More California state parks scratched off the closure list

By Bob Difley It’s rare when you find a government employee/bureaucrat that, when given a difficult job, comes through with creative ideas and then makes them work . (Note a rewording of this sentence in my comment below.) California may have found one in State Parks Director, Ruth Coleman (who has worked for both Democratic and Republican governors). When Governor Jerry Brown took office, one year and four months ago, the state parks were faced with the closure of 70 of their 278 state parks by July 1st because of budget shortfalls, declining revenues, and all the other problems confronting states today. Since then she and her hard-working staff have managed to pull off what the politicians couldn’t, working out deals with a variety of partners that enabled her to remove 12 parks from the closure list.  And agreements are in the works to scratch another five off the death list. An additional 20 deals are being worked out with various organizations and businesses to work out a plan with county and regional park districts, cities, and non-profit groups to operate the parks for at least a year, giving the economy time to recover and to find new sources of funding. Ms. Coleman has also offered incentives to park department staff to come up with creative ideas to keep the parks open, like the opening of a wine-tasting kiosk at Topanga State Park in Malibu and holding a blues festival (photo) at Marshall Gold Discovery State Historic Park in Coloma. These are creative... 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

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

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 →

30 Tips to Cut Your RV Travel Expenses

The Memorial Day weekend is the unofficial kickoff to the summer travel season, with many families either hitting the road or planning to do so within the following summer months. Try local wineries for wine tasting and tours. Pictured avbove Gehringer Brothers Estate Winery in the Okanagan Valley, British Columbia. © Rex Vogel, all rights reserved Following are 30 tips that will help you save money while still enjoying all the fun, freedom, and flexibility that RVing has to offer: Buy a local newspaper when checking into a campground or RV park and check it for coupons, bargains, and savings before going out to shop for groceries. Don’t buy all of your groceries at supermarkets. Buy food and other necessities at thrift bakeries, discount stores, dollar stores, church and charity bazaars, flea markets, roadside fruit and veggie stands, canning plants, and u-pick orchards. Shop at a local farmer’s market and chat with the folks selling the fruits and veggies. Pick up something “new to you” and ask them how to prepare it—then go back to your RV and try it. When in a campground connect to “shore power” and use THEIR electricity, not YOUR propane, to heat your water and run your refrigerator. Water heaters in particular consume considerable amounts of propane. If you’re staying in a metered park and paying for the electricity, you can determine which energy source is most economical—paying for the electricity or using your propane. Multiply the kilowatt rate being... Read more

What do Ohio, Tennessee & British Columbia Have in Common?

The following headline may provide a clue: As Washington State prepares to charge admission to all state parks, British Columbia is launching free admission to its provincial parks. BC Parks Mount Robson Provincial Park, British Columbia. © Rex Vogel, all rights reserved B.C. Premier Christy Clark recently announced that parking will now be free in all provincial parks to encourage families to take advantage of the system. With 13.6 per cent of the province set aside as parkland and protected areas, B.C. has the second largest park system in Canada, second only to the national park system. Special events will be held in parks across the province all year, as BC Parks honors 100 years of conservation and recreation. It started with Strathcona Provincial Park in 1911 and now BC Parks has grown to be one of the largest park systems in the world. “The parking meters are coming out and parking will be free, effective immediately, so that British Columbia’s parks are even more welcoming for families,” said Clark, as she launched BC Parks centennial celebrations. “Our parks not only contribute to a healthy lifestyle and protect our environment, they are important to our economy. More park visitors mean more tourism dollars and more jobs for rural British Columbians and we want to eliminate any barriers to using the parks.” Clark said parking fees earned about $1 million annually, “although the ‘net’ was a lot lower than that.” She also announced a... Read more

Good News from Texas State Parks: Palo Duro Canyon

Palo Duro Canyon State Park is getting a new group recreation facility, the first of its kind in a Texas State Park. The new stone-clad facility will be 5,200 square feet with meeting and dining hall space, restrooms, and a commercial kitchen perfect for wedding receptions and family reunions. The Lighthouse Rock formation can be reached on a hiking trail. Photo courtesy TPWD A recent groundbreaking ceremony marked the $1 million donation by local businessman Mack Dick, for whom the pavilion is named. It will be used in a public/private partnership to which the state will add $700,000, reported Amarillo.com. Dick has a history with the park, spending time there with his family and friends. “I like the scenery. I like the wildlife. You can see the nice trails,” he said. “The big thing is it’s not crowded. You feel like you’re out in the Wild West.” The Mack Dick Group Pavilion will be a state of the art facility that will have a seating capacity of 150 and have multi-media technology. “In these difficult times we have found very few dollars available for capital development in fact, we have not had capital development dollars in state parks in many many years. Had it not be for the generosity of the private sector and forming these partnerships these types of projects simply would not be possible,” said Brent Leisure, Texas State Park Director. The pavilion will show off local stone and native materials at its location just below... Read more

