From a centrally located RV park just south of Eugene, RVers can enjoy day trips to many different festivals and celebrations year round in the Southern Willamette Valley. Whether your passion is art, music, sports, or the outdoors, the Willamette Valley has the gathering for you! Each season brings occasions to celebrate.

During the summer months, the coastal town of Winchester Bay hosts many outdoor festivities. The Crab Bounty Hunt involves cash prizes in a celebration of crabbing. The annual Ocean Fest packs together games, music, barbecues, and Coast Guard demonstrations.

ATV enthusiasts are drawn to Winchester Bay for the yearly Dunefest, in the heart of the Oregon Dunes. Arts and Crafts are displayed and sold during Art on the Bay.

Driving inland, along the Umpqua River, an annual Chain Saw Sculpting Contest celebrates this unique art form. Further inland, the Umpqua Valley Arts Center celebrates arts and crafts at the annual Summer Umpqua Arts Festival in Roseburg.

On the 1-5 Corridor you can enjoy food and festivities during Bohemia Mining Days in Cottage Grove In Eugene, the musical arts are enjoyed during the Oregon Festival of American Music and the Oregon Bach Festival.

Junction City, just north of Eugene, takes time to honor its heritage during the Scandinavian Festival. This celebration allows attendees to drink in culture through food, arts, folk dancing, music, and pageantry.

Albany offers the Willamette River Festival, the Timber Carnival, and the Northwest Art and Air Festival during the summer. The Corvallis community honors invention and ingenuity during DaVinci Days and Salem hosts an Art Festival.

As Autumn approaches, back down in Winchester Bay the town is gearing up for the Salmon Derby. Eugene offers the Mr. Pisgah Mushroom Festival and up in Mt. Angel, German culture is honored during Oktoberfest.

All along the Oregon coast during the winter months, many visitors line the viewpoints for whale watching. There are many wayside pullouts and several places provide information about this fascinating migration. Winchester Bay adds merriment through the Wine, Beer, Seafood, and Music Confluence.

During the holiday season, Eugene hosts the Festival of Trees where hundreds of Christmas trees are decorated in themes and auctioned off for medical charities. While most communities offer varying degrees of holiday displays, Shore Acres Park in Coos Bay puts on a dazzling display that is well worth the extra miles.

The Willamette Valley bursts into bloom in the Spring and Junction City takes advantage of this time to direct visitors to the famous Daffodil Festival with a drive lined with the blossoms and food and festivities to finish it off.

Just to the north in Woodburn, Tulips are the bloom of choice at the Wooden Shoe Tulip Festival. In Kaizer, the Iris Festival holds the spotlight.

For over 100 years Florence has celebrated its native Rhododendron during the Rhododendron Festival. Arts and crafts, parades and games entertain the crowds.
In Eugene

The Scottish Festival celebrates this cultural heritage with music, food, merchandise, and a festival concert. The Willamette Valley Folk Festival highlights traditional and non-traditional forms of this historic musical genre.

Spanning from a centrally located RV park many of these attractions could be enjoyed with minimal planning. Taking part in the cultural celebrations in these lovely communities will enhance your aesthetic experiences.

Roger Langenberg, http://www.deerwoodrvpark.com/ Deerwood RV Park, in a beautiful, wooded setting with large, green lawns is secluded from freeway noise yet only 5 minutes south of Eugene, Oregon. Centrally located, with good access to I-5 and other highways leading to adventures in beautiful Oregon, Deerwood RV Park is a wonderful place to stay in scenic Oregon. Deerwood RV Park is an award-winning, spacious and unique RV park.

From its source at Diamond Lake in the Cascades, the Umpqua River whirls and swells in and around bedrock as it winds its way to the Pacific Ocean at Winchester Bay. The waters of this world-renowned river hold an abundance of fish for all types of angling and the surrounding areas offer spectacular views and interesting wildlife.

A centrally located RV park south of Eugene makes a perfect launching point for ventures into the wide expanses of southern Oregon. Time spent driving the Rogue-Umpqua Scenic Byway will show you why the early Chinook labeled this dynamic stream “Thundering Waters”.

The Mt. Thielsen Wilderness Area, high in the Cascades, is home to the headwaters of the Umpqua, at Lake Maidu. Diamond Lake lies at the foot of the rugged Mt. Thielsen. Crater Lake, Oregon’s own volcanic basin, is not too far off. All of these areas have marked hiking trails of varying degrees of difficulty. Just the drive through the Umpqua National Forest is a reward in itself.

Any segment of this spectacular river would supply a myriad of adventures. Taking the designated North Umpqua Scenic Drive on Highway 138 offers 60 miles of interesting wildlife, productive fishing spots, crashing waterfalls, and geologic phenomena.

Roosevelt Elk, deer, and wild turkey may be seen along the way and world-class fishing opportunities exist for Steelhead, Chinook and Coho Salmon, Rainbow and Brown Trout, and Striped and Smallmouth Bass. The river sports a large quantity of native species.

