May, 2008

These are pictures of the Alaskan Tundra. To the right, you can see a distant view of a dormant volcano.

Here's a description of the pictures below:

1. Ariel View -- Notice all the water.
2. Standard View -- Alder bushes are prevalent.
3. Close-up View -- The upper 6 to 12 inches of the tundra soil are frozen in this picture. Notice the alder roots grow along the surface of the solid. The tundra thaws slowly between May and July.
4. Fireweed -- This blooms in late July and early September on the tundra. Alaskans consider the Fireweed bloom to signal the end of summer.

Video Clip Link: 

Great Video of Sow Brown Bear teaching 3 cub bears how to swim.

Crater Lake National Park covers an area of 249 square miles primarily focused on Crater Lake itself. Crater Lake is not a meteor crater, but rather is a volcanic caldera – a hole made by the collapse of a volcano. Volcanic eruptions built up a 10,000 – 12,0000 foot mountain now called Mt. Mazama until seven thousand seven hundred years ago, when the volcano exploded in a cataclysmic eruption. During this eruption, so much material was evacuated from the internal magma chamber that the remaining mountain collapsed and the caldera that we now see today half filled with water.

A view of Crater Lake from Rim Village Café and Gift Shop.

Camping

Pacific Northwest

Go Camping America's Washington , Oregon , and California pages.

Victoria Express I: Seasonal, passenger only fast ferry providing service between Port Angeles, WA, Victoria B.C and the beautiful San Juan Islands.Victoria Express is a passenger only fast ferry providing service between Port Angeles, Washington, Victoria, B.C. and Friday Harbor in the San Juan Islands.

Explore beautiful British Columbia or the majestic San Juan Islands with exciting excursion opportunities - Victoria Express is able to customize virtually any vacation package, from overnights in one of many wonderful hotels in the Inner Harbor of Victoria to a quite getaway weekend in Friday Harbor.

Most whitewater rafting in California takes place in the foothills of the Sierra Nevada Mountains on rivers that drain into the Central Valley. In Northern California, the two best known rivers for whitewater rafting are the American River and the North Yuba River, both tributaries of the mighty Sacramento River that feeds the San Francisco Bay.

The American River

Washington State has some amazing locations for Sea Kayaking, whether you are hoping to paddle in and around the San Juan Islands for multiple days or are just looking for opportunities for Kayaking near Seattle, Washington, choices are available.

If you are interested in Kayaking on Puget Sound near Seattle or in San Juan Islands, our recommendation is to work with an experienced company. While renting Sea Kayaks to paddle in this area is available, it is only recommended for experienced Kayakers, due to the nature of the tides and water conditions in the Puget Sound.

San Diego is a popular destination for a wide variety of activities, and, as most people know, beautiful beaches are one of the most significant resources that the area has. For those that want to give surfing a try during a visit to the San Diego area, we recommend taking a surfing lesson or participating in a multi-day surf camp, which can be especially good for kids.

Whitewater River Rafting near Medford in Southern Oregon can provide one of those rare outdoor activities where it doesn't have to end as the sun goes down. Not only is the Rogue River considered the finest rafting in Oregon, but it also provides beautiful landscapes to enjoy while riding the rapids.

The true treat of rafting on the Rogue River is to go with an outfit like Whitewater Warehouse, which provides multi-day trips with nights spent in comfortable lodges or campsites. From what I've heard, the food can't be beat.

The Seattle Area has terrific hiking along shorelines and into the deep forests. The Washington Trail Association organizes family-oriented hiking near Seattle, Washington. Check out the Families Go Hiking section of their website for more information.

There are also many opportunities for day hikes and overnight backpacking in

Fishing near Seattle, Washington can be done on public piers, lakes and, of course, on Puget Sound. Fishing for salmon in Puget Sound is a real treat, but we suggest that you go with an experienced guide.

