All-clear signal for Yosemite road

Because of skimpy snowpack and balmy temperatures, Yosemite National Park’s Tioga Road (above) -- gateway to the Eastern Sierra high country and 9,995-foot-high Tioga Pass -- had its earliest reopening in 20 years on May 11. Glacier Point Road, which accesses the popular Half Dome vista spot, and some visitor services, such as the Curry Village bicycle stand and the rafting station for the Merced River, are also open just in time for Memorial Day. Info: (209) 372-0200, www.nps.gov/yose.

-- Jane Engle

A river redone

There’s something alluring about the Arkansas River, which flows from the Rockies through Colorado, Kansas, Oklahoma and Arkansas. Artist Christo plans to “cover” almost six miles of the river with fabric panels between Canon City and Salida, Colo., over the next five years. The Arkansas also figures prominently in an Artposium on May 27 and 28 in Salida, a mountain town about 140 miles southwest of Denver. Workshops explore the connection between the river and writing and art, with headliners such as Christo (left) and Jeanne-Claude (right), novelist Kent Haruf (“Plainsong”) and fly fisherman Fred Rasmussen. Advance registration is required; $249 per person. Info: (303) 279-5198 or go to www.coloradoartranch.org.

-- Mary E. Forgione

Hip in the city

Trendy travelers who are more captivated by a city’s buzz than by its museums will like the new Wallpaper* City Guides, compiled in part by the editors of the fashion and design magazine the guides are named after. The pocket-sized guides, available for 40 cities from Athens to Vienna, spotlight the hip and modern. They’re geared for short trips -- business or leisure -- and focus on a city’s iconic buildings, where to stay and which rooms to book, what to do in 24 hours and where to shop and spa. The books cost $8.95. They’re available at Barnes & Noble and other bookstores, or calling (800) 759-0190 or visiting www.phaidon.com.

-- Rosemary McClure

Pilot error

You see them on the road all summer, but what’s really going on inside that RV? Here are some common mistakes RV drivers make -- by their own admission: pulling away with the steps extended (14%), backing into something (8%), misjudging overhead or side clearance space (7%), improperly connecting taillights (5%) and running out of gas (3%). That’s what 1,000 RV drivers told an informal online survey conducted by Progressive Group of Insurance Cos. of Mayfield Village, Ohio. And yes, 2% admitted they sometimes left passengers behind: usually a spouse or significant other, rarely Grandma or the family pet.

-- M.E.F.

Towering toy

If you’re going to Legoland over Memorial Day, be prepared to work -- hard. Starting at 10 a.m. Thursday and ending at 9:45 a.m. May 29, Legoland visitors are invited to build, brick by interlocking plastic brick, the world’s tallest Lego tower. (In 2005, Carlsbad, Calif., theme park visitors built a record 92.6-foot tower but were outdone last year by a 93.43-foot one at the Denmark park.) The theme of the wannabe top tower, expected to use 465,000 Legos, will be a pirate ship’s mast -- and coincides with the debut of a ride, Captain Cranky’s Challenge. Info: (760) 918-5346, www.legoland.com.

-- M.E.F.