National Parks go fee-free for Veterans Day weekend

by Kraig Becker on

In honor of Veterans Day, the National Park Service has declared another fee-free weekend. Starting tomorrow, and running through Sunday, all entry fees into America’s national parks will be waived, giving travelers the opportunity to enjoy the crisp fall weather in some of the most spectacular landscapes the country has to offer.

While the fall colors in many of the parks have come and gone, there are still some places where the reds, oranges, and golds of autumn can still be spotted. Particularly at the lower altitudes in Yosemite and near the Chattahoochee River in Georgia. The cooler weather also makes it the perfect time to take a long hike or go camping one final time before winter sets in. It is also a great time to spot wildlife in places like Yellowstone or Rocky Mountain National Park, where the change in seasons puts the elk and sheep on the move.

This is the final fee-free weekend of 2011, so take advantage of it if you can. But if you aren’t able to make it out to your favorite park over the next few days, don’t worry too much. The Park Service has already announced 17 more free days for 2012, with the first of those coming January 14-16 in celebration of Martin Luther King, Jr. Day.

For a complete list of the parks that will be participating this weekend, click here.

Photo of the day: autumn colors in Virginia Canyon, Yosemite

by Elizabeth Seward on


For anyone who thinks the autumn colors don’t show boldly outside of New England, just focus your eyes for a moment on this photo of Virginia Canyon in California. As part of Yosemite National Park, Virginia Canyon sees many travelers each years. Nonetheless, these autumn colors pop up on my radar less frequently than I wish they would. Having spent the last year in Austin, Texas, I miss the fall colors and I hope all of you surrounded by brightly colored trees this fall took advantage and soaked in the beauty fully–or are still doing so if your trees still have their leaves.

Kudos to Flickr user Misha Logvinov for this photo, which can be found in the Gadling Flickr Pool. If you’d like one of your photos to go live here on Gadling, follow in Misha’s footsteps and upload your photo(s) to the Gadling Flickr Pool.

Carschooling: Why traveling is the best education

by Jessica Festa on

As someone who loves the way travel affects and evolves language I was immediately drawn to an article by Malea, of the blog “M and J in a Nutshell“, on the topic of carschooling. While Malea shares her experience of homeschooling on the road during her family’s move across the country I couldn’t help but think just how beneficial carschooling could be to not only children, but also parents and travelers in general.

Basically carschooling is just what is sounds like, creating a learning environment while traveling. While some parents/people may find the thought of classroom-type learning while on vacation daunting, traveling can actually make education extremely accessible.

It is often said that traveling makes people more enlightened and well-rounded, so what better situation to learn in? It’s all in how you use the resources the trip gives you. Who needs a textbook (although you can still bring them along) when you can visit historical sites, art galleries, museums, and sporting events in person?
There’s also the planning phase of the trip, which can be an education opportunity in itself. For example, the maps. What route will you take? Geography. What sites will you visit? History and culture. How long will it take you to get to each city and how will this work in your budget? Math.

Then there is the natural landscape and man made structures you pass along the way. Trees, mountains, lakes, churches, farms, tools, and factories are all great prompts for an education conversation. Discuss the people of the region and how they get food. Talk about the dangers of pesticides in crops and the architecture of different buildings. Give a Biology lesson by discussing the flora and fauna of a city. And, don’t be afraid to be the teacher and the student; if you don’t know something research it or ask someone.

It’s also important to get out of the carschool sometimes and visit historical sites, museums, churches, galleries, and parks to explore them inside and out. How much more will you learn with an interactive Earth Science lesson through a mountain hike than by simply looking at rocks through your car window? And, for a dose of social skills, make sure to interact with new and interesting people. Waitresses, hotel owners, tour guides, park rangers, market sellers, and anyone else you come into contact with can be ideal sources of local information.

But, what about taking notes? While traditional classrooms often have students keep notebooks, travelers often keep journals. Diaries can help carschoolers take notes in a way that doesn’t make them feel like they’re preparing for a test. You can also give them (or yourself) an incentive or goal to work towards. Maybe you’ll make a scrapbook after the trip, so you’ll need tons of photos and facts, or maybe you’ll create some kind of travel trivia game. Whatever you decide, keep it fun and educational, just like traveling.

