Rockies and Texas Trails

Traveling along the Continental Divide Montana Wyoming Colorado Arizona and Texas

The Rocky Mountain States

Montana is western history, national parks, cowboys, rodeos, railroad towns and guest ranches. Glacier National Park crosses the Continental Divide at Logan Pass, offering breathtaking views and opportunity to see wildlife, the rugged terrain along the way and the many unspoiled lakes on a wooden boat, kayak or canoe, a guided horseback ride, or hiking some of the 700 miles of trails. Ranch Vacations the state has many unique guest ranches of different types: dude, working, or luxury resort ranches that offer a diverse array of activities from horseback riding to fly fishing, spa treatments to gourmet meals, hiking to rafting. 

Wyoming includes two National Parks, Yellowstone and Grand Teton, Fossil Butte National Monument and the Jackson Hole area. Travel along its western border through scenic Star Valley to visit the historic town of Jackson, spectacular Teton Mountain Range, Old Faithful and the Lower Falls in Yellowstone. The North Platte River flows through this long, wide swath of the state. Discover Wyoming’s pioneer story, from scars in the earth left by the Oregon Trail wagons to fascinating history museums.

Salt Lake City Utah flanked on all sides by dramatic granite cliffs, Salt Lake is a world-class alpine destination with outdoor recreation, a remarkable history, and an economy that has transformed a pioneer town into a sophisticated metropolitan city.

Colorado Springs and the Pikes Peak Region nestled at the base of the Rocky Mountains, visitors to Colorado Springs can enjoy commanding views of Pikes Peak and recreational opportunities in the nearby mountains including hiking, the geological wonders at Garden of the Gods Park, Cave of the Winds and the Paint Mines Interpretive Park.

Colorado Springs has a Thriving Arts and Cultural Scene

Denver is a city with 300 days of sunshine, brilliant blue skies and breathtaking mountain scenery, located at the base of the Rocky Mountains, exactly one mile high. In 1858, a small group of prospectors from Georgia crossing the great plains of the Colorado Territory discovered Gold at the base of the Rocky Mountains. Although not much was found, the mere whisper of the word was enough to start a veritable stampede into the region.

Urban and Outdoor Adventures

Phoenix is the cosmopolitan heart of Arizona, the soul of the American Southwest and where you will find sports venues, live music, rooftop lounges, museums, theaters and art galleries. Downtown and its Cityscape, a two block entertainment district, is also home to the Phoenix Convention Center and Arizona State University’s downtown campus; all served by one of the newest light rail systems in the nation.

  

Houston is the largest city in Texas and the US South as well as America's fourth-largest. A cosmopolitan destination and home to an energetic arts community, Houston was founded in 1836 near the banks of Buffalo Bayou. The city was named after former General Sam Houston, who was president of the Republic of Texas and commander at the Battle of San Jacinto.

Austin, on the eastern edge of Texas Hill Country, is the state capital, the live music capital of the world, home to the University of Texas and Formula 1's Circuit of the Americas raceway.

Experience San Antonio’s rich heritage by visiting its 18^th century Spanish colonial missions, residential areas dating from the 1860s and the local museums that celebrate the city’s past. The National Historic Park the Mission Trail is a walking, biking or driving experience of the five local missions and the centuries of local history and culture.

Dallas the city’s can-do spirit helped bring the railroads to the area in the 1870s, the Federal Reserve Bank in 1914, Southern Methodist University in 1915, Love Field Airport in 1927, the Texas Centennial Exposition in 1936 and DFW International Airport in 1973. 

Cowboys Cowgirls Wineries Public Art Trails and Vintage Railroads

Grapevine is a small town located between Dallas and Fort Worth and is home of DFW International Airport. Main Street in the historic downtown has a public library, recreation center, antique stores, restaurants, bars, theaters, a park, and many specialty shops.

Fort Worth was settled in 1849 as an army outpost along the Trinity River as one of eight forts assigned to protect settlers on the advancing frontier. The cattle industry was king for a generation of people working the Fort Worth leg of the historic Chisholm Trail. Experience cowboy cuisine, trendy farm-to-table, authentic Mexican and bayou fare.

Plug and Process Loads in Hospitality Properties

Hotels Apartments Farmhouses and Villa Rentals

Plug and Process Loads PPLs consume about one third of primary energy in buildings. PPL efficiency has become pertinent in achieving aggressive energy targets. Energy reduction strategies and applications cover a wide variety of electronic, computer, refrigeration and cooking devices, as well as equipment essential to buildings that operate in the hospitality sector in your community. PPL Control Strategies vary by building type:

Turn it off promotes occupant awareness to turn equipment off when not in use, including training, newsletters, emails, signage, videos, reminders, updates and incentive programs.