To arrange for a fishing charter on Puget Sound, we recommend All Star Charters

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The San Francisco Bay area has beautiful vistas, rugged coastal trails, and deep redwood forest groves to explore. With all of these hiking opportunities, we just wanted to provide a little introduction to the hiking near San Francisco.

First, in San Francisco itself, two great spots for short hikes are Golden Gate Park, including Ocean Beach, and The Presidio, including Chrissy Field and Baker Beach. Some of these hking spots are part of the the Golden Gate National Recreation Area which also extends north of San Francisco into Marin County.

San Francisco is well known for its seafood, and many have heard of fisherman's wharf, but what most don't realize is that a day of fishing is very easily arranged right at this tourist spot. There are certainly other ways to go fishing near San Francisco, but my personal favorite is to go out on the Pacific Ocean to fish for salmon.

Surfing near Los Angeles, California is as popular now as it was when the Beach Boys sang about it. Times have changed, but the surf along the southern California Coast is still pretty much the same.

Depending on where you are staying in the Los Angeles Area, there are numerous beaches that you can access. Learn to Surf LA offers year round surfing lessons in Santa Monica, Los Angeles, and other locations.

The San Francisco Bay Area offers terrific biking, whether it is road biking through the Santa Cruz Mountains, Mountain Biking on Mount Tamalpias, or finding a rental for biking near San Francisco.

One of the most popular activities when visiting San Francisco is to rent a bike for a trip across the Golden Gate Bridge to the Golden Gate National Recreation Area or Sausalito.

Bay City Bike offers rentals and biking tours in San Francisco and across the bridge in Marin County.

Hiking near Los Angeles can be a great alternative to urban and beach activities. Though, as with most of Los Angeles, trailheads can be quite a drive away from where you may be starting off.

One area for hiking that is close to Santa Monica, Venice Beach, and Malibu is the Temescal Gateway Park, which is located in Pacific Palisades, and is one of the most popular parks in the Santa Monica Mountains.

Other hiking spots in this same area include Will Rogers State Historic Park and Topanga State Park.

The Santa Ynez Mountain Range provides tremendous hiking near Santa Barbara, California, not to mention the hiking that is available on the beaches and in the inland valleys around Santa Barbara.

One very unique place for day hikes is Channel Islands National Park, which can most easily be accessed from the Santa Barbara Area.

This page is just a placeholder for now. We will be filling this information in during the next week. Thanks for your interest.

This page is just a placeholder for now. We will be filling this information in during the next week. Thanks for your interest.

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Post a Place & Plug your Product

We've cataloged each National Park, Ski Resort and Outdoor Recreation Area (the major ones) by state for all 50 states. The task now is to fill in useful information about each area, ie fishing holes, camping sites, hikes, etc. Yes this is a huge task, but we've thought up a way that can benefit everyone who supplies information.You can post information about an area, then give a brief promotion about your product or service at the end of the post.

There are 41 locations hosting National Get Outdoors Day Events on Saturday, June 14th 2008. Follow this link: http://www.nationalgetoutdoorsday.org/locations/ to see the locations. Many of these sites are located at "outdoor oases" in close proximity to major metropolitan areas. Hopefully there's a National Get Outdoors Day location near you. If not, just get outdoors and enjoy the day!

There's still time to get involved with National Get Outdoors Day. Just contact the site leader (listed on the link above) for more information on how you can partner with them.

National Get Outdoors Day is just around the corner.

Many of you may be planning activities, looking to see what others are doing for National Get Outdoors Day, and/or trying to find locations celebrating National Get Outdoors Day in your area. We searched online, and didn't find a website where groups involved with National Get Outdoors Day and those looking to participate in National Get Outdoors Day could interact with one another.

Perhaps this post will serve as a starting point for those discussions.

Are you interested in doing something fun and exciting on a day that you may have off from work or a weekend that you may have no plans? If you are and if you are like many other Americans, there is a good chance that you may be interested in doing something recreational. If you are, you have a number of different options. One of those options involves going on a hike.