Snow means shutdowns at the many national parks that go into hibernation for the winter, but for a select few parks the fluffy white stuff is a harbinger of action, not rest -- an opportunity for visitors to slip on their skis or snowboards for some alpine adventures. Three U.S. national parks include ski areas, facilities that … Continue reading Hit the Slopes at These National Parks This Winter
If your Thanksgiving feast includes turkey, cornbread, pumpkin, squash, and beer, you're eating a pretty similar meal to that enjoyed during the first celebratory meal shared by the Pilgrims and the Wampanoag tribe in 1621. Visitors to Plimoth Plantation, a living-history museum near the original site of the Plymouth Colony, can still enjoy a traditional meal on … Continue reading Good Gravy! Top Turkey Day Destinations in the National Parks
Admission to U.S. National Parks is free today, Nov. 11, in honor of Veteran's Day. It's one of just a handful of free parks days each year, and the last one of 2015. Please take some time out of your day to thank a military veteran for their service, and use the opportunity to reflect … Continue reading Celebrate Veteran’s Day at a National Park
Remember when you were a kid and every cloud looked like a cat, or a bear, or your Uncle Louie? You can play a similar game at Bryce Canyon National Park, where the awe-inspiring Bryce Amphitheater is filled with towering "hoodoos" in a seemingly endless variety of shapes and sizes. The Paiute Indians believe the … Continue reading See Bryce Canyon with the Eyes of a Child
Death Valley National Park is the biggest national park in the contiguous United States, but it also includes a tiny little satellite location in the neighboring Amargosa Valley that's well worth a visit. Actually, let's amend that: the Devil's Hole unit of Death Valley National Park is kind of a dud, even if it is … Continue reading Ash Meadows: The Mojave’s Miracle Oasis on the Doorstep of Death Valley
You know what's spooky? How quickly a community can go from thriving to desolate -- and we're not just talking about the fictional, zombie-plagued world of "The Walking Dead" and "Fear the Walking Dead" here. The U.S. is dotted with ghost towns, and while some of them were "never-was" places, others are disturbing reminders of … Continue reading National Park Ghost Towns: Halloween Haunts and History, Too!
“Hmm! Adventure. Hmmpf! Excitement. A Jedi craves not these things.” -- Yoda By the time Luke Skywalker meets Yoda on Dagobah in Star Wars: A New Hope, it's fair to say the little guy was a little burned out. (Eight hundred years of battling the Dark Side and training annoying twerps like "Little Anny" Skywalker … Continue reading Visit the Forests of Endor and the Sands of Tatooine in These National Parks
With Halloween just around the corner, what better place to be the last week of October than exploring the ghost towns of Death Valley National Park? That's where we're heading as we put some final touches on our (spoiler alert!) forthcoming Chimani Death Valley app, which includes detailed descriptions on such now-deserted gold-rush boom towns … Continue reading Trails to Terror: Here Are Some of the Scariest Spots in the National Parks
The bacchanal of Bourbon Street is what most people envision when they think about New Orleans, but there's much more to the French Quarter than booze and beads. Founded in 1718, New Orleans was born on this sliver of high ground along the Mississippi and has a rich history suffused with a melting pot of … Continue reading Two National Parks Bring the History and Culture of New Orleans to Life
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