Monday, February 28, 2011

Junior Ranger Program

One of the ways that we have gotten Jackson excited about visiting National Parks is by utilizing the Junior Ranger Program at several parks...and even from the comfort of our own living room!

How it works in the Parks.  Almost all units of the National Park system have a Junior Ranger program; some even have different "levels" of Junior Ranger programs geared toward different age groups.  Typically, completing the Junior Ranger program consists of going to a Visitor's Center and requesting an activity book.  Junior Rangers-to-be complete several age-appropriate activities (like attending a ranger program or talk, hiking on a park trail, picking up trash, completing a word search, and so on) that focus on environmental, historical or wildlife topics. Some parks, like Yellowstone, even offer "Junior Ranger Packs" including binoculars or a magnifying glass that a child or family can check out to help complete the activities. After completing the activities, children take the book back to a Visitor's Center where a ranger will review it and reward the child with a badge, certificate or button.  At one park we visited, Timucuan Ecological & Historical Preserve, Jackson even got to raise his hand and take an "oath of office" (he thought that was pretty cool).  Back at home, we have a cork board in Jackson's room where all his pins and certificates are displayed.  In addition, we have made it a habit to record his efforts and his thoughts about each park in his Kid's Passport Companion (along with his stamps).  Just to make it a little more "official," we even bought him a kid's version of a ranger hat.

Jackson hard at work at his "Ranger desk"

How it works on the web.  The National Park Service also operates a nifty WebRanger program, which allows kids and families to learn about the parks and park-related topics right from their living rooms.  Kids (with a parent's help) can create an account, print an id badge, do activities at all different difficulty levels, customize their ranger desk, post photos they've taken in the parks and so on.  Jackson loves going online with me to do "park ranger stuff."  If a kid completes all the activities, he or she will receive a patch.

We have found the WebRanger and Junior Ranger programs to be a great way to keep Jackson engaged in learning about the units of the National Park system.  He has really internalized it, and will now go out of his way to pick up and throw away trash he sees outside because, as he says, "I'm a Park Ranger, mama!"  I'm one proud parent.

Thursday, February 24, 2011

Yellowstone National Park


Players:  Jenny, Jake & Jackson
Date of Visit: 
Most recently, June 2007 although I lived there for three months in 2005
Website:  www.nps.gov/yell
Location:  Wyoming
Entrance Fee:  $25/car, good for 7 days at both Yellowstone and Grand Teton National Park
Type of trip:  Several nights camping as part of Western US Road Trip
Park Passport Stamps Available:  24 (!!)


In the documentary The National Parks:  America’s Best Idea by Ken Burns, one of the featured speakers talks about how every family has one National Park that feels like “their” national park; for me, Yellowstone is “my” Park.  Yellowstone was a park I visited with my family as a child; my father before me had visited with his parents as well.  Yellowstone is directly responsible for the existence of my son (whose name Jackson Cody recalls the two Wyoming towns closest to the Park); I have lived within the boundaries of the Park and hiked hundreds of miles in the backcountry.  I’ve seen the Park in the snow and in the heat, crowded in midsummer and nearly empty in early May; the Park has seen me joyous and sad, sick with fever and more alive than I’ve ever felt. I’m not a religious person, but if ever I’ve felt the presence of a higher power, it was here.  I came to Yellowstone at a crossroads in my life, and found it sublimely healing.

But enough of the existentialism! 

Wednesday, February 23, 2011

Timucuan Ecological & Historical Preserve

Players:  Jenny, Zach & Jackson
Date of Visit:  January 2011
Website:  www.nps.gov/timu
Location:  Florida
Entrance Fee:  Free (unless you decide to enter the beach/visitor areas of the Talbot Islands State Parks)
Type of Trip:  Daytrip from home
Park Passport Stamps Available:  4
Trip Report:  Timucuan Ecological & Historical Preserve is a small NPS unit in/near Jacksonville, Florida -- I did not even know it existed until I was on the Park Service website doing a search on all the NPS units in the state of Florida.  It is made up of several small areas in the Jacksonville area, all of which have some historical or ecological significance and provides a glimpse of Florida's past.  The main visitor center is at the Ft. Caroline section of the park; the other areas you can visit are the Theodore Roosevelt Area, the Ribault Club on Ft. George Island, the Talbot Islands State Parks, and Kingsley Plantation.  There are no camping or food options within the National Park area, making this a great one-day trip.  There are, however, picnic areas available as well as camping in the state parks on the Talbot Islands.  In addition, you have to drive from section to section of this park, so there are plenty of opportunities to grab something to eat if you didn't bring your picnic basket.  Dogs are allowed throughout all of the park units, as long as they remain outdoors and on a leash.  If you visit, I highly recommend picking up (or downloading here) a copy of the "If You Have One Day" brochure, which outlines the best way to visit all of the sections of this park in one day.
Jackson & Zach taking a break near Ft. Caroline

