Friday Travel Ticker: Check out the latest snow park

Boeing has taken orders for 643 airplanes this year, according to its website, reflective of a buying spree by U.S. airlines. It is the highest number of orders since 2008. This comes amid reports that U.S. airline passenger rates rose in September: 1.2% over 2010 and 6% better than 2009 .... In another sign of how urbanized ski hills have become, Red Bull Plaza snow park will be unveiled today (Friday) at Bear Mountain. It is influenced by street-style skateboarding and snowboarding and modeled after city settings .... The 11th Annual Santa Pub Crawl originating on the slopes of Mt. Rose-Ski Tahoe takes place Saturday. For details, click here www.mtrose.com .... Hilton San Francisco Union Square has begun a $51-million revamp to 550 guest rooms and banquet spaces .... The 32^nd Annual Steinbeck Festival will be May 3-6, in Salinas. This year’s theme is “A Voice.” For info, click here .... Explore the Sonoran Desert and surrounding landscapes this spring on a desert hiking tour just for women. Highlights include Saguaro National Monument, the Chiracahua High Country and the Nature Conservancy’s Ramsey Canyon. Departure date: April 14 .... Last year’s fatality rate for American drivers was the lowest ever, the Department of Transportation reports. In 2010, 32,885 people died on the nation’s roadways, which comes to a rate of 1.10 deaths per 100 million vehicle miles. That’s down from 1.15 deaths per 100 million vehicle miles in 2009 .... Travel quote of the day: “Too often I would hear men boast of the miles covered that day, rarely of what they had seen.” – Louis L’Amour