April, 2008

Paddle to the heart of Canyonlands. There the Green and Colorado Rivers join. You can rendezvous with Tag-A-Long Expeditions to roof rack your touring kayak or canoe, stow your camping gear, then jet boat up the Colorado River back to Moab, Utah.

The Maze District of Canyonlands National Park envelopes a labyrinth of canyons, challenging 4WD trails and hard-to-reach, but well-worth-reaching rock art panels. If this rugged adventure poses too enumerable barriers to you, consider a professional outfitter, like Tag-A-Long Expeditions of Moab, Utah, to lead and care for you in this outstanding landscape.

Cataract Canyon in Canyonlands National Park serves up 28 Grand Canyon Style rapids. It is one hundred miles of the Colorado River from Moab, Utah to Lake Powell. Tag-A-Long Expeditions offers 1 - 4 day rafting trips. And this May and June visitors will want an outfitter to lead them, as record snow melt is recorded in the Rocky Mountains.

High water on an unbridled Colorado River will be terrific and this level of rafting comes around only every ten years or so. Enjoy the solitude only Utah can provide.

People living around the Western Basin of Lake Erie, the Detroit River and Lake St Clair area are "arguably" situated in the heart of the best freshwater fishing in the world. It's is difficult to surpass the smallmouth bass fishing in this great region with all it's rocky shoreline, open water reefs and islands and great spawning areas. The yellow perch population has made a significant turnaround in the past 5 years.

The Salomon Techamphibian Shoe/Sandal, blends the water shedding qualities of a sandal with the stability of a lightweight running shoe. The synthetic mesh upper and Quickfit lacing won't absorb water, so you don't have to carry around extra weight until your shoes dry. These shoes are ideal for all your summertime outdoor activities both around water and away from the water. When in the water, you can cinch the shoes up tight to your feet using the Quickfit lacing and the ankle strap that tightens on your Achilles Tendon.

With summer quickly approaching, the lure to discover and get away is foremost on most family’s minds. But with soaring gas prices, the vacation temptation to travel to far away destinations may be on the skids for many travelers. Luckily, Oregon offers its residents and residents from its border states, myriad outdoor travel opportunities that don’t require any, or at least very little, petrol.

North Georgia is a hikers dream. Whether you are from the South or from some place far away you will find peace in the North Georgia Mountains. With the famous Appalachian Trail starting in North Georgia at Springer Mountain and ending in Maine Georgia gets thousands of thru-hikers each year. Some begin in Georgia and some end but all get treated with warmth and hospitality that the Southern mountains are known for. There are plenty of Georgia
hikes you will love.

The WeeRide is a newer type of child carrier for bikes that mounts between the rider and the handlebars instead of behind the rider. I had read about this type of child carrier last year, but this past weekend was my first time using it. It is intended for children more than a year old and under 40 pounds, which pretty much means 2 and 3 year olds.

How about this 8 point buck I shot in my front yard!!

Since I was a young boy in scouts, I have enjoyed camping, hiking and many other adventures in pursuit of my passion in photography. Photography provides a means to visually express my experiences and display my enthusiasm as a means of connecting with other people.
To create an image of an outdoor experience for people to view, is an awesome, rewarding opportunity. Creating photographs is a task that takes patience, persistence and practice. This contributes to a memorable representation of the experience.

I’ve had facemasks freeze stiff as a board while skiing, snowmobiling and working outside in subzero temperatures, so I was intrigued when I saw Psolar’s QXtec Core Heater face masks at the Outdoor Retailers Show in January. I finally had a chance to test the mask, so I headed up into the mountains to test it out. Unfortunately spring is in the air, and the days of temperatures in the teens are gone; however, I was still able to find a noticeable difference between my old mask and the Psolar mask with the temperature at 34 degrees.

QXtec Core Heater Technology

Daddy What is Earth Day?

There are many people who enjoyed camping as they grew up and got married, but the camping stopped when children arrived.

Having children should not mean that your outdoor adventures must stop. On the contrary, you now have another person to teach and explore with. For those that are a little apprehensive, here are some tips to help continue camping with your children.

I think most, if not all, of us that participate in Earth Day know that we are not really saving the Earth on this one day each year. So, then, what does participating in Earth Day accomplish?

Today I must admit that I think the steelhead fishing on the Little Salmon River in Central Idaho for the most part was less then impressive as compared to previous years.

The River Flow has finally increased to near normal spring flows but the only thing that I noticed is an increase in the number of Steelhead Fishermen and no real increase in the number of Steelhead in the river.

With Steelhead fishing less then impressive this year my stepson Steven and I decide to take a break and do some Turkey hunting yesterday.

There's nothing better than a day at the beach. The sun, the surf...what could be more fun? However, no environment is risk free. The ocean is powerful and unpredictable, and without the proper safety precautions our local beaches can be dangerous.

The Green Apple Festival takes place this weekend in Washington D.C., New York, Miami, Chicago, Denver, Dallas, Los Angles or San Francisco. This is a free event held at landmark locations in the host cities. The 3rd Annual Green Apple Festival, promoted as "America's Largest Earth Day Celebration", blends music and environmental awareness.

What's in Your Backpack?

Google has created a cool tool for everyone around the world to share what they are doing for Earth Day (next Tuesday). Check it out here: www.google.com/earthday08/.

You can post a message or a video you made on youtube, explaining what you're doing for Earth Day. You enter your zip code so the post will show up on Google Maps. It's a great way to see how everyone around the country and around the globe plans to spend Earth Day.

If you are looking for a great experience on your mountain bike, check out the San Juan Hut Systems (www.sanjuanhuts.com)Hut-To-Hut Mountain Bike routes from Telluride, Colorado to Moab, Utah and Durango, Colorado to Moab, Utah.

One of the crown jewels of the National Park System, Yosemite National Park is a must see for the camper, backpacker, or anyone who appreciates the outdoors. Yosemite National Park is located in the central Sierra Nevada of California and lies 150 miles east of San Francisco and only a six-hour drive from Los Angeles. Designated a World Heritage Site in 1984, Yosemite is internationally recognized for its spectacular granite cliffs, waterfalls, clear streams, giant sequoia groves, and biological diversity.

April 19 -27, 2008 is National Park Week.

Specific Activities at Zion National Park during National Park Week include:

April 19: Earth Day Event with Springdale, Utah
April 19: Junior Ranger Day Booth at Zion Canyon Visitor Center

For more details about the activities taking place at this National Park, visit the Zion National Park website.

April 19 -27, 2008 is National Park Week.

Specific Activities at Capitol Reef National Park during National Park Week include:

April 24-26: Booth at the Natural Resources Festival

For more details about the activities taking place at this National Park, visit the Capitol Reef National Park website.