10 days, 10 states: Ruby Mountains, Nevada

by Kyle Ellison on

-“Shine on, Ruby mountain, from the valley to the sea. Shine on, Ruby mountain, shine your sweet love down on me” -Kenny Rogers, Shine On, Ruby Mountain-

The first time I ever heard of Elko, Nevada was when I was eight years old. As a big-haired tot growing up on the island of Maui, a place where the weather page is nearly always stuck on “warm and tropical”, I was obsessed with the multicolored national weather page of lands far, far away.

During certain months of the year, I would notice on the national temperature map there was always this dark blue, maybe even violet circle hovering in the middle of Nevada–a place that looked eerily colder than the rest. Smack in the center of that cold, violet bubble was always a town I had not visited until today: Elko, Nevada.

As school got harder and life got faster, my fascination with the great blue blob of Elko, Nevada slowly faded away. That was until three months ago when I found myself at a California wedding in the company of a couple of ranchers from, where else, but Elko, Nevada.

“Elko, huh. Isn’t that the really cold place in Nevada?” I confidently slurred, the pour-your-own sangria bar having a noticeable effect on my social willingness to engage.

“Nah, last year it was only -18 at the coldest. I love Elko, though. I wouldn’t live anywhere else”, offered the rancher in his tightest pair of Wranglers.

“Wouldn’t ever leave Elko, eh? And why’s that?”

“Well we’ve got the Ruby Mountains“.

As a map obsessed child who could rattle off every world capital by the age of 3 sort of guy, I was taken aback at the prospect of there being an American mountain range with which I was unfamiliar.

The Ruby Mountains.

As the wedding ended and the weeks wore on, I did what any self-respecting travel blogger would do and I Google searched them. Even after some research, I simply couldn’t shake the allure of these mystery mountains in the middle of the cold dark blob.

%Gallery-138739%Striking out on the road for 10 days, 10 states, 10 great American sights, I finally decided I would go and pay a visit to these Elko mountains of lore and drive from Lake Tahoe, California into the high desert hills of northeastern Nevada.

80 miles long by 12 miles wide, the Rubies I found out are known as “The Swiss Alps of Nevada”. As I stand in the glacial confines of Lamoille Canyon, a 12 mile scenic byway that cuts a deep wedge into the mountain range, it isn’t hard to see why.

The white, snowy peak of 11,327 ft. Ruby Dome stands in stark contrast to the yellows of the fall leaves dancing amongst the canyon. Numerous hiking trails depart from the canyon road and connect back in the mountains with larger treks such as the 43-mile Ruby Crest Trail. Though the mountains are reputed to be rife with wildlife ranging from mountain goat to bighorn ram, the only creatures I encounter on my foray up the canyon are a herd of deer bounding through the autumn chill.

As an early season snowfall has brought plenty of the powder to the upper peaks, I am relegated to wandering the empty streams of the lower elevations of the canyon. Though comparable in beauty to the forested trails of my last stop on the trip, Lake Tahoe, I find that I have this trail refreshingly all to myself.

With the onset of winter I imagine that these mountains are going to be fairly empty and sleepy while the cold blue temperature blob parks itself over Elko for the winter.

Empty, undoubtedly, but as I would come to find out, these mountains are anything but sleepy, even in the depths of winter. Although there are no chairlifts and exactly zero ski resorts, who would have guessed that the Ruby Mountains are one of the premier places in the western US for the extreme sport of heli-skiing.

That’s right. Heli-skiing. In the Great Basin of Nevada. With an entire range of peaks that top out over 11,000 feet, that makes the Rubies higher than any groomed run found in all of Lake Tahoe.

As is typical of finding myself in a new place, I am struck with the overwhelming urge to suddenly do everything these mountains have to offer; I am drunk on the adrenaline fueled urge to mountain bike, to rappel, and to hunt, which is strange because I don’t actually hunt.

As is the case with a 10-day road trip across the country, however, my mobility does not afford me the time to linger. For this reason if I bump into you on the street and you ask me where I’m headed next, I’d say that I’d love to go back to Elko, Nevada?

Why?

Because it has the Ruby Mountains.

Follow Kyle on the rest of his journey as he explores “10 days, 10 states, 10 great American sights”.

10 days, 10 states: Lake Tahoe, California

by Kyle Ellison on

“…As it lay there with the shadows of the mountains brilliantly photographed upon its surface I thought it must surely be the fairest picture the whole Earth affords…”
-Mark Twain, upon first viewing Lake Tahoe. Excerpted from his book, “Roughing It”

As anyone who has ever spent time in Lake Tahoe can attest to, Mark Twain had Tahoe pegged from the moment he first laid eyes upon it. Once Twain was done waxing philosophical about the clarity of its waters and pristine nature of its shores, however, he would go on to nearly burn the entire place down when his campfire raged out of control and gave rise to a massive forest fire.

