Coral Pink Sand Dunes

Many people think of the desert when they think of Southern Utah, but the desert can be beautiful. Encompassing over 3,700 acres, the Coral Pink Sand Dunes make an ideal location for part of your family adventure vacation. The dunes are created because winds flow between the Moccasin and Moquith mountains carrying grains of sand creating the beautiful park. The park is surrounded by the red sandstone cliffs Southern Utah is famous for. Add in the stunning blue sky and the green trees around the perimeter and you’ve got the perfect photo opportunity.

Yellow Flowers at Coral Pink Sand Dunes Utah State Park

If you go to Coral Pink Sand Dunes in your RV, there is an inexpensive campground on the premises. Kanab is nearby and makes a great place to stay if you’re not camping. You can rent off road vehicles in Kanab to play on the dunes as well as go hiking or sand tubing. Two popular places to hike are South Fork Indian Canyon Pictographs, where ancient pictographs can be seen along the sand walls, and Moquith Mountains where you can actually see the North Rim of the Grand Canyon.

The park has nice, maintained bathrooms and places for picnics. Check out the other nearby attractions here.

Photo credits – Top image by Passerine, bottom image by Respres.

Sunset at Pismo Beach State Park

Bears are the least of your worries.  In fact, they might distract the children long enough to allow you to set up the tent.  So in fact, bears can be helpful!

My husband and I took our two little boys, the textbook Crazy Little Boys that you think of when you see one of those haggard mothers in the supermarket pushing a cart that one boy is using to surf on while the other one is throwing random objects into her hair, to a campground in Pismo Beach last weekend.  I would not have suggested the trip with our children at the dangerous ages of 2 and 4, but my friend was turning 50 and it was her birthday wish to have all of her favorite people around her on this camping trip.  Plus, we bought a new tent, oh, about 2 years ago, and it’s been sitting in the garage waiting for us to test it out for all this time.

I really do want my children to have a love of camping, because I actually do enjoy it.  Before we had them, my husband and I went camping at least twice a year.  When I was growing up I went camping with my family every year.  As I recall, my brother and sister and I had a fabulous time while my mother hated it.  Once we got older and camping was no longer cool, she gave up altogether and we rarely went.  I couldn’t imagine why…until now.

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Have you ever found yourself in a place or predicament of sorts and wondered…”Self!  What in the Wide-wide World of Sports is a-goin’ on with your good senses?!”  Well, I have.  On countless occasions.

But his particular occasion was on the Rockcastle River.  Set deep in the lush, humid, Kudzu infested hills of, Rockcastle County, Kentucky.  One of those places so beautiful and peaceful, a fella could stay there for days and days and days.  Until the Banjo music starts playing too close for comfort, that is.  When that happens, one must take to the River.  And even then……all bets are off.

The phone rang very early in the a.m., and my friend Towley said “You ready for this?”.  To which I responded, in my best John Wayne voice, “Let’s saddle up, Pilgrim.”  And off we went.  South.  The wind whistling over the boats anchored, hopefully securely, to the tops of the automobiles and no Idea what was in store for us.

The Rockcastle River is a Kentucky State protected river

A false sense of Calm

so access to a put in is few and far between.  My copy of “A Canoe and Kayaking Guide to Kentucky“, says that if one so desires, to shorten the trip, one has access via “the old Howard Place”.  This put-in allows quick access to the class III, VI, and sometimes V rapids that we had no business being on.  We wanted no part of that though.  We wanted the Long, 20 mile trip.  What fools we were.  It would have been better to take our beatings early and be gone.  Like ripping off a Band-Aid.  But no.  We had to paddle, after putting in at the Rockcastle Adventure Canoe Livery, the eight miles of slack, sometimes (but very seldom) Class I chutes.  Fools, I tell you brothers and sister.  Fools.

I have to take pause here to mention the fine People at

No banjo music at all, oddly enough

Rockcastle Adventure Canoe Livery.  Nice folks.  And informative.  John, the owner, took us in the “shed” and gave us a look via an old USGS map, of what we had to look forward to.  John grinned as we took in the Canoe outside that had been twisted around a tree down stream where we would find ourselves in a few short hours.  “We found that’un there just last week,” he remarked.  Awesome.

We said our goodbyes to John, donned our helmets (you will need helmets.  steak tastes so much better when you don’t have to pulse it in a Blender first) dressed in our PFDs (this equipment, too, is a must.  unless you can hold your breath a very, very long time) and shot out into the calm, olive waters.

The rest, well, was just Highballs with the Devil.

This is the part when you get Wet

Note: This river is foul tempered, friends and neighbors.  Do not make the mistake of being ill-prepared here.  Please, please, pretty-please wear a helmet and a proper PFD (personal flotation device).  After the first “wet exit”, you’ll thank me. Also, there are many blind turns along the way.  Scouting is advisable.  And portaging is always acceptable.

All photos by Charles A. Downs III

Bass Lake

When I was little I used to watch Bugs Bunny and when Yosemite Sam came on, I always thought his name was pronounced “Yoaz-might.”  What?  I’m from Connecticut, and I never went anywhere.  Frankly, when I learned the proper pronunciation, my bubble burst a little.  “Yoaz-might” is a cool way to say it.

