Celebrate National Park Week: 5 Luxe Places You Can ‘Camp’ Sans Tent

by McLean Robbins on



National Park Week has begun! Many travelers will be taking advantage of free access to our country’s best national parks but, if they’re anything like this writer, won’t want to sleep in a tent after.

So, instead of camping try “glamping” at some of these great hotels near national parks that let you enjoy nature without giving up your creature comfort – no camping required.

Four Seasons Resort Jackson Hole, Wyoming
Just minutes from Grand Teton National Park and a short drive from Yellowstone National Park, Four Seasons Jackson Hole offers a famed wildlife safari program, complete with an in-house wildlife biologist. Can’t make it during National Park Week? Enjoy special backstage access to these National Parks through the hotel’s summer packages.

Moonlight Basin, Montana
Located just 18 miles from Yellowstone National Park, Moonlight is surrounded by Montana’s spectacular Rocky Mountains. Moonlight Basin’s Mountain Concierge Team can plan experiences from rafting on the Gallatin River to fly-fishing adventures and more.

Estes Park, Colorado
As a gateway to Rocky Mountain National Park, the year-old Della Terra Mountain Chateau is one of the area’s most luxe boutique properties.

Terranea Resort, California
This Destination Hotels & Resorts property located on the Southern California coast in Rancho Palos Verdes offers a unique starting point for exploration of Channel Islands National Park.

Travaasa Hana, Maui
The closest lodging to Haleakala National Park, filled with beautiful hikes through bamboo forests, past towering waterfalls and the famous “Pools of Ōheo.”

[Image courtesy of Yellowstone National Park]

History Museum Takes Interactive, Social Approach

by Chris Owen on

History museums offer a collection of artifacts and other objects of scientific, artistic, cultural or historical importance, making them available for public viewing through exhibits that may be permanent or temporary. For some, history museums are an exciting look at the past with lessons for the future. To others, they are just boring old places full of old stuff. In Denver, the new History Colorado Center opens this weekend in an attempt to change perceptions of the state history museum experience with highly experiential exhibits that put visitors in the stories and make history fun.

Visitors can take a virtual soar off a historic ski jump, “yearbook” themselves in a 1920s hairdo for a small town high school, become a miner who must set the dynamite correctly to explode, and play a trading game swapping goods at a historic trading fort.

Live performances, hands-on projects, lectures and more will also serve to continually keep spaces alive.”The point to all this is that we want to put you in the center of the story – with all the pathos and humor and even the ridiculousness,” said chief operating officer Kathryn Hill to the Victoria Advocate.

The new History Colorado Center looks to be much more than a museum too. As a source of civic connection and a place for statewide interactive dialogue, the Center will bring educational programming to Colorado communities in new ways that promise to increase awareness, heighten interest and broaden participation with History Colorado. Once the transformation is complete, History Colorado will reach people of all ages and backgrounds, in all parts of the state.

The $110 million History Colorado Center opens to the public on Saturday, April 28, 2012.




[Flickr photo by an untrained eye]

10 Earth Day Celebrations That Matter

by Chris Owen on

Earth Day is a day when events are held worldwide to increase awareness and appreciation of the Earth’s natural environment, coordinated globally by the Earth Day Network and celebrated in more than 175 countries. Around the United States, there is probably an Earth Day event close to you. Growing out of the first Earth Day, Earth Day Network works with over 22,000 partners in 192 countries to broaden, diversify and mobilize the environmental movement. More than 1 billion people now participate in Earth Day activities each year making it the largest civic observance in the world.

Here are some of the more notable celebrations around the United States.

Earth Day on the National Mall
The centerpiece of Earth Day in the United States will be a rally on the National Mall in Washington, D.C. Tens of thousands of environmentally conscious people from all walks of life and all parts of the country will be joined by civic leaders and celebrities for this special event to galvanize the environmental movement.

Annual Earth Day Silent Auction
On Earth Day, April 22, 2012, the Northern Virginia Conservation Trust will be holding our annual silent auction with over 40 items from REI, Caribou Coffee, NVRPA and many more contributors.

Battery Recycling
Arizona has a celebration event featuring recycling drop off for old batteries. Do your part and keep batteries out of the landfill by bringing them into one of their locations for recycling.

Free Rides on MMT City bus service
In Colorado Springs, Colorado recognition of Earth Day gets FREE rides on Mountain Metropolitan Transit fixed-route city buses on Friday, April 20, 2012. Take this opportunity to try out alternative transportation.

Prairie Village Earth Fair

The Prairie Village Kansas Earth Fair will be held at 75th and Mission Road and will feature vendors, demonstrations, new technology and home improvement designed to lead us to a greener world. Local entertainment and food trucks will be on hand to round out the day’s events.

