Vacations Blog

The Big Lake campground, located in Springerville, Arizona, is the “Best Kept Secret in the White Mountains”. It takes some determination to get there (the elevation is at 9200 feet, accessible only by a vast network of dirt roads), but once you do, it’s easy to spend four or five days, or even more, enjoying the area.

Big Lake as seen from our campsite, at dusk.

The hosted campgrounds boast such amenities as well-maintained outhouses and public showers ($5 per shower, which seems worth it after not bathing for two or three days!). There are charcoal grills, fire pits, and picnic tables at each camp site. A general store sits at the head of the campground complex, right on the lake. Row boat and motor boat rentals are available, and the store stocks plenty of what you may have forgotten, such as matches, charcoal, tarps, bait, tackle, ice, snacks, and fresh coffee. You can even get a fishing license at the General Store - required for anyone aged fourteen and older who plan on trying to snag the elusive lake trout. Unleaded gasoline is also sold, but is limited to five gallons per customer.

There’s lots more information and pictures! Click here to see more »

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If you’re looking for a great place for a camping vacation in Central Florida - or just want to enjoy a bit of nature over the weekend - make a point to visit Ocala National Forest.

The Ocala National Forest is located about an hour and a half north of Orlando and only about 20 miles southeast of Gainesville.  But those driving estimates are to the outer borders of the forest so you should plan additional time to get to any of the springs and parks within the forest.  It’s a giant forest that reaches into four Florida counties and covers more than 600 square miles.

It’s a big place.

The Ocala National Forest is only the second largest forest in Florida, but is the oldest national forest east of the Mississippi.  In other words - this place is kind of a big deal historically.  Blah, blah, blah.

More importantly, there is a ton of stuff to do at Ocala National Forest.

Tubing on Lake George in Ocala National Forest

There are 11 lakes in Ocala National Forest.  The lakes are a great place for boat rides, tubing, water skiing and fishing.  In addition to the lakes, there are many natural springs located in the forest.  The springs are a great place for kids to swim in clear shallow waters with virtually no current.

Throughout the forest you’ll find designated recreation areas.  These spots are set up with picnic tables and portable bathrooms (ew).

Picnic area in Ocala National Forest

If you’re the adventurous type (read: not afraid of alligators), you can rent canoes from many of the rec areas along the springs.

Canoe with the alligators in Ocala National Forest

And yes, you should expect to run into an alligator or two.  If you venture into the woods along one of the many hiking trails, you should also be prepared to spot deer, fox, coyote and the occasional Black Bear.  Ocala National Forest has the highest concentration of the Florida Black Bear.

This is probably where the alligators are hiding.

If the wild animals don’t scare you off, you can spend the night in Ocala National Forest at one of the many campsites.  You do need to stick to designated areas and expect to pay a small fee for overnight camping.

Ravenous animals with sharp teeth aside, Ocala National Forest is large enough that you can always find a spot for your family to spend the day enjoying Mother Nature.  It’s a great place to go with kids and there’s plenty for everyone in the family to do.

FYI: this is not a Florida Black Bear

Even the adults will enjoy themselves.

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Geothermal paradise of Yellowstone National Park

Yellowstone is the crown jewel of our National Park System.  It was the first of its kind, and remains the most unique and diverse wilderness experience that you will find in this country.

It’s also an extremely cool place for kids.

But with almost 3500 square miles of lakes, geysers, canyons, and hot springs, there’s too much to see in one short stay.  So, after three visits to Yellowstone, and consultation with my own children, I have compiled the following list of park sights and activities that will make your family trip an especially memorable one.

Ten Cool Things For Kids (and Grown-Ups) in Yellowstone National Park

1.  Dragon’s Mouth Spring

Dragon's Mouth Spring

How can you resist telling your kids that a dragon lives in a cave near a mud volcano?  It doesn’t take much imagination to think that this cavern, with its growls and thumps, and spitting steam, might just hold a real dragon.

