Top Ten Tuesday: Ten Great Texas Places to Get Away From it All

With summer upon us many people think of just getting away to a cooler place. Others want to just get away from all of the connectivity that surrounds us. This is a list from Texas Highways of where in Texas you can go to get disconnected.
1. Padre Island National Seashore
2. Big Bend National Park
3. Devil's Sinkhole State Natural Area
4. Hill Country State Natural Area Wilderness Primitive Camp
5. Palo Duro Canyon State Park
6. Lost Maples Natural Area
7. Guadalupe Mountains National Park
8. Matagorda Island Wildlife Management Area
9. Matagorda Bay Nature Park
10. Devils River State Natural Area
http://www.texashighways.com/index.php/component/content/article/98-roadtrip-archive/3733-ten-great-places-to-%28really%29-get-away-from-it-all

11. My favorite place to get away: Mo Ranch

Want to go camping? Not sure where? Recreation.gov can help!

If you love the outdoors, camping can be a dream vacation. However, figuring out where to camp can sometimes be an issue. Recreation.gov may be just what you need because it lets you

• search for campsites by location, type (tent, cabin, RV, etc.), and preferred dates,
• identify recreation areas based on desired activities like boating, horseback riding, hiking, and climbing,
• find nearby locations for activities like swimming, bicycling, fishing, or other favorites,
• purchase passes for National Parks and Federal Recreation Lands,
• make reservations (if needed), and
• locate more useful information for planning your camping trip.

Tips:
~ Before leaving on your trip, be sure to familiarize yourself with the fees and regulations of the campsite(s) you've chosen.
~ Learn more using USA.gov Recreational Activities: Camping resources.

Happy camping!

Some New Audiobooks

For you commuters or anyone about to take a long road trip, the Dick Smith Library has a growing collection of audiobooks in CD format, with many audiobooks still available in cassette format. They are located on the lower level of the library, just to the right in the Audiovisual Collection area as you exit the elevator or the stairs. You can check them out for four weeks; plenty of time to take them on a vacation (just be sure you don't lose any of the pieces!). Here are some of our newest acquisitions:

History-General

F592.7 .A49 1996B - Undaunted Courage: Meriwether Lewis, Thomas Jefferson, and the Opening of the American West, by noted historian Stephen E. Ambrose

F1230 .L45 2008AB - Conquistador: Hernan Cortes, King Montezuma, and the Last Stand of the Aztecs by Buddy Levy

Social Science

HD31 .B527 2003AB - The One Minute Manager by Kenneth H. Blanchard

HM1033 .G53 2007 - The Tipping Point: How Little Things Can Make a Big Difference, by Malcolm Gladwell

Political Science

JK468.I6 B89 2008D - Ghost: Confessions of a Counterterrorism Agent, by Fred Burton

Education

LD571 .B418 S383 2004AB - Tuesdays with Morrie: An Old Man, a Young Man, and Life's Greatest Lesson, by Mitch Albom

Literature

PQ9281.A66 E6813 2008AB - Blindness, a dystopian novel by Nobel Literature prize-winner Jose Saramago

PR6119.E86 T48 2006AB - The Thirteenth Tale, a Gothic suspense novel by Diane Setterfield

PS3555.B4824 A615 2008AB - The 19th Wife, by David Ebershoff, a novel with a present-day murder mystery intertwined with a fictionalized memoir (that's based on a real one written in 1875), all involving polygamy

PS3566.I372 H37 2008 - Harvesting the Heart, by bestselling author Jodi Picoult

PS3569.E314 W48 2008 - When You Are Engulfed in Flames, humor by David Sedaris

PS3569.T736 O5 2008AB - Olive Kitteridge, this year's Pulitzer Prize winner for fiction by Elizabeth Strout, a set of 13 short stories linked by the title character, a 60-something math teacher in Maine

PS3602.A777548 L131 2008 - The Lace Reader by Brunonia Barry, suspense set in present-day Salem, Massachusetts

PS3607.R696 W38 2006AB - Water for Elephants, historical fiction set in and around a Depression-era circus, by Sara Gruen

PZ7.Z837 BOO 2006C - The Book Thief by Markus Zusak, historical fiction set in World War II Germany, with Death as the narrator

Suggestions for CD format audiobook purchases are always welcome; use the comments area below!

