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Though National Parks Week Is Winding Down, There's No End to Enjoying National Parks

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While National Parks Week is just about spent, with one glorious weekend to go, that doesn't mean an end to enjoying the national parks. In fact, the National Park Service and National Park Foundation have put together a list of ways to enjoy the parks all year-round.

* Share a park, and shape a life: Introduce a young person to our national parks. Go to www.nationalparkweek.org and download the brand new free resource for families: Parks for Play: 35 National Park Adventures for Kids of All Ages which features 35 great national parks for families with tykes, teens and everyone in between.

* Visit a National Park for Free: The National Park Service has waived entrance fees to all 392 national parks through Sunday, April 25, 2010. Need help locating the closest park to you? No problem, visit www.nps.gov/npweek for all the resources and links you need.

* Plant Native Species: “Everglades National Park was the first national park in America established to preserve, protect, and restore a unique and fragile ecosystem,” said Dan Kimball, superintendent of Everglades National Park. “You can protect the environment in your community by planting native plant species in your home gardens and backyards. Non-native plants can adversely impact native wildlife, wreak havoc on nearby natural areas and waters, and interfere with our efforts to restore imperiled ecosystems like the Everglades.”

* Help Support the Parks at Macy’s: America’s retailer has a matching gift program through the end of April. If you can’t make it to a park, consider a gift of any amount and Macy’s will match your gift up to $1 million. Macy’s support of the National Park Foundation is helping bring more than 100,000 youth into parks this spring. You can help by visiting your nearest Macy's store or going online here or www.macys.com/giveback.

* Use Re-usable bags: “Replace disposable bags with reusable ones,” said Rich Weideman, chief of public affairs at the Golden Gate National Recreation Area. “Everyone has seen old plastic bags stuck in trees, littering our roadsides and in our streams, and that’s just one of the signs of waste we face in an urban national park like Golden Gate.”

* Volunteer: Help pick up trash, mulch a trail, pull weeds – or whatever else your local park needs. Bank of America associates around the country will be rolling up their sleeves for National Park Week by volunteering to cleanup park lands, rebuild trails and restore native habitats. Find out how you can volunteer too by visiting www.nationalparkweek.org.

* Buy Locally Grown Produce: “When you buy your fruits and veggies locally, you’re saving on the fuel and energy it takes to transport and store them,” said Joan Anzelmo superintendent of Colorado National Monument, where park rangers participate in the local farmers market in Grand Junction, Colorado, each summer.

* Help turn one of America’s best parks into one of America’s best classrooms: This spring, the National Park Foundation will bring Bryce Canyon National Park into classrooms across the through an Electronic Field Trip. It’s absolutely free for teachers to register their classes for the live broadcast and interactive curriculum. Send any teachers you know this link to sign up for free, now: www.brycecanyoneft.org

* Use Water Efficiently: “A whopping 30 percent of the city of Seattle’s electricity comes from hydroelectricity generated within North Cascades National Park,” said Chip Jenkins, superintendent of North Cascades National Park. “Every time you conserve your water usage, that’s not only more clean water for drinking and water for wildlife, but potentially creating more water for clean energy.”

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The Essential RVing Guide

The Essential RVing Guide to the National Parks

The National Parks RVing Guide, aka the Essential RVing Guide To The National Parks, is the definitive guide for RVers seeking information on campgrounds in the National Park System where they can park their rigs. It's available for free for both iPhones and Android models.

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You'll also find stories about RVing in the parks, some tips if you've just recently turned into an RVer, and some planning suggestions. A bonus that wasn't in the previous eBook or PDF versions of this guide are feeds of Traveler content: you'll find our latest stories as well as our most recent podcasts just a click away.

So whether you have an iPhone or an Android, download this app and start exploring the campgrounds in the National Park System where you can park your rig.