Pix Photos © 2013 Disney/Jerry Bruckheimer, Inc. LONE RANGER ™ & © Classic Media

Summer is in full swing in many parts of the world. The extreme natures of the weather, with tornadoes, fires, floods, snow and drought has created stress and doubt about planning getaways. Fortunately, there are options available if you just need to get away and remember what it’s like to laugh, enjoy, rest and relax. Hope these discounted vacations put a smile on your face and get you packing.

Just saw “The Lone Ranger”, starring Johnny Depp and Armie Hammer. Totally fun and campy and even though it ran about 2-1/2 hours, it kept my attention. The fact that I happen to be going to Santa Fe, NM soon, where the film was shot, is thrilling, especially now that I know that the New Mexico Tourism office now offers tours of sites where movies and TV shows have been shot. www.newmexico.org/filmtrails is the new travel planning resource created by the state’s tourism department to help groups and individuals plan their itineraries around film history and lore. Filmmakers Jerry Bruckheimer and director Gore Verbinski chose New Mexico’s Rio Puerco as an authentic setting for their own version of a Wild West town. The movie’s thrilling train sequence in Cimarron Canyon was filmed near Angel Fire, N.M. For further information and a list of other films made in New Mexico, visit www.newmexico.org/filmtrails.

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