Saturday, February 19, 2011

How to Plan a Great Family Camping Trip

Camping with your family can be great fun -- cooking hot dogs and s'mores around a glowing campfire, discovering new animals and plants on a nature trail, cuddling in your tent reading books at night, and so on.  It can also be wet, disgusting, buggy, hot, dirty, and many other things.  The difference between a good family memory and a vacation nightmare comes down to two things -- attitude and planning.  In this post, I'll review some pros and cons of a camping vacation, take a look at some of the essential gear for camping, and provide some tips and tricks for making your camping trip a great success.
Camping at 2 months old

Great Smoky Mountain National Park

Players:  Jenny 
Date of Visit:  May 2009
Website:  www.nps.gov/grsm
Location:  North Carolina & Tennessee
Entrance Fee:  Free!
Type of Trip: 
Weeklong camping trip
Park Passport Stamps Available:  10
Trip Report:  Great Smoky Mountain National Parks sits on the border between North Carolina and Tennessee, and is the most-visited park in the National Park System.  In addition to being a fabulous hiker's park (the great Appalachian Trail runs for nearly100 miles through the park), Great Smoky Mountain houses an amazing array of plant and animal life -- including black bears and the reclusive salamanders.  GRSM also houses hundreds of waterfalls, lofty mountain peaks, and an interesting feature known as the Appalachian Grassy Bald -- an open hilltop or mountainside whose origins are not really known.  There is also a human history to the area (not entirely pleasant as hundreds of people who had lived in the park for years were moved out upon the creation of the national park), and you can visit old settlements and cemeteries within the park boundaries.

Part of the reason it is home to such an abundance of wildlife is due to the climate in the Smokies.  Great Smoky Mountain receives a lot of rainfall every year, and my trip in May of 2009 was no exception to this.  It rained on me every day that I was there -- sometimes only at night and the sun did come out while I was there but it was rain nonetheless.  It is important for visitors to the Smokies to be prepared for all types of weather, and hikers/campers should plan on rain during at least part of their visit.

Classic View of the Smokies

Tuesday, February 15, 2011

Grand Teton National Park & John D. Rockefeller Memorial Parkway

Players:  Jenny & Jake
Date of Visit:  A few times during Summer 2005, but camped overnight in July
Website:  www.nps.gov/grte
Location:  Wyoming
Entrance Fee:  $25 per car, good for both Yellowstone & Grand Teton for 7 days
Type of Trip: 
Overnight trip from Yellowstone
Park Passport Stamps Available:  4 for Grand Teton, plus 1 for the Rockefeller Memorial Parkway
Trip Report: During the summer of 2005, when I was living and working in Yellowstone, we made several trips down to the Tetons and Jackson, Wyoming.  To me, the Tetons epitomize what mountains should be...rising nearly 7000 feet from the Valley below, with a sparkling blue lake at their base.  It's hard to look at those craggy mountain tops without wanting to hike right up the side :)  Like it's neighbor to the north (Yellowstone), Grand Teton offers plenty of hiking, camping, fishing, wildlife watching, and so on.  It is also one of the premier climbing destinations in the Rockies.  Due to its slightly lower elevation, many of the trails and visitor facilities on the valley floor are accessible a little earlier in the spring than some of the places in Yellowstone.  Trails at higher elevations, however, may not be snow-free until mid-July.  Grand Teton is also a much smaller park than Yellowstone, allowing you to get a really good feel for the park in just a few days.
Tetons & Lake Jackson

Sunday, February 13, 2011

Grand Canyon National Park


Players:  Jenny, Jake & Jackson
Date of Visit:  May 2008
Website:  www.nps.gov/grca
Location:  Arizona
Entrance Fee:  $25 per car, good for 7 days at both the North Rim and the South Rim
Type of Trip: 
Overnight as part of Western US road trip
Park Passport Stamps Available:  11 (!)
Trip Report:  To me, calling the magnificent area in Northern Arizona the “Grand Canyon” is a little bit like calling a cruise ship a “big boat;”  the words don’t really do it justice.  Neither do the pictures or anything I’m about to describe.  Really, you should just go see it yourself.

