American Flag over the observation deck of the ESB
This photo was taken on the observation deck of the Empire State Building, a must see destination on any vacation to New York City.
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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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I lived in Maine for the first nineteen years of my life, and it’s the place that I still call “home”. The deserts of Arizona are lovely, to be sure, but Maine is where my heart is. During my annual or bi-annual trips back east, I never fail to stop at my favorite place on the entire planet, the Portland Head Light.
As you can see, the place is so darned picturesque that even rank amateur photographers (read: me) can take postcard-perfect pictures.
The Head Light is located in the town of Cape Elizabeth, a mere bridge-crossing from Portland’s Old Port Waterfront District. Entrance to the complex, which includes Fort Williams Park, is free, and admission to the park’s museum (open from Memorial Day to Labor Day) is $2.00 for adults and $1.00 for children. The complex and park itself are open year-round.
Bring a picnic lunch (I suggest a local favorite, an Italian sandwich from one of the nearby Amato’s), and spend a lovely afternoon exploring Fort Williams, the green park grounds, the rocky shoreline, and the tidal pools.
I long for home, but for now I’m just going to have to content myself with pictures. Oh, and word to the wise, watch out for these guys - they’re bold and they’ll steal your lunch right out of your hands!
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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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A delicate kiss at Delicate Arch, Utah
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Flagship Steam Beer
I love the rich history of my home called San Francisco. That history brings lots of tourists every year to walk and eat their way through historic Chinatown, see the Golden Gate Bridge and have a drink at the top of the Mark Hopkins Hotel. But what I really love about my home is its underbelly, its darker side.
Besides an infamous earthquake in 1906, San Francisco’s history includes men being shanghaied, a wild Barbary Coast and Alcatraz Island. It shouldn’t surprise you then that one of my favorite things to recommend for visitors is the Anchor Steam Brewery Tour.
Anchor is the last operating brewery in San Francisco. Andrew, a guide who gives the morning tour explains to about thirty people daily, that in 1896 dozens of breweries were in the city. I imagine this contributed to the creation of the Barbary Coast District don’t you?
Proud to be still standing...
After Prohibition ended in 1933 only Anchor Steam returned to San Francisco.
Andrew our guide
During the 1960’s Fritz Maytag, heir to the appliance company (the one with the Maytag Repairman commercials), took sole ownership of Anchor Steam. Soon after an unknown Janis Joplin flew into town to join her new band, and came on the tour. It was at the start of her career in 1966 and you’d hardly recognize her. I’m only showing this sign rather than her image they have up because of copyright laws.
Young Janis Joplin liked the tour too!
Today Anchor Brewing has 50 employees. They produce 100,000 bottles of beer a day. You are not allowed to take photographs inside but they have a bottling area that is straight out of Laverne and Shirley, and Shotz Brewery. The tour is great for kids to learn about old school American industry. You need to call a month ahead for a reservation but the tour is free of charge. Your guide will walk you over three floors before you return to the tasting room for about 30 minutes of sampling, which is also free.
Fun facts: In case you ever wondered, the recipe for their Christmas ale is their only secret, and they change it slightly every year. “Steam” beer is an old nickname for beer brewed along the West Coast under primitive conditions and without ice.
Only steam beer made in the US
Photo credits to my iPhone…
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The Eight Presidents from Ohio--The Mother of Presidents (photo world almanac.com/us gov)
One would think that the selection pool for presidential office holders in the United States would be spread fairly wide. There are 50 states, we’ve had nearly 50 presidents. To be exact we’ve had 44. Unless you live under a rock, and no offense intended if you do, I hear rocks are very nice, you certainly recall the historic events of last month. (We inaugurated the 44th president of the United States.) The thing most fascinating about Mr. Obama is not that our new president is left handed for there have been others. No, what I find most astounding is that he was not from Ohio!
That’s right. Ohio is noted not only for cold, harsh winters and a disturbing fascination with a football team that considers a poisonous nut its mascot but also to have provided this great nation of ours with eight presidents, more than any other state in the nation. Hence its fitting nickname, The Mother of Presidents.
Presidents Day is coming up this Monday, February 16. And certainly you could spend the three day weekend firing up the barbecue and celebrating with family and friends, relaxing at home. Or…
You could pack up the caravan and give yourself a three day weekend of history in America’s Heartland. A mini presidential tour.
Harrison Tomb in North Bend, OH (photo by Bonnie Wetik)
Grant Birthplace Point Pleasant, OH (photo Bruce Uher)
Rutherford Hayes Home Fremont, OH (photo Tom Reed)
James Garfield Home Mentor, OH photo public domain
McKinley Birthplace Home Niles, OH (photo public domain)
Taft National Historic Site Cincinnati, OH (photo nps.gov)
Harding Memorial Marion, OH (photo Ed Lamaze)
So there you have it. One state, 8 US Presidents. OK, so it may take you more than three days to hit them all. So stay longer. Really, we’ve just had a winter heat wave move through our fair state and most of the snow has melted. The resulting flooding has been minimal and should not be of concern to the heartiest of travelers.
Happy Presidents Day!
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Photo: World's Biggest Dinosaurs Website
Do you like Jesus and Dinosaurs? Then do I have the place for you!
Most likely the only reason you would ever be in Cabazon, California is to drive through it on the I-10 corridor at 70mph. Sure, there are some pretty decent outlet stores and it’s close to the Coachelle Festival and the resorts and golf of Palm Springs, but it isn’t exactly a destination, per se.
However, it is home to one of America’s more popular roadside attractions, which any parent worth their family truckster salt knows is a staple to a good road-trip vacation. It’s in-between destinations where the real memories are made. The fact that we’re talking about dinosaurs, namely The World’s Biggest Dinosaurs, makes stopping a must for anyone that has a kid (of any age) in the car.
This is the scared part...
Dinny the apatosaurus (the dino formerly known as brontosaurus) and Mr. Rex the obvious, respectively, are fantastic. They’re huge and awesome and the kids will be awed, excited or scared shitless. Sometimes all three.
Here’s the twist that will have you scratching your head. The attraction is under (fairly) new ownership and in addition to letting you climb inside really cool dinosaurs for a $5.00 fee they’ll also throw their religious beliefs on you at no extra charge! What a deal!
You see, the owners believe in Creationism and they want you to, too. The gift shop plays videos preaching the belief and there are signs throughout the dinosaurs promoting their views and contradicting science- not to mention discrediting everything you just told your kid about dinosaurs.
These aren’t your Pee-Wee’s dinosaurs. Well, not anymore.
There is a restaurant adjacent to the property and easy access to Interstate 10 should you need to flee treacherous jaws or opposing viewpoints. Please do so in an orderly fashion.
Taming the wild beast...
unless otherwise credited all photos property of Whit Honea
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Patriotism at The Empire State Building - New York City