A mixture of spires, valleys, buttes and sharply eroded sandstone, this mixed prairie grass preserve is a great place to go whether you’re a fossil hunter, or just interested in natural beauty.

Badlands National park is a gorgeous place - with unique and unusual sandstone rock that layers in ways that has to be seen to be believed. The spires, and erosions formed over several thousand millenia make for a unique skyline. Vegetation and fauna sprinkle crevices and valleys, making for interesting walks, and of course, the badlands are home to all kinds of wild animals, from Bison that graze by the side of the road as you’re driving through, to Prairie dogs, Elk, Coyotes, and wild Horses.

Many interesting fossils have been found there, since the interest in paleontology kicked up in 1840 or so. Several species of fossils have since been discovered in the White River area of the Badlands - more than 3/4s of the total found by 1854 had come from that one area.

Theodore Roosevelt national park is the most interesting of the Badlands parks, made up of three packages of land that are separate from one another - and are all connected by The Maah Daah Hey trail. It is said that Theodore Roosevelt associated strongly with the ‘dying’ way of life of the Western cowboy, and rancher and had his own ranch there to recover from the loss of his mother and later, his wife. His Ranch is set deep within the heart of one of the packets of land and though there’s nothing left of it now, he wrote about the peace he found there, before returning to politics later in his life.

The Royal Ontario Museum (ROM) is the largest in Canada with more than 40 galleries. The museum displays both art works and natural history items and has the largest collection of avian and mammalian skeletons in the world. The museum’s Far East Collection, the largest collection of far eastern artifacts outside of China, is anchored by the Ming Tomb, a complete seventeenth century warriors tomb and the only complete Chinese tomb in the West.

The Gardiner Museum of Ceramic Art was, at one time affiliated with the Royal Ontario Museum. This specialized museum is home to more than 2,000 pieces of ceramic art. Their collection features everything from pre-Columbian pottery to classic European porcelains of the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries.

The Art Gallery of Toronto has strong collections of European and Canadian art. One of the main attractions of the Gallery is its collection of Henry Moore sculptures, one of the largest in the world. Henry Moore personally designed the exhibit space for this collection in 1974.

For more than thirty years the Textile Museum of Canada has celebrated international fiber art. Their permanent collection contains more than 12,000 textiles, from pieces as much as 2000 years old to modern designs, with samples from more than 200 regions of the world.

The Bata Shoe Museum is housed in a whimsical, shoebox-shaped building designed by architect Raymond Moriyama. The museum is home to a 4,500-piece, semi-permanent “History of Shoes” exhibit that highlights examples of footwear spanning time and the globe, from ancient Egyptian sandals to the sleekly sexy stilettos of 1990s. The Bata also has three additional galleries that display special exhibits throughout the year.

Although the Fort may not be worth a detour to many people, if you are in the area, and have any interest in 19^th century US frontier history, Bents Old Fort not only shows the physical layout of how such an establishment was run, but also gives a good indication of the kind of natural elements the people who managed and traded at the fort lived with. With summer temperatures that can go above 100 F, and winter ones that can drop to 0 F during the day, the very brief quarter of a mile walk down the path from the arrivals area, to the fort gates, is a good indicator of how tough people had to be to cope with weather extremes.

At the fort today there’s a 20 minute video presentation that tells the fort’s story, and there are demonstrations and exhibits. You can take either a self-guided tour, or alternatively join a guided tour which in the summer are lead by living history interpreters. There are a number of special events that happen throughout the summer, some of which are specifically aimed at kids, and a visit to the national park website will identify when these take place.

Whether you have an interest in military life of the time, the wagon trains, the explorers who opened up the west, or just want to give your kids some kind of “live” history experience to help their school studies - look around the store to see what kind of diet those who lived in, or travelled through the area lived on - a trip to Bents Old Fort will have something to interest you.