Luckily for Mr. Twain, Tahoe managed to survive the blaze, and it continues to be the ultimate playground for outdoor enthusiasts all across the West. If you’ve never paid a visit to this lake the Washoe Indians dubbed “Da-ow-a-ga”, (Big Water) it’s hard to properly describe the sheer magnitude of how big the largest alpine lake in North America really is.

Unlike the Great Lakes, you can, in fact, still see across to the other side. This is aided however by the lake being rung by the 9,000 ft. peaks of the Sierra Nevada that remain at least partially snowcapped for the entire year.

21 miles long by 12 miles wide (193 sq. miles), Lake Tahoe is officially larger than three of the eight main Hawaiian Islands (Kahoolawe, Ni’ihau, and Lana’i). Aside from its area, at 1,645 ft. deep, Lake Tahoe is also the second deepest lake in North America behind Oregon’s Crater Lake.

That’s great. It’s big, and it’s deep. But what exactly does that mean? Give me some perspective. Well to start with, if you were to somehow pull the plug on Lake Tahoe and allow its waters to drain across the valley floor, the volume would be enough to cover the entire state of California to a depth of 15 inches. Think about that. Every Californian, all 37 million of them from San Diego to Humboldt would have their basement sloshing under a foot of water.

%Gallery-138378%So what actually goes on in water that deep? Are there any fish down there? Is there anything down there? Although the lake does house some good sized mackinaw (lake trout) that hang out around 200-250 ft. down, it’s rumored that there is potentially something else that’s floating around at the deepest depths of the lake:

Dead Native American Indians and Chinese railroad workers.

That’s right. It could all be urban legend, but it’s reputed that throughout history there were times when warriors or workers who met an untimely end were simply cast into the frigid lake waters. As the water temperature at the deepest parts of the lake remains a constant 39 degrees Fahrenheit, the waters are sufficiently cold enough to keep human bodies from quickly decomposing.

Creepy depths of the lake aside, Lake Tahoe remains one of the premier spots in the Western US for outdoor recreation on land as well as on the water. During the winter months, Tahoe boasts no fewer than 12 ski resorts that are lauded as some of the best in all of North America, with Squaw Valley playing host to the Winter Olympics in 1960.

During the summer months, Tahoe is rife with outdoor summer adventures that range from standup paddling to mountain biking. The Flume Trail on the east shore of the lake is regarded as being one of the most scenic rides in the entire country, and as the fall foliage currently engulfs the lake basin I find it to be the perfect time of year for getting out and riding the Flume.

From the rampant development that lines the shoreline, however, it’s easy to deduce that the beauty of Tahoe is no longer really a secret. Although the lakeshore may be rung by mega-mansions (Incline Village), lakefront restaurants (the entire West Shore), and glitzy casinos (South Lake Tahoe), there is still one stretch of the lake that is uninterrupted in its rugged and natural beauty.

When George Whittell’s real estate magnate parents passed away and left him with a sizeable inheritance in the late 1920’s, the San Francisco eccentric took a lump sum of cash and purchased the entire east shore of Lake Tahoe. Upon the granite strewn shoreline he constructed his infamous retreat, the Thunderbird Lodge, an architectural wonderland of ornate stonework, hidden tunnels, and cascading man-made waterfalls.

As real estate interests along the lake grew, however, so did interest in acquiring the lands held by Mr. Whittell. In one of the state of Nevada’s landmark cases of eminent domain, the state seized the land from Mr. Whittell that now comprises Sand Harbor State Park. Finally reducing his estate to the 6 acres surrounding the Thunderbird Lodge, the east shore of the lake ended up in the hands of the state of Nevada and has been exquisitely preserved as a state park system that offers some of the best beaches along the entire lake.

It’s just off of these beaches I find myself gliding along on a dull red kayak, completely encircled by granite boulders, turquoise waters, and the yellows and oranges of the fall colors that dance their way down from the treetops. If I didn’t have the rest of the country to go and see, I would be more than content to simply find a patch of sand, read a little Twain, and stare out over one of the great natural wonders of the West.

Follow Kyle on the rest of his journey as he explores “10 days, 10 states, 10 great American sights”.