When you fish the waters of the Umpqua you are sharing in an age-old tradition alongside such famous names as novelist Earnest Hemmingway, Western author Zane Grey, and millionaire reporter Major Lawrence Mott. Several prime fishing spots bare their name or influence, dating back to the 1920s.

To bring further definition to the theme of “Thundering Waters”, a stunning view of the waterfalls begins at Lemolo Falls where the water plummets 102 feet to this man-made lake, thus earning its Chinook name, “untamed”. At the next stop, an easy trail leads you to 70-foot Warm Spring Falls. Clearwater Falls and Whitehorse Falls drop 30 and 15 feet respectively.

The highest of these waterfalls plunges 272 feet. A challenging trail will take you to a breathtaking view but this spectacle may also be easily viewed from the parking lot. Just a half-mile in from the highway, Toketee Falls, Chinook for “pretty”, offers two drops of 40 and 80 feet over basalt ledges through a small gorge.

From May to October, Steelhead jump the falls at Steamboat Creek. An easy trail guides you to a viewing area. Fall Creek Falls cascades over a 35 foot drop and a 50 foot drop. A 50 foot waterfall is found at Susan Creek Falls, where you can also view historic Indian mounds. Deadline Falls is another place to watch steelhead and salmon as they jump the waters to their spawning grounds.

The 79-mile North Umpqua Trail begins in the Swiftwater Recreation Site. A unique draw to this area is a handicap accessible fishing platform. A shorter, quarter-mile trail can also be found here and takes you to an area where you can easily watch fish climbing the falls in June through October.

In and around Roseburg there are special areas to view fish in their environment. Winchester Dam viewing windows allow observation of salmon and steelhead. And at the Rock Creek Fish Hatchery tours are available to see the developmental stages of several species.

The city of Glide offers the Colliding Rivers Viewpoint, showing the literal crashing of the North Umpqua and the Little River as they meet head-on. An informative Visitors Center, started in the 1930s by the Civilian Conservation Corps, welcomes inquisitive viewers.

To further enhance your experience of the Umpqua, follow this dynamic river to its mouth at Winchester Bay. Here you will find easy beach access including miles and miles of sandy dunes, part of Oregon Dunes National Recreation Area.

Abundant river, lake, and ocean fishing, as well as crabbing and clamming satisfy the outdoorsman. The beautiful 65 foot Umpqua lighthouse has protected the Salmon Harbor for decades. An adjacent museum tells its story.

Thought of by many to be one of the country’s most scenic rivers, the Umpqua River, in Douglas County, is truly an Oregon treasure.

Roger Langenberg, http://www.deerwoodrvpark.com/ Deerwood RV Park, in a beautiful, wooded setting with large, green lawns is secluded from freeway noise yet only 5 minutes south of Eugene, Oregon. Centrally located, with good access to I-5 and other highways leading to adventures in beautiful Oregon, Deerwood RV Park is a wonderful place to stay in scenic Oregon. Deerwood RV Park is an award-winning, spacious and unique RV park.

Everyone’s tightening the purse strings at the moment, and it’s easy to see why - every day there seems to be more news about how things are worse and are going to keep on getting worse in the economy. This has caused many people to forgo the traditional ‘two weeks in the sun’ foreign holiday that so many Brits take every year, but the constant doom and gloom in the media and the stress in the workplace is exactly why we need to take a holiday.

With people trying to save money and forsaking their foreign summer breaks, there has been a rise in home grown vacations, with holidays in Devon enjoying a particular resurgence. It’s easy to see why; it’s a beautiful county with a range of different activities available. There are few counties in the UK which can match it for its scenery, be it the rolling hills or the gorgeous beaches at both the top and bottom of the county, ensuring that whatever kind of vacation you take, holidays in Devon will never be short of stunning vistas.

It’s not just the views which are encouraging more and more people to take holidays in Devon; it’s also the range of activities on offer. As possible as it is to take a vacation in a little town in the county, sample local life and relax while seeing the sights, an action packed holiday including such activities as hiking or water sports is equally as achievable, making it possible to take a holiday which will suit almost any temperament or traveller.

Although the British weather isn’t as clement or as reliable the way it often is in foreign countries such as Brazil or Spain, home grown holidays in places such as Devon offer advantages that these destinations do not, not least the financial savings that staying in Britain offers over travelling abroad. The Pound is far weaker compared to the Euro and the Dollar than it has been in previous years and as a result of this spending money abroad is just not as economically viable as it was just a couple of years ago.

As bleak as the economic climate is, the silver lining may well be that it has allowed many people to rediscover the beauty and variety of their home country. With the range of possible holidays in Devon available, from relaxing village breaks to action packed beach holidays, it’s likely that a suitable vacation can be found for everyone, no matter what the weather does.

Anna Stenning is a travel journalist with many years of experience travelling and writing about Britain. Find out more about holidays in Devon at http://www.eastdevoncottages.com/

There’s so much rhetoric about flying that sometimes you’re not quite sure whether to board a plane or not. If it’s not delays it’s the threat of something else from a long list of ‘possibles’.

