Eric Jay Toll

“I’m not disappointed. All the major sights are open,” said Nathan Wilderman of Reno, Nevada, as he packed up his family’s campsite at the Texas Springs Campground at Death Valley National Park after three days of exploring. “Based on the news, we expected a lot of closures here.”
Wilderman, his wife, and two children came for a long weekend, unsure of what was open and what was closed in the national park. Many of those questions are answered on the park's website.
Death Valley is still reel...

What Are Impact Fees?
“(Developer) impact fees are a charge or tax on construction to pay for associated capital development,” said Julian. “The money has to be used for public facilities.” Impact fees are used primarily to fund new streets, parks, utilities, and emergency and government services.
“It’s a matter of meeting a community halfway,” said Nicholas Julian, senior program manager for land use at the National Association of Home Builders. “We believe in paying our share of capital cos...

It’s entering another world of language, history and amazement. It’s a lifetime experience for the first-time visitor. Come along and explore the best way to spend 7 days in Paris.
Here are some travel tips for planning your Paris one-week itinerary. There are some essential tips, ideas and common French phrases at the end of the article.
Paris Itinerary Day 1: We’re Here, Now What?
When arriving in Paris for the first time, it’s exhilarating. I was tingling with excitement. It’s so new and y...

There is always a risk, but developers are reaping the rewards by properly managing the risk of build-to-suit development. They cite the cost efficiencies and value of a company walking into a new building that meets today’s requirements and is prepared for future growth.
“The best way to reduce risk is to eliminate the unknowns (in construction),” said Jon Davidshofer, director of development for Coralville, Iowa-based Build To Suit, Inc. “It takes a lot of homework upfront. The goal is to a...

Sitting next to the lofty windows in a restaurant at 11,000 feet (3,350m) up in the Wasatch Mountains, through the cleft between the towering mountains, I believe I could see the mountain where we hiked earlier in the day.

This was a getaway to Salt Lake City and Utah. Arriving, there’s the Great Salt Lake on one side and the west slope of the Rocky Mountains on the other. It meant a morning hike under a warm spring sun and an afternoon skiing down the slopes.

It was the end of a long series of walks—press the keycard to the door, sigh in relief seeing the flashing green, and stepping into the corner room with towering snow-covered mountains as a picture on the wall.

Except that the picture on the wall is from the floor-to-ceiling glass windows at the Hyatt Regency. The snow-covered Wasatch Mountains towered over the downtown Salt Lake City buildings. The bright sunshine scene ran the entire length of this corner room, as it does in every room in the hotel.

Skipping the crowds for a Golfo de California Baja getaway means finding the perfect place to lay your head when staying in Loreto, Baja California Sur, México. The Loreto hotels provide many choices when readying for seaside adventures.

We’re talking about the best hotels because time’s short on vacation, and who wants to spend it cooking, cleaning...

Paris is a global tourist destination, the heart of Europe. People arrive worldwide, so prime visiting time in the summer means crowds, premium prices, and lines. Bookmark Visit Paris for great information.
You want to stay in Île de France, the city center, which is historic Paris. You’ll be close to many places you’d like to visit. Staying in the Ninth Arrondissement was convenient for all the major sights to see. I prepared a detailed 7-day itinerary for touring Paris from this hub. And, f...

It’s just a two-hour drive from the bustle of metro Phoenix and Scottsdale to the lush green Verde Valley north of the cities. This is one of three Arizona viticulture regions. With the Verde Valley Wine Trails map in hand, there are 25 Arizona wineries with tasting rooms ready to quench a wine thirst. It’s not Napa, but it is surprisingly scenic and sippable.
Arizona Wine and Its 600-Year History
Those picturing Arizona as a desert will be stunned by the state’s ecological diversity when vis...

Rather than providing a list of other people’s choices for the best restaurants in Bruges, I’ll present tips to help you choose the best restaurants for you. You can use this concept when visiting most other northern European cities.
The Storybook Town of Bruges
Bruges (spelled “Brugge” in Flemish, one of the languages in Belgium) has dozens of restaurant choices line the main streets in the medieval heart of the city, radiating from the central market, known as Markt.
Its exceptionally well-...

A Sedona girls weekend can be a lot of things — active, relaxing, insightful — or just a way to take a step back and reconnect.
What did Hayley Ringle and her friend choose?
“Relaxing,” Hayley says. Laughing, her friend Alicja Wierzchowska agrees. The pair saw Sedona, Arizona, as a perfect girls’ getaway idea.
Gathering friends and heading to Sedona is the way to experience Arizona red rock country at the tip of the Verde Valley and the toe of the Colorado Plateau. It’s a land of food, crysta...

First-date butterflies. That’s what it felt like stepping into the quaint train station in Truro, Cornwall’s ancient county seat. This was the first of four full days on the west coast of Great Britain.
Not only a first trip to Great Britain but a chance to walk the locational footsteps of sites used for filming the wildly popular television series based on Winston Graham’s Poldark novels produced for Masterpiece Theater on BBC and PBS. Landing in Cornwall for a destination vacation was a per...

It’s hard to describe the mystical value of standing next to La Siene, seeing the historic buildings all around, and realizing, “OMG, I’m in Paris.” Read on for a look through the lens of an American photographer in Paris.
On the first day in Paris, the 340 stairs in the Arc de Triomphe rose skyward in a claustrophobic spiral. Camera gear slung in back, the camera snapped to the sling in front; it was one small step up and many to go. Once upon the windswept top of the arch, a “vue magnifique...

Looking for an adventure in the less-traveled part of Baja California? Read on for an adventure in Bahía de Loreto, Mexico.
“This is an Adam tree,” said Rafa, our guide. “It’s called the Adam tree because, without rain, it always looks naked, except for the red flower.”
Rafael Murillo, a certified guide, tour leader, and scuba diver from Sea and Land Tours, led the line of hikers across the top of a coral dune towards the foot of the Coronados volcano.

“The chocolate clams baked in the beach sand!” That’s the first thing cited by Camryn Jun, from Orange County, California, when asked about her jaunt in Loreto Baja California Sur, Mexico. There’s more to those clams.
“I thought it was sweet about the legend that a woman serves chocolate clams to a man,” she says. “And they serve the clams to catch their man.”
And that's only part of the adventure in this article with author photography.