1. Eagle Point – Beaver, Utah:  http://www.skieaglepoint.com/content/tubing

Take the kiddos tubing down some of the longest runs in North America! A two-hour session is $15 and with the lift, you will be able to get a bunch of laughter-filled runs in before time runs out. Take along some friends and enjoy a group discount!

2. Canyons – Park City, Utah:  http://canyonsresort.com/lodging_packages.html

Try something new with the Hot Deals at Canyons:  7 for 5 or the Family Adventure Special guarantee a good time at one of the newest parks in Utah. And when you are ready for a getaway adventure, there are some great specials for Mom and Dad, too!

3. Sasquatch Jib Park – Crystal Mountain, Washington:  http://jibcrystal.com/
Do your kids love to snowboard? Wait until they see this! Rails, pole jams and more to try new tricks out and do some wild shredding! You will be amazed what they come up with at the park with just a little snow and imagination.

4. Mt. Shasta Ski Park – Mt. Shasta, California:  http://skipark.com/

Children’s packages are available for all skill levels, from never having seen a slope to ‘skied since before birth’; both cross-country and downhill options are available on this 14,000 ft Mountain and kids under 12 get a big break on lift tickets and ski rentals.

5. Whitefish Mountain Resort – Whitefish, Montana:  http://skiwhitefish.com/

Take the Amtrak train to Whitefish with the kids for skiing, snowmobile tours, sleigh rides, and great family deals for dining, sleeping, lift tickets, and renting skis and snowboards to take advantage of all that beautiful powder. The season is just ramping up at Whitefish.

6. Cooper Creek Square – Winter Park, Colorado:  http://www.coopercreeksquare.com/index.php

Technically it’s not snow, but it IS a winter park! At Cooper Creek Square you can take the kids ice skating in the middle of a quaint little shopping area decked out with holiday lights and regularly visited by a variety of live entertainment acts. Do a little shopping or relax with your family and enjoy the view!

7. Mt. Bachelor – Bend, Oregon:  http://www.mtbachelor.com/winter/index.html

Otter Mountain Childcare Center is state-licensed and offers care for children age 6 weeks to 12 years. There is a 2 hour ‘Little Rippers’ lesson for beginners age 3.5 to 5 years and snow school for kids age 3.5 and up – rentals included!

8. Brundage Mountain – McCall, Idaho:  http://www.brundage.com/the-mountain/snow-sports-school/bears-for-kids/

Brundage Bears Kids Program offered daily for skiers age 5 to 11. Includes lunch and lift ticket! This is a long-standing tradition in Idaho and kids have options to fit every skill level. If you plan on spending some time on the mountain, check out the 5-Day Bears Select Card to save a little.

9. Science of Snow Week at Arizona Science Center – Phoenix, Arizona:  http://www.azscience.org/

It’s snowing inside the science center! Themed activities, live demos, make snowflakes, and play in the snow. Learn how snow forms and what causes it to snow outside at the Arizona Science Center. Make it a habit and purchase a center membership to take advantage of future offerings. What will they come up with next?

10. Reno/Tahoe – Nevada and California:  http://www.visitrenotahoe.com/

Snow play areas and Sno-parks abound near Reno and around Lake Tahoe. In Nevada these are somewhat informal and easy to attend and play – take a sled, toboggan, or inner tube and let ‘er rip. California has a Sno-Park program run by the state parks and rec department on their side of Lake Tahoe.

11. Ruidoso Winter Park – Alto, New Mexico:  http://ruidosowinterpark.com/

Especially if you are coming from south of snow, this is a great place to take the kids to see it for the first time! Just let the kids watch the videos on the website, they’ll be begging you to take them.

12. Skiing, snow coach rides, ice skating, winter hiking – Cody, Wyoming:  http://www.codywyomingnet.com/winter_recreation/

Wyoming is full of gorgeous National parks and wilderness areas and Cody, Wyoming is a star for this show. Kids can ski, snowmobile, snowshoe, ride in a snow coach, ice skate, and take a winter hike in this beautiful snow-covered landscape.

With the holidays in full swing, we thought we’d offer some guidance on what to do with your old maps and atlases to make room for new gifts on your shelf and in your glove compartment or travel pack.

A Holiday garland:

Here are some gift crafts:

Make your own decorative bow

http://www.neatorama.com/2008/12/16/make-your-own-gift-bows/

How about tags?

http://bisonaustralia.blogspot.com/2011/06/tag-team.html

Or wrapping paper:

http://postcardsandpretties.blogspot.com/2011/08/faves-maps-globes.html

[Read more...]

Colorado is a state filled with hut networks worth the effort to ski, snowshoe, and in the summer cycle up to. The most famous and intricate of these is the 10th Mountain Division Huts that lay in a network between Aspen, Vail, Eagle, and Edwards.
The inspiration for the huts came to Fritz Benedict after visiting the Haute Route in the Swiss Alps. Benedict wanted to create a network to rival the one in the Alps, and many claim he outdid himself.
Each hut has its own character and story. The 10th Mountain Division Hut (the network’s namesake) is named to honor the soldiers of the 10th Mountain Division of the U.S. Army who trained in Colorado’s Eagle River Valley on a site known as Camp Hale in December 1942. More than 11,000 troops trained for over two years until they were deployed in 1945 to Italy and played a serious role in many of the battles during WWII.
Being the most popular network in Colorado, most of the huts are reserved almost a year in advance. It’s possible to purchase another member’s reservation if they post it. Find more information at: huts.org
Although skiing to the huts is the most popular winter mode of transportation, snowshoeing is becoming increasingly more popular. Here are is some great new gear to try out for your next snowy hike:

The one name most associated with road maps and road map collecting, above all others, is H.M. Gousha. In its 70 years, the H.M. Gousha Company printed over three and a half billion road maps and atlases for hundreds of customers. Yet very little is known about the early history of the company and even less about its founder, Harry Mathias Gousha II.

At the upcoming West Coast Map Meet, Curtis Carroll will reveal how Gousha entered the map business and track his early successes at Rand McNally. He’ll also discuss the glass ceiling that existed at Rand and how Gousha courageously started his own road map company, riding the wave of the Roaring Twenties and then struggling to keep afloat through the Great Depression.  Plus he will identify two important mentoring figures who made Gousha’s successes possible and the 1935 event that brought stability to the business but also resulted in Harry Gousha leaving the company he founded at the young age of 48.

October 27, 2012 at 4pm in the University of the Pacific’s Jacoby Center, Stockton, California. Admission is complimentary. Directions to the event can by found on the Road Map Collectors Association website: roadmaps.org

As summer comes to a close, and fall is swooping in to give us all the much anticipated coat weather, Benchmark Maps is delighted to give the Arbor Day Foundation our first donation installment via our Atlas + Tree Matching partnership. Since our kick off in July, we have successfully planted 204 trees across the western US – that’s ONE ACRE of nothing but trees! We are thrilled to keep them coming.

Since the 2012 summer fires that raged across the country, we’ve been keenly aware of the devastation brought to hundreds of thousands of American households and the surrounding forests. In an effort to give some relief to our neighbors, and as a preventative measure against potential flooding in the now tree-less areas, we formed a partnership with the Arbor Day Foundation: for every atlas sold on our website (or from the 800 number provided) we will help by planting a tree in its place. For more information about our efforts, check out our philanthropy page: www.benchmarkmapsgivesback.com

We are looking forward to years of tree planting with the foundation so our customers have a destination to map that is just as beautiful as their predecessors. Onward!