Ayy. Congaree was surprisingly one of my favorites because of the above. Place was literally crawling with wildlife.
Favorite National Park?
130,229 Views |
693 Replies |
Last: 2 mo ago by mpl35
Head Ninja In Charge
Joined:
Oct 10, 2005
Posts:
18,973
How long do you want to ignore this user?
AG
Head Ninja In Charge said:
Ayy. Congaree was surprisingly one of my favorites because of the above. Place was literally crawling with wildlife.
We were pleasantly surprised. The best way to see it is on the water. We walked the boardwalk trail and it was fine but it was nothing like the kayak trip we did earlier in the day. You're right, it was full of wildlife.
I need to go back for the fireflies...
I've been stalking the Yellowstone lodging site and I think I checked as recently as a couple of days ago and they were only booking through May 2022. I checked just now and they're booking through November and every single option is booked. Website error? Are there services people hire to check these for them like reservations at Torey Pines?
Considering this itinerary:
3 nights in Jackson/area for Grant Teton
2 nights in West Yellowstone for Yellowstone
3 nights in West Glacier for Glacier (hubs and I have been but kids have not)
1 nights east of Waterton
1 night in Canmore (to visit Banff)
Depart Calgary
Family of 4: Hubs/me (late 40's), college-aged son and 10 y/o daughter
Considering this itinerary:
3 nights in Jackson/area for Grant Teton
2 nights in West Yellowstone for Yellowstone
3 nights in West Glacier for Glacier (hubs and I have been but kids have not)
1 nights east of Waterton
1 night in Canmore (to visit Banff)
Depart Calgary
Family of 4: Hubs/me (late 40's), college-aged son and 10 y/o daughter
I just returned from a Vegas weekend, and we rented a car and drove to Death Valley NP. I'm not sure I'd rank it at the top of my list, but man, it was way cooler (haha) than I thought it would be. Otherworldly landscapes and some really great slot canyons to explore. And there is something pretty cool about standing at the base of a mountain and looking WAY up to a sign that says "sea level".
That's the way I felt about DV, too...as well as others on this thread. I was bummed when the ice storm cancelled my trip out there in February, as we had planned to go a lot deeper into the park. Next year...
For park #47, we flew up to Cuyahoga Valley. It has its pros and cons. It's small. It has neighborhoods all in/around it so you never feel like you've escaped into true nature. There are highways that bridge overhead. That said, it does its job well: it protects natural resources for all see. It even reclaimed land that was once industrialized. So was it my favorite? Definitely not. But did we have fun? Absolutely. Would I ever make a special trip to go back? Nope.
I'll go with Arches.
Head Ninja In Charge
Joined:
Oct 10, 2005
Posts:
18,973
How long do you want to ignore this user?
AG
Stopped by White Sands again last night. Big Tatooine Energy.
National Park #48 - Katmai
Just incredible...
This is from the Valley of 10,000 Smokes about 30 miles from the bears. What you see if about 70 feet of pyroclastic flow leftover from an eruption in 1912, the largest in recorded history. It is 700 feet deep in some spots.
Just incredible...
This is from the Valley of 10,000 Smokes about 30 miles from the bears. What you see if about 70 feet of pyroclastic flow leftover from an eruption in 1912, the largest in recorded history. It is 700 feet deep in some spots.
Head Ninja In Charge
Joined:
Oct 10, 2005
Posts:
18,973
How long do you want to ignore this user?
AG
Holy hell. Are these your actual pics? That you took? In person??? That's how nuts they are.
I'll add some from Katmai NP.
Kenai Fjords NP
Denali NP
Head Ninja In Charge
Joined:
Oct 10, 2005
Posts:
18,973
How long do you want to ignore this user?
AG
This thread is on fiyaaaaah today.
Wrangell St. Elias National Park - #49
Two days out on/in the glacier:
Three days in the backcountry at Nizina Lake. It was my wife's first time camping and the most remote I've been in a tent. Luckily it was like car camping, but with a bush plane.
Our campsite is on bottom right:
We got our water off the icebergs. So cold...
The scale of the size of these icebergs are hard to see but that gorilla looking chunk of ice was probably 100' tall.
Two days out on/in the glacier:
Three days in the backcountry at Nizina Lake. It was my wife's first time camping and the most remote I've been in a tent. Luckily it was like car camping, but with a bush plane.
Our campsite is on bottom right:
We got our water off the icebergs. So cold...
The scale of the size of these icebergs are hard to see but that gorilla looking chunk of ice was probably 100' tall.
BSD said:
Wrangell St. Elias National Park - #49
Two days out on/in the glacier:
Three days in the backcountry at Nizina Lake. It was my wife's first time camping and the most remote I've been in a tent. Luckily it was like car camping, but with a bush plane.
Our campsite is on bottom right:
We got our water off the icebergs. So cold...
The scale of the size of these icebergs are hard to see but that gorilla looking chunk of ice was probably 100' tall.
