Explore what Houston, Texas has to offer skaters. This is an up-and-coming vacation destination for skateboarders.

Houston, Texas is an up-and-coming vacation destination for skaters . This city is investing a lot of money to create state of the art skateparks for locals and visitors. In the first half of 2008 two new skateparks were opened. If you are looking for a great place to visit on your next vacation, and are a skater, then add Houston, Texas to your short list of possibilities.

Houston Skateparks

Houston is home to numerous privately owned and city owned skateparks. They offer in ground and above ground parks, as well as indoor and outdoor parks. As you can see, you have a lot of great skateboard park options to choose from. Here is a short list of the skateparks you can try out while on vacation:

Dex Skate Park, located at 10327 Lake Road and Dirtwood Ramppark, located at 948 Wakefield, are both private skateparks that are open to the public.

The city of Houston also supports seven great skateparks located throughout the city. The newest skatepark opened in Houston is the Lee and Joe Jamil Skatepark, located at 103 Sabine Street, Houston, Texas. This in ground skatepark just opened on June 1, 2008. Another skatepark opened this year is the Cliff Tuttle Park, located at 6200 Lyons, Houston, Texas. It opened on January 18, 2008 and is an above ground park.

Dyland Duncan Skate Park, a.k.a. Kingwood Skatepark, is another option that you have. It is located at 3950 Rustic Woods, Houston, Texas. If you are interested in a concrete park, then Eastwood Skate Park is a good option, and it is located at 5020 Harrisburg. If you are interested in a small skatepark, then go to Linkwood Skate Park located at 3699 Noris. Your final options are Watonga Skate Park, located at 4100 Watonga Blvd, and Clinton Skate Park, located at 200 Mississippi.

Houston Skate Events

In addition to being the home of several varieties of skateparks, Houston is also the home of several skating events. This year, in fact, Houston will be the host venue for the 12th Annual Texas Skate Jam. This even is scheduled for November 8, 2008, and will feature the nation’s top skaters and tricksters.

Houston is a great city to visit if you enjoy skating. However, its efforts to cater to skaters are still in their infancy. This means that there are really few, if any, annual skating events that you can count on. Instead skating events are going to be introduced to the public through on-the-spot announcements. For example, local reading programs hosted by the city’s public library include skateboard demonstrations. The best way to find skating events that are scheduled during your vacation time is to check out the local newspapers and media sources for PSA and other announcements.

Houston Skate Equipment and Shopping

What would any vacation be without shopping at local specialty stores. You can find skating equipment at several local stores including:

Cylcone Cycles, 1525 W. 18th Street, Houston, Texas 77008-1533

Kingpinz, 8584 Westheimer Road, Houston, Texas

Southside Indoor Skate Park, 510 Iowa Pasadena, Texas 77501

The Source Board Shop, 2511 Rice Blvd, Houston, Texas 77005-3220

In addition to the above stores, you can also find pro shops located at many of the larger local skateparks.

This is a wonderful day trip that will give you a little of everything.

Grand Teton National Park in Wyoming has some of the most spectacular scenery and is a must see. The mountains loom large in the distance but it’s easy to get on them if you hike. The lakes are beautiful as well. It’s awesome to watch the morning clouds that hide the mountains of the Grand Teton range fall away and give you a view of these spectacular mountains.

One hike we did was actually made up of a few separate destinations. At the Jenny Lake Visitor Center you’ll park and take a ferry across the lake for $5.00 one way. We could have spent $9.00 for a round trip but wanted to walk back. If you do not take the boat at all you’re looking at a whole day adventure. As it was we spent about 5 hours in this beautiful area. The hike I’m going to describe is considered a moderate to moderate-strenuous hike.

On this hike you can walk up to Hidden Falls which was about ½ mile from the dock. The path up to Hidden Falls was steep but well maintained we encountered some boulders but none I had to climb up or sit on to get down. The 200 foot Hidden Falls are really a cascade so if you are expecting amazing falls that you may have seen elsewhere, you’ll be disappointed. Just enjoy Hidden Falls for what they are.

