Date: Fri, 15 Jun 2007 03:05:56 -0500
Reply-To: joel walker <jwalker17@EARTHLINK.NET>
Sender: Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From: joel walker <jwalker17@EARTHLINK.NET>
Subject: hokay ... it's FRYEDAYE!! ;) time for some off-topic stuff:
national parks, part I
Content-Type: text/plain; format=flowed; charset="iso-8859-1";
reply-type=original
<message in two parts. begin part 1>
if the summer heat ever disappears (and i have it on good authority
that it will ... eventually), some folks might want to go camping. and
in the July 2007 issue of Motorhome magazine, some BMF-RV folks wrote
an article about their favorite places to go ... maybe some of you
folks could write up similar small 'reports' about the places you like
to go??
10 Best National Parks for RVers
Motorhome magazine, July 2007
Bert & Janie Gildart
From mountains and deserts to glaciers and redwoods,
America's got you covered.
The U.S. National Park Service (NPS) administers a network
of nearly 400 natural, cultural and recreational sites, and
of those, 58 are national parks. From these tallies my wife,
Janie, and I selected 10 we think are tops for RVers.
Delineating that list was challenging, made slightly easier
only because we wanted our grouping to be both RV- and
family-friendly, which is a way of saying each park
diversity. Overall, we believe our top 10 meets those
criteria.
Because most RVers are well-traveled, your Top 10 list might
differ from ours (if you would like to share your Top 10
picks with us, please send an email to
letters@motorhomemagazine.com).
In the meantime, consider the following, and if you do
travel to these areas allow enough time to do more
than simply "collect" these parks, for they are all
national treasures.
for more information on all National Parks, check out
www.nps.gov
-------------------------------------------------------------
1. Acadia National Park
Bar Harbor, Eastern Maine Coast
Northeast
http://www.nps.gov/acad/
At 1,530 feet, Cadillac Mountain in Maine's Acadia National
Park is the highest mountain along the Eastern Seaboard.
Often filtered by a thin ocean mist, the sunrise soon forms
a golden orb that floats motionlessly just over the horizon,
and then for a moment nothing appears to move ... not even
time.
Indeed, the simple phenomenon of the rising sun is inspiring,
but so is the park's interior, something John D. Rockefeller,
Jr. recognized when he selected the area for a summer home,
and throughout the years constructed beautiful carriage roads.
Others also established such coastal homes, but Rockefeller
recognized the nation's need for such an area in the East
appropriate for recreation. To help, Rockefeller donated
much of his land for park use, and in 1916 that, in part,
became Acadia, America's first national park east of the
Mississippi.
Here, his legacy lives in the form of the park's now-famous
carriage roads taht are eagerly sought out by cyclists. The
old, but well-maintained, roads thread 45 miles throughout
the park, providing access to other of the park's natural
features including incredible tidal zones.
Acadia offers easy access to ocean settings as well as great
camping. If sites are full at the two campgrouns (Blackwoods,
306 sites; Seawall, 214 sites) then hang out in one of the
numerous commercial campgrounds just outside the park until
a park site opens. We always gravitate toward Blackwoods.
--------------------------------------------------------------
2. Big Bend National Park
Southwestern Texas-Mexico border
Southwest
http://www.nps.gov/bibe/
Down in Texas, along the Rio Grande in Big Bend National Park,
there's a great deal of silence, beauty and space ...
creating an ideal habitat for the turkeys, javelinas,
roadrunners and coyotes. It may well be this diversity that
attracts a faithful following who come to enjoy Big Bend by
canoeing, hiking, watching birds or simply soaking in the
park's hot springs.
Located in southwest Texas, the 801,000-acre park is defined
by the Rio Grande, which formst the boundary between Texas
and two Mexican states. But the park touts more than a
famous river: In the middle of Big Bend there's a grand
series of peaks known as the Chisos, accessible by dinghy
along a narrow and curved access road (vehicles longer than
20 feet are not recommended). Ponderosa and pinyon pine
carpet the cool flanks of these hills, providing a haven for
black bears and cougars. The park also bisects one of North
America's most significant deserts, the Chihuahuan, creating
an abundance of variety.
Big Bend has four campgrounds:
Rio Grande Village RV Campground,
Rio Grande Village Campground,
Chisos Basin Campground, and
Cottonwood Campground.
Of the four, our favorite is Cottonwood, though this may not
be for everyone, as AC generators are not permitted. It's
perfect, however, for those with solar panels. The two
campgrounds at Rio Grande Village differ in that the "RV"
campground has complete hookups. Immediately adjacent is
another campground that does allow generators. Despite the
limitations, it is where most with motorhomes tend to wind
up because of the extra space. Water is available and so is
a dump station.
------------------------------------------------------------
3. Death Valley National Park
Western California-Nevada
West Coast
http://www.nps.gov/deva/
One January day several years ago, we stepped out of our
camper and walked into Badwater, a jagged land that is also
the lowest point in North America, and immediately began
hearing strange sounds. Pausing and cupping our ears, we
listened. All around us, the ground spoke: it snapped,
crackled and popped.