The Grand Canyon is immense, nearly 300 miles long, a mile deep and ten miles across the rim.  The Colorado River has carved the depth of the canyon, exposing some of the oldest rocks visible on the planet; wind and water have done the rest of the work to widen the canyon and form the various spires and formations in the area.  The canyon is so awe-inspiring that it moved President Theodore Roosevelt to remark, “In the Grand Canyon, Arizona has a natural wonder which is in kind absolutely unparalleled throughout the rest of the world. I want to ask you to keep this great wonder of nature as it now is. I hope you will not have a building of any kind, not a summer cottage, a hotel or anything else, to mar the wonderful grandeur, the sublimity, the great loneliness and beauty of the canyon. Leave it as it is. You cannot improve on it. The ages have been at work on it, and man can only mar it."
A view into the Grand Canyon

Friday, February 11, 2011

Everglades National Park

Players:  Jenny, Jake & Jackson
Date of Visit:  March 2010
Website:  www.nps.gov/ever
Location:  Florida
Entrance Fee:  $10 per car, good for 7 days
Type of Trip:  Overnight camping trip
Park Passport Stamps Available:  5
Trip Report:  I had lived in Florida for a total of four years before I ever made it to South Florida, and the two things that I wanted to visit the most were the Florida Keys and the Everglades.  The Everglades is a truly unique environment, encompassing hundreds of square miles of very slow moving water as well as hundreds of species of birds, fish, alligators and even crocodiles.  Before we visited, I had a very clear picture in my head of what I would see in the Everglades:  miles of sawgrass, the ocean, and some birds.  I was sort of shocked to discover that there were campgrounds in the Everglades (how do you camp in a marsh?)  I did see all those things, but we discovered a whole lot more in the park as well.  I was pleasantly surprised by Everglades National Park, and would like to return someday soon to spend more time in the area.
The Everglades


Thursday, February 10, 2011

Cumberland Island National Seashore

Players:  Jenny & some friends
Date of Visit:  January 2010
Website:  www.nps.gov/cuis
Location:  Georgia
Entrance Fee:  $4 per person plus $20 per person for the boat ride to the island
Type of Trip:  Daytrip from home
Park Passport Stamps Available:  1
Cumberland Island National Seashore is one of the barrier islands off the coast of Georgia, just north of the Florida/Georgia border.  In addition to being an interesting natural environment, it was also the winter retreat of many wealthy northerners around the turn of the century – including members of the Carnegie family from Pennsylvania.  Many ruins are still standing on the island for you to explore.  Visiting Cumberland Island is a bit of a challenge.  You either need a boat, or a ticket to ride on the park concessionaire’s boat.  The park concessionaire’s boat costs $20 per person to ride (round-trip) and tickets must be purchased in advance.  We were visiting in the off-season, so were able to show up at the Visitor’s Center early and purchase day-of tickets that way.  However, in the busy season, I would recommend calling ahead to reserve tickets.  Twice a month, tours of the Plum Orchard house (built by the Carnegie family) are also available.  We happened to be visiting on a day this tour was offered, and so we decided to go for it.
Dungeness Ruins on Cumberland Island
 

Wednesday, February 9, 2011

Top Ten (Ok, 17...)Things to Do in Yellowstone National Park

As outlined in a previous post, I spent the summer of 2005 working for the park concessionaire in Yellowstone National Park.  It wasn't glamorous work, but I did get the opportunity to live in Yellowstone for an entire summer and I spent alot of my free time exploring and hiking.  I created this Top Seventeen list for a friend who was going to Yellowstone the following summer.