This area was crowded. I recommend that you go early in the morning to beat the crowds. We were able to at one point but it was due to veering from the trail and not on purpose! Many people turned around at Hidden Falls and there is certainly nothing wrong with that. Be glad you could get that far. If you can continue you will go another ½ mile to Inspiration Point. Along the way you’ll see a flat rock area – sort of a large plateau along the way. You can’t miss it since there will be others there. Sit awhile. This is a great overlook for this very pretty lake.

The climb to Inspiration Point was tough. I can’t minimize it in any way. Not only was it a rocky trail but it was a narrow trail right at the edge of the mountain. In fact one woman could not even go on she was so terrified of the height and the rocks. You’ll find yourself at times hugging the rocks behind you with your back to maneuver your way up this fairly steep trail. We then climbed another 1/4 mile on Cascade Canyon to a junction point where we took the trail heading back to the boat ramp which said .9 miles. This is where we veered the wrong way. We were treated to views of rock climbers. Hopefully you will not get treated to a bear sighting. This is bear habitat and the signs were very clear. The trail we were on was narrow and bordered by high grasses. We only saw 2 others hikers here so in a way it was a good choice because it was not crowded. However if I had to do it again I would look for the maintained trail.

Once we got to the boat ramp rather than getting on the ferry we walked 2 miles around the lake to the parking lot. This started out as a very easy walk but changed constantly. Some areas were quite steep, some rocky, some really just dirt. Much of it was right along the lake and many people had their feet in it. I was surprised to not see many people in the lake. You can swim in all other bodies of water except Snake River.

Please take only pictures ; leave only footprints; kill only time.

To keep kids active and promote physical fitness, strive to provide more than just an exercise routine. You can make it fun at the same time. When you transform exercise into an active game, a child will show far more interest.

To keep kids active and promote physical fitness, strive to provide more than just an exercise routine. You can make it fun at the same time. When you transform exercise into an active game, a child will show far more interest. Because of the element of fun, kids may not even realize, or care at all, that they are participating in a form of exercise.

One fun, active game to play is what I like to call “Spray Bottle Relay Race”. It’s a game I have always played with my own kids, but have also recently seen used in schools as part of Field Day or just as a fun activity. In Spray Bottle Relay Race, the kids will work pretty much the entire body. Spray Bottle Relay Race should be played in an open field, such as one at a school or park. It’s a team game, but can be easily modified for fewer kids. This game is fun for school-aged children of all ages.

The only materials needed to play this active game are batons and large spray bottles. The spray bottles should be ones that can spray a straight line of water, not a mist. There should be 2 batons and 1 spray bottle for each team. Setting up the game is fairly simple. First, determine how many teams there will be. Then, split up the kids accordingly. Determine where the start and finish lines will be and place a baton at each to mark the spot. Alternatively, a chalk line can be drawn to mark the start and finish lines as well. Have the kids line up behind both the start and finish lines. Give each of the kids located at the start lines a spray bottle, filled with water and ready to spray.

To start the game, blow a whistle or shout “Go!” The children who are first at each of the start lines will race to the finish lines and then squirt their next teammate with the spray bottle (no face shots allowed) and hand off the spray bottle. Then, that child will run to the start line and spray the next teammate and hand off the bottle. This will continue until all of the children have run at least once. Ideally, each child should run more than once. Splitting the children into small teams can help make that happen.

This active exercise will give the kids a great cardio workout, as well as help them cool off on a hot day. It works the entire body while running and also increases the heart rate. The action of squirting the water also gives an added bonus of using the smaller muscles in the arms, hands, and wrist. Not every kid likes every activity, but I have to add that no child I have seen play this one has ever complained. It makes for a great last minute opportunity for getting kids active, as the supplies are ones that may already be on hand.