Attention! Read My Emotion Temptation Kayak Review Before You Decide To Buy!

The Temptation kayak is a versatile piece of equipment for a sit on top kayak.  It paddles well in all kinds of water conditions including lakes, slow moving rivers, and creeks.  The Emotion Temptation is an award winning kayak that comes with great features like a CRS Seat, Ledge Lock Paddle Keeper, and Freedom Footwells to add comfort and convenience.  The new hatch allows for plenty of storage for long trips or day outings.  The hull comes with terrific stability, speed, and tracking for a kayak this size.

Many owners have taken the time to write an emotion temptation kayak review. Emotion Kayak Temptation for sale will give everyone a chance to give it a try.  Many reviews explain exactly how outstanding it is in various forms of water and the amount of positive features it possesses.  Most people explain that it never comes close to tipping over, even in rough water.  One small possible drawback is that it tends to take on a bit of water.

The Emotion Temptation Kayak for sale through Amazon would be a great addition to any kayak enthusiast.

Here is a list of the product’s features:

• Molded beverage holder in front of the seat
• Secure luggage handles
• Paddle ledge and keeper
• Contoured and molded seat back
• Comfortable foot braces
• Large bow storage hatch
• Easy to repair
• UV resistant
• Made from specially compounded polyethylene plastic
• Available for best price with free home delivery through this link only.

On the downside, the storage compartment in the front cannot be accessed from inside of the boat, so it is only good for day trips or when docked and accessible from land.  This minor issue is probably part of any kayak, so it is no fault of the Temptation.

This kayak is simple to load and unload without any help.  Many times a canoe can be difficult to take on and off a vehicle.  Therefore, this kayak would make a good replacement for a canoe.

The Emotion Kayak Temptation is crafted with high quality in mind.  The plastic may become slightly scratched if it catches a rock, but nothing too bad.  This is something that would occur with any material.  The plastic is solid in colour completely through the body. In many ways, this kayak is built to possibly last a lifetime.

Overall, this kayak is viewed very positively from all of the people that have gotten the opportunity to try it out.  Since it works well in all kinds of water conditions, it is convenient and useful.  It is easier to load on and off of a vehicle, which makes it better than most canoes.  When a person is in the market for a new kayak, this one will keep everyone very satisfied.

A Few Thoughts On Planning And What To Bring When Backpacking

Deciding what to bring when planning a trip backpacking through Europe can be a little daunting when you first start the preparations needed. There are multiple things to consider, like organizing your passport, travel insurance, booking flights, getting the right equipment and multiple other little things that you haven’t even thought of yet.

The first thing to keep in mind is DON’T STRESS. It’s do able, and once you’re on the road all of the planning will be 100% worth it.

Let’s discuss a few things, and let me impart some of my hard earned advice when it comes to preparing for a backpacking trip.

Give yourself 4 months to arrange your passport. That’s right, I recommend that long. You have no idea what unforseen circumstances could arise, so you want to have time to get this IMPORTANT document (if you don’t have one already). If you’ve already got a passport, make sure it isn’t going to expiry mid-way through your trip. No passport = no travelling.

You’ll also need to arrange a visa for Europe. The best visa is probably The Schengen visa, as it gives you access to over 20 countries and all of Western Europe. This is sufficient for most people, however not every country is on there so make sure you check it out. If you’re heading to Croatia for example, it’s possible you may need another visa specifically for that country.

Now, onto Travel Insurance. You want to make sure it is active and covering you from the first day of your trip. In fact, even the day before. Make sure you get a decent policy, you don’t want a cheeky one that is going to throw fine print at you if you ever try to claim anything. I’ve always found a good travel insurer will make what is covered relatively straight forward up front.

Guys, READ THE FINE PRINT. I’ll repeat that, READ THE FINE PRINT. Don’t just sign off on travel insurance without knowing EXACTLY what you’re covered for. I recommend at least having full medical cover and emergency medical transport. You might also want to consider specific cover if you’re bringing along items like laptops and cameras.

What about flights? Well GENERALLY the earlier you book, the cheaper you’ll get it. So it’s a good idea to book your flights as soon as you know what dates you will be heading to Europe. A good tip is to perhaps book through a travel agent that will offer a refund of the ticket if cancelled prior to the flight date, then if you do find something cheaper at a later date, you can claim the refund and rebook the cheaper ticket.

So, what about gear and equipment? Well obviously a backpack is required – look out for one of those ‘massive’ sales at your local adventure store. They normally have them about 3 times a year I find. Don’t buy at normal retail prices, ever. If you must, head into the store, try on and figure out which backpack you want, then head home and order the exact model on the Internet.