  • Walk around the Old Faithful Geyser Basin.  You can pick up a guide leaflet by the trail for 50 cents (or return it when you’re done and you can use it for free).  Stop by the Old Faithful Visitor Center before you start walking to note the times of the major eruptions in the area.  Old Faithful erupts about every 90 min; if you can time it right, try to catch either Castle Geyser or Riverside Geyser too.
    Castle Geyser
  • For a unique perspective, hike up to Observation Point to watch Old Faithful erupt.  The trail goes off the boardwalk behind the Old Faithful Lodge.  It’s about a ½-mile hike and kind of steep, but well worth it.
  • Walk around the Hot Springs at Mammoth.  Same thing with the guide leaflet.  Rangers at Mammoth lead guided walks of the terraces too that are pretty interesting.
  • Check out the Upper and Lower Falls of the Yellowstone.  If you feel like getting out of your car, check out the Uncle Tom’s Trail on the South Rim of the Canyon.  It’s a whole bunch of stairs down to the base of the falls – hard on your lungs coming up but well worth it.
  • Take a few minutes to go in the Old Faithful Inn.  It is the original National Park lodge and it’s stunning.  They do historical tours of the inn which are really cool.
    Interior of Old Faithful Inn

    Tuesday, February 8, 2011

    The National Parks: America's Best Idea -- Review of Ken Burns' Documentary

    In the fall of 2009, the acclaimed filmmaker Ken Burns released his newest project:  a six-episode documentary history of America's National Parks.  Spanning twelve hours, the film covers the history of the National Park idea, the history of the park service, and some of the history of the parks themselves.  Interwoven throughout the narrative are stories about ordinary people who played a role in the history of the parks, whether as a leader in the National Park Service like Stephen Mather or as visitors to the parks, like the Gehrke family from Nebraska. 

    Having been a fan of Ken Burns' other works like The Civil War, I made sure to catch the series during its original airing in September 2009.  Burns and his co-writer, Dayton Duncan, have done an excellent job of outlining the history of the parks through the eyes of people.  Much of the first episode is dedicated to John Muir, who became instrumental in spreading the gospel of nature to people in the last part of the 19th century.  Later episodes focus on people such as Theodore Roosevelt, Stephen Mather, Horace Albright, and so on.  Sticking with the documentary style that made him famous, Burns utilizes still photographs to help illustrate the story he is telling.  There are also scenic live-action shots in many of the parks; Burns almost seems to utilize the scenery of our National Parks as an additional character in the movie.  And finally, there are interviews with several experts, such as Carl Pope from the Sierra Club, to help illustrate the story. 

    Visually, this film is exceptional.  The film crew spent several years filming parks in all different seasons and times of day, and the inherent natural beauty of the United States alone would make this film worth watching.  I now own the documentary on Blu-Ray, and it looks even better.  At times, the story feels a little slow, particularly (for me) in the second episode.  However, there are stories throughout the film that are small gems -- such as the story of the Gehrkes, a couple from Nebraska who visited several parks throughout their marriage.  Using old scrapbooks, diaries and photos, the film shows the couple's visit by train to the Grand Canyon, followed by the camping trips in their new Buick a few years later, and ends with Mrs. Gehrke's final solo trip to Rocky Mountain National Park after her husband had passed away. 

    What I think this film does extremely well is exploring and attempting to explain the emotional and visceral reaction that the parks can have on people.  John Muir, the self-proclaimed "mountain prophet," seemed to understand this when he said "Keep close to Nature's heart... and break clear away, once in awhile, and climb a mountain or spend a week in the woods. Wash your spirit clean."  The film seems to underline and bold this premise.

    Finally, a word must be said about the music in this film.  It is absolutely beautiful and accompanies the cinematography very well.  Burns has used Peter Ostroushko, Jay Ungar & Molly Mason -- all artists he has used before to provide music for his films.  Jay Ungar & Molly Mason did the "Ashokan Farewell," the main theme heard in The Civil War.  The main theme heard in the film is The Mallard Island Hymn, and it is great to listen to just on its own.

    The National ParksAmerica's Best Idea is a great addition to any park lover's collection.  Currently, it is also available on Netflix, in both the streaming & mail option.  For more information on the film, go to www.pbs.org/nationalparks

    Monday, February 7, 2011

    Castillo de San Marcos & Ft. Matanzas

    When I first decided that we would try our hardest to get to all the National Parks units in the United States, of course the first ones we would visit would be the ones closest to home.  St. Augustine, Florida is only about 75 miles from where we live; I had been to the Castillo de San Marcos several times, but had never even heard about Ft. Matanzas until I started looking for National Parks units to visit!  I am quite glad that we found this little gem.