2.  Fishing Cone

Fishing Cone Geyser at Yellowstone Lake

It’s probably just a tall tale, but the story goes that the early trappers and explorers would catch fish in Yellowstone Lake, swing them directly into the Fishing Cone geyser just off shore, and have a meal of boiled fish in just minutes.  “Hook and cook,” they called it.  Like the dragon cave, another cool sight that will fire up the imagination.

3.  Old Faithful Inn

Old Faithful Inn

What kid won’t love the largest log hotel in the world?  Just walk inside the 100-year-old Inn’s lobby, with its four stories of lodgepole pine balconies and 500-ton stone fireplace, and your kids might just want to sit for awhile.  Preferably in one of the many handmade wood rocking chairs.  Better yet, stay in one of the Inn’s rooms.  Prices are reasonable, and the food in the dining room is first-class.

4.  Fountain Paint Pots

Fountain Paint Pots

This is what I remember best from my own childhood memories of Yellowstone.  The short half-mile trail is the perfect primer for the various thermal features you’ll see throughout the park.  It’s a little bit of everything, with numerous geysers, bubbling mud pots, hot springs, and steaming fumaroles.  With all that activity in a small space, it’s kind of watching a three-ring circus.

Buffalo Warning

5.  Dangerous Animals

Your kids might not be impressed by the thousands of bison that roam all over the park until they see the signs warning that these animals weigh up to 2000 pounds, run over 30mph, and think nothing of skewering a camera-toting tourist on the end of its horns.  They can be extremely dangerous.  Same goes for the grizzly bears, wolves, moose, elk, and badgers.  But worry mostly about the bison (sometimes called buffalo), because they will be all around you.

6.  Junior Ranger Program

The Junior Ranger program at Yellowstone is one of the coolest of all the National Parks.  It gets the kids involved in all sorts of activities involving wildlife, ecology, geology, hiking, and education.  If they complete the program, kids get an official Junior Ranger patch.  Best of all, they learn something while having fun.

7.  Stagecoach Rides

From Roosevelt Lodge in the northern part of Yellowstone, you can take a trip to the past with a rattling, bumpy ride on an old west stagecoach, just as visitors did back at the turn of the century.  The ride lasts an hour and is quite reasonably priced at $8 for kids, $10 for adults.  A nice way to soak up the scenery.

8.  Upper Geyser Basin

Geyser watching

You want geysers?  This is where you’ll have your fill of them, as the basin contains over 150 geysers.  That’s the highest concentration of geysers in the world.  Walking through this alien landscape makes you feel like the Earth’s crust could burst open in a cataclysmic hydrothermal explosion at any moment, totally ruining your dinner reservations at the nearby Old Faithful Inn Dining Room later that night.  But seriously, this is the best place for you and your kids to see geysers going off right and left.  Many of them, such as Castle Geyser, Grand Geyser, and Riverside Geyser are highly predictable, so you can figure when and where you need to be for the show.

9.  Grand Prismatic Spring

Grand Prismatic Spring

Not everything in Yellowstone bubbles, growls, and erupts.  Grand Prismatic Spring is simply a gigantic pool of steaming water.  In fact, it’s the largest hot springs in the United States.  You have to see it for the beautiful colors, from deep blue to orange to green to red, produced by different species of bacteria living in the water.  It makes for an interesting biology lesson for everyone.

10.  Old Faithful

Old Faithful Geyser

You know this would be on the list.  How could it not be?  It’s the most popular feature in Yellowstone, and is the park’s defining symbol.  The area around Old Faithful is crowded, commercial, and noisy, but it’s still very cool.  The geyser usually erupts on a predictable schedule, roughly every 90 minutes.  Up to 8,000 gallons of scalding hot water shoots upwards of 185 feet while busloads of tourists “ooh” and “ahh.”  On our last visit to the park, my kids and I made a game of running to watch Old Faithful go off.  Staying in the nearby Inn made that easy for us, and we ended up viewing eight eruptions during our weekend at Yellowstone.

Photos courtesy of the National Park Service

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So in addition to last Saturday’s excursion to Rock City, we also managed to pull off a day trip on Sunday with a visit to Brannan Island State Park.

