August 8, 2010
From the National Park Service website:
America’s Best Idea – the national parks – gets even better this year with several fee-free days at more than 100 national parks that usually charge entrance fees. Fee waiver includes: entrance fees, commercial tour fees, and transportation entrance fees. Other fees such as reservation, camping, tours, concession and fees collected by third parties are not included unless stated otherwise.
Mark your calendar for fee-free days left this year:
* August 14-15, 2010
* September 25, 2010
(Public Lands Day)
* November 11, 2010
(Veterans Day)
And to make the fun even more affordable, many national park concessioners are joining the National Park Service in welcoming visitors on this summer’s fee free weekends with the their own special offers.
Here’s a tip – many of your 392 national parks NEVER charge an entrance fee. So start Planning Your Visit!
Do click the links to get to additional information!!
Check out other ideas and activities to do with kids on https://mygrandmasue.wordpress.com
by the author of the award-winning children’s book Grandpa, Do It! I Do It, Too!
🙂
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Posted by mygrandmasue
December 19, 2009
A park naturalist at the El Dorado Nature Center will be guiding a post-holiday trail walk on December 26 from 10 am until noon. The cost is $3/person and you must register in advance. Call 562-570-1745. Walk off some of those Christmas Dinner calories! 🙂
The El Dorado Nature Center is located at 7550 E. Spring St in Long Beach. Here are some Yelp reviews.
The Center is across the street from the El Dorado Regional Park, which has picnic areas, archery range, stocked lakes, pedal boats, physical fitness course, radio controlled model sailboat and model airplane areas, Caboose Corners train ride and other activities.
Junior Olympic Archery Development (JOAD) holds free archery instruction with their equipment or your own. There is a one hour safety/orientation class held regularly. For more information, to confirm class schedule or to schedule groups, call Aletha Donathan, Head Archery Instructor at (562) 688-9666.
For more interesting info, check out my website at https://mygrandmasue.wordpress.com
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Posted by mygrandmasue
September 18, 2009
Lots of parks and reserves are listed at the Orange County website. The Orange County Register has a link with outdoor actities and events that has great ideas for family fun! Enjoy!
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Posted by mygrandmasue
August 20, 2009
Summer days at the lake were always memorable! The August 2009 Sunset Magazine has two articles about lakes: Lake Tahoe – where Sand Harbor is the place to swim – and then the Top 10 Lakeside Camps – the on-line article has 15, including the best photo ops, sunsets, fun, small town feel, and four-star food!
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Posted by mygrandmasue
August 19, 2009
The August 2009 Sunset Magazine has a great article by Peter Fish and photographed by Ian Shive on National Parks With Amazing Views: Grand Teton National Park, Yosemite National Park, Channel Islands National Park, Canyonlands National Park and Yellowstone National Park. It has an on-line link to an interactive page with lots of information on Glacier National Park, Grand Canyon National Park, Grand Teton National Park, Olympic National Park, Yellowstone National Park, Yosemite National Park, and Zion National Park. Watch the video of Sunset editor-in-chief Katie Tamony interviewing Ken Burns, who is the filmmaker of “National Parks: America’s Best Idea” – PBS will show it on September 27. The other videos are also very good. There are suggestions, photos and a map where you click on the park for even more info on activities, accommodations, campgrounds, and “top wow spots” from Sunset. I found it quite awesome!
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Posted by mygrandmasue
July 6, 2009
I haven’t had a non-western blog in a while. A very long time ago we visited the awesome Mammoth Cave National Park in Cave City, Kentucky. It is a totally fun spot for the family to explore.
There are the cave tours. There are more than 70 miles of backcountry trails through forested hills for hikers and bicyclists. There is canoeing, kayaking, swimming and fishing on the Green River. There is horseback riding on 60 miles of trails. Also possible is camping and backcountry camping. Special family and children’s activities are available, as well – like Yogi Bear’s Jellystone Park! These pages from the Mammoth Cave National Park website provide everything you need to plan an expedition in and around the world’s longest known cave.
