Lewis and William Clark from 1803 to 1806. 

President Abraham Lincoln appointed the Dakota Territory’s first two governors. On Nov. 19, 1872, Fort McKeen south of Mandan was renamed Fort Abraham Lincoln in Lincoln’s honor. It is now Fort Abraham Lincoln State Park, and it offers tours and special programs at On-a-Slant Mandan Indian Village, Fort Abraham Lincoln cavalry post and its visitor center.

A second Fort Lincoln, built in Bismarck in 1903 for training and an internment camp during World War II, is now United Tribes Technical College’s campus.

President Herbert Hoover didn’t make it for the 1932 dedication of the International Peace Garden, but sent a message of congratulations. The International Peace Garden in Dunseith remains steadfast 80 years later, symbolizing peace on the North Dakota-Manitoba border between the U.S. and Canada. It boasts colorful floral displays as part of its 2,339-acre botanical garden, an interpretive center, conservatory, 120-foot-tall Peace Tower, seven Peace Poles and a 9/11 memorial. Group tours are available. 

Presidents Calvin Coolidge, John F. Kennedy and Lyndon Johnson all made it to Bismarck, staying at what was Patterson Hotel during their North Dakota visits. The former hotel’s history lobby is home to Peacock Alley American Grill & Bar.

President Ronald Reagan implored the Soviet Union’s leadership to "tear down" the Berlin Wall. Eventually, the Berlin Wall fell, the Soviet Union broke up and the Cold War ended. Some of the weaponry from the Cold War era remains, and can be visited at Ronald Reagan Minuteman Missile Site near Cooperstown. The site is the last remnants of the U.S. Air Force’s 321st Missile Wing near Grand Forks Air Force Base. 

In Fargo, President George W. Bush’s handprints are among 110 enshrined in the Fargo Walk of Fame. 

For more about visiting North Dakota, visit North Dakota Tourism online or call (800) 435-5663 or (701) 328-2525.

HOLLYWOOD — Starline Tours is the oldest and largest sightseeing tour company in Los Angeles, having pioneered the famous Movie Star’s Homes Tour in 1935 — making this Starline Tours’ 77th operating year. 

The company offers a full range of sightseeing tours in Hollywood, Greater Los Angeles, Southern California, San Diego, and Tijuana, along with tours to theme parks and movie studios and transportation from more than 250 hotels in the Los Angeles area. 

New Anaheim Terminal connects Orange County visitors to L.A., Hollywood, studio tours and more

Starline has expanded its Los Angeles operation to include service in Orange County with a new terminal located directly adjacent to Disneyland Resort. 

The new terminal provides a full range of tours, including Starline exclusives such as the popular Hop-on Hop-off CitySightseeing Tour, the new TMZ Tour — Secrets and Celebrity Hot Spots, the original Movie Stars’ Homes Tour in the company’s famous “topless with headsets” buses (the only open-air Movie Stars’ Homes tour experience from Orange County, with personal headsets to hear clear narration) and the Warner Bros. VIP Studio Tour.  

Starline Tours Anaheim Terminal is located at the Jolly Roger Hotel, 640 W. Katella Ave., Anaheim, CA 92802. Tel: (714) 786-5349.

Starline Tours CitySightseeing Hop-On Hop-Off City Tour is now the largest in the world — connecting LAX area to the beaches, Beverly Hills and Hollywood

The addition of two new routes on the CitySightseeing Hop-On Hop-Off Double Decker City Tour expands the coverage to more than 100 miles. The new routes offer stops at LAX hotels, Fisherman’s Village, Marina Del Rey and Venice Beach, Pier and Boardwalk.

From there, passengers can connect to Santa Monica, Beverly Hills, Los Angeles and Hollywood. Tours operate daily and include a “Show & $ave” promotion for discounts at more than 50 museums and attractions. 

A 24-hour all-route ticket is $40 for adults and $20 for children, available from the driver or www.starlinetours.com. 

Increased visitor interest for the TMZ Hollywood Tour leads to additional tours

The TMZ Hollywood Tour — Secrets and Celebrity Hot Spots launched last May as a show on wheels, blending the popular television show and website created by Harvey Levin, with the tour and Hollywood know-how of Starline Tours, developers of many Hollywood tour offerings. 

The sexy, 24-passenger buses take visitors to the nightclubs, restaurants and street corners made famous by the antics of Hollywood’s most watched celebrities, all inside the “thirty mile zone” for which the TMZ show and tour are named. 

An immediate success with visitors hoping to get a little closer to their favorite star was predictable, but having stars wave down the tour bus, step on the bus for photos and conversations give passengers a thrill. 