    Castillo de San Marcos
    Players:  Jenny & Jackson 
    Date of Visit:  February 2010
    Website:  www.nps.gov/casa
    Location:  Florida
    Entrance Fee:  $6 per person for adults ages 16 & up; kids free
    Type of Trip:  Daytrip from home
    Park Passport Stamps Available:  1
    Trip Report:  Castillo de San Marcos is one of the truly old structures still existing in the United States today.  It is a fort begun by the Spanish in 1672; it is the only 17th century fort still standing in the US.  The fort is built from coquina, a limestone including phosphate most often in the form of shells.  It was the only material available to the Spanish; the Castillo is one of only two buildings in the world made of coquina (the other is Ft. Matanzas, 14 miles south).
    Entrance Sign for Castillo de San Marcos


    Sunday, February 6, 2011

    Bryce Canyon National Park

    Players:  Jenny, Jake & Jackson
    Date of Visit:  June 2008
    Website:  www.nps.gov/brca
    Location:  Utah
    Entrance Fee:  $25 per car
    Type of Trip:  Overnight trip as part of Western US Roadtrip
    Park Passport Stamps Available:  1
    Trip Report:  Bryce Canyon is a very unique place.  Located in southern Utah, it is part of the Colorado Plateau (which also includes several other national parks and scenic areas in the Southwest).  Bryce is a natural amphitheater full of rock spires and formations called hoodoos; what really sets Bryce Canyon apart, however, is its gorgeous colors -- reds, oranges, yellows, even purples.  Bryce is named for an early settler, Ebenezer Bryce, who commented that the canyon was "a hell of a place to lose a cow."
    Bryce Canyon Amphitheater


    Saturday, February 5, 2011

    Blue Ridge Parkway & Shenandoah National Park

    When most people think of the National Parks in the United States, they picture the snow-capped Rockies of Grand Teton, the geysers of Yellowstone, or the Sierra Nevada in Yosemite.  Although these parks are magnificent and deserving of a visit, the parks that lie closest to the most number of people are actually in the East.  In this post, I'll outline Shenandoah National Park -- only about an hour from the major population center of Washington, DC.  We'll also take a look at a road that provides an opportunity for Sunday driving at its best, the Blue Ridge Parkway.

    Shenandoah National Park
    Players:  Jenny & Zach
    Date of Visit:  June 2010
    Website:  www.nps.gov/shen
    Location:  Virginia
    Entrance Fee:  $15 per car
    Type of Trip:  Drive-through (Wish I could have stayed longer!)
    Park Passport Stamps Available:  5 (including a special 75th Anniversary Stamp only available in 2011!)
    Driving through Shenandoah
    Trip Report:  Shenandoah National Park encompasses the northern end of the Blue Ridge Mountains; the Blue Ridge is an old mountain chain, and years of erosion have worn them down to gentle peaks.  To the east of the Blue Ridge lies the farmland of Eastern Virginia -- making for some terrific views.  Shenandoah National Park is long and skinny, only a few miles wide but stretching 100 miles along the crest of the Blue Ridge Mountains from Front Royal to Waynesboro.  The Skyline Drive is the main park road, and travels the length of the park.  Besides the scenic drive through the park, there are many things to do here:  camping, hiking (the Appalachian Trail runs through the length of the park), viewing nature, learning about history, and so on.  Shenandoah benefited heavily from the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) efforts in the 1930s, and several of the park's buildings are remnants from that period.  In addition, this is one of the few outdoor/hiking parks where you can witness the changes history has wrought -- the Lewis Mountain area was originally built as a segregated area for African Americans.  Even more interesting, and something I really want to do someday, is stay in a hiker's cabin in the park run by the Potomac Appalachian Trail Club :)  However, on this trip, all we were able to do was to drive through the park.

    Friday, February 4, 2011

    Badlands National Park

    Players:  Jenny, Jake & Jackson
    Date of Visit:  June 2007
    Website:  www.nps.gov/badl
    Location:  South Dakota
    Entrance Fee:  $15 per car
    Type of Trip:  Daytrip as part of Western US Road Trip
    Park Passport Stamps Available:  1
    Trip Report:  I have actually been to the Badlands three times -- once as a kid, once on my way out to work in Yellowstone, and once in 2007 on the way back from our Western US trip.  In 2007, we basically just took a scenic drive through the park; on the other visits, however, I was able to hike around a little bit.