Then there is a lot more commercialized stuff, too.
Hey, you corvette lovers! The National Corvette Museum is in nearby Bowling Green. Of course, you knew that already…it’s for the rest of us to find!
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Posted by mygrandmasue
June 16, 2009
The Long Beach Press Telegram carried an Associated Press article by Catherine Teal about the great bargains and beautiful scenery to be enjoyed if you visit Aspen, CO in the non-ski months. I couldn’t find the article on-line, so you’ll need to check out the Aspen Chamber of Commerce website for details. There are 50% off deals for booking over a Wednesday night. What sounded awesome to explore is Maroon Lake in the Maroon Bells wilderness area; however, it sounds like everybody is doin’ it from the USDA Forest Service website. Shuttle buses are in service to help with the traffic jams. This news release from 05/19/2009: On-Mountain Activities, Camp Aspen/Snowmass and Bluegrass Sunday Line Up for Summer 2009 captures oodles of summer events to include Silver Queen Gondola rides, alpine sightseeing and hiking, mountain biking, skateboarding, rock-climbing wall, camping, guided hikes and walks, disc golfing, fishing, backcountry hikes and Hatha yoga, storytelling and campfire sing-alongs.
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Posted by mygrandmasue
June 13, 2009
As a child living and learning in Wisconsin, I knew the Wisconsin Dells were the only part of Wisconsin that did not get flattened and scraped by the ancient glaciers. Very much later in life I explored them a little bit. The Wisconsin Dells are great for family expleriences galore! The Wilderness Resort website has all kinds of ideas for activities.
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Posted by mygrandmasue
June 6, 2009
This next week (June 6-14) is National Fishing and Boating Week. It is every year for the first full week of June. It coincides with Free Fishing Days in most of the States. Free Fishing Day means Grandpa can take the grandkids fishing and not need a license to do so! Check out the details at www.takemefishing.com. You can select your state to see if and when your state’s Free Fishing Day is.
The Reno Gazette Journal article identified June 13 to be Free Fishing Day at Nevada’s Division of State Parks parks. According to Dave Morrow, administrator of the Nevada Division of State Parks, “all of our water-based parks are participating by giving free entrance to visitors who show fishing poles at the park entrance.” Some of the participating parks are Washoe Lake, Sand Harbor, Dayton, Rye Patch State Recreation Area and Fort Churchill State Historic Park.
From the Nevada Department of Wildlife site, the Sparks Marina will have Rotary members from Sparks and Reno and staff from the Nevada Department of Wildlife on hand to assist those with little or no fishing experience. Fishing equipment will be available for children to use if they don’t have their own. Parents must accompany their children to the event.
Leave a Comment » | Nature Activities, Places to Explore, Sport Activity | Tagged: boating, child, children, Dayton, family, fishing, Fort Churchill State Historic Park, Free Fishing Days, fun, grandchild, grandchildren, grandma, grandpa, grandparent, Green Hour, kids, National Fishing and Boating Week, nature, Places to Go, Rye Patch State Recreation Area, Sand Harbor, Washoe Lake | Permalink
Posted by mygrandmasue
May 25, 2009
A great place to fish or birdwatch with Grandpa is Horseshoe Lake in Southern Illinois near Cairo. It has lots of large-mouth bass and catfish. The whole lake is 4 feet deep (3 ft average). It used to be part of the Mississippi River. There are 15 bald eagles in the Horseshoe Lake area in winter – they like the over 150,000 Canadian Geese that show up too! There is another Horseshoe Lake closer to St. Louis that has Cahokian significance and also the same kind of outdoor experiences available: fishing, boating, hiking, camping, birding and picnic areas.
Leave a Comment » | Nature Activities, Places to Explore | Tagged: birding, boating, child, children, family, fishing, fun, grandchild, grandchildren, grandma, grandpa, Green Hour, hiking, Horseshoe Lake, kids, nature, picnic area, Places to Go, Southern Illinois | Permalink
Posted by mygrandmasue
MyGrandmaSue 