Top Ten Tuesday – 10 most visited National Parks

I need a vacation! (…don't we all?) I've always had a dream to visit all the National Parks in the U.S. I was doing some research and found a great Top Ten list! Here is data from the National Park Service. These were the 10 most visited National Parks in 2008.

• Great Smoky Mountains NP - 20,257,688
  
• Grand Canyon NP - 4,557,358
  
• Yellowstone NP - 3,979,371
  
• Olympic NP - 3,835,757
  
• Grand Teton NP - 3,829,002
  
• Yosemite NP - 3,618,395
  
• Hot Springs NP - 3,408,731
  
• Hawaii Volcanoes NP - 3,129,404
  
• Rocky Mountain NP - 2,914,252
  
• Saguaro NP - 2,787,595
  

I've been to 7 of them! We are so lucky to have such great public lands here in the U.S. Take a minute to think of not just the National Parks, but the National Seashores, Monuments, Historical Sites, etc that we can visit! Post a comment and tell us which National Park Service locations you have visited!

Top Ten Tuesday – 10 fun (and cheap) things to do this summer

Summer School is about to start! Relax now before its time to hit the books again. I thought I would post 10 inexpensive ways to have fun and enjoy the Summer Season.

• Ride a bike
  
• Watch a baseball game
  
• Visit a Park
  
• Hit the water – go swimming
  
• Read a book
  
• Play Games
  
• Have a water balloon Fight
  
• Go for a walk
  
• BBQ – light the grill
  
• Hit the road – go for a drive
  

The BEST and CHEAPEST way to enjoy the summer is to visit the LIBRARY! Come see what we have to offer! Books, CDs, Videos, and internet access all for free! All available in our air conditioned environment!

Are there other things you like to do to enjoy the summer season? Any ways you stop and enjoy the warm weather? Post a comment and share!

Top Ten Tuesday - Top Vacation Spots

The semester is over. We made it! Are you as ready for a vacation as I am? I thought I would share these picks for Top U.S. Vacation Spots (They do include some spots in Canada):

1. New York
2. San Francisco
3. Chicago
4. Santa Fe
5. Quebec City
6. Charleston, South Carolina
7. Vancouver
8. Montreal
9. Victoria, British Columbia
10. Seattle

I hope everyone gets to take a nice vacation this year!

Top Ten Tuesday – 10 ways to spend your Summer

It the final Tuesday of the semester! Can you believe it is already over, and that you made it! To help celebrate, here are 10 ways you can spend your summer!

• Catch up on sleep, family, and friends.
  
• Help save the planet – be green.
  
• Read a good book.
  
• Take a summer class.
  
• Study abroad.
  
• Take a great vacation.
  
• Lose 10 pounds.
  
• Develop your hobbies, or start a new one.
  
• De-clutter and organize your room, apartment or house.
  
• Work, work, work.
  

Do you have any ideas how you are going to spend your summer? Post a comment and share!

Stayin' Alive on Spring Break! '08

Stayin' Alive on Spring Break - the #1 college spring break safety seminar - Great Site that includes Travel Tips, Safety Tips, and additional resources. Have a GREAT Spring Break...and stay safe.

Spring Break Reading

This is a little early, in order to give you time to collect some good reads for Spring Break.

George Eberhart is senior editor of American Libraries, and offers a list of books concerning libraries and murder mysteries. "Murder in the library, as a literary plot, holds a certain peculiar fascination for many readers.... Some of the plots revolve around specific rare books, but most are set in mythical academic and research libraries in the United States and United Kingdom...."
Read more from Mr. Eberhart here.

Reading is not known to be hazardous to your health, so get the hammock out of storage, and curl up with a pile of good books for Spring Break!

What are you doing this summer????

Traveling? Working? Going to Summer School? Backpacking in Europe? -- Tell us about your summer plans. Post a comment and let everyone know what you are doing!