Idaho’s Often Overlooked Sawtooth Mountains
Near the Oregon border, the Sawtooth Mountains are 10,000 foot peaks that are just as majestic as the Tetons, but with 1/10th the traffic. Fly into Sun Valley (1-hour drive) or Boise (3-hour drive) and make your way to the Idaho Rocky Mountain Ranch, a vacation retreat for close to eight decades. Then get ready to play. Immerse yourself in the stunning surroundings by climbing 1700 feet to shimmering Sawtooth Lake, the “crown jewel” of the Valley. In July, the wildflowers are at their peak, and you can find lupine, sego lilies, Indian paintbrush, shooting stars, blue penstemon and many others. The region is also known for epic mountain biking, hooking brookies, rainbow, and cutthroat trout, rafting on the nearby Salmon River, and this being a ranch, guided half-day and full-day horseback riding adventure. Afterwards, you can soak yourself in the hot spring-fed pool, before dinners of elk, salmon, and Dungeness crab from the Washington coast. At night, people gather on the outdoor patio to gaze at the sparkling sky and listen to foot-stomping live music. This is mountain living at its best.
The hysteria over Ebola has persuaded travelers to avoid Africa in the foreseeable future. But here are the facts. The distance from the Ebola outbreak in Liberia to the safari parks of East and Southern Africa is about the same distance as Manhattan to Anchorage, Alaska. Indeed, Madrid, Paris, and London are all closer to the Ebola epicenter than Nairobi or Capetown. Both Kenya and South Africa have stopped all flights to the affected region and so far, there have been no reported cases of Ebola in the eastern or southern part of the continent. With safari bookings dramatically down in 2015, this is the time to go bargain hunting and find deals with African outfitters. They need to fill seats to stay in business. 
All you have to do is donate $35 to Habitat for Humanity and you become eligible for 50% off room rates at participating Maine inns this spring. It’s all part of the Maine Innkeepers Association annual Habitat for Humanity fundraiser, which has raised over $115,000 for local Habitat projects across Maine since 2004. The reduced rate is available at 
I’ve had the pleasure of knowing the work of travel writer Reid Bramblett since we were both contributing editors at Arthur Frommer’s Budget Travel magazine some 15 years ago. He’s the foremost expert on Italy, where he spent his adolescence and then proceeded to pen ten guidebooks (including Frommer’s and DK titles) and far too many articles to count. He has since launched 
July 4th weekend might be in the rear view mirror but the summer has just begun. Don’t miss the opportunity to visit one of the hundreds of amusement parks across the country to sample some of their new rides. According to the International Association of Amusement Parks and Attractions, the big new trends at amusement parks are virtual reality roller coasters and immersive 4-D attractions. On roller coasters, riders wear specially designed virtual reality headsets as they become part of the adrenalin-pumping storyline. For example, 
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