Tag: National Park Week

Happy Birthday Earth Day!

Happy Birthday Earth Day

This week is not only National Park Week, it’s also Earth Day today – Friday April 22nd. Earth Day started in 1970. This year the Tots and I are saying Happy Birthday Earth Day with a special project we’re doing with our local Hike It Baby branch.

Every week since St. Patrick’s Day the tots and I have biked, strolled and cleaned up along the Provo River Trail. This trail is my Go To Outdoor space, the place I escape to when I need a little outdoor time in the midst of daily life. Because I love this space, I want to see it taken care of. Thus began the Hike It Baby litter clean up series.

Every week the tots and I join other parents of young children to pick up litter on a different section of the trail. The Provo River Trail spans 30 miles from Utah Lake to South Fork Canyon and so far we’ve picked up litter along about seven of those miles. Our efforts combined have removed several gallons of trash from along the Provo River, improving the environment for the ducks, fish and people enjoying the trail.

Why Bother?

It would be easier to ignore the beer cans, plastic wrappers and paper bits we pass. Stopping every few feet means slow going – nobody’s getting a cardio workout on these hikes. But I want to teach my kids to take care of their wild spaces, and what better way to do that than through example?

It’s interesting that for one hour a week my Tots and I are aware of the trash around us and we choose to do something about it. But for the rest of the week I find myself ignoring the litter around me, even the wrappers and discarded plant pots in my own yard. It’s like I have an edit in my eyesight that I disable on the assigned day and time.

It makes me wonder what it would take to make more lasting change. I feel good about the trash our Hike It Baby group has removed from the trail. I feel good about getting my kids outside. I feel good about helping my kids practice riding balance bikes. But I feel bad that I only care for that one hour each week. Green guilt isn’t useful unless it motivates change, but I’m not ready to adjust my life any more than I have already.

The Quest Continues

This weekly litter pickup adventure will continue until the entire trail is clean. Not only because its good for the environment, it’s also good exercise. And we’ve got to get ready for our daily hiking and biking on our National Park to Park Highway Adventure.
Whether you’ll be spending Earth Day at a National Park or cleaning up trash on a local trail, let me know about it. Tag @mountainmomtots on instagram, twitter or facebook and tell me how you’ll spend Earth Day today. You’ll have a chance to be featured in the Mountain Mom and Tots Newsletter.

It’s a day to be grateful for the beauty around us and do something nice for the environment. Now’s your chance to do that something nice. What’s it going to be?

National Park Week 2016

I’m so excited to celebrate the 100th anniversary of the National Park Service this year! In case you missed my previous post, our Mountain Fam is planning a reenactment of the National Park to Park Highway Tour to celebrate the centennial.

It’ll be a 7 week National Park adventure visiting some amazing sights along the way. We’ll be posting about the history of the National Park to Park Highway as well as cool stuff to do in each of the 15 parks and 3 National Monuments we visit. So stay tuned over the next few months.

But before we get to that summertime adventure we’ve got to celebrate this week’s beauty. This week is National Park Week, in case you didn’t know. From April 16-24, 2016 every National Park and Monument offers free admittance. FREE! So how will you enjoy your National Treasures?

For a little inspiration I thought I’d repost some of our National Park Photos from years past. Take a moment to #FindYourPark.

Arches

 

Bryce Canyon

Canyonlands

Capital Reef

 

Colorado National Monument

Craters of the Moon National Monument

 

Denali

 

 

Dinosaur National Monument

 

Black Canyon of the Gunnison

 

Kenai Fjords

 

Redwoods

Yellowstone

 

 

Yosemite

 

 

Zion

 

National Park to Park Highway Adventure

We’ve got BIG news for you today, the first day of National Park Week 2016. I mean blow your mind, I wish I were you, experience of a lifetime BIG. Are you ready for it?

Good. Here we go.

Did you know that 2016 is the centennial anniversary of the National Park Service? 100 years is no small feat. It deserves a celebration of epic proportions which is exactly why Mountain Dad and I have spent the last several months planning something HUGE.

I’m talking 5,000 miles, 7 weeks on the road, 15 National Parks and 3 National Monuments huge. That’s right. This summer, we’re taking our Mountain Family on an epic road trip visiting some of the greatest outdoor wonders of the world. Using the National Park to Park Highway as our guide we will be hiking, biking and camping our way through 15 iconic National Parks (and 3 National Monuments) of the West and you’re invited to come along for the ride!