Advanced Power Strips APSs are similar to conventional power strips that are often used to plug multiple electronic devices into a wall outlet and have built-in technology to save energy when the devices are not in use. APS Technical Specification offers guidance on the APS procurement process and selecting effective APS models. The Better Building Alliance has developed a one-page how-to guide on properly installing APS.

Find out More about Utility incentives for APSs in your Community

Equipment with Low-Energy and ENERGY STAR® Certified Equipment. Significant energy savings can be achieved by replacing old, inefficient equipment with low-energy or ENERGY STAR® certified equipment.

Built-in automatic low-power state functionality, such as standby and sleep modes saves energy. Automatic low-power states provide limited control, but when configured correctly are inexpensive and effective energy-saving strategy.

Design Strategies new construction and major retrofit projects offer design teams new PPL reduction opportunities to identify and remove standard specifications, operations, and design standards that limit energy-saving opportunities.

Space Efficiency is achieved by consolidating rooms, common and dining areas. Equipment in these areas is used more efficiently when consolidated rather than distributed, thus lowering PPLs.

Integrating PPL controls with other building systems by integrating electrical system and control outlets at workstations, achieved by installing switches, vacancy sensors, timed disconnects and controlling outlets through the building management system.

Sub-metering and control options for new properties and extensive retrofits. PPLs should be aggregated onto dedicated PPL electrical panels; circuits can be integrated into a building control system to turn off PPLs during nonbusiness hours. These panels also allow for easy energy sub-metering.

Connect with Tema

for PPLs in Hotels Farmhouses and Villa Rentals

    Knowledge Tourism

Economic Development Entrepreneurs

Tourism Energy Water Transit

tema@arezza.net   arezza.org  

Growth Management and Land Use Planning in Your Community

Towns Cities and Counties have plans setting forth how an area should grow i.e. shopping centers, new schools, housing projects and commercial, residential, institutional or industrial development. Your Local Area Plan shows how anticipated growth is likely to affect quality of life for current and future residents as well as visitors to the community. 

A Quality of Life Growth Management Plan

What Is It public opinion surveys show that the quality of life factors people view as being most affected by poorly managed growth are: schools, traffic and various environmental resources.  Other quality of life factors potentially affected by growth include: air quality; water resources such as streams, lakes, tidal waters or wells; crime; farmland loss; flooding; historic, archaeological and cultural resources; housing affordability; jobs and a healthy economy; neighborhood street safety; open space loss; park and recreation areas; placing incompatible uses near neighborhoods; police and fire services; property value; safe places to walk and bike; scenic views; shifting cost of growth from taxpayers to developers; shopping opportunities; trees and forests; wildlife.

Quality of Life Plans preserve and enhance anticipated growth if they:

present quantifiable criteria for assessing the effect of growth on each factor affected by development;

based on criteria that show how past growth has affected each quality of life factor;

show how the effect is likely to change with anticipated growth;

propose actions that prevent a decline in quality of life and enhance existing ones, and

provide factual basis for why these actions are likely to produce the benefits claimed in the plan.

Quality of Life Growth Management Example

The following illustrates how the six components of a Quality of Life Growth Management Plan would play out with regard to schools.  The quantifiable value for assessing school impact is percent utilization - enrollment ÷ capacity. The planning area is served by four public schools.  First the plan would show current utilization at the four schools.  Enrollment is based on actual student count; capacity is based on established formulas such as 20 students per classroom times the number of classrooms in the school. 

Next, the plan shows how enrollment would change with the anticipated growth presented elsewhere in the plan.  Many developing areas see an annual population increase of about 1%.  The 2026 enrollment below is based upon this average increase.  Of course enrollment reflects birth rates when tend to follow peaks and valleys.  The following table shows that at the end of the ten-year period -2026 - overcrowding at the three schools will become far worse.

The Actions recommended in the plan for resolving this quality of life issue are: 1 build a new elementary school and 2 expand the middle school.  The table shows this resolves overcrowding.

School	2026 Enrollment	2026 Capacity	Utilization
Smith Elementary	501	535	94%
Lincoln Elementary	484	600	81%
New Elementary	515	600	89%
Washington Middle Addition of 200 seats	1055	1100	96%
Jefferson High	1140	1501	76%

A New Plan for Your Area if your current plan is about to expire or rates poorly based on the Quality of Life Growth Management system, we can assist you in carrying out the outlined steps and/or conduct a community workshop and assist you in formulating a planning strategy for your community.

Connect with Tema

for Growth Management and Land Use Planning in Your Community

Knowledge Tourism

Economic Development Entrepreneurs

Tourism Energy Water Transit

tema@arezza.net   skype arezza1   arezza.org