Emperor Penguins

The movie "Happy Feet" has everyone talking about Emperor Penguins. If you enjoyed looking at the computer animated penguins consider watching real Emperor penguins care for their fluffy chicks during a cold-weather cruise in the Antarctica with Quark Expeditions.

While the word "safari" denotes a trip to see wild animals on an African veld to most travelers, the word actually means "an expedition to observe animals in their natural habitat." In fall of 2006 Quark Expeditions first offered safaris to watch Emperor penguins at a remote rookery near Snow Hill Island in the Antarctica--while the adults are still caring for fluffy chicks. The trips were so successful that they are now offered yearly. This year's cruise is October 13-25, 2010.

The Snow Hill Island Safari cruise to see Emperor penguins with their chicks is on the polar-class icebreaker, the Kapitan Khlebnikov, which leaves from Argentina, crosses the Drake Passage and goes through Iceberg Alley on the way to the island. A helicopter flies guests to a site on the sea ice, so you can walk toward the rookery without getting too close to disturb the penguins.

When to Go

Visit Quark Expeditions Web site for the date of the next cruises for penguin lovers.

What's It Going to Cost?

Learn More About Trips to the Antarctica

If you're interested in taking a cruise to see penguins and icebergs visit Before You Book a Cold Weather Cruise to the Antarctica or other icy destinations.

Linda Garrison, About.com's guide to cruises has been to the Antarctica. Visit the section on her website that tells about her Antarctica cruise and includes lots of pictures of icebergs and penguins.

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Top on "Things to Do" List Near Cancun, Mexico

Put on your helmet and turn on the miner's light.? It's time to enter the Rio Secreto cave system in Riviera Maya, Mexico.? The journey, part walking and part swimming in the underground river, was a highlight of a recent trip to Mexico. Rio Secreto was formed after an asteroid crashed into the Yucatan Peninsula.? A 2010 study concluded that this is the asteroid that resulted in the extinction of the dinosaurs.

Photo courtesy of Rio Secreto

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Pictures of Winter in Yellowstone -- The Park Has More Than Old Faithful

During the winter in Yellowstone you can snowmobile or cross country ski past steamy clouds drifting from hot springs, geysers and fumaroles. At dawn, you'll watch the horizon turn blazing yellow as the sun rises and a golden tint reveals the dark-green pines that punctuate snow-clad mountains. Then, you'll look through a spotting telescope scope at two wolf pups playing while the alpha male lopes past bison shoving their massive heads through the snow to reach the rye grass below. Welcome to Yellowstone in the winter.

Yellowstone in a mantle of snow is an astonishingly beautiful park. Here are the "Top 9 Reasons to Visit Yellowstone in Winter".

Fumaroles on Yellowstone's Fountain Paint Pot Nature Trail	Yellowstone's Fountain Paint Pot Nature Trail	Hot Spring in a River Near West Yellowstone	Bison in Yellowstone National Park
Frosty Trees are Coommon in Yellowstone in the Winter	Photographing a Bison From the Safety of Your Snow Coach	Yellowstone is home to foxes, wolves, bison and other animals	Cross Country Skiers Enjoy Winter in Yellowstone
Snowmobiling on the trail system in West Yellowstone	Snowmobiler flies over a lip on a mountain in Montana near Yellowstone	Narrow Gauge Hot Spring in Yellowstone National Park	Waterfall in Yellowstone National Park

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Heated Gloves

The Bottom Line

I wrote this review of the Zanier ZTX battery heated gloves, which my wife purchased for me more than a year ago. I loved them. Last winter (2010/2011) I had wiring problems but Zanier had sold every pair so none available for warranty replacement. They promised a warranty replacement in the fall of 2011 and claimed new technology. I received the new gloves a few weeks ago and so far they are keeping my hands and fingers toasty. I'll keep you appraised.

These top-grade heated gloves have an adjustable, integrated heating system that keeps my fingers warm for a full ski day without a bulky pack of two D-cell batteries on my wrist, or using chemical packets stuffed in my gloves that only heated my palms.

Pros

• Gloves keep hands comfortable for hours without being hot
• Lithium-ion batteries are small, light and shock absorbant
• Controls are accessible without removing a glove
• LED lights indicate if unit is on or off and the level of heat provided
• Lasts up to 12 1/2 hours on one charge

Cons

• A wrist strap should be included to prevent loss
• Needs extra layer of leather on index finger and palm so ski edges won't cut leather
• Gloves are expensive

Description

• Lined leather gloves, with lightweight lithium-ion batteries and heating element at thumb and fingertips
• A proprietary microprocessor "Impulse Control" stimulates fingertip blood circulation.
• Dual lightweight lithium-ion batteries can be easily removed from glove cuff for recharging
• Three different heat settings with LED indicator built into each glove
• Gloves are windproof and incorporate a Gore-Tex membrane layer so they are waterproof and breathable
• Batteries provide power for 12 hours on lowest setting and more than five hours on medium setting
• Zanier's technology is offered in mittens, foot warmers, pants, jackets and other products

Guide Review - Heated Gloves - Zanier Heat-GX Heated Gloves

The Zanier-GX heated gloves were a combination birthday and Father's Day present from my wife and I'm thrilled. I've tried gloves with heat packs in the back, mittens and heated gloves with D-call batteries. With the exception of mittens with a chemical hot pack inside, which are awful for skiing because you can't grip ski poles properly, I usually lost feeling in several fingertips within a half hour of being out in sub-freezing weather - until now. The Zanier Heat-GX heated gloves really work because the heat is moved up to the thumb and fingertips, rather than just heating your palms.

Zanier-GX Heated Gloves Easy to Use

A proprietary microprocessor "Impulse Control" stimulates fingertip blood circulation. The control buttons are simple. Hold the "+" button on the glove to turn it on and increase the heat. Or, hold the "-" button to decrease the heat or turn off the unit. The LED built into the glove indicates the heating level. The lowest level lasts for up to 12 1/2 hours, the mid-level (98.6 degrees) lasts for more than five hours. (Optional battery packs can be purchased separately.)

The batteries, which are waterproof and shock-resistant, sit in cuff pockets and you forget they are there.

Zanier Gloves, a 40-year-old European company, tests its products in the Dolomites. The gloves are sold in the United States through CozyWinters. Click on the vendors site ink and put Zanier Heat-GX in the search box.

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Explore National Parks Free This Weekend

You can enter any of the 397 national parks in the U.S. for free this weekend and on Martin Luther King Jr. Day. You can walk in Dr. King's footsteps at Martin Luther King, Jr. National Historic Site in Georgia, the Selma to Montgomery National Historic Trail in Alabama, or the Lincoln Memorial in Washington, DC.

You can also experience cross country skiing or snowshoeing on park trails, photograph buffalo crossing the road in front of you at Yellowstone National Park and experience other winter adventures at the parks where snow blankets the ground. For more information about the free days, Jan. 14-16, visit www.nps.gov.

Photo (c) Lois Friedland

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Enjoy Boundless Adventures With This Adventure Travel Company

If you want small-group adventure travel trips that range from trekking in the Himalayas to visiting Cambodia, with cultural experiences such as having lunch with an Icelandic family and meeting locals in Peru's Sacred Valley, take a look at Boundless Journeys vacations.

Photo courtesy of Boundless Adventures

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