If you read this blog, you're probably a lot like us, constantly planning your next trip, collecting passport stamps like medals of honor, and always looking for that next peak to climb. The older I get the more keenly I feel that if I love travel this much, I also have a responsibility to preserve beloved destinations for my children and my children's children.

Responsible or green travel is at heart a conservation movement, a desire to keep pristine places around the world as they are--or even restore them to how they were. Here are 10 green travel resolutions you can make for Mother Earth. I've listed them from simplest to most ambitious so you can choose where you'd like to start. If we all make a pact to do just one of these resolutions, I think you'd be surprised at the huge impact it would have over time.

Trains are iconic. They punctuate our history and our pulp novels, and our films are rife with them--from The Great Train Robbery's gold-bearing locomotive to the now-infamous Hogwarts Express train of Harry Potter fame. Ah, but don’t start mourning the lost days of train travel just yet! While you may have trouble finding platform 9 ¾, there are plenty of trains still churning through America's vast and gorgeous countryside, just waiting for a rider.

Perhaps the most famous of U.S. sightseeing train routes is the one taken by the Grand Canyon Railroad. Chugging recycled vegetable oil instead of coal (how green!), this rail-riding beast makes regular trips from Williams, AZ to the South Rim of the Grand Canyon National Park.

Even if budgets are a little snug this year, travel hopes remain high. Here's a list of affordable travel gifts for the globetrotter on your list. The best part? All of the items are $60 or less (and in many cases, much, much less). Happy holiday shopping!

For the Green Globetrotter

VeloPouch $45

(Source)

I'm all about getting sporty on my trips. When I was training for the NYC marathon, I had to visit Washington, D.C. at a crucial point of my training. Instead of halting training or spending hours running on the hotel treadmill, I hired a running guide through City Running Tours who took me on a sightseeing run through our nation's capital.

So when I heard about a physical fitness event  -- again, in Washington, DC -- coming up on October 11, I thought I would share it with you. Bike for the Heart is a day-long event put on by the Sister to Sister organization, a group dedicated to educating women about heart health and risk prevention and providing free heart health checkups.

The day consists of four events:

 - a family-friendly five-mile bike ride around our nation's capital (this would be my choice)

This is a shameless plea for help. Has anyone else ever sent their precious documents through a very unforgiving spin cycle? My husband and I got back from Peru on Sunday--after traveling for 24 straight hours. Needless to say, I wasn't thinking clearly when I decided to throw my filthy backpack into the washing machine, complete with both of our passports in one of the pockets. Note to self: Sleep, then clean.

Please join us in welcoming Kristin Luna to The Window Seat. She lives in San Francisco and is the writer of the Bloggie-award-winning travel blog Camels and Chocolate.

When I scheduled my 28-hour stopover in Helsinki, I thought I’d do a whirlwind tour of the city, snapping some quality architecture shots in true shutterbug fashion and doing little else. Au contraire, naïve one. Instead, I spent the majority of my time in Finland getting acquainted with the downtown poliisi precinct.

On my way to the ferry station to purchase my ticket to Estonia, I was crossing at the green crosswalk like the law-abiding citizen I am. Out of nowhere, a minivan cab came whipping around the way, and performed an illegal U-turn—at a red light at that—before I had time to contemplate my next move.

Like many New Yorkers, I don't own a car. This complicates weekend trips, of course, as I am forced to rent one.

I also rarely carry cash. I typically have about $2 on me. Why carry cash when I can use my debit card for practically everything? Unfortunately though you can't use your debit card at the toll booth. Until now! Sort of. From Jaunted, here's the headline that caught my eye: Fear No More Change-less Rental Car Drivers.

The Highway Toll Administration  recently introduced the TravelPass mail-order program that provides electronic tolling devices, or tags, to travelers who book car rentals through Travelocity.

Here's how it works: