Weekend Traveler

LAS VEGAS, Jan. 24 (UPI) -- ALAMO OFFERING OFF-SEASON SPECIALS

The folks at Alamo, the company that ushered in unlimited mileage, is offering a slew of deeply discounted prices on both daily and weeklong rentals. According to the company on its Web site -- alamo.com -- a nationwide rate of $25 a day is now in effect. The rate is, of course, for the smaller "compact" cars in the company's inventory. The weekly rate for compact cars is only $119.

In addition, Alamo has a really great rate on minivans, $35 a day or $199 a week.

The rate on SUVs is $35 a day or $219 for a 5- to 7-day rental.

There are, of course, restrictions and inventory is limited at some agencies.

LOOK FOR OFF-THE-ROAD WONDERS

A trip down the country's "old highways" can yield some unexpected wonders. Travel from Las Vegas to St. George, Utah, and you'll see miles and miles of desert and one of the most beautiful small canyons in the country. The Virgin River Canyon is a jewel of nature. Interstate 15 snakes through the canyon on a roadway that would likely be impossible to build today, due to lawsuits from environmentalists.

What the canyon route did was to cut more than half an hour off the trip between the Nevada state line and St. George. What the route also did was to deny travelers a chance to see a hidden, out-of-the-way historic site.

Along the old route, in Santa Clara, Utah, is the Jacob Hamblin home. It's a well-preserved piece of America's heritage from the mid 1800s.

Hamblin was a pioneer in the area. He is also responsible for fostering good relations between the newly arrived Mormon settlers and the indigenous Native Americans in the area.

The two-story Hamblin home was built with stones from an old fort that was nearly swept away by a flash flood. It features period furniture, creating the real feel of the "Old West." The dwelling, completed during the Civil War, is in incredible condition for its age. During visiting hours a local expert is on hand to conduct the tour. The construction is a combination of area ponderosa pine, stones from the old fort and adobe.

During his years in the region Hamblin wore a red bandanna as he road from Indian camp to camp trying to cement relations.

The home is a great example of a historic part of America that was once on the beaten path, but now you have to look for it to find it. Lots of other similar places are out there. That's one reason getting good maps and getting off the Interstates can provide some real surprises (including cheaper gasoline, in many cases, on the "old road.")

OLD LAS VEGAS STILL HAS BARGAINS

The millions who come to Las Vegas every year often fill the new high-rise hotels and casinos on weekends, but the old section of town is suffering. Despite optimistic efforts by Las Vegas Mayor Oscar Goodman, the original gambling area -- in the city's Fremont Street corridor -- is visited, but not by the hordes who go to the better-known gambling palaces -- 2 miles to the south on "The Strip."

The publication In Business Las Vegas says that an effort to revitalize an abandoned downtown building by turning it into the Neonopolis Museum has not worked. The site is filled with expensive new theaters and tons of Vegas memorabilia. The only thing not present is crowds.

Along with this has come the sale of a 61-acre tract in downtown for future expansion.

The bottom line is that the slot machines are just as profitable, the crowds just as friendly, but the area is dying for lack of tourist dollars.

Affordable rooms are still available in that part of the city, hurting for tourist money.

If you're planning a trip to Las Vegas, at least one night in "Old Town" could be a nice escape from the new Disney-esque sector famous for its billion-dollar casinos.

AIRLINES ASKING FOR 'NO STRIKE' INSURANCE

The major airlines are asking Congress to help them weather the financial turbulence by preventing future strikes. The Denver Post, in a recent report on the controversial plan, says that many of the carriers that recently filed for bankruptcy protection or "hit the skids" are asking lawmakers to take action, amending national labor rules, that would significantly weaken the power of the unions.

If the airlines are successful in their call for the change, pilots, flight attendants, mechanics and other union workers would find themselves with fewer ways to protest what they perceive as "problems" in their contracts.

The strike has, for decades, been the main bargaining chip of many unions.

The Post says that in Denver alone more than 6,000 union-protected airline employees would find their right to strike denied.

There have been six major airlines strikes in the past decade.

It's interesting to note that Southwest Airlines, the only carrier to seem not to be drowning in red ink, is staying out of the flap over union strike rules.

A FINAL THOUGHT ...

If you live in an American urban area, when booking an excursion to a foreign city try checking with a travel agent in a part of your city that has a high concentration of citizens from that area. For example, travel agencies in "Little Saigon," "Chinatown" or "Little Manila" often know all the best fares and ins and outs of travel to their home countries.