Texsox Posted July 25, 2012 Share Posted July 25, 2012 After a week in Yellowstone I must say what an amazing place. We saw grizzly bear, elk, antelope, sheep, bison, martin's, wild flowers, stunning vistas from valley to mountains. Ate some great food, camp in some great spots. What I can't understand is why they spend so much time on silly geysers, old volcanoes, weird geo-thermal pools, hot springs, and on and on. Who finds this interesting? (just kidding Balta). Once again I keep thinking I'm going to have to take Balta on my vacations to "learn me something". I am a huge National Parks fan. From Acadia to Big Bend. This trip we have visited Yellowstone, Grand Teton, and Rocky Mountain (plus some other NPS sites) and will also stop in Guadalupe, Carlsbad Caverns, and Big Bend. The facilities range from excellent to primitive. The employees (yes those government types we like to complain about) range from awesome to mearly great. The altitude is kicking my ass. The drive through Rocky Mountain National Park scared the s*** out of me. I prefer beaches to cliffs that drop off 5,000 feet less than 18" from my car tires. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cabiness42 Posted July 25, 2012 Share Posted July 25, 2012 Only got to spend one night in Yellowstone but loved it. Other National Parks I've had the enjoyment of visiting: Grand Canyon Hot Springs Rocky Mountain Everglades Mammoth Cave Great Smoky Mountains Arches National Monuments: Devil's Tower Fort McHenry Little Bighorn Sonoran Desert Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BigEdWalsh Posted July 25, 2012 Share Posted July 25, 2012 Loved Yellowstone, been there a couple of times. this spring my oldest daughter and I drove down to spring training. The Oregon coast was awesome. We spent a day at Joshua Tree National Park in California and I really loved that. Coming back from spring training we saw numerous national monuments and national parks among them, Montezuma Castle, El Morro National Monument (really cool!), Petroglyph National Mon. in New Mexico (a day out of the way, but worth it), Petrified Forest and Painted Desert, Grand Canyon, Arches, Zion and Bryce Canyon. It was a great trip. My daughter took about 4,000 pictures (not kidding!). There was one spot in southern Utah where we drove up a winding road on the side of a mountain with a cliff like you described, Tex. This was a narrow gravel road. I was really scared and would never do that again. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OilCan Posted July 25, 2012 Share Posted July 25, 2012 Yellowstone and the Grand Tetons are on my List to visit. Sadly, the only National Park that I've been to is Carlsbad Caverns. Pretty awesome site. I must increase this list. I've been to many state parks (Sandia Peak in New Mexico, plus some Texas State Parks). Garner SP is my favorite in TX. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Balta1701 Posted July 29, 2012 Share Posted July 29, 2012 I covered Acadia, Shenandoah, and most of the Blue Ridge Parkway on this most recent trip, in addition to the National Mall and the historic districts in downtown Philadelphia which the Park Service also manages. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kapkomet Posted July 30, 2012 Share Posted July 30, 2012 QUOTE (Balta1701 @ Jul 29, 2012 -> 06:38 PM) I covered Acadia, Shenandoah, and most of the Blue Ridge Parkway on this most recent trip, in addition to the National Mall and the historic districts in downtown Philadelphia which the Park Service also manages. I saw your pics from Acadia. I love that place. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Y2HH Posted July 30, 2012 Share Posted July 30, 2012 I just got back from a week in the Black Hills/Custer State Park/Rushmore/Deadwood area. Though this is the fourth time I've been there. It's good to get out on the road once in a while and away from the City life. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
StrangeSox Posted July 30, 2012 Share Posted July 30, 2012 I spent four days in Yosemite in June. Coulda spent four months. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BigEdWalsh Posted July 30, 2012 Share Posted July 30, 2012 QUOTE (Y2HH @ Jul 30, 2012 -> 07:26 AM) I just got back from a week in the Black Hills/Custer State Park/Rushmore/Deadwood area. Though this is the fourth time I've been there. It's good to get out on the road once in a while and away from the City life. I love that area and the Badlands are awesome too. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Y2HH Posted July 30, 2012 Share Posted July 30, 2012 QUOTE (BigEdWalsh @ Jul 30, 2012 -> 11:25 AM) I love that area and the Badlands are awesome too. Stopped there, too...but like I said, this was probably my fourth time in the area...I love that area. RMNP is also a nice area. All of our national parks/forests are excellent. I wish they had more funding, however. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Texsox Posted August 3, 2012 Author Share Posted August 3, 2012 This trip we covered Yellowstone, Grand Teton, Rocky Mountain (f*** the road from Grand Lake to Estes, never again), Carlsbad Caverns, Guadalupe, and Big Bend. I received a job offer from the school in Big Bend. Four teachers, 20+- students. They needed 4-8 grade Generalist (check) ELA / History emphasis (check) ESL Cert (check) Cross Country coach (check) Included is a 3 bedroom home in Big Bend for $460 per month rent. Basically the school is for NPS personnel, Border Patrol, and a few concessionaire kids. If circumstances were different I would consider it. Living in my favorite National Park would be cool. In the past couple years we have toured the Natchez Trace, Blue Ridge Parkway, Shenandoah, Smokey Mountains, and Acadia. We've become Passport stamp junkies. Next year we are thinking Civil War sites or Utah for our summer vacation. I am also looking onto a teacher/ranger/teacher program that is active in a few parks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spiritinthesky Posted August 21, 2012 Share Posted August 21, 2012 We stayed nearby in Lee Vining and drove into the park.just an amazing place. Took some great pics of the lakes and mountains, I would like to go back and camp in the park. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
southsider2k5 Posted August 21, 2012 Share Posted August 21, 2012 QUOTE (Spiritinthesky @ Aug 21, 2012 -> 02:14 PM) We stayed nearby in Lee Vining and drove into the park.just an amazing place. Took some great pics of the lakes and mountains, I would like to go back and camp in the park. You from Manchester England or Indiana? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Swingandalongonetoleft Posted August 21, 2012 Share Posted August 21, 2012 QUOTE (Tex @ Jul 25, 2012 -> 08:29 AM) The altitude is kicking my ass. The drive through Rocky Mountain National Park scared the s*** out of me. I prefer beaches to cliffs that drop off 5,000 feet less than 18" from my car tires. When I was young we took a bus tour through Europe. I retroactively s*** my pants every time I think about some of the mountainous roads and terrain that our sleep-deprived driver navigated through at night, in rainy weather, and so on... I also remember that he was fond of the drink during dinnertime. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
StrangeSox Posted August 22, 2012 Share Posted August 22, 2012 We made sure we were at least back to the valley in Yosemite before dusk. I really didn't want to be stuck on a road like the Tioga Pass at night. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GoSox05 Posted August 22, 2012 Share Posted August 22, 2012 I loved Yosemite. I can't wait to go back. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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