Best Vacation(s)

[AlumniClub]

Havent seen this mentioned here so i thought i would start this. What is the best vacation you have taken? Where was it? Would you return there? Pros and cons regarding the trip?

GB2


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[AlumniClub]

Mine was taken last year aboard a Disney cruise. Took a week long trip to st. johns, castaway key ( disneys private island ), st marten, antiqua. I would return there again anyday! The food on the ship was OUTSTANDING! I am normally picky when it comes to certain foods, but not there. From the flight there, to the flight back home it has been the greatest trip ever! I would strongly urge others to take a Disney cruise...even if you dont have children. The wife and I had probably more fun than the kids...and they had a blast! Taking another Disney cruise this December!!!

GB2

[AJE]

Sorry I wouldn't be able to pick out a specific "best vacation" because in every trip we've gone I loved!

[AJE]

Sorry I wouldn't be able to pick out a specific "best vacation" because in every trip we've gone I loved!

The following lists are favorite parks that have touched me in some way. I will gladly make a list of my favorite locations and why I choose them.

Southwest Vacations: The Desert Trails

*Arches NP, Utah
This we actually went to in 2005 for the first time, its beautiful if you get there at either in the morning or evening. Millions of years of erosion and deposition have been a continuing process. Although its base is routed from sand its teaming with color. This park is well known for its namesake, but it’s not just the arches this park is teaming with life from the predators down to endemic variety of fungus.

*Bryce Canyon NP, Utah
Once again I’m a sucker for the geology, thanks to fluvial erosion this park is know for the pinnacles which have with held time. My advices take a horseback ride you’ll come to a spectacular surprise after going through the hoodoos.

*Carlsbad Cavern NP, NM
For those who loved Mammoth Cave in the Smokies region; you’re in for a huge surprise. This living cave feels like a true underworld, stalagmite, stalactites and columns such as the Cathedral. I recall dining in the deepest cafeteria in the world. Don’t worry if you can dine with only a drip to your head I’m sure you’ll enjoy the brunch too. But the best part of this park is the very entertaining wildlife…I guess I have a few stories and hopefully you will as well someday.

*Chaco Culture NHP, NM
Anyone whom wants to experience the wilderness in the rough this is the perfect site. I guess the rangers want the visitors to experience what life was like for this capital of this Anazai Culture. No water, no electric only yourselves! This place does get cold at night so just warning you. But for being in the desert its truly unique. On our recent visit, it was very calming except for our fellow crows whom invaded the campsite for food.

*El Malpais NM, NM
This place is one of the youngest National Parks to be added to the system and its very similar to the landscape I described in Craters of the Moon. There is an unbelievable amount of volcanic cinder cones in this area which spewed out so much lava fro m the fissures that it holds the world record for widest lava tube in width and height. Also another very interesting factor about this region is its human occupancies that lived here.

*El Morro NM, NM
This is a very short drive from El Malpais. Well known for the carved signatures, dates, and messages were carved from Ancestral Peoples to the Spanish and then the Americans whom ventured threw the area. Today, El Morro National Monument protects over 2,000 inscriptions and petroglyphs, as well as Ancestral Puebloan ruins which sit atop of the 200ft high sandstone mesa.


*Great Sand Dunes National Park & Preserve, CO
Has got to be one of my most memberable adventures, gone several times to this pristine sandbox. Great Sand Dunes NM and Preserve encompasses a stunning diversity of ecological niches, you’ll journey from sand to alpine areas, all within a day’s hike! Climb the biomes of arid sabhka and sand sheet on the valley floor, up past the dunes and into piñon-juniper woodland, through shaded montane forest and finally onto the cool pristine snow caps of Sangre de Cristo Mountains at 13,000 ft. The borders between life zones are indistinct unless you have a keen eye. But each time you pause to catch your breath, you’ll find yourself surrounded by a whole different community of plants and animals. The Dunes are North America’s tallest at 750feet high and 30-mile circumference. Fauna and Flora is very much thriving, you just never know what you’ll discover! One year I surprised my parents finding the endangered Sand Cricket, or having to beep your way through the road blocked by a herd of Black Tailed Mule Deer who won’t budge, Humming Birds as you’ve never seen them before are buzzing left and right even landing on your hand. The ranger program presented is one of my favorites and afterward do stroll up the dune who knows what you’ll see for the night critters as your stargazing. Some of the dunes are Fixed which means they have plants growing but most are drifting actively, you’ll discover stars, crescents and liner dunes which’ll change on a daily basis. The mountains feed a intermediate stream bed for you to cool your feet after the adventures, but warning only safe time to go onto the dunes is early or late in the day as the temps will get over a 100 degrees.

FYI UPDATING THESE CHECK BACK

*Zion National Park, UT

*Sunset Crater Volcano National Monument, AZ

*Petrified Forest National Park, AZ

*White Sands National Monument, NM

*Fort Davis National Historical Site, TX

[AJE]

To Be Continued....

[AJE]

The following lists are favorite parks that have touched me in some way. I will gladly make a list of my favorite locations and why I choose them.

Northwest Vacations: The Mountains and Coast
*Crater Lake NP, OR
This is a favorite location of mine. Few places on earth command overwhelming awe from observers, but Crater Lake, certainly does. Even in a region of volcanic wonders, Crater Lake can only be described in superlatives. Stories of the deep blue lake can never prepare visitors for their first breathtaking look from the brink of this 6 mile wide caldera which was created by the eruption and collapse of Mt. Mazama almost 7,000 years ago Just Imagine camping a top of this huge extinct calderas, and a cool breeze coming up from the valley below. The scene looking out at Wizard Island just took my breath away. Wow this volcano is Huge! Years later I would experience a similar geological experience in S. America where we actually took a boat ride to cinder cone islands inside this active volcano.