“When superstars like Shaquille O’Neal and Brad Pitt say hello to our guests, and the TMZ guide gets it on tape for the TMZ website, it makes our visitors to LA feel like celebrities, too”, said Vahid Sapir, owner of Starline Tours. 

The two-hour tour operates daily with late tours on weekends for a completely unique look at the area’s hot spots.

Top ten list of “don’t-miss” homes released

Starline Tours releases its list of the top ten most requested homes on the Movie Stars’ Homes Tour for 2011. Guides keep the “drive-by” score of its passengers on the original Movie Stars’ Homes Tour, created in 1935, and the recently added Malibu Move Stars’ Homes Tour. 

Michael Jackson’s rental home tops the list again this year. 

New to the list is Al Pacino’s home at No. 6 and the Katy Perry/Russell Brand mansion at No. 8.

In Malibu, the list remained the same with Cher’s estate at the No. 1 spot. Starline Tours pioneered the “topless with headsets” approach to the tour — an open-air bus equipped with personal headsets — allowing an up close view while preserving the tranquility of the exclusive neighborhoods.

Less than an hour’s pink Cadillac ride from Elvis’ Graceland lies a small Southern town steeped in antebellum tradition and full of soul — a town The New York Times called “an antebellum encyclopedia,” and one offering a wealth of fun and memorable times.

Visitors can see this for themselves during the 74th Holly Springs, Miss., Pilgrimage of Homes, April 13th through 15th, when the town will showcase all of the charm of the Old South from grand mansions to humble slave dwellings throughout the festive weekend.

In addition to touring five of the town’s historic mansions, guests will be allowed a rare look into the lives of Holly Springs’ slave population during the “Behind the Big House Tour.” See another side of antebellum life through these surviving structures and a historic interpretation by Joseph McGill, an interpreter with the National Trust for Historic Preservation. 

Thanks to partnerships with the Holly Springs Garden Club, the Ida B. Wells-Barnett Museum and Preserve Marshall County and Holly Springs Inc., McGill will spend a few nights in Holly Springs’ slave cabins and then bring their story to life during the weekend-long event. 

“For so long folks have been visiting the plantation and going into the big house, and without those structures, the big house could not have existed,” said McGill. “You get inside these walls and you think about that time of slavery and wonder what went through these people’s minds, because within these walls was probably the easiest time of their lives. We know that beyond those walls there was a lot of hard work and toil.”

McGill is making his way around the Southeastern U.S., sleeping in historic slave quarters as part of what he calls the “the slave dwellings project.” McGill is also a reenactor who plays the role of a soldier in the 54th Massachusetts — a black Union regiment known for its assault on Fort Wagner in Charleston, S.C., depicted in the movie Glory.

After he took part in the documentary Unfinished Civil War, he decided he wanted to bring attention to these slave-related structures and honor the memory of the people who lived in them.

To learn more about the National Trust for Historic Preservation and the Slave Dwelling Project, visit www.preservationnation.org.

To get more information on the 74th Holly Springs, Miss., Pilgrimage of Homes or the Ida B. Wells-Barnett Museum, go to www.visithollysprings.com or call (888) 687-4765.

CORVALLIS, Ore. — In case you haven’t heard it already, today’s travelers have a growing appetite for life‐long learning.

Incorporating and measuring educational opportunities with trip planning is an industry must to remain competitive and grow in the 21st century, argue researchers at Oregon State University’s (OSU) College of Science and the University of Queensland in Australia in a new study released today. 

“You’re already seeing many tour operators and travel agencies offer educational opportunities, things like whale watching, ecotourism,” said John Falk, a professor of science education at OSU and author of the paper, “Travel and Learning: A Neglected Tourism Research Area” in January.

“We’re convinced this is just the beginning of a major shift in how people want to spend their leisure time, and one that could have important implications for the intellectual and cultural growth around the world.”

Allowing groups to hear, see, feel, smell and taste their travel experience is one major selling point of the experiential tourism offerings of Experience Columbus, the destination marketing organization in Columbus, Ohio. Cooking lessons, bottling and corking wine, creating your own butterfly garden and eating breakfast with the animals at the Columbus Zoo and Aquarium are just some of the new offerings available to tour goers.

“Tourism managers and researchers need to better understand the nature of learning in tourism and leisure contexts; explore ways in which learning can be incorporated in tourism and leisure experiences; and develop methods to measure the educational impact of such experiences,” the researchers wrote.

While advent of mass tourism and the industrial revolution in the 19th and 20th centuries provided opportunities for the middle class to participate in leisure travel, often seen as a way of escaping the physical and mental exhaustion of work, by the end of the 20th century, leisure patterns changed and tourists increasingly sought experiences that were intellectually engaging.

