We have been working behind the scenes to bring Gowalla to Windows Phone 7, and as of today, it’s officially here! With Gowalla for Windows Phone 7, you get all the best Gowalla features like check-ins, photos and highlights, but with a cool new interface that emphasizes the quick and clean Windows Phone 7 experience.

Take a look at the opening Panoramic view where you can quickly access your friends’ activity, nearby spots and nearby photos (a feature only included in Gowalla for WP7!). Checking in and adding photos is quick and easy, with the ability to post check-ins to Facebook, Twitter, Foursquare and Tumblr.

Want to do something new? Take a custom-made Trip with Gowalla and see all the spots on a Microsoft Bing map.  Curious what your friends are up to?  See your friends’ photos, activity, and pins on their Passport.  Interested in that new coffee shop down the street?  Take a look at any spot’s photos, highlights and activity to see what is happening there now.

Gowalla for WP7 also features a tile notification that lets you know about check-ins and comments that have posted since you last opened the app.  Tap the notifications bar when you open the app to see what has been going on.

Try Gowalla for WP7, available in Marketplace now — we think you will love it!

In April, we featured our first batch of National Parks. Now that summer is here on this side of the equator and people are exploring the outdoors with their friends and family, we thought it was time to feature a bunch more.

Here are just a few of our favorites: Carlsbad Caverns, Banff National Park, Bryce Canyon, California’s Redwood National Forest, Grand Teton National Park, Acadia in Maine, Zion National Park in Utah, and the incredible Volcanoes National Park in Hawaii.

We hope you have a chance to get away over the next few months and discover your own favorites. Which national wonders should we feature next?

Gowalla is about discovering new places and sharing those experiences with friends. To remain true to the essence, I try to visit 2-3 spots I’ve bookmarked. Last weekend I visited Mayfield Park and Preserve which sits in front of Mt. Bonnell, one of Austin’s staple attractions. Despite living in the ATX for over 2 years, I had never heard of it until one of my co-workers checked in a few weeks prior. The property is absolutely breathtaking; lush greenery, lily pad ponds, hiking trails, and peacocks wandering freely. The spot which is regularly used for engagement photos and intimate weddings is listed in the National Register of Historic Places.

Two new finds I’ve filed under the “Best Kept Secret” Highlight are Simplicity Wine and Taqueria La Caprichosa. 

Simplicity Wine is the perfect spot for a fancy little date or Girls’ Night Out. The atmosphere is relaxed, tapas are incredibly affordable, (Classic Escargot - $5.95, Bacon Wrapped Hearts of Palm - $4.95) and you can split a 2 glass carafe for $7. The restaurant is considerably “zero-waste” as it recycles all wine/beer bottles and utilizes compostable dishes and utensils.  

Second, but first to all other taco stands is Taqueria La Caprichosa located East of I-35 on 6th and Comal. I stumbled upon this gem once upon a Friday night dance party at The Eastern situated next door. The menu offers a variety of traditional Mexican favorites including migas, tostadas, burritos, quesadillas, and $2 tacos. As leader of the leader board, I highly suggest you “bookmark, visit and thank me later.”

What is your city hiding? Share an entry for 2-3 spots or add a link to your highlights page in the comments below for a chance to score a sweet swag package for “GO”ing with Gowalla.

Greetings from Austin, home of the beloved Longhorns. We just rolled out 10 new stamps for University of Texas including Darrell K. Royal-Texas Memorial Stadium, Etter-Harbin Alumni Center, Blanton Museum of Art, Harry Ransom Center, Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center, Bass Concert Hall, UT Austin Visitor Center, Student Activity Center, Texas Union, Visitor Center. 

If you’d like to see custom stamps for your school or help spread the Gowalla gospel, holla at us via campus@gowalla.com.

Some of my favorite food moments have come during visits to my local Farmer’s Market. I love walking from stand to stand and actually meeting the people responsible for the wonderful food there that day. There is something amazing that happens when you take a bite of fresh fruit that you know was picked just a few hours ago.

Starting today, Gowalla is teaming up with Frigidaire and the always wonderful Jennifer Garner to have some fun at Farmer’s Markets. Each time you check in at your local Farmer’s Market this summer, Frigidaire will donate $1 to Save The Children and the work that they do to bring fresh food to kids throughout rural America. 

Find out more and see Jennifer’s favorite Farmer’s Market here.

Connect with Owl City on Gowalla to get some sweet discounts on merch, some great pins to share on Twitter and Facebook, and for your chance at a VIP Trip to see Owl City play at ACL Live on July 27th!

1. Install Gowalla on your phone, super easy: head over to http://gowalla.com on your iPhone, Android or Blackberry phone. Be sure to connect your Facebook and Twitter accounts to your Gowalla account!

2. The week of June 14th, when Owl City’s new record All Things Bright and Beautiful drops, check in at a record store or any other place that sells music, and when you do, include the words “@owlcity” and “#ATBAB” in your check-in message. Push it to Twitter or Facebook and you’ll get the limited edition Owl City Superfan pin, which you can post to your Facebook page for bragging rights!

3. When Owl City comes to your town between June 13 and July 17, check-in on Gowalla at the show (which will have it’s own special Owl City stamp!) for special credit to use at the merch booth, and for an additional chance to score the VIP trip.