*Craters of the Moon NM, ID
Craters of the Moon, is one of the best places in the world to see the awesome effects of volcanism. For some 15,000 years, lava eruptions have created a landscape that has forced animals and plants to adapt, and people to endure or detour, and to ponder. The topography is amazing, especially for a geography buff! Wildlife is abundent, do be careful!

FYI UPDATING THESE CHECK BACK

*Glacier National Park, MT

*Redwood National Park, CA

*Rocky Mountain National Park, CO

*Olympic National Park, WA

*Dinosaur National Monument, UT

[pk]

Wow, I just dug this post up from long ago. Bet members could add some thoughts on this now that it is summer again.

I'll be back to add some thoughts on our recent vacation. Not my favorite but still a fun time.

pk

[AJE]

The following lists are favorite parks that have touched me in some way. I will gladly make a list of my favorite locations and why I choose them.



Midwest Adventures: Journey Never Forgotten
*Bad Lands NP, SD

*Tallgrass Prairie National Preserve, KS

*Isle Royale National Park, MI

*Fort Laramine National Historical Site, WY

*Devil’s Tower National Monument, WY

*Fossil Butte National Monument, WY



FYI UPDATING THESE CHECK BACK

Originally Posted by AJE

To Be Continued....

[AJE]

The following lists are favorite parks that have touched me in some way. I will gladly make a list of my favorite locations and why I choose them.



Southeast Vacation: Savor the taste of the South

*Andersonville NHP, Georgia
I visited here at a young age but still remember it clearly. SADNESS, ANGER, ISOLATION, DISEASE and DEATH would be the words I would use to describe the overwhelming emotions. Just to give a brief perspective; Andersonville, Georgia, is the site of the best known of all the Civil War prisoner-of-war camps. Just imagine at its detrimental peak of operation around 45,000 were packed into an area of 1010’ by 780’. Of these POWs, almost 13,000 died from disease, poor sanitation, malnutrition, overcrowding, or exposure to the elements. I guess to understand you would have to see it for yourself.

*Biscayne NP, FL
I’m sorry but if you go anywhere near Miami you need to stop here. I have done the glass bottom boat and snorkeling. I loved the reefs so much that I came home that summer and purchased a 45-gallon tank, which for the next 7 years held several species of salt-water critters.

*Florida Everglades NP, FL
Now what is a trip to the Sunshine state without a detour to see our only subtropical preserve in North America. It contains both temperate and tropical plant communities, including sawgrass prairies, mangrove and cypress swamps, pinelands, and hardwood hammocks, as well as marine and estuarine environments. I garentee you will see a ton of animals, birds, insects and lastly reptiles. Word of warning do not go after any reptiles for a photo moment. Speaking from experience.


*Canaveral National Seashore, FL
This is a barrier island, which encompasses spectacular vistas of ocean beach, salt marsh such as Merritt Island National Sanctuary, and pine flatland habitats. Don’t worry you can drive this one, but if you don’t get out of the car you’ll never see the 1,045 species of plants and 310 species of birds or the abundance of other life such as endangered mammals.

*Great Smoky Mountains, TN


*Shenandoah National Park, VA

*Blue Ridge Parkway, VA

*Gulf Islands National Seashore, FL & MS

*Mammoth Cave National Park, KY


FYI UPDATING THESE CHECK BACK
To be continued

[pk]

Bad Lands NP, SD

We have been here several times. I just can't get enough of this place.

Many, many years ago my first husband and I took a helicopter ride over the badlands. Awesome.

pk

[pk]

Shenandoah National Park, VA

A couple summers ago we went out to Virginia Beach and stayed right on the ocean. While out there we drove all through the Shenandoah National Park. The kids loved it. I remember we met a couple at one of our stops while in the Park, that was actually hiking through the area. Can't remember if they said they were hiking to..or coming from Florida. Just remembered the kids couldn't get over they were actually going to walk the whole way! lol

Beautiful area, and Virginia Beach was a ton of fun.

pk

[AJE]

Originally Posted by pk

A couple summers ago we went out to Virginia Beach and stayed right on the ocean. While out there we drove all through the Shenandoah National Park. The kids loved it. I remember we met a couple at one of our stops while in the Park, that was actually hiking through the area. Can't remember if they said they were hiking to..or coming from Florida. Just remembered the kids couldn't get over they were actually going to walk the whole way! lol

Beautiful area, and Virginia Beach was a ton of fun.

pk

The new found friends were hiking the Appalachian National Scenic Trail.

The Appalachian Trail which is a Trek: 2,175-mile long footpath stretching through 14 eastern states from Maine to Georgia. An untamed journey to last a life time: the wild, scenic, wooded, pastoral, and culturally significant lands of America's Oldest Mountains Range.

[pk]

The new found friends were hiking the Appalachian National Scenic Trail.

I do believe that is what they told us. It has been several years ago so the details a bit forgotten. I do remember them saying something about parents living in Florida and now that I think of it I think they said they ended in Georgia and then flying to Florida?

Anyways, the kids had fun listening to them and was in awe to think they were actually going to walk so many miles.

[dgridley]

It's been my dream to hike the AT for many years but with my knees, etc, I'm not sure how well I'd fare.. I may still give it a try if I can find some hiking buddies!

Originally Posted by pk

I do believe that is what they told us. It has been several years ago so the details a bit forgotten. I do remember them saying something about parents living in Florida and now that I think of it I think they said they ended in Georgia and then flying to Florida?

Anyways, the kids had fun listening to them and was in awe to think they were actually going to walk so many miles.