With more time on their hands and money in their pockets, the immersion of new ideas, spaces and activities are attractive to the new traveler who now has access to more information about their desired destination and widened individual interests. Travelers are no longer looking for tropical resorts, amusement lands and theme parks, they want “to acquire knowledge, develop ideas and construct new visions for themselves and their society,” the researchers wrote.

“Customer satisfaction remains an important outcome of the tourism experience, but what is needed is a broader understanding of what satisfaction entails.”

While previously tour operators and owners may have been able to make unsubstantiated claims about the educational impact of tours, those seeking to supplement their revenue through support from local, regional and national governments and private foundations will now need new ways of assessing and tracking visitor learning outcomes, they cautioned.

“The changing nature of tourism demands an increasing focus on understanding the ways in which tourism experiences are supporting the public good, and in particular the impact they are having on tourist learning outcomes. The benefits of such an approach transcend issues of accountability, and include the ability to customize experiences to the needs, interests and motivations of tourists at different stages of their travel careers, to craft marketing messages that appeal to the individual needs and desires of visitors and ultimately to insure that tourists perceive the experience as having been significant and valuable.”

Here’s a video of an OSU program that trains people to become naturalist guides:

CANMORE, Alberta — Surrounded by the Canadian Rocky Mountains, Canmore Kananaskis is a retreat for outdoors lovers.

But there’s much more to the story.

Canmore’s emergence as a scenic getaway is changing Alberta’s tourism scene, with its share of adventure, leisure, shopping and culinary opportunities.

Located 20 minutes from Banff and about an hour from Calgary, the town is well-connected to the province’s top destinations but also is a standalone spot.

It’s named in honor of King Malcolm of Scotland, and translates to “big head,” referring to large or tall stature.

Its population of nearly 20,000 makes it a largely unsettled paradise, but its residents aren’t stingy. Business owners, hoteliers and guides are welcoming to groups and can’t wait to show yours around their slice of heaven. The elk aren’t quite as effusive, but they’re not going to chase you off, either.

There are myriad ways to enjoy the locale’s breathtaking natural beauty — from helicopter rides and four-wheeler romps to horseback rides and even a view from underground. That’s right; for different perspective, explore Grotto Mountain on a half-day guided trip with Canmore Cave Tours.

For an exhilarating above ground adventure, strap on a pair of snowshoes or ice cleats and traverse the chilly terrain with an experienced local guide. 

Dog sledding and ice climbing are among the other popular ways to enjoy Canmore during colder weather.

When the ground thaws, the activity scene heats up with six world-class, 18-hole golf courses, summer music and cultural festivals and tons of heart-pumping recreational opportunities on land and water.

This area is big on mountain biking, with prime single track on either side of the valley.

The Canmore Nordic Centre Provincial Park ’s upgraded trails offer a look at some stunning country, while the recently completed, paved Legacy Trail is the best way for cyclists to make their way to Banff. The centre was built for nordic events for the 1998 Winter Olympics based in Calgary, Alberta.

Water lovers have options aplenty. Rafters can hit the Kananaskis River’s Class 2 and 3 rapids or the Bow River’s Horseshoe Canyon’s Class III and IV. For a quieter trek, opt for a calm-water float trip.

Anglers are encouraged to cast into the Upper Bow River for some good brown trout fishing. Rainbow, cutthroat and brook trout are found elsewhere.

Shopaholics also will find lots of ways to get their fix. Trips to Le Chocolatier, the Ammonite Factory and of Cabbages & Kings Pottery Studio are essential for art aficionados and foodies.

For more details, contact Tourism Canmore Kananaskis online or by calling (403) 678-1295.

The first roads in the western United States were not roads at all.

Native Americans, explorers, traders, fortune-seekers and settlers traversed trails. Now, group tours explore these same paths with minds on their predecessors’ resolve and ambition.

Development of farms, cities and highways over the course of a century and half has forever changed the landscapes around western trails.

Still, vast portions of the trails’ terrain remain unchanged since the early days. While touring the routes, today’s travelers are able to capture a bit of the romance and adventure of the trails. With the help of guides and interpretive centers, they can understand the hardships of the journey and reasons why people made the trek.

Lewis & Clark

Meriwether Lewis and William Clark were some of the first U.S. citizens to encounter the environment and Native peoples of the west.

The men led an expedition from St. Louis to the Pacific Ocean and back between May 1804 and September 1806.

Stretching across 11 states and covering more than 3,700 miles, the Lewis and Clark National Historic Trail encompasses more than 100 sites.

The North Dakota Lewis & Clark Interpretive Center in Washburn, N.D., provides an overview of the Lewis and Clark expedition, with special emphasis on the time spent at Fort Mandan during the winter of 1804–1805.

