Come float or paddle with the Traveler this summer!/Kurt Repanshek

True, it's just the first week of March, but it's not too early to consider signing up for a paddle or float trip with National Parks Traveler in the park system this summer.

One of our trips, down the Green River and through the Gates of Lodore in Dinosaur National Monument, is just over halfway full, while there's plenty of room available for the sea kayak trip on Jackson Lake in Grand Teton National Park in July and the special dark skies float on the Colorado River through Canyonlands National Park with the National Park Service's original "Dark Ranger in late September.

Joining us on the Dinosaur trip will be noted national park historian Dr. Alfred Runte, who consulted for and appeared on the Ken Burns/Dayton Duncan documentary, The National Parks: America's Best Idea. He'll lead campfire discussions about the National Park System and examine where the National Park Service is heading as it enters its second century.

The scenery in this part of Dinosaur National Monument is outstanding. The Green River has cut a cleft in the Uinta Range at the Gates of Lodore. Further downstream is towering Steamboat Rock, and swirling Whirlpool Canyon. We'™ll see ancient rock art, be doused by a waterfall, enjoy the perfect swimming hole, and hike to a point hundreds of feet above the Green River. Wildlife includes bighorn sheep, deer, great blue herons, and various raptors.

To sign up for this trip, visit: http://www.bikeraft.com/specialty-trips/national-parks-traveler-lodore-canyon-trip/

Sea kayaking on Jackson Lake in Grand Teton National Park/O.A.R.S.

In late-July we'll take a break from the white water...and replace it with the gloriously jagged skyline of the Tetons in Grand Teton National Park. We'll spend two days paddling on Jackson Lake with guides from O.A.R.S., followed by a mellow rafting trip down the spectacular Snake River.

Beneath towering Mount Moran, our base camp for Days 1 and 2 is secluded on Grassy Island in Moran Bay, on the far side of the lake. This island provides us with a more restful, even contemplative, exploration of Grand Teton. There'™s a lot to see. Make the short trip across the small bay and hike up Moran Canyon, explore the western shoreline by kayak, fish for a trout dinner, or head out after dark for a moonlight paddle. Take your sketchpad and, like Thomas Moran, try to capture the mountain that bears his name.

To sign up for this trip, contact O.A.R.S.'s Wyoming Adventure Consultant, Ashley Sozzi. Her direct line is 209-753-4800 or 800-346-6277 ext. 4800. 

Finally, in late September we'll spend six days drifting through one of the most mesmerizing landscapes in America. There will be days when we drift through calm pools and stretches of river, and a day of busting through some of the most renowned white water in the Southwest. For those calm days, we'll break out the Stand Up Paddleboards to test your agility and core muscles.

Each day after the sun goes down, Kevin Poe, the National Park Service's original "Dark Ranger," will take us on a tour through the starry skies overhead. With the "new moon" in phase during this period, the skies should be particularly well-suited for star gazing.

To sign up for this trip, visit: http://www.bikeraft.com/specialty-trips/national-parks-traveler-cataract-canyon-trip/

Crashing through the "Big Drops" of Cataract Canyon in Canyonlands National Park/Patrick Cone