The RCMP is a singular organization, since it is simultaneously a national, federal, provincial and municipal policing body. They provide total federal policing service to all Canadians. They are also under contract to provide policing services to eight provinces (all except Quebec and Ontario), the 3 Canadian territories, more than 200 municipal areas, 165 First Peoples communities, plus 3 international airports and several smaller airports.

The RCMP Academy, Depot Division in Regina, Saskatchewan has been training “Mounties” for more than 120 years. Despite the fact that they are a national police force, all new Royal Canadian Mounted Police recruits undergo basic training in Regina. At 12:45 each day visitors can witness the daily Sergeant Major’s Drill on the Parade Ground. Incidentally, women have been members of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police since the first all-female class graduated from the Academy in March 1975.

Until October 2006, the Academy was also home to the Royal Canadian Mounted Police Centennial Museum, where visitors could go to get a thorough account of the national police force’s history. The Centennial Museum was closed permanently in October 2006 in order to begin moving its collections and artifacts to the new RCMP Heritage Center.

The $40 million Heritage Center is scheduled to open May 23, 2007. A focal point of the new museum will be a ninety-eight foot (30 m) long three-dimensional sculptural timeline illustrating the roles and tools of the RCMP over the years.

Perc Rock is one of nature’s true wonders, and one of the most photographed places in Quebec, possibly in all of Canada. The 375 million year-old rock is an enormous limestone slab, 295 feet (90 m) wide, 279 feet (85 m) high at its highest point, and an awe-inspiring 1476 feet (450 m) long. The rock’s name comes from the French word perc, “pierce”, so-called for the large opening that pierces the slab near the seaward end.

Legend maintains that at one point the rock was pierced in as many as four locations, but historical records only mention two holes. The second cave, to the east of the one visible today, collapsed in 1845. The sea stack L’Obelisque at the end of the monolith is an artifact of this cave-in.

For four hours each day the tide recedes enough to allow people to walk across to the rock. Tourists can walk to the cave, but it is an arduous trek. A better way to see the majesty of Perc Rock is to take one of the many boat tours that go around the rock.

The village of Perc was once the largest fishing port on the Gaspe Peninsula. It is now devoted to catering to the tourists who come to see the rock and visit the bird sanctuary on Bonaventure Island. It is also a haven for outdoor enthusiasts with hike and bike trails, camping nearby, and even scuba opportunities for those willing to brave the cold waters of Gaspe bay.

Going on a vacation does not need to be very expensive to experience the best a place can offer. First thing you need to do is get cheap plane tickets from a reliable place on the internet. Of course, when you talk about traveling you should have a place to stay. The best place for last minute travel packages is lastminute.com.au.

In lastminute.com.au, you will never waste your time jumping from a travel site to another. All your travel needs are catered on this website. You can get flight tickets and choose from different famous hotels like Burleigh Heads Hotels, Byron Bay Hotels, and Coolangatta Hotels or Manly Hotels. These are just some of the best accommodations you can get from the website at its cheapest booking rates.

One of the fun things to do in the Napa Valley is to take a ride on the Napa Valley Wine Train. As one of the top train rides in the world, you’ll enjoy a relaxing journey in lovingly restored carriages all dated pre-1950. Whether you enjoy a romantic evening meal in the dining car as you travel through the valley’s beautiful countryside, or you take the daily tour that allows a stop at two of the local vineyards, this is a local attraction that shouldn’t be missed.

Another idea to make your Napa Valley break memorable is to take a hot air balloon ride. This breathtaking view of the vineyards in the early morning light will be an experience you won’t forget and will soon make you forget how early you had to get up!

There are many vineyards that you can visit during your stay in the Napa Valley area. Some of them will give you a tour, others allow you to taste, and yet others have demonstrations, so check with a local guidebook about what is available at each the vineyards open to the public so you know what to expect when you get there.