A full-size replica of Fort Mandan, two miles west of the center, depicts the equipping of the expedition for the push to the Pacific Ocean. On-site interpreters provide programs and year-round guided group tours.

In Great Falls, Mont., the United States Department of Agriculture Forest Service has operated the Lewis and Clark National Historic Trail Interpretive Center since 1998.

The center overlooks the Missouri River, which the explorers followed on their journey from St. Louis to the Pacific Ocean.

Movies, exhibits and ranger programs bring alive the spirit of exploration epitomized by the Corps of Discovery. A two-story diorama of the expedition’s portage of the Missouri River’s five great falls is the centerpiece of the exhibit hall.

Trails lead to scenic overlooks, and signs point out the significance of landscape and wildlife for the expedition’s time in Montana.

Group reservations are required.

Units of Lewis and Clark National Historical Park are located in Washington and Oregon. Fort Clatsop, in Oregon, includes a replica of the group’s winter encampment from December 1805 to March 1806. An interpretive center offers an exhibit hall, gift shop and two films. The site has ranger-led programs, costumed rangers in the fort and trailheads for the Fort To Sea Trail and Netul River Trail.

On the trip back to St. Louis, Clark carved his name in a sandstone rock outcrop near modern-day Billings, Mont. The signature is still visible on Pompeys Pillar. A boardwalk leads to the signature and continues to the top of the mesa. The boardwalk is approximately 1,000 feet long and contains about 200 steps.

An interpretive center at Pompeys Pillar National Monument opened in 2006. Although the monument is closed in the winter, group tours may still include the site during daylight hours.

Oregon Trail

The Oregon Trail was a 2,000-mile route west from Missouri, through the Rocky Mountains to a new life in the Willamette Valley in Oregon. 

For the first eight decades of the 19th century, the Oregon Trail was the major corridor through which people moved from the eastern United States to the West Coast. As many as 300,000 made the five-month journey, although no one kept exact numbers.

With a little imagination, group members can feel the elation of emigrants at seeing Chimney Rock and Scotts Bluff in Nebraska. A third of the journey was behind them. But they faced more challenging terrain, swift rivers to cross, increasingly scarce water and food to find, clouds of dust, miles of shadeless trails and the daily routine of making and breaking camp.

The Ethel and Christopher J. Abbott Visitor Center at Chimney Rock National Historic Site in Bayard, Neb., houses museum exhibits and a video presentation that tells about the great migration to the West.

At Scotts Bluff National Monument in Gering, Neb., viewing exhibits in the museum and hiking the trails are the most popular activities.

A trail to California branched off the Oregon Trail in what is now southern Idaho.

The National Oregon/California Trail Center in Montpelier, Idaho, uses live actors within historically accurate interpretive areas to tell the story of the pioneers who made the trip. Visitors join a simulated wagon train headed west and experience what it was like to prepare for the journey.

The center’s Scenic Trails Chuck Wagon is a themed meal available only for group reservations. Wagon-style booths convey the feeling of an evening meal at sunset.

A must-see location on the trail is the National Historic Oregon Trail Interpretive Center near Baker City, Ore. The center, operated by the Bureau of Land Management, opened in 1992.

At least one hour is recommended for the self-guided tour of the exhibits, which cover pioneer life on the Oregon Trail, mountain men and early trail travelers, Native Americans along the trail, natural history along the trail and in eastern Oregon, mining and early settlement and the history of the General Land Office, Grazing Service and Bureau of Land Management.

Outside are 4.2 miles of interpretive trails. For a group walk to the wagon ruts, plan an additional one hour and 45 minutes round-trip.

The center’s volunteer group, Trail Tenders, can put together additional guided tours and activities for groups.

In Casper, Wyo., the National Historic Trails Interpretive Center commemorates the Oregon, Mormon, California and Pony Express trails. The center is a partnership involving the U.S. Department of Interior’s Bureau of Land Management, the National Historic Trails Center Foundation and the City of Casper.

Mormon migration

The Mormon Pioneer National Historic Trail runs from Nauvoo, Ill., to Salt Lake City and parallels much of the Oregon Trail. Mormons used the trail from 1846 to 1869 to escape religious persecution.

In Omaha, Neb., The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints operates the Mormon Trail Center at Historic Winter Quarters.

At Fort Bridger State Historic Site in Fort Bridger, Wyo., the main Oregon-California trail turned north toward Fort Hall, while the Mormon Trail/Hastings Cutoff continued west to the Great Salt Lake.

Groups can visit the fort’s museum/visitor center and a reconstruction of Jim Bridger’s log trading post.

Although Mormon emigrants used wagons, from 1856–1860, several groups carried their belongings in handcarts.