    Badlands National Park combines strange landscape formations with a large prairie ecosystem, providing an interesting look at both geology and nature. There are also fossils to be found here (hmmm, will have to remember that the next time I take Jackson out west). In certain places, you can even climb up on some of the weird rock formations -- as a kid, I found this highly entertaining!

    The easiest way to visit the Badlands is to drive the main park road, which takes about 60-90 minutes, depending on traffic.  It's just a quick drive off of I-90 to get to the park, so even if you don't have a lot of time, you can still at least get a taste of what this park has to offer. Mount Rushmore is only 100 miles west of the Badlands, so you could easily combine the two into a day trip.  However, with more time, you could take in a ranger program, or do some hiking around on the rock formations.  The Notch Trail, in particular, can give a good glimpse of the canyon and rock formations in a relatively short period of time.

    Badlands Scenery
    As with all places in the prairie, the Badlands can be very hot in summer and cold and snowy in the winter -- plan accordingly!  There is also only one place in the park for lodging and dining -- the Cedar Pass Lodge.  There are two campgrounds in the park, one developed and one primitive.  I have not camped in the Badlands, however.

    One of the other fun things to do -- which can also be done from your vehicle -- is watching wildlife.  The Badlands are home to coyotes, bison, bighorn sheep, bobcats, prairie dogs, foxes and much more.
    American Bison, symbol of the American West
    All in all, this is a great park in which to spend anywhere from a few hours to a few days.  I look forward to visiting again and discovering some of the additional activities in the park.


    Interesting sidenote:  the Minuteman Missile National Historic Site, dedicated to teaching about the Cold War, is located just a few miles from Badlands National Park.  You can take a tour of the missile launch center and everything -- hard to believe I missed this the last time I was at Badlands.  FMI:  www.nps.gov/mimi

    Thursday, February 3, 2011

    Washington, DC Parks & Monuments

    In this post, I'll cover several of the memorials & monuments in Washington, DC.  Please note, these are not ALL of the units covered by the National Park Service in Washington, DC -- only the ones I have been to recently.  The great thing about all of these sites is that they are completely free, and many of them are very close to each other -- making it possible to see many of them in one day.

    Arlington House
    Players:  Jenny, Steve & Deb
    Date of Visit:  February, 2010
    Website:  www.nps.gov/arho
    Location:  Arlington National Cemetery, Virginia (just outside Washington, DC)
    Entrance Fee:  Free!
    Type of Trip:  Daytrip while visiting Washington, DC
    Park Passport Stamps Available:  1

    The Arlington House, located on the grounds of Arlington National Cemetery, is a memorial to Robert E. Lee.  Lee, the famous Civil War general who fought for the Confederacy, lived in the house before the war; it had actually belonged to his wife's family.  After the Civil War, the decision was made to bury the Federal dead literally in Lee's backyard, rendering it unusable.  Arlington House is located at the top of a steep hill; needless to say, the views of the city are quite stunning from the front porch.  When I last visited, the National Park Service was working on restoring Arlington House, and so it was empty of furniture. Jackson has been here, too, although not on my most recent trip.  He was relatively underwhelmed, but enjoyed Arlington National Cemetery overall.

    Wednesday, February 2, 2011

    Arches National Park

    Players:  Jenny, Jake & Jackson
    Date of Visit:  May 2007
    Websitewww.nps.gov/arch
    Location: Utah
    Entrance Fee:  $10 per car
    Type of Trip:  Overnight Trip as part of Western US National Parks Roadtrip
    Park Passport Stamps Available:  1
    Trip Report:  This was Jackson's first national park, and the first stop on a 3-week roadtrip through the Western United States that we took in 2007.  Arches National Park is located in southern Utah, in the desolate rock/canyon section of that state. Arches is just a few miles outside of Moab, UT and a few miles from Canyonlands National Park (which we did not visit for some reason).  This means that Arches can get very hot in the summer and snowy/icy in the winter.   Arches National Park protects some of the fantastic red sandstone arches, natural bridges, and hoodoos found in this area.

