RETURN TO THE PAST – PART 2 OF 2

By Barry Zander, Edited by Monique Zander*, the Never-Bored RVers This is the second of two articles about our trip to Death Valley earlier this month, the sequel to our excursion to China Ranch Date Farm.  Included at the end is my golf story about why I’m glad I four-putted the 18th hole. A Sea of Fellow Travelers -- No Mirage! PART 2, THE ENCAMPMENT – There are those who return each year to the Death Valley 49ers Encampment to don the outfits of the American West as it was back in the 1800s.  It’s a four-day variety show, complete with horse riders alongside buckboards pulled by mules, a “return to the days of yesteryear,” as we heard on the Lone Ranger radio and TV shows. Many come to the Encampment to commune with history, but everyone comes for the entertainment – top-notch singers and musicians who rank among America’s most notable western performers.  Some venture into the desert to escape the cold.  There’s no quiet like the quiet of the desert, and there’s no more beautiful landscape than the striated hills in every direction. Yet, I’ll bet the most compelling reason most drive hour after hour to return year after year is to socialize with friends they’ve camped alongside for years if not decades.  2011 was the 62nd year of the Encampment [http://www.deathvalley49ers.org]. Monique and I made the 600-mile round-trip for the second year in a row seeking adventure.  Like last year everyday held new vistas and opportunities for Western Singer... Read more

Vote for Your Favorite Park

The second annual America Is Your Park campaign was recently launched by National Park Foundation, in partnership with Coca-Cola, America’s State Parks, and the National Recreation and Park Association. America Is Your Park campaign urges families to get out and discover fun ways to get active in the park while helping their favorite park win big. Families can vote for their favorite park to win the title of “America’s Favorite Park” and a $100,000 recreation grant made possible by the Coca-Cola Live Positively initiative. “Our national parks are home to our country’s treasures—from our iconic landscapes to the hallowed places where history happened,” said Neil Mulholland, President and CEO, National Park Foundation. “Thanks to dedicated partners like Coca-Cola and the America Is Your Park campaign, our nation’s parks can continue to receive the vital support they need.” Last year, thanks to more than 1.6 million votes cast by its supporters, Bear Head Lake State Park in Ely, Minnesota, was named “America’s Favorite Park.” The following two articles may be of interest: Minnesota state park wins national contest How Bear Head Lake won national contest? Bear Head Lake is using the recreation grant to build a new warming hut to ensure safety and comfort for winter sports enthusiasts all season long. Vote for your favorite park. Pictured above Great Smoky Mountains National Park. © Rex Vogel, all rights... Read more

Are You Bear Aware?

Wildlife is a huge part of the mountain and wilderness regions of Montana, Wyoming, Idaho, Arizona, Alaska, Alberta, and British Columbia. Deep snowpack, more grizzlies Grizzly bears are powerful, top-of-the-food-chain predators, yet much of their diet consists of nuts, berries, fruit, leaves, and roots. Bears also eat other animals, from rodents to moose. (Credit: talktocanada.com) Numerous encounters between grizzly bears and humans have been reported this spring, attributed to a growing bear population stuck in the low country as a result of the deep snowpack. High winter snowpack levels mean bears are moving to lower elevations and are likely to stay there longer than in previous winters. Grizzly bears are listed as threatened under the Endangered Species Act, but their numbers have been growing in recent years, increasing the chance for encounters with humans, according to Chris Servheen, the grizzly bear recovery coordinator for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. In addition, heavy snowfall this winter has taken longer to melt in cool spring weather. “You have more bears, and then you have these high snow levels so the bears can’t be in the mountains where they want to be,” Servheen said. In a nonfatal encounter, two hikers were mauled by a bear in the Gallatin National Forest (Montana) when they came across a young grizzly bear and a sow chasing an elk. The 36-year-old woman tried to climb a tree when the sow bit her in the leg. The man was bitten in... Read more