However, the number of passengers still seems to be increasing according to BAA, the leading airport company that owns seven of the UK’s airports including the largest, London Heathrow.

The company, which also has interests in a number of overseas airports, claims that some 1,700 aircraft a day take off from its UK airports - one every 30 seconds.

And the number of passengers passing through BAA airports in August 2008 soared to 15.2 million according to company data released recently.

The 5.9 per cent rise in passenger figures, compared to July, drew on a marked increase in European scheduled traffic, with 8.2 per cent passenger growth and a 10.2 per cent rise in the number of passengers travelling to the north Atlantic including America.

Little wonder, therefore, that there always seems to be pressure on governments to increase airport capacity. On the one hand the ‘greens’ claim that too much pressure from the skies will have a detrimental effect on the environment, whilst the business community say that the UK will become uncompetitive if it doesn’t allow more planes to land and take off. No doubt similar arguments are put forward by politicians and business leaders the world over.

However, the rise in personal wealth that has continued for many since the late 50’s, has created a changing world centred on shopping, materialism and the desire to see more of the world.

And it is something that airlines have not been slow to capitalise upon. Cheap flights from the likes of Jet2 and Ryanair have spawned a whole new industry committed to cramming as many people on aeroplanes as possible for the lowest possible cost.

This has not only fuelled numbers of people travelling compared with years ago, but international holiday hops have become more accessible to those people that, in a previous life, would never have dreamed of crossing the ocean; Blackpool, Bridlington or Margate was once the lot of the blue collar worker.

However, with more disposable cash, bigger desires - fuelled by TV and advertisers - there are greater ‘wants’ in life and people are prepared to put their money where their mouths are, pack their cases and head for the local airport.

And no longer is it just Heathrow and Manchester airports. There are now regional airports across the UK and most of them offer some kind of holiday deal. Travelling abroad has become so much easier.

Will it continue? Only the futurologists can hope to predict! While ever there’s disposable cash people will be happy to jump on a plane. However, whether the money flow will continue in years to come, is a matter of much speculation. If the airlines have anything to do with it they will fight tooth and nail to hold on to their market share and to keep international flight at the forefront of people’s minds, but if the politicians and the environmentalists join the debate more vociferously, then it could be a very different story. Happy flying!

Hotels by Airports is a price comparison website for UK airport hotels. Every airport within the UK and now Eire is featured and airport hotels are displayed in order of distance from the actual terminal. Hotel prices are featured from all major online hotel booking agents offering quick and easy access to the best UK airport hotel deals around.

When you shop for luggage online, you may be able to find a greater variety and more competitive pricing than you could otherwise find in your local store. In addition to promotional offers, which may include free or discounted shipping and coupons, online luggage stores frequently offer closeouts, clearances and standard sale prices designed to clear out inventory and make room for new arrivals. Depending on where you shop, you may be able to read customer reviews and ratings on certain products.

When shopping for luggage online, the first thing to consider is size. You will need to know what size of luggage you prefer and then narrow your online search to fit that specific criteria. If you are looking for a few coordinating pieces opposed to an entire luggage set, you will likely find online shopping to be very beneficial. In addition, if you plan to travel by air or rail, you will need to know the size restrictions imposed on luggage prior to making a purchase.

Once you have narrowed the search to your favorite luggage pieces, take the time to look at the features of each. Do you prefer retractable handles, wheels or shoulder straps? The type of luggage that you ultimately purchase will largely be determined by your answers to these questions. If you are looking for quality, you may want to consider purchasing luggage designed by some of America’s most popular manufacturers, including Samsonite, American Tourister, Atlantic and others. When you purchase a name brand item with a warranty backed by a longstanding company, you know that you are getting a quality product. Therefore, make sure that a warranty is part of your search for luggage online.

When you are ready to place an order, make sure that you have entered any promotional codes that may be currently offered by the retailer. Take a look at the company’s return policy and research their record with the Better Business Bureau (BBB). In addition, independent reviews produced by others may provide valuable insight into a company’s service and product quality.

Upon the arrival of your order, be sure to check any/all zippers, straps and handles for sturdiness and functionality. Most luggage featuring shoulder straps will also feature padding for comfortable wear, while pieces featuring a pull bar will often contain a locking mechanism to keep the bar upright for convenient transport. In addition, you will want to retain all paperwork relating to a warranty, if applicable, along with your purchase receipt.

As a final thought to purchasing luggage online, or anywhere else, take into account the manufacturer and the price. As is often the case, you get what you pay for and the same is true when it comes to luggage. Quality has a price and it isn’t often cheap, which means that purchasing from a reputable manufacturer will help to ensure a better value for your dollar. When a company has been in the luggage business for many years, it says something about their ability to manufacture a quality product. When it comes to traveling, quality luggage can either make or break your trip.

Brian Dolezal is a contributing editor for TopConsumerReviews.com, a leading provider of independent reviews and rankings for hundreds of consumer products. You can find out how top luggage stores compare by visiting TopConsumerReviews.com today.