The Original National Park to Park Highway Tour 

Spearheaded by Stephen Mather, our nation’s first National Park Service Director, the National Park to Park Highway was created in 1920 to link 12 National Parks on a loop of mostly dirt roads spanning over 5,000 miles.

The goal was to promote the National Parks by capitalizing on the country’s booming automobile craze. In August of 1920, 12 vehicles set out on a 76 day tour to see the Parks as no others before them had. Roads were rough and cars were not very reliable 100 years ago, so not everyone finished the journey, but the publicity from the tour helped increase tourism to the National Parks.

Almost 100 years later, we have decided to drive the National Park to Park Highway in honor of the National Park Service’s Centennial celebration. In addition to the 12 original parks pictured here we will also include 3 new National Parks (Great Sand Dunes, Olympic, and Grand Teton) as well as 3 new National Monuments (Hovenweep, Canyons of the Ancients, and Devil’s Postpile) on our tour.

Mountain Mom and Tots National Park to Park Highway Tour

If you’ve read this blog you know we’re no stranger to family camping, but this project is a whole different level of camping commitment. To accomplish the lofty goal of sagebrushing (the 1920s term for car camping) through the wild lands of the west we’ll be turning our Chevy pickup into the ultimate camping vehicle. 

 No RVs or tents for us. We’ll be sleeping our family of five in a full sized pick up for weeks on end. Even as I write that it sounds crazy, but that’s the plan and if anyone can pull it off it’s me and Mountain Dad.

For seven weeks we will be hiking and biking through some of the most beautiful spaces in the United States, dragging our 7, 4 and 1 year old with us. Literally. Baby L will be riding in the bike trailer or the hiking pack most of the time.

Join Us

Have you ever had a hair-brained idea that you’re so excited about you want to tell the whole world? That’s how I feel about our National Park to Park Highway Adventure. I want to share all the experiences we have along the way with as many people as will listen.

If you’re one of those people, sign up for the Mountain Mom and Tots newsletter for exclusive info on our explorations and discoveries. I promise I won’t bombard your inbox or sell your email address. I just want you to come with me on this exciting adventure and I don’t think anymore people will fit in our pickup truck.

Sign Up for Current Updates of Mountain Mom and Tots and get a FREE Scavenger Hunt for Kids! Just put your name and email in here. Right here in the box after this sentence:

You can also follow along on twitter, instagram and facebook. I’m telling you it’ll be awesome.

Sponsors

This National Park to Park Highway Tour wouldn’t be possible without some amazing gear sponsors. Throughout the trip we will be highlighting the gear that makes this undertaking possible. You can check out all the awesome companies in one place on our Sponsors page, but I have to give a special shout out thank you to Burley and Woom Bikes. Without their elite sponsorships of gear this trip wouldn’t be possible.

So buckle up, hang on and join us for an adventure of epic proportions! Woohoo!

Interested in becoming a sponsor? Contact me at susan@mountainmomandtots.com.

National Parks Week, April 18-25, 2015

Hip Hip Hooray! Tomorrow is the day! April 18-25, 2015 is National Parks Week!
National Parks feature heavily in our outdoor adventure plans. For the last five years our family has purchased the America the Beautiful pass, which allows access to any federal land for the entire year. The cost is $80.00, which I think of as both a donation and a challenge. If we can visit enough National Parks in one year to cover the cost of the card, we’ve done pretty well.

Here are three ways to celebrate National Parks week – I hope you enjoy!

1. Free admission April 18-19, 2015. If you live near a National Park, or want a quick weekend getaway you can explore for free this weekend. All Admission fees are waived Saturday April 18th and Sunday April 19th 2015.

2. Plan a vacation. Summer will soon be here and you have to do something with your tots, right? Plan a trip to see some of the nation’s beautiful spaces. Here are some links to our favorites:

Denali National Park, Alaska
Kenai Fjords National Park, Alaska

Alcatraz Island, Golden Gate National Recreation Area, California
Redwoods National Park, California
San Francisco Maritime National Historical Park, California
Yosemite National Park, California

Great Basin National Park, Nevada

Independence Hall, National Historical Park, Pennsylvania

Arches National Park, Utah
Bryce Canyon National Park, Utah
Dinosaur National Monument, Utah
Zion National Park, Utah

Yellowstone National Park, Wyoming

3. Be a Junior Ranger. Tots of all ages can enjoy learning about the world around them through the Junior Ranger program. Just complete the pamphlet for each park you visit and your child can receive a patch.