Grizzly Bear Kills Man in Yellowstone

For more from the “Best RV/Caravan Blog 2011,” please visit our award-winning website: LongLongHoneymoon.com Yesterday a couple of hikers experienced a “worst case scenario” bear encounter. After embarking on a hike near Yellowstone’s Canyon Village (where as a college student I chopped veggies in the employee kitchen) they surprised a mama grizzly bear and her cubs. The bear defended her cubs, attacking the husband and wife. The park service issued this description of the attack: “At approximately 11:00 a.m., at a point about a mile and a half from the trailhead, the couple walked out of a forested area into an open meadow. It appears that the couple spotted a bear approximately 100 yards away and then began walking away from the bear. When they turned around to look, they reportedly saw the female grizzly running down the trail at them. The couple began running, but the bear caught up with them, attacking the husband. The bear then went over to the wife, who had fallen to the ground nearby. The bear bit her daypack, lifting her from the ground and then dropping her. She remained still and the bear left the area.” Other hikers heard the woman’s screams and called rangers to the scene. But it was too late. Tragically, the husband was mauled to death. The park has closed hiking trails near the mauling, but the bear will not be hunted or captured. This is because she was acting naturally in defense of her cubs. It was a textbook... Read more

The World’s First National Parks Turn 100

What was the first country in the world to establish a national parks system? If you guessed the United States or a European country such as Austria, Switzerland, Norway, or Sweden you would be wrong. Jasper National Park, Alberta. © Rex Vogel, all rights reserved This year, Parks Canada, the first national parks service in the world, celebrates its 100th anniversary. Banff was discovered accidentally in 1883, when explorers fell through the roof of a cave into a warm, sulphur-water spring below. Sixteen miles around Sulphur Mountain and the Cave and Basin, were set aside as a National Park in 1885, predating Parks Canada by 26 years. Other sites were added until 1911, when the Dominion Parks Branch of government was formed. In 1911, when J.B. (Bunny) Harkin was appointed Canada’s first commissioner of national parks, he thought “the word park seemed a very small name for so great a thing.” The number of visitors to the Canadian Rockies at mountain parks now known as Banff, Jasper, Yoho, Glacier, and Waterton Lakes was increasing and the federal government felt it needed to protect the magnificence of the region. “Wonder, reverence, the feeling that one is nearer the mystery of things—that is what one feels in places of such sublime beauty,” wrote Harkin. Today, Parks Canada administers 42 national parks, 167 national historic sites, including nine canals, and four national marine conservation areas. More than 4,500 wardens, guides, scientists,... Read more

THE GRAND CIRCLE PART VI – The Grand Canyon and More

By Barry Zander, Edited by Monique Zander, the Never-Bored RVers Grand Canyon National Park in Arizona is the most visited national park in the West* and for good reason.  The scope of the canyon is awesome, and the 270 miles of dramatic geology shaped by natural forces, including the eons of etching by the Colorado River, must be seen to be truly appreciated. As the sun rose over the north rim, the only sound that could be heard at the Mather Point was clickclickclickclickclickclick.  It was the chirping of a hundred cameras capturing the spectacle that can’t really be recorded in a picture … or a dozen … or even a video.  But since most of us were there to enjoy the animated feature of early morning light streaming across mammoth rock formations, the photos and videos are the preferred way to remember the thrill at dawn a year from now, 10 years from now, and maybe 50 years hence. For our travel companions, Philippe and Solveig from France, this was one of the many highlights of our five-week trip on the Grand Circle that began in Las Vegas and took us through southern Utah and Colorado and northern Arizona.  It didn’t end there:  there were more memories to record on digital media so they could reminisce for years to come and show off to family and friends on their America nights back in Europe. Because a week earlier we decided to bypass the high winds predicted for Canyonlands National Park, our travel schedule had a hole in it that needed to be filled.  We... Read more

THE GRAND CIRCLE PART V – Everyday Is Different

By Barry Zander, Edited by Monique Zander, the Never-Bored RVers Ridin' the Range in Monument Valley © All photos by Barry Zander. All rights reserved Four weeks on the road with Monique’s brother and sister-in-law from France sharing a 28-foot travel trailer – we’re still enjoying the experience of seeing the Great Southwest through their eyes. There is so much to see out here when you have the time; but you can’t see it all, at least enough to appreciate what you’re looking at, no matter how much time you have.  When I tell you about a few of the places we’ve been in the past week, it will sound like we’ve rushed around without staying long enough to see anything, but that isn’t really the case. I mentioned Bluff, Utah, briefly in the last blog.  It deserves more than that, not only because of the awe-inspiring bluffs towering over the town, but also because of the history behind Bluff Fort.  In our travels we have encountered the continuing saga of the Cherokee Indians on the Trail of Tears from the Carolinas to Oklahoma.  We have crossed the path of Lewis and Clark often.  We traversed the Alaskan Highway and the Natchez Trace, and have found ourselves on Route 66 for a half-dozen stretches. We have, on several occasions, witnessed the rugged paths carved out by early Latter Day Saints (a.k.a. the Mormons) as they went westward to settle in the Utah Territory.  One of the most heroic episodes in their missionary work was their trek over practically... Read more

