Earth, Wind & Power Blogazine

Most Haunted & Historic Hotels in America

Playing Host to Ghouls & Ghosts  Every Night of the Year If the little devil in you still prefers “tricks” over treats and goose bumps are your gauge of a good time, members of National Trust Historic Hotels of America can offer a ghastly good time. Spanning over 300 years of history, these hotels have seen their share of unrequited love, untimely deaths and unsolved mysteries—all ingredients that stir supernatural specters.  Make your Halloween a truly haunting experience with a visit to one of these spooktacular sites. Choose to go ghost hunting with a group, participate in a murder mystery weekend or book a stay in a “preoccupied” room. Floyd the Doorman - Georgia  Big Bend Ghost Tracker, a group of ghost hunters, spent the night at the Best Western Plus Windsor Hotel in Americus, Georgia, and monitored several areas of the hotel where strange sightings have been reported. Fully equipped with flashlights, thermo-meters, cameras, infrared equipment and electro-magnetic monitors the ghost hunters were looking for signs of a haunting. Among the spirits they encountered on the hotel’s third floor was the silhouette of Floyd Lowery, who worked at the Windsor as a doorman and elevator man for 40 years. It is likely that Floyd still wanders the hallways of the Windsor because he so loved the hotel and doesn’t want to leave. [Cover story] Cigar Smoke & Flowery Perfumes - Michigan The Holly Hotel been referred to as the most haunted historic building in Michigan, and perhaps the most haunted in America. By all accounts, the Holly Hotel does seem to be one of the few active haunted hotels where the occurrences continue over and over. The haunting and strange happenings have been observed by many people, from employees to guests. Very few of these can be easily discounted. The ghostly residents seem to follow certain “habits,” and even if one is ignorant to the fact that therestaurant is haunted, their experience will often fit into a known set of occurrences. For example, many people have smelled cigar smoke, even though they didn't know that original owner of the Inn smoked cigars. The descriptions of flowery perfume is often strikingly similar as well, and for some reason, the meat cleaver is the favorite toy for a little girls’ spirit who still plays in the kitchen and on the banquet room steps. More Scary Hotels Here...

Farm-to-Table Getaways in Colorado

Locally-driven lifestyles are sweeping the nation and today, people want to know where their food comes from and that it’s sustainable. This summer, why not delve into fresh agricultural offerings with an experiential vacation? Across Colorado, travelers to get their hands dirty and enjoy the fruits of their labor on farm and ranch stays. Travelers can take part in organic cooking and butchery classes; cultivate crops; herd cattle or bison; and actually take part in the development of a farm or ranch.

The authentic experiences not only open the eyes of the everyday urban warrior, but fill the stomach! What better way to escape?

Fresh and Wyld Farmhouse (Paonia, Colo.)
Known for its commitment to locally- grown food, Fresh and Wyld maintains its own veggie gardens, chickens, goats, berry patch and heirloom apple trees to feed its guests. The Inn serves communal-style home-cooked meals and also offers organic cooking classes, butchery classes, farm school classes and heritage farm art workshops.

Mesa Winds Farm (Hotchkiss, Colo.)
A 36-acre farm, Mesa Winds produces USDA Certified Organic peaches, apples, grapes, raspberries, asparagus, vegetables and honey. Visitors sleep in rehabbed "picker cabins" and are welcomed to lend a hand with the farm work and dine on organic food fresh from the farm. Orchard camping opportunities are also available.

Smith Fork Ranch (North Fork Valley, Colo.)
A private luxury ranch Smith Fork Ranch offers fly fishing, horseback riding, hiking and a unique farm-to-table experience. The ranch has a garden farmstead that provides the majority of the vegetables and herbs for the ranch meals; they also raise free-range chickens that provide farm fresh eggs. The ranch also offers guided and unguided local farm and winery tours. 

Zapata Ranch (Sun Luis Valley, Colo.)
A 103,000-acre authentic working cattle and bison guest ranch, Zapata borders the Great Sand Dunes National Park and Preserve. Owned by the Nature Preserve, vacations at the Zapata Ranch revolve around learning through experience, about real ranch life and the great outdoors. Zapata prepares meals with their grass-fed bison and beef and locally grown produce.     

(Source: Colorado Tourism Office)

Back Issues Available of EWP & RTM

 

Did you know that our partner Road & Travel Magazine has been publishing since 1989? Among the hundreds of issues and thousands of articles published many have been dedicated strictly to environmental topics. There, in RTM's back issue section, articles have been archived back as far as 2001. Please feel free to search our back issue archives to find additional resources and articles on earth-friendly topics.

Did you know that Road & Travel Magazine was the first publication to give an award for the most environmental friendly car of the year? In 1997, RTM produced and hosted an auto awards show in Detroit which honored the GM - EV1 as the vehicle that was 'Most Likely to Change the World.'

The Earth-Friendly Award continued for several years but sadly there were so few competitors back then that we discontinued the award until more automakers joined the party. By 2009, most car companies had introduced various forms of eco-friendly vehicles from hybrid to diesel to now electric. As a result of their progress, we launched the Earth, Wind & Power Awards, which are dedicated to clean car technology. Stay tuned as we continue to expand the EWP Awards down the road.

Also visit the RTM Blog!