Cheeky? Sure, but it’s allowed if you’re on a budget!

Here are another few items you might want to consider bringing along:-

- A money belt

- Small nail clippers

- A small torch

- A diary or journal to record your thoughts

The amount of things you COULD bring are endless of course, but it’s always nicer to pack lighter. Europe has everything available to buy if you forget something.

So there we have it, I hope you have a blast on your adventure.

Tom, editor and owner of Active Backpacker.

Scrapbooking is More Than Paper and Books

Scrapbooking is a great hobby and a tremendous way of sharing your memories with family and friends. There is something about looking a photos laid out on a page that brings a smile to the faces of anyone that looks through the scrapbook.

For those that have had the opportunity to make a scrapbook, they know that there is more to creating a great album than simply attaching photos to a piece of paper. There are many ways in which you can create a scrapbook, not only to tell the story, but to make it a personal adventure that explores the past.

The photos are usually the centerpiece of any scrapbook, but there are many other elements that you can use to enhance the presentation of the photos. There are many embellishments that you can apply and layout that can help enhance the story beyond the page. A perfect embellishment on a page will help to complete the book.

To tell the story you must be creative with how the story is to be told. While you may not be creative when you first start to scrapbook, the more you write the better you will become. You don’t need to be a Pulitzer prize winning writer, but if you use the experience of the moment that you are trying the cherish, you can probably write a breathtaking story to accompany the photos.

The colors you choose to include in your album can also tell a lot about the photos in the album. It is important to choose the colors that correspond to the event or season. For example, you can choose greens and blues for summer events, and browns and oranges for fall ones. By choosing colors that best represent your event, you can add even more emotion to your scrapbook album.

Another method, which can greatly allow you create amazing looking scrapbooks, is to invest in a Cricut machine. There are many cartridges that have been created specifically for use with scrapbooks. One such Cricut cartridge is the Reminisce Accents Cartridge, which can really help you add additional creativity to your scrapbooks. This type of creativity can be a bit hard to recreate by hand, so if you do own a Cricut machine you should look at taking full advantage of its functionality.

One area of scrapbooking that is just starting to take shape is that of digital scrapbooks. Digital scrapbooks allow you to easily create great looking scrapbooks within a scrapbook program. Many such programs only require you to drag and drop your photos into specific areas in page templates. You can add different embellisments and fonts to help bring your story to life.

Once your digital scrapbook is completed, you can print out the pages individually and then assemble your scrapbook by hand, or use a scrapbook printing service to create the entire scrapbook for you. Either way, you will have a great scrapbook that will make you proud to show off to your friends and family.

A great scrapbook is one that goes beyond the page and book to tell a story. By being creative, you can create a great scrapbook that you can enjoy for many years.

For more information on scrapbooking ideas and products, please visit the Scrapbook Album.

Ponte de Lima town, Portugal

The origins of the Ponte de Lima town are very remote. It may have been originally inhabited by a Celtic people known as the Limicos. Ar­chaeological remains of celtic castros found here date back to 150 BC. The Romans knew the town as Forum Linicorum and it was they who first made it into a place of some importance as a centre for trade along the main Braga to Astorga road and as a point of defence along the Lima. They constructed a stone wall to surround the town and constructed a bridge over the river, a portion of which stands to this day on the north bank of the Lima. The changing course of the river necessitated an extension to the bridge in 1355 when the town recieved a royal visit from the king Dom Pedro.

The remains of the Roman bridge and the medieval bridge, towers and a portion of the town wall give to the town its distinctive character. The bridge is of particular architectural interest as it is unusually made up of a combination of fifteen semicircular and twelve pointed arches. The solitary medieval keep still standing is that of Sao Paulo and stands on the south side of the Lima overlook­ing the bridge. The rest of the medieval defensive wall was destroyed to allow for the expansion of the town.

The sands of the river bank are used six times a year for the oldest recorded market in Portugal and Azores Islands. Proof of this can be found within the old prison tower where the municipal library is located. On request the librarian will bring out the original Royal Charter granted to the town in 1125 by Queen Dona Teresa.

The north side of the riverbed is used during the markets for the selling of cattle and the long horned gado barroso oxen still used to plough the narrow, steep slopes of the hills of the North where modern machinery cannot cope. Below the bridge snacks of sardines and cakes are for sale to be washed down, of course, with vinho verde. Craftspeople also bring their wares from the surrounding districts and villages. Embroidery from Correlha, basketwork from Rebordoes and Facha, furniture from Arcozelo, wooden barrrels from Fornelos and tin work, lace work and wooden clogs from Ponte do Lima itself. Prices are very reasonable and it is worth haggling.