Digging for Diamonds

Last month I reported than an Arkansas couple had found a flawless 2.44-carat silver white diamond at the Crater of Diamonds. A 3.86 ct. diamond found at Crater of Diamonds State Park. Image courtesy fox16.com The Crater of Diamonds State Park in Murfreesboro, Arkansas, has now yielded an even bigger find, a 3.86-carat jewel dubbed the “Heart of Arkansas” for its heart shape. A longtime visitor to the park from Murfreesboro, where the park is located, unearthed the diamond while sifting through the park dirt earlier this month. “It’s the largest diamond in just about a year,” said park guide and educator Waymon Cox. “‘Diamond in the rough’ is a bit of a misnomer. We have many beautiful rough diamonds that can be used in jewelry.” Cox describes the diamond as the size of a piece of candy corn, with a pearly white shine. The local man who found the diamond this week has chosen to remain anonymous. Although the park isn’t sure how much the gem is worth, Cox characterized his find as having the “potential to be substantially more valuable” than a 2-carat diamond found three years ago. That diamond was cut and appraised for $22,000. It’s the largest find at the park since someone dug up an almost 5-carat brown diamond last April. A Gem among Diamond Mines The only one of its kind in the country, Crater of Diamonds is a 37.5-acre state park on the site of an ancient volcanic pipe that, 95 million years ago,... Read more

Recharge Your EV at Campgrounds

It is not a stretch to see campgrounds with charging stations, in addition to national parks, state parks, Camping World, and other places where RVers travel. And of course, the bottom line is, that if charging does become ubiquitous then an Electric Vehicle (EV) as a dinghy becomes a viable decision, wrote Bob Difley in dinghytowing.rvtravel.com. A sign of the times. Image courtesy pluginrecharge.com “Costs of charging would be passed on to the driver, as are regular fuel costs, but if utility companies continue with reduced rates for overnight use, then charging your EV toad in your campground while you sleep would be not only efficient but cheaper. Meters on the charging stations would calculate costs and add to your campground charges,” added Difley. Two short months later it’s a reality! EV Owners Getting a Charge at Campgrounds Across the country, campground operators are reporting a gradual uptick in inquiries from EV owners who are considering using campgrounds as refueling stops on long-haul trips. Travelers who do this typically have adapters that enable them to plug into 50-amp, 240-volt electric pedestals that campgrounds often provide with their RV sites, reports Edmunds.com. “We’ve been getting quite a few calls from people wanting to charge their vehicles at our park,” said Russ Yates, owner of Holiday Park Campground in Greensboro, Maryland, adding that he’s installed a separate 50-amp/240 volt plug on the side of the campground office... Read more

Homolovi, AZ: What’s in a Name?

Arizona could soon rename and reopen an existing state park.  It’s a protected area that already has a state park designation but operating under a different name. Homolovi II is the largest of the sites at the park. It appears that each family unit occupied four to five rooms. Each room is relatively small, probably due to the scarcity of large logs. Photo courtesy Arizona State Parks The Hopi Tribe recently entered into a one-year agreement with Arizona State Parks, contributing $175,000 for the operation of Homolovi Ruins State Park. The Arizona Parks Board reported that during initial negotiations in November, the Hopi Tribe requested the word “Ruins” be taken out of the park’s name. To the Hopi, the word “Ruin” in the park name refers to ‘something dead.’ They would prefer “Ruin” be replaced with another word or removed. The State Parks Board is open to any suggestions the public may have to offer about this name change and will discuss the matter at the March 17, 2011 public Board meeting in Winslow City Council Chambers. Those with suggestions and comments on the name change may also send a message to the “Contact Us” tab at azstateparks.gov or write a letter to Arizona State Parks Public Information Office, 1300 West Washington Street, Phoenix, AZ 85007. All comments must be received by March 1, 2011. Ancestral Hopi Villages In the high grassland of 14th century northern Arizona, an ancient people found a home along the Little Colorado... Read more

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