Great Outdoors Month

Are you planning a camping trip this month? June is National Great Outdoors Month, which is a wonderful time to enjoy fun outdoor activities with family and friends. Presidential recognition of Great Outdoors Week was begun in 1998 by then-President Bill Clinton. Since 2004, Presidential proclamation of Great Outdoors Month has come annually, celebrating a variety of important events and actions that occur during the month. The 2011 Presidential Proclamation states in part: “America’s vast and varied outdoor spaces are a source of great national pride, and we have long strived to protect them for future generations. Our lands and waters provide countless opportunities for exploration, recreation, and reflection, whether in solitude or with family and friends. During Great Outdoors Month, we renew our enduring commitment to protect our natural landscapes, to enjoy them, and to promote active lifestyles for ourselves and our children.” Great Outdoors Month highlights the benefits of active fun outdoors and our magnificent shared resources of forests, parks, refuges, and other public lands and waters. Media attention to the proclamation triggers actions by millions of households and prompts public discussion of important issues linked to outdoor recreation, including volunteerism, health, and outdoor ethics. Additionally, the majority of governors issue proclamations declaring June as Great Outdoors Month in their states, and many take further actions ranging from Governor’s... Read more

GRAND CIRCLE TOUR PART IV — LET’S TALK QUAINT

By Barry Zander, Edited by Monique Zander, the Never-Bored RVers I’m pretty sure lots of you RV.net readers are wondering why our travel articles for the past year have been mostly about the wonders of the West.  Our plans are to remedy that situation later this year when we head eastward for a few months. I want to address this blog to RVers no matter where you roam and whether you’re on the road full-time or for a weekend.  It should also be of interest if you enjoy the journey or the destination.  I will end up with an update on our travels around the Grand Circle. SMALL-TOWN DESTINATIONS We’ve been to or through thousands of small towns across North America over the past 4½ years of RVing and over many years before.  Two things we have learned:  1) we can usually sense the pride of the locals in their community just by looking around, and 2) there have been very few that we didn’t find interesting. The Mountain Village of Ouray, Colorado -- About as Quaint as They Get Looking for something different to do one weekend out of every month?  Take off in a different direction (SW, NW, NE, NW) for each excursion.  If there’s some place you’ve thought about visiting but never have had the time, put that high on your list.  Or just fire up the rig, fill the tanks and take off. Tucked into the Neighborhood on a Backstreet in Astoria, Oregon © All photos by Barry Zander. All rights reserved When you get there (wherever there is), you’ll want to walk into... Read more

Give Dad an Atlas for Father’s Day! (He Doesn’t Have to Know You Got it For Free!)

Don’t worry! We won’t tell dad that the brand new Woodall’s Atlas you got him was actually FREE with your purchase of a Woodall’s North American Directory. It will be our little secret. Plus, we’ll even discount the North American Directory to only $14.95 -that’s way below the cover price of $25.95, to make the deal really sweet! Visit Woodall’s Website to Order Now! 2011 marks Woodall’s 75th year in print! Order the commemorative edition for Dad today – packed with over 310,003 updates from the 2010 edition. Plus… with the purchase of the 2011 North American Campground Directory you can find out how to enter to win a 7-day Hawaiian Cruise in our 75th Anniversary Sweepstakes. Plus, dad will feel safe on the road with Woodall’s North American Atlas. With extensive coverage of the United States plus Mexico & Canada including highway types, exit numbers, U.S. National Parks Guide, drive times & distances and so much more. It will become the travel essential dad will want to keep in the RV at all times. Or geez – this is such a deal, just buy it for yourself! (Again, we won’t tell dad, we promise!) Visit Woodall’s Website to Order Now! Happy Fathers Day, from Woodall’s!  Read More →

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