EarthWalk 2012
Celebrate Earth Day weekend in Kansas City, Missouri, and help build a greener KC! Choose from a 2.5- or 3.5-mile route along Brush Creek and the Plaza to support Bridging The Gap and environmental education and action programs in Kansas City. Make an even greater difference and join with family, friends and co-workers to form a team!

Clean Up Your Corner Washington, D.C.
Clean Up Your Corner is a grassroots event asking everyone around the world to donate one hour of their time on Earth Day 2012 (April 22) cleaning up their area of the world. This can be accomplished through simply picking up and properly disposing of trash on the street or recycling/repurposing tossed items that can be recycled or repurposed.

AWAKEN Celebration, Earth Day Hawaii

“AWAKEN your heart, your mind, don’t let it slip by you.” These are lyrics from JES, asking us to step up, pay attention and be the change in the World around us. We have only one Earth, that we all share, “with one moon circling” over us all.

Eco Art + Design Depot

In celebration of Earth Day, Benevolent Media and SCRAP DC present an afternoon of eco-conscious art and design, featuring a pop-up marketplace of local vendors and interactive workshops led by teaching artists dedicated to inspiring “creative reuse” and environmentally sustainable behavior.

Alexandria Earth Day 2012

Mark your calendar for Alexandria Earth Day 2012! This year’s celebration will be held at Ben Brenman Park (4800 Brenman Park Dr., Alexandria, VA) on Saturday, April 21, 2012, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.

There is a lot going on with other cities before and after Earth Day. Still, much remains to be done and “there is still the need for volunteers to come together at least once a year to clean up their communities, usually around Earth Day, bagging trash tossed in parks, along streets and into rivers,” says NorthJersey.com. “Some people haven’t gotten the message.”




[Flickr photo by Cayusa]

How Are You Celebrating Earth Day?

by Kraig Becker on

Today is Earth Day, an annual event that is meant to remind us of how fragile our planet’s natural environment is and the importance of protecting it. All across the globe millions of people are taking part in events designed to celebrate this amazing rock we call home, while simultaneously looking for ways to preserve it for the generations that will follow.

At the heart of this year’s Earth Day celebration is the “Billion Acts of Green” initiative in which organizers of the event have asked participants to pledge to take steps to lead a more “green” lifestyle. Those pledges can include something as simple as taking reusable bags to the grocery store or signing a petition to protect the Amazon, or as big as installing solar panels in your home and buying a hybrid car. The thought is that if we all vow to make small changes in our lives to help the environment, our collective efforts will have a lasting impact on the planet. To make your own pledge to the cause simply click here.

Additionally, a host of Earth Day events are taking place across the world today that will give us the opportunity to have a positive impact on the communities we live in. Those events include things like cooperative efforts to clean up local parks or organized recycling drives. There is even a rally scheduled on the National Mall in Washington, D.C., at 7 p.m. For a complete list of events or to find one in your area, click here.

As travelers, I believe that we understand the importance of protecting the environment as well as anyone. But I also happen to believe that we need to take a more active role in protecting it. After all, we are the ones who are jetting off to visit the far-flung corners of the globe on a regular basis. The next time you take a trip, remember to have a heightened respect for the place you are visiting; take nothing but photographs and leave nothing but footprints. That way those destinations that we love so much will be there for future travelers to enjoy too.

The National Parks Are Fee-Free For The Next Week

by Kraig Becker on

Tomorrow marks the start of National Parks Week and to celebrate the National Park Service has waived all entry fees from April 21-29. That means that more than 100 parks that typically require visitors to pay at the gate will have free access for the next nine days.

America’s national parks include some of the most spectacular outdoor environments on the planet and Parks Week was created to remind us of the value of those wild places. With that in mind, the NPS has scheduled Volunteer Day for tomorrow when a host of park improvement projects will take place across the country. Other special events scheduled for the week ahead include celebrations of Earth Day on Sunday and Junior Ranger Day on Saturday, April 28. Check specific park schedules for events in your area.

Spring is always a great time to visit the national parks as the warm weather means the return of leaves to the trees and wildflowers in full bloom. In Yellowstone, visitors are likely to catch a glimpse of newborn bear cubs and bison calves while the incomparable Cherry Blossoms make a visit to the National Mall – an unforgettable experience. In the Great Smokey Mountains, the wildflower pilgrimage is underway and in the Grand Canyon, spring is the perfect time for a rim-to-rim hike. There are more than 397 national parks and monuments in the US system and each of them has its own unique spring feel.

To find the closest national park to you, click here. And if you aren’t able to visit during National Parks Week, the next fee-free day comes on June 9 in celebration of Get Outdoors Day.