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Eco-Friendly B&B: The Strawberry Creek Inn

It’s time to relax and kick back on soft, cotton-like hammocks made from recycled soda bottles. That’s right; at the Strawberry Creek Inn Bed & Breakfast in Idyllwild, Cal. you will find a tranquil wooded setting that provides the perfect eco friendly getaway. The inn is furnished with many recycled materials and earth-friendly products are used throughout the inn for cleaning and maintenance.

In addition to eco conscious amenities, the inn is certified by the National Wildlife Federation as an official backyard wildlife habitat. You will also find an abundance of native plants in pesticide-free gardens.

In order to conserve resources rainwater is collected for watering the gardens, reducing water use, soil erosion, run off and sewage usage. The Strawberry Creek Inn also composts kitchen, yard and garden waste in either traditional tumbling compost bins or worm composting structures.

Located only 15 minutes from Los Angeles this is one B&B where you can enjoy some truly guilt-free relaxation.

Click here for more eco-friendly B&B's from Earth Tones.

The Most Eco-Friendly International Hostels

Hostels are such an exquisitely wonderful concept for tourists, especially minimalist or environmentalist ones. Staying somewhere that gets the job done – i.e., gives you a place to sleep - for cheap, is ideal when you’ve got better things to see and do than enjoy a luxury hotel room. These ones are so charming and inspirationally green that they are an ideal place to sleep regardless of what your wallet can afford.

Rural Serenity

Omagh Hostel: Omagh, Northern Ireland - A small, remote, family-run hostel that offers visitors the greenest of accommodations, evidenced when they received the prestigious EU Flower Ecolabel in the tourist accommodation category. Their recycling, composting and green purchasing policy and eco-friendly reed beds makes this hostel as green as the country it is part of! Dorm beds from £12.50, Private Room from £30.00

Reykjavik City Hostel: Reykjavik, Iceland - Iceland is a country steeped in tremendous icecaps, explosive geysers, steaming solfataras (volcanic areas that give off sulfurous gases and steam) and magnificent waterfalls. Reykjavik City Hostel, located next to one of the great geothermal swimming holes in the city, promotes energy monitoring, erosion control and extensive recycling services. Room rates, in ISK, cover single bed rooms to 6+private rooms.

Urban Bustle

Hostelling International: Washington DC, USA - Just eight blocks from the White House, HI is the greenest place to stay in the city. The carpets are made from recycled materials, there are no disposable products in the kitchen, and it promotes its commitment to being a positive force on environmental issues by showing environmental documentaries once a month. The sociable atmosphere makes this hostel stand out – the rooms range from classic dorms to luxury private rooms, there’s a delicious free breakfast, lively events calendar, bike rental and TV room with a library of DVDs to watch. Dorm-style rooms are $35-$45 per person, per night, plus a $3 HI membership.

High Street Hostel: Edinburgh, Scotland- Edinburgh may be a bustling city, but in High Street Hostel it boasts something very special in environmental terms. The hostel, you see, claims to be 100% carbon neutral. That’s right – a fun, vibrant hostel in a city that leaves no carbon footprint whatsoever. And it’s a claim that High Street Hostel backs up. Not only does it source its electricity from renewable and non-nuclear supplies, but it also owns and maintains 75 hectare woodland that absorbs more than the hostel’s total CO2 emissions.

Rooms start at £13 a night.

Stay tuned for the best tropical eco-hostels!

Visit RTM's environmentally-themed travel section, Earth Tones.

 

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Stay Eco-Friendly at the Neon Rose Bed & Breakfast

The Neon Rose Bed & Breakfast is fully dedicated to the comfort of chemically sensitive travelers, this cottage adjacent to 260 acres of Point Reyes National Seashore is in the middle of the organic food capital of the country. Along with the usage of fragrance-free, earth-friendly cleaning products, the Neon Rose provides hypo-allergenic linens and pillows. Constructed from non-toxic and environmentally friendly materials, this cottage-style B&B goes the extra mile beyond green to chem-free. You'll find no pesticides in gardens, and nothing but clean, fresh air.

Green Scheme: Combine vinegar with Bon Ami Cleanser, containing no chlorine, perfume or dye, for the ideal solution to make windows sparkling clean.

More about the Neon Rose Bed & Breakfast

Sustainable Bed & Breakfast : White Pine Victorian Lodge

Members of Green Hotels Association and Sustainable Travel International, every aspect of the White Pines Victorian Lodge is dedicated to care of the earth's environment. Not only are no chemical cleaners used, but in an attempt to provide a hospitable environment for those with multiple chemical sensitivities, guests are asked to sign an agreement not to wear any chemical products, perfumes, colognes or hairsprays at the inn. All natural cotton and wool fabrics are found in rooms, and more than two million gallons of water and subsequent energy have been conserved by guests re-using towels and sheets throughout their stays, and installation of low-flow showerheads and toilets. Located in a beautiful wooded setting, guests can walk to many nearby restaurants and waterfront attractions.

Green Scheme: Over 40 million Americans have been diagnosed with MCS (Multiple Chemical Sensitivity), an invasive and complex illness. Be kind to those with super-sensitive bodies by avoiding perfumed laundry detergents, soaps, shampoos, and deodorants.

More Eco-Friendly B&B’s at Earth Tones.