By the south bank entrance to the bridge is a small but neat square, the Praca de Camoes, in the centre of which is a seventeenth-century baroque granite fountain. The winding streets around the square are fun to explore and the traveller is almost certain to find some of the fortified sixteenth-century doorways, emblazoned with coats of arms, that are dotted around the old town. Ponte de Lima was the original home of some of the great aristocratic families of Portugal in the Middle Ages, as the great number of manor houses in the region still testifies. It is said that some of these families were established before the country itself was. Merchants, generals and explorers all came from here. The most famous was Ferdinand Magellan, the first man to circumnavigate the globe. The eighteenth-century mansion of the Counts of Aurora is probably the finest of these houses.

The most interesting church to visit is also to be found on the riverfront. The church of St Francisco has been converted into a museum. Its finest exhibits are a splendid Rococo altarpiece in the chancel, two beautifully sculpted pulpits, and several ancient stat­ues. The church of Santo Antonio dos Capuchos next to the church of St Francis has also been secularised and dates from the fourteenth century. It houses some rare and attractive Hispano-Arab glazed tiles, as well as a series of temporary exhibitions.

The History of Yellowstone National Park

Pioneering mountain men traversed Yellowstone long before it became a national park—but found few who believed their tales of its wonders. Yellowstone, established in 1872, is the oldest national park in the world. It encompasses nearly 3,500 square miles (9,000 square kilometers) of high plateau country in the northern Rockies. Most of the park is located in the northwest corner of Wyoming, but parts of it extend into Montana and Idaho as well.

Wonders are everywhere in this unusual wilderness reserve. In addition to the park’s famous array of geysers and hot springs, there are rugged mountains, dense forests, deep, cold lakes, and rushing trout streams. Here too are found the spectacular Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone River, a cliff of solid black obsidian (volcanic glass) where Indians once quarried material for arrowheads, and even entire fossil forests. A loop road provides easy access to most of the park’s major features, and miles of trails thread through the backcountry wilderness.

But for most people Yellowstone is first and foremost a superb showcase of geothermal activity. With some 300 geysers and nearly 10,000 hot springs and steam vents, the park boasts the world’s largest, most varied collection of geothermal phenomena.

The boiling springs and spouting geysers are a legacy of the region’s volcanic past. The high, mountain-rimmed plateau was built up by a long succession of lava flows, the last of which occurred less than 100,000 years ago. Even now a reservoir of molten magma remains quite near the surface beneath the park. Water from rain and melting snow seeps into fissures, where it is heated by contact with hot rocks. Some then escapes to the surface through hissing steam vents, sputtering mud pots, and scalding hot springs. And some escapes in the intermittent fountains of geysers.

The best-known geyser in Yellowstone—perhaps in the world—is Old Faithful. Named for the regularity of its eruptions, it spouts on the average every 72 minutes, day after day, year in and year out. Its jet of steam and hot water, which lasts for two to five minutes, has been known to reach 184 feet (56 meters) but usually is about 130 feet (40 meters) high.

Riverside Geyser on the bank of the Firehole River is even more predictable, with 53%-hour intervals between eruptions. Although not as high as Old Faithful, it continues to play for 15 minutes, shooting a graceful plume of spray at an angle over the river.

Other geysers in the park’s various geyser basins show a wide range of eruptive activity. Some send up columns of water only three feet (one meter) or less in height and play almost continuously. Others produce much more substantial jets, but they erupt only at intervals of days, weeks, or even months. Steamboat Geyser, famous for producing the highest jets in the park, has been known to erupt to heights of 400 feet (120 meters). But in 1969 it mysteriously died. Renewed activity in recent years, however, suggests that it may be entering a new phase of spectacular eruptions.

Many other geysers vie for the visitor’s attention at Yellowstone. Castle Geyser erupts from an enormous fortresslike cone built from silica that was dissolved in the hot water. Grotto Geyser’s cone; penetrated by cavelike openings, resembles a huge abstract sculpture. Grand Geyser and Great Fountain Geyser regularly produce jets up to 200 feet (60 meters) high. The numerous hot springs, ringed by deposits of geyserite, are more notable for their colors than for any displays of activity. Among the most beautiful is Morning Glory Pool. The sky, reflected in its deep trumpet-shaped basin, produces a startlingly intense blue color.