Although the sound emanated from beneath our feet, the cause
remained a mystery until that night when we atteneded a
naturalist program at an auditorium near our campground at
Furnace Creek. After detailing the phenomenon, the
naturalist went on to say that Death Valley was not just the
source of one mystery, rather a plethora taht can all be
easily explored by basing your RV in one of the park's many
campgrounds and then ranging out.
For openers consider Salt Creek, which is located just a
short distance from Furnace Creek, home of the desert
pupfish. Records show the species has always been at Death
Valley. How, then, did it establish itself in a creek that
begins as a spring and ends by evaporation?
Or consider the nearby "Racetrack", a grand expanse of flat
playa where rocks somehow move, leaving tracks. But because
no one has ever seen them move, there is no definitive
explanation.
But that's not all. Death Valley consists of towering sand
dunes, a timeline for the huge lake that once flooded it
and Scotty's Castle, a "fantasy house" built by and for
eccentrics.
Death Valley has seven campgrounds appropriate for motorhomes.
All have water and dump stations. Of these, the best is
Furnace Creek, with Stove Pipe Wells running a close second.
Texas Springs provides sites, though they are not as
commodious as the other two.
For those wanting to spend several days at Scotty's Castle,
Mesquite Springs offers great accomodations.
-------------------------------------------------------------
4. Glacier National Park
Northwestern Montana-Canadian border
Northwest
http://www.nps.gov/glac/
Established in 1910 because of its scenic splendor and great
wildlife diversity, this 1.01-million-acre park in Montana
could take weeks to explore, but that's not necessary thanks
to the 50-mile-long Going-to-the-Sun Road, on which you can
usually only travel the entire stretch during the summer and
early fall (and 11.5 miles in the winter).
However, there are size restrictions on the Going-to-the-Sun
Road: Vehicles, and vehicle combinations longer than 21
feet (including bumpers) or wider than 8 feet (including
mirrors) are prohibited between Avalanche Campground and the
Sun Point parking area. But from July 1 through Labor Day,
visitors with RVs can leave them at the campground and still
see the park via a free shuttle service and be able to get
on and off at any of the 16 different stops along the road.
From West Glacier to the summit of the road at Logan Pass,
motorists gain 4,000 feet in altitude. About a quarter of
the way up, the road plunges into a tunnel; its windows
framing Heaven's Peak, one of the park's most spectacular
mountains. Several hundred yards beyond, the road makes
a switchback and appears like a shelf on the face of a
perpendicular cliff.
Going-to-the-Sun Road peaks at the 6,646-foot-high Logan
Pass Visitor Center. From here several trails provide
hikes through an area that is likened to the Arctic. One
leads to the Hidden Lake Overlook, where you should be on
the watch for goats, marmots, bighorn sheep and even
grizzly bears. The views are sweeping, creating the
sensation that you are seeing eternity.
Glacier has six campgrounds suitable for RVers. The
largest is located on the park's west side and is known as
Apgar. It is located near Apgar Village, and here you will
find the visitor center, gift shops, a camp store and
restaurant. Horseback riding reservations, boat rentals,
a shuttle service and Red Bus tour reservations are also
located in Apgar Village. The campground itself is
situated in trees and provides RVers with shade and some
privacy.
Other sites include Fish Creek, Two Medicine, Rising Sun,
St. Mary and Many Glacier.
----------------------------------------------------------
5. Joshua Tree National Park
Southern California
West Coast
http://www.nps.gov/jotr/
Because you'll find two distinct deserts in one park,
Joshua Tree rates high with us. Sprawling over 800,000
acres are aspects of both the Mojave and Colorado (part
of the Sonoran) deserts.
Like all deserts, however, you should proceed with some
circumspection. Once, while admiring the beauty of the
Cholla Cactus Garden, our dog leaped from our rig and
immediately brushed against cholla needles, which deeply
embedded themselves.
Nevertheless, in late evening light, cholla is beautiful,
as is the sight of a forest of Joshua trees with arms
upraised, as though in prayer ... or so thought the
Mormons who named the tree. Look for the species in the
park's upper reaches ... the Mojave.
Look, too, for immense fields of granite boulders near our
favorite campground, White Tank. However, we can no longer
camp there as our new rig exceeds 25 feet, so we opt for
Cottonwood Campground, which is near the park's south
entrance and one of our favorite park hikes, the Lost Palm
Oasis.
To thoroughly enjoy the park, you'll need a week, because it
offers lost mines, a Native American culture, rock climbing,
backpacking and mountain biking.
Joshua Tree has nine campgrounds, but there are limitations.
No hookups are available, though Black Rock and Cottonwood
have dump stations. At Hidden Valley and White Tank
motorhomes cannot exceed 25 feet.
<to be continued>