If you are taking a trip to California, and are a little concerned that the constant barrage of high energy attractions, and crowded stores will be too much, consider a trip to the Napa Valley, even if you don’t drink wine, you’re sure to enjoy the slower pace and relax in the beauty of the area.

Canada hosted its first Olympic Games in Montreal, Quebec in 1976.

The Olympic Stadium in Montreal features the world’s tallest inclined towers - it is 574 feet (175 m) high. The vision of the architect who planned the stadium was nearly impossible to achieve, however. The stadium’s retractable roof was not completed until 1987, more than 10 years after the event for which it was designed.

The velodrome built for the 1976 Games was re-purposed for education in 1992 and is now known as the Biod´me. Visitors to the museum will experience four typical indigenous American environments: the polar region, a tropical forest, the St. Lawrence marine, and the Laurentian forest.

In 1988, Calgary, Alberta hosted the 15^th Winter Olympiad and profited mightily from it (unlike Montreal, which is still paying for that stadium roof!). The Olympic Oval is a fully equipped training facility used by skaters, runners, hockey players, and athletes of all stripes. Nearby Canada Olympic Park is the home of North America’s largest Olympic museum, the Olympic Hall of Fame. The Park is also home to Canada’s only Olympic bobsled/luge track. Adventurous visitors willing to sign a waiver can even buy a trip down the track in a sled driven by one of the park’s trained drivers.

Canada will again be hosting the Winter Olympics, this time in Vancouver, British Columbia, in 2010. The city has already begun preparations for the big event. Omega, Official Timekeeper of the 2010 Games, unveiled a three-year countdown clock in downtown Vancouver on February 12, 2007. Construction of the Vancouver Olympic Village will begin in the summer of 2007. The Games facilities will be made available to athletes for training by Winter 2007/2008.

Rome (or Roma in Italian) is heart of the country, and is the capital, both of the Italy we know and love today and of the ancient Roman Empire; it is also the home of the Vatican, the center point of the Roman catholic Church. Rome inspires with its mix of history and current fashion Chic, making it a fascinating holiday destination for the fashion slave and history buff alike!

Rome has two airports: Fiumicino (FCO - Leonardo Da Vinci) and Ciampino (CIA) . You can find accomodation on the Hotels Italiano website, especially good if you are looking for lodging in the following places: Roma Hotel ; Firenze Hotel ; Milano Hotel or Venezia Hotel.

Just northwest of Drumheller is the Dinosaur Trail, a 32-mile (50km) circular drive along Highway 838 that will lead visitors to, among other things, the Royal Tyrell Museum of Palaeontology, and the World’s Largest Dinosaur.

The Royal Tyrell Museum has a wide array of exhibits. The Hexen Science Hall features an interactive display to demonstrate basic scientific concepts. In the Preparation Lab, visitors can watch scientists prepare fossils for study or display. The Burgess Shale and Devonian Reef exhibits offer a look at life under the waters of Canada’s prehistoric oceans. In the Cretaceous Garden, Museum guests can walk through living history, a garden filled with the same plants the dinosaurs ate.

The main attraction at the Royal Tyrell is Dinosaur Hall. The Hall is full of mounted dinosaur skeletons, and is the largest exhibit of its kind in the world. Walking, swimming, and flying reptiles are all present, including the Albertosaurus, first discovered by Joseph B. Tyrell.

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Farther down the Dinosaur Trail visitors will find themselves confronted by the World’s Largest Dinosaur. The Dinosaur is an 86-foot (26.2 m) concrete and steel Tyrannosaurus Rex. He stands four times taller than the real thing did and visitors who climb the 106 steps to the viewing platform in his mouth will enjoy a magnificent panoramic view of the badlands.

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For dinosaur lovers, the two-hour trip to the Tyrell Museum’s Field Station at Dinosaur Provincial Park is a must-see. It functions as a base for continuing scientific study in the area and has skeletons on display in an exhibit building. Visitors can also make reservations for a bus tour to areas of the park being excavated, areas not available to the public any other way.

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