The Mormon Handcart Visitors’ Center in Martin’s Cove, Wyo., relates the story of the handcart emigrants and the hardships they endured.

Santa Fe Trail

The Santa Fe Trail was primarily a commercial highway connecting Missouri and Santa Fe, N.M.

From 1821 until 1846, it was an international commercial highway used by Mexican and U.S. traders, as Santa Fe was then part of Mexico. After the end of the Mexican-American War in 1848, the trail became a domestic commercial trade route, and trade and military freight boomed. The trail was used until 1880, when the railroad arrived in Santa Fe.

Scores of museums, interpretive centers and historic sites in five states provide information on the trail.

Council Grove, Kan., for example, boasts 11 certified sites on the trail, including Last Chance Store. The store was, for a time, the last opportunity for freighters bound for Santa Fe to secure supplies for their journey.

Native trails

In the late 1830s, more than 16,000 Cherokee men, women, and children were forcibly removed from their homes in the eastern U.S. to stockades and internment camps, after which they walked hundreds of miles to Indian Territory (present-day Oklahoma).

The Trail of Tears National Historic Trail was designated to preserve the story and routes and to support the associated sites that commemorate the Cherokees’ forced migration.

Exhibits in the Cherokee National Museum in Tahlequah, Okla., part of the Cherokee Heritage Center, interpret the Trail of Tears.

The Nez Perce (Nee-Me-Poo) National Historic Trail commemorates the 1877 Nez Perce War and extends about 1,170 miles from the vicinity of Wallowa Lake, Ore., to Bear Paw Battlefield near Chinook, Mont.

The 1877 flight of the Nez Perce from their homelands while pursued by the U.S. Army has been called one of the most fascinating and sorrowful events in western U.S. history.

Chief Joseph, Chief Looking Glass, Chief White Bird, Chief Ollokot, Chief Lean Elk and others led nearly 750 Nez Perce men, women and children and twice that many horses more than 1,170 miles through the mountains, on a trip that lasted from June to October of 1877.

Visitor and interpretive centers along the trail include the Missouri Breaks Interpretive Center in Fort Benton, Mont., and the Lolo Pass Visitor Center near the Montana-Idaho border.

North Dakota Lewis & Clark Interpretive Center
(877) 462-8535
www.fortmandan.com

Lewis and Clark National Historic Trail Interpretive Center
(406) 727-8733
www.fs.fed.us/r1/lewisclark/lcic

Lewis and Clark National Historical Park
(503) 861-2471
www.nps.gov/lewi/index.htm

Pompeys Pillar Interpretive Center
(406) 875-2400
www.pompeyspillar.org

Chimney Rock National Historic Site
(308) 586-2581
www.nps.gov/chro

Scotts Bluff National Monument
(308) 436-9700
www.nps.gov/scbl

Cherokee Heritage Center
(888) 999-6007
www.cherokeeheritage.org

National Oregon/California Trail Center
(866) 847-3800
www.oregontrailcenter.org

National Historic Oregon Trail Interpretive Center
(541) 523-1843
www.blm.gov/or/oregontrail

Mormon Trail Center at Historic Winter Quarters
(402) 453-9372
http://lds.org/placestovisit/eng/historical-sites/mormon-trail-center-at-historic-winter-quarters

As Portland’s 25-year vision plan notes, vibrant, diverse neighborhoods are home to all manner of people, “but it’s all the other things that give a place its soul — the cafes and markets, the art, parks, plazas, vistas, and sanctuaries.”

Portland’s districts have distinct personalities; groups can visit the various ones with formal itineraries or they could plan free time for individuals to explore on their own.

Alberta Arts District — The Artist

Northeast Alberta Street between 12th and 31st avenues is a multicultural hot spot. One of Portland’s oldest neighborhoods, it has seen a revival as a thriving community with an exhilarating blend of cultures. The Last Thursday Art Walk features art galleries, studios, restaurants and cafes, with performers and vendors generating a street-fair-style atmosphere.

Cultural District — The Entertainer

Portland’s parks are its gems, and few sparkle as luminously as downtown’s South Park Blocks. The city’s major cultural institutions and elegant high-rise residences border the park.

Flanking this green space are a historic auditorium (the Arlene Schnitzer Concert Hall), a modern theater complex (Antoinette Hatfield Hall of the Portland Center for the Performing Arts), a nationally recognized museum (Portland Art Museum), Oregon Historical Society, and the campus of Portland State.

The South Park Blocks also provide a surprisingly intimate setting for outdoor events, including OBT Exposed! (the Oregon Ballet Theatre’s weeklong outdoor rehearsal series). The seasonal Portland Farmers Market add just the right ingredients to the mix.