We’d had a couple of days of hot weather and the kids were pestering us to go swimming. Since we’re not even through April yet, all the public swimming pools in our area have yet to open, so we decided to make the drive out to Brannan Island to see what was what.

What was it you ask? A bit of a dump, that’s what.

Located on the Delta, just off Highway 160, northeast of Antioch, my only prior experience with this park had been as a patron of the parking lot near the boat launch. Back in the day my girlfriend (now my wife) would invite me out on her family’s boat for a day of water skiing and beaching, however the “beach” we would utilize would basically be a deserted stretch of sand somewhere out amongst the sloughs. I’d never taken advantage of Brannan Island’s public beach and swim area.

Save yourself the time and trouble because this beach has very little to offer. We ended up at what is called the Seven Mile Slough picnic area, which the State Recreation Area website describes as follows:

“Seven Mile Slough picnic area includes picnic tables, barbecues and drinking water. New restroom facilities were completed late in 1997 and include flush toilets and outdoor cold showers. Seven Mile Slough’s swim beach has lifeguards from Memorial Day through Labor Day. Ample parking is close to the beach.”

The “beach” is basically a small strip of muddy sand along the picnic area, and a little further down a trail there’s a muddy sandbar. And the water is muddy. The beach near the picnic area was pretty crowded (a side-effect of free access), so we stalked down the trail toward the mud-bar where we staked out a small  patch of sand that backed up to some vegetation and threw down our largest towel. The kids didn’t seem to mind much and figured they may as well swim since we’d come all that way. I, on the other hand, had no intention of going in the water and immediately began eating the sandwich I’d brought because I didn’t figure on staying any longer than I had to.

I tolerated it for a good 45 minutes, but when the “sagging pants” crowd and the colorful language (from elementary school age kids no less) became too much, we packed it up and got the hell out of there.  If you really want more information you can check out the website.

The trip was not a total bust, however because we drove a little further down Hwy 160 and crossed the bridge into Rio Vista in search of Sandy Beach Park.  

Sandy Beach County Park is located in the city of Rio Vista, a rather small, somewhat weather-beaten but not without its charms, Delta city, made famous back in 1985 when wayward Humpback whale, Humphrey, turned up in the local waters.

Sandy Beach offers more or less the same amenities as Brannan Island; picnic areas, camping, boating, etc, but the environment is much nicer, or at least appeared to be on that particular Sunday afternoon. A word about camping; as camping is not everybody’s “thing”,  if you find yourself in need of accommodations in the Rio Vista area, I’d recommend checking out the Ryde Hotel, located in Grand Island, a short jaunt from  Rio Vista. I’ve never stayed there, but I did attend a bachelor party there many years ago and folks tell me I had a great time.

Anyway, based on the five minutes we spent looking around Sandy Park Beach (the girl at the gate was kind enough to let us check it out sans entry fee) it looked like a nice little place, one I’d consider making the drive back to visit one day. And I’d blow right past Brannan Island on my way.

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During 70’s we had ourselves a big t-shirt fad. There were all sorts of custom T-shirt stores around; The Shirt Shoppe, The T-shirt Shack, etc. Folks were big into wearing T-shirts adorned with pithy sayings and cool decals. One that I’ve always remembered read “Go Climb a Rock,” which apparently was the logo for the Yosemite Mountaineering School.

Well this past Saturday the boy and I joined some friends and did just that, except the rocks we climbed were at Rock City located in the Mt. Diablo State Park.

Having grown up in the San Francisco/Bay Area, I’ve been to Rock City a few times in my 40-something years, however my last visit was probably during the latter part of the 80’s, and most definitely “pre-boy.” So when friend KC invited us to spend the day with his folks and family I jumped at the chance to show the boy all the good, wholesome fun to be had climbing around on a bunch of rocks. Sarcastic as that might sound (even more so if you know me), Rock City is a great time.

Located somewhere just beyond the 2,000 ft level in Mt. Diablo State Park, Rock City is, described thusly in the Mt. Diablo State Park online brochure; “Rock City: You will find unusually large sandstone formations and small caves here.”  Wow, is that some exciting copy or what?