    Tuesday, February 1, 2011

    Working for a Park Concessionaire

    In the summer of 2005, I decided I wanted a break from the "real world" and headed out to Yellowstone National Park to work for the park concessionaire, Xanterra Parks & Resorts.  A concessionaire is a for-profit company that has an exclusive contract with the National Park Service to provide food, lodging, tours, entertainment, and so on to the visitors of the park.  Many of the National Park Service units have at least one concessionaire on their property (such as Eastern National, which runs many of the gift shops at other parks).  Xanterra is one of the larger companies, with several properties in Yellowstone as well as Zion National Park, Death Valley, the Grand Canyon, Mount Rushmore and others.  Every season, they hire thousands of "seasonals;" workers interested in working for a particular heavy period of visitation.  In Yellowstone, the main season is summer; in other parks, it might be winter.  Xanterra also has several "permanents," who work both the summer and winter season in Yellowstone, or year-round at their headquarters in Gardiner, Montana.  Most of the seasonals are college kids on summer break, international workers who come for an experience or retirees.  Many seasonals come back year after year to work in the park.  It's relatively easy to get a job as a seasonal in Yellowstone or one of Xanterra's other properties.  Here, then, are the pros and cons of working for a park concessionaire.

    Monday, January 31, 2011

    Appalachian National Scenic Trail

    Players:  Jenny
    Date of Visit:  Several, but most recently in May of 2009 in Great Smoky Mountain National Park
    Websitewww.nps.gov/appa
    Location:  From Georgia to Maine!  Trail Headquarters is in Harper's Ferry, West Virginia
    Entrance Fee:  None for the trail itself, although some access is via state parks, national parks or other lands requiring an entrance fee.
    Type of Trip:  Day Trips/Section Hikes
    Park Passport Stamps Available:  1
    Review:  Stretching 2,175 from North Georgia to the wilds of Maine, the Appalachian Trail works its way up (or down, depending on which direction you want to go) the spine of the Appalachian Mountains; it passes through 14 different states over its length.  The Appalachian Trail (AT) is the granddaddy of the long-distance hiking trails in the United States; it was completed in 1937.  Hundreds of people attempt to hike it from end-to-end during one season, usually taking 3-4 months to complete the hike.  It is a true wilderness trail, marked by white blazes and rarely passing through towns, requiring distance hikers to carry supplies with them or arrange for resupply drops along the way.

    Sunday, January 30, 2011

    Parks Visited as a Child, Part 2

    Continuing in this post, I'm going to outline the National Park Service Units I have only visited as a child with my family.  I hope to re-visit most of these sites some day as my memories of many of them are quite hazy.

    Glacier National Park
    Players:  Jenny, Steve, Carole & Jenny's sisters
    Date of visit:  Summer 1994?
    Website:  www.nps.gov/glac
    Location:  Montana
    Entrance Fee:  $25 per car
    Type of Trip:  Daytrip as part of Western US Epic Road Trip
    Park Passport Stamps Available:  9
    Review:  One of the "crown jewels" of the National Park system, Glacier National Park has attracted lots of attention in recent years because of the rapid shrinking of its namesake glaciers.  The thing I remember most about Glacier was driving over Going-to-the-Sun Road, a 50 mile road that is a feat of engineering through some of the most stunning alpine passes to be found on the American continent.  I distinctly remember sitting in the backseat of the car on the passenger side and being able to look out my window straight down the side of the mountain....I didn't like that so much!  I'm glad my dad is a good driver :)  But I do remember the scenery on the drive.  And I think we stopped at a chalet somewhere in the park, and it was snowing lightly -- a novel thing for the middle of summer for an Iowa girl.  Glacier is on my list of parks to go back and hike ASAP.
     
    Great Sand Dunes National Park
    Players:  Jenny, Jenny's cousin & Jenny's grandma
    Date of Visit:  Summer 1996?
    Website:  www.nps.gov/grsa
    Location:  Colorado
    Entrance Fee:  $3 per adult
    Type of Trip:  Daytrip while passing through Colorado on way to New Mexico
    Park Passport Stamps Available: 1
    Review:  Great Sand Dunes National Park & Preserve has the tallest sand dunes in North America.  It is truly a unique experience to climb up sand dunes and slide down them right here in the United States.  We stopped at this park on a trip to the Southwest with my grandma.  My cousin and I had a great time here.  It was really hot and I remember how hot the sand was on my feet.  And it is much harder to climb up a sand dune than it appears!  I look forward to taking Jackson here someday.