Old Town/Chinatown — The Chameleon

Below the streets of this river district, the Portland Underground serves as a reminder of the days of unsavory characters. In modern times — and at street level — the neighborhood has reinvented itself as a bustling art and entertainment district, as well as home to one of the largest collections of cast-iron buildings in the United States (second only to New York’s SoHo District).

Every weekend from March through December, Old Town hosts the Portland Saturday Market, open Sundays, too. Centered around the historic Skidmore Fountain, the city’s first piece of public art, the market offers items from more than 350 artists and crafters.

Portland’s Chinatown makes up a significant part of Old Town and is home to the Portland Classical Chinese Garden. The ornate Chinatown Gateway was assembled in Taiwan by artisans who adorned it with nearly 200 dragons and other mythical characters.

The Pearl District — The Bon Vivant

When exploring this modern, upscale neighborhood adjacent to Portland’s downtown, keep one thing in mind — 15 years ago this place was an uninviting industrial zone.

A stroll in the Pearl — or a trip through it on the Portland Streetcar — testifies to Portland’s reputation as “the city that works.” The Pearl’s evolution is ongoing, with restaurants, boutiques and national retailers moving in.

Powell’s City of Books is one of the oldest Pearl District businesses. Recognized as the largest independent bookstore in the world, Powell’s spans a full city block and rises three stories. The store houses 1 million new, used, and out-of-print titles.

The Portland Institute for Contemporary Art, Pacific Northwest College of Art, and the Art Institute of Portland are all here, too. Portland Center Stage, one of the city’s major theatrical companies, makes its home in the Gerding Theater at the Armory. The Museum of Contemporary Craft — one of Portland’s oldest cultural institutions — relocated to the Pearl in 2007.

LAS VEGAS — An exciting cultural destination and new focal point for downtown Las Vegas, The Mob Museum, opening on Valentine’s Day 2012, is now accepting reservations for special event rentals and group ticket sales in the 41,000-square-foot historic venue.

In addition, advance group ticket sale pricing is now available for corporate, community and school groups.

The Mob Museum is a modern-day museum and offers highly experiential and interactive experiences for events and group tours. Fascinating stories are brought to life through one-of-a-kind artifacts, interactive touch screens and distinctive ways to engage with law enforcement and organized crime materials. For example, during a party guests can “shoot” a simulated tommy gun, listen to real FBI surveillance tapes on wiretapping equipment and take part in FBI weapons training.

The museum features many different rooms to accommodate groups from 10 people up to 400.

“The historic court room at the center of the museum is a perfect backdrop for an elegant sit-down dinner for groups up to 120, while the building’s entry that is lined with the original post office boxes creates a unique and historic setting that will fuel interesting conversation at any cocktail party,” said Maria Sawyer, sales manager for the museum. “The ground level multi-purpose room or the third floor Board Room is a perfect place for lunch and a lecture.”

The appeal of gangsters, organized crime, and law enforcement has long been an irresistible attraction of popular culture, film, and fiction. These fascinating themes are the focus of The Mob Museum, the National Museum of Organized Crime and Law Enforcement.

The Mob Museum is located in what many consider the ultimate artifact, the former federal courthouse and United States Post Office. The building was dedicated on November 27, 1933 as the city’s first federal building and is listed on the Nevada and National Registers of Historic Places. The building is significant not only for its neo-classical architecture reminiscent of the period in which it was built, but also for the historic events that unfolded inside of it.

The facility is culturally significant as the location where one of 14 national Kefauver hearings was held to expose and control organized crime in America. It also houses the same courtroom where former Las Vegas Mayor Oscar B. Goodman, once the Mob’s go-to attorney, defended notorious mobsters like Frank “Lefty” Rosenthal, Meyer Lansky and Anthony Spilotro.

It has been rehabilitated by The Mob Museum into a contemporary cultural destination in the heart of downtown focusing on the history, significance, and influence of organized crime and law enforcement.

“Given the global fascination with organized crime and all the intriguing tales that are part of its lore, The Mob Museum is a fun and exciting new place for a variety of special events,” said Sawyer. “Interest has already been strong from groups desiring to rent The Mob Museum for a variety of gatherings.”

The Mob Museum includes 17,000 square feet of exhibition space on three floors in addition to a specialty retail store, special event areas, educational areas and office space. Admission is $18 plus tax for adults ages 18 and over; $12 plus tax for children ages 5 to 17 and students ages 18 to 23 with ID; $14 plus tax for seniors, military, law enforcement and teachers; and $10 plus tax for Nevada residents of all ages.

For more information about special event rentals and group ticket sales, contact Sawyer at (702) 229-2713; or via e-mail at msawyer@themobmuseum.org.