Did you go through an outfitter for this?
Marauder Blue 6 said:
Did you go through an outfitter for this?
Yes. We hired a guide too since being way out there with me having little backcountry experience didn't sound too smart to me. St. Elias Alpine Guides. The guy filling up the bottle was our guide. He (and the company) was awesome.
One more from WSE ( my guide just sent it)
Kobuk Valley National Park...our 50th!!!
Weather was bad so the fishing trip was cancelled but the flight out to the sand dunes was beautiful. And yes, there are sand dunes up here, 30 miles north of the Arctic Circle! Also saw about 16 moose and a bear on the ride out. So cool.
Weather was bad so the fishing trip was cancelled but the flight out to the sand dunes was beautiful. And yes, there are sand dunes up here, 30 miles north of the Arctic Circle! Also saw about 16 moose and a bear on the ride out. So cool.
that is incredible!!!!!!
Kenai Fjords never disappoints!
Our 51st national parkand the newest designated park: New River Gorge.
Great Basin National Park: our 52nd. This is one we need to get back to, as weather came in and closed the road to the hikes we had planned at 10-11k feet. We got up to about 8000' and had to turn around. The next morning was perfect at the base but the road remained closed. The caves were a nice consolation but I think the real adventure there is up on the mountain.
If you come up from Vegas, stop by Cathedral Gorge State Park in Panaca.
If you come up from Vegas, stop by Cathedral Gorge State Park in Panaca.
I think I've said this on other threads but you have life figured out bsd. Travel to awesome places, do cool adventures, and then round it out with great food and better wine.
NoHo Hank said:
I think I've said this on other threads but you have life figured out bsd. Travel to awesome places, do cool adventures, and then round it out with great food and better wine.
The best part of all is that I get to do all of this with my son. And we're just getting started…
Head Ninja In Charge
Joined:
Oct 10, 2005
Posts:
18,973
How long do you want to ignore this user?
AG
Was in Vegas for the week, so here are two landscape snaps from a couple of quick day trips to Death Valley and Zion. Didn't even do much in both this time around, just took in the views. I love them both so much.
I just realized how far behind I was on this thread.
LOVE all the pictures!
LOVE all the pictures!
Nice! We are heading to Death Valley again in about a month. We had to cancel last years trip out there because of the freeze. Thinking of heading up to the Racetrack this time. We'll see what happens…
Forgot to add something back in November. About 30 years ago the California Condor was extinct in the wild. Just 22 birds were alive in captivity. Through the work of conservation efforts and selective breeding, the species is making a slow comeback. The number of condors in the wild is now estimated to be over 300. That's why I was so excited to see this one and its nesting partner flying along the cliffs of Angels Landing in Zion. This is certainly one of the top highlights of all my experiences in the national parks.
Oh, and I survived Angels Landing.
Oh, and I survived Angels Landing.
Anyone have any recs for Saguaro? Headed there this weekend for a few days.
https://www.desertmuseum.org/BlueAg2003 said:
Anyone have any recs for Saguaro? Headed there this weekend for a few days.
https://pimaair.org/
We saw one in Pinnacles....it was awesome.
My son had done a school project on the condors several years prior so this was a big deal for him. When we saw it we darn near ran up the trail about a quarter of a mile and then pulled out the binoculars....I snapped a picture of him - you can see where he just dropped his stuff behind him to use the binoculars....it was great. One of my favorite memories of the entire California trip.
Then we got ice cream at the camp store.
edit: I found the picture
My son had done a school project on the condors several years prior so this was a big deal for him. When we saw it we darn near ran up the trail about a quarter of a mile and then pulled out the binoculars....I snapped a picture of him - you can see where he just dropped his stuff behind him to use the binoculars....it was great. One of my favorite memories of the entire California trip.
Then we got ice cream at the camp store.
edit: I found the picture
Haha. Awesome. We looked out there in 2017 but didn't see any.
CanyonAg77 said:https://www.desertmuseum.org/BlueAg2003 said:
Anyone have any recs for Saguaro? Headed there this weekend for a few days.
https://pimaair.org/
We like the desert museum as well. There's also the Titan missile silo on the south side of town.
BSD said:CanyonAg77 said:https://www.desertmuseum.org/BlueAg2003 said:
Anyone have any recs for Saguaro? Headed there this weekend for a few days.
https://pimaair.org/
We like the desert museum as well. There's also the Titan missile silo on the south side of town.
Although not in the NP this was a fun easy hike. http://www.arizonahikersguide.com/all-hikes/hike-seven-falls-tucson?format=amp
Featured Stories
See All
FINAL from Reed Arena: No. 13 Texas A&M 92, Abilene Christian 54
by Richard Zane
A&M's season ends with microcosmic second-half collapse in Las Vegas
by Olin Buchanan
Learned, Loved, Loathed: USC 35, Texas A&M 31 (2024 Las Vegas Bowl)
by Olin Buchanan