A Camping Dad’s Thanksgiving

I'm most thankful for being blessed with a family that loves the outdoors

I am most thankful for being blessed with a family that loves the outdoors

It’s been another crazy year for these Oregonians in Silicon Valley. The Sierra Nevada Mountains, the Carmel Valley, the Santa Cruz Mountains and, yes, even the House of Mouse. In all, we put well over 5,000 miles under our belts this year, from Southern California to Eastern Washington – in this, a year that saw $4.50 gasoline.

California will never be our real home, but we don’t regret the many great places we’ve been able to visit here. It’s difficult to comprehend the shear size and variation in terrain of California, even for many Californians. We can camp at the beach one weekend, and be in Yosemite National Park the next; from sea level to 10,000 feet is only a four-hour drive.

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Top 5 parks for cozy camping?

Dry Tortugas National Park - cozy?

Dry Tortugas National Park - cozy?

As I get ready to fly back home from Dallas today, I see that the Examiner has an article in their Outdoor Travel section entitled “Frommer’s top 5 parks for cozy camping.” Here are the picks:

  1. Dry Tortugas National Park, Key West, FL
  2. Haleakala National Park, Maui, HI
  3. Virgin Islands National Park, Saint John and St. Thomas
  4. Channel Islands National Park, California
  5. Volcanoes National Park, Hawaii

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3 Mid-Range Binoculars for Camping and Hiking

Weaver Grand Slam, Minox BV and Vortex Diamondback - 3 value model binoculars at the top of their class

Weaver Grand Slam, Minox BV and Vortex Diamondback - 3 value model binoculars at the top of their class

There is a lot to see when you go camping, particularly in the early morning and evening when much of the wildlife is out-and-about (but the people aren’t!). A good set of binoculars can enhance your wildlife viewing experience and these three models from Weaver® (strangely, no information on their website), Minox® and Vortex® are all great binoculars, even though they are considered low to mid-range by their respective manufacturers.

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National Parks under Assault

From cellphone towers to gas drilling and air pollution, our nation's parks are under assault

From cellphone towers to gas drilling and air pollution, our nation

It seems you just can’t turn around these days without stumbling across another story about modern civilization intruding upon our nation’s great parks. I started noticing it in September, when the Bozeman Daily Chronicle ran a story about the Yellowstone Park Wireless Communications Plan, which seeks to add a number of cellphone towers in the park. That was followed in November by the announcement out of Washington that President Bush planned to open public lands near Arches National Park, Dinosaur National Monument, and Canyonlands National Park to oil and gas drilling. Now today, as I unwind in my Dallas hotel room and catch-up on the day’s events, I see the Washington Post is reporting that the EPA is finalizing new air-quality rules that would make it easier to build coal-fired power plants, oil refineries and other major polluters near national parks and wilderness areas.

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