Now that I live in SoCal, Yosemite National Park and its environs cropped up as a great place to meet some friends from NorCal.  We packed up the family into our Ford Flex loaner and away we went to Sky Lake, a sleep-away camp for kids about an hour from the entrance to the park that opens up its facilities to families a few weekends a year.  People described it to me as being like the camp in “Dirty Dancing.”  That’s all you really have to tell me.  I’m all about hot young dance instructors and talent shows and carrying watermelons.  Also, this place charged a flat fee for our family of four, and promised three meals a day, that someone else would cook. Now THAT’S all you really have to tell me.  I’m in.
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It’s no secret that the economy has people tightening their belts and cutting out extra expenses.  Many families are getting rid of luxuries like summer vacations in an effort to save money.

But after long months of school, homework, and extracurricular activities, a summer vacation can be a welcome (and much needed) respite from the day to day grind of real life.  Family vacations are about seeing new things and enjoying time with the people you love.  A rocky economy doesn’t make that quality time any less important.

With a little creative thinking and some small sacrifices, you may be able to save your summer vacation.

6 Summer Vacations You Can Afford

1.  Visit Friends and Family

Do you have friends and family that live in another city or state?  Now might be the perfect time for a reunion!  Offer to pitch in for groceries in exchange for a guest bed or couch and you’ll likely find that your loved ones will gladly open their homes to you for your summer vacation.  At the very least, they’ll probably say yes to be nice.

When asking to stay with friends or family for your vacation, assure them that you don’t expect them to take time off work or play tour guide for you.  Rent a car if you’re flying to your destination and make it clear you don’t need a chauffeur.  Don’t make yourself a nuisance, but do get the inside scoop on local tourist traps to avoid.

2.  Take a Long Weekend

If your budget or work schedule won’t allow for a week long vacation, consider taking a long weekend instead.  Of course we’d all prefer to be able to spend weeks globe trotting, but there’s no reason you can’t work within your own limitations.

There’s plenty of fun to be had from Friday afternoon to Sunday night.  My family rarely gets to enjoy a week of vacation at a time, but we make up for it with a handful of weekend getaways spread out over June, July and August.  Taking weekend vacations might also allow you to visit more than one place.  If weekend getaways are good enough for girlfriends and romance, they’re good enough for your family!

3.  Investigate Vacation Destinations Within Driving Distance

Often times I hear people lament the fact that they can’t afford to fly to a glamorous location across the country.  But every state in the United States offers something for tourists.  Take out your map and discover the hidden vacation destinations within driving distance that you’ve overlooked.

You can easily cover hundreds of miles in a few hours by car – much less expensive than air fare for an entire family.  Many times you can also save money by visiting lesser known tourist attractions or taking advantage of a state resident discount.

4.  Consider a House Swap

Do you live some place that other people might consider a vacation destination?  Offer up your house to other budget conscious travelers in exchange for the right to stay in their house.  In some cases, you’ll even be able to use the other family’s vehicle (if you’re willing to offer up yours), saving you the cost of a rental car.

HomeExchange.com is a web site that helps people interested in house swapping connect with each other.  It’s only $99.95 for a year membership and that includes unlimited exchanges.  Worried that your home isn’t exotic enough?  Remember that one person’s “everyday home” is another person’s brand new place to see!  Check out the Travel the Home Exchange Way blog for even more tips on house swapping.

Go Camping

Camping is an excellent low cost option for a family vacation.  Most state parks have camping areas with reasonable rates and plenty of activities available for the family.  You can swim, tube, hike, fish, or just hang out around a campfire.  Our biggest expense when we camp is usually food – hot dogs and marshmallows as far as the eye can see!

Play Tourist At Home

Last summer, the travel buzzword of the season was “staycation”.  Families took advantage of their paid time off and school breaks – and stayed at home.  A staycation is still a viable option for a family vacation if you commit to doing more than catching up on your laundry.  Make a concerted effort to live like you’re on vacation and play tourist in your own city.

If you’re stumped for ideas, head to a local hotel.  You’ll find dozens of pamphlets for nearby attractions, some of which might offer discounts for locals and state residents.

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 Read More »

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.

Since hardly anybody gets the paper anymore (and obviously the LA Times is feelin’ it, because it’s laying off many of the humans who work there and, like, write stuff) I feel an obligation to tell you about a wonderful feature that the Times ran last Sunday.  Hopefully they won’t be getting rid of Christopher Reynolds anytime soon, considering that he is a one-man travel section for the paper.

In one issue alone, Reynolds provided the following:

-a travelogue of his road trip along the California coast, south end to north end.

-a list and review of hotels along the coast that offer good deals.

-a guide to the restaurants he visited.

And his picks for the top five coastal CA campgrounds, which includes my favorite, Leo Carillo beach.  And I know my SoCal beaches (see photos below).

I feel this need to tell you about it because I, unlike many other travelers, still actually read the physical newspaper.  While I get fantastic travel ideas from Uptake, nothing grabs my attention like a well-written travelogue that smells of newsprint that I can enjoy while I’m drinking my lazy Sunday morning coffee.  That is, until my toddler comes along to shred it out of my hands.

Oh, they still have other writers on staff, who provided more gems in this very same issue, including this item about luxury hotel renovations, a gold mine of info about California’s national parks , monuments, and historical sites.  If you do read the newspaper and you fear the day it starts arriving as one long sheaf of advertising and no information whatsoever, Uptake will be here to make you feel better.  Might as well start using us more regularly now (and subscribe, even!) to soften the blow.

If only Uptake smelled like newsprint.  But maybe they’ll come up with smell-o-vision for computers.

All photos by Kim Tracy Prince