When the phrase “Canadian sports” is mentioned in America, we reflexively think “hockey.” After all, where would the NHL be without the perpetual infusion of talent from our neighbors to the north? Out in the cold, that’s where.

But, to the proud members of the many curling clubs in Manitoba, it’s all about taking the stone to the house.

Although the exact origin of curling has yet to be discovered, many curling historians agree that it most likely originated in Scotland in the 16th century. The earliest curling stone found in Scotland, the Stirling stone, dates back to 1511. Curling stones back then could weigh from 5 to 25 pounds. Today, a curling stone is a chunk of granite weighing between 38 and 44 pounds with a maximum circumference of 36 inches and a minimum height of 4.5 inches.

Curling is a cross between shuffleboard and chess.  Two teams of four members take turns sliding their stone down a lane of ice to “the house,” a large target of concentric circles resembling a bullseye. The “button” lies at the center of the target and is where an ideal throw ends its journey.

Two team members, armed with brooms, vigorously sweep the ice in front of the stone as it glides across the ice. While it may look silly to the uninitiated, sweeping the ice controls the speed and direction of the stone. The team leader, the “skip,” directs the team’s efforts.

A team scores a point for every stone that is in the house closer to the button than the opposing team’s stones. Teams can guard their stones with other stones, while the opposing team tries to dislodge them with their throws. The highest score at the end of nine or 11 turns, or “ends,” wins the match.

Because curling is so popular in Manitoba, finding a league in which to play is fairly easy. In Winnipeg alone, there are no less than 18 curling clubs. The Granite Curling Club is the oldest curling club in the West. Formed in 1880, the “mother club was relocated in 1912 to the posh Tudor Revival-style building it currently calls home. 

ANCHORAGE, Alaska — The Anchorage Museum in February will unveil an exhibition featuring the stunning work of a celebrated Native American glass artist.

“Preston Singletary: Echoes, Fire and Shadows” will be on display at the museum Feb. 3–April 22.

The body of work is a mid-career survey chronicling Singletary’s evolution from night watchman at a glass studio to internationally recognized glass artist.

The exhibition was curated by the Museum of Glass in Tacoma, Wash., and traveled last year to the National Museum of the American Indian’s gallery in New York City.

Singletary, who lives in Seattle, was raised with stories about his Alaska Native Tlingit heritage from his great-grandmother, Susie Johnson Bartlett, and other relatives from southeast Alaska.

Inspired by this legacy, he dedicated his work to both honoring Tlingit tradition and infusing it with new vitality.

He said he sees the Alaska exhibition as a homecoming.

“I am honored to have all this national attention for my work, but my connections to the native community and the indigenous world community is where I get my inspiration,” Singletary said.

“I have a tremendous sense of purpose with my work because it represents my family history, community and the confluence of cultures as I experience it.”

Singletary’s unique interpretations of Tlingit legends are visible in his stunning glass sculptures, many of which are in traditional forms such as crest hats, masks and rattles. He employs a complex combination of techniques, including glassblowing, sand carving and inlaying.

In this exhibition, visitors see nearly 50 works of art, including some rare objects being exhibited for the first time and Singletary’s most ambitious work to date; “Clan House” is a 16-by-10-foot glass triptych recalling the interior of a Tlingit longhouse.

The exhibition is enriched with original music and a documentary film.

Some objects on display are from the artist’s own collection; others were borrowed from museum and private collections across the United States. Singletary’s art is included in collections at the Seattle Art Museum; Museum of Fine Arts, Boston; Anchorage Museum; and the Heard Museum, Phoenix, among others.

The Anchorage Museum is the largest museum in Alaska and one of the 10 most visited attractions in the state. Its displays cover 10,000 years of Alaska history and art.

The museum offers free, docent-led tours. Private docent-led tours and planetarium shows are available upon request. Two weeks advance notice is requested. A minimum tour length of two hours is recommended.

There’s a myth going around — a misconception really — that Telluride is hard to get to.

Sure, there’s only one way in and out of the canyon and Denver is more than six hours away. But direct flights from Denver and many hub cities arrive at the Montrose Airport daily, and shuttles take eager visitors right to the slopes.

The highway between the airport and Telluride has no real mountain passes, so it doesn’t have to close when it snows.

Because the major metropolitan areas are far enough away, the roads aren’t clogged with daytrippers and weekend warriors who aren’t serious about visiting.

And once you arrive, you don’t need to worry about schlepping your stuff all over town. Most hotels, restaurants and attractions have ski-in, ski-out access. You rarely have to go further than across the street to start skiing.