The lovely hues in other hot springs are the products of various species of algae and bacteria, each adapted to life in water of different temperatures. Grand Prismatic Spring is blue in the center, but algae growing around the edges produce an amazing array of warm tones of yellow, orange, golden brown, and green. And, for reasons that are immediately apparent, Hillside Springs were once known as Tomato Soup Springs.

But the most spectacular by far are Mammoth Hot Springs near the park’s northern border. A fantastic structure of stepped pools and terraces, the springs adorn the slope like a gigantic wedding cake. Here the hot water spilling from the pools is saturated with dissolved limestone; it is estimated that 2 tons (1.8 metric tons) are brought to the surface each day. Precipitated from the water, the limestone deposits cause the terraces to change slowly but constantly both in size and shape. As in the other springs, heat-tolerant algae streak the terraces with ribbons of delicate colors.

Although less well known than its hot springs and geysers, Yellowstone’s fossil forests are equally impressive. Spread over an area of some 40 square miles (100 square kilometers), they are the most extensive petrified forests existing in the world. The trees, moreover, were buried alive in outpourings of volcanic debris; in contrast to most other petrified forests, where the logs are strewn in a helter-skelter fashion across the ground, the fossilized tree trunks at Yellowstone remained in upright positions.

Nor is there just one petrified forest at Yellowstone. As one forest was buried, a new forest took root above it in the volcanic debris, only to be buried itself by renewed eruptions. More than 12 separate layers of petrified forests have been unearthed in the park. With details of foliage, twigs, and cones faithfully preserved as fossils, more than 100 different species of trees have been identified, ranging from relatives of modern redwoods to various types of maples, chestnuts, oaks, and figs.

No visit to Yellowstone is complete without a pause to admire the park’s own Grand Canyon. Flowing north from Yellowstone Lake, the largest high-mountain lake in North America, the Yellowstone River plunges into an awesome abyss by way of two mighty waterfalls. The first, the Upper Falls, has a drop of 109 feet (33 meters); the Lower Falls are an imposing 308 feet (94 meters) high.

Downstream the bright green water of the Yellowstone River rushes through a canyon 24 miles (39 kilometers) long. Averaging 1,000 feet (300 meters) in width, it is up to 1,200 feet (365 meters) deep. From overlooks on the canyon rim such as Artist Point and Inspiration Point, visitors can readily grasp the size and beauty of this spectacular canyon in this varied and magnificent national park. Anna lives and works in Prague.

Cincinnati: Unofficial Home of Cornhole Bags Toss?

Depending on where you live, you may be seeing more and more people carrying around cornhole bags to go compete in a match of their favorite game. The game of cornhole is a very popular outdoor activity which could be played one-on-one or with teams of two. While states like Indiana and Kentucky have received a lot of attention recently because of the exploding popularity of cornhole in both the states, you could argue that the city of Cincinnati is currently the unofficial capital of cornhole based on how popular the game is in that town. In fact, this game has caught on like wildfire in the city and is often advertised in restaurants, storefronts, and even bars. While many other cities are still building rarely used frisbee golf courses, many parks in Cincinnati are adding in several corn boards so people have a place to play cornhole right in the park. Few people can probably imagine just how popular this game would become with locals.

Many people would be amazed at just how easy it is to find a cornhole bags course in Cincinnati. In many places these even replaced the horseshoe pits. Many Cincinnati residents enjoy the game because you can be any age to play it, you get a friendly competitive spirit going, and it is a very social game that also conveniently allows adults to hold a cool beverage in one hand while making their toss with the other. The combination of low stress, fair competition, social interaction, and the easy-going nature of the game helps explain why such a simple game with a funny name has grown so incredibly popular throughout the city.

In some ways it makes sense that Cincinnati would be the type of city where a game like cornhole would take off. The eastern Midwest region in general seems to be where cornhole has its strongest support and when you have so many fans of the sport in Indiana, Ohio, and Kentucky it makes sense that the largest city straddling the Ohio-Kentucky border would find itself in position to claim to be the unofficial capital of cornhole.

As the game continues to gain more fans, and as it takes off at NASCAR race events, eventually there are going to be some cities that really challenge Cincinnati’s place as the unofficial home of cornhole. Surprisingly, most residents of Cincinnati don’t have a problem with this. There is very much a mentality of “the more the merrier” when it comes to playing cornhole and you also have that natural Cincinnati confidence were they believe Cincinnati will always stand at number one when it comes to rabid enjoyment of the game of cornhole. Considering that Cincinnati might currently be the only major city where in large sections of town you can find cornhole courts behind bars, in parks, and just about anywhere else you look – other towns are going to have to come a long way before they even come close to competing with Cincy.