Death Valley: Star-gazing party at national park starts Jan. 28

The stars will be gathering for a big party later this month, but revelers will need to travel nearly 300 miles from Hollywood to take part....

Joie de Vivre hotels give you $100 credit for your birthday

The Joie de Vivre hotel group has extended its "Birthday Bucks" special into 2011 and early 2012 -- good news for folks who like something...

California tourism is in a bright spot

Who wants to hang around you when you're down on your luck? And yet California, mired in budget distress and other economic woes,...

Snow hits Lake Tahoe area, Utah, Colorado slopes early and often this season

The skies have dropped seasonal gifts of snow on many winter resorts in the Western United States, earlier and in greater quantity than...

Budget-friendly destinations for the holidays

Tired of the same holiday traditions? Is the neighbor's decoration aesthetic too Barnum & Bailey? Had it with the drunken Dec. 31 frat...

The joys of snowshoeing

Winter hopscotched into Southern California early this year, riding an arctic blast of air and snow at local ski resorts. On the mountain,...

Yosemite National Park, in winter's grip

It is early February — Super Bowl weekend — and Yosemite is quiet.

Skiing: the West's outstanding early-season conditions

Powerful late-fall storms have dropped many feet of snow on mountains throughout the West, creating some of the best early-season skiing and...

California hostels offer budget-luxury accommodations

With 30 bucks and an open mind, you can stay in some prime spots in California — on the Pacific Beach boardwalk in San Diego, for...

Sleep where the legends slept in grand old California hotels

"Oh sleep! It is a gentle thing, beloved from pole to pole," British poet Samuel Taylor Coleridge wrote in "The Rime of the Ancient Mariner....

Sierra Summit, now called China Peak, expands ski facilities

Sierra Summit resort in California has reclaimed its old...

Exploring Mitchell Caverns in Providence Mountains State Recreation Area

Reporting from the Providence Mountains State Recreation Area, Calif.

West Hollywood hotel: Charlie Chaplin Tramp stayed here

Entering the Charlie Chaplin cottage, I stooped to avoid hitting my head. At 5 feet 8, I'm about 3 inches taller than Chaplin. (It's said...

Keeping the Old West alive in Santa Ynez Valley

Santa Barbara County's Santa Ynez Valley is known for its fine wines and upscale horse farms, but some of the Old West remains, including...

A 6-year-old's first visit to Disneyland hits some attractions, misses others

Don't miss the Toontown roller coaster, somebody said. Don't bother with Toontown, somebody else said. Don't risk the Matterhorn with a...

Cheap eats in San Francisco

San Francisco has a way of grabbing hold of its visitors and taking them for an incredible ride, whether they're dangling off the side of...

A weekend just for murder mystery buffs

Did Ms. Scarlet silence Mrs. Peacock with a knife to the throat? Or did Col. Mustard throttle Professor Plum with a silver-plated...

Brick-and-mortar treasures in Tinseltown

Like an old movie set, original Hollywood was dismantled ages ago, leaving what appears to be scant trace of its hallowed roots: The...