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Exploring the Parks

Time Travel In The North Of Portugal

The dogs were large, with pointy ears, and they appeared suddenly along the cobbled path, barking furiously. My husband Paul and I paused, then slowly crept past them as we murmured pet-friendly reassurances at their bared teeth. They jumped around a bit but did not draw nearer; all bark, no bite. A cheerful man hobbled down the path on his cane, reaffirming this in Portuguese and gestures and tone that conveyed his meaning to our linguistically challenged ears. Chuckling, he waved us on our way from the tiny stone village into a sparse forest in Portugal’s sole national park—Peneda-Gerês.

Trails Into History: Walk Into The Past On A National Historic Trail

It was 50 years ago that the National Trails System was designated. Today there are 30 trails under that designation, and they range from the path followed by Lewis and Clark into history to the Captain John Smith Chesapeake National Historic Trail. Choose any one of the 19 National Historic Trails and you can walk, or paddle, into history.

Scotts Bluff And Fort Laramie: Is The Oregon Trail In Your Family History?

Stratton family lore has my ancestors migrating west on the Oregon Trail. I’m not entirely sure if I believe it, since trail use greatly declined when the Transcontinental Railroad was finished in 1869 and my relatives didn’t arrive in Oregon until the 1880s. But there are accounts of the trail being used through the 1890s, so it is possible. Either way, the Stratton clan ended up in eastern Oregon operating a stagecoach station on the road between John Day and Burns.
  • By stratto - March 8th, 2018 8:36am

Seeking Winter Solitude In Grand Teton National Park

As my wife and I got out of our car in front of the visitor center at Colter Bay, we looked around the expansive parking lot to find--no one there. We were entirely alone at one of Grand Teton National Park's most popular summertime destinations. In just four months, hundreds of cars, trucks, and RVs will fill this and other lots at Signal Mountain, Jenny Lake and Jackson Lake lodges, but this was mid-week in February, and only the heated bathroom at the visitor center was open.

Exploring The Parks: Dingmans Falls At Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area

Straddling the New Jersey-Pennsylvania border, Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area is a 70,000-acre swath of forests cut by a river, with tributaries flowing in throughout the parkscape. It offers a quick and easy escape from urban areas of the metropolitan New York-New Jersey, as well as from the Philadelphia area.

Big Hole And Little Bighorn Battlefields: Thoughts On Cultural Tolerance And Understanding

People respond to unfamiliar cultures with a range of emotions, from curiosity to condemnation. It was curiosity (and a couple more stamps in our National Park Service passports) that recently took me and my girlfriend Craig to Big Hole National Battlefield and Little Bighorn Battlefield National Monument in Montana. It was condemnation by the U.S. government of both the Nez Perce and Sioux ways of life that precipitated the tragedies remembered at these two sites.

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.

This app is packed with RVing specific details on more than 250 campgrounds in more than 70 parks.

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.