Take dad to a national park this weekend for free!

by Kraig Becker on

Just in time for the Father’s Day weekend, the National Park Service has announced that all entry fees will be waived for both Saturday and Sunday, June 20th and 21st. This means that more than 100 parks that traditionally charge for entry will be fee free this weekend.

In addition, a number of NPS partners that provide concessions, and other services, within the parks have announced special deals as well. For instance, those visiting Badlands National Park in South Dakota or Big Bend in Texas this weekend will receive a free, eco-friendly shopping bag that can be reused on your weekly trip to the grocery store. Meanwhile, travelers going to Glacier National Park can take advantage of a “buy-one-get-one-free” deal on commemorative t-shirts.

Already have plans for the weekend, and they involve relaxing at home instead? Never fear, there are still two more fee free wekends yet to come this summer, and most of the special deals from the concessioners will be available then too. The NPS has designated July 18-19 and August 15-16 as the other fee free days.

So, if you’re looking save a little money on your vacation this summer, perhaps you can plan to visit one of the many spectacular national parks around the country on one of these weekends. There is a nataional park or monument in 49 of the 50 states (Sorry Delaware!) and it has just gotten a little easier to pay them a visit. Head over to NPS.gov to find one near you.
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Gadling’s guide to Summer music

by Jeremy Kressmann on

Summer. Music. Could any two words in the English language possibly go so well together? There’s just something about warm weather that makes you want to be outside, bare feet touching soft grass and dirt underfoot, hands in the cool night air, eardrums fluttering to the vibrations of a strumming guitar.

And aside from Summer, what could go better with music than travel? Whatever your favorite genre, this season is prime time to catch some of the best live performances you’ll see all year. So what if nothing good is playing near your hometown? Jump in the car or book that cheap plane ticket. Music is just the excuse you’re looking for to get out on the road. From the smallest local city festivals, to the giant multi-headliner events now dotting the country (and the world), it’s time to start making some travel arrangements to catch your favorite band.

We won’t pretend to list out every music festival and event going on this summer – there’s way too many. But we’ve been to our fair share of good ones – and we know what’s worth the trip. Grab those earplugs and stop making those Free Bird requests, Gadling is bringing you our picks of this Summer’s best music events, both in your backyard and around the world.
International Festivals
There are some music events so incredibly epic, bringing together so many great bands, and unique performers in such unique settings, that they’re worth a trip halfway across the globe. That’s not to mention peculiar quirks of the local crowd. What better way to meet the locals than your shared love for Metallica? The international festivals below are definitely worth your money’s worth:

  • Sonar Festival – Barcelona, Spain (June 19-21) – the cutting edge Sonar Festival, hosted in one of Europe’s most dynamic cities, brings together multimedia art and music for three days of decidedly high-tech fun and dancing. This year’s festival features big names like M.I.A. and Justice. Did we mention the city is on a beach for when you get tired of the party?
  • Glastonbury – Glastonbury, England (June 27-29) – Glastonbury has long been known as one the one the premier festivals in England, if not the world, offering a huge lineup of some of pop music’s up-and-comers as well as established superstars. This year promises a similar showing, featuring hip-hop star Jay-Z, singer songwriter Leonard Cohen and bands like indie-rockers The National marquee acts such as Franz Ferdinand, Q Tip and Bruce Springsteen
  • Gnaoua Festival – Essaouira, Morocco (June 26-29) – if your musical tastes run towards the more esoteric and global, consider a trip to Morocco’s Gnaoua Festival, held each year in the lazy seaside village of Essaouira. Gnawa is type of music indigenous to Northern Africa, characterized by its soulful chanting and acrobatic dancing. As if a visit to the whitewashed town of Essaouira wasn’t reward enough, you’ll bear witness to some of the most amazing musicians from across sub-Saharan Africa.
  • Roskilde Festival – Roskilde, Denmark (July 3-6) – Denmark is not exactly a hot spot when you think of great musical events, but the annual Roskilde Festival is proof the Danes really know what they’re talking about. This year brings yet another killer lineup including uber-rockers Radiohead and Coldplay, Nine Inch Nails, Kanye West, Lucinda Williams, and many others.