Unlike many ski resorts, beginners aren’t relegated to the bunny hills near the snack shop. They enjoy panoramic views of rugged, rocky cliffs and towering drops. On the other end of the spectrum, extreme skiers will find runs right at the resort, safer than heading off into the backcountry.

“It’s a very special place,” said Tom Watkinson, the PR/communications manager
 for the Telluride Ski Resort. “Telluride become everyone’s favorite when they visit.”

Are you sold yet?

Telluride, an old mining town, wears its history with pride. Tucked into a box canyon between three 14,000-foot peaks of the San Juan Mountains, Telluride is eight blocks wide and 12 blocks long.

Its historic district was named a National Historic Landmark, honoring its Old West history. Today, the clapboard storefronts and historic buildings are home to chic eateries, art galleries and other fun places a respectable ski town needs.

Its sister town, Mountain Village, is located a free gondola ride away. Perched above the valley floor at 9,500 feet, this is the best access to the Telluride Ski Resort, the Uncompahgre National Forest and some great nightlife.

“Telluride is the most unique ski resort and probably the prettiest you’ll see in North America,” said Watkinson. “Well, really in the world.”

With more than 2,000 skiable acres and 309 inches of snow each year, the Telluride Ski Resort is open from the end of November through the beginning of April. It also offers 125 trails, and its longest run is the 4.6-mile Galloping Goose.

Tour operators who work with the Telluride Ski Resort will have access to a lot of perks. Charity Banker, the group sales manager, can help work out the details for lift tickets, ski school lessons and dining— as well as discounts — as long as the group consists of at least 20 people. Other options include private après ski parties and hillside barbecues.

The best rates and best perks are often found in that stretch after the holidays to President’s Day. After it gets busy for the February holiday weekend, things quiet down again until Mid-March or so.    

The hotels and restaurants throughout Mountain Village and Telluride also welcome groups. The ski resort is separate from the accommodations.

In both locations, the choices of places to stay are plentiful. Boutique hotels welcome small groups and the big properties can easily handle throngs of Telluride visitors. Budget hotels are located near luxury resorts, so everyone can be accommodated.

PALM SPRINGS, Calif. — History flies through the skies at the Palm Springs Air Museum, and visitors can get close to vintage World War II, Korea and Vietnam-era aircraft.

More than 28 flyable planes are on display inside three climate-controlled hangars totaling 67,000 square feet. 

The three hangars are organized by theme, with related exhibits lining the walls.

“Many of the museum docents actually flew these planes and served on the ships,” said Ann Greer, the museum’s public relations manager.

From the lobby, visitors can either go straight, past the Buddy Rogers Theatre to the hangars or head upstairs by elevator or staircase to the 8,400-volume research library. In the library’s outer room are computer flight simulators to entertain and teach the principles of flight.

The Pond Hangar includes exhibits and aircraft used by the Navy in the Pacific Theater during World War II. Highlights include the Pearl Harbor diorama narrated by NBC News journalist and author Tom Brokaw, the Grumman Cats, the Avenger, Corsair, Dauntless, Invader and the PBY Catalina Flying Boat.

Ship models, uniforms and weapon display cabinets complement the large Pacific map mural and the aviation art by American Stan Stokes and Englishman Robert Taylor. 

The Cravens Hangar features exhibits and aircraft used by the Army in the European Theater during World War II, plus a T-33 training jet used in Korea and Vietnam.

Aircraft in this hangar include the B-25 Mitchell Bomber, P-47 Thunderbolt, the P-51 Mustang, the P-63 King Cobra, the Stearman, the Spitfire and the C-47. 

Other highlights in Cravens Hangar are the Tuskegee Airmen mural, the interactive Living History Kiosk, the large European map mural with interactive display, the Women Pilots of World War II exhibit, the Jackie Cochran exhibit and the 100th Bomb Group exhibit. 

The museum’s third and smallest hangar contains the B-17 Flying Fortress, and the Kool Kids area with fun, interactive activities for young people, the Freedom Fighter Café, restrooms and the General Ken Miles Aviation Science Center. Flag and engine displays are also in this hangar.

Visitors can tour inside the B-17, C-47 and PBY Catalina.

Flight exhibitions occur on several Saturday afternoons between November and May, including the popular Memorial Day Flower Drop.

Helicopter rides are available through Dedicated Helicopters, (760) 898-9601.

At the museum, pre-arranged group tours are accommodated any day of the week between 10 a.m. and 2 p.m. The average time of an escorted tour is 1½ to 2 hours. An escorted tour with a movie lasts about 2½ to 3½ hours. Group rates are available.

Museum hours are 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. open daily except Thanksgiving, Christmas and the second Friday in February. The museum can be rented for catered events and site rentals.

Contact the Palm Springs Air Museum by telephone at (760) 778-6262.