the National Parks

[lprof]

... just caught a bit of last nights' PBS episode of Ken Burns' The National Parks: America's Best Idea.

... nice to know that full videos of the series are available for watching online now - 10/9:

http://www.pbs.org/nationalparks/watch-video/#872

[soxfan22]

I caught a bit of that the other night. Good stuff, and nobody does it better than Ken Burns, IMO.

A dream of my Dad's was to drive cross-country one day to see th National Parks. He died at 46, and never had the opportunity. My wife (GF at the time) and I (along w her parents) drove cross country back in 1999 (I was in Sequoia NP when JFK's plane went down - sad day). Anyway, always thought I did that trip to realize my dad's dream, as corny as that sounds. We drove out to South Dakota (Black Hills/Rushmore/ETC), through part of Wisconsin (Hi Pete!), out through Reno, up through Truckee and Donner Pass, to San Fran (seeing the Golden Gate when you come through the tunnel (if I reacall) was surreal for an East Coaster...Then out through Fresno to Sequoia (where I was in such awe that me, of all people, signed up as a member of the Sierra Club)...Down through Barstow (where I called my grandmother who asked me "So, what does the Mojave Desert look like?"...Through Vegas...The Hoover Dam...To Utah, where we saw Arches NP, Zion, and Bryce Canyon...Through Colorado and Rocky Mountain NP, until we reached Nebraska...Wanted to stop in Omaha to see Rosenblatt Stadium, but didn't get the chance...Home from there...

An unforgettable trip...We camped the whole way in a pop-up...Took us 3 1/2 weeks. Wish we had more time...

[lprof]

... great memories - glad you took the time to go... not at all corny to follow through on your dad's dream.

Thanks for telling us about it.

[soxfan22]

Thanks Iprof...His other big place was Alaska. Someday I will do that too for him. He wasn't the type of guy to go to the Caribbean (not a beach guy), but man would he have loved the natural beauty of STJ. You don't need to be a beach person to appreciate that!

[toni]

I was all excited to watch this Sunday night only to realize our local PBS isn't HD (or maybe PBS in general isn't HD) which would have really made the images stand out. Besides that, the screen kept "pixelating" (is this a word?) and breaking up into small squares -really aggravating. Again, maybe our local PBS station was having issues. It's too bad because I was looking forward to it and instead had to throw in the tv towel. Will have to rent/buy it when it comes out maybe. Thanks for the heads up about it being online!

[PA Girl]

Hitting all the national parks is also my husband's dream. We have a few under our belt and watching the show got him motivated again. I was given "orders" to gather information and figure out a plan of attack.

I am going to get the DVDs as we are only able to catch bits and pieces of the show.

We were just talking about Alaska this weekend. Friends of ours have travelled extensively across Canada (for work and pleasure) and were surprised by Alaska as it didn't quite live it up their hopes when compared to the things they saw and did in Canada. Maybe it was the nature of the trips but he described Alaska as a lot of driving and a lot of money.

[jmq]

The HD images of the Grand Canyon the other night were awesome. I want to do the multi-day white water trip down that before I get too old. My wife doesnt want any part of it, but I think my daughter is game. I would like to combine it with some time in southern Utah to see Arches and return to Bryce.

[Lulu76]

I saw bits and pieces of it, and will definitely be buying the DVDs when they come out. Another fascinating documentary by Ken Burns.

[chicagoans]

I am so grateful to forward-looking people like Theodore Roosevelt and John Muir, who set aside places to remain untouched and enjoyed forever.

Let's hope that we're smart enough to keep them protected.