U.S. Festivals
Alright, so the Spanish music festival is out of your budget this year. That’s not a problem really – live music is practically a birthright of American citizens, guaranteeing that each summer you’ll find a heap of great musicians touring at a concert hall or ampitheater near you. To help you figure out what to check out, we’ve broken down some of our favorites based on geography: East Coast, West and Central. Take a look:

  • EAST COAST – All Points West, New York, NY (July 31- August 2) – brought to you by the same team that pulls together the annual Coachella Festival in Indio, CA, New York City’s All Points West Festival is now entering its second year. Much as you’d expect from a sister festival to the excellent Coachella, All Points West brings in top-notch talent like the Beastie Boys and MGMT to a gorgeous waterfront park facing the Statue of Liberty.
  • CENTRAL – Bonnaroo Music & Arts Festival, Manchester, TN (June 12-15) – many people wondered what was going on when a new festival was first announced in 2002 on a 700 acre farm in Tennessee. But the detractors have long since been silenced by Bonnaroo, now one of the country’s most famous music festivals. 2009 brings yet another eclectic and stellar lineup headlined by Bruce Springsteen, Snoop Dogg, Phish and Wilco.
  • CENTRAL – Lollapalooza, Chicago, IL (August 7-9) – consider Lollapalooza as the grandfather of national music festivals. It’s been around longer than just about every other major Summer festival around, originally created by Jane’s Addiction singer Perry Farrell way back in 1991. The fact Lollapalooza no longer tours the country each Summer also works to your advantage – the festival now permanently resides in wonderful Summer climes of Chicago. Headliners this year include Depeche Mode, Kings of Leon and The Killers.
  • WEST – Telluride Bluegrass Festival, Telluride, CO (June 18-21) – you know you have a good thing going when your festival has been ongoing for 36 years. That’s exactly the advantage of the long-running Telluride Bluegrass Festival, a celebration of a distinctly American musical style nestled in the scenic heights of the Rocky Mountains. This year’s lineup includes a diverse roster of performers including David Byrne, Elvis Costello as well as old favorites like Jerry Douglas.

Ready for an encore? We only had space to list a few of our favorite summer musical events here. What did we miss? Have a favorite festival you think we should know about? Leave us your thoughts in the comments and there very well may be a Summer music roundup “Part II” in the near future.

Five reasons to stay on hiking trails: One can save your life.

by Jamie Rhein on

As spring beckons people to outdoor endeavors, it doesn’t hurt to do a run-down of what is the best outdoor behavior to stay safe and not damage nature in the process of enjoying it. Here are five reasons for staying on a trail when hiking. They are not in any order of importance except for the last one. That one is the most important.

After Pat Quackenbush, the naturalist at Hocking Hills State Park in Ohio introduces himself at the beginning of the naturalist led night hike to Ash Cave, he talks about the three-foot drop on the right side of the trail further along the path. When I took such a hike, he advised the 150 plus people who had come to be wowed to stay closer to the left and watch out for that drop. This leads to Reason Number 1.

  • Reason 1: There may be places where the trail has eroded at the edges or where there is a dangerous spot to be aware of. Paying attention to the trail also helps you see roots, rocks or branches along the path that may twist an ankle or cause a fall. This also helps keep you aware of slick spots caused by mud or wet leaves.
  • Reason 2: It protects the environment. When you step off trails, you damage the ecosystem. Often there are rare plants, moss, lichen, bugs or whatever that are in balance with each other. Your boot or sneaker-clad foot can do enough damage in one second that takes years to undo.
  • Reason 3: Depending upon where you’re hiking, birds can be nesting near the trail. Your intrusion can mess up the procreation process. Even worse, you could step on a nest and take out the bird family.
  • Reason 4: Staying on a trail helps prevent you from getting lost. You still might get lost, but at least if you’re on a trail, there’s a path for people to follow to find you. If you go bushwhacking in the woods, lots of luck with that.
  • Reason 5: It can save your life! During his talk Quackenbush also said that hiking at night without a naturalist at Hocking Hills State Park is not allowed. This is for good reason. The park has cliffs and drop-offs galore. If you don’t know where they are, you can fall. In the best case scenerio, you twist an ankle. In the worst case, you die. That’s what happened this past weekend at one section of the park. A 20-year old woman scrambled up off the trail, only to fall. She later died at the hospital.

