Area endorsed in travel mag

Flipping through the September-October edition of Via The AAA Traveler's Companion magazine, for the auto club's members, it's easy to spot Northern Nevada and its neighboring communities.

Virginia City is listed as one of the magazine's Favorite Tourist Traps with an article by Richard Moreno. The Nevada Museum of Art's First Thursdays and the Oxbow Nature Study Area in Reno are featured in the On the Road section, the Truckee River is listed as one of the Best Doggy Destinations and this weekend's Hearts O' Gold Festival in Fallon is listed in Savoring the West.

In the events section they've collected information from the Pinenut Festival in Schurz to Carson's Salsa Y Salsas! Festival and the Ghost Walk.

Nearly 2.8 million copies of the magazine are published.

Governor Kenny Guinn has proclaimed September as Set a Good Example Month. The proclamation points to drug abuse, violence, juvenile crime and delinquency as threats to the well being of America's youth and "these vices undermine the integrity of our future society."

The idea was presented by the Concerned Businessmen's Association of America.

"Morals are not hard to teach," asserts president Barbara Ayash, "we just have to teach them."

The bees are busy pollinating the pumpkins, the corn is growing tall and the "Wagon Wheel Corn Maze" is now waiting to entice everyone to come master it. It's all happening at The Corley Ranch, just south of Gardnerville on Highway 395.

During the weekdays of October, schools from all over can take advantage of the "Educational Tours" program in which students may pick a pumpkin, dig a potato and put it in a French fry cutter and see how French fries are made, go through the corn maze and watch a homemade seven-minute video entitled "How Pumpkins Grow." During the week nights special groups, such as service and social clubs, soccer and other sport groups, churches and other organizations will be able to book their own evening event.

Groups may go through the corn maze with their flashlights in hand and enjoy a scavenger hunt searching for clues hidden within the maze.

On all Saturdays and Sundays in October, the public is invited to visit the ranch for the 2005 Harvest Festival Extraordinaire! Accordingly to Paula Corley, there will be live entertainment. On Saturday evenings from 7-10 p.m., the public is invited to participate in the "Night Crawler Maze Event" where participants may go through the maze in the dark with their own flashlights.

The Corley Ranch dates back to 1861. It was part of the original 20,000 acres originally owned by H. F. Dangberg. Dangberg ran 3,000 head of sheep there. Today, Jon and Paula Corley raise Texas Longhorns, Scottish Highlanders, performance horses, hay, and now pumpkins, fruits and veggies and a corn maze.

The Corley Ranch is not usually open to the public, but during the entire month of October, it will be open for 2005 Harvest Festival activities. So come one, come all, and have a blast!

Paula is also looking for food, craft, entertainers and other vendors who would be interested in participating in one or all of the weekends scheduled. For information, please visit their web site at www.corleyranch.com where you can download and print a discount admission coupon. You may also call Paula Corley at 721-1047.