Be not deterred by the lack of colorful adjectives, would be outdoors-person. Rock City is an awesome place to spend the day. You can climb all over those “unusually large sandstone formations,” and many have had actual foot/hand holds ground into them over the years. The views are spectacular, plus you’re getting exercise, fresh air, and sunshine. And because KC’s parents are so generous and well organized, I also got hot dogs and fried chicken. I can’t promise the same on any visit you might make.

Many visitors have taken to carving their names, and in some cases the occasional vulgarity, into the rock, and while this sounds something akin to vandalism, it actually adds a certain charm to the place. In honesty I prefer the dedication of those willing to take the time to carve something as opposed to some lazy sods that actually used markers to add their names to the sandstone.

There are numerous picnic sites available, each equipped with a table and a bbq stove/grill, and while we did grill, (and when I say “we” I mean KC’s dad) I’d recommend bringing sandwiches or the aforementioned fried chicken. The distance between the actual grill top and one’s charcoal is rather yawning, thus requiring us (us also equals KC’s dad) to assist the charcoal in its task by adding wood and small animals to the blaze. I’m kidding. It’s against the law to gather firewood. Actually I have no idea if that’s true, and if it is KC’s dad broke the law.

Anyway, I can say from personal experience that the boy and I had a great time at Rock City. The entry fee to Mt. Diablo State Park is $7.00 per car.

For more information you can check out the California State Parks website.

A few words of caution; keep a close eye on small children. There are many places where they can get lost, and many very large, very high rocks from which they can fall. DO NOT let young children climb on the rocks without an adult present. Also, this being California mountain country you might run into a rattlesnake. In fact, we did. Fortunately it was on our drive down the mountain and we were able to snap some pictures from the safety of our car. Even still, they’re pretty scary and I cried a little.

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Beyond the neon and glitz of the world-famous Las Vegas Strip lie numerous opportunities for families to discover Southern Nevada’s colorful and often overlooked natural landscape. From flourishing desert meadows to red, rusty cliffs to pine tree-covered mountain peaks, just a short drive from The Strip visitors can experience hours of exploration and fun.

Located in the middle of the city and built on the site of the birthplace of Las Vegas, visitors can start their adventures at the 180-acre Springs Preserve, offering a glimpse at the region’s geology, desert plant-life and numerous animal species that call Southern Nevada home. Children are amazed by the wild jackrabbits, lizards, insects and desert tortoises on display at the Origen Experience. For those not afraid of getting a little wet, a popular exhibit is the flash flood simulator where visitors experience the exhilarating rush of water that results from the summer rains in the area deserts, canyons and mountains. 

The Springs Preserve also features nearly two miles of picturesque walking trails and lush gardens. Bottled water is recommended for exploration during the hot summer months. A visit to the Springs Preserve is also not complete without lunch at the Café by Wolfgang Puck. Pick a spot on the terrace and enjoy a view of the gardens and the nearby Las Vegas Strip. General Admission prices range from $6.95 to $18.95 and annual family passes are a great bargain for frequent visits.

A 25-minute drive west from the Las Vegas Strip is the 197,000-acre Red Rock Canyon National Conservation Area. Once the bottom of a vast ocean, millions of years of exposure and oxidation have created a breath-taking canyon of red and orange. A 13-mile, one-way scenic drive through the canyon provides many picture-taking opportunities. For adventurous families, nearly 20 trails offer easy, moderate or strenuous hikes into the canyon where wild burros and other animals roam and ancient petroglyphs await discovery. Designated picnic and camping areas are also available.  Maps and information on seasonal trail conditions can be found at the Visitor’s Center near the entrance to the canyon. Like the Springs Preserve, bottled water is recommended for exploration during the hot summer months. Entry into Red Rock Canyon is $5.00 per vehicle with annual passes available for purchase.