Bonus Reason: Reason 5 reminded me of this reason. If you die while hiking, your family and friends could be forever haunted by your fall. When my husband was in his 20s, one of his friends fell off a cliff in Glacier National Park in Montana. My husband was working with him at one of the lodges the time. Years later, my husband still talks about that day as if it just happened.

Seriously, folks. Stay on that trail. It’s a trail and it’s marked for good reason.

*The first photo was taken by desparil on a mountain summit in Corsica, France.

Skiing in Maine offers bargains in March

by Jamie Rhein on

When I think of Maine, I think of leaping off barnacle covered rocks into the ocean and eating clams dipped in butter in Ogunquit like I did one summer when I went there to visit a high school friend. She was was working as a waitress at a hotel resort and I was a kitchen grunt and laundry girl at a kids camp–the only way I could afford making it to camp as a high schooler. Whenever else I’ve been to Maine, the theme has been the same–beach seafood,and leisurely strolls. Just recently I’ve thought of a different scene.

A friend of mine–a different one–just emailed me this week with news that he expected to be skiing in Maine until April. He lives near Portland. With the 70 degree weekend we’re having in Ohio, I’d say my one-day pass for tubing at Snow Trails will go unused. Maine is a different story. If I lived there, I’d go tubing and more. Perhaps, I’d dust off those cross-country skis of mine propped in a corner of our basement.

With the snow that socked in the northeast the beginning of this past week, the skiing in Maine has had an extra boost. The Ski Maine Association Web site offers links to each of the Alpine and Nordic ski areas and tells when it last snowed at each. Most places just got fresh snow.

The events page on the site offers a list of the myriad activities that are going on through the middle of April. I have to say the 22nd Annual Parrot Head/Bust N Burn Festival sounds intriguing. It’s taking place at Sunday River, April 3-5. Here’s an article in Boston.com from last year about the event. Key lime pie, Jimmy Buffet music and skiing are involved.

As a note, Sunday River is offering lodge and ski packages through March with an even greater price drop during the middle of the week. If you buy lift tickets ahead of time, you get a 10% discount. The Ski Maine Association also is offering discounts through the Maine Winter Activities Pass. Before you head somewhere, check out the deals.

The photo is of Sugar Loaf. College students who show ID can ski for $39 during mid-week days. That means Mon.-Thursday.

For those looking for skiing longer into the season, I’d seriously think about heading to Maine. Surely you can find steamed clams to dip in butter which could tide you over until summer.

Here’s an events page for what to do in Ogunquit in the winter. On Wednesday nights at Tapas and Tini’s there’s Divine and Dine–where you can have a choice of entrees that come with side dishes for $9.99. The deal ends the beginning of June.

The photo from Maine Coast Semester is of a winter trip to Holbrook Pond. Maine Coast Semester offers wilderness trips year round for adults and young people. Just another way to see Maine in the winter–or any season.

Bike and cruise options for Alaska and Caribbean

by Jamie Rhein on

Here’s a cruise option that combines two different elements: biking and cruise ship amenities. The company Bike and Cruise, paired with Norwegian Cruise Lines offers unique vacation options in Alaska, Europe and the Caribben. Each day the ship takes you to a new port where you set off on your bicycle to enjoy the sights and scenery.

The cycling portion is led by an expert cyclist which certainly has benefits. The beauty of this sort of bicycling trip is that you don’t have to schlep all you gear with you. Plus, after a hard day of cycling, there’s a hot tub to enjoy, oodles of food options and all the rest of the amenities on a ship.

According to the Bike and Cruise trip descriptions, when you’re on the ship, you’re able to do what you want and eat with who you want to spend time with. It’s not like you have to be with just the people who are part of your tour group.

Years ago, I did an organized cycling trip in Western Australia. Except for the fact that, in order to take the trip, I chaperoned 20 high school-aged kids, mostly boys, it was grand, particularly on the days I was able to head off alone. Even fifteen minutes can work wonders.

I read in the Columbus Dispatch travel briefs that the Alaska cruise is to sail from Seattle on June 28th and the trip goes until July 5. The website reflects the 2008 dates, so if you’re interested, contact the company. The cruise dates for the Caribbean and Europe are not yet listed either.