[irbgolfin]

jmq - do it! My teenage son and I did a 15 day raft through the Grand Canyon several years ago, absolutely a great trip. Save the money, schedule the time, do the whole canyon on a paddle trip (not the motorized! - they scare off wildlife!), you won't regret it. I've been to almost 20 national parks, some of them numerous times, many more monuments, seen Denali on a clear day, whales and calving glaciers in Alaska, watched Grand Geyser erupt during a full moon with 10 other people at midnight, watched the annual August meteor shower (paleides (sp?)) from RMNP during a new moon... OK, enough, you get the idea, I've had some great experiences, and rafting the Grand Canyon is #1. As for age, that's not important - we had an 82 year old on our trip. Granted he was a life long farmer and was in better shape than some of the 50s/60s, but our head guide said they frequently get older folks, not all of whom can do a ton of hiking. As long as you are flexible and can deal with the camping, it's good, the guides are wonderful and will adjust to your abilities. The guides will take the more adventurous through the rough water and pick the easier route for those who want it easier. Having said that, it is BIG water, and sometimes it only gets so easy. Definitely not for those who need to sleep in a comfy bed every night and have a daily shower, but the release form you have to sign regarding comfort (and rattlesnakes, scorpions, etc.) tends to weed out those who wouldn't care for it.

My wife and I have really enjoyed watching these shows. Even though she's not into camping, she says we should find a way to be like the Gherkes (sp?) from Lincoln NE who traveled to so many parks. No big RV for me, no camping for her, we'll have to sleep on it and find a compromise We've done some pretty long road trips, and I can't fathom how much tougher it would've been when you had gravel roads and a less reliable car many years ago, much less the early days of trains, horses, etc. and how long it would take to cross the country.

Enjoy the shows everyone, we all own a bit of the parks, I suggest getting out there and seeing some of them.

[soxfan22]

I am so grateful to forward-looking people like Theodore Roosevelt and John Muir, who set aside places to remain untouched and enjoyed forever.

Yes! And Lawrence Rockefeller! That was one cool rich guy right there.

[cptnkirk]

Just watched it the other night can't wait for more. Agree Sox thank goodness for L R for our little piece of paridise.

[jmq]

ibr - thanks for motivating testimonial on the GC rafting. What time of yr did you go?

[irbgolfin]

jmq - we went late june/early july, think we got off the river on the 5th, IIRC. had to wait until his school ended and we wanted to beat monsoon season, that was our window. by later july and into august the rain can hit. it was hot, routinely over 110, sometimes 120 during the day. dry heat, yes, but still HOT! had one short rain shower the entire time, it was while on the water, we had the option of tents but no one ever opened them, we just put out the pad and the sleeping bag and slept under the stars, the tent would've been too hot. the water is COLD! it comes out of the bottom of lake powell at mid 40s at all times of the year, and even in the heat it only warms up to mid 50s by the point where you get off the river. washing up is a "refreshing" experience. i had a light color long sleeved t shirt that i wore during the day, it was great to get it cool and slip it on, felt wonderful. we did a "combo" trip, 1 paddle boat and several oar boats, you could paddle as much as you wanted but didn't have to. also had a couple of inflatable kayaks to try. you had to pass a self rescue test to do that, I did a little kayaking but it's harder than you'd think, at least for an old guy. my son did a lot and got to do some of the smaller rapids. the guides determined your ability and what they'd let you do, balancing the desire for adventure with safety. you had to wear a wet suit in the kayak despite the heat - did I mention the water was cold? - you could die of hypothermia if you spent much time in the water.

if schedule wasn't an issue, i'd consider a cooler time of year, but would try to avoid the rainy season, not sure what that would be exactly, march/april? www.gcrg.org is a river guide organization with info and links, not a bad place to start for info.

feel free to ask questions or PM me if you'd like.

added...
got to thinking, one of our guides was a professional photographer, just found his new website, and there are still a few pics from the trip I was on.
Geoff's site:
http://www.geoffgourley.com/
go in and to grand canyon, he has some pics.

here's his old site with pics from our trip, didn't expect it to still be up!
http://www.mindspring.com/~geoffreygour ... un21-Jul5/

it was a string quartet trip, they ran one a year, the musicians were symphony pros who got a free trip in exchange for playing, they did one a year at the time and had talked about doing another.

here's the company we used, looks like they still do the music trip. they did all sorts of music, not just classical as one might expect from the symphonic strings. one of them even had some original compositions he did for the canyon trips, he'd been on several.
http://www.canyonexplorations.com/specialty_trips.php

they have all sorts of spots they set up for natural acoustics, it was great. there is a CD someone did where he took a recording crew down the canyon, too, but I've forgotten his name, might have been a clarinetist.