The VIP trip will included airfare for two, a stay at the W Hotel in Austin, transportation, and two tickets to see Owl City at ACL Live at Moody Theater. Check-ins must be pushed to Facebook or Twitter to be eligible.

Thanks for rocking out with Gowalla and Owl City—we’ll see you at the show!

Oslo, Norway is an amazing city filled with people who love to go out. We found a bunch of great spots to feature recently and they just went live. Take a look:

• Oslo Central Station, the largest railway station in Norway
• Litteraturhuset, the House of Literature, which combines a beautiful bookstore with a cafe, restaurant, and workspaces for writers
• Det Kongelige Slott, the famous Royal Palace, completed in 1849
• Mono, a popular cafe that features lots of live music
• Grand Hotel, a classic hotel that opened in 1874 and hosts the Nobel Peace Prize award ceremony each year

You can see everything going on in Oslo here: http://gowalla.com/in/oslo

If you have ideas for featured spots in your favorite city, let us know below or shoot us an email. It helps if you Include a link to the spot on Gowalla. Thanks!

The internet gives us the ability to defy geography and network with people we’ve never met in person from around the world.  From pouring through others’ last.fm channels to playing Mafia Wars on Facebook, people are now given more excuses to rarely step foot outside their office and home than ever.  

At Gowalla, we believe there are plenty of fun things to do in the real world.  We enjoy people’s company whether they have hundreds of Gowalla pins or Twitter followers or have never heard of either service.  Life is too short to spend the bulk of your socializing behind a computer screen.

That’s why we are happy to send off Gadling’s Paul Brady on his “Traveling the American Road” tour.  According to the Gadling website, Paul’s mission is twofold:

“This summer, I’m taking to the country’s interstates, highways and back roads to prove it can, exploring both famous Americana and the little-known, roadside inns and road houses, national parks and parking lot flea markets, searching out the stories making so many places in America unique.

I’ll also be profiling the people confronting the change head on, whether they live in a city in recovery, a town facing an uncertain future or a Gulf Coast beach still negotiating the aftermath of the oil spill. From gas station worker to tech-savvy CEO, I intend to find out and to share their stories.”

Paul will be on the road meeting new people and exploring interesting places.  If you’d like some inspiration to do the same, subscribe to his blog, “Traveling the American Road”.  Or if you’d just assume follow along without being behind a big computer screen, follow Paul’s travels on Gowalla.

Without further adieu, we’re pleased to announce that Freelance Whales has picked their favorite submission from all the wonderful videos you’ve been emailing us and posting links of: Brooke of Fort Worth, TX, put together a great compilation of for Location, with loads of things we love about Gowalla, especially sharing amazing times with friends. She will be receiving some sweet prizes from us and from the band. Way to go, Brooke!

To everyone who submitted a video, thanks so much for all your hard work and creative ideas! We’ll be picking a number of other winners to send some fun swag out to, so be sure to keep an eye on your email. And thanks for going out with Gowalla!

“Why think about that when all the golden land’s ahead of you and all kinds of unforeseen events wait lurking to surprise you and make you glad you’re alive to see?”
- Jack Kerouac, On the Road, Part 2, Ch. 6

Jack Kerouac was an American author and poet who inspired anyone from the beatniks to the hippie generation.  His book On the Road chronicles his spontaneous roadtrips across mid-century America and is often considered one of the best works of English language literature of the twentieth century.

Technology has changed significantly since the days Kerouac hit the road with his friend and fellow poet Allen Ginsberg.  Chronicling a journey doesn’t require a notebook and a pen the way it did in the 1950s, and it certainly doesn’t take a traditional publisher to tell stories about the places you go and the people you’ve met on the way.  A smart phone, a relatively decent internet connection, and a few friends to share your story with should suffice.

How can we, the modern day Kerouacs, use Gowalla to tell stories we encounter along our journeys?

1.) Think of each check-in as a story about a certain place or situation. Was there something funny going on?  Did you hit a certain milestone?  Is there some sort of food, person, or landmark that was particularly memorable?  Write a status message to say why this moment is relevant.  The spirit of Gowalla isn’t just about telling your friends where you are right now.  It’s about chronicling your life in certain places and sharing those moments with others.

2.)  Take photos.  A picture is worth a thousand words, right?  Chronicling your journeys with images gives people a better sense of what made that experience or place unique. It’s also fun and can inspire you to appreciate details you would not notice otherwise.

3.) Leave highlights.  Highlights are just tips about certain places.  Other users will be able to see what is particularly exceptional about where you are visiting.  It takes seconds and can be very helpful to other Gowalla users.

4.) Use the Gowalla Spots guide to figure out where you are off to next. The best way to enjoy Gowalla is to go to cool places in the first place.  Check out what people have said about the places you want to go to and bookmark Spots and Trips that seem interesting.  You can access bookmarked spots in the Gowalla app by going to Spots->Bookmarked, and your saved Trips are easily accessible in the bottom toolbar.

5.) Remember that you don’t have to be in a different city to chronicle your journeys.  We share links on the internet via Facebook, Twitter, and blogs.  Why not share places and experiences everyday with friends and people in our area?  You might just introduce someone to their next vacation spot, a place to propose to a future spouse, or a busy family to the place they go to recenter and connect.