Rising high above the Las Vegas Valley to the northwest, Mt. Charleston offers visitors a dramatic change in climate and scenery. The highest peak of the Spring Mountains Range in the Humboldt-Toiyabe National Forest, Mt. Charleston’s temperatures are typically 20 to 30 °F lower than in Las Vegas, making it a popular place for visitors to escape the heat of the desert floor. Mountain biking, hiking, picnicking and camping are popular summertime activities atop the mountain, as is enjoying the spectacular views. Winter transforms the mountain into a snow-covered playground for sledding and snow play. The Las Vegas Ski and Snowboard Resort features 11 trails for beginners, intermediate and skilled winter sports enthusiasts. Ski and snowboarding lessons are available for both adults and children. Equipment rental, restaurants and bars are all onsite.

For accommodations on the mountain, the Mt. Charleston Lodge features 23 comfortably furnished log cabins nestled along a mountain ridge. The Mt. Charleston Hotel features 62 charming bedrooms, with a choice of mini-suites, king suites and a Presidential suite. Early booking is recommended for the holiday season.

Photos: Red Rock Canyon by Superfish/Springs Preserve by Jason Roth

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Camping in South Carolina is a lush and welcoming experience for travelers of all ages. Born and bred in California, my experience of camping was almost exclusively dry, hot and sandy/dusty. That’s what you get when you camp in a desert, beach or arid landscape. Camping in South Carolina, however, is nothing like that. Lush greenery, dense forests and a very different beachfront experience from any in California await you in this beautiful place. In addition, the camping experience itself is as lush and inviting as the landscape.

Myrtle Beach camping, for example caters to family travelers with camping resorts such as Pirateland. At Pirateland, you can choose from a vacation rental or a campsite, with options to meet your budget. Their amenities redefine camping in a more luxurious and easy style. From full Laundromats and a senior room to a summer time aquatic complex, you can leave your boyscout roughing it badge at home. This is camping anyone can do!

To me, the beach camping is the most inspiring, however opportunities for camping in the many lush forests and landscapes of South Carolina abound as well. There are 6 KOA (Kampgrounds of America) campgrounds sprinkled throughout South Carolina, with many located nearby to popular tourist destinations , ensuring that you’ll be able to find something interesting to do no matter where you end up. If you’re looking to rough it a bit more, there are several National Parks and Historic Sites in South Carolina that are administered by the national parks service.

Wherever you end up camping when you visit South Carolina, you’re sure to find a world of possibilities.

**Thanks to the National Parks Service for the lovely winter photo of Congaree National Park in South Carolina**

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Are you suffering from “Spring Fever”? Ready for a little early taste of what summer has to bring? If you said yes, then it’s time to visit Lake Buchanan.

Whether you like to rough it or spend your leisure time in the lap of luxury, you can find it here with resorts, RV spaces, cabins for rent, campgrounds, and lake rental houses. All are available along the shore of Lake Buchanan. You can even rent houseboats, which we did and loved!

There is a nice granite gravel shore around some of Lake Buchanan, providing an ideal beach for swimming, wading, and sun bathing. If you prefer the water then there is plenty to do for boaters, fishermen, campers, and swimmers as well. Plus, Lake Buchanan is large enough that you can always find a quiet spot to escape to and you won’t feel crowded.

Fall Creek Winery is on the west side of the lake where you can stop in for a little wine tasting and buy a bottle or two of Texas wine. Lake Buchanan also offers a variety of dining choices from elegant to home-cooking. And before you leave, I recommend you try Big John’s Bar-B-Que & Steak Barn (Hwy 29 at the Buchanan Dam).

All in all Lake Buchanan is one of my favorite places in Texas. My friends from “up north” (which in Texas refers to . . . well, everybody who isn’t from Texas) love to come down in late March, early April. They’re suffering from spring fever and from being trapped indoors all winter and that magical first taste of warm weather they get from visiting Lake Buchanan is just enough to tide them over!

Have you ever visited Lake Buchanan? Do you have a different “winter escape” place in Texas that you’d like to mention? Let me know . . . I’m always looking for that next, best thing!

Until next time . . .

Paige aka PJsTravelinTexas

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