    Parks Visited as a Child, Part 1

    In this post and the next one, I'm going to outline the National Park Service Units I have only visited as a child with my family.  I hope to re-visit most of these sites some day as my memories of many of them are quite hazy.

    Antietam National Battlefield
    Players:  Jenny, Steve, Carole & Jenny's sisters
    Date of Visit:  Summer 1991?
    Website:  www.nps.gov/anti
    Location:  Maryland
    Entrance Fee:   $4 per person or $6 per family
    Type of Trip:  Day trip as part of Eastern US Epic Road Trip
    Park Passport Stamps Available:   2
    Review:  Antietam is the site of the single bloodiest battle in United States history, with over 23,000 soldiers killed, wounded or missing after the battle on September 17, 1862.  Honestly, I don't remember too much about this park.   My dad, a history teacher for many years, had a great time traipsing around the battlefield and showing us different things.  I must have been about 9 or 10 when we went, and the one thing that stuck out for me was walking the Bloody Lane and thinking about how many soldiers it would take to fill up the sunken road with bodies.  I believe we also did a driving tour of the battlefield, which the website indicates is still available.  I look forward to going back some day to do the walking tours via podcast!

    Click to keep reading!

    List of National Park Service Units (National Parks in BOLD)

      Name↓ Location↓
    Horseshoe Bend National Military Park Alabama
    Little River Canyon National Preserve Alabama
    Russell Cave National Monument Alabama
    Tuskegee Airmen National Historic Site Alabama
    Tuskegee Institute National Historic Site Alabama
    Alagnak Wild River Alaska
    Aniakchak National Monument Alaska
    Aniakchak National Preserve Alaska
    Bering Land Bridge National Preserve Alaska
    Cape Krusenstern National Monument Alaska
    Denali National Park Alaska
    Denali National Preserve Alaska
    Gates of the Arctic National Park Alaska
    Gates of the Arctic National Preserve Alaska
    Glacier Bay National Park Alaska
    Glacier Bay National Preserve Alaska
    Katmai National Park Alaska
    Katmai National Preserve Alaska
    Kenai Fjords National Park Alaska
    Klondike Gold Rush National Historical Park Alaska, Washington
    Kobuk Valley National Park Alaska
    Lake Clark National Park Alaska
    Lake Clark National Preserve Alaska
    Noatak National Preserve Alaska
    Sitka National Historical Park Alaska
    Wrangell-St. Elias National Park Alaska
    Wrangell-St. Elias National Preserve Alaska
    Yukon-Charley Rivers National Preserve Alaska

    Our Mission

    Main Characters
    Jenny -- writer of blog, lover of outdoors, introduced to the National Parks at a very young age due to multiple epic road trips with her family growing up
    Zach -- husband of Jenny, likes nature as long as he doesn't have to carry a heavy backpack, new to many of the parks
    Jackson -- son of Jenny, loves dirt, bugs and being outside.  Went camping for the first time at the age of 6 weeks old.  Named after the two towns closest to Yellowstone National Park, so the park stuff is in his blood.  Current participant in the NPS's Junior Ranger/Web Ranger program.
    NPS -- The National Park Service.  We will be seeing them quite frequently.

    Supporting Characters
    Jake -- Jackson's dad who, luckily, is friendly with all main characters
    Steve -- Jenny's dad, instigator of epic road trips mentioned above, lover of all things historical
    Deb -- Steve's wife, usually along for the ride and a good sport too.
    Carole -- Jenny's mom, loves to camp and hang out with her grandson!

    The Plot
    One of my goals in life is to visit as many (hopefully all) of the units managed by the National Park Service in the United States.  Currently, there are 394 NPS units, including 58 National Parks.  Other NPS units include National Military Parks, National Battlefield Parks, National Monuments, National Historic Sites, National Seashores, National Scenic Trails, and so on.  As we visit different sites, I hope to update this blog with pictures, information and our thoughts on the site.  We also love to camp and do different things outdoors, so I might include some state park information as well as general camping/outdoorsy stuff on the blog.