Service sector leads surge in job growth

(Feb. 3, 2012) --  "January’s ISM manufacturing and non-manufacturing surveys indicate that the US economy picked up speed at the start of the new year as the composite index touched a 10-month high of 56.5. Moreover, the gains within the new orders components of each measure suggest that this upward growth momentum may well be sustained during the coming months," said Jeffries.

Camping at Illinois Beach could resume April 1

(Feb. 3, 2012) -- Clearing debris has been a long haul since twin storms slammed Adeline Jay Geo-Karis Illinois Beach State Park. But a pending contract for tree removal and related services should finish the job and allow camping and other activities to resume, possibly for the April 1 start of the camping season, reports the Chicago Daily Herald.

Canadian rocker enjoying life on the road

(Feb. 3, 2012) -- Fred Eaglesmith is crisscrossing the country three or four times this year with his Traveling Steam Show, and is currently making his way to Tucson to play a Rhythm & Roots show Saturday night. He lives in his tour bus and happily parks in RV parks or Walmart parking lots with his entourage, writes the Arizona Daily Star.

Van camping in Hawaii

(Feb. 3, 2012) -- Suzanne Morphet, writing for The Calgary Herald, describes her first night camping at Isaac Hale Beach Park on Hawaii's Big Island, and how her family already felt immersed in the landscape by staying in a rented Volkswagen Westfalia van in a way one never does by staying in a hotel.