Tenaya Lodge at Yosemite's Perseid Package Features Midnight Rendezvous.

Feature Editors & Recreation/Travel Writers

YOSEMITE, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--June 23, 2000

Ever wonder how bright that comet, planet or shooting star shines from the midnight vantage point of a Sierra Nevada peak?

Tenaya Lodge at Yosemite offers a celestial two-night package on Aug. 11 and 12, 2000 for a very close encounter with the Perseid meteor showers. The Perseids will provide a dramatic display of shooting stars, fireballs, comets and trajectories, while Tenaya Lodge takes care of the rest.

The Perseids are perhaps the most famous annual meteor showers due to their summer occurrence and visibility with the naked eye. First recorded in China in 36 A.D., this year's showers will be visible from Aug. 6 to 30, peaking in the early morning hours of Saturday, Aug. 12.

At 11 p.m. on Friday, Aug. 11 -- after an optional evening nap -- guests will be spirited from Tenaya Lodge for the 45-minute ride up to Glacier Point. A majestic setting within Yosemite National Park, Glacier Point provides an incomparable vista free of city lights, fresh with alpine summer breezes and, at 7,200 feet, about as close to the stars as one can get without a pack mule and a week's supply of trail mix.

As your host, the Tenaya provides educational support by sending along an astronomy guide to discuss constellations, radiants, apogees and magnitudes. If you want to be a good scientist, bring your family telescope and follow cosmic orientations using a flashlight and constellation book provided by the Lodge. If romance is more your style, cuddle up at midnight in one of the Tenaya's warm blankets, sip hot chocolate and coffee and witness the sky show. Whatever your lean, sleep in the next morning and enjoy breakfast in bed.

The Perseid Package price is $319.00 plus tax per person for two nights, based on double occupancy. Tenaya Lodge is a AAA Four-Diamond mountain resort which features fine dining, full athletic facilities including heated pool, spa treatments and summer programming for kids. Whether its star-gazing atop the granite cliffs, relaxing with a deep tissue massage or taking a horse-drawn wagon ride through the Sierra National Forest, Tenaya Lodge provides a rich and rewarding getaway.

Tenaya Lodge at Yosemite is located on California State Highway 41, just two miles from Yosemite's most popular entrance -- the South Gate -- where year-round access and quick entrance to the park are guaranteed. Tenaya Lodge is 55 miles north of Fresno Yosemite International Airport, three and a half hours from the San Francisco Bay Area and four and a half hours from the greater Los Angeles area.

Tenaya Lodge at Yosemite is a Destination Hotels and Resorts property. For more information and reservations, call toll-free 800/635-5807 or check in to Tenaya Lodge, virtually, at www.tenayalodge.com.